Influence Of Air Pressure Research Articles

Pumped-storage hydropower plants with underground reservoir: Influence of air pressure on the efficiency of the Francis turbine and energy production

Closed mines can be used as lower reservoirs of Underground Pumped-Storage Hydropower (UPSH) plants. The excavation of ventilation shafts is necessary to allow the exhalation of the trapped air which is displaced during the turbine process. This paper analyzes the influence of air pressure in the lower reservoir due to the energy losses in the ventilation shafts on the overall energy production. Analytical and three-dimensional CFD numerical models (using VOF formulation for two-phase flow) have been developed in order to know the influence of the air pressure on the turbine operation for the first time. The results obtained show that depending on the usual designs of the ventilation system, the pressure inside the reservoir may vary between 0.67 and 42 mH2O. The increase in pressure implies a reduction in the available net head and therefore, the stored energy decreases. The reduction in the generation of electricity could reach up to 62 MWh/cycle (12.5% of the available energy) for an installation of a Francis turbine with a flow rate at full load of 55 m3/s and 214 MW of power with a single air duct of 0.5 m in diameter. Economically, this would imply losses of more than 1.12 M€/year.

Effect of low air pressure on mechanical properties and shrinkage of concrete

Recently, it was observed that cracking on the surface of concrete bridge pillars is more significant in Chinese high-elevation regions, where the climatic character is low air pressure. Many regions in the world are located in low air pressure climate conditions; however, the influence of air pressure on concrete has rarely been studied before. In this paper, mechanical properties and shrinkage of concrete exposed to different air pressures and relative humidities for 1 year were studied. Effects of air pressure on developments of mechanical properties and shrinkage properties were analysed. A modified environmental coefficient for predicting shrinkage of concrete was proposed. Under lower air pressure, lower mechanical strength and greater shrinkage strain were observed, especially after 28 d. The value of the ratio of shrinkage strains was almost constant during the aging of C30 and C50 concretes. The ratio was larger when air pressure was lower. The modified environmental coefficient, taking account of air pressure, was used to predict concrete shrinkage. This coefficient can be used in existing models in place of the original relative humidity coefficient.

3D Reconstruction of Pedestrian Trajectory with Moving Direction Learning and Optimal Gait Recognition

An inertial measurement unit-based pedestrian navigation system that relies on the intelligent learning algorithm is useful for various applications, especially under some severe conditions, such as the tracking of firefighters and miners. Due to the complexity of the indoor environment, signal occlusion problems could lead to the failure of certain positioning methods. In complex environments, such as those involving fire rescue and emergency rescue, the barometric altimeter fails because of the influence of air pressure and temperature. This paper used an optimal gait recognition algorithm to improve the accuracy of gait detection. Then a learning-based moving direction determination method was proposed. With the Kalman filter and a zero-velocity update algorithm, different gaits could be accurately recognized, such as going upstairs, downstairs, and walking flat. According to the recognition results, the position change in the vertical direction could be reasonably corrected. The obtained 3D trajectory involving both horizontal and vertical movements has shown that the accuracy is significantly improved in practical complex environments.

Modeling pressure relationships of inspired air into the human lung bifurcations through simulations

ABSTRACTApplied pressure on human lung wall has great importance on setting up protective ventilatory strategies, therefore, estimating pressure relationships in terms of specific parameters would provide invaluable information specifically during mechanical ventilation (MV). A three-dimensional model from a healthy human lung MRI is analyzed by computational fluid dynamic (CFD), and results for pressure are curve fitted to estimate relationships that associate pressure to breathing time, cross section and generation numbers of intended locations. Among all possible functions, it is observed that exponential and polynomial pressure functions present most accurate results for normal breathing (NB) and MV, respectively. For validation, pressure-location curves from CFD and results from this study are compared and good correlations are found. Also, estimated pressure values are used to calculate pressure drop and airway resistance to the induced air into the lung bifurcations. It is concluded that maximum pressure drop appeared in generation number 2 and medium sized airways show higher resistance to air flow and that resistance decreased as cross sectional area increased through the model. Results from this study are in good agreement with previous studies and provide potentials for further studies on influence of air pressure on human lung tissue and reducing lung injuries during MV.

