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Orientador: João Batista Aparecido / Banca: Jose Luiz Gasche / Banca: Paulo Gilberto de Paula Toro / Resumo: Cavitação em bombas centrífugas é a formação de bolhas de vapor do fluido bombeado na região de sucção do equipamento. As bolhas de vapor formadas em algum local do escoamento, em geral na região de sucção da bomba, entrarão posteriormente em colapso. Este fenômeno é importante cientificamente, tecnicamente e economicamente. Cientificamente é interessante, pois envolve o escoamento de um fluido em estado líquido, simultaneamente ocorre a formação de bolhas de vapor, que também escoam juntamente ao fluido líquido. O processo de vaporização e condensação de um fluido é complexo, pois envolve mudança de fase, um fenômeno térmico não linear. Tecnicamente, é importante porque quando o escoamento se dá com cavitação os parâmetros hidrodinâmicos do escoamento bem como da bomba, em geral, são fortemente alterados na direção termodinâmica de maior produção de irreversibilidades. Economicamente, é custoso porque a cavitação, em geral, leva a perda de eficiência termodinâmica dos processos e em conseqüência haverá maior custo na produção de um dado bem, diminuindo a eficiência econômica e a competitividade da empresa. O escoamento com cavitação na sucção de bombas apresenta três aspectos danosos principais: cavitação pulsante com baixa vazão; cavitação não pulsante com baixa altura útil; e erosão cavitacional. A cavitação pulsante é caracterizada por grande formação de bolhas de forma transitória com baixa freqüência e grande amplitude, gerando forças vibratórias importantes no sistema de bombeamento. A cavitação pulsante também causa colapso do fluxo de massa do fluido bombeado com valores que vão do fluxo normal da instalação até valores quase nulos, transitoriamente. Na cavitação pulsante a erosão cavitacional e a queda na altura útil são pequenas... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Cavitation in centrifugal pumps is the development of vapor bubbles from the pumped liquid into equipment suction region. Vapor bubbles developed somewhere in the flow, generally in the pump suction, will afterwards along the flow to collapse. This phenomenon is scientifically, technically and economically important. Scientifically, it is interesting because involves the flow of a fluid on liquid state, and simultaneously happens vapor bubbles development that also flow together the liquid fluid. Fluid vaporization and condensation processes are complex because involves phase change, a non-linear thermal phenomenon. Technically, it is important because when the flow happens with cavitation the flow and pump hydrodynamic parameters, generally, are strongly modified toward bigger thermodynamic irreversibility production. Economically, it is expensive because cavitation, generally, leads to thermodynamic process efficiency loss, and consequently it will have bigger costs for production of a given good, then decreasing economic efficiency and company competitiveness. Flow with cavitation in the pump suction presents three main devastating aspects: surging cavitation with low flow rate; steady cavitation with low total head; and cavitational erosion. Surging cavitation is characterized by unsteady, low frequency and high amplitude, intense bubbles development, producing strong vibration forces into the pumping system. Surging cavitation also causes the collapse of pumped fluid mass flow rate with values that goes from the normal flow to values that almost reach the zero flow, unsteadily. In surging cavitation, the cavitational erosion and the breakdown in total head are small. In steady cavitation the mass flow rate, and even the flow rate... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

[pt] A fim de garantir a segurança das instalações marítimas de produção de óleo e gás natural, parte do gás produzido é continuamente queimada, em função de condições específicas. Tais condições incluem paradas de emergência ou o alívio de inventário de gás devido a flutuações operacionais. A queima nestes ambientes acontece a uma grande faixa de vazões de gás, o que resulta em reduzido número de alternativas tecnológicas para sua medição. A medição de vazão a partir da tecnologia ultrasônica por tempo de trânsito vem sendo largamente utilizada, porém com incertezas relativamente elevadas, dadas as limitações da solução tecnológica. Devido a tais limitações, diversos órgãos reguladores da área de óleo e gás ao redor do mundo admitem diferentes percentuais para estimativa de incerteza da queima. No Brasil, a regulamentação estabelece um percentual máximo de 5 porcento para a queima de gás, não sendo porém específica quanto a que grandeza refere-se (vazão volumétrica ou volume). Esta dissertação traz um estudo sobre a incerteza de volumes horários, diários e mensais de gás produzidos por uma unidade de produção marítima por dezesseis meses, avaliando o impacto da incerteza na medição de vazão de queima sobre a incerteza dos volumes apurados. Foi avaliado o impacto de aspectos da medição ultrasônica de vazão de gás e da computação de volumes de produção a partir desta nos volumes apurados. Conclui-se que a medição de vazão e sua respectiva incerteza afetam de modo pouco significativo a incerteza dos volumes computados de queima. / [en] In order to assure safety at maritime oil & gas production facilities, part of the produced gas is continually burned (flared), depending upon specific operating conditions. These conditions include emergency shutdown and gas inventory relief due to process fluctuations. In such environments, gas flaring occurs at very large flow rate range, reducing the number of available technological choices for flow rate measurement. Transit-time ultrasonic flow measurement has been commonly used for this task, although with relatively high uncertainties due to technology limitations. Because of that, various oil & gas regulator authorities around the world impose different rules for flare measurement uncertainty. In Brazil, the regulation establishes a maximum percentage of 5 percent for flare measurement uncertainty, but it is not specific about the target (flow rate or volume). This dissertation presents a study on the effects of flow rate uncertainty on hourly, daily and monthly produced volume uncertainty in the maritime environment for a 16-month period, evaluating the impact of flare flow rate measurement on volume uncertainty. Aspects of gas transit-time ultrasonic flow rate measurement and volume computation over resulting volumes are evaluated. The conclusion is that flow rate measurement and its associated uncertainty have little effect on computed volume uncertainties.

