Industrial Test Research Articles

Prolonging Campaign Life of Blast Furnace Trough by Water Cooling.

A long campaign life of the trough of the blast furnace (BF) is important for improving the BF operation efficiency, reducing the cost of blast furnace ironmaking, and bettering the working conditions of the casting yard. In this paper, a water cooling device was designed for the trough of a BF with a volume of 630 m3. The effect of water cooling on lengthening the unit campaign life of the trough was investigated using industrial tests, numerical simulations, and theoretical analysis. Results showed that by using water cooling, the throughput of the trough in a unit campaign was increased by 40,000 tons, and its unit campaign life was increased by 34 days. During a unit campaign cycle, the influence of the water cooling device on the temperature distribution in refractory materials gradually developed from the low-temperature zone to the high-temperature zone, and the expansion of the high-temperature zone was suppressed. Therefore, the water cooling device inhibited the dissolution of refractory materials and retarded the chemical erosion from the molten slag and the atmosphere.

Secondary Interface Echoes Suppression for Immersion Ultrasonic Imaging Based on Phase Circular Statistics Vector.

Immersion ultrasonic phased array imaging technology offers great advantages, particularly in coupling and automatic detection of industrial non-destructive testing (NDT). To suppress the influence of secondary interface echoes in the immersion ultrasonic phased array imaging, a novel phase circular statistics vector (PCSV) weighting method is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the PCSV factor matrix is established according to the phase consistency of the echo signals. Secondly, due to the higher phase coherence of the defect echo, the PCSV factor matrix is used to weight the TFM image to suppress the secondary interface echo. The result shows the secondary interface echoes are effectively suppressed in the total focusing method (TFM) image on a 0~40 dB scale. It is also shown that PCSV weighting could not only suppress the secondary interface echoes but also improved the image quality in terms of SNR and lateral resolution by comparing with traditional TFM.

Effect of EMBr on Flow in Slab Continuous Casting Mold and Industrial Experiment of Nail Dipping Measurement

In this study, a funnel mold (FM) model of a multi-mode electromagnetic braking (EMBr) device was developed, and the magnetic flux density at different currents was obtained by MAXWELL software. By using the magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) module of FLUENT software, the volume of fluid binomial flow turbulence model and the EMBr mathematical model of the steel/slag flow field were coupled, and the characteristics of the molten steel flow and the liquid-level fluctuation in the 1520 mm × 90 mm FM with the casting speed of 6 m/min were calculated under the effect of the electromagnetic field. The FM liquid-level characteristic information under production conditions was obtained in a nail board industrial experiment and compared with the magnetic-fluid coupling model. The results show that the EMBr can significantly change the flow behavior of molten steel. When the magnetic pole current is not less than 800-600 A, the maximum liquid-level fluctuation height decreases from 18 mm without EMBr to less than 5 mm, and the liquid-level cannot easily entrap slag. Considering the EMBr effect and production cost, the reasonable magnetic pole current should be 800-600 A. The reliability of numerical simulation was also verified by the industrial test results of the nail board.

Colloidal self-assembly based ultrathin metasurface for perfect absorption across the entire visible spectrum

Abstract Perfect absorption over the entire visible spectrum can create a dark background for acquiring images with high contrast and improved resolution, which is crucial for various applications such as medical imaging, biological detection, and industrial non-destructive testing. The broadband absorption is desired to be achieved in an ultrathin structure for low noise as well as high integration. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a metasurface broadband perfect absorber with an ultrathin thickness of 148 nm and a large area of ∼10 cm2. Such a metasurface, with more than 97% absorption in the wavelength range from 400 to 800 nm, is composed of chromium nanodisk hexagonal array deposited on a chromium substrate with a silica spacer. A self-assembly based colloidal lithography nanofabrication method is developed for the scalable fabrication of the proposed nanostructure. We attribute the broadband absorption to the spectrally overlapped Fabry–Perot resonance, surface plasmon polariton, and localized surface plasmon resonances. Our results offer a novel approach to wafer-scale and low-cost manufacturing of absorption-based devices for applications such as high-contrast imaging and optical modulation.

