Annular Width Research Articles

Design of high-performance miniaturised circular slotted microstrip power dividers

Creating annular slotted rings within the circular microstrip patch power divider facilitates the realization of a new power divider configuration, which provides multifaceted features like miniaturization, decreased insertion loss, increased isolation, and fractional bandwidth enhancement, which collectively imbue the device with heightened operational efficacy. The present manuscript delineates the configuration, evaluation, analysis and design of these centre-fed Circular Slotted Power Dividers (CSPDs) endowed with annular slotted rings that have been engineered to function with superior efficacy.An analytical framework has been proposed for prognosticating the operational characteristics and design details of the proposed microstrip power divider by combining the known behaviour of its two component structures, namely, the inner Circular Micro-Strip Structure (CMSS) and the outer Annular Micro-Strip Structure (AMSS). The validity and accuracy of this framework have been ascertained by means of numerical simulations as well as practical measurements of the fabricated CSPDs. In addition, a parametric analysis is conducted to scrutinize the effects of varying the permittivity of the substrate, the circular radius, the annular ring radii, and the annular ring width, on the power divider's operational parameters. The insights gleaned from this analysis are subsequently utilized to optimize the proposed mathematical design procedure of the CSPDs.Furthermore, the manuscript expounds upon the assessment of the influence of multiple annular rings incorporated within the CPDs on further miniaturization and enhancement of the bandwidth. These enhanced structures are named as CSPD with Dual Slotted Rings (CDSR).

Design and Analyses of Miniature, Submersible Annular Linear Induction Pump for Test Loops Supporting Development of Advanced Nuclear Reactors

A submersible annular linear induction pump (ALIP) design with an outer diameter of 66.8 mm with appropriate materials is developed for circulating molten lead and alkali liquid metals of sodium and sodium-potassium-78 (NaK-78) alloy in test loops at temperatures up to 500°C. These loops investigate the compatibility of these liquid coolants with nuclear fuel and structure materials to support the development of advanced, Generation IV nuclear reactors. The present ALIP, which employs high-temperature ceramic-insulated coil wires and Hiperco-50 center core and stators, fits in Type 316 stainless steel, 2.5-in. standard schedule 5 pipe. This pipe, considered for the riser tube of the Versatile Test Reactor (VTR) in-pile test cartridge loop, has an inner diameter of 68.8 mm permitting 1.0-mm radial clearance for the present ALIP. An improved equivalent circuit model (ECM) is developed to analyze the performance of the present ALIP design. The accuracy of the model predictions is successfully validated using reported experimental measurements by other investigators for a low liquid sodium flow ALIP at 200°C and 330°C. The improved ECM calculates the performance characteristics of the present ALIP design and investigates the effects of varying the terminal voltage, current frequency, winding wire diameter, center core length, width of the liquid flow annulus, and working fluid properties and temperature on the pump operation. For circulating molten lead, the calculated peak efficiency of the present ALIP design of 6.7% occurs at a flow rate of 9.5 kg/s and pumping pressure of 263 kPa. The calculated peak efficiency for circulating liquid sodium is much higher, 26.3%, and occurs at a lower flow rate of 2.2 kg/s but a higher pumping pressure of 364 kPa. The calculated peak efficiency for circulating NaK-78 (23%) is lower than for sodium and occurs at a lower flow rate and pumping pressure of 1.9 kg/s and 310 kPa, respectively.

Numerical Study of the Effects of Injection Conditions on Rotating Detonation Engine Propulsive Performance

A three-dimensional upwind conservation element and solution element method (CESE) in cylindrical coordinates is first developed to effectively solve the unsteady reactive Euler equations governing a hydrogen–air rotating detonation engine (RDE) with coaxial structures. The effects of the annular width on the structure of the detonation front and the relationship between the thrust and mass flow rate are then investigated. Additionally, RDEs with various injection conditions are systematically analyzed regarding flow patterns and propulsion performance. The results reveal a positive correlation between the specific impulse and the area ratio of the injection slot to the head-end wall. Nevertheless, the specific impulse shows minimal dependence on the injector slot’s location when the area ratio is constant. Ultimately, it is concluded that the area ratio between the injector and the head-end wall is critical in determining the loss of specific impulse.

