Outlet Position Research Articles

Quantitative assessment of the potential of retail outlets

Purpose of the study . Improving the speed and efficiency of decision-making on the development of sales of products by manufacturing companies based on the application of quantitative estimates of the potential of retail outlets, using automated methods of intellectual data analysis of Big Data. In order to create new mechanisms for the intellectual management of enterprises (economic agents) in the concept of the digital economy, it is necessary to simulate the processes of their interaction in the organizational market environment from the perspective of a multi-agent approach. The approach describes cybernetic mechanisms of interaction of agents with the ability to adapt to the needs of the population based on the analysis of market situations in order to develop intelligent management systems for enterprises to increase their market potential and competitiveness. Today the paradigm of open complex systems is used to simulate and analyze the mechanisms and processes of interaction of agents in the market environment. The main modern functioning of enterprises are corporate information systems, telecommunication networks, Internet technologies, mobile communication systems, Big Data, technologies of intellectual analysis, forecasting and machine learning. In addition, information for modeling, research and analysis of the market and the behavior of agents can be collected from open sources on the Internet. In the field of mass sales, the result of the introduction of innovative technologies is the support of decision-making in the process of managing the sales of goods and services in order to synthesize effective business-strategies for the production and sale of goods, aimed at increasing the company’s profits. From the point of view of the manufacturer, it is necessary to carry out strategic and tactical planning for the deployment and maintenance of the sales network through retail outlets that implement or have the potential to realize the company’s products. In the overwhelming majority of cases, experts make the collection and analysis of objective data on outlets, and the models for building quantitative estimates of the potential of outlets are used only the internal data on the sale of goods or partners. Materials and methods . The solution is based on the analog method of assessing the attractiveness of the outlet, used in marketing. Data mining techniques (various clustering methods) and the method of mathematical statistics - variance analysis are also used to solve this problem. Modern methods of processing large volumes of data and their intellectual analysis allow us to offer new methods for quantifying potential based on the analysis of the whole diversity of data stored in the open information sources. Results . A multi-stage method of quantitative assessment of the potential of retail outlets in ruble equivalent was proposed. A method has been developed for dividing retail outlets into strata based on features describing the position of the retail outlets, competitive environment, transport accessibility, and a typical consumer. A modification of the K-means clustering method is proposed. Conclusion . The paper proposes an approach to solving the task of promoting a wide range of products by the manufacturer through existing distribution networks. A method for quantitative assessment of the potential of outlets is proposed. The proposed method is based on the analog method of comparing outlets and uses the methods of clustering outlets across a wide range of indicators. The results of approbation of the approach on the data for 33 regions of the Russian Federation are given. The results of the work are planned to be used in the future to solve the problem of building a matrix of consumer preferences for outlets.

Numerical Simulation of Air Flow in Multiple Beds Intensive Care Unit of Hospital

Indoor air quality ventilation diminishes airborne respiratory and other transmission in hospitals. Airflow in associate medical care Unit (ICU) may be provided through natural mean and additionally by the assistance of mechanical ventilation. Natural ventilation might not be enough to satisfy the requirement of ventilation for associate degree ICU. In the present study, numerical simulation of the airflow pattern and contaminant movement using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been carried out for multiple bed hospital ICU with different inlet angles to examine path of contaminant transfer in the hospital. The measurement of air velocity is used as an input and standard k-ɛ turbulence model used in simulation work. Grid Independence Test (GIT) of hospital ICU has been carried out using high-quality tetrahedral unstructured mesh. In order to predict CFD simulations accurately, flow pattern has been validated using model of ICU with four bed and patient occupied with light source. Results shows that increasing rate of air flow change decreases the mean age of air. Importance of outlet position is high for transfer of contaminant particle from ICU.

Physical simulation of construction and control of two butted-well horizontal cavern energy storage using large molded rock salt specimens

Underground salt caverns are used globally for large-scale energy storage. In the thinly bedded rock salt in China, two butted-well horizontal (TWH) caverns, as alternatives for energy storage, are regarded as having better suitability and economy than vertical caverns. However, understandings of the cavern shape development and control methods of TWH-caverns remain insufficient. To overcome these shortcomings with respect to TWH-caverns, we conducted physical simulations of TWH-cavern construction using a high strength steel mold and molded large rock salt specimens. We established a platform for physical simulation of TWH-cavern water-solution construction using the large molded rock salt specimens, so that the construction process is visible and easily observed. Six groups of physical simulations of TWH-cavern construction were designed and implemented. The variables which affect the cavern outline expansion were investigated and compared, including water injection rate, transferring of injection well, oil blanket, and retreating position of the water outlet. Finally the expansion rules of the cavern outline, and different effects when injecting from an inclined well vs. From a vertical well were explored, as well as an attempt of retreating water outlet. This study provides significant guidance for constructing horizontal caverns for energy storage in thinly bedded rock salt.

