Development of low cost tubular furnaces for Research & Development Laboratories

2017 ◽  
pp. 136-149
Author(s):  
GGD Costa ◽  
GR Solinger ◽  
MM Silva ◽  
RP Gracioli ◽  
FP Fernandes

In order to contribute with the most diverse research and development laboratories in its experiments, this paper presents the development methods for the construction of electric furnaces able to operate at temperatures up to 1200oC, with high thermal inertia and low cost. Research and development laboratories in Latin America face many difficulties in maintaining their experiments, especially those related to the synthesis of materials. However, many labs do not have the philosophical tradition of building their own research equipment, depending on whether importing or buying expensive equipment. In this article, we demonstrate the possibility of developing furnaces with good thermal homogeneity using low cost materials found throughout Latin America. Finally, we describe the construction methods and the materials used in the construction of two different furnaces operating at temperatures up to 400oC and 1200oC, presenting very good thermal inertia and homogeneity. With an operational temperature up to 1200 oC, both furnaces have thermal inertia and homogeneity.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-70
Author(s):  
Ruaa Elnaeem ◽  
Mohammed Taglsir

Three-dimensional (3D) Printing is an advanced manufacturing process that has been applied to many fields. Recently, the 3D Concrete Printing (3DCP) has been employed for construction due to its ability to produce complex shapes easily, with less human intervention and with minimum material wastage. However, there are challenging issues regarding the cost of construction and the components of concrete mixture which are not fully explored. The aim of this paper is to review the 3DCP technology and investigate the possibility of applying it in Sudan, specifically for low-cost housing. In order to meet this aim, a comprehensive review has been done to study the projects implemented worldwide using 3DCP technique. Then, some concrete mixtures have been reviewed analyze the amount of materials used in each mix. The necessary tests to ensure the, workability, Extrudability and buildability have also been specified. Then the 3DCP technique has been compared with three common construction methods in Sudan for low-cost housing those were 40 square meters area in plan. These methods are the cement blocks, the Ferrocement and the graded sand mixture.. The comparison has been made in terms of construction cost, construction duration and the man-force required. The results have shown that the 3DCP model needed the least number of construction days. However, it was the highest in terms of the cost and the second best in terms of the used labors. It has been concluded that applying 3DCP technology in Sudan is possible and could be effective in the low-cost housing projects.  


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guglielmina Mutani ◽  
Cristina Azzolino ◽  
Maurizio Macrì ◽  
Stefania Mancuso

Some straw buildings, which combine eco-sustainability with versatility, low cost, and fast construction times, have recently been built in Northern Italy. In this work, the technologies used to build straw houses are presented, and the characteristics of the raw materials, the straw bales, and the construction techniques are dealt with. Two straw buildings, which have different characteristics and types of application, are analyzed. The first building is a residential, nearly zero-energy building, which was built in Saluggia (Vercelli) in 2012. This house is presently inhabited by a family and is heated with a wood stove. The second building was built in 2014 in Verres (Aosta) and is a pre-assembled demonstration prototype used for teaching purposes. The thermal performance of the straw envelopes was evaluated during the heating season by measuring the thermal conductance of the straw walls through two experimental campaigns. Straw bale walls offer good insulating performance, as well as high thermal inertia, and can be used in green buildings since straw is derived from agricultural waste, does not require an industrial process, and is degradable. Finally, these characteristics of straw can be combined with its low cost. Local economic development in this field may be possible.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 2991
Author(s):  
Díez-Jiménez ◽  
Alcover-Sánchez ◽  
Pereira ◽  
García ◽  
Vián

This paper proposes a novel cryogenic fluid cold plate designed for the testing of cryogenic space components. The cold plate is able to achieve cryogenic temperature operation down to −196 °C with a low liquid nitrogen (LN2) consumption. A good tradeoff between high rigidity and low thermal conduction is achieved thanks to a hexapod configuration, which is formed by six hinge–axle–hole articulations in which each linking rod bears only axial loads. Thus, there is not any stress concentration, which reduces the diameter of rod sections and reduces the rods’ thermal conduction. This novel design has a unique set of the following properties: Simple construction, low thermal conduction, high thermal inertia, lack of vibrational noise when cooling, isostatic structural behavior, high natural frequency response, adjustable position, vacuum-suitability, reliability, and non-magnetic. Additionally, the presented cold plate design is low-cost and can be easily replicated. Experimental tests showed that a temperature of at least −190 °C can be reached on the top surface of the cold plate with an LN2 consumption of 10 liters and a minimum vibration frequency of 115 Hz, which is high enough for most vibration tests of space components.