Analisis tekanan udara, sudut slip dan ukuran lebar ban tipe radial terhadap rolling resistance dengan metode taguchi

Rolling resistance is one of the main factors affecting the fuel efficiency of a vehicle. Rolling resistance is resistance to the wheels that will and has been rolled due to the force of friction between the wheels with the road surface of the wheel, due to the deformation process on the tire structure, contact area and road surface. Radial tires are tires where the reinforcing fibers on the carcass are arranged radially, have a greater ability to withstand lateral forces and generally have high ratio aspect ratio, widht smaller than the bias tires. The taguchi method is a new methodology in engineering aimed at improving product and process quality, minimizing cost and time. The purpose of this research is to know the air pressure influence, slip angle and tire width to rolling resistance. The research was conducted experimentally by using taguchi method. The result showed that the highest rolling resistance force accurred at a combination of air pressure of 175 kPa, 9o wheel slip angle and 90 mm widht of tire size of 36.914 N. While the smallest rolling resistance was obtained with a combination of parameters at the air pressure level of 325 kPa, slip angle 1o and the size of the 70 mm tire widht of 11.511 N at 350 rpm and normal load 580 N. From the result it can be concluded that the change in the level of the three air pressure parameters, the slip angle and size of tire width can affect the rolling resistance value.

Analisis tekanan udara, sudut slip dan ukuran lebar ban tipe radial terhadap rolling resistance dengan metode taguchi

Rolling resistance is one of the main factors affecting the fuel efficiency of a vehicle. Rolling resistance is resistance to the wheels that will and has been rolled due to the force of friction between the wheels with the road surface of the wheel, due to the deformation process on the tire structure, contact area and road surface. Radial tires are tires where the reinforcing fibers on the carcass are arranged radially, have a greater ability to withstand lateral forces and generally have high ratio aspect ratio, widht smaller than the bias tires. The taguchi method is a new methodology in engineering aimed at improving product and process quality, minimizing cost and time. The purpose of this research is to know the air pressure influence, slip angle and tire width to rolling resistance. The research was conducted experimentally by using taguchi method. The result showed that the highest rolling resistance force accurred at a combination of air pressure of 175 kPa, 9o wheel slip angle and 90 mm widht of tire size of 36.914 N. While the smallest rolling resistance was obtained with a combination of parameters at the air pressure level of 325 kPa, slip angle 1o and the size of the 70 mm tire widht of 11.511 N at 350 rpm and normal load 580 N. From the result it can be concluded that the change in the level of the three air pressure parameters, the slip angle and size of tire width can affect the rolling resistance value.

Physiological, elemental, and stable isotope responses of the organs of mungbean to reduced atmospheric pressure

The effects of hypobaric conditions on stable isotope and mineral element concentrations during the germination of mungbean [Vigna radiata (Linn.) Wilczek] were evaluated. Mungbean seeds were cultured in lower atmospheric pressure (60 kPa) and normal air pressure (101 kPa) conditions, respectively. Oxygen and carbon dioxide partial pressures were maintained at 21 and 0.04 kPa, respectively. At 60 kPa, the fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) of plants significantly increased by 5.41 and 9.62%, respectively, compared to those at 101 kPa after culturing for 7 d. Twelve mineral elements were compared among three organs (leaf, stem, and root) from seedlings grown under hypobaric and normal atmospheric conditions. This showed that lower air pressure generally improved element accumulation in the plant. A significantly lower value of δ 13C was observed at 60 kPa compared to that at 101 kPa. In addition, a significant increase in δ 15N value was detected in three different organs of plants grown under 60 kPa. Our survey provides a foundation for future field and laboratory studies on the influence of air pressure on plants, particularly in terms of stable isotope and mineral elements.

