Stability and energy budget of pressure-driven collapsible channel flows

Although self-excited oscillations in collapsible channel flows have been extensively studied, our understanding of their origins and mechanisms is still far from complete. In the present paper, we focus on the stability and energy budget of collapsible channel flows using a fluid–beam model with the pressure-driven (inlet pressure specified) condition, and highlight its differences to the flow-driven (i.e. inlet flow specified) system. The numerical finite element scheme used is a spine-based arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method, which is shown to satisfy the geometric conservation law exactly. We find that the stability structure for the pressure-driven system is not a cascade as in the flow-driven case, and the mode-2 instability is no longer the primary onset of the self-excited oscillations. Instead, mode-1 instability becomes the dominating unstable mode. The mode-2 neutral curve is found to be completely enclosed by the mode-1 neutral curve in the pressure drop and wall stiffness space; hence no purely mode-2 unstable solutions exist in the parameter space investigated. By analysing the energy budgets at the neutrally stable points, we can confirm that in the high-wall-tension region (on the upper branch of the mode-1 neutral curve), the stability mechanism is the same as proposed by Jensen and Heil. Namely, self-excited oscillations can grow by extracting kinetic energy from the mean flow, with exactly two-thirds of the net kinetic energy flux dissipated by the oscillations and the remainder balanced by increased dissipation in the mean flow. However, this mechanism cannot explain the energy budget for solutions along the lower branch of the mode-1 neutral curve where greater wall deformation occurs. Nor can it explain the energy budget for the mode-2 neutral oscillations, where the unsteady pressure drop is strongly influenced by the severely collapsed wall, with stronger Bernoulli effects and flow separations. It is clear that more work is required to understand the physical mechanisms operating in different regions of the parameter space, and for different boundary conditions

Self-affine Fractal Modelling of Aircraft Echoes from Low-resolution Radars

For complex targets, the non rigid vibration of an aircraft as well as its attitude changes and the rotation of its rotating parts will induce complex nonlinear modulation on its echo from low-resolution radars. If one performs the fractal analysis of measures on an aircraft echo, it may offer a fine description of the dynamic characteristics which induce the echo structure. On basis of introducing self-affine fractal theory, the paper models real recorded aircraft echo data from a low-resolution radar using the self-affine fractal representation, and investigates the application of echo self-affine fractal characteristics in aircraft target classification. Results analysis shows that aircraft echoes from low-resolution radars can be modelled by using the self-affine fractal method, and the self-affine fractal features can be effectively applied to target classification and recognition.

Numerical study on regular wave overtopping flows over sea dike

Based on the filtered Navier-Stokes equations and Smagorinsky turbulence model, a numerical wave flume is developed to investigate regular wave overtopping flow over trapezoidal smooth impermeable sea dike. Simulation of wave breaking is carried out to validate the numerical wave flume with wave generation and absorbing modules. With the in-house developed code, a series of test cases combined different crest heights and wave parameters are carried out. These results are compared with experimental results and numerical results available. The varying tendency of layer thickness and maximum velocity along dike crest is analyzed for both non-breaking and breaking regular waves. Then, the relationship between the magnitude of overtopping flow velocity and overtopping discharge is investigated

A fourth-order PDE denoising model with an adaptive relaxation method

In this paper, an adaptive relaxation method and a discontinuity treatment of edges are proposed to improve the digital image denoising process by using the fourth-order partial differential equation (known as the YK model) first proposed by You and Kaveh. Since the YK model would generate some speckles into the denoised image, a relaxation method is incorporated into the model to reduce the formation of isolated speckles. An additional improvement is employed to handle the discontinuity on the edges of the image. In order to stop the iteration automatically, a control of the iteration is integrated into the denoising process. Numerical results demonstrate that such modifications not only make the denoised image look more natural, but also achieve a higher value of PSNR

Preparación de sustitutos de grasa de leche humana y mejora de su estabilidad oxidativa

