The demand for new novel flavour and fragrance (F&F) molecules has boosted the need for a systematic approach to designing fragrance molecules. However, the F&F-related industry still relies heavily on experimental approaches or on existing databases without considering the consequences resulting from changes in concentration, which could omit potential fragrances. Computer-aided molecular design (CAMD) has great potential to identify novel molecular structures to be used as fragrances. Using CAMD for this purpose requires models to predict the olfaction properties of molecules. A rough set-based machine learning (RSML) approach is used to develop an interpretable predictive model for odour characteristics in this work. New rule-based models are generated from RSML based on the dilution and a number of different topological indices which identify the structure-odour relationship of fragrance molecules. The most prominent rules are selected and formulated as constraints in a CAMD optimi... [more]

This article offers a general approach to studying a four-bar mechanism from a geometric viewpoint. The four-bar mechanism form is used in a large number of existing pieces of machinery and equipment. This type of mechanism, used to drive a screen and generate its oscillating motion, is referred to in this article for its application in separation systems. In the literature, there are numerous approaches for analyzing such a mechanism. In addition to determining this mechanism’s geometry, an examination of the influence of the drive system’s position on the motion of the tie rods, or the support system of an oscillating site, is also conducted. In the investigation, the connecting rod angle was adjusted between −45 degrees and 60 degrees without respect to the horizontal. The following parameters, which correspond to the operation of the oscillating sieve motion, were obtained from the determined mathematical relations: the movement made by the free end of the tie rod; the tie rod’s an... [more]

To improve the seeding qualification rate and stability of the air-suction vibrating disc type seed meter on the rice seedling raising line, in this paper, an improved wireless sensor network node layout optimization algorithm was proposed, and the operation monitoring system of the seed meter was designed using the Internet of Things and configuration software. In the system, the upper computer software adopted the Kingview software, the lower computer took the STM32F429IGT and CC2530 as the core controllers, and ZigBee was selected for data transmission to build the wireless sensor network. The acquisition of field status information and the sending of control instructions were realized through the sensor nodes constructed by the CC2530 core controller. The data was sent to the coordinator node in real-time through the wireless sensor network. The coordinator node realized the bidirectional transmission of data with Kingview and the upper computer control instructions forwarding usin... [more]

This research studies the discharge process and its mechanism using the discrete element method (DEM) with self-developed annular corrosion pill particles and the discharge device as an example in order to optimize the oil and gas field wellbore casing annular corrosion process. The object of study was chosen from four different grid numbers and four different grid widths, and EDEM software was utilized to simulate and assess the pill particle discharge process based on preliminary experimental research. Under five different pill wheel rotation speeds, the effects of the grid number and grid width on the filling amount, filling density, discharge variation coefficient, and compressive force of pill particles were investigated from macroscopic and microscopic viewpoints. The findings reveal that the grid number, grid width, and rotation speed all have a significant impact on pill filling and discharge performance. As a result, the discharge wheel’s structure and operating characteristic... [more]

Researching the moving speed of particles in a drum is helpful to the optimal design of the rotating device. In this paper, the average mixing velocity of flake particles with different shapes in an elliptical drum is studied. In detail, the mixing systems of rectangular, triangular, and circular flake particles and circular particles are studied; the rollers with different eccentricities are studied; the velocity and periodic variation characteristics of the particle system at 15 rpm and 45 rpm are compared and analyzed; the variation curves of particle average velocity, velocity peak fitting curve (PFC), velocity trough fitting curve (TFC), and velocity fitting under various working conditions are drawn. The results show that the average velocity fluctuation range of the particle system increases gradually with the increase of the eccentricity of the rotating device and the volume of flake particles; the fluctuation of particle average velocity fitting curve and PFC curve in the elli... [more]

This paper examines a novel approach to activated carbon (AC) production that uses pea waste (PW) and to what extent it is economically competitive with current production methods. Additionally, the outcome is to provide a detailed economic analysis to understand whether this process is viable. The focus of this production route and the economic analysis will be on a United Kingdom (UK) basis. The plant will be located within the north UK to minimise storage and transportation costs. It also has extensive links to other clusters of nearby industries that would produce from this process in air pollution control or wastewater treatments. The overall production process is detailed, and detailed equipment specifications, including the sizing of equipment and utility requirements, were also given. Material balance calculations are carried out to assess the performance and improve process design. An economic analysis is performed to study the potential of biomass-to-AC conversion costs and c... [more]

