Parametric study of heavy metal partitioning in a pilot scale incinerator burning simulated municipal solid waste

Incineration is a combustion process used to convert toxic waste to benign gases and residue in presence of excess air. The products of the incineration process are bottom ash, fly ash and the flue gas. Most of the metal-based phases formed in incineration are toxic and their emissions need to be strictly controlled. Therefore, behavior of metal species during incineration must be well understood. Such understanding is possible based on the experimental identification of the metal phases formed in the waste combustion and determination of their concentration in various incineration products. A pilot-scale incinerator of 140,000 Btu/hr capacity was constructed, characterized and operated at NJIT. A synthetic fuel representative of the municipal solid waste in the United States was formulated and produced in 600 lb batches. The synthetic fuel was in the form of solid pellets and was characterized by standard ASTM tests. The solid fuel contained Fe and SiO2, and was doped with trace amounts of Al, Ni, Cr, Hg and Pb. Several experiments were performed on the incinerator with varying fuel-air equivalence ratio and both gaseous and condensed products were sampled.Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to identify metal concentrations in the ashes and the flue gas. X-ray diffraction was used to identify metal phases in the bottom ash and the fly ash. Scanning electron microscope was used to study the morphology of the ash particles and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was used to identify the spatial composition of the ash particles. Size distributions of the fly ash particles were obtained using sieves and optical microscopy. It has been observed that the fly ash particles have bimodal size distribution and that the particles of different sizes have different elemental and phase compositions. Thermodynamic equilibrium computations for the incineration process were conducted to obtain the adiabatic flame temperature and identify the metal phases produced at equilibrium conditions

KINEMATIC SYNTHESIS OF CENTRAL-LEVER STEERING MECHANISM FOR FOUR WHEEL VEHICLES

A central lever steering mechanism has been synthesized to obtain five precision points for a four-wheel vehicle using Hooke and Jeeves optimization method. This compound mechanism has been studied as two identical crossed four-bar mechanisms arranged in series. The optimization has been carried out for one crossed four-bar mechanism only instead of the entire mechanism. The number of design parameters considered for the optimization is two. The inner wheel has been considered to rotate up to 52 degrees. The steering error, pressure angle and mechanical advantage of the proposed mechanism have been compared with those achieved by the Ackermann steering mechanism. The proposed mechanism has less steering error, more favourable pressure angle and increased mechanical advantage. The method of compounding the mechanism is also applicable when the central lever is offset from the longitudinal axis of the vehicle

Experimental Performance Analysis of Six Cylinder Turbocharged Diesel-Cng Dual Fuel Engine

Dual fuel engine is internal combustion engine which works with two fuels simultaneously. Automobile sector is facing challenge of fossil fuel depletion & reducing harmful emissions to meet stringent environmental norms. Alternate fuels like CNG have capabilities of reducing exhaust emissions from automobiles.CNG has other advantages like lower cost as compared to gasoline & diesel, less noise due to high octane no & clean combustion properties. Diesel-CNG Dual fuel engines offer number of potential advantages like fuel flexibility, lower emissions, higher compression ratio and better efficiency. This paper is based on experimental work done on six cylinder turbocharged engine converted to dual fuel engine by using dual fuel kit from M/s Best Prins, Netherlands. Engine was tested on AVL PUMA engine testing system and emissions were measured on AVL emission measuring equipment. 13 mode ESC test was conducted in diesel mode & dual fuel mode. All points were optimized for engine performance & emissions. Optimized engine parameters & emissions were measured. It was observed that, it was possible to achieve engine performance near toBS III emission norms. Engine testing was carried out at ARAI, pune, India. Keywords: Dual fuel, Emission analysis, Performance CNG, Diese

Prevalence of chronic facet arthropathy: a retrospective study

Background: To assess prevalence facet-joint arthropathy in chronic low back pain using computed tomography.Methods: A retrospective study profiled and analysed objective data from patients CT scans and previous records.Results: Facetal arthropathy was graded by Pathria’s criteria.102 joints (33.12%) were grade 1, 113 (36.69%) grade 2, 63 (20.45%) grade 3, and 30 (9.74. %) grade 4. Final result showed that females were affected more than the male in Grade II, III and IV. Age group more affected was between 46-85 years.Conclusions:Our study on chronic low back pain revealed prevalence of facet-joint involvement 66.88% (206 patients) in rural population with age group involved more than 46 years

Study of arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using single bundle hamstring auto-graft by trans-portal technique