Experimental research on the detonation behavior in annular combustors utilizing liquid hypergolic propellants

The development of rotating detonation engine utilizing hypergolic propellants is necessary for practical application of detonation-based rocket engines, but this liquid-liquid rotating detonation has been rarely researched due to its difficulty of well atomization and mixing in very short time. This study aims to experimentally investigate the propagation characteristics of rotating detonations using non-premixed hypergolic propellants in annular combustors. Here the monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) and nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) have been used as oxidizer and fuel, respectively. Twenty-four unlike impinging elements have been used for injection and mixing of liquid propellants. The orifice diameter is 0.4 mm for oxidizer and 0.3 mm for fuel. Three typical combustion modes such as deflagration mode, one-wave rotating detonation mode and two-wave collision mode have been captured by dynamic pressure transducers and the high-speed camera. The influence of many factors, such as mass flow rate, mixing ratio, annular combustor width and chamber throat, on rotating detonation behaviors have been investigated. The propagation velocity of rotating detonations is around 1328 m/s∼1405 m/s, including one-wave rotating detonation mode and two-wave collision mode. When the mass flow rate and mixing ratio is not appropriate, the hypergolic combustion becomes obviously unstable and combustion modes vary very quickly, especially at the start-up stage. The chamber throat plays a negative role on rotating detonation which suppresses the detonation propagation and can lead to detonation fail. Besides, the wider annular combustor width is beneficial for rotating detonation propagating, which can eliminate the negative influence of the chamber throat on the detonation propagation. In addition, increasing mass flow rate would lead to higher injection velocity and thus better impinging injection, atomization and mixing, which is positive for increasing the stable operation range of mixing ratio for rotating detonations.

Unsteady MHD flow in a rotating annular region with Homogeneous–Heterogeneous chemical reactions of Walters’ B fluids: Time-periodic boundary criteria

This paper considers the movement of an incompressible non-Newtonian Walters’ B liquid within a rotating annulus. The flow lies within porous media and is magnetized by a uniform normal magnetic field. Mass transmission is included in the arrangements of homogeneous and heterogeneous chemical reactions (HHCR) with a thermal diffusion effect. Heat diffusion is exposed with a temperature- dependent heat source (THS) and an exponential radial-dependent heat source (ERHS), besides Joule heating and viscous dissipations. The mathematical construction is shown by momentum, energy and concentration of chemical materials equations along with time-periodic boundary conditions. The innovation of this study stems from considering mass transfer utilizing HHCR, with thermal diffusion effects in the flow within a rotating annulus, trying to understand the effect of these reactions on the flow and related applications. The principal regulating the structure of nonlinear partial differential equations is transferred by ordinary ones utilizing appropriate similarity analysis. These equations are analyzed by the homotopy perturbation method. Subsequently, the analytical solutions of the main profiles are obtained, and a graphical construction is established to clarify the effects of the relevant physical elements. It is observed that the velocity waves decrease with annulus width enlargement and increase with the wave phase amplitude. With an increase in all significant parameters, heat transmission gets better. Furthermore, as the strength of HHCR is increased, the concentration of molecules decreases. These outcomes are significant in several applications like cancer therapy, biochemical manufacturing purposes through reactors, where biochemical interactions can be regulated by accurate control of various parameters.

Functional Renormalization Group Study of Superconductivity in Rhombohedral Trilayer Graphene.

We employ a functional renormalization group approach to ascertain the pairing mechanism and symmetry of the superconducting phase observed in rhombohedral trilayer graphene. Superconductivity in this system occurs in a regime of carrier density and displacement field with a weakly distorted annular Fermi sea. We find that repulsive Coulomb interactions can induce electron pairing on the Fermi surface by taking advantage of momentum-space structure associated with the finite width of the Fermi sea annulus. The degeneracy between spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing is lifted by valley-exchange interactions that strengthen under the RG flow and develop nontrivial momentum-space structure. We find that the leading pairing instability is d-wave-like and spin singlet, and that the theoretical phase diagram versus carrier density and displacement field agrees qualitatively with experiment.

