Plug System Research Articles

Исследование пусковых свойств вихрекамерных дизелей средств коллективного спасения экипажей морских судов магнитной обработкой топлива

The paper considers the diesel engines as the hearts of the lifeboat power plants 
 of all types of vessels: sea, river and mixed navigation, according to the International Convention on the Protection of Human Life at Sea - SOLAS. In the Russian Federation there are two types 
 of engines produced for this purpose: 4-9.5/11 (“Kaspiy 30”) with vortex-chamber mixing and 
 4-9.5/11 (“Kaspiy 40”) with a combustion chamber in piston and volume-film mixing. The Kaspiy 40 engine is characterized by good starting properties and does not require additional acceleration of the launch. The Kaspiy 30 engine, due to the design of the combustion chamber, must be equipped with a fuel mixture heating device in the combustion chamber, which must work before the engine reaches a stable mode of operation. This device is glow plugs powered by a rechargeable battery and connected sequentially, so that failure of one plug entails the inoperability of the entire chain. If the rescue operation is necessary, the lifeboat engines must be started on deck without 
 a coolant (sea water) in the cooling system and must work for at least 10 - 15 minutes until the crew gets into the boat and the boat is launched, after which the cooling system will take the sea water. If the glow plug system fails, especially when the ambient temperature is low, the start of the engine in the prescribed time may not take place at all. There has been studied the effect of magnetic treatment of fuel before the launch and during the launch on the activation energy of fuel molecules and their reaction in the combustion without external heat

Comparative research results of CFR Octane Rating Unit Engine and Dacia Single Cylinder SI Engine equipped with classical Spark Plug and LASER Ignition

Nowadays, research has developed new technologies for a better control of the combustion process. Among the new technologies used for Ignition and combustion control, the LASER spark plug system is defined as an innovative technology which could overcome several limitations of classical spark plug. The purpose of the paper is the experimental research of the LASER spark plug used in the spark ignition(SI) engine. Improved performance, ensuring rapid and robust combustion, depends on how the Ignition stage is achieved. An Ignition system that could provide such an enhanced combustion process is the one based on plasma generation using a Q switched solid state LASER that delivers pulses with high MW peak power. The LI device used in the current research was a LASER medium Nd:YAG/Cr4+:YAG ceramic structure (Baikowski Co., Japan) that consisted of a 8.0-mm long, 1.0-at.% Nd:YAG ceramic, optically-bonded to a Cr4+:YAG ceramic with saturable absorption. It was designed, integrated and built to resemble a classical Spark Plug and could be mounted directly on the cylinder of a CFR Octane Rating Unit Engine as well as on a Dacia Single Cylinder SI Engine which led to several results among which: indicated, mediated pressures and their wave dispersion.

The Use of CAD Systems to Manage Modularity in Multi-Role Warships

Modulation requires new approaches to the entire shipbuilding process, general arrangement for the warships need careful analysis of interaction and physical connection between modules: electrical, water, air conditioning, etc. and between modules and the elements surrounding them. The analysis of areas with high potential for modulation will lead, by the application of the criteria decided, to a selection of several standard modules to be designed in CAD systems for those cases where it is expected to achieve significant savings by producing series of modules. The appropriate application of the modularization theories demands a difficult exercise of coordination among the design of all the units, systems, zones or disciplines present in the compartments and also direct implications in constructive strategy which will require specific protocols for the correct implementation of the modules during the constructive stages. The implementation of new tools to handle modules in warships is particularly important since it remarkably simplifies the analysis, what leads to a high potential in the improvement of the coordination among design areas and disciplines, and consequently to a more efficient design. The typical outfitting and equipment modules for these areas shall be defined, interfaces to the equipment and specification of cables, pipes and air conditioning systems needed for the module. The goal will be to define a limited number of standard modules, which allows exploiting serial effects and containing a significant part of outfitting in order to achieve savings from pre-outfitting. But the concept of modularization has even a wider meaning for warships when thinking in modularity, not only oriented to the design and constructive advantages but also in the future evolution of these kind of ships in order to be reoriented easily towards different uses, future upgrades or changes that should be realized to be able to undertake different kind of missions thanks to an efficient Plug and Play system. The aim of this paper is to develop concepts and design solutions for modular machinery space, on-board automation and warship equipment. To achieve those possibilities, not only the modularity concept will be necessary, it also needs a clear vision of which will be the lifecycle of the warship and its present and future purposes or possible upgrades in order to create a design. CAD systems are essential tools to provide the vision and the base to design and simulate the different possibilities that a warship would be able to provide thanks to the application of a modular concept during its complete lifecycle.

