Metal Drums Research Articles

IAEA-Assisted Treatment of Liquid Radioactive Waste at the Saakadze Site in Georgia

50 m3 of legacy liquid radioactive waste at the Saakadze site in Georgia was treated using a modular type facility with apparatuses encased in three metallic 200 L drums using as purification method the sorption/ion exchange technology. The main contaminant of water in the underground tank was the long-lived radionuclide 226Ra. The casing of processing equipment enabled an effective conditioning of all secondary waste at the end of treatment campaign which resulted in the fully purified water stored on site for further reuse or discharge, and three 200 L metallic drums with cemented radioactive waste which are currently safely stored.

The Shift from a Traditional to an Improved Fish Smoking Oven in Ghana

Abstract Smoked fish products are an important source of animal protein in Ghana. They are processed on traditional ovens (namely, the Chorkor smoker and the metal drum), which results in elevated product contamination with carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pah s). The main regulatory marker for pah s is benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). An improved oven called the fao-Thiaroye Processing Technique (ftt) has been proposed as an intervention. This study evaluated the efficacy of that intervention and evaluated consumer response to its products. Sardinella sp. was smoked separately on the ftt and the traditional ovens and their BaP levels determined. Whereas the mean BaP in the ftt product was 0.2 µg/kg (ten times lower than the EU limit of 2 µg/kg), the levels in the Chorkor smoker and metal drum products were 60 µg/kg and 26 µg/kg, respectively (up to 30 times the EU limit). Consumer acceptance did not differ between ftt and traditional oven products. This suggests that ftt is an efficacious intervention whose products are acceptable to consumers.

Re‐ensiling effects on sorghum silage quality, methane emission and sheep efficiency in tropical climate

AbstractThe objective of the present study was to evaluate whether sorghum silage exposure to air for 8, 16 or 24 hr before re‐ensiling reduces silage quality and animal feed efficiency. Sorghum was ensiled in 52 metal drums (13 for each exposure time) with 200‐L capacity, and after 112 days, 39 drums were opened and silage was exposed to air for 8, 16 or 24 hr. Thirteen silos were not opened and considered control treatment. Subsequently, silage was re‐ensiled, and after 56 days, all silos were opened to determine silage quality variables. In addition, the silage was offered to sheep to determine animal feed efficiency. The experimental design was completely randomized with five replications per treatment, and orthogonal polynomials were used to determine linear or quadratic effects of the exposure time. The non‐fibrous carbohydrate (NFC) (minimum of 278 g/kg), in vitro dry‐matter digestibility (IVDMD) (minimum of 570 g/kg) and lactic acid (1.51 g/kg for each hour) decreased with longer exposure. The pH (0.011 for each hour), ammonia nitrogen (0.057 g/kg for each hour), acetic acid (maximum of 17.9 g/kg) and aerobic stability (maximum of 62.4 hr) increased with longer exposure. Although silage exposure reduced NFC and IVDMD and increased pH and ammonia nitrogen, animal feed efficiency was not compromised. These results indicate that sorghum silage exposure for up to 24 hr does not compromise its use.

Упругое последействие в процессе уплотнения асфальтобетонной смеси

Asphalt concrete of various brands is mainly used as a road surface. The quality and durability of the coating depends on its density. To achieve the required density of the asphalt concrete pavement, road rollers are used. The working body of the roller is a metal drum or a set of pneumatic tires. The article discusses the process of the asphalt concrete mixture compaction with a smooth metal drum. A rheological model of the force interaction of a smooth drum with a material is adopted, which includes elastic, viscous and plastic elements. The adopted model was corrected taking into account the investigated process of elastic aftereffect that occurs in the asphalt concrete mixture during compaction. The law of behavior of asphalt-concrete mixture with elastic aftereffect is established. A simulation model has been developed to study the behavior of a material in the process of elastic aftereffect. In the course of dynamic modeling, the relationship between the physical and mechanical characteristics of the compacted material with the design and technological parameters of the road roller was established. A statistical analysis of the design parameters of existing models of road rollers has been carried out. The results of the analysis, as well as the obtained dependencies, can be used to designate the technological modes of operation of a set of road rollers when compacting the asphalt concrete pavement of a motor road. Taking into account the elastic aftereffect when assigning the operating modes of the compaction equipment will improve the compaction efficiency, as well as the quality of the resulting coating.

