Combustion development of a Bi-Fuel engine

Environmental improvement and energy issues are increasingly becoming more important as worldwide concerns. Natural gas is a good alternative fuel that can help to improve these issues because of its large quantity and clean burning characteristics. This paper provides the experimental performance results of a Bi-Fuel engine that uses Compressed Natural Gas as its Primary fuel and gasoline as its secondary fuel. This engine is a modification of the basic 1.4-liter gasoline engine. Generally, on the unmodified base engine, torque and power for CNG fuel are considerably lower than gasoline fuel. In this paper, the influence of fuels on wall temperature, performance and emissions are investigated.     

New approach for performing failure analysis of fuel cell-powered vehicles

Safety of hybrid-electric and fuel cell vehicles is a critical aspect of these new technologies, since any accident exposing occupants of such vehicles to unconventional hazards may result in significant setbacks to successful market penetration. Fuel cell and hybrid-electric drive systems are complex, and it is essential to perform a thorough analysis to determine critical failure conditions. There are several safety concerns for routine operation of such systems, particularly for hydrogen-fueled vehicles. A modified Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (FMEA) has been developed, along with a Criticality Analysis (CrA), to identify potentially hazardous conditions for crash and non-crash situations. A mathematical model of fuel cell operation has been developed and used here in conjunction with the FMEA. Component failures during the event modes are simulated using vehicle models developed with Matlab Simulink tools. Six simulation models were created using the software. In addition, a preliminary finite element model of a fuel cell vehicle, using a Ford Taurus (91′) model year sedan, has been developed and implemented. This finite element model is used as a demonstration of the crash simulation of the vehicle.     

Experimental investigation using CFD for thermal performance of ventilated disc brake rotor

In the present work, different ventilated disc brake rotor configurations were analysed to enhance the heat transfer rate and obtain the uniform temperature distribution in the rotor. CFD code used in this work was validated at using experimental results obtained by conducting experiments on a test rig. The experimental analysis was performed to calculate the mass flow rate and heat dissipation through the rotor. Further, different types of rotor configurations viz. straight radial vane (SRV), tapered radial vane (TRV), alternate long and short vane (ALSV), variable diameter circular pillars (VDCP) were considered for the analysis. A rotor segment of 20° was considered for the numerical analysis due to its rotational symmetry. CFD results were in good agreement with the experiments. The maximum deviation of the numerical results were about 12 % from the experimental results. It is found from the analysis that among the different types of rotor configurations; variable diameter circular pillars (VDCP) rotor gives better rate of heat dissipation with more uniform temperature distribution in the flow passages. Hence for modern high speed vehicles VDCP rotor may be more appropriate.     

Prospects for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the United States and Japan: A general equilibrium analysis

The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) may offer a potential near term, low-carbon alternative to today’s gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. A representative vehicle technology that runs on electricity in addition to conventional fuels was introduced into the MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model as a perfect substitute for internal combustion engine (ICE-only) vehicles in two likely early-adopting markets, the United States and Japan. We investigate the effect of relative vehicle cost and all-electric range on the timing of PHEV market entry in the presence and absence of an advanced cellulosic biofuels technology and a strong (450 ppm) economy-wide carbon constraint. Vehicle cost could be a significant barrier to PHEV entry unless fairly aggressive goals for reducing battery costs are met. If a low-cost PHEV is available we find that its adoption has the potential to reduce CO₂ emissions, refined oil demand, and under a carbon policy the required CO₂ price in both the United States and Japan. The emissions reduction potential of PHEV adoption depends on the carbon intensity of electric power generation. Thus, the technology is much more effective in reducing CO₂ emissions if adoption occurs under an economy-wide cap and trade system that also encourages low-carbon electricity generation.     

Sensitivity analysis of the probabilistic damage stability regulations for RoPax vessels

In the light of the newly developed harmonised probabilistic damage stability regulations, set to come into force in 2009, this article presents a systematic and thorough analysis of the sensitivity of the Attained Subdivision Index with reference to a wide range of related design parameters. The sensitivity of the probabilistic regulations was investigated for a typical large RoPax vessel, with variation of parameters, such as the number, positioning and local optimisation of transverse bulkheads; the presence and position of longitudinal bulkheads below the main vehicle deck; the presence of side casings; and the height of the main deck and double bottom. The effects of water on deck and of operational parameters (draught, centre of gravity and trim) were also investigated. The results of the study, presented in graphical form, can provide valuable assistance to the designer when determining subdivision characteristics at the very early stage of the design process, resulting in optimal, efficient and safe ships.     

Fast direction of arrival algorithm based on vector-sensor arrays using wideband sources

An acoustic vector sensor （AVS） can capture more information than a conventional acoustic pressure sensor （APS）. As a result, more output channels are required when multiple AVS are formed into arrays, making processing the data stream computationally intense. This paper proposes a new algorithm based on the propagator method for wideband coherent sources that eliminates eigen-decomposition in order to reduce the computational burden. Data from simulations and lake trials showed that the new algorithm is valid： it resolves coherent sources, breaks left/right ambiguity, and allows inter element spacing to exceed a half-wavelength.     

Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for traumatic lumbar spondylolisthesis

To evaluate the clinical outcome, effectiveness and safety of the surgical management of traumatic lumbar spondylolisthesis with transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) with short segmental instrumentation fixation. A retrospective review of a consecutive series of 24 patients with traumatic lumbar spondylolisthesis treated with TLIF procedure was carried out. Intraoperative spinal cord monitoring was used to confirm the peripheral neural function intact during the reduction of the spondylolisthesis. Preoperative clinical and radiographic evaluation of all cases were originally collected prospectively. Data regarding blood loss, operative time, duration of hospital stay, radiographic fusion, instrumentation failure and clinical result were collected and observed at regular follow-up periods. All patients were engaged in high-energy accidents in the lower back and 16 patients had concomitant injuries. The mean operative time was 124 min, mean blood loss was 350 mL, and mean hospital stay was 6.5 days. There were no complications such as incision infection, cerebrospinal fluide (CSF) leakage and nerve root injury and so on. All patients demonstrated a solid lumbar interbody fusion within 4 months, and no evidence of spondylolisthesis correction loss, instrumentation failure and loosing. They all were completely asymptomatic, with normal neurologic findings, and had resumed their previous level of physical activities on the final follow-up. Meticulous clinical examination and careful imaging assessment could assist an early diagonosis in cases of traumatic lumbar spondylolisthesis. Performing open reduction and the TLIF procedure as soon as possible could restore segmental stability and painless function. The TLIF procedure was a safe, effective technique to treat traumatic lumbar spondylolisthesis.     

Face recognition via adaptive image combination

Dimension reduction and manifold learning are the two most popular feature extraction methods. The two methods focus on spatial locality as a guiding principle to find a low-dimensional basis for describing high-dimensional data, but no bases or features are more spatially localized than the original image pixels. So, adaptive image combination is presented to represent a class by a combined sample. The combined sample is a linear combination of original samples in the same class. Adaptive image combination (AIC) find the best combination coefficients by minimizing the intrapersonal distance and maximizing the interpersonal distance. Experimental results show that AIC is effective.