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Partial discharge (PD) measurement using electromagnetic waves by antennas is a promising technique for diagnosing the insulation performance of gas-insulated switchgear (GIS). In order to establish highly sensitive diagnosis techniques of GIS insulation, frequency characteristics of electromagnetic waves, which are determined by GIS apertures such as insulating spacers and bushings, should be clarified. In this paper, we measure the electromagnetic waves radiated from different GIS apertures and also analyze them using the transient analysis program "PSpice." Comparing the measurements with the theoretical analyses, we investigate the relationship between the GIS aperture configuration and the radiated electromagnetic wave spectrum from the aperture. We also discuss how the aperture condition contributes to the radiation characteristics of electromagnetic waves. Finally, we conclude that the electromagnetic waves radiated from the GIS aperture are based on different radiation mechanisms in frequency.

Abstract Biodiesel has gained the forefront of our focus on renewable transportation fuels. This article provides a comprehensive review on the sources used as feedstock and their classification based on generation or type (edible, non-edible, waste resources and animal fats) along with a variety of classical and modern oil extraction techniques. The technical aspects of the various biodiesel production methods currently implemented to the best of our knowledge are discussed here, which include in-situ biodiesel production, both catalysed (homogeneous and heterogeneous systems) and uncatalysed classical production approaches, with emphasis on how each of these approaches are affected by their reaction parameters. The review also highlights the observed drawbacks of each process with a view to assessing the implementation of supercritical and superheated technologies as an alternative, economically feasible advancement. Supercritical process (SCP) has shown great prospect in the obtainment of high quality biodiesel from a wide range of high to low grade feedstock with minimal impacts on the presence of water or FFAs (free fatty acids). From available literature it is shown that these do not affect the process significantly, and various other supercritical fluids such as methyl acetate, tert-butyl methyl ether (MTBE) and dimethyl carbonate can also be used to avoid glycerol formation. The process however, suffers from high initial implementation cost being the most prominent drawback, among others like thermal degradation of the fuel. Another promising technique, the superheated vapour technology (SHV) has emerged as an alternative, with limited literature proving the superiority of either of these processes to be inconclusive. In future works, researchers need to look into various aspects such as developing a spiral reactor for heat recovery, using software based optimization for eliminating redundant experiments analysing production cost for industrial scale-up and improving the fuel’s oxidative stability by adding antioxidants for convenient long-term storage and use.

Abstract There have been numerous methods for learning and predicting time series ranging from the traditional time-series analyses to recent approaches using neural networks. A central issue common to all of them is the determination of model structure. Both mean prediction error and An Information Criterion (AIC) are useful in model selection; the model with the smallest mean prediction error or AIC is selected from among a set of models as the best one. In this way they give a solution to the problem of model selection. Due to huge search space, however, the mean prediction error or AIC alone is not powerful enough to find the best model structure from among all the candidates. In the present paper the authors propose to use both a structural learning with forgetting and the mean prediction error or AIC to find a model with better generalization ability. Jordan networks and buffer networks, popular in the modeling of time series, are examined in this paper. The structural learning with forgetting and backpropagation (BP) learning are applied to compare the learning and prediction performance of these two types of models. Simulation results demonstrate that the structural learning with forgetting has better generalization ability than BP learning both in Jordan networks and buffer networks.

Abstract Heat exchanger is one the most essential heat transfer equipment in thermal area. On that heat transfer and effectiveness enhancement by using nano particles is recently developing method. In this study enhancement of effectiveness focused by using nano particles mixed with cold fluid used in the heat exchanger. Hot fluid is water with 200 °C flow into Counter flow heat exchanger and the cold fluid is mixed with 5% of nano particles which is combination of Aluminium oxide and Magnesium oxides with equal proportion. The inlet temperature of the cold fluid is maintained at 30 °C throughout the experiments. The temperatures of each place need to measure are obtained by the thermocouples connected on the particular portion of the setup. There is different mass flow rate of cold fluid passed in each successive experiment for the same mass flow rate and inlet temperature of the hot fluid. The consequent exit temperatures of hot and cold fluids were measured and considered for the mathematical calculations of the outcome of the experiments.

In this study, the freshwater microalgae Selenastrum sp. was assessed for the effective degradation of pyrene and simultaneous production of biodiesel from pyrene-tolerant biomass. The growth of algae was determined based on the cell dry weight, cell density, chlorophyll content, and biomass productivity under different pyrene concentrations. Further, lipids from pyrene tolerant culture were converted into biodiesel by acid-catalyzed transesterification, which was characterized for the total fatty acid profile by gas chromatography. Increased pyrene concentration revealed less biomass yield and productivity after 20 days of treatment, indicating potent pyrene biodegradation by Selenastrum sp. Biomass yield was unaffected till the 20 mg/L pyrene. A 95% of pyrene bioremediation was observed at 20 days of culturing. Lipid accumulation of 22.14%, as evident from the estimation of the total lipid content, indicated a marginal increase in corroborating pyrene stress in the culture. Fatty acid methyl esters yield of 63.06% (% per 100 g lipids) was noticed from the pyrene tolerant culture. Moreover, fatty acid profile analysis of biodiesel produced under 10 mg/L and 20 mg/L pyrene condition showed escalated levels of desirable fatty acids in Selenastrum sp., compared to the control. Further, Selenastrum sp. and other freshwater microalgae are catalogued for sustainable development goals attainment by 2030, as per the UNSDG (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) agenda. Critical applications for the Selenastrum sp. in bioremediation of pyrene, along with biodiesel production, are enumerated for sustainable and renewable energy production and resource management.

Chinese long flame coal named Naomaohu was pyrolyzed at 600 °C under hydrogen pressures of 0.1–3.0 MPa. The resultant chars were gasified at 900 °C under carbon dioxide to illustrate the correlatio...

Abstract Radial measures of efficiency estimated using linear programming (LP) methods can be biased since slack in the constraints defining the technology suggests that at least one input can be reduced, or one output can be expanded, even though a firm is deemed to be “technically efficient.” In this paper, we propose a directional slacks-based measure of technical inefficiency to account for the potential of slack in technological constraints. When no such slacks exist, directional slacks-based inefficiency collapses to the directional technology distance function. Our proposed measure helps to generalize some of the existing slacks-based measures of inefficiency. We examine the financial services provided by Japanese cooperative Shinkin banks, and estimate their inefficiency during the period 2002–2005. This inefficiency declined slightly during the period. We thus propose that slack is an important source of inefficiency which is often not captured by the directional technology distance function.