Characteristics of streamer propagation along the insulation surface: Influence of air pressure and humidity

Most of the UHV transmission lines passed the high altitude and high humidity area. It was necessary to study the influence of air pressure and humidity on characteristics of flashover along the insulation surfaces. In the three-electrode arrangement, the characteristics of streamer propagation in air alone and along the silicone rubber surface were measured at Shenzhen, Kunming, and Yangbajing, respectively. The data of the streamer ‘stability’ propagation field and velocity were measured at the different air pressure and humidity. Empirical equations were presented expressing the effects of the air pressure and humidity on the streamer ‘stability’ propagation field and velocity. Furthermore, the variation of the streamer ‘stability’ propagation field and velocity with air pressure and humidity was analysed. The test results showed that the streamer stability propagation field was in proportion to air pressure or humidity. Under the same electric field, the streamer propagation velocity was in inverse proportion to air pressure or humidity. Therefore, it was easier for streamer propagation in the lower air pressure or humidity. Furthermore, the effect of the humidity and air pressure on stability fields of streamer propagation along silicone rubber surface was larger than that in air alone.

Formation of vertex flow in the rotating channel and influence of operation factors on its intensity

The paper considers the analysis of the secondary flow intensity and pattern in a rotating channel which simulates a cooling channel of the rotating blade of the gas turbine engine. As a basic variant, a circle cross-section channel with the diameter of 6 mm and the length of 80 mm was chosen. The calculations of the air flow structure in the rotating channel in various geometric and operation conditions were carried out, which allowed assessing the influence of air pressure, temperature and air flow on the secondary flow intensity. The calculations were performed by solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations (the RANS method) using the SST (Shear Stress Transport) turbulence model. The numerical grids were tetrahedron. The air ideal gas was used as the working medium.

Influence of air pressure on the detailed characteristics of corona current pulse due to positive corona discharge

Air pressure is one of the main factors affecting the corona discharge and influence of air pressure should be carefully investigated. In order to obtain the influence of air pressure on the detailed characteristics of corona current pulse, such as pulse amplitude, rise time, pulse width, duration time, and pulse repetition frequency, a systematic investigation is carried out though a coaxial conductor-cylinder electrode structure with a corona point on the conductor. The electrodes are put into a pressure chamber for adjusting the air pressure. The results show that pulse amplitude increases with the increase of air pressure, while rise time, pulse width, duration time, and pulse repetition frequency decrease significantly at the same ratio between applied voltage and onset voltage (U/U0). Empirical formulas for the pulse amplitude, rise time, pulse width, and duration time varying with air pressure are first established. On the basis of the development of positive corona discharge, the influence of air pressure on the typical time intervals and experimental results are qualitatively explained.

Parameters optimization for sustainable machining of Ti6Al4V using a novel high-speed dry electrical discharge milling

Cleaner production and sustainability are of crucial importance in the field of machining processes where great amount of energy is being consumed. This paper outlines the application of gray relational theory in order to optimize the machining parameters for Ti6Al4V in high-speed dry electrical discharge milling (EDM) using a tubular graphite electrode. The objective of optimization is to achieve simultaneously the minimum power consumption and the maximum material removal rate (MRR). The maximum MRR 5634 mm3/min was obtained with a power consumption of 7.61 kW. MRR stayed in the similar level, and power consumption was reduced by 17.82 % compared with that of the parameters in our previous study. Current is the main effect factor on MRR and power consumption. The corresponding single pulsed experiments were conducted to deeply explore the reasons for the influence of air pressure and electrode rotation speed on the MRR and power consumption.

Influence of air pressure on the performance of plasma synthetic jet actuator**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51407197, 51522606, 51336011, 91541120, and 11472306).

Plasma synthetic jet actuator (PSJA) has a wide application prospect in the high-speed flow control field for its high jet velocity. In this paper, the influence of the air pressure on the performance of a two-electrode PSJA is investigated by the schlieren method in a large range from 7 kPa to 100 kPa. The energy consumed by the PSJA is roughly the same for all the pressure levels. Traces of the precursor shock wave velocity and the jet front velocity vary a lot for different pressures. The precursor shock wave velocity first decreases gradually and then remains at 345 m/s as the air pressure increases. The peak jet front velocity always appears at the first appearance of a jet, and it decreases gradually with the increase of the air pressure. A maximum precursor shock wave velocity of 520 m/s and a maximum jet front velocity of 440 m/s are observed at the pressure of 7 kPa. The averaged jet velocity in one period ranges from 44 m/s to 54 m/s for all air pressures, and it drops with the rising of the air pressure. High velocities of the precursor shock wave and the jet front indicate that this type of PSJA can still be used to influence the high-speed flow field at 7 kPa.

