Search results for "Spark"
showing 10 items of 124 documents
Synchronized gradient elution in capillary liquid chromatography
2013
Abstract The synchronization of injection valve operation and gradient elution in capillary liquid chromatography (cHPLC) is studied. Focus is placed on the cHPLC systems which rely on the splitting of a primary flow to provide the much smaller secondary flow required at the injection device and analytical column. Owing to the tiny secondary flow rates, synchronization is necessary to achieve proper optimization of gradient elution methods. Otherwise, there is a risk of having the analytes totally or partially eluted in the initial isocratic conditions, and there is no control on the actual gradient profile reaching the column. Synchronization is first achieved by switching back the valve t…
Effect of current on the sintering of pre-oxidized copper powders by SPS
2017
Abstract As mentioned in the literature, SPS (Spark Plasma Sintering) technology combines uniaxial charge and pulsed currents to achieve the rapid sintering of powders. Although the utilization of current is often reported, an understanding of its role in the sintering mechanisms is still a subject of controversy. In fact, the oxide layer around metal particles is sometimes considered to be a dielectric gap in which discharges may occur: these discharges can clean the surface of particles and enhance densification. In this paper, an oxide layer was grown on the particle surface of a copper powder, and the growth enabled the study of the role of current on such dielectric layers. The powders…
Un-rooted grafted cuttings for eggplant plug-transplant production and shipping: simulated transportation and healing requirements
2019
Vegetable grafting is one of the most effective eco-friendly techniques to overcome pests and soilborne diseases in modern cropping systems of fruiting vegetables. Due to the increased farmers’ preference for grafted seedlings of high quality and better performance, the use of vegetable grafted plants is rapidly spreading and expanding over the world and intensive researches on new commercial production systems are under way. However, in many areas of the world, due to the high cost of skilled manpower, the use of grafted plug plants is still limited causing a relatively slow development of the grafting nursery industry. The aim of this work was to evaluate a possible use of un-rooted graft…
Analyzing big datasets of genomic sequences: fast and scalable collection of k-mer statistics
2019
Abstract Background Distributed approaches based on the MapReduce programming paradigm have started to be proposed in the Bioinformatics domain, due to the large amount of data produced by the next-generation sequencing techniques. However, the use of MapReduce and related Big Data technologies and frameworks (e.g., Apache Hadoop and Spark) does not necessarily produce satisfactory results, in terms of both efficiency and effectiveness. We discuss how the development of distributed and Big Data management technologies has affected the analysis of large datasets of biological sequences. Moreover, we show how the choice of different parameter configurations and the careful engineering of the …
SPS-assisted preparation of the Magnéli phase WO2.90 for thermoelectric applications
2013
We describe the preparation and simultaneous consolidation of WO2.90 by spark plasma sintering (SPS). SPS allows for the direct manufacturing of large amounts of consolidated material. Synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction indicates that the material is single phase. Microstructure analysis indicates that the pellet is fully dense, allowing high-temperature thermoelectric properties to be reliably measured. The as-prepared samples of WO2.90 reach a ZT of 0.1 at 1100 K.
Design and Implementation of an Electronic Control Unit for a CFR Bi-Fuel Spark Ignition Engine
2017
In this work an Electronic Control Unit for the management of a CFR engine will be described. The engine, which is used both for fuel octane rating (both in terms of RON and MON) and for research purpose, is equipped with a double injection system, with the aim to independently operate both with liquid and gaseous fuels. The developed ECU, hence, is able to control the injections of both kind of fuel, together with the spark ignition. Furthermore the system is also able to measure fuel’s consumption, instantaneous engine speed of rotation and air-fuel ratio, showing all the running parameters both on a local LCD display and on a PC based graphical user interface.
Spark ignition feedback control by means of combustion phase indicators on steady and transient operation
2014
In order to reduce fuel cost and CO2 emissions, modern spark ignition (SI) engines need to lower as much as possible fuel consumption. A crucial factor for efficiency improvement is represented by the combustion phase, which in an SI engine is controlled acting on the spark advance. This fundamental engine parameter is currently controlled in an open-loop by means of maps stored in the electronic control unit (ECU) memory: such kind of control, however, does not allow running the engine always at its best performance, since optimal combustion phase depends on many variables, like ambient conditions, fuel quality, engine aging, and wear, etc. A better choice would be represented by a closed-…
A Study on the Use of Combustion Phase Indicators for MBT Spark Timing on a Bi-Fuel Engine
2007
The performance of a spark ignition engine strongly depends on the phase of the combustion process with respect to piston motion, and hence on the spark advance; this fundamental parameter is actually controlled in open-loop by means of maps drawn up on the test bench and stored in the Electronic Control Unit (ECU). Bi-fuel engines (e.g. running either on gasoline or on natural gas) require a double mapping process in order to obtain a spark timing map for each of the fuels. This map based open-loop control however does not assure to run the engine always with the best spark timing, which can be influenced by many factors, like ambient condition of pressure, temperature and humidity, fuel p…
Misfire Detection System based on the Measure of Crankshaft Angular Velocity
2007
Misfire detection systems are becoming increasingly important in automotive market due to recent environmental issues (Euro rules). An early misfire diagnosis also allows to prevent damages to the exhaust emission system and consequent costs for the user. Today few low cost methods exists in order to precisely detect single misfires in real time, the majority in fact require the use of expensive sensors (e.g. pressure sensors) or dedicated circuits (e.g. ionization current sensing). This work describes a method and electronic system capable of detecting misfires with good accuracy, using parameters such as the speed sensor signal, already available in commercial engines. The proposed method…
Knock onset prediction of propane, gasoline and their mixtures in spark ignition engines
2016
Gaseous fuels, such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Natural Gas (NG), thanks to their excellent mixing capabilities and high knocking resistance, allow complete and cleaner combustion than gasoline in Spark Ignition (SI) engines, resulting in lower pollutant emissions, above all if particulate matter is considered. In previous works [1,2] the authors proved how the simultaneous combustion of gasoline and gaseous fuel (NG or LPG) may strongly reduce both fuel consumption and pollutant emissions with respect to pure gasoline operation without a significant power loss. These very encouraging results were obtained thanks to the strong knock resistance increase obtained adding gaseous fuel …