Numerical simulation of three-dimensional combustion flows

A finite-rate method is used to simulate the three-dimensional combustion process in a plasma generator with CH4 as the fuel. The simulation was run with RNG k-ε model to simulate turbulence, with eddy-dissipation-concept （EDC） model to simulate the combustion and with discrete ordinates model to simulate radiation. The numerical results show that the flow field characteristics and the parameter distributions are under the condition of rich fuels, and these results provide valuable information when optimizing the plasma generator design and organizing its flow fields.     

A nonlinear model reference adaptive inverse control algorithm with pre-compensator

In this paper, the reduced-order modeling （ROM） technology and its corresponding linear theory are expanded from the linear dynamic system to the nonlinear one, and H∞ control theory is employed in the frequency domain to design some nonlinear system＇ s pre-compensator in some special way. The adaptive model inverse control （AMIC）theory coping with nonlinear system is improved as well. Such is the model reference adaptive inverse control with pre-compensator （PCMRAIC）. The aim of that algorithm is to construct a strategy of control as a whole. As a practical example of the application, the nunlerical simulation has been given on matlab software packages. The numerical result is given. The proposed strategy realizes the linearization control of nonlinear dynamic system. And it carries out a good performance to deal with the nonlinear system.     

Job accessibility and employment outcomes: which income groups benefit the most?

Improving job accessibility can increase the probability for individual persons to be employed and reduce their commutes. Empirical research suggests that the relationship between job accessibility and employment outcomes differ across income groups, but no research has investigated the difference or explored which income groups benefit the most from job accessibility improvements. This research fills the gap by examining six income groups in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Results show that job accessibility affects the employment status of medium-to-low income groups (household income between US$25,000 and US$75,000). For the lowest-income group (household income lower than US$25,000), owning a car significantly improves their chances to be employed, but job accessibility has no effect. On the other hand, higher job accessibility is associated with shorter commuting distance for the other five income groups, but not for the lowest-income group. These results suggest that transportation and land use policies need to address the specific needs of distinct population groups and underscore the importance of spatial access for the middle-class, which tends to be overlooked in the literature on transportation equity.     

Maritime education factors and presenteeism: a comparative quantitative study

Presenteeism research has only recently extended from a construct capturing lost productivity due to attending work despite health issues to a construct representing students’ perceived academic performance. Aligning with presenteeism’s prevalent research paradigm, the pioneering studies used health-related issues to measure presenteeism. In contrast, this study used the Presenteeism and Perceived Academic Performance (PPAP) Scale, which the researcher developed for this study. The PPAP Scale comprises aspects of student behavior that support academic performance. This study filled gaps in the literature by investigating presenteeism as a concept associated with students’ perceived academic performance, measured with the PPAP Scale, and factors specific to maritime education. The factors investigated were self-identified by the study respondents, in sufficient numbers to support statistical analysis, as favorably (i.e., cruise and license/maritime instruction) or negatively (i.e., mandatory regimental activity, taps, morning or afternoon formations, and watch) impacting their academic performance. This study found no statistical evidence to suggest the level of presenteeism, measured with the PPAP Scale, among the study’s sample of license students is associated with factors perceived to favorably or negatively impact academic performance. Additional insight can be gained from license student participants’ responses to the study’s open-ended questions (e.g., a perceived imbalance between time available to allocate to their academics and time needed to fulfill regimental responsibilities).     

A hybrid analytical model of sterilization effect on marine bacteria using microbubbles interacting with shock wave

The present paper reports on a hybrid analytical model consisting of a biological probability model and a physical impact model proposed to predict the cell viability ratio of a sterilization method for marine bacteria using microbubbles interacting with a shock wave. The physical impact model of interaction between a microbubble and a shock wave is developed on the basis of the bubble motion analysis with experimental pressure data and a one-dimensional numerical simulation. An underwater shock wave produced by microbubble motion is simulated using a second-order finite differential scheme by means of bubble surface velocity variation obtained from Herring’s bubble motion equation, and the radius of the sterilized space around a microbubble is estimated by the critical pressure that just causes cell wall damage of marine bacteria. The sterilization effect predicted by the present hybrid analysis shows a good agreement with the bio-experimental result.     