Improvement of Performance of Wave Power Conversion Due to the Projecting Walls for Oscillating Water Column Type Wave Energy Converter

This paper describes a method to improve the performance of primary conversion of wave power takeoff. The wave energy converter (WEC) used here was of oscillating water column (OWC) type. This method for improvement has been already proposed in past research and its usefulness has been confirmed. It involves projecting walls (PWs) being attached to the front of the inlet–outlet of the OWC. The prediction method of hydrodynamic behaviors for the OWC type WEC with PWs installed is explained in this paper. The boundary element method with the Green's function is applied, and influence of air pressure and free surface within every air-chamber was directly taken into consideration in the prediction method based on linear potential theory. Validity of the prediction method was proved by comparing the results with the results of model experiments. Series calculations are performed with the prediction method. Behaviors of air pressure, water elevation, and the efficiency of primary conversion of wave power were investigated. From the calculations, length of the PWs was shown to affect the efficiency of primary conversion. It was possible to equip the PWs so as to enable improvements in oblique waves to beam sea conditions as well as in the head sea conditions. This paper examined not only the PWs but also the application and effects of the end walls (EWs) with the slit. The EWs were very useful to improve the efficiency.

Investigation of the DC arc propagation of insulator string and its performance at low air pressure

Air pressure affects the electrical performance of polluted insulator. The dc pollution flashover process of 7-unit XP-160 insulator string under low air pressure was presented by laboratory tests in this paper. During the tests, the flashover voltage and the critical flashover current were measured. Also, based on the insight of insulator flashover process, the length of discharge path, the arc propagation velocity and arc radius under different air pressure were investigated and measured. The research results indicate that, the position of arcing point is stochastic and multipoint arcing phenomenon exists. Surface arc will levitate and develop into air-gap arc under low air pressure. The length of discharge path is related to air pressure and pollution degree, and it is always shorter than the total creepage of insulator string. The leakage current, the arc shape and arc propagation velocity, are also related to air pressure. In this study, it was measured that the arc radius (ra) varied from 1.5 to 3.5 mm, and the characteristic exponent describing the influence of air pressure on arc radius (m) varied from -0.35 to -0.65. The research results are of some significance for revealing the mechanism of flashover and discharge performance of arcs.

Experiment Study and Simulation Research for the Atomization Characteristics of the Internal-Mixing Twin-Fluid Atomizer

The internal-mixing twin-fluid atomizer has found wide application in aerospace, industrial gas turbine, oil-fired boiler, energy field and so on. The atomization characteristics of internal mixing nozzle under different operating conditions are studied by utilizing the Malvern laser particle size analyzer. According to the experiment results, the influence of air pressure, hydraulic pressure and air-liquid ratio to droplet size and uniformity are analyzed. The three-dimensional flow field model of internal mixing nozzle is built to simulate the droplet size of mixing room and outlet by Fluent. The simulation results show that the droplet size decreases along with the increase of the air pressure and the air-liquid ratio, moreover, the air pressure plays a main actor. The droplet size increases in the mixing room, and then decrease sharply at the domain of the outlet. The droplet size of the nozzle’s outlet obtained in simulation matches the experimental result.

Experimental Analysis of Minimum Ignition Temperature of Dust Cloud Obtained from Thermally Modified Spruce Wood

This article deals with study of minimum ignition temperature (MIT) of thermally modified spruce dust. Dust of several species of spruce was mixed, sieved, dried and subjected to Thermo-S temperature programme. Samples of dust (200 250 μm) were tested in Goldbert-Greenwald furnace apparatus for determination of the MIT of dust clouds. The influence of air pressure and sample weight to the MIT was studied. The results show that the MIT of thermally modified spruce dust gradually decreases as the sample weight and air pressure rise. The lowest value of MIT (470 °C) was measured, when the air pressure was 50 kPa and the sample weight 0,5 g. To reach even lower values of MIT (˂468 °C), the air pressure should gradually rise to approx. 42 46 kPa and the weight of dust sample should be approx. 0,46 0,53 g.