Effect of Plenum Shape on Thermohydraulic Performance of Microchannel Heat Sink

Heat sinks, cooled by flowing fluid in the microchannels fabricated upon them, successfully proved effective cooling solution in electronic components. The entire thermal output of such a heat sink depends upon the characteristics of fluid flowing in the channels and the plenums placed subsequently at inlet and outlet positions. The flow phenomena got influenced by channel aspect ratio, plenum aspect ratio and flow arrangements in the plenums placed at inlet and outlet positions. In the present study, an experimental and computational investigation has been performed to depict how the heat transfer and pressure drop attributes vary with different plenum shapes under different flow rates and heat inputs in microchannel heat sink (MCHS). Test runs were performed by maintaining three constant heat inputs, 50 W, 100 W and 150 W in the range 221 ≤ Re ≤ 398.

Space-time resolution of size-dispersed suspensions in Deterministic Lateral Displacement microfluidic devices

Deterministic Lateral Displacement (DLD) is a relatively recent microfluidics-assisted technique which allows the size-based separation of a population of micrometric particles suspended in a buffer solution. The core of the device is a shallow channel with rectangular cross-section filled with an array of solid obstacles arranged in a spatially periodic lattice, whose directions are slanted with respect to the channel walls. In practical implementations of DLD, particles are continuously introduced at a localized position of the channel entrance and migrate along different average directions downstream the device according to their size. Thus, at steady state, size-sorted subpopulations can be collected at different positions of the channel outlet. Besides, theoretical predictions of recent models of particle transport in these devices suggest that not only the direction of the average particle velocity, but also its magnitude (i.e. the mobility) depends sensitively on particle size. By exploiting this dependence, a novel use of DLD devices is here proposed, where the size-driven separation is realized over time and space by running the process under transient conditions, thus mimicking a classical chromatographic separation. We show how this approach is particularly effective for particles of specific (critical) dimensions, which are known to impair the efficiency of the steady-state separation process. Numerical predictions based on a hard-wall repulsive potential for the particle-obstacle interaction suggest that unprecedented separation performance for near-critical particle size could be obtained in transient conditions within the same channel length used for the time-continuous separation. The case of cylindrical obstacles and spherically shaped particles is considered in detail as an illustrative example.

Numerical study on pre-film atomization mechanism and characteristics by a coaxial swirl injector

The overall process and mechanism of the centrifugal pre-film atomization with double swirling flow were studied using the methods of large Eddy simulation and volume of fluid. The atomization process includes a centrifugal jet under the primary swirl and a pre-film atomization under the two-stage counter-rotating swirl at the venturi outlet. The fuel is ejected from the outlet of the centrifugal nozzle and undergoes the transient process of reaching the venturi throat. The breaking mechanism of liquid film in this process is the same as that of the formation mechanism of the mushroom-shaped tip of liquid jet. The numerical simulation results are highly consistent with the experimental results. For the formation and development of the liquid film on the venturi wall, collision and wave action promote the expansion of the liquid film. At the outlet position of the venturi tube, the short wave mode and the two-stage reverse swirling structure play major roles in the fragmentation process of the flake liquid film, which coincides with the flow characteristics given by the experiment. It is found that the spray cone angle increases as the fuel flow rate increases, and the numerical results are basically consistent with the predicted values of the empirical formula under different fuel flow rates. The droplet size distribution showed a Poisson distribution during the atomization of centrifugal jets and pre-film, and the peak position and variation trend of the droplet size distribution at the outlet of the venturi tube were basically consistent with experimental results.

Numerical Research of Flows into Gullies with Different Outlet Locations

Gullies are sewer inlets placed in pavements usually covered by bar grates. They are the most common linking-element used to drain a wide range of flows from surface runoff into the buried drainage system. Their hydraulic behavior and their overall hydraulic performance is dependent on the flow conditions, the gully dimension, geometry, and location of the outlet device. Herein a numerical research based on Volume Of Fluid ( V O F ) to detect the interface, and on the Shear Stress Transport S S T k - ω turbulence model was conducted to study the importance of the outlet location and characterize flows through them in drainage conditions. Results provided detailed information about flow features, discharge coefficients, and efficiencies for different outlet locations. The authors identified three different regimes, R 1 , R 2 , and R 3 , and concluded that the outlet location influences the velocity field along the gully, the discharge coefficient, and the drainage efficiency. This allows for the estimation of uncertainty and its variation for different outlet positions.