Author(s):  
J.R. Caradus ◽  
D.A. Clark

The New Zealand dairy industry recognises that to remain competitive it must continue to invest in research and development. Outcomes from research have ensured year-round provision of low-cost feed from pasture while improving productivity. Some of these advances, discussed in this paper, include the use of white clover in pasture, understanding the impacts of grass endophyte, improved dairy cow nutrition, the use of alternative forage species and nitrogen fertiliser to improve productivity, demonstration of the impact of days-in-milk on profitability, and the use of feed budgeting and appropriate pasture management. Keywords: dairy, profitability, research and development


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 700-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Jian ◽  
David Hui ◽  
Denvid Lau

AbstractRecent advances in biomedicine largely rely on the development in nanoengineering. As the access to unique properties in biomaterials is not readily available from traditional techniques, the nanoengineering becomes an effective approach for research and development, by which the performance as well as the functionalities of biomaterials has been greatly improved and enriched. This review focuses on the main materials used in biomedicine, including metallic materials, polymers, and nanocomposites, as well as the major applications of nanoengineering in developing biomedical treatments and techniques. Research that provides an in-depth understanding of material properties and efficient enhancement of material performance using molecular dynamics simulations from the nanoengineering perspective are discussed. The advanced techniques which facilitate nanoengineering in biomedical applications are also presented to inspire further improvement in the future. Furthermore, the potential challenges of nanoengineering in biomedicine are evaluated by summarizing concerned issues and possible solutions.


Aerospace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Alejandro Sobron ◽  
David Lundström ◽  
Petter Krus

Testing of untethered subscale models, often referred to as subscale flight testing, has traditionally had a relatively minor, yet relevant use in aeronautical research and development. As recent advances in electronics, rapid prototyping and unmanned-vehicle technologies expand its capabilities and lower its cost, this experimental method is seeing growing interest across academia and the industry. However, subscale models cannot meet all similarity conditions required for simulating full-scale flight. This leads to a variety of approaches to scaling and to other alternative applications. Through a literature review and analysis of different scaling strategies, this study presents an overall picture of how subscale flight testing has been used in recent years and synthesises its main issues and practical limitations. Results show that, while the estimation of full-scale characteristics is still an interesting application within certain flight conditions, subscale models are progressively taking a broader role as low-cost technology-testing platforms with relaxed similarity constraints. Different approaches to tackle the identified practical challenges, implemented both by the authors and by other organisations, are discussed and evaluated through flight experiments.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2091
Author(s):  
Angela Spoială ◽  
Cornelia-Ioana Ilie ◽  
Denisa Ficai ◽  
Anton Ficai ◽  
Ecaterina Andronescu

During the past few years, researchers have focused their attention on developing innovative nanocomposite polymeric membranes with applications in water purification. Natural and synthetic polymers were considered, and it was proven that chitosan-based materials presented important features. This review presents an overview regarding diverse materials used in developing innovative chitosan-based nanocomposite polymeric membranes for water purification. The first part of the review presents a detailed introduction about chitosan, highlighting the fact that is a biocompatible, biodegradable, low-cost, nontoxic biopolymer, having unique structure and interesting properties, and also antibacterial and antioxidant activities, reasons for using it in water treatment applications. To use chitosan-based materials for developing nanocomposite polymeric membranes for wastewater purification applications must enhance their performance by using different materials. In the second part of the review, the performance’s features will be presented as a consequence of adding different nanoparticles, also showing the effect that those nanoparticles could bring on other polymeric membranes. Among these features, pollutant’s retention and enhancing thermo-mechanical properties will be mentioned. The focus of the third section of the review will illustrate chitosan-based nanocomposite as polymeric membranes for water purification. Over the last few years, researchers have demonstrated that adsorbent nanocomposite polymeric membranes are powerful, important, and potential instruments in separation or removal of pollutants, such as heavy metals, dyes, and other toxic compounds presented in water systems. Lastly, we conclude this review with a summary of the most important applications of chitosan-based nanocomposite polymeric membranes and their perspectives in water purification.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef S. Herzog ◽  
Yanin Chavarri-Guerra ◽  
Danielle Castillo ◽  
Julio Abugattas ◽  
Cynthia Villarreal-Garza ◽  
...  

