Convective sewage sludge drying is often carried out in belt dryers, where the air flow is directed through the layer. In such a configuration, drying air properties, as well as the structure of the layer and its homogeneity are key factors affecting the drying process. In the present work, these factors were investigated using laboratory experiments on relatively large sludge samples with a mass of several kilograms. Drying was performed at relatively low drying air parameters (time-averaged temperatures of 65 to 80 & DEG;C and velocities of 0.44 to 0.78 m/s). The inhomogeneity of the sludge layer drying was observed by measuring the layer surface temperature with an IR camera. The reduction in layer thickness during drying was measured using an optical laser-based method. Analysis of the data included regression and fitting of the data to parametric drying curves, with the modified Nadhari drying law providing the best fit. The standard deviation of the layer surface thermograms (S) was used as a parameter that accounted for the layer homogeneity and consequently drying evenness. Higher values of S corresponded to lower drying rates and consequently longer drying times, highlighting the importance of producing layers with a homogenous structure. The measured layer thickness reduction rate indicated the overall drying intensity almost from the beginning of drying. Both the surface temperature unevenness and the layer height reduction measurement methods were demonstrated as viable approaches for real-time monitoring of the drying process with potential for application in real-scale dryers.

The alarming increase in water pollution is driving research into novel, environmentally friendly treatment solutions such as hydrodynamic cavitation. This study is part of the research on the pin disc rotational generator of hydrodynamic cavitation, which utilises the low pressure wake behind the rotor pins to induce cavitation and the short gap between the rotor and stator pins to enhance cavitation cloud fluctuation. Due to the lack of understanding of the effects of cavitation treatment, a laboratory device was built to investigate the mechanisms of cavitation generation and the effects of various geometric features such as the diameter, number, and shape of the rotor pins and the gap size between the rotor and stator pins. Using simultaneously measured pressure fluctuations and high-speed visualisation, a method was developed to quantify the extent of cavitation, and it was found that throttling the high-pressure side had an order- of- magnitude smaller effect on cavitation than the number of rotor pins. It was found that a smaller number of rotor pins with large downstream area produced the most aggressive cavitation conditions. The weak spectral response and lower mean vapour cloud area, as well as the lower fluctuation in the case without stator, demonstrated the key role of the stator in the onset and aggressiveness of cavitation.

This work investigates the evenness of fabric drying in a household heat pump tumble dryer. The evenness of drying was defined as the standard deviation of the fraction of water, evaporated from each fabric item. Drying experiments were performed according to the IEC 61121 standard, which was also followed to determine quantities and types of cotton fabric items (towels, pillowcases and sheets) within each load. Regression analysis was performed to develop models for evenness of drying as a function of load mass and drum speed. Similarities between the tumble dryer energy efficiency parameters and the evenness of drying were analyzed. A high level of agreement was determined between responses of energy efficiency, drying time and evenness of drying to changes in drum speed. Effects of load mass were however more complex and were reflected in a non-linear response of evenness of drying to changes in load mass - the best evenness of drying could be obtained at 2 kg load, followed by 6 kg and 4 kg load. Load composition was determined as an important factor affecting the evenness of drying. At larger loads, a sheet or a pillowcase in average contributed more to the un-evenness of drying than a towel. The presence of sheets and probably the ratio of sheets to other item types in the load were determined as the most probable factors that negatively affected the evenness of drying.