Effect of mechanical activation of natural zeolite on adsorption and hydrolysis properties of metsulfuron-methyl

Solid dispersions of zeolite with metsulfuron-methyl were obtained and the extraction of the pesticide from it was studied. It is shown that the dispersion obtained under more severe conditions (with mechanical activation with a metal drum) "holds" MSM stronger than that obtained in a caprolon drum. No significant destruction of MSM was observed on mechanically modified zeolites.

Effect of movable insulation on performance of the Building integrated Semi-transparent Photovoltaic Thermal (BiSPVT) system for harsh cold climatic conditions: a case study

ABSTRACT Semi-transparent photovoltaic modules are integrated with the building’s rooftop with the provision of movable insulation during off-sunshine hours to reduce the heat losses from room to the ambient. A significant rise in room air temperature of about 6°C at desired hours for cold climatic conditions of Srinagar, India was noted in this study. Also, a metallic drum filled with water has been placed inside the room to reduce the room temperature fluctuations, thus reducing the thermal load leveling. The study is also focused to analyse the simultaneous impact of natural ventilation, direct gain and daylight savings through the south-facing window, thus leading to daylight savings and reducing the dependency on artificial modes of illumination. The effect of water mass and packing factor has also been studied on electrical energy and daylight savings. Analytical expressions for water, metallic drum/tank, room, floor and solar cell temperatures have been derived.

Disregarding reservoirs of disease vectors: A surveillance paradox in Africa.

Disregarding reservoirs of disease vectors: A surveillance paradox in Africa.

Characterisation of the Breeding Sites and Insecticide Resistance of Aedes aegypti Population in the City of Bobo-Dioulaso, Burkina Faso

The first epidemic of dengue occurred in Burkina Faso in 1925 and the most recent in 2016. However, there is little available information on the bio-ecology of the main dengue vector and the prevalence of the disease in the country. For better understanding the entomological situations of the main dengue vector Aedes aegypti during the last epidemic of dengue, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Bobo-Dioulasso from November to December 2016. The goals of this study included: i) searching for water containers, and classifying them according to their type and location (indoors or outdoors); ii) examining the containers for the presence of Aedes larvae and iii) evaluating the susceptibility to insecticides mainly used in public health. Our results showed that discarded artefacts and automobile parts filled with rain water were breeding grounds for Ae. aegypti while indoor containers were mud pots (domestic purposes). The other breeding sites were metal drums, paraffin tins and mud pots. Moreover, the adults of Ae. aegypti population from these breeding sites were resistant to organochlorines, carbamates and pyrethroids, but fully susceptible to organophosphates. Our data could provide useful information for national programmes in strategy development.

Heat transfer enhancement in rotary drum dryer by incorporating jet impingement to accelerate drying rate

The purpose of this study was to investigate experimentally the effects of impinging jets installed in a conventional rotary dryer for heat transfer enhancement. The metal drum had as insert a jet tunnel at the centerline, and the jets were arranged in an in-line configuration on the jet tunnel. A jet-to-jet (S) and a jet-to-target (H) distances were fixed at S/d = 6 and H/d = 4, respectively. Jet velocity (Vj ) was set at Vj = 5, 10 and 15 m/s, while jet temperature (Tj ) was 70, 80 or 90 °C. Drum rotation speed (N) was also investigated at N = 0.5, 1, and 3 rpm. The conventional rotary dryer was examined at the same mass flow rate of hot air to compare with the case having impinging jets. All experiments were conducted by batch drying 5 kg of fresh chilies for 8 hours. Results showed that installing jets gave more effective heat transfer, which accelerated water removal over that with the conventional rotary dryer, and the moisture contents were greatly reduced. On using impinging jets, the jet temperature had more influence on heat transfer enhancement than the jet velocity. In comparison, the effect of drum speed was small.

