IMPACT OF CHANGING ABSORBER SHAPE ON AN AIR FLOW BEHAVIOR IN A THERMO-SOLAR CONVERTER

In this paper, a two-dimensional numerical study of heat exchange by forced convection of an incompressible laminar flow in a solar air heater duct (SAH), which is equipped with a shoulder attached to the absorber, was performed. The impact of three locations of this shoulder and their three heights on friction losses, as well as the drag coefficient, the variations of velocity, and temperature at the exit section of the SAH, were analyzed for a volume flow rate in the range [20-80 m3/h.]. The results obtained numerically prove that the insertion of a shoulder on the absorber improves the heat transfer and the dynamics of the flow very significantly. An average temperature difference (inlet-outlet) of the collector of 23.51 °C at 29.94 °C and 50.64 °C at 67.53 °C is acquired respectively for the high and the low flow rates. This paper also showed that the height of the shoulder used can ensure an acceleration of the flow with an axial variation of the order of 1.25 up to 2.5 times (> twice) compared with the simple case.

Axial variation in flexural stiffness of plant stem segments: measurement methods and the influence of measurement uncertainty

Background Flexural three-point bending tests are useful for characterizing the mechanical properties of plant stems. These tests can be performed with minimal sample preparation, thus allowing tests to be performed relatively quickly. The best-practice for such tests involves long spans with supports and load placed at nodes. This approach typically provides only one flexural stiffness measurement per specimen. However, by combining flexural tests with analytic equations, it is possible to solve for the mechanical characteristics of individual stem segments. Results A method is presented for using flexural tests to obtain estimates of flexural stiffness of individual segments. This method pairs physical test data with analytic models to obtain a system of equations. The solution of this system of equations provides values of flexural stiffness for individual stalk segments. Uncertainty in the solved values for flexural stiffness were found to be strongly dependent upon measurement errors. Row-wise scaling of the system of equations reduced the influence of measurement error. Of many possible test combinations, the most advantageous set of tests for performing these measurements were identified. Relationships between measurement uncertainty and solution uncertainty were provided for two different testing methods. Conclusions The methods presented in this paper can be used to measure the axial variation in flexural stiffness of plant stem segments. However, care must be taken to account for the influence of measurement error as the individual segment method amplifies measurement error. An alternative method involving aggregate flexural stiffness values does not amplify measurement error, but provides lower spatial resolution.

Time and space in segmentation

Arthropod segmentation and vertebrate somitogenesis are leading fields in the experimental and theoretical interrogation of developmental patterning. However, despite the sophistication of current research, basic conceptual issues remain unresolved. These include: (i) the mechanistic origins of spatial organization within the segment addition zone (SAZ); (ii) the mechanistic origins of segment polarization; (iii) the mechanistic origins of axial variation; and (iv) the evolutionary origins of simultaneous patterning. Here, I explore these problems using coarse-grained models of cross-regulating dynamical processes. In the morphogenetic framework of a row of cells undergoing axial elongation, I simulate interactions between an ‘oscillator’, a ‘switch’ and up to three ‘timers’, successfully reproducing essential patterning behaviours of segmenting systems. By comparing the output of these largely cell-autonomous models to variants that incorporate positional information, I find that scaling relationships, wave patterns and patterning dynamics all depend on whether the SAZ is regulated by temporal or spatial information. I also identify three mechanisms for polarizing oscillator output, all of which functionally implicate the oscillator frequency profile. Finally, I demonstrate significant dynamical and regulatory continuity between sequential and simultaneous modes of segmentation. I discuss these results in the context of the experimental literature.

