1,773 research outputs found
Eroding ribbon thermocouples: impulse response and transient heat flux analysis
We have investigated a particular type of fast-response surface thermocouple to determine if it is appropriate to use a one dimensional transient heat conduction model to derive the transient surface heat flux from the measurements of surface temperature. With these sensors, low thermal inertia thermocouple junctions are formed near the surface by abrasive wear. Using laser excitation, we obtained the impulse response of these commercially available devices. The response of particular sensors can vary if new junctions are created by abrasive wear. Furthermore, the response of these sensors was found to deviate substantially from the one dimensional model and varied from sensor to sensor. The impulse response was simulated with greater fidelity using a two dimensional finite element model, but three dimensional effects also appear to be significant. The impact of these variations on the derived heat flux is assessed for the case of measurements in an internal combustion engine. When the measured impulse response is used to derive the surface heat flux, the apparent reversal of heat flux during the expansion stroke does not occur
Optimal Prandtl number for heat transfer in rotating Rayleigh-Benard convection
Numerical data for the heat transfer as a function of the Prandtl (Pr) and
Rossby (Ro) numbers in turbulent rotating Rayleigh-Benard convection are
presented for Rayleigh number Ra = 10^8. When Ro is fixed the heat transfer
enhancement with respect to the non-rotating value shows a maximum as function
of Pr. This maximum is due to the reduced efficiency of Ekman pumping when Pr
becomes too small or too large. When Pr becomes small, i.e. for large thermal
diffusivity, the heat that is carried by the vertical vortices spreads out in
the middle of the cell, and Ekman pumping thus becomes less efficient. For
higher Pr the thermal boundary layers (BLs) are thinner than the kinetic BLs
and therefore the Ekman vortices do not reach the thermal BL. This means that
the fluid that is sucked into the vertical vortices is colder than for lower Pr
which limits the efficiency of the upwards heat transfer.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure
The rise of aquaculture by-products: Increasing food production, value, and sustainability through strategic utilisation
Since 2000, the use of wild fish inputs in the production of farm raised fish outputs, also known as the Fish In: Fish Out (FI:FO) ratio, has been a primary concern of the sustainability dialogue surrounding aquaculture production. Far less attention has been placed on the sustainability of downstream processing, including how by-products are managed. This paper contributes new information on the current utilisation of aquaculture by-products in a case study on the Scottish Atlantic salmon industry. The findings show that there is considerable potential to increase the sustainability of the industry through maximising human edible yield by strategically managing by-products. Supporting the movement towards the full utilisation of by-products, this paper goes a step further by emphasising the need to maximise their use in human consumption and select animal feeds, highlighting the economic, food security, and environmental benefits of doing so. Through exploratory scenarios based on the case study, the paper identifies that Scotland could increase food production from fish farming by over 60%, increase by-product revenue by 803%, and increase the industry bottom-line by over 5%, all without having to put any new cages in the water, or use any more marine resources. As the aquaculture industry moves into a new era of production and processing, where a diverse range of products can be produced from a single species, sustainability will be sought throughout the value chain. It is hoped that the ideas raised within this paper will encourage further discussion and collaboration on this topic going forward
Coupled wake boundary layer model of wind-farms
We present and test the coupled wake boundary layer (CWBL) model that
describes the distribution of the power output in a wind-farm. The model
couples the traditional, industry-standard wake model approach with a
"top-down" model for the overall wind-farm boundary layer structure. This wake
model captures the effect of turbine positioning, while the "top-down" portion
of the model adds the interactions between the wind-turbine wakes and the
atmospheric boundary layer. Each portion of the model requires specification of
a parameter that is not known a-priori. For the wake model, the wake expansion
coefficient is required, while the "top-down" model requires an effective
spanwise turbine spacing within which the model's momentum balance is relevant.
