Search results for: SURFACE MODIFICATION
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Analysis of Floodplain Inundation Using 2D Nonlinear Diffusive Wave Equation Solved with Splitting Technique
PublicationIn the paper a solution of two-dimensional (2D) nonlinear diffusive wave equation in a partially dry and wet domain is considered. The splitting technique which allows to reduce 2D problem into the sequence of one-dimensional (1D) problems is applied. The obtained 1D equations with regard to x and y are spatially discretized using the modified finite element method with the linear shape functions. The applied modification referring...
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Polyurethanes modified with natural polymers for medical application. I. Polyurethanes/ Chitosan and polyurethane/collagen.
PublicationFor over three decades polyurethanes (PUR or PU) have been reported for application in a variety of medical devices. These polymers consist of hard and soft segments, which allow for more subtle control of their structure and properties. By varying the composition of the different segments, properties of PURcan be tuned up for use in many areas of medicine. Recently there is a great interest in modification of biomedical PUR with...
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Ground Tire Rubber Filled Flexible Polyurethane Foam—Effect of Waste Rubber Treatment on Composite Performance
PublicationThe application range of flexible polyurethane (PU) foams is comprehensive because of their versatility and flexibility in adjusting structure and performance. In addition to the investigations associated with further broadening of their potential properties, researchers are looking for new raw materials, beneficially originated from renewable resources or recycling. A great example of such a material is ground tire rubber (GTR)—the...
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Modular Approach for Modelling Warming Up Process in Water Installations with Flow-Regulating Elements
PublicationThe paper presents a new method for modelling the warming up process of a water system with elements regulating the flow in a stochastic manner. The paper presents the basic equations describing the work of typical elements which the water installation is composed of. In the proposed method, a new computational algorithm was used in the form of an iterative procedure enabling the use of boundary conditions that can be stochastically...
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Enhanced Photoelectrocatalytical Performance of Inorganic-Inorganic Hybrid Consisting BiVO4, V2O5, and Cobalt Hexacyanocobaltate as a Perspective Photoanode for Water Splitting
PublicationThin layers of BiVO4/V2O5 were prepared on FTO substrates using pulsed laser deposition technique. The method of cobalt hexacyanocobaltate (Cohcc) synthesis on the BiVO4/V2O5 photoanodes consists of cobalt deposition followed by electrochemical oxidation of metallic Co in K3[Co(CN)6] aqueous electrolyte. The modified electrodes were tested as photoanodes for water oxidation under simulated sunlight irradiation. Deposited films...
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Forewarned Is Forearmed: Machine Learning Algorithms for the Prediction of Catheter-Induced Coronary and Aortic Injuries
PublicationCatheter-induced dissections (CID) of coronary arteries and/or the aorta are among the most dangerous complications of percutaneous coronary procedures, yet the data on their risk factors are anecdotal. Logistic regression and five more advanced machine learning techniques were applied to determine the most significant predictors of dissection. Model performance comparison and feature importance ranking were evaluated. We identified...
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Autistic Employees’ Technology-Based Workplace Accommodation Preferences Survey—Preliminary Findings
PublicationBackground: There has been an increase in the number of research studies focused on the design of accommodations aimed at improving the well-being and work performance of autistic employees. These accommodations took various forms; some of them were based on modification of management practices, for example, support in the area of effective communication, or involved modifications to the physical working environment aimed at limiting...
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A new approach to a fast and accurate design of microwave circuits with complex topologies
PublicationA robust simulation-driven design methodology of microwave circuits with complex topologies has been presented. The general method elaborated is suitable for a wide class of N-port unconventional microwave circuits constructed as a deviation from classic design solutions. The key idea of the approach proposed lies in an iterative redesign of a conventional circuit by a sequential modification and optimisation of its atomic building...
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Simulation of unsteady flow over floodplain using the diffusive wave equation and the modified finite element method
PublicationWe consider solution of 2D nonlinear diffusive wave equation in a domain temporarily covered by a layer of water. A modified finite element method with triangular elements and linear shape functions is used for spatial discretization. The proposed modification refers to the procedure of spatial integration and leads to a more general algorithm involving a weighting parameter. The standard finite element method and the finite difference...
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Effect of the Drying Method of Pine and Beech Wood on Fracture Toughness and Shear Yield Stress
PublicationThe modern wood converting processes consists of several stages and material drying belongs to the most influencing future performances of products. The procedure of drying wood is usually realized between subsequent sawing operations, affecting significantly cutting conditions and general properties of material. An alternative methodology for determination of mechanical properties (fracture toughness and shear yield stress) based...
