3D NUMERICAL STUDY OF MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC INSTABILITY IN LIQUID METAL TAYLOR-COUETTE FLOW

This purpose is about a 3D study of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instability in liquid matal Taylor-Couette flow, this problem is receiving more and more research interest due to its application in the engineering, oceanography and the astrophysical research The Taylor-Couette system consists of two coaxial cylinders in differential rotation, which is considered as a hydrodynamic model system, allowed researchers to progress in understanding the laminar-turbulent transition phenomena. A set of states found in narrow gap of Taylor-Couette systems where the outer cylinder is held fixed and the inner cylinder speed increased. The symmetry breaking parameter is the Taylor number Ta that gives a measure of the ratio of centrifugal forces to viscous forces. When the liquid is replaced by an electrically conducting fluid and an external magnetic field is applied, this leads to MHD Taylor-Couette flow. Additional body force, Lorentz force, acting on the fluid arises. Lorentz force is in the direction perpendicular to both magnetic and electric fields. The behaviour of flow depends on strength and geometry of applied field, magnetic and electric properties of the liquid, cylinders and endplates. In this work, the MHD instability Taylor-Couette flow is considered for liquid sodium with its magnetic Prandtl number Pm <1. The results of pressure and angular momentum in the Taylor-Couette flow under the effect of an external uniform axial magnetic field B=4 Tesla are investigated numerically for the different cases of electrically conducting or insulating walls at the Ekman cell, at the middle of the first Taylor-votex flow (TVF) and between two cells

Preparation of superhydrophobic and self-cleaning polysulfone non-wovens by electrospinning: influence of process parameters on morphology and hydrophobicity

Electrospinning is used to prepare hydrophobic and self-cleaning polysulfone (PSf) surfaces. The effects of PSf concentration in Dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent and electrospinning process parameters on the surface structure and hydrophobicity are investigated. The experimental results show that depending on PSf concentration, three types of morphologies are obtained: beads, beads-on-strings, and free-beads fibers. The surface hydrophobicity depends mainly on the resultant surface morphology, and the existence of beads increases hydrophobicity. The contact angle (CA) is found to increase from 73° for smooth PSf surface to more than 160° for surfaces formed by electrospinning. Moreover, the contact angle hysteresis (CAH) was generally less than 10° for all the chemistries. It is noted that increasing the PSf concentration leads to the formation of beads-on-string and free-beads fiber structures; this morphological change is accompanied by a reduction in the contact angle. Surface structures are found to be more sensitive to electrospinning feed rate than to electrospinning voltage; however, these two parameters have a negligible influence on the hydrophobicity. Porosity measurements of different chemistries show an average pore size in the range 3–8 microns. The thickness of PSf mats was variable, from as low as 10 μm to as high as 70 μm.King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM-MIT Project No. R16-DMN-11)King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (Saudia Arabia) (Project No. 11-ADV2134- 04

Characterization of Environmental Dust in the Dammam Area and Mud After-Effects on Bisphenol-A Polycarbonate Sheets

Owing to recent climate changes, dust storms are increasingly common, particularly in the Middle East region. Dust accumulation and subsequent mud formation on solid surfaces in humid environments typically have adverse effects on surface properties such as optical transmittance, surface texture, and microhardness. This is usually because the mud, which contains alkaline and ionic species, adheres strongly to the surface, often through chemical bonds, and is therefore difficult to remove. In this study, environmental dust and the after-effects of mud formed on a polycarbonate sheet, which is commonly used as a protective glass in photovoltaic cells. Ionic compounds (OH−) are shown to significantly affect the optical, mechanical, and textural characteristics of the polycarbonate surface, and to increase the adhesion work required to remove the dry mud from the polycarbonate surface upon drying. Such ability to modify characteristics of the polycarbonate surface could address the dust/mud-related limitations of superhydrophobic surfaces

A Global Collaborative Effort to Enhance Design in a Mechanical Engineering Curriculum in Saudi Arabia

In 2008, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) partnered together to develop project-based curricular material to be tested out in a new undergraduate course offering in KFUPM’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. This paper details some of the unique challenges to collaborating across countries and time zones, and the approaches the KFUPM-MIT team used to address these. These approaches have so far included the establishment of a shared vision for the project and the use of an array of technologies to facilitate distance communication. The paper concludes with a description of lessons learned that might be useful for future programs that plan to engage in international collaboration on design education.Jāmiʻat al-Malik Fahd lil-Batrūl wa-al-Maʻādi

A conservative pattern of water use, rather than deep or profuse rooting, is critical for the terminal drought tolerance of chickpea

Chickpea is mostly grown on stored soil moisture, and deep/profuse rooting has been hypothesized for almost three decades to be critical for improving chickpea tolerance to terminal drought. However, temporal patterns of water use that leave water available for reproduction and grain filling could be equally critical. Therefore, variation in water use pattern and root depth/density were measured, and their relationships to yield tested under fully irrigated and terminal drought stress, using lysimeters that provided soil volumes equivalent to field conditions. Twenty chickpea genotypes having similar plant phenology but contrasting for a field-derived terminal drought-tolerance index based on yield were used. The pattern of water extraction clearly discriminated tolerant and sensitive genotypes. Tolerant genotypes had a lower water uptake and a lower index of stomatal conductance at the vegetative stage than sensitive ones, while tolerant genotypes extracted more water than sensitive genotypes after flowering. The magnitude of the variation in root growth components (depth, length density, RLD, dry weight, RDW) did not distinguish tolerant from sensitive genotypes. The seed yield was not significantly correlated with the root length density (RLD) in any soil layers, whereas seed yield was both negatively related to water uptake between 23–38 DAS, and positively related to water uptake between 48–61 DAS. Under these conditions of terminal drought, the most critical component of tolerance in chickpea was the conservative use of water early in the cropping cycle, explained partly by a lower canopy conductance, which resulted in more water available in the soil profile during reproduction leading to higher reproductive success