Robust interpretation of single and multiple self-potential anomalies via flower pollination algorithm

Self-potential (SP) method is suitable for identifying positions of fractures, ore bodies, leakage, corrosion of metal, etc. The identification of SP anomalies can be implemented through inversion process, which not only serves to determine the best model parameters but also to estimate their uncertainties. The model parameters and their uncertainty can be determined from the posterior distribution model (PDM) of the SP anomaly inversion. To find the required PDM, in this paper, generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) thresholding is proposed as a joint approach together with flower pollination algorithm (FPA). This overall method is then tested on several synthetics and fields (i.e., metallic drum, Weiss, Sawoo, and LUSI anomalies) SP data containing single and multiples of SP sources. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is robust for solving quantitative interpretations of SP data. Moreover, this method does not require prior assumptions over the shape of the anomaly source.

Seasonal Prevalence of <i>Aedes aegypti</i> in Semi-Urban Area of Yangon Region, Myanmar

Prevalence rate of Aedes aegypti was conducted in 20 houses from semi-urban areas of Yangon Region. Larval surveys were done at indoors and outdoors water containers of five types. Prevalence rate of larval density larvae was investigated monthly by standard indices. The highest infestation rate of the container index (CI) was in June 2018 (56.52%), the second highest was in July 2017 (48.36%) and the lowest rate was in April 2017 (5.07%); those of the Jar index (JI) was highest (36.49%) in June and second highest rate (23.8%) was in October 2017. Reasoning the Metal drum (MI) was highest (13.95%) in June 2018 and second highest (6.25%) was in July 2017. The larval infestation rate of Earthen pot (EI) was highest (42.1%) in July 2017. The larval incident rate in almost all indices showed that the highest rate was at the beginning of monsoon season, in June and July, while in the remaining months, the larval incident rate was found to decrease due to the application of insecticides in the study area by the Township Public Health Department. However, the application of insecticides did not cover all the breeding sites of the mosquitoes, the water puddles under their houses were left to apply the insecticides. The positive larval incident rate was assessed by Household (HI), Container index (CI), Breteau index (BI). The highest and second highest positive larval incident rates were all in June 2018 and July 2017 in all indices, HI (27.3% and 23.4%), CI (56.52% and 48.36%), BI (17.56% and 16.79%) and SI (28.49% and 24.38%) respectively. The lowest rate in all indices was 2.56% (HI), 5.07% (IC), 2.67% (BI) and 1.91% (SI) in April. In this study, the fluctuation of indices of infestation rates and positive larval index value was positively correlated in similar trends in the study months. The reason for difficult control measure depends on the water sources under their houses and remains stagnant throughout the year, even in the dry season. High incident and death rates of the children due to Dengue/Dengue Haemorrhagic fever patients in June and July could not be directly correlated with the prevalence of Aedes aegypti. The control measure is needed to wash out the water source under the houses and to apply the insecticides to the all breeding sites.

A New Approach to Model Parameter Determination of Self-Potential Data using Memory-based Hybrid Dragonfly Algorithm

A new approach based on global optimization technique is applied to invert Self-Potential (SP) data which is a highly nonlinear inversion problem. This technique is called Memory-based Hybrid Dragonfly Algorithm (MHDA). This algorithm is proposed to balance out the high exploration behavior of Dragonfly Algorithm (DA), which causes a low convergence rate and often leads to the local optimum solution. MHDA was developed by adding internal memory and iterative level hybridization into DA which successfully balanced the exploration and exploitation behaviors of DA. In order to assess the performance of MHDA, it is firstly implemented to invert the single and multiple noises contaminated in synthetic SP data, which were caused by several simple geometries of buried anomalies: sphere and inclined sheet. MHDA is subsequently implemented to invert the field SP data for several cases: buried metallic drum, landslide, and Lumpur Sidoarjo (LUSI) embankment anomalies. As a stochastic method, MHDA is able to provide Posterior Distribution Model (PDM), which contains possible solutions of the SP data inversion. PDM is obtained from the exploration behavior of MHDA. All accepted models as PDM have a lower misfit value than the specified tolerance value of the objective function in the inversion process. In this research, solutions of the synthetic and field SP data inversions are estimated by the median value of PDM. Furthermore, the uncertainty value of obtained solutions can be estimated by the standard deviation value of PDM. The inversion results of synthetic and field SP data show that MHDA is able to estimate the solutions and the uncertainty values of solutions well. It indicates that MHDA is a good and an innovative technique to be implemented in solving the SP data inversion problem.

