The Effect of Inert Fuel Compounds on Flame Characteristics

To describe the effects of inert compounds in gaseous fuel, experiments on three different process burners (staged fuel burner, staged air burner, and low-calorific burner) were carried out. The tested burners are commercially available, but they were specially designed for experimental usage. Tests were carried out in the semi-industrial burner testing facility to investigate the influence of inert gases on the flame characteristics, emissions, and heat flux to the combustion chamber wall. Natural gas was used as a reference fuel, and, during all tests, thermal power of 500 kW was maintained. To simulate the combustion of alternative fuels with lower LHV, N2 and CO2 were used as diluents. The inert gas in the hydrocarbon fuel at certain conditions can lower NOx emissions (up to 80%) and increase heat flux (up to 5%). Once incombustible compounds are present in the fuel, the higher amount of fuel flowing through nozzles affects the flow in the combustion chamber by increasing the Reynolds number. This can change the flame pattern and temperature field, and it can be both positive and negative, depending on actual conditions.

Diagnostic Performance of a Rapid Antigen Test Compared with the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction for SARS-CoV-2 Detection in Asymptomatic Individuals Referring to a Drive-in Testing Facility

Quick and reliable identification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the population is required to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a prospective observational study of diagnostic accuracy. Paired swab samples from 317 asymptomatic individuals referring to a drive-in testing facility were tested in parallel by means of the rapid antigen test developed by Jiangsu Bioperfectus Technologies and routine nucleic acid detection. Overall specificity was 100% and sensitivity was 49% but reached 87% at higher viral loads (Ct < 25). In this study, the antigen detection test showed high specificity and good sensitivity in asymptomatic individuals carrying higher viral loads. The assay performance worsened with lower viral loads, making it useful when a rapidly deployable test is essential and to assess a potential risk of immediate transmission in the community, but not recommended for testing asymptomatic individuals.

Wear characteristics of additively manufactured AlSi10Mg against EN-31 and silicon carbide abrasive sheet counter bodies using box Behnken design approach

High strength-to-weight ratio materials are used in the automotive and aerospace industries, and AlSi10Mg is suitable for those applications. The research aims to compare and investigate the wear characteristics of selective laser melted AlSi10Mg pin against two counter bodies, EN-31 hardened steel, and silicon carbide abrasive sheet. The wear rate of additively manufactured AlSi10Mg pin at 0° building orientation was investigated using the box Behnken design approach to identify the suitable wear parameters with the pin on the disc testing facility. Based on analysis of variance, the interaction of load with sliding distance significantly influenced the wear rate of AlSi10Mg in both counter body cases. The adhesion and abrasion wear mechanism were observed in AlSi10Mg with EN-31 and silicon carbide abrasive sheet, respectively. The findings reveal the effect of two counter bodies on the SLMed AlSi10Mg wear phenomenon. Finally, severe wear was observed in the AlSi10Mg pin against the silicon carbide counter body.

Martensitic transformation behavior and structural characteristics of annealed Ni-Mn-Sn-Fe-In Heusler alloy

Ni-Mn based heusler alloy with Ni50-xFexMn30Sn20-yIny where 1<=x<=4; 2<=y<=8 are studied for their structural as well as mechanical characteristics using various testing facility such as field emission scanning electron microscope, energy dispersion spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry and Vickers hardness equipment. From the general understanding the materials are to display a transformation of austenite-martensite. The materials are seen to be showing this transformation in and around near room temperature. The optical and FESEM imaging of the specimen show that during annealing heating to high temperature to longer time, the diffusion kinetics are activated at faster rate so that the dendritically structure is annihilated to develop well distributed grain structure. The coarser dendrites seems to be broken and fine grain, well dispersed phases are formed. X-ray diffraction confirms the peak split and martensitic transformation in the system of alloys. DSC results confirm the martensitic transformation around room temperature.

On-Sun Testing of a High Temperature Solar Receiver's Flux Distribution

Concentrated solar power (CSP) is a promising technology in transitioning to renewable energy because of its abundance in nature and thermal energy storage capability. Among the four types of available CSP technology, including parabolic trough, linear Fresnel, power tower, and parabolic dishes, a power tower using a central receiver has more potential to generate high-temperature heat in a scale supporting power cycles efficiency and achieve low levelized cost of energy (LCOE). Other than the conventional type of receiver design, the high-absorptive receiver concept developed and presented in this paper is novel in its design approach. The novel receiver design originated from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) consists of an array of solar flux absorb tubes. The solar absorb tubes require uniform flux distribution and in-depth flux penetration through the three different reflective sections of tubes in a hexagonal shape. To evaluate this unique receiver design and thermal performance, the flux distribution, flux uniformity, and intensity were numerically simulated using ANSYS FLUENT and SolTrace modeling program. On-sun testing has been done at NREL high flux solar testing facility, based on the computational analysis.