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is a serious injury that results in immediate knee instability, lengthy rehabilitation and increased risk of early onset knee osteoarthritis. The goal of anatomic reconstruction is to place the ACL graft at a more anatomic location on both tibia and femur. The purposes of the study were to evaluate the outcome of trans-portal arthroscopic ACL reconstruction clinically and radiologically and to compare the results with reported studies.Methods: 52 patients with complete tear of the ACL were treated with arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. The patients were regularly followed up at 4, 8, 12 and 24 weeks whereby laxity, pain and range of motion were assessed.Results: There were 43 male and 9 females with the mean age being 30.38 years. Left sided injury was more common seen in 31 patients (59.62%) where domestic twist injury caused most of the ACL tears. Only 4 cases (7.69%) had isolated ACL tears and lateral meniscus was the most common associated injury found in 25 patients (48.07%) Average operative time was 113 minutes. Pain was the most common post-op complication seen in 16 patients (30.76%) while laxity was noted in 4 patients. Average flexion of 111.44 degrees was reached at 6 months. 37 cases (71.15%) had excellent post-op outcome at 6 months as per the modified cincinnati rating system.Conclusions: ACL reconstruction using the arthroscopic trans-portal technique provides good post-op knee stability and satisfactory range of motion

Forecasting of Engine Performance for Gasoline-Ethanol Blends using Machine Learning

The incorporation of alternative fuels in the automotive domain has brought a new paradigm to tackle the environmental and energy crises. Therefore, it is of interest to test and forecast engine performance with blended fuels. This paper presents an experimental study on gasoline-ethanol blends to test and forecast engine behavior due to changes in the fuel. This study employed a machine learning (ML) technique called TOPSIS to forecast the performance of a slightly higher blend fuelled engine based on experimental data obtained from the same engine running on 0% ethanol blend (E0) and E10 fuels under full load conditions. The engine performance predictions of this ML model were validated for 15% ethanol blend (E15) and further used to predict the engine performance of 20% ethanol blend fuel. The prediction R2 score for the ML model was found to be greater than 0.95 and the MAPE range was 1% to 5% for all observed engine performance attributes. Thus, this paper presents the potential of TOPSIS methodology-based ML predictions on blended fuel engine performance to shorten the testing efforts of blended fuel engines. This methodology may help to faster incorporate higher blended fuels in the automotive sector

Forecasting of Engine Performance for Gasoline-Ethanol Blends using Machine Learning

The incorporation of alternative fuels in the automotive domain has brought a new paradigm to tackle the environmental and energy crises. Therefore, it is of interest to test and forecast engine performance with blended fuels. This paper presents an experimental study on gasoline-ethanol blends to test and forecast engine behavior due to changes in the fuel. This study employed a machine learning (ML) technique called TOPSIS to forecast the performance of a slightly higher blend fuelled engine based on experimental data obtained from the same engine running on 0% ethanol blend (E0) and E10 fuels under full load conditions. The engine performance predictions of this ML model were validated for 15% ethanol blend (E15) and further used to predict the engine performance of 20% ethanol blend fuel. The prediction R2 score for the ML model was found to be greater than 0.95 and the MAPE range was 1% to 5% for all observed engine performance attributes. Thus, this paper presents the potential of TOPSIS methodology-based ML predictions on blended fuel engine performance to shorten the testing efforts of blended fuel engines. This methodology may help to faster incorporate higher blended fuels in the automotive sector

Cryogenics: a textbook

A Textbook covers lucidly various cryogenic applications including cryogenic engines and space and electronic applications. Importance of cryogenic engines in space propulsion, complete thermodynamic analysis of cryogenic systems with special emphasis on cryogenic cycles, Dewar vessels used to store cryogenic fluids and their applications in various industries have also been discussed in detail. Explanation of Superconductivity and its applications with a description of various Cryocoolers used in industry has also been provided with extensive details. Further technical information on cryogens has been specified alongwith the vacuum technology which has been sufficiently described with examples. Science of Cryonics has been elaborated and all aspects of technology related to functioning of cryogenic plants and their construction including valves, pipes has been incorporated in this book

An Experimental Study On Performance, Emission And Combustion Parameters Of Hydrogen Fueled Spark Ignition Engine With The Timed Manifold Injection System

In the present study, a single cylinder spark ignition (SI) engine is modified to operate with hydrogen gas with ECU (Electronic Controlled Unit) operated timely manifold injection system. Performance, emission and combustion parameters are studied at MBT (Maximum Brake Torque) spark timing with WOT (Wide Open Throttle) position. All trials are performed in the speed range of 1100 rpm–1800 rpm. Baseline observations are recorded with gasoline for comparison purpose. Results have shown that maximum brake power is reduced by 19.06% and peak brake thermal efficiency is increased by 3.16% in the case of hydrogen operation. Reduction in NOx emission is observed for hydrogen at higher engine speed. The maximum net heat release rate is two times higher and the peak cylinder pressure is 1.36 times higher for hydrogen as compared to gasoline at the engine speed of 1400 rpm