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The Influence of External Load on the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cells
PublicationIn this work, the effect of the external load on the current and power generation, as well as on the pollutant removal by microbial fuel cells (MFCs), has been studied by step-wise modifying the external load. The load changes included a direct scan, in which the external resistance was increased from 120 Ω to 3300 Ω, and a subsequent reverse scan, in which the external resistance was decreased back to 120 Ω. The reduction in the...
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The comparison of cytotoxic and genotoxic activities of glucosinolates, isothiocyanates, and indoles
PublicationChemopreventive properties of Brassica vegetables are attributed mainly to their characteristic compounds—glucosinolates (GLs) and their main hydrolysis products—isothiocyanates (ITCs) and indoles. In this study, we compared antiproliferative activity (MTT test in HT29 cells) and genotoxic effects (comet assay in HT29 cells and restriction analysis in a cell-free system) of three GLs (sinigrin (SIN), glucotropaeolin (GTL), and...
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Reclaimed rubber in-situ grafted with soybean oil as a novel green reactive plasticizer in SBR/silica compounds
PublicationPolymer recycling and biodegradable polymeric materials are two major routes towards the sustainable development of polymer materials which contributes to the management of waste. In this regard, an eco-friendly approach is presented wherein high reclaiming degree of ground tire rubber (GTR) was achieved by low-temperature oxidation under swollen action of soybean oil. In-situ reclaimed GTR with soybean oil was cured into reactive...
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Molecular and structural characteristics of cod gelatin films modifiedwith EDC and TGase
PublicationCod gelatin films before and after cross-linking of gelatin with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) or transglutaminase (TGase) have been characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and DSC analysis. For comparison, a film prepared from unmodified pig gelatin has been also analysed. The difference spectra showed that cod gelatin during the film formation involved first of all water-to-amide hydrogen bonds, and the film...
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Interfacially modified LDPE/GTR composites with non-polar elastomers: From microstructure to macro-behavior
PublicationThis paper provides some new insights into the mechanism of interaction and modifications in thermoplastic composites based on low density polyethylene (LDPE), ground tire rubber (GTR) and non-polar elastomer. The composites were prepared using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder at variable LDPE/GTR ratio and constant elastomer content. Two types of commercial elastomer were applied: styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) block copolymers (Kraton®)...
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Morphology, Thermo-Mechanical Properties and Biodegradibility of PCL/PLA Blends Reactively Compatibilized by Different Organic Peroxides
PublicationReactive blending is a promising approach for the sustainable development of bio-based polymer blends and composites, which currently is gaining more and more attention. In this paper, biodegradable blends based on poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were prepared via reactive blending performed in an internal mixer. The PCL and PLA content varied in a ratio of 70/30 and 55/45. Reactive modification of PCL/PLA...
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Experimental study of the impact of notches and holes made in the front edge of adherends on the properties of static and fatigue strength of adhesive joints
PublicationThe paper presents the results of experimental studies aimed at determining the effect of holes and notches at the front edge of adherends on the strength of adhesive joints. Single-lap joints made of S235JR steel sheets joined with Araldite 2014-2 epoxy adhesive were tested. Comparative tests of static strength in the shear test as well as high-cycle fatigue strength tests were carried out. Joints with three holes with a diameter...
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Smooth least absolute deviation estimators for outlier-proof identification
PublicationThe paper proposes to identify the parameters of linear dynamic models based on the original implementation of least absolute deviation estimators. It is known that the object estimation procedures synthesized in the sense of the least sum of absolute prediction errors are particularly resistant to occasional outliers and gaps in the analyzed system data series, while the classical least squares procedure unfortunately becomes...
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Comparative Analysis of the Cofee and Cocoa Industry By‑Products on the Performance of Polyethylene‑Based Composites
PublicationThe application of plant-based by-products from the food industry as minimally processed functional fillers for polymeric composites is an increasingly popular trend among researchers and manufacturers. While minimizing the preprocessing of lignocellulosic fillers leads to an increase in the sustainability of the overall composite and a decrease of the carbon footprint, filler modification is usually indispensable to obtaining...
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Atomistic Surrogate-Based Optimization for Simulation-Driven Design of Computationally Expensive Microwave Circuits with Compact Footprints
PublicationA robust simulation-driven design methodology for computationally expensive microwave circuits with compact footprints has been presented. The general method introduced in this chapter is suitable for a wide class of N-port un-conventional microwave circuits constructed as a deviation from classic design solutions. Conventional electromagnetic (EM) simulation-driven design routines are generally prohibitive when applied to numerically...