The full tubular pump device is taken as the research object in this article. This research method adopts the numerical simulation technology based on the SST (Shear-Stress-Transport) k-ω turbulence model to explore the internal flow characteristics of the stator−rotor cavity of the full tubular pump and optimize the stator−rotor clearance structure. The research shows that under the design conditions, compared with the axial flow pump, the torque increases by 47.91 N·m at the stator−rotor cavity structure and the efficiency decreases by about 20%. The torque at the rotor clearance of the full tubular pump accounts for about 50% of the torque at the rotor. Since there is a large area of backflow on both sides of the cavity, and there is a vortex structure on the inlet side of the cavity, it shows that the rotor structure and its area greatly affect the operating efficiency of the pump device. With the reduction in the rotor force area, the clearance length, and the outer diameter of th... [more]

This paper examines the simulation, design, and fabrication of a nano-particle silver microheater. COMSOL Multiphysics is used to simulate the microheater of an area of 720 × 720 μm2. Different stages of the microheater fabrication process are discussed. The size of the cartridge used is 10 pL and the nozzle diameter was 50 μm. The drop spacing was chosen to be 45 μm after testing several different values. Controlled printing of Ag ink was reached by setting the tickle control frequency to 8 kHz and cartridge print height to 0.4 mm. The nozzle temperature was set at ambient temperature. The inkjet printed microheater is of same area and track and gap widths of 110 μm. The measured resistance of the microheater, 119 Ω, is approximately equal to the simulated resistance of 100 Ω. It was observed that the temperature at the center of the heater reaches up to 250 °C.

Petroleum-based plastics have become a big problem in many countries because of their non-degradability and that they become microplastics in the environment. This study focused on the optimization of production medium and conditions of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), which are biodegradable bioplastics and are accumulated in microbial cells. Among 341 isolates from 40 composted soil samples, the best isolate was the HD34 strain, which was identified using morphological, molecular, and biochemical methods. The results showed that the strain was most closely related to Ensifer adhaerens LMG20216T, with 99.6% similarity. For optimization of production medium and conditions using response surface methodology, it exhibited an optimal medium containing 3.99% (w/v) of potato dextrose broth (PDB) and 1.54% (w/v) of D-glucose with an adjusted initial pH of 9.0. The optimum production was achieved under culture conditions of a temperature of 28 °C, inoculum size of 2.5% (v/v), and a shaking speed... [more]

In view of the problem that special gondola cars are generally insufficient for the actual transportation of coke, and in order to improve the transportation efficiency and reduce the transportation cost, the 80 t depressed-center gondola car for coke transportation is designed by the anti-fatigue design method in this paper. The car body with a supporting bar and the car body without a supporting bar are simulated and analyzed by the finite element method; the results show that there are stress mutations at the transition area of the two key welds, especially at the 110 mm of weld 1. The fatigue lives of the two car body schemes are evaluated by Miner linear cumulative damage theory, spectrum and S-N curve in AAR standard, and load spectrum of the Daqin line and S-N curve in BSI standard. The results show that the 80 t depressed-center gondola car body with a supporting bar is the best scheme. In addition, the fatigue damage results show that the vertical load spectrum of AAR is worse... [more]

The methods utilized to construct and identify the mathematical equation that characterizes the cutting of items with varied textures are presented in this work. Using laboratory equipment, the cutting process was carried out experimentally. The cutting energy was calculated based on the experimental results. The energy required to perform this process is directly influenced by the textural characteristics of the products used, as per the analysis of the experimental results obtained after the cutting process (density, humidity, products with or without peel). The gathered information was used to develop a general equation that would properly describe the process. Table Curve 3D software was used to create mathematical equations that define the relationship between input parameters, the type of product being cut, cutting speed, and output parameters, i.e., cutting energy. The equations that have the same correlation coefficient were discovered using the working methodology; it was spec... [more]

The present paper is concerned with the design of the plane-strain bending of wide sheets driven by the sheet’s geometric shape after unloading. The solution is based on the ideal flow theory. It determines the loading path (the dependence between the dimensionless bending moment and the dimensionless tensile force) that produces the desirable shape. The ideal flow theory is valid for the rigid perfectly plastic material model. A method proposed in the literature combines a rigid plastic solution at loading and an elastic solution for springback. The final design solution is practically analytical. A numerical method is only necessary to solve a system of transcendental equations. An illustrative example is provided. This example shows that, in some cases, it is sufficient to use the solution at loading to determine an accurate loading path that produces the desirable sheet’s shape after springback.