A novel dynamic opposite learning enhanced Jaya optimization method for high efficiency plate–fin heat exchanger design optimization

A Plate–fin heat exchanger (PFHE) is a compact and efficient thermal device, whose performance strongly depends on its structural design. However, the design optimization of a PFHE is a mixed-integer optimization problem with a strong nonlinear characteristic, which presents significant challenges for existing optimization algorithms. Meta-heuristic algorithms (MAs) are competitive for solving complex non-linear optimization problems. In this paper, an improved dynamic-opposite learning Jaya (DOLJaya) method, the goal is to make the algorithm adaptable to each problem. The results of eighteen unimodal and multi-modal benchmarks and nine hybrid benchmarks demonstrate that the proposed DOLJaya has competitive robustness, efficiency and effectiveness for solving complex nonlinear problems compared to its popular counterparts. At the same time, we selected the optimization of the plate–fin heat exchanger as the industrial test benchmark for optimization, and the results of DOLJaya algorithm have been improved by a maximum average of 108.29% and 7.60% compared with the original Jaya, which are also satisfactory.

Effects of Tip Clearance and Impeller Eccentricity on the Aerodynamic Performance of Mixed Flow Fan

The tip clearance and eccentricity of the impeller will affect the aerodynamic performance of the fan, and the impeller installation and vibration characteristics are relatively highly required if the tip clearance is too small. A reasonable tip clearance and excellent coaxially are necessary to ensure that the impeller does not rub with the shell and has superior aerodynamic performance when the fan is working. In the current study, a mixed flow fan was taken as the object and experimental explorations were performed on the C-type test rig designed according to GB/T1236 2000 Industrial fans-performance testing using standardized airways. By moving the airways to change the tip clearance, it was found that an overlarge tip clearance made the fan efficiency decrease significantly, and the efficiency change gradient was large. However, the gradient of efficiency change became smaller when reaching a certain clearance. Similarly, as the eccentricity became larger, the efficiency also decreased. To explore the influence of the optimal clearance and eccentricity of the fan on the fan’s performance, numerical simulations of the flow field inside the fan were carried out using FLUENT software corresponding to the experimental conditions. The influence of the tip clearance and eccentricity on the aerodynamic performance of the fan was revealed from the energy leakage perspective. Through theoretical and experimental analysis, we try to provide guidance on the design, installation and commissioning of fan tip clearance.

Research on the breaking mechanism of bolts and cables in the gateway driven along a small coal pillar in the Datong mining area and the corresponding control technology

The gateway of the thick coal seam working face in the Datong mining area was excavated along a small coal pillar, resulting in serious bolt (cable) breaking failure, strong surrounding rock deformation, serious ground pressure appearance, and difficulties surrounding rock control. So, the bolt (cable) breaking characteristics and corresponding causes of the 5106 return air gateway with a small coal pillar in Dongzhouyao coal mine (a mine in the Datong mining area) were analyzed through an on-site investigation, surrounding rock geotechnical parameters test, theoretical analysis, laboratory experiment, on-site engineering test, and other research means. The study carried out laboratory testing and analysis on the stress distribution characteristics and laws of the bolts, put forward the bolt (cable) breaking mechanism and prevention countermeasures, and completed the field industrial test of the surrounding rock pressure relief and support joint control technology in the gateway. The on-site tracking and data showed that the breaking conditions of the bolts (cables) were significantly reduced by improving the initial force of the bolts (cables), optimizing the supporting materials and components, canceling the pressure ring, and implementing the hydraulic fracturing top cutting and pressure relief + high prestressed full cable support technology. The displacement of the top and bottom plates was reduced by 51%, the displacement of the two sides was reduced by 46%, and the influence distance of the working face advance stress was reduced from 85 m to 30 m. The successful implementation of the study results in the small pillar gateway of the Dongzhouyao coal mine provided a reference for the promotion and application of similar gateway conditions in the Datong mining area.