Identification of resources and parts in a Plug and Produce system using OPC UA

This paper describes a method together with an implementation for automating the detection, identification and configuration of newly added resources and parts in a Plug and Produce system using OPC UA. In a Plug and Produce system, resources and parts are usually controlled by agents, forming a multi-agent system of collaborating resources. Hence, when a resource or part is connected to the system, a corresponding agent must be instantiated and associated with that specific device. In order to automate this, the system needs information about newly connected devices. This information could, for example, be positional data describing where the device is connected. Some devices like tools and parts to be processed have no own network connection, but still, they should get an agent with correct configuration instantiated. In this work, OPC UA is used for communication between devices and the corresponding agents. All agents and their communication are handled by an Agent Handling System, consisting of an OPC UA HUB together with functions for device detection and agent instantiation. The HUB is used for transferring data between devices and their agents in the network by OPC UA protocols. When a device is connected to the network, it is detected, and a connection is automatically created to the HUB that becomes configured for transmitting data between the device and its corresponding agent.

Modeling of the Effect of the Gas Flow Rate on the Fluid Flow and Open‐Eye Formation in a Water Model of a Steelmaking Ladle

In ladle metallurgy of steelmaking, the role of gas injection into the metal bath is been studied to a great extent as it improves the quality of steel. The size of the open‐eye is associated with higher emulsification of top slag, which intensifies metal–slag reactions, and information about the position and size of the open‐eye is important for effective alloying practice. Moreover, the open‐eye has an effect on the energy balance since it increases heat losses. In this work, experimental measurements and numerical simulations are performed to study the effect gas flow rate on the formation of the open‐eye in a steelmaking ladle. A one‐fifth scale water model is constructed for studying gas injection with single and dual plug configurations. For the numerical modeling, the Multiphase Volume of Fluid (VOF) model is used for simulating the system including the behavior of the slag layer. The physical modeling results show that the open‐eye area changes from 9.22 to 198.34 cm2 when the gas flow rate varies from 0.75 to 15 SLM using a single plug. The effect of the number of plugs on the open‐eye area for the same range of flow rates mentioned above is also studied. The two open‐eye areas generated due to the gas injected through the dual plugs change from 37.59 to 231.1 cm2 when the gas flow rate is increased from 0.75 to 7.5 SLM for each plug in the physical modeling. The numerical simulation results of the open‐eye area are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data obtained from the water model. During the gas stirring process, the slag layer is deformed such that the thickness of the slag becomes thick near to the wall and thin near the slag eye at high gas flow rates. In dual plug system, the two open‐eyes tends to merge and form a huge open‐eye at high flow rates that suits for better alloying purposes. The high‐flow velocity near the surface, which could damage the ladle refractory, tends to be reduced in dual plug system when compared to single plug system.

Understanding oxidizing transient conditions in clayey rocks

Large amounts of carbon steels are foreseen in most deep geological disposals of high-level radioactive waste. The disposal cells will be initially aerated and the ventilation will renew oxygen at their front edge for years to decades. Excavation damaged zones (Edz) along underground works (tunnels, drifts) may promote oxygen migration. The diffusion and reactivity of oxygen within such zones is still poorly known despite that steel corrosion is significantly enhanced in the presence of oxygen. With this respect, four tests were implemented in the Tournemire Underground Research Laboratory, France. In each test, the oxygen partial pressure and the total pressure within a chamber isolated from the atmosphere by a packer were recorded over 90–150 days. Oxygen was never completely depleted in the chambers, likely due to oxygen diffusion through the Edz, whereas pyrite oxidation within the Edz was the main oxygen sink. The four in situ tests are different in terms of geometries (volume and surface of chambers) and drilling modes (compressed air flushing vs. pressurized argon flushing). A sequential global optimization of the relevant parameters (diffusion and reaction) has been developed, aiming at reproducing as closely as possible the measured four in situ tests data by modelling. The key controlling parameters are shown to be the Edz thickness and the ratio Dekre (effective diffusion coefficient over oxygen consumption first-order effective rate), whose optimum was found between 23 m2 and 45 m2. The Edz extent active for oxygen diffusion ranges between 0.6 and 1.0 borehole radius, with mean water saturation of 0.7, a mean De of 6 × 10−7 m2·s−1 and a mean kre of 2 × 10−8 s−1 (or kr = 6 × 10−7 s−1 per equivalent pore volume). With respect to the safety assessment of radioactive waste disposals, any plug system that would not intercept the Edz could not ultimately prevent oxygen entry into the structure, which could have an impact on dimensioning carbon steel components of disposal concepts. The proposed optimization methodology could be used to quantify diffusion and reaction kinetics in other contexts where pyrite reactivity and/or oxygen diffusion in water unsaturated media play a key role, such as the leaching of mining ores and acid mine drainage.