Experimental study on the rotating detonation engine based on a gas mixture

A direct connection test of a rotating detonation engine was conducted. The outer and inner diameters of the annular combustors were 206 and 166 mm, respectively. High enthalpy air was used as an oxidizer, and a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane was used as fuel with a volume fraction of 5/4/1. The mixture was injected through small holes, and air was injected through annular slots. The effects of combustor length, width of annular slots, and the equivalent ratio on formation, development, propagation, and flameout of rotating detonation waves were analyzed, and several modes of rotating detonation were observed. It was found that when the width of the air annular slot was within the range of 3–5 mm, the pressure of the detonation wave was augmented with an increased slot width. As width increased, detonation waves became unstable. In study test conditions, an annular slot width of 6 mm was the critical condition for the formation of stable detonation. When the slot width was 4 mm and combustor length 160 mm, the phenomena of the conversion between single and double waves, double-wave collision, and conversion of the propagation direction occurred at different equivalent ratios. When the equivalent ratio was 1.2/1 and the slot width was within the range of 3–6 mm, the slot width was inversely related to the detonation wave velocity. When the slot width was 4 mm and the equivalent ratio was 1.0/1–1.2/1, the slot width was positively correlated with the detonation wave velocity. When the combustor length was shortened to 80 mm, the propagation mode of the detonation wave was changed to a single wave first and then to a double wave in the same direction, and the velocity reduced from 1130.69 to 1024.16 m/s. The injector used in the test inhibited the propagation of back pressure from the combustor.

Xylem vessel type and structure influence the water transport characteristics of Panax notoginseng.

Panax notoginseng plays a very important role in medicinal and economic value. The restriction imposed by the hydraulic pathway is considered to be the main limitation on the optimal growth state of Panax notoginseng. The flow resistance and water transport efficiency of vessel were affected by vessel type and secondary thickening structure. The vessel structure parameters of Panax notoginseng were obtained by experimental anatomy, and the flow resistance characteristics were analyzed by numerical simulation. The results showed that the xylem vessels had annular thickening and pit thickening walls. The flow resistance coefficient (ξ) of the pitted thickening vessel was significantly lower than that of annular thickening vessel in four cross-sectional types. The ξ of the circular cross-sectional vessel was the largest, followed by the hexagon, pentagon cross-sectional vessel and the lowest was the quadrilateral cross-sectional vessel, and the structure coefficient (S) was just the opposite. The ξ of the vessel model was positively correlated with the annular height, pitted width and pitted height, and negatively correlated with the annular inscribed circle diameter, annular width, annular spacing, pitted inscribed circle diameter and pitted spacing. Among them, annular (pitted) height and the annular (pitted) inscribed circle diameter had a great influence on the ξ. The increasing and decreasing trend of the S and ξ were opposite in the change of annular (pitted) inscribed circle diameter, and consistent in the change of in other structural parameters, indicating that the secondary wall thickening structure limited the inner diameter of the vessel to maintain a balance between flow resistance and transport efficiency.

Annular energy and radial dose distributions study for a wide range of ions of different equal LET groups in water

