scholarly journals Thermal Conduction Simulation Based on Reconstructed Digital Rocks with Respect to Fractures

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 2768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang ◽  
Zhang ◽  
Liu ◽  
Wen ◽  
Yang ◽  
...  

Effective thermal conductivity (ETC), as a necessary parameter in the thermal properties of rock, is affected by the pore structure and the thermal conduction conditions. To evaluate the effect of fractures and saturated fluids on sandstone’s thermal conductivity, we simulated thermal conduction along three orthogonal (X, Y, and Z) directions under air- and water-saturated conditions on reconstructed digital rocks with different fractures. The results show that the temperature distribution is separated by the fracture. The significant difference between the thermal conductivities of solid and fluid is the primary factor influencing the temperature distribution, and the thermal conduction mainly depends on the solid phase. A nonlinear reduction of ETC is observed with increasing fracture length and angle. Only when the values of the fracture length and angle are large, a negative effect of fracture aperture on the ETC is apparent. Based on the partial least squares (PLS) regression method, the fluid thermal conductivity shows the greatest positive influence on the ETC value. The fracture length and angle are two other factors significantly influencing the ETC, while the impact of fracture aperture may be ignored. We obtained a predictive equation of ETC which considers the related parameters of digital rocks, including the fracture length, fracture aperture, angle between the fracture and the heat flux direction, porosity, and the thermal conductivity of saturated fluid.

Author(s):  
Abdelkader Derbali

The aim of this paper is not only to determine and compare the nature of capital structure but also its effect on company performance of engineering industry of USA and Bangladesh. We utilize a panel data methodology based on a sample of 34 listed engineering companies of Bangladesh on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and a mixture of 34 (small, medium and large) engineering companies listed in NASDAQ in USA during the period of study from 2012 to 2019. Our empirical results indicate that the capital structure of engineering industry of USA and that of Bangladesh is different. Also, we demonstrate that capital structure has negative effect on company profitability of engineering industry of USA. Capital structure presents a negative effect on Earning per Share and Return on Assets (ROA) and positive influence on Return on Equity (ROE) and Tobin’s Q of engineering industry of Bangladesh. We conclude that the impact of capital structure on company’s profitability by only one sector and then compare the findings to know the real picture of the link. Investors, auditors, analysts and practitioners should consider many factors to examine the banking performance. Our results from this study may relate to Asian countries with similarities in engineering industry to that in Bangladesh.


2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fátima Luciana Miranda CAMAROTTI ◽  
Valdir Luna da SILVA ◽  
Maria Adélia Borstelmann de OLIVEIRA

The squirrel monkey Saimiri sciureus, an endemic primate of the Amazonian Basin, has been introduced in many localities of the Atlantic Forest biome. Introduced exotic species gain a competitive advantage in their new environment because of a lack of natural predators, competitors or diseases. This advantage can result in a reduction in the resources for the endemic species. The aims of this work were to evaluate the level of adaptation, and monitor the forms of interaction and the impact caused by S. sciureus on the behavior of the native species Callithrix jacchus in the Saltinho Biological Reserve, Tamandaré, Pernambuco, Brazil. The behavior was assessed by use of scan sampling method, every 5 min. A total of 382 h (191 h or 2,292 scans per group) of time sampling was performed. Sixteen interactions were recorded. The interaction index was low and represented 2.4% of the total observation time. Interactions were significantly higher during the dry season (58.5%) relative to the rainy season (41.5%). Callithrix jacchus was intolerant to the presence of S. sciureus and the last one was more tolerant during the interactions. In the presence of S. sciureus, C. jacchus eating, foraging, resting, socializing, and self-grooming behaviors were reduced while alertness was increased. Territorial behavior showed no significant difference. In the presence of S. sciureus, on average, the group of marmosets assembled at a higher layer of the forest stratum. The results might indicate a negative effect of S. sciureus on the native species, C. jacchus.


Author(s):  
A. Narain ◽  
J. H. Potgieter ◽  
G. E. Rencken ◽  
J. Smith

SYNOPSIS To conserve fresh water resources and comply with environmental regulations, DRDGOLD, a South African gold producer re-treating surface tailings, has transitioned to a fully closed water circulation system. Consequently, the accumulation of contaminants, as well as addition of reagents, has led to changes in water composition that have compromised leach performance and overall gold recovery. A two-sample t-test confirmed a significant difference in gold recoveries between the use of Rand Water, which was used as a benchmark, and untreated process water. Atomic absorption analysis of ERGO's process water, confirmed the presence of iron, nickel, zinc, and manganese. A study of the effect of the identified contaminants on gold recovery showed that iron, nickel, and zinc have the largest negative effect on gold recovery, with iron and nickel being more detrimental than zinc. Sulphates were shown to have a possible passivation effect, which also influenced gold recoveries, although to a lesser extent than the heavy metals. Calcium, when present in excess, had a positive influence on gold recovery indicating the possible formation of a calcium aurocyanide complex. Lime softening successfully reduced the heavy metal and sulphate concentrations, and the gold recoveries obtained with the treated process water were similar to those as achieved with Rand Water. Keywords: gold tailings, re-processing, water quality, gold recovery.