A Plug and Play IoT Wi-Fi Smart Home System for Human Monitoring

The trend toward technology ubiquity in human life is constantly increasing and the same tendency is clear in all technologies aimed at human monitoring. In this framework, several smart home system architectures have been presented in literature, realized by combining sensors, home servers, and online platforms. In this paper, a new system architecture suitable for human monitoring based on Wi-Fi connectivity is introduced. The proposed solution lowers costs and implementation burden by using the Internet connection that leans on standard home modem-routers, already present normally in the homes, and reducing the need for range extenders thanks to the long range of the Wi-Fi signal. Since the main drawback of the Wi-Fi implementation is the high energy drain, low power design strategies have been considered to provide each battery-powered sensor with a lifetime suitable for a consumer application. Moreover, in order to consider the higher consumption arising in the case of the Wi-Fi/Internet connectivity loss, dedicated operating cycles have been introduced obtaining an energy savings of up to 91%. Performance was evaluated: in order to validate the use of the system as a hardware platform for behavioral services, an activity profile of a user for two months in a real context has been extracted.

Magmatism, serpentinization and life: Insights through drilling the Atlantis Massif (IODP Expedition 357)

IODP Expedition 357 used two seabed drills to core 17 shallow holes at 9 sites across Atlantis Massif ocean core complex (Mid-Atlantic Ridge 30°N). The goals of this expedition were to investigate serpentinization processes and microbial activity in the shallow subsurface of highly altered ultramafic and mafic sequences that have been uplifted to the seafloor along a major detachment fault zone. More than 57 m of core were recovered, with borehole penetration ranging from 1.3 to 16.4 meters below seafloor, and core recovery as high as 75% of total penetration in one borehole. The cores show highly heterogeneous rock types and alteration associated with changes in bulk rock chemistry that reflect multiple phases of magmatism, fluid-rock interaction and mass transfer within the detachment fault zone. Recovered ultramafic rocks are dominated by pervasively serpentinized harzburgite with intervals of serpentinized dunite and minor pyroxenite veins; gabbroic rocks occur as melt impregnations and veins. Dolerite intrusions and basaltic rocks represent the latest magmatic activity. The proportion of mafic rocks is volumetrically less than the amount of mafic rocks recovered previously by drilling the central dome of Atlantis Massif at IODP Site U1309. This suggests a different mode of melt accumulation in the mantle peridotites at the ridge-transform intersection and/or a tectonic transposition of rock types within a complex detachment fault zone. The cores revealed a high degree of serpentinization and metasomatic alteration dominated by talc-amphibole-chlorite overprinting. Metasomatism is most prevalent at contacts between ultramafic and mafic domains (gabbroic and/or doleritic intrusions) and points to channeled fluid flow and silica mobility during exhumation along the detachment fault. The presence of the mafic lenses within the serpentinites and their alteration to mechanically weak talc, serpentine and chlorite may also be critical in the development of the detachment fault zone and may aid in continued unroofing of the upper mantle peridotite/gabbro sequences.New technologies were also developed for the seabed drills to enable biogeochemical and microbiological characterization of the environment. An in situ sensor package and water sampling system recorded real-time variations in dissolved methane, oxygen, pH, oxidation reduction potential (Eh), and temperature and during drilling and sampled bottom water after drilling. Systematic excursions in these parameters together with elevated hydrogen and methane concentrations in post-drilling fluids provide evidence for active serpentinization at all sites. In addition, chemical tracers were delivered into the drilling fluids for contamination testing, and a borehole plug system was successfully deployed at some sites for future fluid sampling. A major achievement of IODP Expedition 357 was to obtain microbiological samples along a west–east profile, which will provide a better understanding of how microbial communities evolve as ultramafic and mafic rocks are altered and emplaced on the seafloor. Strict sampling handling protocols allowed for very low limits of microbial cell detection, and our results show that the Atlantis Massif subsurface contains a relatively low density of microbial life.

