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Tip leakage vortex flow (TLV) is a common flow phenomenon in the axial-flow hydraulic machinery. High-efficiency simulation of TLV is still not an easy task because of the complex turbulent vortex-cavitation interactions. As an important basis of CFD, turbulence model directly affects the efficient computation of TLV. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the newly developed MST turbulence model in predicting the TLV flows.

By using the MST turbulence model and the ZGB cavitation model, numerical simulations of the TLV generated by a NACA0009 hydrofoil were performed under the cavitation-free and cavitation conditions, and the results were compared with the available experimental data.

The important features of TLV are well captured by the MST-based simulation scheme, and the problem of under-predicting the cavitating TLV tube is well solved. Turbulent viscosity is reasonably adjusted in the TLV core regions, and the LES-like mode is activated, which is beneficial to obtain more turbulent information on the same URANS grids. The requirements of grid size and time step of the MST model are much lower than that of the LES method, thereby weighing a good balance between the simulation accuracy and computation cost.

The MST turbulence model is suitable for the high-efficiency simulation of the TLV flows, which can lay a good foundation for efficient engineering computations of the cavitating TLV in the axial-flow hydraulic machinery.

The purpose of this paper is to explore inhalation levels and dermal exposure to toluene among printing workers who wore no personal protective equipment; it is conducted in a plastic bag factory. Using a charcoal cloth pad (CCP) as a dermal sampler to assess skin permeation of liquid toluene is also investigated.

In total, 27 stationary air samples as well as urine and dermal samples were collected over 9 days from 11 printing workers. Six pieces of CCP were wrapped on each of the workers’ fingers for the dermal sample collection. Air samples were collected and analyzed according to NIOSH No. 1501, and 65 post-shift urine samples were collected and analyzed using gas chromatography equipped with headspace sampler (GC-HS/FID). Multiple linear regression was employed to analyze the association between the studied variables.

The mean (SD) urinary toluene (UTol) level was 13.42 (9.72) ug/L. Toluene on the CCP (TolCCP) was a meaningful predictor for UTol (p-value=0.027) with r and r² values of 0.441 and 0.195, respectively. The r and r² of the model using the toluene time-weighted average concentrations in air were 0.739 and 0.546, respectively. The absorbed dose of toluene determined from the TolCCP ranged from 1.05 to 91.94 mg, accounting for 12.3 percent of the threshold limit value (TLV).

Dermal exposure was insignificant when workers wore respirators, but when not, dermal absorption could contribute to the overall uptake and exposure above the TLV. Appropriate gloves should be assigned to the workers to reduce dermal exposure to toluene.

The purpose of the paper is to quantify the impact of the non-uniform flow generated by the upstream stator on the generation and convection of the tip leakage flow (TLF) structures in the passages of the rotor blades in a low-speed axial fan.

A full three dimensional (3D)-viscous unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-stokes (RANS) (URANS) simulation of the flow within a periodic domain of the axial stage has been performed at three different flow rate coefficients (φ = 0.38, 0.32, 0.27) using ReNormalization Group k-ε turbulence modelling. A typical tip clearance of 2.3 per cent of the blade span has been modelled on a reduced domain comprising a three-vaned stator and a two-bladed rotor with circumferential periodicity. A non-conformal grid with hybrid meshing, locally refined O-meshes on both blades and vanes walls with (100 × 25 × 80) elements, a 15-node meshed tip gap and circumferential interfaces for sliding mesh computations were also implemented. The unsteady motion of the rotor has been covered with 60 time steps per blade event. The simulations were validated with experimental measurements of the static pressure in the shroud of the blade tip region.

It has been observed that both TLF and intensities of the tip leakage vortex (TLV) are significantly influenced by upstream stator wakes, especially at nominal and partial load conditions. In particular, the leakage flow, which represents 12.4 per cent and 11.3 per cent of the working flow rate, respectively, has shown a clear periodic fluctuation clocked with the vane passing period in the relative domain. The periodic fluctuation of the TLF is in the range of 2.8-3.4 per cent of the mean value. In addition, the trajectory of the tip vortex is also notably perturbed, with root-mean squared fluctuations reaching up to 18 per cent and 6 per cent in the regions of maximum interaction at 50 per cent and 25 per cent of the blade chord for nominal and partial load conditions, respectively. On the contrary, the massive flow separation observed in the tip region of the blades for near-stall conditions prevents the formation of TLV structures and neglects any further interaction with the upstream vanes.

Despite the increasing use of large eddy simulation modelling in turbomachinery environments, which requires extremely high computational costs, URANS modelling is still revealed as a useful technique to describe highly complex viscous mechanisms in 3D swirl flows, such as unsteady tip flow structures, with reasonable accuracy.