DIE STEEL 4Х4Н5М4Ф2 (WITHOUT FORGING TREATMENT) FOR HOT DEFORMATION OF ALUMINUM ALLOY

Purpose. Production of steel with controlled austenitic transformation during operation of the 4Х4Н5М4Ф2 grade (without forging treatment) using the technology of electroslag remelting and establishing optimal modes of heat treatment (annealing, quenching and tempering). Production of tools (matrices) from 4Х4Н5М4Ф2 steel (without forging treatment) for hot deformation of aluminum alloy at operating temperatures below the critical point A1.
 Research methods. Metallographic analysis of experimental die steels 4Х4Н5М4Ф2 (without forging treatment) and forged 4Х5МФ1С: study of metal structure; determination of specific resistance; determination of tensile strength; determination of hardness and impact strength.
 Results. The results of research on the optimization of heat treatment modes (quenching and tempering) of 4Х4Н5М4Ф2 steel (without forging treatment) are given. Adjusted chemical composition (4Х4Н5М4Ф2) and optimized mode of heat treatment of steel, which allowed to increase heat resistance up to a temperature of 650 °С. The tempering temperature of steel (475±25 °С) at which irreversible temper brittleness occurs is established. Experimental and industrial tests of steel 4Х4Н5М4Ф2 (without forging treatment) for hot deformation of AK7ч aluminum alloy are presented. It is shown that compared to forged steel H13 (an analogue of 4Х5МФ1С), which is used at one of the Chinese enterprises, the experimental steel has practically the same resistance .
 Scientific novelty. In the process of partial recrystallization (incomplete annealing at a temperature of 750±20 °C) of 4Х4Н5М4Ф2 steel (without forging treatment), a spheroidized carbide component is formed, which leads to an improvement in the mechanical processing of the workpiece for the manufacture of matrices.
 Practical value. The possibility of using steel with an adjustable austenitic transformation during operation of the 4Х4Н5М4Ф2 grade (without forging treatment) is shown for a wide range of operating temperatures of hot deformation: copper-nickel (at an operating temperature above the critical point A3) and aluminum alloy (at an operating temperature below the critical point A1) with increased service life compared to forged steel 4Х5МФ1С.

Use of sorption premixes in fish farming as a prevention of nutritional toxicosis

Climate change is a fact with serious implications that extend to pollution, seafood safety and global food security.The studies were carried out in 2022, on the basis of the FGBOU HE SPbGUVM. Guppy aquarium fish were taken as objects of exploratory research. In the amount of 45 pieces. All objects were placed in the same habitat conditions: 3 aquariums of 10 liters each, males were selected, 10 pcs each. Three groups were created: the first group was given acetate as a lead toxicant, at the rate of 1g/10l, which is 10 times higher than the MPC, which is 0.1g/l according to existing regulations. The second group was given a toxicant in an equivalent dose and a sorption complex (vermiculite, perlite and polyphepan) at the rate of 4% of the daily norm, the control group remained free of toxicants and premix.The toxicant was given once, the sorption complex for a month, crushed and mixed with the feed beforehand. Feeding was carried out with specialized Tetra food. After 30 days. guppy tissue and organ samples were sent to the laboratory of the Educational and Research Center for the Expertise of Food Products and Feed for Animals (FGBOU VO SPbGUVM, St. Petersburg). A study on the detection of lead in tissues and organs was carried out by atomic absorption spectrometry M 04-64-2017, using an atomic absorption spectrometer with electrical atomization MGA-915.According to our exploratory studies, the premix dose of 4% allowed to reduce the amount of toxins by almost three times under equal conditions. Thus, this complex of sorbents can be used as a prevention of altimentary toxicosis with lead acetate in aquarium fish, and also that a premix of sorbents can be recommended for use in fisheries after industrial testing.

Characterization and mechanism of cutter parameters in tubing milling

Downhole string milling is becoming increasingly difficult due to the increasing complexity of oilfield development technology and material quality advances, especially for downhole tubing milling. In this paper, a Lagrangian modeling approach is used to investigate the mechanism and effects of cutting parameters on tubing milling characteristics. The cemented carbide cutter parameters, including the cutting angle, lateral angle, weight on cutter, and rotating speed, are determined to obtain the maximum cutting rate. A cutting tool is designed, manufactured, and tested. The simulation results are in good agreement with the test results, yielding the maximum equivalent stress generated by the cutter of 1163 MPa, which is much higher compared to the tubing yield strength. The tubing cutting volume and mass increased with the cutting angle, up to 12.5°, while the maximum value obtained using the lateral angle is 5°. With an increase in weight on cutter, the maximum von Mises equivalent stress and equivalent strain generated by the cutter also increased. Furthermore, the cutting volume and mass increase rapidly with the rotational speed at the start, followed by a slow increase when the rotational speed is above 70 rpm. The cutter mainly generated continuous chips. Finally, industrial tests are successfully carried out, confirming the milling efficiency increase of 40.1% compared to the traditional milling methods.

Genetic parameter analysis of bareness and tail traits in New Zealand sheep.