Poboljšanje efikasnosti sedimentacionih rezervoara u uklanjanju taloga korišćenjem različitog ulaznog i izlaznog položaja

Sedimentation by gravity is the oldest water treatment. Inlet and outlet of rectangular sedimentation tank are often located in the middle of the tank. The present investigation studies the effect of changing inlet and outlet position of rectangular sedimentation tank on removal efficiency using Computational Fluid Dynamics method. Two different configurations are proposed and they have been tested with varying particles diameters and concentration. Numerical model ability to describe flow field behaviour inside the tank is confirmed by an experimentation data. Results show that inlet and outlet position influence the flow field and removal efficiency of sedimentation tanks, especially for the case of fine particles (50 and 120µm).

Leak localization using empirical mode decomposition and Teiger-Kaiser energy operator analysis based on pressure transient signal: experimental study

Leak detection become crucial part in water management services due to strenuous work in identification of leak location for pipeline networks. This paper focused on leak identification and localization using Teiger-Kaiser Energy Operator (TKEO) as instantaneous frequency analysis (IFA) while Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) as decomposition method with implementation of Integrated Kurtosis Algorithm for Z-Filter (Ikaz) to Kurtosis ratio as the automatic selection criterion for intrinsic mode function (IMF). Test rig construct inside laboratory as testing site using 67.90-metre Medium Density Polyethylene (MDPE) pipe. In order to create an artificial leak, pinhole is drill at 19.75-metre distance from point of analysis that is fire hydrant attached with pressure sensor. Experiment conduct by using two variation of pressure that are 2bar and 4bar. As the result, with percentage of error less than 6%, combination of TKEO as IFA and efficiency of Ikaz performed well in locating the position of leak and outlet of pipeline system.

Implementation of I-kaz with Teager-Kaiser energy operator in solving leakage problem using synthetic signal

Transient event usually happen due to pressure surge inside water pipeline network by either opening or closing valve rapidly or water hammer phenomena. This paper focus on identification of leak signature using Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) with the implementation of Ikaz-kurtosis ratio while Teager Kaiser Energy Operator (TKEO) use as instantaneous frequency analysis (IFA). Two synthetic signal with different pipe characteristics was construct using transmission line modelling (TLM). It is show that Ikaz-kurtosis ratio give good result in selecting the intrinsic mode function (IMF) after EMD decomposed the signal into a series of IMFs. TKEO as post processing analysis extract all the information inside the signal that contaminated with noise. Its show that leakage position can be localize with maximum error less 7.3%. Meanwhile, Outlet position recorded 3.4% maximum. This conclude that this method apply for synthetic signal is acceptable for leakage detection.

Flow and Heat Dissipation Analysis in Transformer Substation with Minimal Ventilation using CFD

This paper aims to investigate the flow and heat dissipation of a transformer located in substation building with minimal ventilation system. The study is carried out using CFD, which model the flow and conjugate heat transfer in step-up transformer and its surrounding air. Transformer model is generated by considering the extended fins at both side which enhance heat dissipation. Three different substation ventilation designs are proposed in this work. The effect of air outlet positions with fixed inlets are investigated. The primary objective is to investigate transformer surface and surrounding temperatures for different ventilation systems. The result indicated that minimum natural ventilation of a transformer substation is achievable to avoid transformer overheating. This must be achieved by carefully selecting suitable air inlets and outlets positions in a transformer substation.

Comparison of the performance of ice-on-coil LTES tanks with horizontal and vertical tubes

Experimental and numerical analyses were conducted to compare the charging and discharging performance of an ice-on-coil latent thermal energy storage tank (LTES). We examined the effect of three parameters: (1) orientation of the tube arrangement (horizontal or vertical), (2) tube diameter (10A or 6A tubes), and (3) tube outlet location (on tank top or tank bottom). Experimental observations had to be confirmed because not only the tube orientation, but also the tube outlet position could have caused a difference in performance. This uncertainty was assessed using numerical analysis. The results show that thermal stratification in molten phase change materials (PCM) plays an important role in charging and discharging performance, and that this performance is different depending on the tube orientation. Thus, the cases when the tube outlet was located on the top of the tank and when the tube orientation was horizontal showed the worst discharging performance. This difference increased with tube diameter.