1,3-Dioleoyl-2-palmitoylglycerol (OPO) was synthesized by enzymatic interesterification using palm stearin rich in tripalmitin (PPP) and ethyl oleate. Enzymatic interesterification parameters such as temperature, water content, enzyme load, and substrate molar ratio were optimized. High contents of C52 (primarily OPO and its isomeric compounds) production (46.7%) and sn-2 palmitic acid (PA) content of 75.3% were detected. In addition, OPO-human milk fat substitute (HMFS) was blended with coconut, soybean, algal and microbial oils at a weight ratio of 0.70:0.18:0.11:0.004:0.007 to simulate fatty acids in human milk fat (HMF) according to the mathematical model. The main and important fatty acids in the Final-HMFS were within the ranges of those present in HMF. The Final-HMFS could promote the absorption of fats and minerals and the development of retina tissues in infants. The mixture of L-ascorbyl palmitate (L-AP) and vitamin E (VE) resulted in a synergistic antioxidant effect both in OPO-HMFS and OPO-HMFS emulsions. This finding has great significance in improving the quality and extending shelf-life of HMFS.Se sintetizó el 1,3-dioleoil-2-palmitoilglicerol (OPO), utilizando estearina de palma rica en tripalmitina (PPP) y oleato de etilo, mediante interesterificación enzimática. Se optimizaron los parámetros de la interesterificación enzimática, como la temperatura, el contenido de agua, la carga de enzimas y la relación molar del sustrato. Se lograron altos rendimientos de C52 (principalmente OPO y sus isómeros, 46,7%) y un contenido de ácido palmítico (PA) en sn-2 del 75,3%. Además, el sustituto graso de leche humana OPO (HMFS), se mezcló con aceites de coco, soja, algas y microbianos, en una proporción en peso de 0,70:0,18:0,11:0,004:0,007 para simular los ácidos grasos de la leche humana (HMF) de acuerdo con un modelo matemático. Los ácidos grasos principales e importantes en HMFS-Final estaban casi dentro de los rangos de los presentes en HMF. El HMFS-Final podría promover la absorción de grasas y minerales y el desarrollo de los tejidos de la retina en los bebés. La mezcla de palmitato de L-ascorbilo (L-AP) y vitamina E (VE) resultó tener un efecto antioxidante sinérgico, tanto en la emulsión OPO-HMFS como en la OPO-HMFS. Este hallazgo tiene una gran importancia para mejorar la calidad y prolongar la vida útil de HMFS

Effect of substituting guinea grass with sunflower hulls on production performance and digestion traits in fattening rabbits

[EN] The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of sunflower hulls (SH) to substitute guinea grass (GG), traditionally used as a fibre source in the diets of fattening rabbits, on production performance, coefficients of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) of nutrients, gastrointestinal tract development and caecal fermentation. A total of 160 mixed sex Hyla commercial meat rabbits were allocated to 4 experimental groups (40 per treatment) differing in the SH level inclusion in the diet offered to rabbits from 40 to 90 d of age: 0, 30, 60 and 90 g/kg on as-fed basis: SH0, SH30, SH60 and SH90 groups, respectively. Growth performance was recorded from 47 to 90 d of age, CTTAD of nutrients from 86 to 90 d of age, and gastrointestinal tract development, caecal fermentation and carcass traits were determined at 90 d of age. Increasing substitutions of SH in the diet indicated effects on growth performance, as higher feed intake and lower feed efficiency were observed in SH90 compared with SH0 (P-linear<0.05). Moreover, the higher SH substitution diet (SH60 and SH90) increased the relative caecum weight (P-linear<0.05). A linear negative effect of SH inclusion was observed for the digestibility of neutral detergent fibre (CTTAD from 0.294 to 0.232) and acid detergent fibre (CTTAD from 0.182 to 0.136; P-linear<0.05). Dietary SH substitution level had a quadratic effect on the villus height of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum obtained (P-quadratic<0.05), and the highest were observed in the SH60 group. There was a quadratic effect on the pH of caecum content (P-quadratic<0.05), and the lowest was 6.08 in SH30 group. The total volatil fatty acids increased linearly with increasing SH in diets (from 71.11 to 76.98 mmol/L; P-linear<0.05), and when dietary SH increased, the proportion of acetate tended to increase (P-linear<0.05), and the proportions of propionic and butyric were decreased (P-linear<0.05, respectively). Substitution of GG with SH had no effect on carcass characteristics and meat quality. The current work shows that SH can replace up to 60 g/kg in diets for fattening rabbits, with no adverse impact on aspects of production performance or digestion traits.This study was supported by the earmarked fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (CARS-43-B-1) and Funds of Shandong “Double Tops” Programme.Liu, G.; Sun, C.; Zhao, X.; Liu, H.; Wu, Z.; Li, F. (2018). Effect of substituting guinea grass with sunflower hulls on production performance and digestion traits in fattening rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 26(3):217-225. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2018.9375SWORD21722526

Understanding of hydrogel network formation and its application in the architecture of significantly enhanced hydrogel