In order to increase the typically low equilibrium CO2 conversion to methanol using commercially proven technology, the addition of two intermediate condensation units between reaction steps is evaluated in this work. Detailed process simulations with heat integration and techno-economic analyses of methanol synthesis from green H2 and captured CO2 are presented here, comparing the proposed process with condensation steps with the conventional approach. In the new process, a CO2 single-pass conversion of 53.9% was achieved, which is significantly higher than the conversion of the conventional process (28.5%) and its equilibrium conversion (30.4%). Consequently, the total recycle stream flow was halved, which reduced reactant losses in the purge stream and the compression work of the recycle streams, lowering operating costs by 4.8% (61.2 M€·a−1). In spite of the additional number of heat exchangers and flash drums related to the intermediate condensation units, the fixed investment cos... [more]

A new experimental high-pressure setup for measuring diffusion coefficients in supercritical fluids, based on Taylor dispersion method, and using an FTIR detector to operate up to 25.0 MPa was designed and optimized. Tracer diffusivities, D12, of toluene and benzene in supercritical carbon dioxide were measured in the temperature range of 306.15−320.15 K, and pressure range of 7.5−17 MPa to evaluate the setup and experimental protocol. The effects of flow velocity, volume of the cell, absorbance at different wavenumbers on the diffusion coefficient as well as all parameters respecting the Taylor dispersion method have been analyzed. The obtained diffusion coefficients are in excellent agreement with the available literature data. The dependence of D12 on temperature, pressure, and solvent density were examined. Some correlation models based on the hydrodynamic theory were used to estimate the diffusion coefficients in supercritical carbon dioxide, which is the best agreement obtained f... [more]

The study of the performance of dynamic hydraulic throttling under the condition of stable fluid is of great significance. The effect of a step change in pressure differences on the throttling performance of a hydraulic valve is studied. This paper studies the dynamic and static performance of a hydraulic-valve-outlet throttling-speed regulation system, builds a more accurate mathematical model, considers the linear factors of the flow of hydraulic-valve throttling, analyzes the influence of the step-load change in pressure difference on the stability of the hydraulic-valve movement speed, and constructs a nonlinear mathematical model of the speed-regulation system of the outlet throttling. A pressure sensor is used to measure the change in pressure overshoot, and the effect of a pressure-difference step change on the throttling performance of the hydraulic valve is studied under steady-fluid conditions. The theory is analyzed and verified by experiment, and the parameters of hydraulic... [more]

In promoting the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), increasing attention has been given to environmental pollution and abnormal climate issues. In particular, a large number of products made of plastic materials have caused harm to the environment. Secondly, with the improvement of average spending power, many parents are more willing to buy toys for their children. However, the lifespan of kid’s toys is often short, and most materials are made of plastic, which also causes issues as they are not easy to break down and are difficult to recycle. This study investigates the concept of the product life cycle in kid’s toys and explores the decision-making factors of green design. First, analysis and induction were conducted through literature collection. Through semi-structured interviews with experts, the design dimensions related to the green design of kid’s toys and the elements that affect the willingness of consumption by consumption values and behavior were obtained. After the que... [more]

This paper designs a new class of actuators for the downhole traction robot system to achieve high-accuracy transmission, which is realized by the planetary roller screw mechanism (PRSM). As the downhole environment is a non-structure one, which increases the difficulty of the load analyses and distributions of the downhole robot system to complete a predesigned mission. Traditional achievements about the mechanical behavior analyses of PRSM ignore the effects of radial loads and torque elastic deformation errors, which are inevitable for the downhole robot actuator, and the results of which would affect the load distribution and fatigue life of the PRSM-aided actuator. To assist the complex task, in this study the mechanical behavior analyses of PRSM for the downhole robot system are investigated by considering axial loads, torque elastic deformation errors, and radial loads. Moreover, the calculation models for contact load distribution and fatigue life are established by utilizing t... [more]

Blank is the foundation for manufacturing enterprise production. The change of blank dimension is the fundamental purpose of product processing, and blank dimension change process dramatically affects the cost and energy consumption of blank production and use process. Therefore, the blank dimension design is of great significance for the sustainable development of enterprises. Based on the management concept of the business compass, combined with the enterprise development plan and production situation, this article established a blank dimension optimization design model, which can design the blank dimension according to enterprise demand. The model took the energy consumption and cost of the blank production and used process as the optimization objectives, and was solved by the gray wolf algorithm. The model was verified by analyzing the machining process of a fixture cavity. By comparison with standard square blank dimensions, the research results showed that the optimized square bl... [more]

The over-enrichment of phosphorus in waste streams can lead to eutrophication and oxygen limitations for aquatic life. To understand the release of phosphorus from a soybean processing facility, it is imperative to track the flow of phosphorus in different streams during the processing of soybeans. The objective of the study is to develop process simulation models to study the flow of phosphorus in the soy-biodiesel process and evaluate strategies to mitigate phosphorus release by recovering phosphorous from soapstock and wastewater. Since most of the P is found in soybean meal, the processing of which releases phosphorus, a third case of lecithin recovery was also studied to reduce the amount of phosphorous in soybean meal. It was observed that phosphorus can be economically recovered from the soapstock, as well as the wastewater stream, with an estimated operating cost of USD 1.65 and 3.62 per kg of phosphorous recovered, respectively. The phosphorus recovered from both streams can b... [more]