Evaluation of Factors Influencing Exclusive Brand Store Choice: An Investigation in the Indian Retail Sector

This research investigated the determinant factors of store choice. The study is an effort to understand the current positions of the organized exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) among shoppers in select cities of Madhya Pradesh (MP), India. In this view, the researcher approached shoppers of select EBOs and then identified the positions and effect of identified attributes on store choice. A total of 480 participants were approached, among which 328 respondents completely filled the questionnaire. This exploratory study used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) before the psychometric test (i.e., reliability and validity) of the instrument. Further, the multidimensional perceptual maps show the pictorial positions of the eight ready-to-wear EBOs operating in MP, the central Indian market. Further, it also revealed those attributes which shoppers perceived as important with respect to store selection. It found that organized retail stores must lay emphasis on customer service, promotion, physical aspects, return policies, assortment of merchandise, physical comforts, convenience facilities, perceived risk and purchase volume. The contribution of this study is that the outcomes are extremely useful to store managers and strategy makers in understanding the Indian retail market and tailoring their marketing tactics.

Investigations of a Dehumidifier in a Solar-Assisted Liquid Desiccant Demonstration Plant

A solar-assisted liquid desiccant demonstration plant was built and experimentally evaluated. Humidity of the air, density of the desiccant, and all relevant mass flow rates and temperatures were measured at each inlet and outlet position. Adiabatic dehumidification experiments were performed in different seasons of the year under various ambient air conditions. The moisture removal rate m˙v, the mass balance factor κm, and the absorber effectiveness, εabs, were evaluated. An aqueous solution of LiCl was used as liquid desiccant with an initial mass fraction of about 0.4 kgLiCl/kgsol. The mass flow rate of the air through the absorber was about 1100 kg/h. The experimental results showed a reduction in the air humidity ratio in the range of 1.3–4.3 g/kg accompanied with an increase in the air temperature in the range of 3–8.5 K, depending on the inlet and operating conditions. For the air to desiccant mass flow ratio of 82, a mass fraction spread of 5.7% points in the desiccant and a volumetric energy storage capacity of 430 MJ/m3 were achieved. By operating the desiccant pump in an intermittent mode, a mass fraction spread of about 13% points in the desiccant and an energy storage capacity of about 900 MJ/m3 were reached. In addition, the experimental results were compared with results from a numerical model. The numerical model overestimates the heat and mass transfer because it assumes ideal surface wetting and uniform distribution of the circulated fluids.

Effects of the different air cooling strategies on cooling performance of a lithium-ion battery module with baffle

In this work, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method and lumped model of single cell are used to investigate the thermal characteristic of the 18650 battery module which consists of 60 pieces of cells and standard battery holders. The air cooling performance of the battery module with the impedance of the battery holder is explored. Different air cooling strategies are investigated by changing the relative positions of air flow inlet and outlet to acquire the best cooling way. Then, in order to improve the performance of the air cooling with lateral inlet and outlet, the baffle is used to improve the air flow distribution. The temperature distributions of the module are discussed using transient simulation, and the results indicate that the cooling performance of inlet and outlet located on the different sides is better than on the same side and the use of the baffle plate can highly improve the thermal performance of air cooling strategies with the lateral inlet and outlet. When the air flow inlet and outlet located on the different sides of the case with the use of the baffle, the best cooling performance is achieved.

The effects of the pressure outlet's position on the diffusion and pollution of dust in tunnel using a shield tunneling machine

In order to gain a more in-depth knowledge of a shield machine's dust-suppression ventilation system, this paper uses the shield region on the south side of the No. 8 Subway from Jiaodong International Airport, Qingdao, China, as a case study, and conducts field measurements and numerical simulations for examining dust concentration distributions in a tunnel when the ventilation system is not in operation (i.e., under single-pressure conditions) and when the air pressure cylinder is in operation (specifically, the distance between the pressure outlet-2 and the cutter, denoted as Lp, was set at different values within a range of 30∼75 m). The results reveal that under single-pressure conditions, dust was diffused throughout the entire tunnel and caused serious pollution. After the ventilation system was opened: when Lp < 50 m, the use of a ventilation system could not control the diffusion of dust effectively, and its dust-suppression performance was enhanced with the increase of Lp; when 50 m ≤ Lp ≤ 55 m, its dust suppression performance was relatively optimal, but some dust still spread to the operating region; when Lp > 70 m, a low-velocity airflow belt was formed in the operating range of 25∼30 m, i.e., the ventilation requirements could not be satisfied; and when 60 m ≤ Lp ≤ 70 m, both the ventilation and optimal dust suppression performance could be achieved simultaneously.