Convergence of different wake alignment methods in a panel code for steady-state flows

Wake alignment models are always included in the modern panel codes for marine propeller analysis. The wake alignment algorithms influence directly the rate of convergence and the accuracy of calculations. In the present work, firstly, four different numerical methods to implement the wake alignment algorithms for the steady calculation are described. They perform quite differently in terms of convergence history and convergence rate. The comparison with the other methods shows that the direct application of the unsteady method leads to a much slower convergence rate. Secondly, high-order numerical methods including second-order and fourth-order Runge–Kutta methods are introduced into the wake alignment, which results in high-order wake alignment algorithms. The analysis of the results shows that the high-order methods generate a different wake geometry from the low-order method. The thrust coefficient and torque coefficient have also been compared.     

Field implementation feasibility study of cumulative travel‐time responsive (CTR) traffic signal control algorithm

The cumulative travel‐time responsive (CTR) algorithm determines optimal green split for the next time interval by identifying the maximum cumulative travel time (CTT) estimated under the connected vehicle environment. This paper enhanced the CTR algorithm and evaluated its performance to verify a feasibility of field implementation in a near future. Standard Kalman filter (SKF) and adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) were applied to estimate CTT for each phase in the CTR algorithm. In addition, traffic demand, market penetration rate (MPR), and data availability were considered to evaluate the CTR algorithm's performance. An intersection in the Northern Virginia connected vehicle test bed is selected for a case study and evaluated within vissim and hardware in the loop simulations. As expected, the CTR algorithm's performance depends on MPR because the information collected from connected vehicle is a key enabling factor of the CTR algorithm. However, this paper found that the MPR requirement of the CTR algorithm could be addressed (i) when the data are collected from both connected vehicle and the infrastructure sensors and (ii) when the AKF is adopted. The minimum required MPRs to outperform the actuated traffic signal control were empirically found for each prediction technique (i.e., 30% for the SKF and 20% for the AKF) and data availability. Even without the infrastructure sensors, the CTR algorithm could be implemented at an intersection with high traffic demand and 50–60% MPR. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the field implementation of the CTR algorithm to improve the traffic network performance. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of the type of the pulverized coal concentrator on the operation of a tangential fired boiler with horizontal bias combustion

In this paper, the problems of combustion instability and high-temperature corrosion of pulverized coal fired boiler are investigated by numerical simulation and analysis of the momentum moment. Elbow and twisting plate type of burners are used in the boiler, and the reverse moment of momentum is formed at the outlet of the fuel-rich side of the burner. The momentum moment in the boiler is opposite to the designed tangential circle, and the tangential circle in the boiler is reversed rotation. The reverse moment of momentum at the burner outlet can be eliminated by using louver horizontal bias pulverized coal burner, while the problems of combustion instability and high-temperature corrosion of the boiler are solved, and the combustion efficiency is improved. Accordingly,economic benefit is obviously got.     

Wind turbine gearbox reliability analysis based on the system level stress-strength model

In order to estimate the reliability of wind turbine gearbox based on the system level, a generalized stress-strength model is introduced. Considering that the system works properly under a variety of random stresses which affect every component, the total stress on the system is given by a known linear combination of the stresses of all components. Then the strength of the system can be viewed as a linear combination of the strengths of relative components. In this model, stress and strength are independent of each other. Reliability of the system is the probability that strength exceeds stress. Finally, the reliability of wind turbine gearbox is estimated by the multivariable reliability calculation method. The corresponding result is compared with the results of reliability in the extreme cases(completely dependent and completely independent) by the traditional evaluation method.