Implementation of a hybrid scheme for coherent plug-and-play quantum key distribution

We experimentally demonstrate a hybrid configuration for Quantum Key Distribution, that combines the simplicity of Distributed Phase Reference protocols with the self-referencing features and polarization insensitivity of the so-called Plug & Play system. Additionally, all the components are arranged in a server-client scheme to allow for practical key distribution. Blank, coherent pulse pair trains are generated at the reception end of the link by means of a pulse sequence and an unbalanced interferometer, and sent to the other end. The emitter writes the qubits by erasing one of the pulses from the pair as in a Coherent-One Way protocol. Detection, as well as eavesdropping monitoring is performed at the receiver side, using the same interferometer that was used to generate the initial phase-referenced pulses.

3:45 PM Abstract No. 106 Comparing solid embolic devices for the embolization of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations: an update

Accepted practice is to treat all PAVMs greater than 2-3 mm using transcatheter embolization in order to prevent paradoxical emboli, aneurysm rupture, and chronic hypoxemia secondary to shunting. Though multiple solid embolic devices have been used to occlude PAVMs, coils remain the most commonly used despite recanalization rates as high as 15%. An alternative to coils is the Amplatzer Vascular Plug and the MicroVascular Plug System which allow for the occlusion of small feeding vessels with a single device. We compared these three embolic devices for the treatment of PAVMs specifically investigating procedural attributes, outcomes, and costs. We performed an IRB approved retrospective review on all patients with PAVM treated exclusively with coils, AVP or MVP between October 2014 and July 2016. Procedural attributes, costs, and recanalization rates were collected and compared. Technical success was defined as complete occlusion of the feeding artery supplying the PAVM. Recanalization and revascularization were assessed by routine clinical follow-up and confirmed using CT angiography of the chest. A total of 68 patients with 102 PAVMs treated in 72 procedures were included. All procedures were technically successful without any minor or major complications. Multiple Regression was used to assess the association between clinical outcomes, adjusting for patient age, sex, HHT status, total AVMs treated per session, and mean feeding artery diameter. There was no significant difference between procedural time, fluoroscopy time, and contrast administered between our three groups. In terms of cost of embolic per procedure AVP was 69% cheaper than coils (95% CI 59-76% p <0.0001) and 50% cheaper MVP (95% CI 38-60% p <0.0001). MVP was 37% cheaper than coils (95% 14-54% p = 0.0038). Recanalization rates: Coils 15% with average follow-up of 597 days; AVP 7% with average follow-up of 481 days; MVP 0% with an average follow-up of 235 days. Transcatheter embolization using solid embolics is safe and effective. Based on our analysis AVP is the most cost effective embolic with a lower rate of recanalization when compared to coils. MVP demonstrated the lowest recanalization rate.

Modeling the Effect of Plug Positions and Ladle Aspect Ratio on Hydrogen Removal in the Vacuum Arc Degasser

The rate of hydrogen removal from molten steel in a vacuum arc degasser (VAD) is simulated using a three‐phase (slag‐argon‐steel) Eulerian model. The time required to degas a 100 tonne melt from 5 to 1.5 ppm is predicted for a series of ladle aspect ratios and plug layouts. Compared to an axisymmetric single plug system, the degassing time can be reduced by 36% with the use of three equiangular plugs. Increasing the aspect ratio (AR) of the melt from 0.8–1.2 leads to an improvement in degassing performance, followed by a reduction in performance between AR = 1.2–1.6. A radial plug position of 0.5R is optimal for achieving low hydrogen levels in the melt. Reducing the inter‐plug angle from θ = 180° (for double plug) and θ = 120° (for triple plug) to θ = 45° further reduces this time by 18 and 3.8%, respectively. The fastest rate of hydrogen removal is obtained through the use of three plugs at positioned at an angle of θ = 45° and plug radial position of 0.5R.