Effect of Outlet Position on Homogeneity of Two Layer Stratified Liquid

In industry, there are several fields where density stratification occurs. It can happen when one batch of liquid is loaded on the top of another batch in the same storage tank. This phenomenon can cause trouble in operation and it can induce decadency of product quality, as well. In this paper, homogenisation of two stratified layer liquid was investigated. The homogenisation was achieved by an external pump. The experiments were carried out in a cylinder tank with 3.043 l active volume which is the scale-down of a ~100 m3 industrial tank. The residence time in the system was 3.48 h. The main goal of our research was to examine the effect of outlet position on mixing time. In our research, borax was used as stratified liquid. The density of the upper layer was 1.0022 g/cm3 and the lower layer was 1.0136 g/cm3density. The inlet was positioned above the liquid level. Two different experiments were carried out for three outlet positions. Firstly, we examined the mean residence time of the systems. For this, experiments were carried out in a constant, continuous tank filled with 1.0022 g/cm3borax solution meanwhile the inlet liquid density was 1.0136 g/cm3. Experiments were performed in the other way around, too (1.0136 g/cm3 tank solution, 1.0022 g/cm3 inlet). The flowrate of the outlet and the inlet was constant and identical. Secondly, mixing two-layer stratified liquid in circulated system using external pump was investigated, as well. Measuring apparatus was conductivity probe. Two probes were placed into the system. One of them was used for sampling the outlet and the other was situated in a fix position during all experiments. The data was evaluated by mean residence time where it was possible, and it was also analysed in accordance with the time request to achieve 95 % homogeneity. We examined the concentration differences between the sampling points in time.

Investigation of stall process flow field in transonic centrifugal compressor with volute

Owing to the asymmetric structure of the volute, the internal flow field in a centrifugal compressor is circumferentially non-uniform. Previous studies have paid little attention to whether the circumferentially non-uniform flow field has an influence on the circumferential position of stall inception under transonic inlet conditions. In this study, the performance of the centrifugal compressor and static pressure distribution around the casing wall are obtained by means of an experimental method. Thereafter, the experimental results are compared with the time-averaged results of unsteady simulations, and the stall process with shock waves is obtained. The results demonstrate that, in the presence of shock waves, the volute tongue (VT) determines the stall inception circumferential position. Owing to the asymmetric structure of the volute, the positions, strengths, and shapes of shock waves exhibit significant differences in varying blade passages. The VT induces the high static pressure region in a blade passage; the shock wave in the corresponding blade passage is much closer to the impeller inlet than the other blade passages; and the forward velocity of the shock wave in the stall process is significantly larger. Furthermore, leading edge spillage, which represents the stall inception, will first occur in this passage. The reason for these phenomena is that the high static pressure region can increase the static pressure at the blade passage outlet position, which compels the shock wave to move closer to the impeller inlet; therefore, stall inception first occurs in this passage. In the stall inception process, the shock wave in the blade passage, located in the low static pressure region, is not constantly moving to the impeller inlet; the shock wave moving direction also changes, and the shock wave moves downstream during a certain period. The tip leakage flow (TLF) trajectory in different blade passages differs significantly. Tip leakage vortex (TLV) breakdown first occurs in the blade passage that is most influenced by the VT.

Microstructural Characteristics of AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Processed by Continuous Variable Cross-Section Direct Extrusion (CVCDE). Part 2: Dynamic Recrystallization

Through the precise design of the mold cavity structure, the ideal microstructure and mechanical property of the extrusion product can be obtained. In this article, the two interim dies were taken as a sample to study the microstructure of typical locations of AZ31 magnesium alloy produced by continuous variable cross-section direct extrusion (CVCDE). The results showed that the grains were refined significantly and became more homogeneous after the material passed through the continuous variable mold cavity. By contrast of different locations of the extrusion product, the dynamic recrystallization was sufficient and the proportion of recrystallization grains was the largest at the outlet position of the mold die.

Influence of channel length on discharge performance of anode layer Hall thruster studied by particle-in-cell simulation

Hall thruster has the advantages of simple structure, high specific impulse, high efficiency, and long service life, and so on. It is suitable for spacecraft attitude control, North and South position keeping, and other track tasks. The anode layer Hall thruster is a kind of Hall thruster. The thruster has a longer anode area and a relatively short discharge channel. In this paper, the effect of the channel length on the performance of the anode layer Hall thruster is simulated by the PIC simulation method. The simulation results show that the change of the channel length has significant effect on the plasma parameters, such as potential and plasma density and so on. The ionization region mainly concentrates at the hollow anode outlet position, and can gradually move toward the channel outlet as the channel length decreases. The collision between the ions and the wall increases with the channel length increasing. So the proper shortening of the channel length can increase the life of the thruster. Besides, the results show that there is a best choice of the channel length for obtaining the best performance. In this paper, thruster has the best performance under a channel length of 5 mm.