The wake expansion coefficient is obtained by matching the predicted mean
velocity at the turbine from both approaches, while the effective spanwise
turbine spacing depends on turbine positioning and thus can be determined from
the wake model. Coupling of the constitutive components of the CWBL model is
achieved by iterating these parameters until convergence is reached. We
illustrate the performance of the model by applying it to both developing
wind-farms including entrance effects and to fully developed (deep-array)
conditions. Comparisons of the CWBL model predictions with results from a suite
of large eddy simulations (LES) shows that the model closely represents the
results obtained in these high-fidelity numerical simulations. A comparison
with measured power degradation at the Horns Rev and Nysted wind-farms shows
that the model can also be successfully applied to real wind-farms.Comment: 25 pages, 21 figures, submitted to Journal of Renewable and
Sustainable Energy on July 18, 201
Advisory Committee of the American Association of Public Accountants favor the extension of its scope as a National Society
Boundary layer structure in turbulent thermal convection and its consequences for the required numerical resolution
Results on the Prandtl-Blasius type kinetic and thermal boundary layer
thicknesses in turbulent Rayleigh-B\'enard convection in a broad range of
Prandtl numbers are presented. By solving the laminar Prandtl-Blasius boundary
layer equations, we calculate the ratio of the thermal and kinetic boundary
layer thicknesses, which depends on the Prandtl number Pr only. It is
approximated as for and as for
, with . Comparison of the Prandtl--Blasius velocity
boundary layer thickness with that evaluated in the direct numerical
simulations by Stevens, Verzicco, and Lohse (J. Fluid Mech. 643, 495 (2010))
gives very good agreement. Based on the Prandtl--Blasius type considerations,
we derive a lower-bound estimate for the minimum number of the computational
mesh nodes, required to conduct accurate numerical simulations of moderately
high (boundary layer dominated) turbulent Rayleigh-B\'enard convection, in the
thermal and kinetic boundary layers close to bottom and top plates. It is shown
that the number of required nodes within each boundary layer depends on Nu and
Pr and grows with the Rayleigh number Ra not slower than \sim\Ra^{0.15}. This
estimate agrees excellently with empirical results, which were based on the
convergence of the Nusselt number in numerical simulations
Temporal structure of aggregate power fluctuations in large-eddy simulations of extended wind-farms
Fluctuations represent a major challenge for the incorporation of electric
power from large wind-farms into power grids. Wind farm power output fluctuates
strongly in time, over various time scales. Understanding these fluctuations,
especially their spatio-temporal characteristics, is particularly important for
the design of backup power systems that must be readily available in
conjunction with wind-farms. In this work we analyze the power fluctuations
associated with the wind-input variability at scales between minutes to several
hours, using large eddy simulations (LES) of extended wind-parks, interacting
with the atmospheric boundary layer. LES studies enable careful control of
parameters and availability of wind-velocities simultaneously across the entire
wind-farm. The present study focuses on neutral atmospheric conditions and flat
terrain, using actuator-disk representations of the individual wind-turbines.
We consider power from various aggregates of wind-turbines such as the total
average power signal, or signals from sub-averages within the wind-farm.
Non-trivial correlations are observed due to the complex interactions between
turbines placed downstream of each other, and they lead to noticeable spectral
peaks at frequencies associated with the inter-turbine spacings when the
wind-direction is completely fixed. In that case we observe that the frequency
spectra of the total wind-farm output show a decay that follows approximately a
power-law scaling regime, qualitatively consistent with some
observations made in field-scale operational wind-parks (Apt, 2007). We find
that these features are still observed when the wind-speed varies in magnitude.
However, significant changes in the wind-direction over time tend to smooth out
the observed spectral peak and reduce the extent of the observed
power-law.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figure
Navigating and properly documenting the procurement process
This project focuses on the development of a uniform procurement manual template that will provide the necessary tools for the new generation of procurement officials who are unaware of what is necessary and required by law to do their jobs
Testing the impact of an educational intervention designed to promote ocular health among people with age-related macular degeneration
Research has shown that individuals affected by age-related macular degeneration (AMD) do not always consume foods or supplements known to be beneficial for ocular health. This study tested the effectiveness of an educational intervention designed to promote healthy eating and nutritional supplementation in this group. A total of 100 individuals with AMD completed baseline measures of several variables: confidence that diet affects AMD, motivation to engage in health-protective behaviours, knowledge about which nutrients are beneficial, and intake of kale, spinach, and eggs. Participants were allocated to either intervention or control conditions. Intervention participants received a leaflet and prompt card that contained advice regarding dietary modification and supplementation. Control participants received a leaflet created by the Royal College of Optometrists. A follow-up questionnaire, measuring the same variables assessed at baseline, was administered 2 weeks later. At follow-up, significant condition × time interactions were found for confidence that diet affects AMD (F(1, 92) = 4.54, p < .05), motivation to talk to an eye professional about supplementation (F(1, 92) = 4.53, p = .036), motivation to eat eggs (F(1, 92) = 12.67, p = .001), and egg intake (F(1, 92) = 11.97, p = .001). In each case, intervention participants scored higher than control participants. Receiving an educational intervention increased participants’ confidence that diet affects AMD, motivation to engage in health-protective behaviours, and egg intake. This intervention could be easily incorporated into current clinical practice delivered by either optometrists or ophthalmologists
Gadolinia doped ceria/yttria stabilised zirconia electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cell applications
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