An understanding of the physical hydrogel network formation has been obtained by dynamic rheological experiments. The evidence shows that the network formation turns out to be a nucleation-controlled process. It was found that there exists a critical temperature Tc; fiber branching is greatly enhanced when the network formation is performed in the regime of T&lt;Tc (T, the final setting temperature). This finding enables the authors to build significantly enhanced gel networks. So far G&prime; (elastic modulus) of the hydrogel network has been enhanced by 187% while the formation period can be greatly shortened to only 1/20 of the previous process.<br /

Propiedades antioxidantes de dos nuevos derivados lipofílicos del ácido gálico

The effectiveness of two lipophilic derivatives of the natural phenol, gallic acid (GA), synthesized using methyl gallate as starting material was investigated. The antioxidant activities of these novel phenolics compared to GA,&nbsp;tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) were evaluated in bulk oil, emulsion and the DPPH systems. The results showed that the new compounds effectively delayed lipid oxidation much better than GA and other antioxidants under Rancimat (100-140 °C) and emulsion tests. In the bulk oil system at 65 °C, they still behaved better than GA, but TBHQ had the highest activity. Thus, replacing the electron-withdrawing carboxylic group on GA by covalently linking sterically hindered phenols to its phenyl ring increased its lipophilicity and also resulted in synergistic effects which improved overall antioxidant activity through stabilization of the phenoxy radical. These new antioxidant variants satisfy industrial demands for bioactive ingredients with strong antioxidant potentials under different food processing conditions.Se aporta información sobre de la eficacia de dos derivados lipofílicos de fenoles naturales derivados del ácido gálico (GA) y sintetizados utilizando galato de metilo como material de partida. Las actividades antioxidantes de estos nuevos compuestos fenólicos en comparación con el GA, terc-butilhidroquinona (TBHQ) y butil hidroxitolueno (BHT) se evaluaron en aceites, sistemas emulsionados y mediante DPPH. Los resultados mostraron que los nuevos compuestos retrasaron efectivamente la oxidación de lípidos mucho más fuerte que el GA y otros antioxidantes mediante Rancimat (100-140 °C) y pruebas de emulsión. En el aceite a 65 °C, se comportaron mejor que el GA, pero el TBHQ tuvo la actividad más alta. Por lo tanto, reemplazar el grupo carboxílico en GA al unir covalentemente fenoles impedidos estéricamente a su anillo de fenilo ayudó a aumentar su lipofilia y también dio como resultado efectos sinérgicos que mejoraron la actividad antioxidante general a través de la estabilización del radical fenoxi. Estas nuevas variantes de antioxidantes satisfacen la demanda industrial de ingredientes bioactivos con un fuerte potencial antioxidante en diferentes condiciones de procesamiento de alimentos

Wild silkworm cocoon as a natural tough biological composite structure

Silk cocoons are biological composites with intriguing characteristics that have evolved through a long natural selection process. Knowledge of structure-property-function relationship of multilayered composite silk cocoon shells gives insight into the design of next-generation protection materials. The current investigation studied the composite structure and mechanical performance of a wild silkworm cocoon (Chinese tussah silkworm cocoon, Antheraea pernyi) in comparison with the domestic counterpart (Mulberry silkworm cocoon, Bombyx mori). 180&ordm; peel and tensile tests were performed on the cocoon walls to understand both their interlaminar and in-plane mechanical properties. The fracture surfaces were investigated under SEM. The wild cocoon showed substantially higher toughness over the domestic cocoon, which explains their unique capability to tackle severe environmental adversaries

Application of the two-step Lax and Wendroff FCT and the CE-SE method to flow transport in wall-flow monoliths

[EN] Gas dynamic codes are computational tools applied to the analysis of air management in internal combustion engines. The governing equations in one-dimensional elements are approached assuming compressible unsteady non-homentropic flow and are commonly solved applying finite difference numerical methods. These techniques can also be applied to the calculation of flow transport in complex systems such as wallflow monoliths. These elements are characterized by alternatively plugged channels with porous walls. It filters the particulates when the flowgoes through thewall from the inlet to the outlet channels. Therefore, this process couples the solution of every pair of inlet and outlet channels. In this study, the adaptation of the two-step Lax and Wendroff method and the space-time Conservation Element and Solution Element method is performed to be applied in the solution of flow transport in wall-flow monolith channels. The influence on the prediction ability is analysed by a shock-tube test and experimental data obtained under impulsive flow conditions.This work has been partially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion through grant number DPI2010-20891-C02-02.Serrano, JR.; Arnau Martínez, FJ.; Piqueras, P.; García Afonso, Ó. (2014). Application of the two-step Lax and Wendroff FCT and the CE-SE method to flow transport in wall-flow monoliths. International Journal of Computer Mathematics. 91(1):71-84. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207160.2013.783206S718491