Metals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1752
Author(s):  
Asmaa A. El-Tawil ◽  
Bo Björkman ◽  
Maria Lundgren ◽  
Astrid Robles ◽  
Lena Sundqvist Ökvist

Coke corresponds to 2/3–3/4 of the reducing agents in BF, and by the partial replacement of coking coals with 5–10% of bio-coal, the fossil CO2 emissions from the BF can be lowered by ~4–8%. Coking coal blends with 5% and 10% additions of bio-coals (pre-treated biomass) of different origins and pre-treatment degrees were carbonized at laboratory scale and with a 5% bio-coal addition at technical scale, aiming to understand the impact on the bio-coal properties (ash amount and composition, volatile matter content) and the addition of bio-coke reactivity. A thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) connected to a quadrupole mass spectroscope monitored the residual mass and off-gases during carbonization. To explore the effect of bio-coal addition on plasticity, optical dilatometer tests were conducted for coking coal blends with 5% and 10% bio-coal addition. The plasticity was lowered with increasing bio-coal addition, but pyrolyzed biomass had a less negative effect on the plasticity compared to torrefied biomasses with a high content of oxygen. The temperature for starting the gasification of coke was in general lowered to a greater extent for bio-cokes produced from coking coal blends containing bio-coals with higher contents of catalyzing oxides. There was no significant difference in the properties of laboratory and technical scale produced coke, in terms of reactivity as measured by TGA. Bio-coke produced with 5% of high temperature torrefied pelletized biomass showed a similar coke strength as reference coke after reaction.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Cappa ◽  
Federica Rosso ◽  
Darren Hayes

Crowdsourcing of inventive activities is a particular form of crowdsourcing that helps firms to innovate by involving dispersed individuals to exploit “crowd wisdom”. In this context, the greater the number of contributions, the greater the possibility to gather extremely valuable ideas to produce innovative products and services. While monetary and social rewards can be an effective means to boost contributors’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivations to contribute, a theoretical understanding and empirical evidence of their effects are lacking. This paper focused on the crowdsourcing of inventive activities, initiated by listed companies worldwide, from 2007 to 2014. Our findings shed light on the influence of monetary and social rewards on the number of ideas collected. In particular, we analyzed the impact on the number of contributions brought about by monetary rewards and noted a positive influence related to its presence and also a negative effect related to the amount of the compensation. Moreover, we have demonstrated how the presence of a social cause is beneficial to the number of contributions. Consequently, we contribute to a scholarly understanding of the crowdsourcing phenomenon and we have provided guidance to managers seeking to initiate crowdsourcing campaigns.


Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (13) ◽  
pp. 1576
Author(s):  
Hanyang Luo ◽  
Sijia Cheng ◽  
Wanhua Zhou ◽  
Sumin Yu ◽  
Xudong Lin

Live-stream shopping is developing rapidly, but the sales levels of live streaming products vary by different hosts. How to increase the sales volume of live streaming products has become a problem. Consumers’ purchase behavior in live streaming is determined by some subjective factors, and the persuasiveness of linguistic style affects this subjective judgment to a certain extent. Therefore, the persuasiveness of the hosts’ linguistic style will lead to changes in consumers’ purchase intentions, which will affect the sales volume of products sold in the live streaming. Based on Hovland’s persuasion model, Aristotle’s rhetoric skills, text analysis, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic extraction model and grounded theory, this study divides the host’s linguistic persuasive style in the social e-commerce environment into five types: appealing to personality, appealing to logic, appealing to emotion, appealing to reward, and appealing to exaggeration. Combined with the sales volume of the product, we establish a regression model, and obtain the influence results of the host’s various linguistic persuasive styles on the sales of live streaming products. The results show that: the linguistic persuasive style of appealing to personality has the greatest positive impact on the sales volume of live broadcast products, but the linguistic style of appealing to logic has a negative impact. Interestingly, the same linguistic style has different effects for different types of products: the linguistic style of appealing to exaggeration has a negative effect on the sales volume of apparel products, but it has a positive influence on the sales volume of digital electrical products. Therefore, different linguistic styles should be used for different product types.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 202-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hawraa Khalid Aziz