The paper presents a validated numerical model that simulates the unsteady response of the TLF to upstream perturbations in an axial fan stage. It also provides levels of instabilities in the TLV derived from the deterministic non-uniformities associated to the vane wakes.

This paper aims to understand the aerodynamic blockage related to near casing flow in a transonic axial compressor using numerical simulations and to design an optimum casing groove for stall margin improvement using a surrogate optimisation technique.

A blockage parameter (Ψ) is introduced to quantify blockage across the blade domain. A surrogate optimisation technique is then used to find the optimum casing groove design that minimises blockage at an axial location where the blockage is maximum at near stall conditions.

An optimised casing groove that improves the stall margin by about 1% can be found through optimisation of the blockage parameter (Ψ).

Optimising for stall margin is rather lengthy and computationally expensive, as the stall margin of a compressor will only be known once a complete compressor map is constructed. This study shows that the cost of the optimisation can be reduced by using a suitably defined blockage parameter as the optimising parameter.

In order to improve the engine reliability and efficiency, an effective way is to reform the turbine blade tip conformation. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The present research provides several novel tip-shaping structures, which are considered to control the blade tip loss. Four different tip geometries have been studied: flat tip, squealer tip, flat tip with streamwise ribs and squealer tip with streamwise ribs. The tip heat transfer and leakage flow are both analyzed in detail, for example the tip heat transfer coefficient, tip flow and local pressure distributions.

The results show that the squealer seal and streamwise rib can reduce the tip heat transfer and leakage loss, especially for the squealer tip with streamwise ribs. The tip and near-tip flow patterns at the different locations of axial chord reflect that both the squealer seal and streamwise rib structure can control the tip leakage flow loss. In addition, the analysis of the aerodynamic parameters (the static pressure and turbine efficiency) also indicates that the squealer tip with streamwise ribs obtains the highest adiabatic efficiency with an increase of 2.34 percent, compared with that of the flat tip case.

The analysis of aerothermal and dynamic performance can provide a reference for the blade tip design and treatment.

Wherever solvents and solvent containing systems are employed, protection for people and the environment is a vital factor in the way that they are used. The paper addresses the following: Minimum contamination of the environment (air and water) by solvent emission; adherence to existing occupational safety laws: process technology and equipment that ensure high safety levels, and non polluting waste disposal.

Many potentially hazardous materials and processes are employed in the manufacture of printed circuits and printed circuit assemblies. This article draws attention to these and lists the salient properties of those most commonly employed. Methods of assisting in the assurance of the safety of personnel handling and processing these materials are suggested. It is stressed that it is important always to know exactly what is being handled and how it is being modified by process operations. Finally, suggestions are made with regard to the availability of information and assistance and the need for communication with, and education of, all personnel concerned.

The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments in the sensing of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light.

Following a short introduction, this paper discusses recent research into the sensing of infra‐red (IR), terahertz (THz) and microwave radiation.

It is shown that novel sensors are being developed for all of these classes of EMR. Improved IR sensors are attracting strong interest from the military, novel THz sensor developments reflect the growing uses of this radiation and research into cosmology and astronomy are driving the development of highly sensitive microwave sensors.

The paper provides a technical review of recent research into sensing IR, THz and microwave radiations.

I promised that this month I would demonstrate a Z39.50 connection by emulating the two systems, showing the messages the protocol data units (PDUs) generated by each system. Before doing this, however, I need to digress to discuss syntaxes. In order for two systems to communicate, they not only need to agree on what will be sent but also on how this information will be represented. OSI protocols in general, and Z39.50 in particular, specify information representation by defining a “transfer syntax.” A transfer syntax consists of a humanly representable definition of the information, called the “abstract syntax,” and specification of the rules used to encode the abstract syntax into a format manageable by machines.

The Materials and Processes Research Laboratory of the Electronics Manufacturing Productivity Facility (EMPF) is undertaking a research project to examine the use of solvents in a vapour decreasing process. Fourteen solvents are included in this project. During the research, it was found that the concentration of the denaturant Methanol (MEOH) in the trichlorotrifluoroethane/ethanol (TCF/ethanol) mixture in the vapour degreaser boil sump was being depleted. The fresh material had a concentration of 0 · 35 percent MEOH by volume but the test data showed that this concentration dropped to levels between 0·19 and 0·11 percent MEOH. MEOH depletion in trichlorotrifluoroethane/methanol (TCE/methanol) azeotrope was also detected. The alcohol depletion that was discovered is a concern because when one component of an azeotrope breaks down, the entire azeotrope is affected and the constant boiling feature is no longer present. MEOH separation may also be a flammability hazard and may decrease the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of the solvent because of MEOH toxicity. It was determined that the MEOH depletion was caused by the molecular sieve or desiccant adsorbing the alcohol. Recommendations are offered to minimise the flammability hazard associated with a MEOH‐adsorbing molecular sieve.