Annular energy distribution, AED is a new concept deduced from radial dose, RDD that enables one to draw a map of energy-dose distribution around the ion's path at the nanometer scale better than the ordinary radial dose. The distribution of energy for different equal LET groups of ions of the same LET (keV/μm) were studied using this concept. Annular energy distributions, AEDs for 185 ions impeded in water medium were studied using Katz radial dose formula. AED was calculated using Butts-Katz and Tabata electron range-energy (R-E) relations and were compared. AED and shell annular energy distribution, SAED for those ions were mapping and confirming that energy distributions for ions of the same LET are not the same. AED growth with annular width r=0.1(nm)⟶Rmin(nm) showing a peak at the maximum annular energy width, rMAEW. Butts-Katz and Tabata show same annular energy distribution peaks of the same value, however, Tabata shows that energy is distributed over a wide range than Butts-Katz. Thus, Butts-Katz R-E relation is recommended and considered. AED for the studied 185 ions shows a peak at certain width called the maximum annular energy width, rMAEW. This rMAEW showed a monotonic increasing function with ion's β2. The total annular energy distribution, TAED for the different ions were determined and it shows a linear increasing function of the ion's (Z*/β)2.

Semi-physical Simulation Model for Leakage of Prediction Aviation Pipeline

The high stability and tightness of modern aviation hydraulic pipelines require them to have a very low leakage rate under variable pressure environments. Once the leakage of the hydraulic pipeline is likely to cause an irreversible air disaster. Flaring straight pipe joint is one of the most widely used in aircraft hydraulic pipelines. The establishment of the simulation model is an effective method to accurately predict the annular gap leakage of the pipe joint. The ring gap of the pipe joint is located inside the threaded sleeve, which cannot be directly observed. The existing leakage prediction methods usually only focus on the microscopic interface contact and ignore the leakage prediction of real complex structures. Therefore, this article is based on ideas, semi-physical simulation through experimental data calibration tightening torque and annular gap width and the mathematical relationship between void ratio, and then established the flaring type straight pipe joint circular aperture leakage prediction simulation model, the ability to different tightening torque and hydraulic pressure conditions for predicting the pipe joint leakage rate, finally, the simulation experiments have been carried out to verify prediction model, The validity of this method is proved.

Thermal-hydraulic characteristics of FLiBe in annuli with helical wire

A fully tight-fitting triangular wire coil is used to enhance heat transfer of FLiBe in the annular channel for the first time. The numerical simulations of annular channels with triangular wire coil were performed with three helical pitches, three annular widths, and one equilateral triangle corresponding to Reynolds number of 4000–10000. It is found that adding triangular wire coil generates a vortex and reduces significantly the lengths of flow and thermal entrance regions of the annular channel. The local Nusselt number for peripheral point is extremely non-uniform. The Nusselt number decreases with annular width and helical pitch increase. The Nusselt number of enhanced annular channel is 1.45–1.98 times that of smooth annular channel. The overall performance of annular channel with helical pitch of 15 mm and annular width of 10 mm is best by using the principle of entropy generation. However, by using the performance evaluation criteria, the annular channel with helical pitch of 15 mm and annular width of 19.4 mm is best when the Reynolds number is less than or equal to 5500. And the annular channel with helical pitch of 20 mm and annular width of 19.4 mm is best at the high Reynolds number.

Distribution of radial dose in water at nanometer scale for ions of the same linear energy transfer: benefits of the concept of annular dose

Annular-dose AD is a new conception , based on the radial dose distribution, RDD, introduced by the present work. AD is the integrated dose for many shells around the ions and it is defined as the dose deposited in the shell volume perpendicular to the ion path of width length equal and thickness equal unity (1 nm). Thus, it integrates and maps the deposited dose due to ion in any medium at nanometer scale better than the ordinary radial dose. Katz and Awad radial dose formulae plus Butts-Katz and Tabata electron range-energy relations are composing three different approaches. These approaches were used for studying the AD for 30 ions forming 4 different equal LET groups and have energy at Bragg peak region from 1.5 to 24 MeV n−1. The annular dose, AD as a function of the shell width for the ions under investigation showed that dose distributions around the ions of same LET are not the same and a clear peak at certain shell width called the ion’s maximum annular dose width, r MADW was determined for the first time. The r MADW is the position where the maximum reachable dose is delivered by secondary electrons around the ion. The ion’s r MADW showed an increasing function with Z*β within the same LET group. Interestingly, it was found that r MADW behaves as an increasing monotonic function of the relative ion velocity, β using the three approaches considered in this work.

