Mean Energy Ratio Research Articles

Energy efficiency of Silphium perfoliatum and Helianthus salicifolius biomass production

Silphium perfoliatum L. and Helianthus salicifolius A. Dietr are perennial herbaceous crops (PHC) that have recently attracted much attention. This study aimed to determine the energy input, the yield energy value, and the biomass production energy efficiency for the two prospective PHC species depending on the type of fertilizer (liquid digestate and mineral fertilizers) and the nitrogen fertilization level (0, 85 and 170 kg ha−1 N) in three consecutive growing years (2019–2021). S. perfoliatum produced a 14.1 % higher biomass yield energy value (142.3 GJ ha−1 y−1 on average) than H. salicifolius. However, the production of S. perfoliatum also required 22.8 % higher mean energy input (11.3 GJ ha−1 y−1) compared to H. salicifolius. As a result, the mean energy ratio for H. salicifolius (15.2) was 8.6 % higher than for S. perfoliatum. The highest energy ratios for H. salicifolius and S. perfoliatum were 29.7 and 22.8, respectively. Liquid digestate and mineral fertilization resulted in an increase in the yield energy value compared to plots with no fertilization, but at the same time, it increased the energy input. Therefore, the energy ratio in control plots was higher compared to the variants with fertilization.

Calculation of Beam Hardening in Industrial X-ray Computed Tomography and its Correction using Filtration and Linearization Methods

X-ray computed tomography is becoming an instrument for quality assurance as nondestructive testing for product inspection in industrial applications. However, the systematic error in the XCT image resulting from the physical processes of image reconstruction must be corrected. Beam hardening is one of the major artefacts that come due to an extensive range of photon energies in common x-ray sources in computed tomography instrument so-known polychromatic X-rays. The polychromatic can cause a nonlinear relationship between the attenuation and the thickness. As a result, the reconstructed image seems to have some darkness in the centre, which is considered a significant decreasing of the image quality. In this work the calculations of beam hardening and its correction using filtration and linearization methods were described. The calculations were done in four stages: the GEANT4 code was used for spectrum simulation; an optimum filter materials and thickness was chosen by a mean energy ratio method; the attenuation of aluminium material was numerically calculated using the basic polychromatic attenuation formulas, and the beam hardening was corrected using linearization and compared with the filtration method. The calculated polychromatic attenuations results of aluminium were found to be in good agreement with the existing literature. The linearization correction offers better beam hardening correction which gave a good linearity estimation without changing SNR when compared with the pre-filtration method.

Analysis of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of transplanting and broadcast seeding wetland rice cultivation

The analysis of energy and greenhouse gas emissions in this study was made in respect to both planting methods, transplanting and broadcast seeding methods to investigate the energy pattern of rice production in Malaysia. The field under transplanting method in the main season showed 8.72% lesser mean total energy input, 6.25% higher mean machinery energy, 55.06% lesser mean seed energy and 23.01% higher mean output energy than the field under broadcasting method. Fertilizer the highest contributor of energy inputs it contributed by 62% in both transplanting and broadcasting methods and fuel was the second-highest contributor. The share of direct and indirect energy in the fields under the transplanting method were 19% and 81% and in the fields under the broadcasting method were 17% and 83% respectively. While the share of renewable and non-renewable energy in the fields under the transplanting method were 7% and 93% and in the fields under the broadcasting method were 14% and 86% respectively. The harvesting operation has the highest mechanization index level (0.99) in both methods. While fertilizing and planting operation have the lowest mechanization index level. The mean energy ratio was 35.68% higher in transplanting than broadcasting (8.1 and 5.97). Fertilizer represents the highest contributor to the total GHG emissions in the two cultivation methods, transplanting and broadcasting and it represents 44% and 42% respectively. Among different types of chemical fertilizers, Nitrogen represents the higher contributor.

The X-ray continuum time-lags and intrinsic coherence in AGN

We present the results from a systematic analysis of the X-ray continuum (`hard') time-lags and intrinsic coherence between the $2-4\,\mathrm{keV}$ and various energy bands in the $0.3-10\,\mathrm{keV}$ range, for ten X-ray bright and highly variable active galactic nuclei (AGN). We used all available archival \textit{XMM-Newton} data, and estimated the time-lags following Epitropakis \& Papadakis (2016). By performing extensive numerical simulations, we arrived at useful guidelines for computing intrinsic coherence estimates that are minimally biased, have known errors, and are (approximately) Gaussian distributed. Owing to the way we estimated the time-lags and intrinsic coherence, we were able to do a proper model fitting to the data. Regarding the continuum time-lags, we are able to demonstrate that they have a power-law dependence on frequency, with a slope of $-1$, and that their amplitude scales with the logarithm of the light-curve mean-energy ratio. We also find that their amplitude increases with the square root of the X-ray Eddington ratio. Regarding the intrinsic coherence, we found that it is approximately constant at low frequencies. It then decreases exponentially at frequencies higher than a characteristic `break frequency.' Both the low-frequency constant intrinsic-coherence value and the break frequency have a logarithmic dependence on the light-curve mean-energy ratio. Neither the low-frequency constant intrinsic-coherence value, nor the break frequency exhibit a universal scaling with either the central black hole mass, or the the X-ray Eddington ratio. Our results could constrain various theoretical models of AGN X-ray variability.

