Modeling and dynamic simulation of mixed feed multi-effect evaporators in paper industry

A wide range of mathematical models for multiple effect evaporators in process industry including paper industry are well reported in the literature but not so extensive work on the dynamic behavior of MEE system is available in the literature. In the present study dynamic behavior of multi-effect evaporator system of a paper industry is obtained by disturbing the feed flow rate, feed concentration, live steam temperature and feed temperature. For this purpose an unsteady-state model for the multi-effect evaporator system is developed. Each effect in the process is represented by a number of variables which are related by the energy and material balance equations for the feed, product and vapor flow. A generalized mathematical model which could be applied to any number of effects and all kinds of feeding arrangements like forward feed, backward feed, mixed feed and spilt feed in the MEE system with simple modifications was finally obtained. Finally model for mixed feed sextuple effect falling film evaporators system was solved using MATLAB. For the steady state and dynamic simulation the ‘fsolve’ and ‘ode45’ solvers in MATLAB source code is used respectively.     

Growth mechanism and optical property of CdS nanoparticles synthesized using amino-acid histidine as chelating agent under sonochemical process

Using amino-acid histidine as chelating agent, CdS nanoparticles have been synthesized by sonochemical method. It is found that by varying the ultrasonic irradiation time, we can tune the band gap and particle size of CdS nanoparticles. The imidazole ring of histidine captures the Cd ions from the solution, and prevents the growth of the CdS nanoparticles. The deviation in the linear relation in between cube of radius of nanoparticles and ultrasonic irradiation time confirms the growth of CdS nanoparticles occur via two process; one is the diffusion process of the reactants as well as reaction at the surface of the crystallite. CdS nanoparticles synthesized using histidine as organic chelating agent have band edge emission at 481 nm and have greater photoluminescence intensity with blue-shift to higher energy due to typical quantum confinement effect.     

Betterment in EDXRF analytical results for compositional characterization of mixed uranium thorium oxide samples with bead specimens compared with pressed pellet specimens

A comparative study on the energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence analytical results of uranium determinations, in uranium and uranium–thorium mixed oxides, using specimens in the form of fused beads and pressed pellets, has been made. It was observed that in case of fusion bead specimens, the intensity of the analyte lines was approximately 1.6 times of that observed in pellet specimens under identical instrumental conditions. In case of uranium oxide samples, the analytical results with bead specimens were slightly better compared with the pellet specimens. However, in case of the uranium–thorium oxide mixtures, the average precision obtained with bead specimen was significantly better (1%, 1 s) in comparison with that achieved using pellet specimens (7%, 1 s). This difference may be due to the hardness of thorium oxide compared with uranium oxide, which affects the homogeneity of the pellet specimens prepared. In fusion bead method of sample preparation, even highly refractory material like ThO₂ forms uniform glass beads. Addition of internal standard further improves the analytical results, with reduction in the percent deviation of energy dispersive X‐ray fluorescence results from the expected values to 3% from 7% compared with that obtained using without internal standard. The fusion bead method of sample preparation will be very useful for characterization of sintered (U,Th)O₂ pellets, which are highly refractory and difficult to dissolve. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reconstructing the vibro-acoustic quantities on a highly non-spherical surface using the Helmholtz equation least squares method

This paper presents helpful guidelines and strategies for reconstructing the vibro-acoustic quantities on a highly non-spherical surface by using the Helmholtz equation least squares (HELS). This study highlights that a computationally simple code based on the spherical wave functions can produce an accurate reconstruction of the acoustic pressure and normal surface velocity on planar surfaces. The key is to select the optimal origin of the coordinate system behind the planar surface, choose a target structural wavelength to be reconstructed, set an appropriate stand-off distance and microphone spacing, use a hybrid regularization scheme to determine the optimal number of the expansion functions, etc. The reconstructed vibro-acoustic quantities are validated rigorously via experiments by comparing the reconstructed normal surface velocity spectra and distributions with the benchmark data obtained by scanning a laser vibrometer over the plate surface. Results confirm that following the proposed guidelines and strategies can ensure the accuracy in reconstructing the normal surface velocity up to the target structural wavelength, and produce much more satisfactory results than a straight application of the original HELS formulations. Experiment validations on a baffled, square plate were conducted inside a fully anechoic chamber.     

Response of thermal source in a transversely isotropic thermoelastic half-space with mass diffusion by finite element method

The two-dimensional problem of generalized thermoelastic diffusion material with thermal and diffusion relaxation times is investigated in the context of Lord-Shulman theory. As an application of the problem, a particular type of thermal source is considered and the problem is solved numerically by using a finite element method. The components of displacement, stress, temperature distribution, chemical potential, and mass concentration are obtained. The resulting quantities are depicted graphically for a special model. Appreciable effect of relaxation times is observed on various resulting quantities.     

Flexible conducting polymer transistors with supercapacitor function

Planar organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) using PEDOT:PSS as the channel material and nanostructured carbon (nsC) as the gate electrode material and poly(sodium 4‐styrenesulfonate (PSSNa) gel as the electrolyte were fabricated on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (Mylar^®) substrates. The nsC was deposited at room‐temperature by supersonic cluster beam deposition (SCBD). Interestingly, the OECT acts as a hybrid supercapacitor (to give a device that we indicate as transcap). The energy storage ability of transcaps has been studied with two cell configurations: one featuring PEDOT:PSS as the positive electrode and nsC as the negative electrode and another configuration with reversed electrode polarity. Potentiostatic charge/discharge studies show that both supercapacitors show good performance in terms of voltage retention, in particular, when PEDOT:PSS is used as the positive electrode. Galvanostatic charge–discharge characteristics show typical symmetric triangular shape, indicating a nearly ideal capacitive behavior with a high columbic efficiency (close to 100%). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 96–103     

Dual-path handheld system for cornea and retina imaging using optical coherence tomography

Optical Review - A dual-path handheld system is proposed for cornea and retina imaging using spectral domain optical coherence tomography. The handheld sample arm is designed to acquire two images...