Influence of Air Flow Rate on Functional Evaluation of Semicircular Canals

Objective To study the influence of unilateral air flow rate change on the result of caloric test.Materials and Methods The unilateral weakness(UW) index was calculated when the air flow rate was set at 6 L /min in both ears(called symmetric stimulation) and again when it was set at 6 L /min in left ear and 3 L /min in the right ear(called asymmetric stimulation).Each individual subject was tested with both symmetrical and asymmetrical stimulations.Paired t test was used to examine the differences between results from symmetrical and asymmetrical stimulations.Result UW index decreased in response to asymmetrical stimulation.Conclusion Unilaterally decreased air flow rate can produce indices suggesting ipsilateral UW,which can be misleading.

Study on the Relationship between the Oceanic Nino Index and Surface Air Temperature and Precipitation Rate over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abnormal weather conditions and extreme weather existed over the Kingdom Saudi Arabia (KSA) through the last decades. The present paper investigates the relationship between the Oceanic Nino Index (ONI) and variability of surface air temperature and precipitation rate over KSA through the period from 1950 to 2015 year. The NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis of monthly data sets of the mean surface air temperature and precipitation rate for the domain of the KSA is used. In addition, El Nino3.4 monthly data through the period (1950-2015) are used. For that period, the data set of the three months moving average of Nino3.4 anomaly, Oceanic Nino index (ONI), is used and analyzed. The time series, anomaly and correlation coefficient techniques are used to analyze the data sets through the present study. The results revealed that the KSA climate parameters, temperature and precipitation rates are controlled by ONI mainly in the autumn and winter seasons.

Measurement of air kerma rate and ambient dose equivalent rate using the G(E) function with hemispherical CdZnTe detector

Since the room-temperature detector CdZnTe(CZT) has advantages in terms of detection efficiency,energy resolution, and size, it has been extensively used to detect X-rays and gamma-rays. So far, nuclear radiation detectors such as cerium chloride doped with lanthanum bromide(LaBr_3(Ce)), thallium doped with cesium iodide(sI(Tl)), thallium doped with sodium iodide(NaI(Tl)),and high-purity germanium(HPGe) primarily use the spectroscopy-dose rate function(G(E)) to achieve the accurate measurement of air kerma rate(K_a) and ambient dose equivalent rate(H*(10)). However, the spectroscopy-dose rate function has been rarely measured for a CZT detector. In this study, we performed spectrum measurement using a hemispherical CZT detector in a radiation protection standards laboratory. The spectroscopy-dose rate function G(E) of the CZT detector was calculated using the least-squares method combined with the standard dose rate at the measurement position. The results showed that the hemispherical CZT detector could complete the measurement of air kerma rate(K_a) and ambient dose equivalent rate(H*(10)) by using the G(E) function at energies between 48 keV and 1.25 MeV, and the relative intrinsic errors were, respectively, controlled within ± 2. 3 and ± 2. 1%.

The Comparison of Measurement Methods for Air-Kerma Rate in Narrow-Spectrum Series

The air-kerma is one of the most important physical quantities in ionizing radiation dosimetry. The measurement of airkerma rate in narrow-spectrum series is the basis to determine the radiation dose at protection level. In this article, the absolute measurement method is used to derive the standard air-kerma rate of the ISO 4037 narrow-spectrum series that ranges from 60 kV to 150 kV by a primary standard ionization chamber,it is used in direct comparison for air kerma. The indirect method is used to obtain the air-kerma rate by a secondary standard transfer ionization chamber named A5 chamber with calibration factors of the corresponding reference qualities. The results are very similar comparing between absolute and indirect methods for air-kerma rate, all the differences are within ±3.3%.

Relationship between Formation Water Rate,Equivalent Penetration Rate and Volume Flow Rate of Air in Air Drilling

Formation water invasion is the most troublesome problem associated with air drilling. However, it is not economical to apply mist drilling when only a small amount of water flows into wellbore from formation during air drilling. Formation water could be circulated out of the wellbore through increasing the gas injection rate. In this paper, the Angel model was modified by introducing Nikurade friction factor for the flow in coarse open holes and translating formation water rate into equivalent penetration rate. Thus the distribution of annular pressure and the relationship between minimum air injection rate and formation water rate were obtained. Real data verification indicated that the modified model is more accurate than the Angel model and can provide useful information for air drilling.