Physical traits that improve welfare and disease outcomes for sheep are becoming increasingly important due to both increased climate challenges and societal expectations. Such traits include tail length, the amount of skin (vs. wool) on the underside of the tail, and the area of no-wool (hair) on the belly and breech areas (surrounding the anus) of the animal. An industry dataset consisting of records from individual stud breeders and industry progeny tests was available to estimate the genetic parameters associated with these traits and to investigate the potential for within-breed genetic selection. The heritability estimate for tail length was 0.68 ± 0.01 when breed was not fitted, and 0.63 ± 0.01 when breed was fitted. Similar trends were observed for breech and belly bareness which had heritability estimates around 0.50 (± 0.01). The estimates for these bareness traits are both higher than previous reports from animals of the same age. There was, however, between breed variation in the starting point for these traits, with some breeds having significantly longer tails and a wooly breech and belly, and limited variability. Overall, the results of this study show that flocks exhibiting some variation will be able to make rapid genetic progress in selecting for bareness and tail length traits, and therefore have the potential to make progress towards a sheep that is easier to look after and suffers fewer welfare insults. For those breeds that showed limited within-breed variation, outcrossing may be required to introduce genotypes that exhibit shorter tail length and bareness of belly and breech to increase the rate of genetic gain. Whatever approach is taken by the industry, these results support that genetic improvement can be used to breed "ethically improved sheep".

Disc-type press filter and its industrial testing

Disc-type press filter and its industrial testing

Development and industrial application of LIBS-XRF coal quality analyzer by combining PCA and PLS regression methods

An LIBS-XRF coal quality analyzer was developed. Modeling based on PCA and PLS methods, and industrial testing was completed. The measurement repeatability of model for industrial indicators meets the requirements of national standards.

Formation mechanism and control strategy of M-shaped and W-shaped profile defects in hot rolling of aluminum plate

Good profile is one of the important control objectives in hot rolling of aluminum plate. However, M-shaped profile defect often appears for wide aluminum plate and W-shaped profile defect often appears for narrow aluminum plate. In order to reveal the formation mechanism of the two typical profile defects, the evaluation indexes of the M-shaped profile defect and W-shaped profile defect are proposed, and the roll-plate coupling deformation model and the roll thermal expansion model are established. The effects of rolling force, bending force and work roll thermal expansion on the profile are analyzed using these models. The results show that the rolling force and bending force has little effect on M-shaped profile defect, and the main reason for this problem is the uneven thermal expansion of work roll. Meanwhile, the W-shaped profile defect is produced under the combined action of the roll thermal expansion and large roll deflection, and the roll thermal expansion is the necessary condition for the formation of W-shaped profile defect. The greater the thermal crown of the roll, the smaller the rolling force and the greater the bending force, the more obvious the W-shaped profile defect. Based on the above conclusions, industrial tests were carried out. By increasing the cooling flow in the middle of the roll, the frequency of M-shaped profile defect decreases from 29.4% to 9.0%. Meanwhile, by increasing the positive shifting of CVC rolls, reducing the bending force, and decreasing the cooling flow of work roll at the edge of the plate, the frequency of W-shaped profile defect decreases from 42.1% to 14.1%. The profiles of the hot rolled aluminum plates are effectively improved by the developed control strategies.

A rapid total bacterial count method using gold nanoparticles conjugated with an aptamer for water quality assessment.

Total bacterial count is a routine parameter in microbial safety assessment used in many fields, such as drinking water and industrial water testing. The current gold standard method for counting bacteria is the plate culture method (or heterotrophic plate count) that requires a microbiology laboratory and a long turnover time of at least 24 hours. To tackle these shortcomings, we developed a rapid total bacterial count method that relies on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) conjugated with affinity ligands to stain bacterial cells captured on a syringe filter. Two affinity ligands were exploited, i.e. a DNA aptamer (AB2) and a lectin Griffonia simplicifolia II (GSII) that recognize bacterial cell wall commonalities, i.e. peptidoglycan and its amino sugars. Upon proper formulation with addition of a surfactant, the AB2 conjugated AuNPs (AB2-AuNPs) can selectively stain bacterial cells captured on the filter membrane with a higher sensitivity than GSII-AuNPs. Measuring the staining intensity using an in-house-built handheld detector allowed us to correlate its intensity reading with the total number of bacterial units present. This bacteria quantification method, referred to as "Filter-and-Stain", had an efficient turnover time of 20 min suggesting its potential usage for rapid on-site applications. Additionally, the detection sensitivity provided by the AB2-AuNP nanoreagent offered a limit of detection as low as 100 CFU mL-1. We have demonstrated the use of the AB2-AuNPs for detection of bacteria from environmental water samples.

Multi-Element Synthetic Aperture Focusing Three-Dimensional Ultrasonic Imaging

In the field of industrial non-destructive testing, the three-dimensional imaging technology of ultrasonic testing can intuitively represent the three-dimensional spatial characteristics of defects, making it convenient for non-destructive testing personnel to make accurate judgments on the internal defect information of the tested workpiece. This article conducts a comprehensive study on multi element synthetic aperture focused ultrasound imaging. Based on the radiation theory of sound field, the sound pressure distribution of multi element aperture was derived, and the sound field and defect response of single element, multi element focused, and multi element unfocused were simulated. It was found that multi element unfocused sound field is more suitable for synthetic aperture focused ultrasound imaging. The results indicate that in far-field conditions, multi element synthetic aperture focused ultrasound imaging can achieve higher imaging quality and resolution than single element synthetic aperture focused imaging.