AbstractThe prevalence and contribution of BRCA1/2 (BRCA) pathogenic variants (PVs) to the cancer burden in Latin America are not well understood. This study aims to address this disparity. BRCA analyses were performed on prospectively enrolled Latin American Clinical Cancer Genomics Community Research Network participants via a combination of methods: a Hispanic Mutation Panel (HISPANEL) on MassARRAY; semiconductor sequencing; and copy number variant (CNV) detection. BRCA PV probability was calculated using BRCAPRO. Among 1,627 participants (95.2% with cancer), we detected 236 (14.5%) BRCA PVs; 160 BRCA1 (31% CNVs); 76 BRCA2 PV frequency varied by country: 26% Brazil, 9% Colombia, 13% Peru, and 17% Mexico. Recurrent PVs (seen ≥3 times), some region-specific, represented 42.8% (101/236) of PVs. There was no ClinVar entry for 14% (17/125) of unique PVs, and 57% (111/196) of unique VUS. The area under the ROC curve for BRCAPRO was 0.76. In summary, we implemented a low-cost BRCA testing strategy and documented a significant burden of non-ClinVar reported BRCA PVs among Latin Americans. There are recurrent, population-specific PVs and CNVs, and we note that the BRCAPRO mutation probability model performs adequately. This study helps address the gap in our understanding of BRCA-associated cancer in Latin America.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Le Quynh Hoa ◽  
Ralph Bäßler ◽  
Dirk Bettge ◽  
Enrico Buggisch ◽  
Bernadette Nicole Schiller ◽  
...  

For reliability and safety issues of injection wells, corrosion resistance of materials used needs to be determined. Herein, representative low-cost materials, including carbon steel X70/1.8977 and low alloyed steel 1.7225, were embedded in mortar to mimic the realistic casing-mortar interface. Two types of cement were investigated: (1) Dyckerhoff Variodur commercial Portland cement, representing a highly acidic resistant cement and (2) Wollastonite, which can react with CO2 and become stable under a CO2 stream due to the carbonation process. Exposure tests were performed under 10 MPa and at 333 K in artificial aquifer fluid for up to 20 weeks, revealing crevice corrosion and uniform corrosion instead of expected pitting corrosion. To clarify the role of cement, simulated pore water was made by dispersing cement powder in aquifer fluid and used as a solution to expose steels. Surface analysis, accompanied by element mapping on exposed specimens and their cross-sections, was carried out to trace the chloride intrusion and corrosion process that followed.


Author(s):  
Weiyan Chen ◽  
Fusang Zhang ◽  
Tao Gu ◽  
Kexing Zhou ◽  
Zixuan Huo ◽  
...  

Floor plan construction has been one of the key techniques in many important applications such as indoor navigation, location-based services, and emergency rescue. Existing floor plan construction methods require expensive dedicated hardware (e.g., Lidar or depth camera), and may not work in low-visibility environments (e.g., smoke, fog or dust). In this paper, we develop a low-cost Ultra Wideband (UWB)-based system (named UWBMap) that is mounted on a mobile robot platform to construct floor plan through smoke. UWBMap leverages on low-cost and off-the-shelf UWB radar, and it is able to construct an indoor map with an accuracy comparable to Lidar (i.e., the state-of-the-art). The underpinning technique is to take advantage of the mobility of radar to form virtual antennas and gather spatial information of a target. UWBMap also eliminates both robot motion noise and environmental noise to enhance weak reflection from small objects for the robust construction process. In addition, we overcome the limited view of single radar by combining multi-view from multiple radars. Extensive experiments in different indoor environments show that UWBMap achieves a map construction with a median error of 11 cm and a 90-percentile error of 26 cm, and it operates effectively in indoor scenarios with glass wall and dense smoke.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document