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Effect of carbazole and pyrrolidine functionalization of phenanthroline ligand on ground- and excited-state properties of rhenium(I) complexes. Interplay between 3MLCT and 3IL/3ILCT
PublicationNew rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes based on the phenanthroline ligand were designed and synthesized to investigate the role of carbazole (cbz) and pyrrolidine (pyrr) substituents in determining thermal, electrochemical and optoelectronic properties. Both pyrr and cbz are electron-releasing substituents, but they differ in the steric hindrance and electron delocalization ability. The impact of pyrr and cbz on ground- and excited-state...
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Genetic Algorithm Approach for Gains Selection of Induction Machine Extended Speed Observer
PublicationThe subject of this paper is gains selection of an extended induction machine speed observer. A high number of gains makes manual gains selection difficult and due to nonlinear equations of the observer, well-known methods of gains selection for linear systems cannot be applied. A method based on genetic algorithms has been proposed instead. Such an approach requires multiple fitness function calls; therefore, using a quality index...
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Sustainable upcycling of brewers’ spent grain by thermo-mechanical treatment in twin-screw extruder
PublicationThermo-mechanical treatment of brewers’ spent grain (a by-product of beer manufacturing) was successfully performed via the extrusion process. The impact of temperature (from 30 to 180 °C), throughput (from 1 to 5 kg/h) and screw speed (from 75 to 375 rpm) on particle size, color, chemical structure, antioxidant activity and thermal stability of resulting material, as well as correlations between particular properties, were investigated....
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An application for a new type of pneumatic engine concept
PublicationHeavy trucks are often equipped with loading and unloading systems like dock levellers with swing lip or telescopic lip. Most of these devices require hydro-electrical energy supply systems (eg. the pump that presses the working substance to the actuators must be propelled by electric engine.) The space taken by pump with electric engine can be reduced on condition that a new type of pneumatic drive will be considered. It is possible...
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Coffee Silverskin as a Multifunctional Waste Filler for High-Density Polyethylene Green Composites
PublicationThis work aims to describe the coffee silverskin effect as a lignocellulosic waste filler for high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites development. The main task was to determine various modification effects resulting from the complex chemical composition of coffee silverskin containing compounds with potential antioxidative properties, including caffeine, polyphenols, tannins, or melanoidins. The processing, thermal, physicochemical,...
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A Single-Carrier-Based Pulse-Width Modulation Template for Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel Inverters
PublicationMultiplicity of the triangular carrier signals is a criterion for the extension of sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation, SPWM, to a number of output voltage levels per phase-leg in cascaded H-bridge (CHB) multilevel inverter (MLI). Considering medium and high voltage applications where appreciable number of output voltage levels from CHB MLI is needed, commensurate high number of carrier signals in either classical level- or phase-shifted...
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Modeling nutrient removal and energy consumption in an advanced activated sludge system under uncertainty
PublicationActivated sludge models are widely used to simulate, optimize and control performance of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). For simulation of nutrient removal and energy consumption, kinetic parameters would need to be estimated, which requires an extensive measurement campaign. In this study, a novel methodology is proposed for modeling the performance and energy consumption of a biological nutrient removal activated sludge system...
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Design and Optimization of Metamaterial-Based Dual-Band 28/38 GHz 5G MIMO Antenna with Modified Ground for Isolation and Bandwidth Improvement
PublicationThis letter presents a high-isolation dual-band multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna based on the ground plane modification and optimized metamaterials (MMs) for 5G millimeter-wave applications. The antenna is a monopole providing a dual-band response at 5G 28/38 bands with a small physical size (4.8 × 2.9 × 0.762 mm3, excluding the feeding line). The MIMO consists of two symmetric radiating elements arranged adjacently...
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Application of micellar electrokinetic chromatography for detection of silver nanoparticles released from wound dressing
PublicationThe recent emergence of nanotechnology has provided a new therapeutic modality in case of silver nanoparticles. Dressings containing silver form the basis for the treatment of burns and wounds, either acute or chronic ones. The aim of the study was to examine silver release from the different wound dressings: commercially available (Atrauman Ag, Aqua- cel Ag) and experimental (FKDP-AgNPs) using MEKC. In order to characterize prepared keratin...
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DNA methylation in cancer development, diagnosis and therapy-multiple opportunities for genotoxic agents to act as methylome disruptors or remediators
PublicationThe role of DNA methylation and recently discovered hydroxymethylation in the function of the human epigenome is currently one of the hottest topics in the life sciences. Progress in this field of research has been further accelerated by the discovery that alterations in the methylome are not only associated with key functions of cells and organisms, such as development, differentiation and gene expression, but may underlie a number...