On the double-diffusive layer formation in the vertical annulus driven by radial thermal and salinity gradients

We employ the Chebyshev tau-qz algorithm developed by Straughan and co-workers (1996, 2013) to investigate the stability of the double-diffusive convection in a vertical annulus, in which the inner cylinder maintains cold and fresh and the outer cylinder warm and salty. Results show that the double-diffusive layer may form through a successive generation of vortices induced by the interaction between the radial thermal and salinity gradients. The competition of the two gradients leads to three different types of double-diffusive instabilities: thermal, salt-finger, and diffusive. The axisymmetric mode is generally the most unstable, and its instability enhances when the annular gap width is larger. The non-axisymmetric mode becomes more stable for the annulus with a larger gap width, and its stability enhances when the mode has a smaller azimuthal wavelength. Finally, we show through a simulated experiment that the HDDL thickness is of a scale about the gap width.

Generalized correlation for onset flooding velocity in vertical channels

Flooding due to gas-liquid counter-current flow might significantly impact engineering applications such as boilers, heat exchangers, and nuclear reactors. Despite the extensive body of literature, there is still a notable disagreement on the appropriate definition of the characteristic length regarding the onset flooding velocity in rectangular and annular channels. The primary motivation for this study is to examine which geometric dimension is the most suitable to predict the onset of flooding velocity. This study measured the onset of flooding velocity in one circular and two different annular channels. The channel geometries are considered such that the hydraulic diameter trend is inverse to the average circumference. The study's findings show that the hydraulic diameter cannot be used as a characteristic length for annular and rectangular channels to describe the onset flooding velocity. Instead, the average circumference for the annular channel and channel width for rectangular channels exhibit superior performances. The flooding air velocity was increased by increasing the average circumference of the annular channel or channel width for the rectangular channel. New Wallis-type generalized relationships are derived based on the wide range of channel geometries and dimensions. The novel generalized empirical correlation could be defined regardless of the channel geometry.

Spontaneous giant vortices and circular supercurrents in a trapped exciton-polariton condensate.

We theoretically study an exciton-polariton condensate trapped in a harmonic potential with an annular pump. With a circular pump, predictions were made for a spontaneous rotating vortex lattice packed by singly quantized vortices. If the circular pump is replaced by an annular pump, singly quantized vortices are absorbed into the central hole and form a multiply quantized vortex. For a sufficiently narrow annular width, all vortices are absorbed into the central hole, ultimately forming a giant vortex with supersonic circular supercurrents flowing around it. Vortex-antivortex pairs can be generated if a defect is present in these supersonic circular supercurrents. We further discover that the motion of the vortex-antivortex pairs depends on the position at which they were generated. We suggest that this property can be used to control whether the velocity of the circular supercurrents is above or below the sound velocity.

The Dark Annulus of a Drop in a Hele-Shaw Cell Is Caused by the Refraction of Light through Its Meniscus

Knowing the meniscus shape of confined drops is important for understanding how they make first contact and then coalesce. When imaged from the top view by brightfield microscopy, a liquid drop (e.g., corn syrup) confined in a Hele-Shaw cell, surrounded by immiscible liquid (e.g., mineral oil), had a dark annulus, and the width of the annulus decreased with increasing concentration of corn syrup. Since the difference in the annulus width was presumed to be related to the meniscus shape of the drops, three-dimensional images of the drops with different concentrations were obtained using confocal fluorescence microscopy, and their cross-sectional meniscus profile was determined by image processing. The meniscus of the drops remained circular despite varying concentration. Since the refractive index of corn syrup increased with concentration, while the surface tension coefficient between corn syrup and mineral oil remained unchanged, the observed change in the annulus width was then attributed to the refraction of light passing through the drop’s meniscus. As such, a ray optics model was developed, which predicted that the annulus width of the drop would decrease as the refractive index of the drop approached that of the surrounding liquid. Therefore, the dark annulus of the drops in the Hele-Shaw cell was caused by the refraction of light passing through the circular meniscus of the drop.