Large Scale Propagation and In vitro Weaning for the Restoration Viola palustris to Support Assisted Colonisation of a Threatened Butterfly

The distribution and abundance of Boloria selene (small pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly SPBF) declined over the decades in many parts of the UK. Availability of food plants, especially marsh violet (Viola palustris), for the caterpillars of the SPBF has been identified as one of the major limiting factors for this decline. To achieve augmentation of existing colonies and develop new populations of SPBF large numbers of marsh violet propagules were required specifically to feed the larvae. The main objectives of the study were to produce thousands of good quality marsh violet propagules to restore selected habitats in the Heart of Durham, Northern England, using in vitro methods. Preliminary trials showed that in vitro multiplication of seedlings from wild collected seeds through conventional agar-based cultures was lengthy, expensive and turned out to be a non-viable route to achieve the objectives. This study explored the potential of bioreactor-based cloning and cost-effective one step rooting and weaning. Robust propagules, ready for transplantation following rapid propagation and one step rooting and weaning in vitro, were raised in a plug system for transplantation and establishment under field conditions. This was achieved by using simple and cost-effective methods to support the large-scale restoration exercise using 14,000 propagules. Application of high throughput micropropagation and low cost one step weaning systems for time-bound conservation and restoration projects are discussed in detail. This research highlights the important role of in vitro methods to support integrated biodiversity conservation of threatened native plant and butterfly.

Security Vulnerabilities of Internet of Things: A Case Study of the Smart Plug System

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things, more and more small devices are connected into the Internet for monitoring and control purposes. One such type of devices, smart plugs, have been extensively deployed worldwide in millions of homes for home automation. These smart plugs, however, would pose serious security problems if their vulnerabilities were not carefully investigated. Indeed, we discovered that some popular smart home plugs have severe security vulnerabilities which could be fixed but unfortunately are left open. In this paper, we case study a smart plug system of a known brand by exploiting its communication protocols and successfully launching four attacks: 1) device scanning attack; 2) brute force attack; 3) spoofing attack; and 4) firmware attack. Our real-world experimental results show that we can obtain the authentication credentials from the users by performing these attacks. We also present guidelines for securing smart plugs.

Tick attachment cement-reviewing the mysteries of a biological skin plug system.

ABSTRACTThe majority of ticks in the family Ixodidae secrete a substance anchoring their mouthparts to the host skin. This substance is termed cement. It has adhesive properties and seals the lesion during feeding. The particular chemical composition and the curing process of the cement are unclear. This review summarizes the literature, starting with a historical overview, briefly introducing the different hypotheses on the origin of the adhesive and how the tick salivary glands have been identified as its source. Details on the sequence of cement deposition, the curing process and detachment are provided. Other possible functions of the cement, such as protection from the host immune system and antimicrobial properties, are presented. Histochemical and ultrastructural data of the intracellular granules in the salivary gland cells, as well as the secreted cement, suggest that proteins constitute the main material, with biochemical data revealing glycine to be the dominant amino acid. Applied methods and their restrictions are discussed. Tick cement is compared with adhesives of other animals such as barnacles, mussels and sea urchins. Finally, we address the potential of tick cement for the field of biomaterial research and in particular for medical applications in future.

First use of Micro Vascular Plugs in Australia: Endovascular treatment of pulmonary arteriovenous malformation.

This report describes the first Australian experience with the Micro Vascular Plug System (MVP), as a permanent embolic device for the treatment of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs). MVPs deployed in small vessels between 2mm and 5mm are demonstrated to be feasible, safe and effective treatment for PAVMs.

