Durability of Bamboo Bio-Concretes Exposed to Natural Aging

In recent years, several studies on the durability of cementitious materials combined with vegetable fibers have been developed. In order to understand the properties of these materials in different environmental conditions, they can be subjected to accelerated aging through several cycles of controlled variations of humidity-temperature, wetting-drying, freezing-thawing. However, analyzes that expose such materials to real conditions of use during their useful life are scarce. As a result, this study analyzed the physical, thermal and mechanical behavior of bamboo bio-concretes produced with different volumes of bio-aggregates, which were exposed to the natural aging of the summer in the city of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The cementitious binder was is composed, by mass, of cement (30%), metakaolin (30%) and fly ash (40%). The water-to-cement ratio was as 0.30. The mixtures were produced with bamboo volumetric fraction of 30%; 40% and 50%. After 3 months of natural aging during the Brazilian summer (from December to March), the property determined in the hardened state was the compressive strength. In addition, a visual analysis by photograph was also realize. The results revealed that higher the volumetric fraction, higher the decrease of compressive strength. The visual analysis showed several changes of the external aspect of the bio-concretes.

Study on the effect of various burnable poisons on pebble bed reactor with OTTO fuelling schemes using Serpent 2 Monte Carlo code

Pebble bed reactor with a once-through-then-out fuelling scheme has the advantage of simplifying the refueling system. However, the core upper-level power density is relatively higher than the bottom, producing an asymmetric core axial power distribution. Several burnable poison (BP) configurations are used to flatten the peak power density and improve power distribution while suppressing the excess core reactivity at the beginning of the burnup cycle. This study uses HTR-PM, China’s pebble bed reactor core, to simulate several burnable poison (BP) configurations. Serpent 2 coupled with Octave and a discrete element method simulation is used to model and simulate the pebble bed reactor core. It is found that erbium needs a large volumetric fraction in either QUADRISO or distributed BP to perform well. On the other hand, gadolinium and boron need a smaller volumetric fraction but perform worse in radial power distribution criteria in the fuel sphere. This study aims to verify the effect of BP added fuel pebbles on an OTTO refueling scheme HTR-PM core axial power distribution and excess reactivity.

Impacts of various shaped Cu-nanomaterial on the heat transfer over a bilateral stretchable surface: Numerical investigation

The heat transport in the nanofluids attained much interest of the researchers and engineers due to broad uses in medical sciences, paint industries, aerodynamics, wheel alignment and manufacturing of aircraft parts. Therefore, keeping in mind the paramount significance of the heat transfer, the study of Cu-nanomaterials based nanofluid is conducted. The governing nanofluid model transformed in dimensionless version via similarity transformations. For numerical simulation of the dynamics of Cu-H2O, RK technique with shooting algorithm is employed and presented behavior of the fluid motion, temperature, wall shear stresses and local thermal performance rate via graphical aid. It is noted that the heat transfer augmented promptly by increasing [Formula: see text] and volumetric fraction of Cu nanomaterial. Further, graphical and tabular comparison is also provided under certain assumptions which authenticate the study.

Influence of the formulation of a flux-cored wire on the microstructure and hardness of welded metal

For this paper, the microstructure and hardness of the weld metal were investigated by conducting experiments with the flux cored arc welding process in underwater and air conditions. A rutile/oxidizing tubular wire was used, manufactured by the Robotics, Welding and Simulation Laboratory at Minas Gerais Federal University, especially for underwater wet welding. Underwater welds had a lower volumetric fraction of acicular ferrite in the weld metal compared to air welds. In the thermally affected zone, for both welds, there was a predominant formation of martensite. However, the grain size and width of the thermally affected zone of underwater welds are smaller. The hardness values shown correspond to the microstructure formed in the weld metal. On the other hand, in the region of the thermally affected zone, the hardness values were higher underwater welds, due to the smaller martensite grains presented.