Wastewater treatment plants, the last barrier between ever-increasing human activities and the environment, produce huge amounts, of unwanted semi-solid by-product - waste activated sludge. Anaerobic digestion can be used to reduce the amount of sludge. However, the process needs extensive modernisation and refinement to realize its full potential. This can be achieved by using efficient pre-treatment processes that result in high sludge disintegration and solubilization. To this end, we investigated the efficiency of a novel pinned disc rotational generator of hydrodynamic cavitation. The results of physical and chemical evaluation showed a reduction in mean particle size up to 88%, an increase in specific surface area up to 300% and an increase in soluble COD, NH4-N, NO3-N, PO4-P up to 155.8, 126.3, 250 and 29.7%, respectively. Microscopic images confirmed flocs disruption and damage to yeast cells and Epistilys species due to mechanical effects of cavitation such as microjets and shear forces. The observed cell ruptures and cracks were sufficient for the release of small soluble biologically relevant dissolved organic molecules into the bulk liquid, but not for the release of microbial DNA. Cavitation treatment also decreased total Pb concentrations by 70%, which was attributed to the reactions triggered by the chemical effects of cavitation. Additionally, the study confirmed the presence of microplastic particles and fibers of polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, and nylon 6 in the waste activated sludge.

Leakage of air in tumble dryers is an important parameter regarding the energy efficiency of the drying process. In general, tumble dryers are prone to leakage, therefore further investigation and optimization in this field is of great interest. This study investigates and quantifies leakage of air within the closed-loop system of an in-situ household heat pump tumble dryer. Each potential leakage location was characterized by leakage curve obtained either by isolated or cumulative measurements using system pressurization method. Based on the static pressure distribution within the closed-loop system, the leakage outflow and inflow were quantified. The leakage of air at the rear and front drum seal was evaluated with and without drum movement. The results indicated the highest leakage outflow rate at the heat pump housing, which represents 12,6% of the total drying air flow rate within the closed-loop system. Sealing heat pump housing improved the condensation efficiency from B to A class according to the IEC 61121.

Free surface lubrication of rotating cylinders by Newtonian liquid jets was investigated at different impingement positions, jet‐ and circumferential velocities. The interaction between impinging round laminar jet and rotating surface was characterised by high‐speed imaging. Compared to flat surface impingement, the liquid deposition mechanism is more complex and often accompanied by phenomena such as splashing, jet deflection and formation of radial surface stripes. Liquid splashing initially develops in direct deposition regime due to hydraulic jump‐induced droplet shedding, transitioning to lamella instability splash at higher Reynolds numbers. The critical Reynolds number for splash onset is of same order of magnitude as for flat surface impingement and fairly constant at low relative jet impingement angles, but increases exponentially when angle approaches 90°. Liquid film width and thickness were both determined proportional to the square root of the jet/surface velocity ratio, with respective power law models in good agreement with measured values.

This paper presents an experimental study of the liquid disintegration process on an atomizer with two counter-rotating wheels by high-speed imaging. The process was investigated for a wide range of wheel rotational speeds, liquid flow rates and impingement positions. Compared to flat disc and cup atomizers operating at similar Weber numbers, proposed atomizer design is capable of producing much finer droplets in the ligament formation mode (mean diameter under 0.15 mm when We = 10(6)) and at a significantly larger liquid throughput. Despite the atomizer gap flow complexity, approximation of mean liquid trajectories with tangent lines proved to be fairly accurate. We were able to identify two main challenges in atomizer operation, namely the occurrence of hydraulic jump upon liquid impingement causing the formation of large droplets, and escaping of the liquid spray through the wheel gap. Nevertheless, both issues can be largely mitigated by optimization of atomizer geometry and operating parameters. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Institution of Chemical Engineers.

The aim of the study was the application of high-tech wind tunnel device to identify the changes in the biokinetic parameters of running performed on the specially designed treadmill. The research was carried out in the “Planica Nordic Centre—PNC” in the wind tunnel system, where the AirRunner Assault treadmill, which was equipped with four sensors measuring the vertical and horizontal ground reaction forces, was installed. To obtain biokinetic data, the runners performed the treadmill’s run under conditions of airflow directed at each participant’s back (backwind speeds +3 m/s and +5 m/s) and the chest (headwind speeds −5 m/s and −7 m/s). The runner’s speed was measured via image analysis using a DSLR camera and markers on the belt of the treadmill. Additionally, a high-speed camera synchronised to the force acquisition system was used to analyse the contact phase via comparison of foot placement and time series of the ground reaction forces. The contact phases of the running step were found to be longer than the flight phases, with their duration ranging from 0.15 to 0.20 s and the maximum forces at take-off were found to be greater than when running with the backwind. It should be noted that the application of high-tech devices wind tunnel and treadmill were found to be sufficiently accurate to perform kinetic measurements of running parameters in changing conditions, such as resistance and assistance (facilitating).