Background: The criteria of conventional curing of polymethyl methacrylate do not match the standard properties of the denture base materials. Objectives: This research was conducted to investigate the addition of TiO2 nano practical on impact strength, thermal conductivity and color stability of acrylic resin cured by microwave in comparison to the conventional cured of heat-polymerized acrylic resin. Materials and Methods: 120 specimens made of high impact acrylic resin were divided into two main groups according to the type of curing (water bath, microwave), then each group was subdivided into two groups according to the addition of 3% TiO2 nano-fillers and control group (without the addition of TiO2 0%). Each group was subdivided according to the type of test into 3 groups with 10 specimens for each group. Data were statistically analyzed using Student t-test to detect the significant differences between tested and control groups at significance level (P<0.05). Results: According to curing type methods, the results showed that there was a significant decrease in impact strength of microwaved cured resin, but there was no significant difference in the thermal conductivity and color stability of resin. In addition, by using nanofiller, there was a significant increase in the impact strength and color stability with the addition of 3% TiO2 nanofillers, but no significant difference was found in the thermal conductivity of the acrylic resin. Conclusion: The microwave curing of acrylic resin had no change in the color stability and thermal conductivity in comparison to the water bath, but the impact strength was decreased. The addition of 3% TiO2 improved the impact and the color stability, but the thermal conductivity did not change.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hirak Dasgupta ◽  
Sanjay Krishnapratap Pawar

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to test a model on pro-sustainability orientation (PSO) among the students and comparison of the levels of PSO among the first-year and the second-year MBA/PGDM students studying in Indian higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approachThe study comprised of quantitative analysis of PSO through a questionnaire that was distributed among MBA/PGDM students of four prominent higher education institutions in the state of Maharashtra. A total of 425 students responded to the survey. The items of this instrument included actions such as reuse, recycling, energy, conservation and so on. Likert scale was used to measure the dimensions and structural equation modelling was applied to test the PSO model.FindingsThe study revealed significant difference in the PSO among male and female students with respect to equity dimension and significant differences among the first- and second-year MBA students with respect to pro-environmental deliberations. A significant difference was found among the four institutions with respect to the pro-environmental deliberations, altruistic behaviour and affinity towards diversity. The study showed positive influence of PSO over SB. The study revealed that the students enrolled in MBA/PGDM showed positive attitude towards SD and the environment.Practical implicationsThere has been a dearth of studies conducted on PSO of students enrolled in Indian higher education. This study is an attempt to show the impact of the Indian higher education on the pro-sustainable lifestyles among the students of MBA/PGDM that can provide valuable insights for the millennials of the emerging economies.Originality/valueThis study is an attempt to depict the role played by the Indian higher education institutions in the development of PSO among the students of MBA/PGDM. In order to promote sustainable development within one’s society, one needs to educate future leaders about the importance of sustainability.


Author(s):  
Rebecca Butler ◽  
Zoe Pruitt ◽  
Eva Wiese

As social robots are increasingly introduced into our everyday lives, an emphasis on improving the human-robot interaction (HRI), particularly through increased mind perception, is necessary. Substantial research has been conducted that demonstrates how manipulations to a robot’s physical appearance or behavior increases mind perception, yet little has been done to examine the effects of the social environment. This study aims to identify the impact of social context on mind perception by comparing mind perception ratings assigned to robots viewed in a human context with those assigned to robots viewed in a robot context. Participants were assigned to one of the two contexts in which they viewed images of 5 control robots with either 15 humans or 15 robots and answered questions that measured the degree to which they ascribed mind to the agents. A t-test comparing the overall average mind ratings of the control robots between contexts showed a significant difference between the two, with the robots in the robot context having a higher average rating than those in the human context. This result demonstrates a need to consider the social context in which the HRI will take place when designing for the best interaction. Considering that most robots in the foreseeable future will be viewed in a human context, this result also calls for additional research on ways to further increase mind perception to combat the negative effect of the most likely social environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Ham

Numerous criticisms as well as the conspicuous number of unfair manufacturing practices in the past have led to a significant scepticism and distrust by consumers. This deeply rooted distrust, scepticism, and disinterest in some consumers, can be encompassed by the notion of green cynicism. Green cynicism significantly interferes with and disturbs all activities and efforts from the domain of sustainable marketing, given that due to the extreme distrust, it is much harder or even impossible to place the product or maintain sustainable a business entity. This leads to an aggravated acceptance of Oeconomica Jadertina 1/2019. 45 these products by consumers and slower adoption of sustainable marketing strategies by economic operators, which is undoubtedly a socially undesirable phenomenon. For this reason, it is of great importance to study and understand the factors that influence this form of cynicism and how it affects certain behaviours. This paper aims to propose and explain the concept of green cynicism and explore some of its possible dimensions and verify their impact on the intention to buy organic food products. The survey was conducted on a sample of 411 respondents from eastern Croatia representing persons who purchase most household goods. The results based on the regression analysis have shown that the strongest negative effect on intentional purchases of ecological food products is attributed to the disinterest expressed as a lack of time to contemplate these issues at all. The distrust towards the organic food products or labels that distinguish them from conventional products achieves also a significant negative impact. In this research, the impact of scepticism on the issue of the environment did not prove to be significant, which could be a consequence of the fact that it concerns a significant difference in the width of the variable range.


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