Magnetohydrodynamic thermal characteristics of water-based hybrid nanofluid-filled non-Darcian porous wavy enclosure: effect of undulation

Purpose The aims of this study is to numerically investigate the thermal phenomena during magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) free convection in an oblique enclosure filled with porous media saturated with Cu–Al2O3/water hybrid nanofluid and heated at the left wavy wall. The thermophysical phenomena are explored thoroughly by varying the amplitude (λ) and undulation (n) of the wavy wall and the inclination of the enclosure (γ) along with other pertinent physical parameters. Darcy–Rayleigh number (Ram), Darcy number (Da), Hartmann number (Ha) and nanoparticle volumetric fraction (ϕ). The effect of all parameters has been analyzed and represented by using heatlines, isotherms, streamlines, average Nusselt number and local Nusselt number. Design/methodology/approach The finite volume method is used to work out the transport equations coupled with velocity, pressure and temperature subjected to non-uniform staggered grid structure after grid-sensitivity analysis by an indigenous computing code and the semi-implicit method for pressure linked equations (SIMPLE) algorithm. The solution process is initiated following an iterative approach through the alternate direction implicit sweep technique and the tridiagonal matrix algorithm (TDMA) algorithm. The iterative process is continued until successive minimization of the residuals (<1e-8) for the governing equations. Findings This study reveals that the increase in the heating surface area does not always favor heat transfer. An increase in the undulation amplitude enhances the heat transfer; however, there is an optimum value of undulation of the wavy wall for this. The heat transfer enhancement because of the wall curvature is revealed at higher Ram, lower Da and Ha and lower volume fraction of nanoparticles. In general, this augmentation is optimum for four undulations of the wavy wall with an amplitude of λ = 0.3. The heat transfer enhancement can be more at the cavity inclination γ = 45°. Research limitations/implications The technique of this investigation could be used in other multiphysical areas involving partial porous layers, conducting objects, different heating conditions, wall motion, etc. Practical implications This study is to address MHD thermo-fluid phenomena of Cu–Al2O3/water-based hybrid nanofluid flow through a non-Darcian porous wavy cavity at different inclinations. The amplitude and number of undulations of the wavy wall, permeability of the porous medium, magnetic field intensity, nanoparticle volumetric fraction and inclinations of the enclosure play a significant role in the heat transfer process. This analysis and the findings of this work can be useful for the design and control of similar thermal systems/devices. Originality/value Many researchers have examined the problem of buoyancy-induced free convection in a wavy-porous cavity packed with regular fluids or nanofluids. However, the effect of magnetic fields along with the amplitude (λ) at different undulations (n) of the heated wavy wall of an inclined enclosure is not attended so far to understand the transport mechanisms. Most often, the evolutions of the thermo-fluid phenomena in such complex geometries invoking different multiphysics are very intricate. Numerical implementations for simulations and subsequent post-processing of the results are also challenging.

Effect of using Nylon Fibers in Self Compacting Concrete (SCC)

The self-compacted concrete (SCC) is a special type of concrete which settles down in the formwork and fills its every corner without any use of compaction or vibration. As SCC has higher flow-ability that causes brittle behaviour resulting in poor performance under tension and bending. The inclusion of randomly distributed short and discrete fibers is one of the most effective way to improve the tensile as well as flexural performance of SCC. In this regard this experimental study is undertaken to investigate the effect of nylon fibers (NF) on fresh and hardened properties of SCC. Two different lengths; 20 mm and 12 mm and five different volumetric percentages; 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5% of NF were used. The results revealed that addition of NF slightly affects the fresh properties of SCC. However, the extent of the effect is not of that order to be considered as major factor. The fresh properties for entire mixes lie within the required range according to EFNARC guidelines. The strength properties increases with addition of NF, the extent of increment is greater for the longer length of NF. The optimum volumetric fraction of NF for producing high strength SCC was found as 0.5%. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091734 Full Text: PDF