This study investigates hydrodynamic performance of a novel pinned disc rotating generator of hydrodynamic cavitation in comparison with a serrated disc variant on a pilot-scale. Experimental results show that at a given rotational speed and liquid flow rate, the pinned disc generates more intense cavitation (i.e. lower cavitation number, higher volume fraction of vapor and higher amplitude of pressure fluctuations) than the serrated disc, while also consuming less energy per liquid pass (i.e., higher flow rate and pumping pressure difference of water at similar power consumption). Additionally, mechanical and chemical wastewater treatment performance of the novel cavitator was evaluated on an 800 L influent sample from a wastewater treatment plant. Mechanical effects resulted in a reduction of average particle size from 148 to 38 µm and increase of specific surface area, while the oxidation potential was confirmed by reduction of COD, TOC, and BOD up to 27, 23 and 30% in 60 cavitation passes, respectively. At optimal operating conditions and 30 cavitation passes, pinned disc cavitator had a 310% higher COD removal capacity while consuming 65% less energy per kg of COD removed than the serrated disc cavitator. Furthermore, the specific COD-reduction energy consumption of the pinned disc cavitator on the pilot scale is comparable to the best cases of lab-scale orifice and venturi devices operating at much lower wastewater processing capacity.

A developed methodology for determining the physical properties of mineral fibers prepared from different input mixtures under the same spinning wheel conditions is described and discussed. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was combined with simultaneous thermal analysis and thermogravimetry to study the mineralogical composition and typical melting and crystallization temperatures. The mechanical properties measured with nanoindentation were related to the mineralogical properties and the results obtained are in agreement with the literature. The developed methodology shows reliable performance and demonstrates the ability to study the mechanical properties of mineral fibers, their mineralogical composition, and thermal properties. The presented experimental methodology opens up the possibility of researching the mechanical properties of mineral fibers for the purpose of defining production recipes in the field of mineral thermal insulation materials.

In this study, the hydrodynamic cavitation and wastewater treatment performance of a rotary generator with pin disk for hydrodynamic cavitation are investigated. Various geometrical features and arrangements of rotor and stator pins were evaluated to improve the configuration of the cavitation device. The pilot device used to perform the experiments was upgraded with a transparent cover that allows visualization of the hydrodynamic cavitation in the rotor-stator region with high-speed camera and simultaneous measurement of pressure fluctuations. Based on the hydrodynamic characteristics, three arrangements were selected and evaluated with respect to the chemical effects of cavitation on a 200-liter wastewater influent sample. The experimental results show that the rotational speed and the spacing of the rotor pins have the most significant effect on the cavitation intensity and effectiveness, while the pin diameter and the surface roughness are less significant design parameters. Cavitation intensity increases with pin velocity, but can be inhibited if the pins are arranged too close together. At best configuration, COD was reduced by 31% in 15 liquid passes, consuming 8.2 kWh/kg COD. The number of liquid passes also proved to be an important process parameter for improving the energy efficiency.

In this paper, performance of turbine flowmeters was investigated for different flowmeter ranges and working gas operating pressures. Variation of these parameters was represented in dimensionless form as a function of Reynolds Number and gas density ratio, while the relative flow measurement error was selected as the most important operating characteristic. A novel error curve model based on turbine machine theory and dimensionless analysis was introduced for the purpose of error data fitting across a wide range of gas flow rates and operating pressures. The main advantage of the presented model is the capability of accurate error data fitting with a single continuous equation, as demonstrated by high R-2 values for the vast majority of flowmeters analyzed in this study. The acceptability criterion was designed based on the fact that the expanded measurement uncertainty of the relative error must not exceed 0.5 %. Besides an accurate interpolation, our model can also be utilized for prediction of turbine flowmeter performance at modified flow conditions (pressure and flow rate, working gas properties), and for assessment of the drift of flowmeter performance over time. The novel error curve model is demonstrated to outperform the standard polynomial-based model regardless of the independent variable used.