Recycling of waste plastics has become vital due to the threat to the environment the huge piles of those wastes represent, with research revealing High-Density Polyethylene (HDPEs) as the most dominant waste plastics. Because of their dominance and significant environmental impact, this paper reports the economic potential of recycling HDPE waste plastic into liquid fuels via pyrolysis. A risk and benefit assessment are presented to highlight whether the process has reasonable potential prior to the analysis of its corresponding finances. Aspen HYSYS simulation models were used as the basis for the analysis. From this, preliminary cost estimations for the net present value (NPV) of the process, its economic viability, were determined. It is shown that 100 kg/h of waste is not financially sustainable. Retailing the fuel product at a competitive price of £60/barrel would ultimately bankrupt the business. This is a consequence of the extremely high production cost of £198.40/barrel induc... [more]

At present, there are a large number of growing medical applications in the application market. It is difficult for users to find satisfactory medical services conveniently and efficiently. The classical collaborative filtering algorithm has some problems, such as cold start, unsatisfactory recommendation results, and so on. This paper proposes a hybrid medical service recommendation approach based on knowledge graph to solve the above problems. This approach introduces the open knowledge graph and establishes the semantic link relationship between the mobile application and the knowledge graph entity. It not only enhances the semantic feature of single application for improving the accuracy of recommendation results, but also realizes the in-depth analysis of the semantic relationship among multiple application entities in the knowledge graph through the TransHR model which can alleviate the cold start problem. Then we design a hybrid recommendation algorithm based on multi-dimensiona... [more]

Distillation-based separation processes, such as extractive or heteroazeotropic distillation, present important processes for separating azeotropic mixtures in the chemical and biochemical industry. However, heteroazeotropic distillation has received much less attention than extractive distillation, which can be attributed to multiple reasons. The phase equilibrium calculations require a correct evaluation of phase stability, while the topology of the heterogeneous mixtures is generally more complex, comprising multiple azeotropes and distillation regions, resulting in an increased modeling complexity. Due to the integration of distillation columns and a decanter, even the simulation of these processes is considered more challenging, while an optimal process design should include the selection of a suitable solvent, considering the performance of the integrated hybrid process. Yet, the intricate mixture topologies largely impede the use of simplified criteria for solvent selection. To... [more]

Improving the energy efficiency in heat exchanger networks (HENs) remains a significant industrial problem, specifically in energy-intensive operations. A particular method for such an objective is the modification of HENs at the equipment-use level, where structural changes take place and units within the network are moved, replaced and/or removed. This practice is usually known as retrofit. The objective of a retrofit is to maximize the heat recovery using the minimum modifications possible and minimum retrofit cost. Traditional retrofit techniques would normally consider one type of heat exchanger (based on the original network) with no additional design features (i.e., heat transfer enhancement technologies). The expansion of such alternatives is limited by practical use and availability of theoretical methods. In this context, the inclusion of high-performance heat exchangers such as plate heat exchangers (PHEs) has not been widely explored, even when their design and operational... [more]

The presented article deals with the design of equipment for measuring and testing hydrostatic transducers. The presented design of the device is used for measuring and testing hydrostatic transducers in laboratory conditions, especially hydraulic pumps. This shortens the testing time, with a reduction in economic costs for testing the elements of the hydraulic circuit or testing the properties of pumps and hydraulic fluids. By simulating the operating conditions occurring in practice, it is possible to verify and evaluate the parameters of mobile energy means used in hydraulic mechanisms. The designed laboratory equipment is used for measuring and testing hydrostatic transducers and properties of hydraulic fluids. A verification measurement of the flow of the hydrostatic transducer was performed on the proposed laboratory equipment. The output of the measurements is a confirmation of the functionality of the designed equipment. The results of the verification measurement were compared... [more]

For the reduction in the electromagnetic noise level of three-phase induction motors, many empirical rules and analytical models have been established to select the matching scheme of pole and slot, but they are not fully applicable to five-phase squirrel cage induction motors (FSCIM). In this paper, combined with the slot-number phase diagram (SNPD), and the electromagnetic force-vibration-acoustic analytical model deduced in Part I, the influence of pole-slot schemes, including five-phase regular-size phase-belt and fractional-slot winding, on magnetic noise is analyzed. The feasibility of electromagnetic noise prediction is verified by finite element simulation and experiments. Taking a 4 kW FSCIM as a prototype, noise prediction is carried out for all the slot-number matching schemes with pole pairs not exceeding three. For two noise reduction targets, which reduce the maximum single-frequency noise in the steady-state operation and the average noise during startup, the pole-slot n... [more]