The Water-Polymer Method of Hydroperforation of Oil and Gas wells

The aim of the study is to develop an efficient, innovative method of perforating oil and gas well casing strings with a high-velocity stream of polymer solution that conserves resources and energy and meets the requirements for environ- mentally friendly hydrocarbon production. New knowledge about the dynamics of polymer solutions in the model conditions of flow through the nozzles of the hydro perforator, which form a high-velocity jet, became the main scientific basis for substantiating the water-polymer method of hydro perforation of oil and gas wells. The study of the reaction of polymer solutions to tension hydrodynamic influence allowed to formulate a structural concept, the "common denominator" of which is the strong deformation effect of tension hydrodynamic field on high molecular weight coils, which, according to nonequilibrium thermodynamics, should cause a kind of high elasticity. Peculiarities of hydrodynamic behavior of aqueous polymer solutions in model conditions of flow through jet-forming nozzles are studied. The possibility of transition to a highly developed state of the tangle of polyethylene oxide macromolecules in the conditions of the inlet section of the nozzle of the hydro perforator has been experimentally proved. The mechanism of perforation of oil and gas wells by a high-velocity jet of an aqueous polymer solution has been elucidated. It is proved that the mechanism of the high cutting ability of the high-velocity jet of aqueous polymer solution is the destructive effect of the dynamic pressure of water-polymer jet "reinforced" by highly developed macromolecular chains in the inlet nozzles of the hydro perforator nozzles under the action of tensile leakage. Experimental and industrial testing of the method of perforation of wells by a high-speed jet of an aqueous solution of polyethylene oxide confirmed the practical and economic feasibility of its use.

Razvoj modela za simulaciju livenja pri aluminotermijskom zavarivanju šina

Aluminothermic welding has been used to connect railway rails for over a century. This technique has the advantages of flexibility, weld compactness, and simplicity. External energy is not required for the procedure. Exothermic heat is produced by chemical reactions of aluminothermic elements. To create a quality welded connection, the mold and pouring system must provide uniform pouring of hot steel without turbulence, even heat dissipation or cooling, and an acceptable micro and macro structure of steel free of internal and external faults. The design of the mould was constantly changing, necessitating costly industrial experimentation. As a result, the mould's design was constantly evolving, necessitating the use of costly experimental procedures in industrial settings. The latest iteration of the model the casting cavity was improved by adding hoes in the sand and putting rails on both sides in order to more aquratly simuate heat transfer. Software programs are emulating conventional casting procedures for thermite steel casting in welded railway connections to save money and effort on costly and timeconsuming industrial testing. For the 49E1 rail, NovaFlow & Solid CV were utilized to simulate casting thermite steel in the mould cavity or weld junction.

АВТОМАТИЗАЦИЯ АДДИТИВНЫХ МЕТОДОВ ОБРАБОТКИ ПРИ ПРОИЗВОДСТВЕ ИЗДЕЛИЙ ИЗ ФОТОПОЛИМЕРНЫХ МАТЕРИАЛОВ

The use of new modern structural materials that would improve the physical and mechanical properties of products, assemblies and components of machine and transport engineering would reduce the mass fraction of metals in their design, which is a very urgent task. The purpose of this study was to develop an algorithmic solution for the automated control of the technology for manufacturing products from photopolymers based on the found scientifically based set of controlled parameters obtained in the process of studying the physical and mechanical characteristics and chemical properties of composites. The experimental and industrial tests of the physical and mechanical properties of resin ROEHM R-50 made it possible to investigate the operation of the photopolymerization control system algorithm in practice.

Performance testing of a 5G campus network in real-world propagation conditions from the application's point of view

Performance testing is crucial to build trust in a communication network before and during its deployment in an industrial application. In this paper, a performance analysis of a commercially available 5G standalone network and industrial 5G devices complied with Rel. 15 was carried out. The performance tests are conducted in an industrial test hall with real-world propagation conditions. The performance testing of the 5G system was conducted from the application's perspective. Results of selected test cases are presented and reveal a significant interdependence of timing behavior of uplink and downlink traffic, when both are running on the same device or when only uplink is active. Based on the findings, conclusions are drawn, which are especially of interest to the end users.