Search Results (14)

Researchers have increasingly focused on thermal comfort, examining both individuals’ thermal sensations and the percentage of people dissatisfied with the thermal environment. Most studies rely on the widely used PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) model and the PPD (Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied) value derived from it, both defined by the ISO 7730:2005 standard. However, previous studies have shown that this standardized method only applies under steady-state conditions, which do not reflect the dynamic nature of everyday environments. As closed-loop control technologies gain prominence in building services, the need to evaluate thermal comfort under time-varying conditions has grown. The standard method does not account for the thermal inertia of the human body, which limits its applicability in such dynamic contexts. In this study, we develop a method to estimate instantaneous thermal sensation under non-stationary conditions by incorporating thermal inertia through signal processing techniques. This approach addresses a well-recognized limitation of the standard PMV–PPD model and provides a way to assess thermal comfort in real time. We collected experimental data using a thermal comfort measurement station, a thermal manikin, and human subjects in a controlled climate chamber. The proposed method enables real-time evaluation of thermal comfort in dynamic environments and offers a foundation for integration into HVAC control and comfort optimization systems. Full article

The scientific community is showing growing interest in pulsed combustion technology due to its superior efficiency, environmental advantages, and diverse applications. Nevertheless, despite its promise, this technology remains underexplored because of its intricate nature and the numerous physicochemical mechanisms involved. This article introduces a pulse combustor, analyzing various power levels as a fundamental component. Each adjustment to operating parameters is shown to profoundly influence overall system behavior. This study advances pulse combustion technologies by addressing challenges, uncovering insights, and shaping future approaches to combustor design, with special attention to the critical role of resonance in the process. Key findings highlight the relationship between pressure fluctuations and temperature distributions, providing valuable insights for optimizing thermal management and enhancing combustor performance. Notably, the study reveals that the average pressure in the combustion chamber peaks at equivalence ratios close to the lower combustion limit ($\varphi$ = 0.5). These results point to the potential of advanced sensor systems and control mechanisms to dynamically optimize combustor operations, boosting efficiency and reliability in industrial contexts. The innovative strategies presented not only enhance fuel efficiency but also lay the groundwork for more adaptable combustor designs, meeting the critical demand for precise control in challenging environments. Full article

A textured surface topography can be used to improve the lubrication performance of bearings. These improvements are closely related to the design of the textured topography. Therefore, studying the effect of the textured topography of rolling bearings on lubrication performance is significant. This study used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology to simulate and analyze the lubrication of an angular contact ball bearing under different working conditions. We studied the influence of a textured topography with different area occupancy rates on the oil-phase volume fraction, as well as the lubrication effect of the textured surface on the bearing’s inner ring and chamber at different rotational speeds and oil inlet speeds. We conducted friction characteristic experiments on point–contact friction pairs using a friction and wear tester. The effects of different loads and rotational speeds on the friction characteristics and surface wear of textured and smooth surfaces were analyzed. The results indicate that the oil-phase volume fraction is always higher than that of the conventional bearing in the inner ring and chamber of a textured bearing. The textured bearing exhibited better lubrication and friction performance. Different textured topographies have different positive effects on lubrication performance, and the influence of the working conditions should be fully considered to achieve these improvements. Full article

Reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI) is a promising new combustion technology for marine applications. It has offered the potential to achieve low NO_x emissions and high thermal efficiency, which are both important considerations for marine engines. However, the performance of RCCI engines is sensitive to a number of factors, including the start of injection. This study used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate the effects of start of ignition (SOI) on the performance of a marine RCCI engine. The CFD model was validated against experimental data, and the results showed that the SOI has a significant impact on the combustion process. In particular, the SOI affected the distribution of fuel and air in the combustion chamber, which in turn affected the rate of heat release and the formation of pollutants. Ten different SOIs were implemented on a validated closed-loop CFD model from 96 to 42 CAD bTDC (crank angle degree before top dead center) at six-degree intervals. A chemical kinetic mechanism of 54 species and 269 reactions tuned and used for simulation of in-cylinder combustion. The results show that in early injection, high-reactivity fuel was distributed close to the liner. This distribution was around the center of late injection angles. A homogeneity study was carried out to investigate the local equivalence ratio. It showed a more homogenous mixture in early injection until 66 CAD bTDC, after which point, earlier injection timing had no effect on homogeneity. Maximum indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) was achieved at SOI 48 CAD bTDC, and minimum amounts of THC (total hydrocarbons) and NO_x were observed with middle injection timing angles around 66 CAD bTDC. Full article