Experimental results of use of triple-energy X-ray beam with K-edge filter in multi-energy imaging

Multi-energy imaging is useful for contrast enhancement of lesions, quantitative analysis of specific materials and material separation in the human body. Generally, dual-energy methods are applied to discriminating two materials, but this method cannot discriminate more than two materials. Photon-counting detectors provide spectral information from polyenergetic X-rays using multiple energy bins. In this work, we developed triple-energy X-ray beams using a filter with K-edge energy and applied them experimentally. The energy spectra of triple-energy X-ray beams were assessed by using a spectrometer. The designed triple-energy X-ray beams were validated by measuring quantitative evaluations with mean energy ratio (MER), contrast variation ratio (CVR) and exposure efficiency (EE). Then, triple-energy X-ray beams were used to extract density map of three materials, iodine (I), aluminum (Al) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The results of the thickness density maps obtained with the developed triple-energy X-ray beams were compared to those acquired using the photon-counting method. As a result, it was found experimentally that the proposed triple-energy X-ray beam technique can separate the three materials as well as the photon-counting method.

X-ray beam design for multi-energy imaging with charge-integrating detector: A simulation study

Multi-energy X-ray imaging systems have been widely used for clinical examinations. In order to enhance the imaging quality of these X-ray systems, a dual-energy system that can obtain specific information has been developed in order to discriminate different materials. Although the dual-energy system shows reliable performance for clinical applications, it is necessary to improve the method in order to minimize radiation dose, reduce projection error, and increase image contrast. The purpose of this study is to develop a triple energy technique that can discriminate three materials for the purpose of enhancing imaging quality and patient safety. The X-ray system tube voltage was varied from 40 to 90kV, and filters (that can generate three X-ray energies) were installed, consisting of pure elemental materials in foil form (including Al, Cu, I, Ba, Ce, Gd, Er, and W). The X-ray beam was evaluated with respect to mean energy ratio, contrast variation ratio, and exposure efficiency. In order to estimate the performance of the suggested technique, Monte Carlo was conducted, and the results were compared to the photon-counting method. As a result, the density maps of iodine, aluminum, and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) using the X-ray beam were more accurate in comparison to that obtained with the photon-counting method. According to the results, the suggested triple energy technique can improve the accuracy of the determination of thickness of density. Moreover, the X-ray beam could reduce unnecessary patient dose.

The Characteristics of Food Intake in Patients with Type II Citrullinemia

Some patients with citrin deficiency caused by SLC25A13 gene mutations develop adult-onset type II citrullinemia (CTLN2) with hepatic encephalopathy. A recent nutritional survey of 18 citrin-deficient subjects (age 1-33 y) confirmed a marked decrease in carbohydrate intake compared to an age-matched general Japanese population. However, a quantitative understanding of food intake in CTLN2 patients remains unclear, although qualitative dietary information has been reported. In order to elucidate the characteristics of daily nutrition of CTLN2 patients, the food intake of 5 male patients (age 39-52 y) was investigated in detail by the Food Frequency Questionnaire. In the present survey, the mean energy ratio of protein : fat : carbohydrate (PFC ratio) of the 5 patients was 19±3% : 44±5% : 37±4%, which was almost identical to previously reported data in younger citrin-deficient subjects (19±2% : 44±5% : 37±7%). Cereal intake was especially low in all CTLN2 patients at 309±33 g/d (56% of control), compared to that in an age-matched general Japanese population (553±197 g/d). Additionally, CTLN2 patients preferred high fat and protein foods. Commonly, fat intake declines with age in the general Japanese population, but this tendency was not observed in the 5 CTLN2 patients. The present results suggest that intakes of low-carbohydrate, high-protein and high-fat food was characteristic the 5 CTLN2 patients surveyed, as has been previously reported in younger citrin-deficient subjects, and that the PFC ratio may not be influenced by age or CTLN2-onset.

Mean energy of backscattered electrons at various angles of incidence

AbstractUsing Monte Carlo simulations, the mean energies of backscattered electrons for thick targets of aluminium, titanium, iron, molybdenum, tungsten and lead were calculated at various angles of incidence and an incident electron energy E0 of 30 keV. The results show that the mean energy ratio, ĒB/E0, of backscattered electrons depends only on the backscattering coefficient, ηB, of the non‐normal electron incidence and varies linearly with it. Analytical expressions are given for calculating ĒB/E0 and the backscattering coefficient, which is independent of the backscattering coefficient at normal incidence.

Investigation of relative interfacial free energies in 304 stainless steel by electron transmission and diffraction microscopy

Coherent twin-grain boundary intersections in thin films of annealed 304 stainless steel were examined by transmission and diffraction electron microscopy. Standard electron diffraction and Kikuchi line techniques were combined with electron transmission image data in a computer program to obtain twin—grain boundary energy ratios. It is shown that a three-dimensional analysis of twin-grain boundary intersections yields a greatly reduced spread of individual energy ratio values when compared with 2-dimensional or optical data. It is further shown that negative values of the twin—grain boundary energy ratio obtained by optical measurement of boundary surface traces are invalid, and simply reflect the errors inherent in a two-dimensional approximation of the intersection of boundary planes in threedimensions. The mean twin-grain boundary energy ratio computed for stainless steel for a rigorous Kikuchi electron diffraction analysis was 0.034. An attempt was also made to further minimize measurement error by insuring that the specimen surface plane was normal to the electron beam, and therefore coincident with the crystallographic surface plane determined by selected area electron diffraction. The technique applied here consisted of a check of specimen surface orientations by the analysis of angles between the surface traces of coherent {111} twin boundary planes and {111} dislocation slip planes. Twin—grain intersections admitted as acceptable examples for detailed three-dimensional analysis were then determined on the basis of angular deviations between surface traces not exceeding three degrees from the value expected when the specimen surface plane is normal to the electron beam. Of the 87 twin-grain intersections of this type analyzed in stainless steel, only 35 fulfilled the above criterion. Computer analysis of these 35 electron transmission images gave twin-grain boundary energy ratios ranging from 0.002 to 0.07 with a mean energy ratio of 0.022 compared to the earlier result of 0.034 obtained for identical stainless steel samples where errors of specimen surface orientation were neglected.