Development of Candlenut Shell Carbonization Tool Using a Vertical Multi Chambers

Candlenut shell, a solid waste from the process of taking candlenut seeds, is potentially able to improve the quality of the life of rural community by converting it to charcoals. It seems that the local people has difficulty to produce the charcoals from the candlenut shell. The aims of the research are to produce a carbonization tool using energy derived from the candlenut shells and to determine the tool’s capacity. The tool was designed by utilizing Autodesk Inventor 2018 software. The result shows that the tool has three vertical Ø60cm x 30cm chambers that facilitate the carbonization process. The main components are a metal drum, a reservoir, two chamber barriers, and an exhaust pipe. It is also found that the best result of the tool is to process 24kg of the shell with 7.75 hours of processing time. Thus, the tool can carbonize the candlenut shell without any additional energy and the production of the charcoals is raised three times in one day.

A Simple Candlenut Shell Carbonization Tool

In order to produce charcoals from the candlenut shell, a tool is need such as candlenut carbonization tool using a vertical multi chambers (CCT-VMC). The tool is indicated some weaknesses; the oxygen kept flowing into the chambers when cooling process are carried out, so oxidation occurred in the last phase of producing charcoal. This was due to some holes on the tools are not being able to close perfectly. The aims of the research are to produce a carbonization tool that are able to reduce the oxidation when cooling process being performed by reducing the openings on the tool and to determine the tool’s capacity. The tool was designed by utilizing Autodesk Inventor 2018 software. The result shows that the tool has two vertical chambers that provide space for adequate air supply when performing a burning process. The main components are a half metal drum, a chamber barrier, and a cover. It is also found that the tool needs 9.5 hour to process 24 kg of candlenut which consist of 2 hours for burning process and 7.5 hours for cooling process.

Performance of Model Gabion Type Retaining Walls Built Using Cylindrical Cells: A Laboratory Study

Behavior of gabion walls built using scrap tyres/scrap metal drums in the field, was simulated in the laboratory by constructing gabion type retaining walls using PVC cells. Experimental work was carried out in the laboratory in a steel tank. Gabion type walls were constructed using PVC cells made by cutting 6″ PVC pipe into cells of 5.0 cm in height. The total PVC cells wall is 1.0 m in length, 0.33 m in width and 1.0 m height ‘H’. Dial gauges to measure horizontal deformations were located at the top, one-third, 0.59 and 0.79 m from bottom of the wall. Lateral deformations of PVC cell walls were measured during and at the end of the construction, and with uniform surcharge loading for wall inclinations of 2.5°, 5.0° and 7.5° from the vertical. Horizontal deformations with surcharge loads were more at normalized heights between 0.6H and 0.7H. Face deformations of flexible walls constructed using PVC cells were within the limits as per the guidelines specified by AASHTO, FHWA and EN.

English

The objective of this study was an assessment of on-farm storage practices for Bambara groundnut and roselle grains in Niger. It is based on a random sample of 164 farmers producing both crops in the Dosso and Maradi regions using a semi-structured questionnaire. Analysis of the data used Probit regression and budgeting. Fifty four percent of respondents use some type of potentially hermetic container for storage of Bambara groundnut and 46% use that type of container for roselle. Potentially, hermetic containers include metal drums, plastic jugs, and single, double and triple layer plastic bags. About 67% of the quantity of Bambara groundnut stored was in potentially hermetic containers and 58% of roselle. Triple layer Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags were used mainly by Bambara groundnut farmers storing larger quantities. While only about 10% of the respondents reported storing Bambara groundnuts in PICS bags. The quantity stored by those respondents is quite large, so about 39% of the total quantity of Bambara groundnut stored by the respondents was stored in PICS bags. For roselle, PICS bags were used by 4% of respondents for only 3% of quantity stored. Profitability of using PICS bags for one or two years is comparable to that achieved with the common practice of storing in woven bags with insecticide. While PICS bags use does not increase profitability substantially compared to insecticide use, it does allow the producer to reduce pesticide exposure and the associated health risks. Key words: Adoption, Bambara groundnut, hermetic storage, profitability, roselle.