The development of a capnometry wristband is of great interest for monitoring patients at home. We consider a new architecture in which a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) optical measurement is located close to the skin surface and is combined with an open chamber principle with a continuous circulation of air flow in the collection cell. We propose a model for the temporal dynamics of the carbon dioxide exchange between the blood and the gas channel inside the device. The transport of carbon dioxide is modeled by convection–diffusion equations. We consider four compartments: blood, skin, the measurement cell and the collection cell. We introduce the state-space equations and the associated transition matrix associated with a Markovian model. We define an augmented system by combining a first-order autoregressive model describing the supply of carbon dioxide concentration in the blood compartment and its inertial resistance to change. We propose to use a Kalman filter to estimate the carbon dioxide concentration in the blood vessels recursively over time and thus monitor arterial carbon dioxide blood pressure in real time. Four performance factors with respect to the dynamic quantification of the CO₂ blood concentration are considered, and a simulation is carried out based on data from a previous clinical study. These demonstrate the feasibility of such a technological concept. Full article

Existing indoor closed ultraviolet-C (UVC) air purifiers (UVC in a box) have faced technological challenges during the COVID-19 breakout, owing to demands of low energy consumption, high flow rates, and high kill rates at the same time. A new conceptual design of a novel UVC-LED (light-emitting diode) air purifier for a low-cost solution to mitigate airborne diseases is proposed. The concept focuses on performance and robustness. It contains a dust-filter assembly, an innovative UVC chamber, and a fan. The low-cost dust filter aims to suppress dust accumulation in the UVC chamber to ensure durability and is conceptually shown to be easily replaced while mitigating any possible contamination. The chamber includes novel turbulence-generating grids and a novel LED arrangement. The turbulent generator promotes air mixing, while the LEDs inactivate the pathogens at a high flow rate and sufficient kill rate. The conceptual design is portable and can fit into ventilation ducts. Computational fluid dynamics and UVC ray methods were used for analysis. The design produces a kill rate above 97% for COVID and tuberculosis and above 92% for influenza A at a flow rate of 100 L/s and power consumption of less than 300 W. An analysis of the dust-filter performance yields the irradiation and flow fields. Full article

Laser technology is being widely studied for controlled energy deposition for a range of applications, including flow control, ignition, combustion, and diagnostics. The absorption and scattering of laser radiation by liquid droplets in aerosols affects propagation of the laser beam in the atmosphere, while the ignition and combustion characteristics in combustion chambers are influenced by the evaporation rate of the sprayed fuel. In this work, we present a mathematical model built on OpenFOAM for laser heating and evaporation of a single droplet in the diffusion-dominated regime taking into account absorption of the laser radiation, evaporation process, and vapor flow dynamics. The developed solver is validated against available experimental and numerical data for heating and evaporation of ethanol and water droplets. The two main regimes—continuous and pulsed laser heating—are explored. For continuous laser heating, the peak temperature is higher for larger droplets. For pulsed laser heating, when the peak irradiance is close to transition to the boiling regime, the temporal dynamics of the droplet temperature does not depend on the droplet size. With the empirical normalization of time, the dynamics of the droplet shrinkage and cooling are found to be independent of droplet sizes and peak laser intensities. Full article

Common-rail fuel injection systems are still a good option for equipping new car models. The technology is well known, systems of this type are reliable and can be used on a wide variety of diesel and petrol engines. However, there is still room for improvement. The ball check valve, which is part of the common-rail pump, is designed to open and allow the compressed fluid to be sent to the high-pressure accumulator and close to not allow fuel to return to the compression chamber. The valves’ design directly influences the volumetric efficiency of the outlet flow and the robustness against high pressures that lead to low performance and short service life of the fuel injection systems. This paper aims to compare two ball check valves with conical and spherical seat designs. The analysis is based on theoretical calculations and CFD simulations, which will give more confidence in the results. Considering the comparative analysis results, the ball check valve with a spherical seat shows better flow dynamics than the ball check valve with a conical seat. In addition to the improved flow dynamics, the ball check valve with spherical seat seems to have a uniformly distributed fluid pressure inside the valve. In contrast, the conical seat ball check valve has high local fluid pressures, leading to fatigue. Full article