Magneto-electric coupling constants in piezoelectric/piezomaganetic layered composite

During the last few years, piezoelectric/piezomagnetic composites have been studied due to the numerous applications related to the coupling between these materials and the fields. In the present work, two theoretical models for calculating the magneto/electric coupling factor of the composite with 2-2 connectivity, are presented. Using the asymptotic homogenization method, the effective coefficients of a periodic magneto–electro–elastic layered composite can be obtained in matrix form. By using this matrix, a two-layered composite formed by BaTiO3 and CoFe2O4 are studied, and expressions for the effective coefficients are obtained. The effective magneto/electric coupling factor as a function of the piezoelectric volumetric fraction are found from these particular coefficients. In addition, a dynamic model of the multilayer piezoelectric/piezomagnetic composite is discussed. The dynamical model has been used to determinate the magnetoelectric coupling constants.

Convective heat transfer for Peristaltic flow of SWCNT inside a sinusoidal elliptic duct

A mathematical model is presented to analyse the flow characteristics and heat transfer aspects of a heated Newtonian viscous fluid with single wall carbon nanotubes inside a vertical duct having elliptic cross section and sinusoidally fluctuating walls. Exact mathematical computations are performed to get temperature, velocity and pressure gradient expressions. A polynomial solution technique is utilized to obtain these mathematical solutions. Finally, these computational results are presented graphically and different characteristics of peristaltic flow phenomenon are examined in detail through these graphs. The velocity declines as the volume fraction of carbon nanotubes increases in the base fluid. Since the velocity of fluid is dependent on its temperature in this study case and temperature decreases with increasing volumetric fraction of carbon nanotubes. Thus velocity also declines for increasing volumetric fraction of nanoparticles.

A Comparison Between Air and In-Service Welding on Oxygen Concentration and Microinclusions in E7018-1 Weld Metal

In the maintenance of in-service pipelines, the use of covered electrodes is usual due to several factors such as the flexibility of welding in hard-to-reach places and its low cost. During in-service welding of pipelines, the line remains in operation, which implies more rigorous temperature gradients that can result in microstructures more susceptible to failure. The objective of this work is to relate the welding current and cooling conditions, commonly used in-service welding, with the oxygen content and the volumetric fraction of microinclusions. In this step, the effect on the oxygen content and the volumetric fraction of microinclusions are analyzed based on experimental results using the technique of factorial experiments. Bead-on-plate samples were welded under two cooling conditions, air and cooling with water, and two nominal welding currents, 86 A and 98 A. The increase in oxygen content was observed with increasing welding current and with the cooling rate. In addition, the more rigorous cooling rate reduced the mean microinclusions size, which can suppress the formation of acicular ferrite and, consequently, reduce the toughness and the ultimate stress limit of weld metal.

Natural Convection Enhancement in the Annuli Between Two Homocentric Cylinders by Using Ethylene Glycol / Water Based Titania Nanofluid

The natural convection heat tranfer in annulate region confined between two homocentric cylinders were numerically studied in the present work. The annulus was filled by ethylene glycol / water based Titania nanofluid. Both internal and external cylinders are presereved at an isothermal hot and cold temperatures respectively, whereas, the upper and lower walls are adiabatic. The numerical solution is obtained by applying the finite volume method along with the SIMPLER, and TDMA algorithms. In the current study, the solid volumetric fraction is varied as (0 % ? ? ? 3 %), the volume ratios of EG to water are varied as (0:100 %, 40 : 60 %, 100:0 %), while both the Rayleigh number and radii ratio are considered fixed at (Ra = 104 and ? = 2). The obtained results indicated that, the average Nusselt number increases as the solid volumetric fraction and the volume ratio of ethylene glycol in the base fluid increase. Moreover, the velocity profiles reach their maximum value in the half region adjacent the internal hot wall when TiO2 – water nanofluid is used. Also, the temperature profiles decrease along the radial distance for all considered values of volume ratios of EG to water.