IMPLEMENTATION OF QUADRATIC AXIAL TRIAL FUNCTIONS IN THE HIGH-FIDELITY TRANSPORT CODE PROTEUS-MOC

PROTEUS-MOC is a pin-resolved high-fidelity transport code, in which the axial variation of angular flux is represented in terms of orthogonal polynomials. Currently, PROTEUS-MOC employs linear functions and requires relatively fine axial meshes to achieve high accuracy, which increases the number of axial meshes and hence the memory requirement. In this study, aiming to reduce the memory requirement and potentially the computational time by allowing larger axial meshes, we have extended the PROTEUS-MOC transport solution method to quadratic trial functions. Preliminary tests for the performance of quadratic trial functions have been performed using the 3-D C5G7 benchmark problem. Test results showed that for the same axial mesh configuration with relatively large sizes, the quadratic approximation yields about 2 to 5 times more accurate pin powers than the linear approximation, depending on the degree of axial variation of angular fluxes. The quadratic approximation also allows the use of about 3 times coarser axial meshes than the linear approximation for comparable pin power accuracy, which consequently reduces the memory requirement by about 2 times. The memory reduction is not proportional because of the increased number of coefficients in each element from 2 to 3. However, the quadratic approximation did not reduce the computational time as expected because of the deteriorated performance of the pCMFD acceleration scheme due to large axial mesh sizes.

Axial variation in the cambium anatomy of Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum

Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum (paricá) is a promising forest species that has been planted in some states of the Amazon region in Brazil, to meet the demand of the plywood panel industry. The present work involves a study of the variations of the cambium and their impact on derivative tissues at different heights in the stem of S. parahyba var. amazonicum. Except for the tangential diameter of the fusiform initials (DFI) and the width of the xylem cell layer in differentiation (WXD), there was significant statistical variation between the evaluated axial positions for all anatomical parameters of the cambium. A strong positive correlation was noticed between the length of the fusiform initials (LFI) with ray height (RH) [r = 0.79, degree of freedom (DF) = 7, P < 0.05], vessel element length (VL) (r = 0.78, DF = 7, P < 0.05) and fiber length (FL) (r = 0.74, DF = 7, P < 0.05). The results of this study give quantitative support that the LFI is an important prognosis, not only for the VL and FL, but also for the rays, in hardwood species.

Time and Space in Segmentation

Arthropod segmentation and vertebrate somitogenesis are leading fields in the experimental and theoretical interrogation of developmental patterning. However, despite the sophistication of current research, basic conceptual issues remain unresolved. These include (1) the mechanistic origins of spatial organisation within the segment addition zone (SAZ); (2) the mechanistic origins of segment polarisation; (3) the mechanistic origins of axial variation; and (4) the evolutionary origins of simultaneous patterning. Here, I explore these problems using coarse-grained models of cross-regulating dynamical processes. In the morphogenetic framework of a row of cells undergoing axial elongation, I simulate interactions between an “oscillator”, a “switch”, and up to three “timers”, successfully reproducing essential patterning behaviours of segmenting systems. By comparing the output of these largely cell-autonomous models to variants that incorporate positional information, I find that scaling relationships, wave patterns, and patterning dynamics all depend on whether the SAZ is regulated by temporal or spatial information. I also identify three mechanisms for polarising oscillator output, all of which functionally implicate the oscillator frequency profile. Finally, I demonstrate significant dynamical and regulatory continuity between sequential and simultaneous modes of segmentation. I discuss these results in the context of the experimental literature.

Ward identity determination of $$Z_{\mathrm {S}}/Z_{\mathrm {P}}$$ for $$N_{\mathrm {f}}=3$$ lattice QCD in a Schrödinger functional setup

We derive chiral Ward identities for lattice QCD with Wilson quarks and $$N_{\mathrm{f}}\ge 3$$Nf≥3 flavours, on small lattices with Schrödinger functional boundary conditions and vanishingly small quark masses. These identities relate the axial variation of the non-singlet pseudoscalar density to the scalar one, thus enabling the non-perturbative determination of the scale-independent ratio $$Z_{\mathrm {S}}/Z_{\mathrm {P}}$$ZS/ZP of the renormalisation parameters of these operators. We obtain results for $$N_{\mathrm{f}}=3$$Nf=3 QCD with tree-level Symanzik-improved gluons and Wilson-Clover quarks, for bare gauge couplings which cover the typical range of large-volume $$N_{\mathrm{f}}= 2+1$$Nf=2+1 simulations with Wilson fermions at lattice spacings below $$0.1\,$$0.1fm. The precision of our results varies from 0.3 to 1%, except for the coarsest lattice, where it is 2%. We discuss how the $$Z_{\mathrm {S}}/Z_{\mathrm {P}}$$ZS/ZP ratio can be used in the non-perturbative calculations of $${\mathrm {O}}(a)$$O(a) improved renormalised quark masses.