Three-Dimensional Modeling of Electrostatic Precipitator Using Hybrid Finite Element - Flux Corrected Transport Technique

This thesis presents the results of a three-dimensional simulation of the entire precipitation process inside a single-electrode one-stage electrostatic precipitator (ESP). The model was designed to predict the motion of ions, gas and solid particles. The precipitator consists of two parallel grounded collecting plates with a corona electrode mounted at the center, parallel to the plates and excited with a high dc voltage. The complex mutual interaction between the three coexisting phenomena of electrostatic field, fluid dynamics and the particulate transport, which affect the ESP process, were taken into account in all the simulations. The electrostatic field and ionic space charge density due to corona discharge were computed by numerically solving Poisson and current continuity equations, using a hybrid Finite Element (FEM) - Flux Corrected Transport (FCT) method. The detailed numerical approach and simulation procedure is discussed and applied throughout the thesis. Calculations of the gas flow were carried out by solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations using the commercial FLUENT 6.2 software, which is based on the Finite Volume Method (FVM). The turbulence effect was included by using the k-ε model included in FLUENT. An additional source term was added to the gas flow equation to include the effect of the electric field, obtained by solving a coupled system of the electric field and charge transport equations, using the User-Defined-Function (UDF) feature of FLUENT. The particle phase was simulated using a Lagrangian-type Discrete Random Walk (DRW) model, where a large number of particles charged by combined field and diffusion charging mechanisms was traced with their motion affected by electrostatic and aerodynamic forces in turbulent flow using the Discrete Phase Model (DPM) and programming UDFs in FLUENT. The airflow patterns under the influence of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) secondary flow and external flows, particle charging and deposition along the channel, and ESP performance in removal of submicron particulates were compared for smooth and spiked discharge electrode configurations in the parallel plate precipitator assuming various particle concentrations at the inlet. Finally, a laboratory scale wire-cylinder ESP to collect conductive submicron diesel particles was modeled. The influence of different inlet gas velocities and excitation voltages on the particle migration velocity and precipitation performance were investigated. In some cases, the simulation results were compared with the existing experimental data published in literature

Maximum-Entropy Density Estimation for MRI Stochastic Surrogate Models

Stochastic spectral methods can generate accurate compact stochastic models for electromagnetic problems with material and geometric uncertainties. This letter presents an improved implementation of the maximum-entropy algorithm to compute the density function of an obtained generalized polynomial chaos expansion in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications. Instead of using statistical moments, we show that the expectations of some orthonormal polynomials can be better constraints for the optimization flow. The proposed algorithm is coupled with a finite element-boundary element method (FEM-BEM) domain decomposition field solver to obtain a robust computational prototyping for MRI problems with low- and high-dimensional uncertainties

Table_1_Protective effects of melatonin against the toxic effects of environmental pollutants and heavy metals on testicular tissue: A systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies.xlsx

BackgroundEnvironmental pollution and infertility are two modern global challenges that agonize personal and public health. The causal relationship between these two deserves scientific efforts to intervene. It is believed that melatonin maintains antioxidant properties and may be utilized to protect the testicular tissue from oxidant effects caused by toxic materials.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to identify the animal trial studies that evaluated melatonin therapy’s effects on rodents’ testicular tissue against oxidative stress caused by heavy metal and non-heavy metal environmental pollutants. Data were pooled, and standardized mean difference and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using the random-effect model. Also, the risk of bias was assessed using the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) tool. (PROSPERO: CRD42022369872)ResultsOut of 10039 records, 38 studies were eligible for the review, of which 31 were included in the meta-analysis. Most of them showed beneficial effects of melatonin therapy on testicular tissue histopathology. [20 toxic materials were evaluated in this review, including arsenic, lead, hexavalent chromium, cadmium, potassium dichromate, sodium fluoride, cigarette smoke, formaldehyde, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), 2-Bromopropane, bisphenol A, thioacetamide, bisphenol S, ochratoxin A, nicotine, diazinon, Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Chlorpyrifos (CPF), nonylphenol, and acetamiprid.] The pooled results showed that melatonin therapy increased sperm count, motility, viability and body and testicular weights, germinal epithelial height, Johnsen's biopsy score, epididymis weight, seminiferous tubular diameter, serum testosterone, and luteinizing hormone levels, testicular tissue Malondialdehyde, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione levels. On the other hand, abnormal sperm morphology, apoptotic index, and testicular tissue nitric oxide were lower in the melatonin therapy arms. The included studies presented a high risk of bias in most SYRCLE domains.ConclusionIn conclusion, our study demonstrated amelioration of testicular histopathological characteristics, reproductive hormonal panel, and tissue markers of oxidative stress. Melatonin deserves scientific attention as a potential therapeutic agent for male infertility.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO, identifier CRD42022369872.</p

Table_2_Protective effects of melatonin against the toxic effects of environmental pollutants and heavy metals on testicular tissue: A systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies.docx

BackgroundEnvironmental pollution and infertility are two modern global challenges that agonize personal and public health. The causal relationship between these two deserves scientific efforts to intervene. It is believed that melatonin maintains antioxidant properties and may be utilized to protect the testicular tissue from oxidant effects caused by toxic materials.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to identify the animal trial studies that evaluated melatonin therapy’s effects on rodents’ testicular tissue against oxidative stress caused by heavy metal and non-heavy metal environmental pollutants. Data were pooled, and standardized mean difference and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using the random-effect model. Also, the risk of bias was assessed using the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) tool. (PROSPERO: CRD42022369872)ResultsOut of 10039 records, 38 studies were eligible for the review, of which 31 were included in the meta-analysis. Most of them showed beneficial effects of melatonin therapy on testicular tissue histopathology. [20 toxic materials were evaluated in this review, including arsenic, lead, hexavalent chromium, cadmium, potassium dichromate, sodium fluoride, cigarette smoke, formaldehyde, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), 2-Bromopropane, bisphenol A, thioacetamide, bisphenol S, ochratoxin A, nicotine, diazinon, Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Chlorpyrifos (CPF), nonylphenol, and acetamiprid.] The pooled results showed that melatonin therapy increased sperm count, motility, viability and body and testicular weights, germinal epithelial height, Johnsen's biopsy score, epididymis weight, seminiferous tubular diameter, serum testosterone, and luteinizing hormone levels, testicular tissue Malondialdehyde, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione levels. On the other hand, abnormal sperm morphology, apoptotic index, and testicular tissue nitric oxide were lower in the melatonin therapy arms. The included studies presented a high risk of bias in most SYRCLE domains.ConclusionIn conclusion, our study demonstrated amelioration of testicular histopathological characteristics, reproductive hormonal panel, and tissue markers of oxidative stress. Melatonin deserves scientific attention as a potential therapeutic agent for male infertility.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO, identifier CRD42022369872.</p