Improvement of uniformity in cultivation environment and crop growth rate by hybrid control of air flow devices

A complete control type plant factory has high efficiency in terms of cultivation area by constructing vertical multiple layered cultivation beds.However,it has a problem of irregular crop growth due to temperature deviation at upper and lower beds and increases in energy consumption by a prolonged cultivation period.In this work,air flow rate inside a facility was improved by a hybrid control of air flow devices like air conditioning and air circulation fan with an established wireless sensor network to minimize temperature deviations between upper and lower beds and to promote crop growth.The performance of proposed system was verified with an experimental environment or Case A wherein air conditioning device was operated without a control algorithm and Case B wherein air conditioning and circulation fans were alternatively operated based on the hybrid control algorithm.After planting leafy vegetables under each experimental condition,crops were cultivated for 21 days.As a result,Case B wherein AC(air conditioning) and ACF(air-circulation fan) were alternatively operated based on the hybrid control algorithm showed that fresh mass,number of leaves,and leaf length for the crops grown were increased by 40.6%,41.1%,and 11.1%,respectively,compared to Case A.

Effect of Air Injector on the Performance of an Air-lift for Conveying River Sand

An air-lift has been more recently applied in the dredging, deep-seated beach placer mining and underground mining engineering. However, the influence and mechanism of various parameters on the air-lift performance are not quite clear, especially the influence of flow pattern on lifting efficiency. Focusing on the problems mentioned above, the key part of the air-lift （namely, the air injector） was proposed aimed to reduce friction loss in the inner pipe according to improving flow field performance, thus increase the lifting efficiency. The study of relative factors of the performance of an air-lift is performed and the river sand is used as simulation of underground ore bed. The total lifting height of the experimental system is 3 m, the water flux, mass flow of solid particles, concentration of particles and lifting efficiency are measured under the same submergence ratios by changing the air injector, which is divided into nine specifications of air injection in this research. The experimental results indicate that the optimal air flow rate corresponding to excellent performance of the air-lift can be obtained in the range of 35-40 m3/h. The air injection method has a great effect on the performance of the air-lift, the air injector with three nozzles is better than that in the case of one or two nozzles. Further more, the air injection angle and arrangement of air injection pipes also have great effect on the performance of an air-lift. The proposed research results have guiding significance for engineering application.

Adaptive Wall-Based Attachment Ventilation:A Comparative Study on Its Effectiveness in Airborne Infection Isolation Rooms with Negative Pressure

The transmission of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)has presented challenges for the control of the indoor environment of isolation wards.Scientific air distribution design and operation management are crucial to ensure the environmental safety of medical staff.This paper proposes the application of adaptive wall-based attachment ventilation and evaluates this air supply mode based on contaminants dispersion,removal efficiency,thermal comfort,and operating expense.Adaptive wall-based attachment ventilation provides a direct supply of fresh air to the occupied zone.In comparison with a ceiling air supply or upper sidewall air supply,adaptive wall-based attachment ventilation results in a 15%–47%lower average concentration of contaminants,for a continual release of contaminants at the same air changes per hour(ACH;10 h^(-1)).The contaminant removal efficiency of complete mixing ventilation cannot exceed 1.For adaptive wall-based attachment ventilation,the contaminant removal efficiency is an exponential function of the ACH.Compared with the ceiling air supply mode or upper sidewall air supply mode,adaptive wall-based attachment ventilation achieves a similar thermal comfort level(predicted mean vote(PMV)of0.1–0.4;draught rate of 2.5%–6.7%)and a similar performance in removing contaminants,but has a lower ACH and uses less energy.

Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 airborne infection transmission risk in public buses

Public transport environments are thought to play a key role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide.Indeed,high crowding indexes(i.e.high numbers of people relative to the vehicle size),inadequate clean air supply,and frequent extended exposure durations make transport environments potential hotspots for transmission of respiratory infections.During the COVID-19 pandemic,generic mitigation measures(e.g.physical distancing)have been applied without also considering the airborne transmission route.This is due to the lack of quantified data about airborne contagion risk in transport environments.In this study,we apply a novel combination of close proximity and room-scale risk assessment approaches for people sharing public transport environments to predict their contagion risk due to SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infection.In particular,the individual infection risk of susceptible subjects and the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2(expressed through the reproduction number)are evaluated for two types of buses,differing in terms of exposure time and crowding index:urban and long-distance buses.Infection risk and reproduction number are calculated for different scenarios as a function of the ventilation rates(both measured and estimated according to standards),crowding indexes,and travel times.The results show that for urban buses,the close proximity contribution significantly affects the maximum occupancy to maintain a reproductive number of<1.In particular,full occupancy of the bus would be permitted only for an infected subject breathing,whereas for an infected subject speaking,masking would be required.For long-distance buses,full occupancy of the bus can be maintained only if specific mitigation solutions are simultaneously applied.For example,for an infected person speaking for 1 h,appropriate filtration of the recirculated air and simultaneous use of FFP2 masks would permit full occupancy of the bus for a period of almost 8 h.Otherwise,a high percentage of immunized persons(>80%)would be needed.

Numerical Analysis of Influencing Factors on Temperature Field and Airflow Distribution of the Displacement Ventilation System

Indoor air quality and thermal comfort are important features of indoor environment. In this paper, a numerical simulation based on the k-ε model of CFD is used to analyze factors such as loading, exterior-protected construction, blowing-in rate that play an important role in the temperature field and airflow field of the displacement ventilation system. Exterior-protected construction has little influence on indoor temperature distribution of displacement ventilation systems and the influence is limited only in a small area near the external wall when the indoor heat source is the main cooling load.The height of a room has little influence on indoor temperature field, and the temperature gradient of active region is basically unchanged. In the system combined with a displacement ventilation system and a cooling system, the height also has little influence. When the cooling load is high,the indoor heat source creates a strong convective plume, which will make the average indoor air age lower, the ventilation efficiency higher and the elimination of pollutant easier. Air supply rate plays an important role in displacement ventilation systems. The increase of air supply rate that can be realized by increasing the air supply velocity and enlarging the area of air inlet will increase the mass capability of the system and diminish the vertical temperature gradient. From the comparison between simulations and experiments, it is concluded that this simulation are creditable.

Enrichment of carbon recovery of high ash coal fines using air fluidized vibratory deck separator

Coal is primarily beneficiated by wet gravity methods. The wet processing of coal is an efficient practice. However, it introduces the moisture in the range of 6%-15%, depending upon the size of coal which is as detrimental as ash content to the heating value of coal. Dry beneficiation of coal fines was carried out using an air fluidized vibrating table in which the coal particles get separated from the heavier mineral particles as a result of horizontal and vertical stratification. Two level factorial design matrix was used to optimize and assess the interactive effects of the operational parameters of a pneumatic table viz. deck eccentric, side tilt and air flow rate on the clean coal yield and its ash content. Double stage processing was found to be more effective for reducing the ash content of the clean coal. Initial stage of processing at a higher ash level generates a reject of high ash with low combustibles. Cleaning of the rougher concentrate at 34%-35% ash level shows significant improvement in the organic efficiency （88.6%） and useful heat value of clean coal （15690 kJ/kg）. The performance of air fluidized vibrating deck was measured by Ep value which is 0.18.

