Experiments and modelling of a draft tube airlift reactor operated at high gas throughputs

One-dimensional modelling of global hydrodynamics and mass transfer is developed for an annulus sparged draft tube airlift reactor operating at high gas throughputs. In a first part, a specific closure law for the mean slip velocity of bubbles in the riser is proposed according for, in one hand, the collective effects on bubble rise velocity and, in the other hand, the size of the liquid recirculation in the airlift riser. This global hydrodynamics model is found towel explain the global gas volume fraction measurements in the airlift riser for a wide range of superficial gas velocity (0.6 ≤ Jg ≥10 cm sˉ¹). In a second part, mass transfer in the airlift has been studied by using the gassing-out method and a dual-tip optical probe to measure the bubble size distributions. As for bubble columns, in such airlift, the volumetric mass transfer coefficient appears to be quite proportional to the gas superficial velocity. Finally, as in Colombet et al. (2011), mass transfer at the bubble scale seems to be weakly influenced by an increase of gas volume fraction

Mass or heat transfer inside a spherical gas bubble at low to moderate Reynolds number

Mass (or heat) transfer inside a spherical gas bubble rising through a stationary liquid is investigated by direct numerical simulation. Simulations were carried out for bubble Reynolds number ranging from 0.1 to 100 and for Péclet numbers ranging from 1 to 2000. The study focuses on the effect of the bubble Reynolds number on both the interfacial transfer and the saturation time of the concentration inside the bubble. We show that the maximum velocity Umax at the bubble interface is the pertinent velocity to describe both internal and external transfers. The corresponding Sherwood (or Nusselt) numbers and the saturation time can be described by a sigmoid function depending on the Péclet number Pemax = Umaxdb/D (db and D being the bubble diameter and the corresponding diffusion coefficient)

Experiments and modelling of a draft tube airlift reactor operated at high gas throughputs

One-dimensional modelling of global hydrodynamics and mass transfer is developed for an annulus sparged draft tube airlift reactor operating at high gas throughputs. In a first part, a specific closure law for the mean slip velocity of bubbles in the riser is proposed according for, in one hand, the collective effects on bubble rise velocity and, in the other hand, the size of the liquid recirculation in the airlift riser. This global hydrodynamics model is found towel explain the global gas volume fraction measurements in the airlift riser for a wide range of superficial gas velocity (0.6 ≤ Jg ≥10 cm sˉ¹). In a second part, mass transfer in the airlift has been studied by using the gassing-out method and a dual-tip optical probe to measure the bubble size distributions. As for bubble columns, in such airlift, the volumetric mass transfer coefficient appears to be quite proportional to the gas superficial velocity. Finally, as in Colombet et al. (2011), mass transfer at the bubble scale seems to be weakly influenced by an increase of gas volume fraction

Effect of interface contamination on particle–bubble collision

This study focuses on the impact of the interface contamination on the collision efficiency between bubbles and inertial particles. The bubble's surface mobility has been integrated into the collision modelling by using the hydrodynamics stagnant-cap model, in which the clean angle O clean is used to characterise the interface contamination level. Direct numerical simulations have been performed for various bubble's Reynolds numbers (1≤Reb≤100), particle to bubble size ratio (0:001≤rp/rb≤0:02) and particle's Stokes numbers (0:001 O crit, the contact point of the "grazing trajectory" can only be situated on the mobile interface, while for O clean < O crit, the contact point may be on both mobile and immobile part of the interface and only the positive inertial effect is observed. A simple model has been proposed that makes possible the description of collision efficiency for clean or contaminated bubbles

Extrasynaptic and Postsynaptic Receptors in Glycinergic and GABAergic Neurotransmission: A Division of Labor?

Glycine and GABA mediate inhibitory neurotransmission in the spinal cord and central nervous system. The general concept of neurotransmission is now challenged by the contribution of both phasic activation of postsynaptic glycine and GABAA receptors (GlyRs and GABAARs, respectively) and tonic activity of these receptors located at extrasynaptic sites. GlyR and GABAAR kinetics depend on several parameters, including subunit composition, subsynaptic localization and activation mode. Postsynaptic and extrasynaptic receptors display different subunit compositions and are activated by fast presynaptic and slow paracrine release of neurotransmitters, respectively. GlyR and GABAAR functional properties also rely on their aggregation level, which is higher at postsynaptic densities than at extrasynaptic loci. Finally, these receptors can co-aggregate at mixed inhibitory postsynaptic densities where they cross-modulate their activity, providing another parameter of functional complexity. GlyR and GABAAR density at postsynaptic sites results from the balance between their internalization and insertion in the plasma membrane, but also on their lateral diffusion from and to the postsynaptic loci. The dynamic exchange of receptors between synaptic and extrasynaptic sites and their functional adaptation in terms of kinetics point out a new adaptive process of inhibitory neurotransmission

Dynamics and mass transfer of rising bubbles in a homogenous swarm at large gas volume fraction

The present work focuses on the collective effect on both bubble dynamics and mass transfer in a dense homogeneous bubble swarm for gas volume fractions ↵ up to 30%. The experimental investigation is carried out with air bubbles rising in a square column filled with water. Bubble size and shape are determined by means of a high-speed camera equipped with a telecentric lens. Gas volume fraction and bubble velocity are measured by using a dual-tip optical probe. The combination of these two techniques allows us to determine the interfacial area between the gas and the liquid. The transfer of oxygen from the bubbles to the water is measured from the time evolution of the concentration of oxygen dissolved in water, which is obtained by means of the gassing-out method. Concerning the bubble dynamics, the average vertical velocity is observed to decrease with α in agreement with previous experimental and numerical investigations, while the bubble agitation turns out to be weakly dependent on α. Concerning mass transfer, the Sherwood number is found to be very close to that of a single bubble rising at the same Reynolds number, provided the latter is based on the average vertical bubble velocity, which accounts for the effect of the gas volume fraction on the bubble rise velocity. This conclusion is valid for situations where the diffusion coefficient of the gas in the liquid is very low (high Péclet number) and the dissolved gas is well mixed at the scale of the bubble. It is understood by considering that the transfer occurs at the front part of the bubbles through a diffusion layer which is very thin compared with all flow length scales and where the flow remains similar to that of a single rising bubbl