Initial air pressure influence on in-vessel composting for the biodegradable fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco

This study aimed to determine the initial air pressure influence on the in-vessel composting for the biodegradable fraction of municipal solid waste in Morocco. For this purpose, representative composting mixture was prepared in which C/N ratio was 26 and moisture content was 70 %. The in-vessel bioreactor was designed and used specially to evaluate the initial air pressure effect on composting process in this study. Thus, daily changes of internal air pressure and temperature were monitored, and physicochemical properties of different composts obtained were also analyzed and compared. Experimental results showed a significant increase in internal pressure corresponding to the initial air pressure of 0.6 bar and a slight increase for the other initial air pressures. The initial air pressure which equal to 0.6 bar allowed maximum value of temperature and final composting product with good physicochemical properties as well as higher organic matter degradation and higher gas production. Composts obtained from experiments under 0.4 and 0.8 bar showed good maturity levels and may also be used for agricultural applications.

Meltblown nanofiber media for enhanced quality factor

Nanofibers definitely hold great advantage and promise in filtration as they have very high specific surface area, which ensures greater probability of capturing the particles and hence, the filtration efficiency of the nanofiber filter media is high. Electrospun nanofibers are prohibitively expensive due to extremely low production rate. With recent advances in melt blowing technology, nanofibers could be produced at production rate few orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional single syringe electrospinning and hence, quite cost effective. Influence of air pressure and die to collector distance (DCD) were studied on the number average fiber diameter for the nanofibers as well as the performance properties of the nonwoven webs, each factor at three discrete levels. The nanofibers were as fine as 260 nm. A very encouraging observation of the study is very high values of quality factor observed for nanofiber nonwoven filter media. In order to compare the filtration efficiency of different nanofiber nonwoven media samples with different basis weight, a novel term of specific filtration efficiency is proposed and was found that the specific filtration efficiency with the increase in DCD or air pressure.

Influence of air pressure and humidity on positive direct current corona discharge performances of the conductor in a corona cage

SUMMARY With the implementation of West-to-East Power Transmission Project in China, transmission lines will inevitably pass through high altitude regions with complex atmospheric conditions. The effects of such atmospheric parameters as pressure and humidity on the corona discharge performances of conductors are complicated. Especially as to the effect of air humidity on corona inception voltage, researchers have not reached an agreement. Therefore, by adjusting air pressure and air humidity in a corona cage, the positive direct current corona discharge performances of a smooth steel tube are tested. Results indicate that corona inception voltage increases significantly with the increase of air pressure, and the calculated results by discharge model are in accordance with measured results. Yet, with the increase of absolute humidity, corona inception voltage increases slowly. Under high humidity condition, corona inception voltage decreases because of the condensation on conductor surface, which distorts the surface electric field. In view of the condensation, the calculating model is improved, whose calculated results are in line with measured results. Moreover, it is found that inception discharge is easier to turn into glow discharge under low pressure and low humidity condition. The average pulse amplitude decreases with the increase of humidity, but with the increase of pressure, it decreases first and then increases. The rising time of the discharge pulse presents increasing trend with the increase of both air pressure and air humidity. All the test results are analyzed from microscopic mechanism. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Aeroelasticity-based fluid agitation for lab-on-chips

In this study, we report a robust agitation method for small-volume liquids. It utilizes an elastic diaphragm as the bottom of a liquid chamber, upon which an initial tension is also applied to enhance the aeroelasticity effects at small/micro scales. As a result, spontaneous vibration of the diaphragm can be induced by an external air flow, which further provides fluid agitations. The device structure is simple and can be easily fabricated at low cost. More importantly, the vibration amplitude is controllable and varies widely from several tens to several hundred micrometers depending on the applied air pressure. The resulting agitation is effective and applicable at high viscosities of up to 900 cSt. The influences of air pressure and liquid viscosity on the vibration frequency are discussed. Potential applications of this technique for solid particle agitation, focusing and fluid mixing are also demonstrated.