거리기반 자동 전원제어 스마트 플러그 설계 및 구현

스마트 플러그는 통신기능과 자동 전원차단 기능 등을 가지고 있는 플러그로서 에너지 절약을 통해 효율적인 에너지 사용을 지원하는 스마트 기기이다. 통신기능을 이용한 가전제품의 소비전력 측정 및 스마트폰, 에너지관리시스템(EMS) 서버와의 연동을 통한 에너지 모니터링과 사용량 분석 등을 제공하며 원격 전원제어 기능을 제공한다. 현재 사용 제품들도 다수 출시되어 사용되고 있으나 비용 및 사용 측면에서 불편한 요소가 존재한다. 본 논문에서는 기존 스마트 플러그 제품의 불편한 점을 해결하고 사용자들이 쉽게 사용할 수 있도록 거리기반 자동 온/오프 시스템에 기반한 새로운 스마트 플러그 시스템을 제안한다. 본 스마트 플러그 시스템은 플러그 제어에 필요한 서버가 필요없고 블루투스와 지그비 통신 인터페이스를 통하여 직접 스마트 플러그와 원격장치 및 모바일 기기와 통신하여 전력 및 제어 데이터를 송수신할 수 있다.

An Electricity Price-Aware Open-Source Smart Socket for the Internet of Energy.

The Internet of Energy (IoE) represents a novel paradigm where electrical power systems work cooperatively with smart devices to increase the visibility of energy consumption and create safer, cleaner and sustainable energy systems. The implementation of IoE services involves the use of multiple components, like embedded systems, power electronics or sensors, which are an essential part of the infrastructure dedicated to the generation and distribution energy and the one required by the final consumer. This article focuses on the latter and presents a smart socket system that collects the information about energy price and makes use of sensors and actuators to optimize home energy consumption according to the user preferences. Specifically, this article provides three main novel contributions. First, what to our knowledge is the first hardware prototype that manages in a practical real-world scenario the price values obtained from a public electricity operator is presented. The second contribution is related to the definition of a novel wireless sensor network communications protocol based on Wi-Fi that allows for creating an easy-to-deploy smart plug system that self-organizes and auto-configures to collect the sensed data, minimizing user intervention. Third, it is provided a thorough description of the design of one of the few open-source smart plug systems, including its communications architecture, the protocols implemented, the main sensing and actuation components and the most relevant pieces of the software. Moreover, with the aim of illustrating the capabilities of the smart plug system, the results of different experiments performed are shown. Such experiments evaluate in real-world scenarios the system’s ease of use, its communications range and its performance when using HTTPS. Finally, the economic savings are estimated for different appliances, concluding that, in the practical situation proposed, the smart plug system allows certain energy-demanding appliances to save almost €70 per year.

Activation and Radioactive Waste Analysis for Survey X-Ray Crystal Spectrometer of ITER

Activation and radioactive waste analysis has been carried out for an X-ray crystal survey spectrometer (XRCS) sight tube, which will be installed in equatorial port No. 11 assigned for the ITER diagnostics. The neutron transport calculations are performed using the Monte Carlo N-Particle code (MCNP). The base C-Lite neutronics ITER model is grossly modified to include all required details of the port plug, diagnostic apertures, and diagnostic system. The transport results provide neutron flux at desired positions. The sight tube is supposed to be placed in the interspace, after the closure plate, to channel X-rays to the spectrometer. Complete radioactive inventory calculations along with contact doses and nuclear activity levels are obtained for two different kinds of sight tube material. FISPACT-2007, an inventory code, is used for this purpose. The analysis for this particular sight tube can be used to obtain a material preference based on a radiation point of view. Further, the dependence of neutron spectrum and irradiation time on activity levels, contact dose rate, and production of dominant dose contributing radionuclides has been studied. Dominant radionuclides that contribute up to 95% of the total dose are identified, and their pathways are generated to back trace their sources as an effort to reduce the dose rate. The effect of reducing the cobalt content in SS316L(N)-IG on the contact dose rate is evaluated separately for the sight tube of the XRCS system. Many of the FISPACT calculations are repeated with ACTYS, a locally developed activation solver.

Erratum to: Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations Embolized Using a Micro Vascular Plug System: Technical Note on a Preliminary Experience.

Erratum to: Pulmonary Arteriovenous Malformations Embolized Using a Micro Vascular Plug System: Technical Note on a Preliminary Experience.

K10026 기반 스마트 플러그 시스템 개발 및 성능 분석

This paper proposes an effective smart plug system capable of monitoring power, cutting off standby power and overload current. The key design concept is focused on measurement accuracy, self power consumption and controlling via smart phone application. The system is composed of several plugs and a hub, and adopts a star-topology-styled TDMA wireless protocol for communication between plug and hub. The test result shows that the implemented smart plug system meets K10026 regulation and is worth in electrical safety, energy saving, easy living.