Within the presented research, we utilized a non-standard technique, i.e. Sentmanat Extensional Rheometer (shorter SER-tool), which can potentially provide tensile measurements (i.e. tensile strength and Young’s modulus) on relatively short and brittle fibrous materials such as slag mineral fibers. For easier transportation and fastening of the fibers, physical model of SER-tool was slightly modified. Consequently, modified technique was theoretically (through parametric error analysis) and experimentally (through mechanical characterization) evaluated on four different types of mineral fibers. Despite a fair, yet distinguishable scatter of tensile strength which cannot be theoretically evaluated due to size effect (related to thermo-mechanical histories), fiber’s weakest link (related to fiber defects), etc., mechanical response, which is universally presented by Young’s modulus, was reproducible. Parametrical error analysis, which determines the accuracy of modified SER-tool showed that the large part of the error arises from the combination of fiber diameter and error in fiber diameter, however by careful selection of fibers (related to the magnitude of the diameter and its error) the result remains within the predicted ranges. From the results different types of mechanical responses can be observed, which is related to ceramic content, i.e. SiO2+Al2O3, within the slag fiber. Utilized technique demonstrates the high performance and the capability of modified SER-tool to perform various studies, investigating the effects of thermo-mechanical histories, chemical composition and other parameters on mechanical properties of single fiber filaments.

Drying of the sewage sludge layer was investigated in a convective laboratory dryer at air temperatures of 65 °C and 80 °C and air speeds of 0.53 m/s and 0.83 m/s. The sludge layer was formed by loading cylindrical extrudates on a grate of 0.5 m × 0.5 m size. The drying air was directed through the layer, as typically encountered in industrial belt dryers. Under such setup, the sludge layer structure and porosity significantly affect the air flow conditions and thus the drying rates. Shrinkage and cracking of the material during drying caused changes in the layer’s porous structure, that affected the pressure drop and the drag force due to passing of air through the layer. The decreasing of drag force over time was modeled by a simple function that showed excellent agreement to the selected measured data. The sludge layer drying kinetics was determined by fitting the measured data to the most common drying models. Two models, the modified Nadhari and the Wang Singh model, were determined as most suitable for modeling of drying curves. The total drying time per kilogram of sludge was modeled as a function of drying air temperature, drying air velocity and initial sludge dry matter content. The coefficient of determination (R2) of the model is 0.944. Total drying times between 43 minutes per kilogram and 76 minutes per kilogram of sludge were obtained for the investigated range of drying air conditions.

The present study investigates fabric motion in the drum and its effect on performance parameters of a domestic heat pump tumble dryer in several operating points, defined by different load masses and drum speeds. Fabric motion in the drum was recorded by using a high-speed camera and evaluated statistically in order to determine the relation between the fabric distribution and the dryer performance parameters. Multiple regression analysis was performed to develop models for condensate mass flow rate as a function of drum speed, load mass, and drying stage. The results enable optimization of dryer operating parameters with respect to energy efficiency, drying time per kilogram of fabric, and condensate mass flow rate.