Effects of Photosynthetically Active Radiation and Air Temperature on CO_2 Uptake of Pterocarpus macrocarpus in the Open Field

Since trees and plants can absorb CO2, forests are widely regarded as a carbon sink that may control the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. The CO2 uptake rate of plants is affected by the plant species and environmental conditions such as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), temperature, water and nutrient contents. PAR is the most immediate environmental control on photosynthesis while air temperature affects both photorespiration and dark respiration. In the natural condition, PAR and temperature play an important role in net CO2 uptake. The effects of PAR and air temperature on the CO2 uptake of Pterocarpus macrocarpus grown in a natural habitat were studied in the present work. Due to many uncontrollable factors, a simple rectangular hyperbola could not represent the measured data. The data were divided into groups of 2oC intervals; CO2 uptake in each group may then be related to PAR by a rectangular hyperbola function. Using the obtained functions, the effect of PAR was removed from the original data. The PAR-independent CO2 uptake was then related to air temperature. Finally, the effects of PAR (I) and air temperature (Ta) on the CO2 uptake rate (A) were combined as: (-0.0575Ta2+2.6691Ta-23.264)I A= ——————————————— (-0.00766Ta2+0.40666Ta-3.99924) (-4.8794Ta2+227.13Ta-2456.9)+I

An indoor air aerosol model for outdoor contaminant transmission into occupied rooms

The paper presents a simple model for outdoor air contaminant transmission into occupied rooms. In the model, several factors such as filtration, ventilation, deposition, re-emission, outdoor concentration and indoor sources are included. The model results show that the air exchange rate plays an important role in the transmission of outdoor contaminants into the indoor environment. The model shows that increasing the value of the filtration efficiency decreases the mass concentration of indoor particles. In addition, if outdoor aerosol particles have a periodic behaviour, indoor aerosol particles also behave periodically but smoother. Indoor sources are found to be able to increase indoor concentrations greatly and continuously.

岩巷综掘面抽尘参数影响粉尘污染扩散规律研究

抽尘系统是岩巷综掘面长压短抽通风方式中控除粉尘污染的重要组成部分,而确定适宜的抽尘参数是实现有效除尘的关键。利用Solidworks软件对某矿632岩巷综掘面进行了物理建模,并进行了ICEM-CFD网格划分,通过网格无关性检验确认了后续所用的网格模型,运用FLUENT计算流体力学软件对不同抽尘位置Dn(n分别为0、1/4、1/2、3/4、1)与抽风量(300~350 m^(3)/min)影响粉尘污染扩散状况进行了数值模拟,并通过仿真试验验证了数值模拟结果的准确性。结果表明:抽尘位置为D0、D1/4、D1/2、D3/4时,巷道内风流整体均处于较为紊乱的状态,粉尘污染经风流运载最终均扩散至整个巷道;抽尘位置为D1时,在抽风与压风协同作用下,距迎头4.6~6 m范围内形成了风向指向迎头、流动均匀且覆盖巷道全断面的有效控尘风幕,粉尘污染被风幕控制在掘进机司机与迎头之间的封闭空间内。抽风量在330 m^(3)/min及以上时,在司机处均形成了有效控尘风幕。为了在有效控尘的前提下尽可能降低能耗,最优抽风量选取最小值330 m^(3)/min。

基于多维空间的航路利用率

航路利用率表征了空域中航路的利用情况,通过计算航路利用率可以实现对空域资源进行更合理、高效的利用。为了更加准确地计算给定时间段内固定航路的利用率,通过构建抽象的三维空间,提出了一种基于多维空间的航路利用率计算方法。在考虑时间和空间两个角度之间的相互联系有了突破,从时间、航路、高度层三个维度建立航路时空利用率计算模型计算航路时空利用率,结合航路容量利用率,从时间、空间、容量三个角度出发,建立了航路利用率计算模型。最后通过算例分析计算得到某一空域四条航路的利用率。

Use of Ventilation-Index in the Development of Exposure Model for Indoor Air Pollution—A Review

In indoor environment, emission factor of the cooking fuel plays a vital role in determining correlation between exposure assessment and health effects. Both indoor and outdoor air pollution exposures are widely influenced by the ventilation status. An optimum control of the air change rate has also significant impact on the exposure pattern. A number of studies revealed that the indoor particulates and gaseous exposures, resulting from the combustion of various cooking fuels, are associated with significant adverse health effects on pregnant mothers and new born babies. The impacts of ventilation status on air pollution exposure in households’ kitchens or living rooms have not been explored enough. Except a few studies with concrete rooms, especially in industries, no other studies have been established on the correlation between the ventilation index and air pollution exposure. The intent of this review is to discuss reported findings focused on the ventilation and exposure to air pollution. This will obviously help better understanding to modulate exposure profile in household condition using simple tool of ventilation measurement.