Natural source zone depletion (NSZD) is an emerging technique for sustainable and cost-effective bioremediation of light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) in oil spill sites. Depending on regulatory objectives, NSZD has the potential to be used as either the primary or sole LNAPL management technique. To achieve this goal, NSZD rate (i.e., rate of bulk LNAPL mass depletion) should be quantified accurately and precisely. NSZD has certain characteristic features that have been used as surrogates to quantify the NSZD rates. This review highlights the most recent trends in technology development for NSZD data collection and rate estimation, with a focus on the operational and technical advantages and limitations of the associated techniques. So far, four principal techniques are developed, including concentration gradient (CG), dynamic closed chamber (DCC), CO₂ trap and thermal monitoring. Discussions revolving around two techniques, “CO₂ trap” and “thermal monitoring”, are expanded due to the particular attention to them in the current industry. The gaps of knowledge relevant to the NSZD monitoring techniques are identified and the issues which merit further research are outlined. It is hoped that this review can provide researchers and practitioners with sufficient information to opt the best practice for the research and application of NSZD for the management of LNAPL impacted sites. Full article

Organ-on-Chip technology is commonly used as a tool to replace animal testing in drug development. Cells or tissues are cultured on a microchip to replicate organ-level functions, where measurements of the electrical activity can be taken to understand how the cell populations react to different drugs. Microfluidic structures are integrated in these devices to replicate more closely an in vivo microenvironment. Research has provided proof of principle that more accurate replications of the microenvironment result in better micro-physiological behaviour, which in turn results in a higher predictive power. This work shows a transition from a no-flow (static) multi-electrode array (MEA) to a continuous-flow (dynamic) MEA, assuring a continuous and homogeneous transfer of an electrolyte solution across the measurement chamber. The process through which the microfluidic system was designed, simulated, and fabricated is described, and electrical characterisation of the whole structure under static solution and a continuous flow rate of 80 µL/min was performed. The latter reveals minimal background disturbance, with a background noise below 30 µVpp for all flow rates and areas. This microfluidic MEA, therefore, opens new avenues for more accurate and long-term recordings in Organ-on-Chip systems. Full article

Remote sensing is a non-contact, long-distance detection technology. The reflection characteristics of a seismic wave can be used to detect remote and non-contact targets. Based on the reflection characteristics of a seismic wave, the underground structure in Tengchong Volcanic Area is explored. In order to further study the deep structure and magmatic activity of the crust in the volcanic area, we carried out a one-year mobile seismic observation. In this paper, nine broadband seismic stations were set up in the Tengchong Volcanic Area, and 3350 receiver function waveforms were collected. The crustal thickness, average wave velocity ratio, and Poisson’s ratio below these stations were calculated by the receiver function method, and the velocity structure near the Moho below these stations was evaluated. Combined with topographic data from SRTM3 (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 3), this study reveals the dynamic relationship among crustal structure, crustal magmatism, and regional tectonic movement. Mantle upwelling plays an important role on the Moho uplift in the northern Tengchong Volcanic Area, and there are interconnected intracrustal magma chambers in the upper platform. The evaluation results of the Moho transition zone also indicate that the Dayingjiang fault is closely related to the tectonic activity of the Tengchong Volcanic fault. Full article

The measurement of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of field maize at a plot-sized scale is of great significance for assessing carbon emissions. Chamber methods remain the sole approach for measuring NEE at a plot-sized scale. However, traditional chamber methods are disadvantaged by their high labor intensity, significant resultant changes in microclimate, and significant impact on the physiology of crops. Therefore, an automated portable chamber with an air humidity control system to determinate the nighttime variation of NEE in field maize was developed. The chamber system can automatically open and close the chamber, and regularly collect gas in the chamber for laboratory analysis. Furthermore, a humidity control system was created to control the air humidity of the chamber. Chamber performance test results show that the maximum difference between the temperature and humidity outside and inside the chamber was 0.457 °C and 5.6%, respectively, during the NEE measuring period. Inside the chamber, the leaf temperature fluctuation range and the maximum relative change of the maize leaf respiration rate were $-$0.3 to 0.3 °C and 23.2015%, respectively. We verified a series of measurements of NEE using the dynamic and static closed chamber methods. The results show a good common point between the two measurement methods (N = 10, R² = 0.986; and mean difference: ΔCO₂ = 0.079${ \mathsf{\mu }\mathrm{mol} \mathrm{m}}^{-2}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$). This automated chamber was found to be useful for reducing the labor requirement and improving the time resolution of NEE monitoring. In the future, the relationship between the humidity control system and chamber volume can be studied to control the microclimate change more accurately. Full article

