Verification of an analytic fit for the vortex core profile in superfluid Fermi gases

A characteristic property of superfluidity and -conductivity is the presence of quantized vortices in rotating systems. To study the BEC-BCS crossover the two most common methods are the Bogoliubov-De Gennes theory and the usage of an effective field theory. In order to simplify the calculations for one vortex, it is often assumed that the hyperbolic tangent yields a good approximation for the vortex structure. The combination of a variational vortex structure, together with cylindrical symmetry yields analytic (or numerically simple) expressions. The focus of this article is to investigate to what extent this analytic fit truly reflects the vortex structure throughout the BEC-BCS crossover at finite temperatures. The vortex structure will be determined using the effective field theory presented in [Eur. Phys. Journal B 88, 122 (2015)] and compared to the variational analytic solution. By doing this it is possible to see where these two structures agree, and where they differ. This comparison results in a range of applicability where the hyperbolic tangent will be a good fit for the vortex structure.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure

Modeling of a heavy duty diesel engine to ease complex optimization decisions

Engine optimization becomes more difficult every day, more and more limits regarding emissions of noxious components have to be met. Considering heavy duty marine engines such as the 6DZC from ABC there are several important instances: IMO III reduces NOx by 75% from 2021, EPA reduces NOx by 70% from 2016. Therefore very complex systems are implemented, which each have multiple calibration or working parameters. Some are fixed, some can change depending on engine load and speed. An example of a fixed parameter is compression ratio, it can only be changed while building the engine. Other fixed parameters include: choice of injection nozzle (#holes, hole-diameter), bore, stroke, etc. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is a parameter that can be changed continuously during operation of the engine. Typically there are other parameters present: Variable Valve Timing, injection timing, injection duration, injection pressure, secondary injection, wastegate setting(s), etc. Ideally these parameters are configured in a way that the engine emits very little harmful components and fuel consumption is very low. The most straightforward approach would be to test every parameter combination, record emission components and fuel consumption and choose the optimal parameter combination. This has to be repeated for every speed and load of the engine, which results in an engine map. This method becomes more and more expensive, both in time as in fuel consumption because every additional operating parameter increases the amount of tests exponentially. This is why engine simulation becomes inevitable. Accurate engine simulation is able to exclude regions of parameter values that are clearly infeasible and can give a good indication where engine tests are more interesting

Heat transfer in homogeneous charge compression ignition engines

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Saving the European eel : how morphological research can help in effective conservation management

The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a critically endangered species, whose recruitment stocks have declined to nearly 1% compared to the late 70s. An amalgam of factors is responsible for this, among them migration barriers, pollution, habitat loss, parasite infection, and overfishing. A lot of recent studies focus on aspects that can increase the mature silver eel escapement rate, such as identifying migration barriers and developing passageways or addressing the impact of pollution on the eel’s health. However, little attention is given to the eel’s morphology in function of management measures. Worryingly, less than 50% of the currently installed management plans reach their goals, strongly indicating that more information is needed about the eel’s ecology and behavior. Functional morphological studies provide insights on how species perform behaviors crucial for survival, such as feeding and locomotion, but also in how environmental changes can affect or limit such behaviors. Consequently, functional morphology represents an important biotic component that should be taken into account when making conservation decisions. Hence, here, we provide an overview of studies on the eel’s morphology that do not only demonstrate its relation with ecology and behavior, but also provide information for developing and installing proper and more specific management measures

Increasing exhaust temperature to enable after-treatment operation on a two-stage turbo-charged medium speed marine diesel engine

Nitrogen-oxides (NOx) are becoming more and more regulated. In heavy duty, medium speed engines these emission limits are also being reduced steadily: Selective catalytic reduction is a proven technology which allows to reduce NOx emission with very high efficiency. However, operating temperature of the catalytic converter has to be maintained within certain limits as conversion efficiency and ammonia slip are very heavily influenced by temperature. In this work the engine calibration and hardware will be modified to allow for a wide engine operating range with Selective catalytic reduction. The studied engine has 4MW nominal power and runs at 750rpm engine speed, fuel consumption during engine tests becomes quite expensive (+- 750kg/h) for a measurement campaign. This is why a simulation model was developed and validated. This model was then used to investigate several strategies to control engine out temperature: different types of wastegates, injection variation and valve timing adjustments. Simulation showed that wastegate application had the best tradeoff between fuel consumption and exhaust temperature. Finally, this configuration was built on the engine test bench and results from both measurements and simulation agreed very well