Airflow Distributions in a Z Type Centripetal Radial Flow Reactor: Effects of Opening Strategy and Opening Rate

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was adopted to investigate the influence of the three-section opening strategy in the Z type centripetal radial flow reactor on the uniformity of the gas flow, which aimed to optimize the opening rate of the reactor. The simulation results showed that as the pore-opening ratio of are 10%, 16% and 29% for three sections from top to bottom of the central channel, the opening rate of the circular channel perforated plate is 10–12%, 21–25% and 30–40% from top to bottom, respectively; the uniformity of the reactor was then achieved. Through the simulation results, it was also found that the change in the opening rate at the center pipe perforated plate had a greater contribution to the gas flow mal-distribution inside the reactor. The contribution of the change in the opening rate of the annular channel perforated plate to the uniformity of the gas flow inside the reactor was smaller than that of the center pipe. Annular channel width should not be smaller, such that gas flow malfunction inside the reactor could be avoided, although high-speed velocity cases were encountered.

Optimization design of a fully variable valve system based on Nelder-Mead algorithm

This paper presents an optimal design for the soft-landing of the fully variable valve system in internal combustion engines based on Nelder-Mead algorithm and integrated simulation. The system is used to enhance the engine performance in terms of emissions and fuel economy. The electromagnetic linear actuator (EMLA) and the magnetorheological (MR) buffer are modelled with COMSOL Multiphysics, and a co-simulation platform is constructed with MATLAB/Simulink. The prototype test results are basically consistent with the integrated simulation, indicating the feasibility of the integrated simulation platform. After that, the structure of the magnetorheological buffer is optimized based on the Nelder-Mead algorithm. The optimization objective is the adjustable coefficient and the optimized parameters are the effective length, the annular gap width, the piston diameter, the groove depth and length of the coil. The adjustable coefficient of the optimized MR buffer was increased from 8.8 to 25.46. And the co-simulation results showed that the optimized system has a great improvement in soft-landing performance, with the valve seat velocity reduced from 0.51 m/s to 0.03 m/s and the bounce height reduced from 0.6 mm to nearly 0 when the lift is 8 mm.

Superposing the Magnetic Spiral Structure of the Milky Way, on the Stellar Spiral Arms—Matching the Unique Galactic Magnetic Field Reversal Zone with Two Galactic Spiral Arm Segments

To pinpoint the peak location of the synchrotron total intensity emission in a spiral arm, we use a map of the spiralarm locations (from the observed arm tangent). Thus In a typical spiral arm in Galactic Quadrant I, we find the peak of the synchrotron radiation to be located about 220 +/-40 pc away from the inner arm edge (hot dust lane) inside the spiral arm. While most of the galactic disk has a clockwise largescale magnetic field, we make a statistical analysis to delimitate more precisely the smaller reverse annulus wiith a counterclockwise galactic magnetic field. We find an annulus width of 2.1 +/-0.3 kpc (measured along the Galactic radius), located from 5.5 to 7.6 kpc from the Galactic Center). The annulus does not overlay with a single spiral arm -- it encompasses segments of two different spiral arms. Using a recent delineation of the position of spiral arms, the field-reversed annulus is seen to encompass the Crux-Centaurus arm (in Galactic Quadrant IV) and the Sagittarius arm (in Galactic Quadrant I).

High tolerance detour-phase graphene-oxide flat lens

Flat lenses thinner than a wavelength promise to replace conventional refractive lenses in miniaturized optical systems. However, Fresnel zone plate flat lens designs require dense annuli, which significantly challenges nanofabrication resolution. Herein, we propose a new implementation of detour phase graphene flat lens with flexible annular number and width. Several graphene metalenses demonstrated that with a flexible selection of the line density and width, the metalenses can achieve the same focal length without significant distortions. This will significantly weaken the requirement of the nanofabrication system which is important for the development of large-scale flat lenses in industry applications.