Stochastic self-assembly provides promising means for building micro-/nano-structures with a variety of properties and functionalities. Numerous studies have been conducted on the control and modeling of the process in engineered self-assembling systems constituted of modules with varied capabilities ranging from completely reactive nano-/micro-particles to intelligent miniaturized robots. Depending on the capabilities of the constituting modules, different approaches have been utilized for controlling and modeling these systems. In the quest of a unifying control and modeling framework and within the broader perspective of investigating how stochastic control strategies can be adapted from the centimeter-scale down to the (sub-)millimeter-scale, as well as from mechatronic to MEMS-based technology, this work presents the outcomes of our research on self-assembly during the past few years. As the first step, we leverage an experimental platform to study self-assembly of water-floating passive modules at the centimeter scale. A dedicated computational framework is developed for real-time tracking, modeling and control of the formation of specific structures. Using a similar approach, we then demonstrate controlled self-assembly of microparticles into clusters of a preset dimension in a microfluidic chamber, where the control loop is closed again through real-time tracking customized for a much faster system dynamics. Finally, with the aim of distributing the intelligence and realizing programmable self-assembly, we present a novel experimental system for fluid-mediated programmable stochastic self-assembly of active modules at the centimeter scale. The system is built around the water-floating 3-cm-sized Lily robots specifically designed to be operative in large swarms and allows for exploring the whole range of fully-centralized to fully-distributed control strategies. The outcomes of our research efforts extend the state-of-the-art methodologies for designing, modeling and controlling massively-distributed, stochastic self-assembling systems at different length scales, constituted of modules from centimetric down to sub-millimetric size. As a result, our work provides a solid milestone in structure formation through controlled self-assembly. Full article

Recent advances in space-based heliospheric observations, laboratory experimentation, and plasma simulation codes are creating an exciting new cross-disciplinary opportunity for understanding fast energy release and transport mechanisms in heliophysics and laboratory plasma dynamics, which had not been previously accessible. This article provides an overview of some new observational, experimental, and computational assets, and discusses current and near-term activities towards exploitation of synergies involving those assets. This overview does not claim to be comprehensive, but instead covers mainly activities closely associated with the authors’ interests and reearch. Heliospheric observations reviewed include the Sun Earth Connection Coronal and Heliospheric Investigation (SECCHI) on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission, the first instrument to provide remote sensing imagery observations with spatial continuity extending from the Sun to the Earth, and the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on the Japanese Hinode spacecraft that is measuring spectroscopically physical parameters of the solar atmosphere towards obtaining plasma temperatures, densities, and mass motions. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the upcoming Solar Orbiter with the Heliospheric Imager (SoloHI) on-board will also be discussed. Laboratory plasma experiments surveyed include the line-tied magnetic reconnection experiments at University of Wisconsin (relevant to coronal heating magnetic flux tube observations and simulations), and a dynamo facility under construction there; the Space Plasma Simulation Chamber at the Naval Research Laboratory that currently produces plasmas scalable to ionospheric and magnetospheric conditions and in the future also will be suited to study the physics of the solar corona; the Versatile Toroidal Facility at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that provides direct experimental observation of reconnection dynamics; and the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment, which provides well-diagnosed data on three-dimensional (3D) null-point magnetic reconnection that is also applicable to solar active regions embedded in pre-existing coronal fields. New computer capabilities highlighted include: HYPERION, a fully compressible 3D magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) code with radiation transport and thermal conduction; ORBIT-RF, a 4D Monte-Carlo code for the study of wave interactions with fast ions embedded in background MHD plasmas; the 3D implicit multi-fluid MHD spectral element code, HiFi; and, the 3D Hall MHD code VooDoo. Research synergies for these new tools are primarily in the areas of magnetic reconnection, plasma charged particle acceleration, plasma wave propagation and turbulence in a diverging magnetic field, plasma atomic processes, and magnetic dynamo behavior. Full article