Research on acoustic behaviors of water pipelines with guide vanes

In this paper, the pipeline with guide vanes was taken as the research object, the flow noise was studied based on the hybrid calculation method, then the acoustic-structure coupling method was introduced to study the vibration and radiation noise, and then explored the best position of the guide vanes. Based on the pipeline experimental platform and improved experimental methods, it was found that the guide vanes had a better noise reduction effect on the elbows; based on that, a simulation study was carried out on the elbow with guide vanes, and the mechanism of the guide vanes on the velocity field and pulsating pressure of the pipeline was explored. Finally, the noise reduction effect at different positions of the guide vanes under different flow speeds was studied. The results indicated that the guide vane at the middle of the elbow had the best effect on improving the flow field and reducing noise in the working conditions studied in this article, providing a calculation basis for the design of the guide vane.

Leakage Position Estimation of Cooling Water Using a Stereo Camera for Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

In this study, a new method of estimating the leakage positions of cooling water using a stereo camera for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) is proposed. A stereo camera mounted on an inspection system with a rotating base was inserted into the pedestal below the reactor pressure vessel (RPV), and the waterdrops from the leakage position were captured using a stereo camera. We estimated the leakage positions by triangulating the waterdrop trajectory lines in the stereo image. The main contribution of this study is the extraction and matching of the waterdrop trajectories in a stereo image in the FDNPP. The radiation noise is intense inside the pedestal because of the presence of fuel debris. Therefore, we propose a method that is robust against radiation noise. We assume that the waterdrops drip vertically in indoor environments without wind, such as in the FDNPP. Hence, the orientation of the stereo camera can be adjusted by the rotating base such that the vertical lines in the three-dimensional space are also projected as vertical lines in the image planes. Thereafter, the columns of pixels in the images are treated as image features and used to extract and match the waterdrop trajectories. We demonstrated the effectiveness of our leakage position estimation method in a simulated environment of the FDNPP with gamma-ray image noise.

Multi-Dimension and Multi-Channel Seismic-Ionospheric Coupling: Case Study of Mw 8.8 Concepcion Quake on 27 February 2010

GPS radio occultation (RO) technology can fully describe the subtle structure of the ionosphere. This paper discusses the dynamic abnormity observed by the RO data from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate (FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC) before the great earthquake case in Concepcion, Chile (27 February 2010, Mw 8.8). Traditional ground-based GPS monitoring was considered as the external conditions and references to the excitation response. Using kriging interpolation, the global Nmf2 map (GNM) was first constructed to study the ionosphere deviation from the normal state. Successively, the ionosphere abnormality in the F2 region (Nmf2), vertical structure (RO profiles), and multiple heights (electron density) of traveling are unfolded. The Nmf2 disturbances in the possibility of seismic influences were excluded from non-seismic noise factors, including the external input (e.g., space weather activity, 15 February) and meteorological events (e.g., lower atmospheric forcing in quiet periods). However, the results show that there were apparent local Nmf2 perturbations for up to 5 h in the epicenter area on 21 and 25 February. The disturbances of the RO profiles and the interaction of other layers of the ionosphere implied the fluctuation signals of prominent long-wavelength fluctuations >50 km in the F layer. The ionospheric fluctuates wildly, and these wave signals considered as the trace of gravity wave propagating upward are mainly distributed at the elevation of 200–300 km. The simultaneous reaction of GNSS TEC further evidenced the potential possibility of acoustic gravity by the COSMIC RO profiles, reflecting the compounding couplings of seismo-ionosphere effects. In terms of the presentation of VLF radiation noise and the aerosol ion clusters, the electromagnetic and chemical channels have been previously completed by DEMETER and Terra/Aqua satellites. These findings implied the great potential of the FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 system (now in the testing phase), with ~5000 soundings to investigate the subtle atmospheric stratification.

Prediction of vibration radiation noise from shell of straw crushing machine

In order to predict the radiation noise of the vibrating shell of the straw crusher in the design phase, the computational fluid dynamics–discrete element coupling method is initially used to simulate the airflow–straw coupled flow field in the straw crusher, and the pulsating pressure generated by the coupled flow field is applied to the inner surface of the shell of the crusher. Then, the harmonic response of the shell is analyzed, and its results are used to be the acoustic boundary condition. Finally, the finite element and acoustic boundary element combined test methods are used to predict vibration noise of the straw crusher shell. The results indicate that the produced vibration noise of the straw crusher shell changes as the excitation frequency of the rotor rotation changes. The maximum vibration noise is achieved at the excitation fundamental frequency, and radiation noises at the harmonic frequencies decrease as the frequency increases. The simulated value of the sound pressure level of each measuring point at the excitation fundamental frequency and harmonic frequencies is basically the same as those of the experiment. Moreover, it is found that the maximum difference between the simulated and experimental value of measuring points is 1.69 dB(A). Therefore, it is concluded that the numerical model of the vibration radiation noise is accurate. The vibration noise of the shell at the inlet is the largest, and the main noise source of the vibration radiation noise is the dipole sound source of the rotating hammer rotor. The corresponding design method provides the reference for the low-noise design of straw crushers.

Propeller feature extraction of UUVs study based on CEEMD combined with symmetric correlation

In this paper, in view of the characteristic that UUV radiation noise is low and easily interfered by strong noise, the complementary Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (CEEMD) combined with symmetric correlation processing is proposed, which can improve the extraction performance of UUV’s propeller features. First, the CEEMD decomposition combined with symmetric correlation processing was used to reduce the radiated noise of the target, then the signals after the noise reduction were demodulated and computed to obtain the DEMON spectrum, and finally features such as the rotational speed of the UUV’s propeller were extracted from the DEMON spectrum. The Sea trials signal processing results prove that the method has better noise suppression performance under low SNR conditions, and can clearly and comprehensively extract the DEMON information of the radiated noise, and then accurately extract the propeller features of the UUV. Compared to conventional demodulation techniques, this technique has a greater ability to suppress noise and does not require manual selection of the modulated frequency band.

ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST COLIBRI FUEL RODS OSCILLATION CAMPAIGN IN THE CROCUS REACTOR FOR THE EUROPEAN PROJECT CORTEX

The Horizon2020 European project CORTEX aims at developing an innovative core monitoring technique that allows detecting anomalies in nuclear reactors, such as excessive vibrations of core internals, flow blockage, or coolant inlet perturbations. The technique will be mainly based on using the fluctuations in neutron flux recorded by in-core and ex-core instrumentation, from which the anomalies will be differentiated depending on their type, location and characteristics. The project will result in a deepened understanding of the physical processes involved, allowing utilities to detect operational problems at a very early stage. In this framework, neutron noise computational methods and models are developed. In parallel, mechanical noise experimental campaigns are carried out in two zero-power reactors: AKR-2 and CROCUS. The aim is to produce high quality neutron noise-specific experimental data for the validation of the models. In CROCUS, the COLIBRI experimental program was developed to investigate experimentally the radiation noise induced by fuel rods vibrations. In this way, the 2018 first CORTEX campaign in CROCUS consisted in experiments with a perturbation induced by a fuel rods oscillator. Eighteen fuel rods located at the periphery of the core fuel lattice were oscillated between ±0.5 mm and ±2.0 mm around their central position at a frequency ranging from 0.1 Hz to 2 Hz. Signals from 11 neutron detectors which were set at positions in-core and ex-core in the water reflector, were recorded. The present article documents the results in noise level of the experimental campaign. Neutron noise levels are compared for several oscillation frequencies and amplitudes, and at the various detector locations concluding to the observation of a spatial dependency of the noise in amplitude.