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Increased concentration of Taq DNA polymerase as a solution for GC-rich templates from clinical and environmental samples
PublicationDNA polymerase is an enzyme which plays crucial role in replication and DNA repair. It found application in PCR (polymerase chain reaction) where catalyses process of in vitro DNA synthesis. To meet the demands posed by mod- ern diagnostic, molecular biology or genetic engineering it is necessary to improve DNA polymerases to obtain new or better features useful in these fields. So far implemented modifications in majority are...
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Novel application of terminal restriction fragments length polymorphism method (t-RFLP) for identification of six clinically important Candida sp.
PublicationTerminal restriction fragments length polymorphism method (t-RFLP) is a modified classical RFLP method. The main difference is based on carrying out PCR using a fluorescently labeled primer or primers. The result of such modification is that after digestion of amplicons only terminal fragments of PCR product (containing fluorescent dye) are visualized. T-RFLP method has found application in environmental microbiology and epidemiology....
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Effect of ground tire rubber on structural, mechanical and thermal properties of flexible polyurethane foams
PublicationFlexible polyurethane foams were modified with two kinds of ground tire rubber, untreated and thermo-mechanically reclaimed. A reclamation process was performed in auto-thermal conditions, which reduced the cost of the process and decreased the environmental impact of devulcanization (e.g., emission of gases). The reclamation process was carried out in a continuous manner using a co-rotating twin screw extruder. The foams were...
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Efficient production of Staphylococcus simulans lysostaphin in a benchtop bioreactor by recombinant Escherichia coli.
PublicationLysostaphin is an enzyme with bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus and other staphylococcal species. In spite of many advantages and promising results of preliminary research, the enzyme is still not widely used in medicine, veterinary or as a food preservative. One of the most important factors limiting application of the enzyme in clinical or technological practice is the high costs of its production. In the present...
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Unveiling the Pool of Metallophores in Native Environments and Correlation with Their Potential Producers
PublicationFor many organisms, metallophores are essential biogenic ligands that ensure metal scavenging and acquisition from their environment. Their identification is challenging in highly organic matter rich environments like peatlands due to low solubilization and metal scarcity and high matrix complexity. In contrast to common approaches based on sample modification by spiking of metal isotope tags, we have developed a two-dimensional...
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Influence of Ultrasound on the Characteristics of CaP Coatings Generated Via the Micro-arc Oxidation Process in Relation to Biomedical Engineering
PublicationOver the past decade, bone tissue engineering has been at the core of attention because of an increasing number of implant surgeries. The purpose of this study was to obtain coatings on titanium (Ti) implants with improved properties in terms of biomedical applications and to investigate the effect of ultrasound (US) on these properties during the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) process. The influence of various process parameters, such...
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The early failure of the gamma nail and the dynamic hip screw in femurs with a wide medullary canal. A biomechanical study of intertrochanteric fractures
PublicationBackground: Intertrochanteric fractures may occur in a bone with a wide medullary canal that may lead to significant mobility of a intramedullary nail, contrary to an extramedullary device. This study evaluates the Dynamic Hip Screw and the gamma nail in AO 31.A2.1 fractures in these circumstances. Methods: Synthetic femora with canals drilled to 18 mm were used. Five fixation types were examined: a 2 - hole and a 4 – hole Dynamic...
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An Analysis of Neural Word Representations for Wikipedia Articles Classification
PublicationOne of the current popular methods of generating word representations is an approach based on the analysis of large document collections with neural networks. It creates so-called word-embeddings that attempt to learn relationships between words and encode this information in the form of a low-dimensional vector. The goal of this paper is to examine the differences between the most popular embedding models and the typical bag-of-words...
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Relationship between conversion rate of glucosinolates to isothiocyanates/indoles and genotoxicity of individual parts of Brassica vegetables
PublicationThe studies on the characterisation of glucosinolates (GLs) and their breakdown products in Brassicaceae species focus mainly on the edible parts. However, other products, e.g., dietary supplements, may be produced also from non-edible parts such as roots or early forms of growth: seeds or sprouts. Biological activity of these products depends on quantitative and qualitative GL composition, but is also strictly determined by GL...
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Advanced fatigue and rutting characterisation of Polish asphalt mixtures based on the VECD model and viscoplastic shift model
PublicationThe advanced asphalt mixture performance-related specifications (AM-PRS) recently developed in USA can allow an optimisation of the design process of asphalt pavements thanks to the possibility to fully take into account the intrinsic material properties. In this study, four typical Polish mixtures, i.e. a Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) for wearing course, two mixtures for binder course with neat bitumen or Polymer modified Bitumen...