CcNav: Understanding Compiler Optimizations in Binary Code

Program developers spend significant time on optimizing and tuning programs. During this iterative process, they apply optimizations, analyze the resulting code, and modify the compilation until they are satisfied. Understanding what the compiler did with the code is crucial to this process but is very time-consuming and labor-intensive. Users need to navigate through thousands of lines of binary code and correlate it to source code concepts to understand the results of the compilation and to identify optimizations. We present a design study in collaboration with program developers and performance analysts. Our collaborators work with various artifacts related to the program such as binary code, source code, control flow graphs, and call graphs. Through interviews, feedback, and pair-analytics sessions, we analyzed their tasks and workflow. Based on this task analysis and through a human-centric design process, we designed a visual analytics system Compilation Navigator (CcNav) to aid exploration of the effects of compiler optimizations on the program. CcNav provides a streamlined workflow and a unified context that integrates disparate artifacts. CcNav supports consistent interactions across all the artifacts making it easy to correlate binary code with source code concepts. CcNav enables users to navigate and filter large binary code to identify and summarize optimizations such as inlining, vectorization, loop unrolling, and code hoisting. We evaluate CcNav through guided sessions and semi-structured interviews. We reflect on our design process, particularly the immersive elements, and on the transferability of design studies through our experience with a previous design study on program analysis.Comment: IEEE VIS VAST 202

Maturation of the GABAergic Transmission in Normal and Pathologic Motoneurons

γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) acting on Cl−-permeable ionotropic type A (GABAA) receptors (GABAAR) is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the adult central nervous system of vertebrates. In immature brain structures, GABA exerts depolarizing effects mostly contributing to the expression of spontaneous activities that are instructive for the construction of neural networks but GABA also acts as a potent trophic factor. In the present paper, we concentrate on brainstem and spinal motoneurons that are largely targeted by GABAergic interneurons, and we bring together data on the switch from excitatory to inhibitory effects of GABA, on the maturation of the GABAergic system and GABAAR subunits. We finally discuss the role of GABA and its GABAAR in immature hypoglossal motoneurons of the spastic (SPA) mouse, a model of human hyperekplexic syndrome

Modélisation de réacteurs Gaz-Liquide de type colonne à bulles en conditions industrielles

L oxydation du cyclohexane est l un des procédés les plus importants dans la chaîne de production du Nylon où l oxygène et le cyclohexane entrent en contact pour former le cyclohexanol, la cyclohexanone puis l acide adipique. Le rendement est influencé à la fois par le transfert de l oxygène et par le mélange des réactifs en phase liquide. Des réacteurs de type colonne à bulles sont généralement utilisés pour fournir une aire interfaciale importante et garantir une agitation efficace en phase liquide. Cependant, la complexité des mécanismes impliqués (hydrodynamique, transfert, réaction, fort taux de vide) rend difficile la prédiction des performances des réacteurs. Ce travail est consacré à l amélioration des lois de fermetures (quantité de mouvement et transferts) pour la modélisation Euler/Euler des réacteurs industriels utilisés pour le procédé d oxydation du cyclohexane. Dans un premier temps, des expériences de laboratoire avec le système eau/air ont été réalisées jusqu à de forts taux de vide (> 30%) pour mesurer les effets collectifs sur la force de traînée et le transfert de masse dans un essaim de bulles homogène. Les résultats ont confirmé que le coefficient de traînée des bulles augmente de manière significative avec le taux de vide alors que de manière surprenante l effet est très faible sur le transfert. Dans un second temps, des expériences ont été réalisées avec le système cyclohexane/diazote dans des conditions industrielles (P = 1 - 20 bar, T = 30 - 150C). L analyse des résultats de transfert en condition industrielle a nécessité la simulation numérique directe du transfert à l intérieur d une bulle sphériqueCyclohexane oxidation is one of the most important processes in the production line of Nylon, where oxygen and cyclohexane get in contact to produce cyclohexanol, cyclohexanone and then adipic acid. The production yield is influenced by both the oxygen transfer and the reactants mixing in liquid phase. Bubble column type reactors are usually used to provide a large interfacial area and efficient liquid phase agitation. However, the complexity of the mechanisms involved (hydrodynamic, transfer, reaction, high void fraction) makes it difficult to predict the performance of such reactors. This work is devoted to improve the associated closure laws of momentum and transfer equations used in Euler/Euler modelling of industrial reactors for cyclohexane oxidation. Bench-scale experiment for air-water system has been firstly carried out to measure the collective effects on the drag force and the mass transfer of a bubble in a homogenous bubble swarm with a high void fraction up to 30%. The results confirmed that bubble s drag coefficient increases significantly with the void fraction. Meanwhile surprisingly, weak effect has been observed on the transfer. Nextly, pilot experiments with nitrogen-cyclohexane system have been performed under industrial conditions (P = 1 - 20 bar, T = 30 - 150C). Analysis of the results of transfer under industrial conditions required finally direct numerical simulation of transfers inside a spherical bubble.TOULOUSE-INSA-Bib. electronique (315559905) / SudocSudocFranceF

Image processing for the experimental investigation of dense dispersed flows : Application to bubbly flows

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