In this paper, the process of mineral fiber formation was investigated experimentally on a two-wheel spinner by means of high-speed imaging. Analogue isomalt melt was fiberized at different rotational speeds of spinner wheels, melt flow rates and impingement positions so that the fiberization process was dynamically similar to an industrial mineral wool production process. Images of fiber formation and transport reveal highly complex dynamics of these processes, as fibers mostly occur in form of 3D mutually intertwined structures such as clusters, strands and veils periodically shedding from the melt film. Despite the complexity of flow structures, there is a clear trend of increasing mean fiber length and expansion angle of the coaxial fiber-laden flow as the Weber number and the ratio of melt film velocity to blowing air velocity are increased. The fiberization efficiency (ratio of fiber mass deposited on the collecting mesh to the mass of melt poured) is affected by the impingement position and flow rate of melt as well as the Weber number of melt film. The optimum efficiency was attained at 30° (1 o’clock) impingement position and the ratio of melt film to blowing air flow velocity close to unity.

Natural draft cooling towers (NDCTs) are a systems for discharging waste heat into the atmosphere. In many cases NDCTs are not maintained properly and are exposed to slow degradation, which affect the performance of NDCTs in long term and consequently affects the operation of the power plant. We designed an innovative measuring solution, which enables high spatial resolution measurements of local temperatures, relative humidity and the airflow velocity inside the NDCTs. Based on the gathered information on environmental conditions it is possible to detect and evaluate degradation damages and thereby increase the performance of NDCTs.

This study examines how the inlet air temperature, relative humidity, and flow rate influence the textile drying process in an open cycle tumble dryer. An experimental setup was prepared by connecting a domestic tumble dryer to an external system for controlled heating, humidification, and transport of air. Experiments were conducted by drying cotton textiles (8 kg dry mass) at different air inlet conditions. On the basis of measured data, correlations for determination of the total drying time, the moisture evaporation rate during the constant drying rate, and the area-mass transfer coefficient were developed. The process in the drum was modeled by using an established moisture evaporation model, based on sorption isotherms. A commonly used and a recently reported sorption isotherm for cotton were used with the model. Agreement between calculated and measured drying curves was better in case of the commonly used sorption isotherm, but final moisture content was better predicted by the recently reported sorption isotherm.

In this paper, melt film dynamics in rock wool spinning machines are investigated. High-speed visualization of the melt film structure was performed for a model spinning wheel and two industrial spinning machines. The quality of the melt film adhesion to the wheel and related heat transfer parameters were assessed by time series analysis of the image gray level for different operating conditions. During the warmup procedure for the spinning wheels investigated in laboratory experiments, the best wetting of the wheel surface (i.e. with least voids in the melt film) was observed at the lowest rotational speed and melt viscosity. In this transitional period, melt adhesion can be improved by preheating of the wheel surface and by gradual increase of the wheel rotational speed. Once the wheel surface has reached its working temperature, melt temperature and viscosity seem to have the largest effect on the melt adhesion process. The cooling rate of the melt film was observed to increase with its initial temperature and circumferential velocity. Regardless of the operating regime, no significant melt slippage against the wheel surface was observed, with melt film structure preserved over multiple spinner wheel rotations.

The objective of the paper is to analyse traceability issues in real-life gas flow measurements in complex distribution systems. The initial aim is to provide complete and traceable measurement results and calibration certificates of gas-flow meters, which correspond to specific installation conditions. Extensive work has been done to enable a more credible decision on how to deal in particular situations with the measurement uncertainty which is always subject of a flow meter's calibration as a quantitative parameter value obtained in laboratory, and with the qualitative statement about the error of an outdoor meter. The laboratory simulation of a complex, real-life distributed system has been designed to achieve the initial aim. As an extension of standardized procedures that refer to the laboratory conditions, the proposed methods introduce additional "installation-specific" error sources. These sources could be either corrected (if identified) or considered as an additional "installation-specific" uncertainty contribution otherwise. The analysis and the results of the experimental work will contribute to more precise and accurate measurement results, thus assuring proper measurements with a known/estimated uncertainty for a specific gas flow installation. Also, the analysis will improve the existing normative documents by here presented findings, as well as fair trade in one of the most important and growing energy consumption areas regarding the legal metrology aspects. These facts will enable comparing the entire quantity of gas at the input of a complex distributed system with the cumulative sum of all individual gas meters in a specific installation.