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Technical and economic analysis of energy storage in the compressed air technology with low capacity for the production plant
PublicationCompressed air energy storage (CAES) system is a promising technology due to its numerous advantages, including relatively low maintenance cost, a long lifespan and high operational flexibility. This article explores the possibility of designing a CAES power plant as a source of electricity and heat for an existing industrial plant. The study involves the technical analysis of the power plant parameters and the economic analysis...
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Generalization of Phylogenetic Matching Metrics with Experimental Tests of Practical Advantages
PublicationThe ability to quantify a dissimilarity of different phylogenetic trees is required in various types of phylogenetic studies, for example, such metrics are used to assess the quality of phylogeny construction methods and to define optimization criteria in supertree building algorithms. In this article, starting from the already described concept of matching metrics, we define three new metrics for rooted phylogenetic trees. One...
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Modifications to the anaerobic digestion model no. 1 (ADM1) for enhanced understanding and application of the anaerobic treatment processes – A comprehensive review
PublicationAnaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising method for the recovery of resources and energy from organic wastes. Correspondingly, AD modelling has also been developed in recent years. The International Water Association (IWA) Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) is currently the most commonly used structured AD model. However, as substrates become more complex and our understanding of the AD mechanism grows, both systematic and specific...
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Preparation, characterization, and manufacturing of new polymeric materials for 3D printing for medical applications
PublicationThis work concerns the synthesis, formation, and characteristics of new filaments for 3D printing in FDM™/FFF technology for medical purposes. Two types of filaments were developed, i.e. degradable polyurethane and biodegradable polylactide-starch. The influence of the 3D printing process on selected filament properties was investigated. A detailed analysis of the filament formation process by the extrusion method was carried out,...
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Effective Equations for the Optimum Seismic Gap Preventing Earthquake-Induced Pounding between Adjacent Buildings Founded on Different Soil Types
PublicationThe best approach to avoid collisions between adjacent structures during earthquakes is to provide sufficient spacing between them. However, the existing formulas for calculating the optimum seismic gap preventing pounding were found to provide inaccurate results upon the consideration of different soil types. The aim of this paper is to propose new equations for the evaluation of the sufficient in-between separation gap for buildings...
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Investigations of the Working Process in a Dual-Fuel Low-Emission Combustion Chamber for an FPSO Gas Turbine Engine
PublicationThis investigation is devoted to an analysis of the working process in a dual-fuel low-emission combustion chamber for a floating vessel’s gas turbine. The low-emission gas turbine combustion chamber with partial pre-mixing of fuel and air inside the outer and inner radial-axial swirlers was chosen as the object of research. When modelling processes in a dual-flow low-emission gas turbine combustion chamber, a generalized method...
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Effect of Thermal Treatment of Birch Wood by Saturated Water Vapor on Granulometric Composition of Chips from Sawing and Milling Processes from the Point of View of Its Processing to Composites
PublicationThe goal of this work is to investigate the impact of thermal modification of birch wood with saturated steam on the particle size distribution of the sawing and milling process. Birch wood (Betula pendula Roth) is an excellent source to produce plywood boards. Wastes from mechanical processing of birch wood are suitable to produce composite materials. Granulometric analyses of chips from sawing processes on the PRW 15M frame saw,...
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COMPARISON OF PREDICTIVE METHODS FOR FLOW BOILING HEAT TRANSFER IN CONVENTIONAL CHANNELS AND MINICHANNELS – THE EFFECT OF REDUCED PRESSURE
PublicationIn the paper are presented the results of follow on studies from [1]–[3] using authors own model to predict heat transfer coefficient during flow boiling. The model has been tested against a large selection of experimental data collected from various researchers to investigate the sensitivity of the in-house developed model. The collected experimental data came from various studies from literature and were conducted for the full...
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Simulation of the number of storm overflows considering changes in precipitation dynamics and the urbanisation of the catchment area: a probabilistic approach
PublicationThis paper presents a probabilistic methodology that allows the study of the interactions between changes in rainfall dynamics and impervious areas in urban catchment on a long- and short-term basis. The proposed probabilistic model predict future storm overflows while taking into account the dynamics of changes in impervious areas and rainfall. In this model, a logistic regression method was used to simulate overflow resulting...
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Evidence for consolidation of neuronal assemblies after seizures in humans
PublicationThe establishment of memories involves reactivation of waking neuronal activity patterns and strengthening of associated neural circuits during slow-wave sleep (SWS), a process known as "cellular consolidation" (Dudai and Morris, 2013). Reactivation of neural activity patterns during waking behaviors that occurs on a timescale of seconds to minutes is thought to constitute memory recall (O'Keefe and Nadel, 1978), whereas consolidation...