Study on NOx Formation in CH4/Air Jet Combustion

With the development of reaction kinetics and transfer science, the modeling of NOx formation plays more and more important roles in the protection of environment and the design of combustion reactors; in this case,turbulence-chemistry model and NOx formation model are the two most important aspects. For thermal NOx mechanism, this article studied the CH4/air system and applied a set of latest NO formation rate constants published at the Leed University which replaced the original model code in FLUENT to increase its precision on prediction of NO concentration. The realizable k-ε model, Reynold Stress model and standard k-ε model were also investigated to predict the turbulent combustion reaction, which indicated that the simulation results of velocities, temperatures and concentrations of combustion productions by the standard k-ε model were in good accordance with the experimental data. With the application of the simulation results to the experimental data to fit some important kinetic parameters in the equation of O atom model and revision of the equation later, this article obtained a new NO formation rate model. It has been proved that the prediction of the developed model coincides well with the measurements.

基于高度层与飞机类型的航路利用率研究

航路利用率表征了空域中航路的利用情况.为了更加准确地计算航路的利用率,针对在航路上不同的高度层对不同类型的飞机具有不同的适用性问题,根据不同高度层和飞机类型的组合情况,从时间、空间、容量三个角度建立了一种基于高度层与飞机类型的航路利用率计算模型.在考虑航路利用率的多维影响因素方面有了突破,通过算例分析计算得到某四条航路的利用率.

Surface warming patterns dominate the uncertainty in global water vapor plus lapse rate feedback

Climate feedbacks have been usually estimated using changes in radiative effects associated with increased global-mean surface temperature. Feedback uncertainties, however, are not only functions of global-mean surface temperature increase. In projections by global climate models, it has been demonstrated that the geographical variation of sea surface temperature change brings significant uncertainties into atmospheric circulation and precipitation responses at regional scales. Here we show that the spatial pattern of surface warming is a major contributor to uncertainty in the combined water vapour-lapse rate feedback. This is demonstrated by computing the global-mean radiative effects of changes in air temperature and relative humidity simulated by 31 climate models using a methodology based on radiative kernels. Our results highlight the important contribution of regional climate change to the uncertainty in climate feedbacks, and identify the regions of the world where constraining surface warming patterns would be most effective for higher skill of climate projections.

Wet Air Oxidation of Organic Wastewater Catalyzed by Doped Ceria

The catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of H acid and phenol was investigated in the presence of Cu or Fe doped CeOsolid solutions, which were obtained by sol-gel method. The experiment results showed that the incorporation of Cu or Fe into the fluorite lattice of CeOstrongly enhanced the oxidation activity of the catalyst. At 90 ℃ and 0.1 MPa, H acid conversion was 70% for the Ce0.9Fe0.1O2-δ and 60% for the Ce0.9Cu0.1O2-δ catalyst. For phenol removal, the conversion was 70% for the Ce0.9Cu0.1O2-δ catalyst, while for the Ce0.9Fe0.1O2-δ the conversion was 30%. The results indicated that Ce0.9Cu0.1O2-δ was suitable for the treatment of organic wastewaters while Ce0.9Fe0.1O2-δ was suitable for the removal of H acid. The 70% phenol removal rate with Ce0.9Cu0.1O2-δ catalyst was markedly increased to 90% with Ce0.8Cu0.2O2-δ catalyst. However, the phenol removal reduced from 30% to 15% with Fe content increasing from 10% to 20%. For the H acid, the increase of the content of Cu or Fe tended to obviously increase the original reaction rate while the COD removal changed little.