Electromechanics of suspended spiral capacitors and inductors

Most electromechanical devices are in two-dimensional metallic drums under high tensile stress, which causes increased mechanical frequency and quality factor. However, high mechanical frequencies lead to small zero-point displacements xzp, which limits the single-photon interaction rate g0. For applications which demand large g0, any design with increased xzp is desirable. It is shown that a patterned drum by a spiral shape can resolve this difficulty, which is obtained by a reduction of mechanical frequency while the motion mass is kept almost constant. An order of magnitude increase in g0 and agreement between simulations and interferometric measurements is observed.

A test method for the determination of the peel resistance of the bonded rubber lining of conveyor belt metal drums

A test method for the peel resistance of the bonded rubber lining of large of large conveyor belt metal drums is presented that will assist engineer in designing conveyor systems with predetermined specifications. A simple specimen preparation method is developed and the peel strength of the liming is measured using a modified version of the Standard EN 28510-1:2014, 'Adhesives-Peel test for a flexible-bonded-to-rigid test specimen assembly' [1]. The method was applied to various types of samples and it was found that only metal drums where the rubber lining was bonded using hot-vulcanisation under pressure satisfied the condition of the peel force greater than 2 N/m.

Characterization of Low Level Wastes: a new design for calorimetric measurement

Calorimetry is one of the best solutions to estimate the overall quantity of nuclear material on a wide range of masses, from a few milligrams up to kilograms of radionuclides, by measuring the overall thermal power due to the radioactive decay coming from the waste contained in a metallic drum or a different type of container. It has many advantages as it features a non-destructive method which remains independent of matrix effect or the chemical composition. Until now, calorimetry allows to measure at the lowest 0.5 to 1 mW for samples up to 385 liters. But nowadays, thanks to new technological breakthroughs, KEP-Technologies calorimeters are able to measure as low as 50 μW for 40 liters samples. The μLVC is based on a new design with twin cells, a new temperature regulation loop and a heat-flow measurement system inside a vacuum chamber (Patent deposit P005299 LA/VL). The μLVC is a differential heat-flow calorimeter for precise measurement independent of the residual fluctuations caused by environmental changes. The new calorimeter is an industrial product able to work in environmental conditions with wide temperature variations. The first results have shown a great improvement in the detection of very low thermal effect thanks to the thermal noise reduction. The paper presents the developments in Large Volume Calorimetry as a new tool for quantification of nuclear material to characterize Pu-Am samples, i-graphite, and low tritium samples with high precision and reliability.

Assessment of gamma radiation shielding properties of concrete containers containing recycled coarse aggregates

This paper presents an assessment of gamma radiation shielding performance, specifically in terms of surface dose rate, of concrete containing virgin and recycled coarse aggregates (RCA) to be used for a transportable concrete container for radioactive waste. In order to evaluate radiation shielding performance of the transportable concrete container a numerical simulation method is performed using Monte Carlo N-particle version 6.1 (MCNP6.1). Prior to evaluating radiation shielding performance of the transportable concrete containers, radiation shielding properties of four different concrete mixtures which have two different compressive strengths, 40 and 70 MPa, containing natural coarse aggregate (NCA) and recycled coarse aggregate (RCA), respectively, are assessed using experimental and numerical simulation methods in terms of linear attenuation coefficient (μ) to verify the reliability of the numerical simulation method. Density, compressive strength, and static modulus of elasticity tests are conducted to determine the parameters for transportable concrete container design. Based on the physical properties of concrete a transportable concrete container is designed. In order to assess the radiation shielding with respect to the maximum surface dose rate of the concrete containers, three different radioactive wastes are assumed to be loaded in the containers with metal drums and radiation shielding analysis is carried out using MCNP6 simulation code for the four different concrete containers, comparing with the existing carbon steel container. It was found that the results from numerical simulation are in good agreement with the experimentally determined results. In terms of the maximum surface dose rate, all concrete containers showed considerably lower surface dose rate than the existing carbon steel container.