The main objective of this study is to explore the complex fluid flow phenomena that result in the generation of a high frequency noise in counterbalance valves through an experimental and numerical investigation of the flow. Once the influence of the different components involved in noise generation is established, a secondary objective is the introduction of design modifications that eliminate the undesired effect without altering the operation envelope or the performance of the valve. A hydraulic test bench was used to carry out an experimental investigation of the noise generation process. A computer based data acquisition system was used to record pressure fluctuations, flowrates and hydraulic oil temperatures in a production valve under a variety of operational conditions. Extensive experimental measurements and numerical modeling lead to the hypothesis that noise generation is the result of an acoustic resonance triggered by shear layer instability at the valve inlet. The pressure gradients developed when the shear layer entrains the stagnant fluid in the valve main cavity cause the layer to become unstable and oscillate. The oscillation frequency will depend on a great number of factors such as valve geometry, pressure and velocity gradients and the density and viscosity of the fluid. It is postulated that the observed noise is generated when this frequency matches one of the resonant frequencies of the valve cavity. The proposed mechanism is theoretically poorly understood and well beyond simplified analysis, its accurate numerical simulation is computational very intensive requiring sophisticated CFD codes. The numerical investigation was carried out using STAR–CCM+, a commercially available CFD code featuring 3-D capabilities and sophisticated turbulence modeling. Streamline, pressure, velocity-vector and velocity-scalar plots were obtained for several valve configurations using steady and unsteady state flow simulations. An experimental and numerical analysis of an alternative valve geometry was carried out. Experimental results demonstrated a greatly reduced instability range. The numerical analysis of the unsteady behavior of the shear-layer streamlines for both valves yielded results that were compatible with the experimental work. The results of this investigation promise a great positive impact on the design of this type of hydraulic valves.

Prolonged strenuous exercise affects the circulating numbers and functions of immune cells. These effects are thought to be largely mediated by the actions of elevated circulating stress hormones and alterations in regulatory cytokines. Although the effects of a single acute bout of exercise on immune system function are quite well established, it is still not clear how time of day and repeated bouts of prolonged exercise on the same day influence immune function. It is of particular interest to understand the effects of nutritional supplementation on immunoendocrine responses. Therefore, the aims of the studies described in this thesis were to determine the effects of two bouts of prolonged cycling and carbohydrate supplementation on immunoendocrine responses. The saliva collection study showed that the use of a swab for collecting saliva is not an ideal method because it affects the results of saliva composition (Chapter 4). The comparison of the effects of exercise at different times of day on immunoendocrine responses showed that a single bout of prolonged exercise performed in the afternoon induces a larger perturbation in the redistribution of leukocytes into the circulation than an identical bout of morning exercise, which maybe due to higher hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HP A) activation and. circadian rhythms. However, in terms of oral mucosal immunity, performing prolonged cycling at different times of day does not differently affect the salivary responses. The second compared with the first of two bouts of prolonged exercise on the same day induces a greater HP A activation, a larger leukocyte trafficking into the circulation, a decreased neutrophil degranulation response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on per cell basis and a lower saliva flow rate, but does not increase plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6), or change saliva immunoglobulin A (slgA) secretion rate (Chapter 5). Furthermore, carbohydrate (CHO) ingestion during any period of two bouts of prolonged exercise shows limited beneficial effect in blunting these higher responses in the second exercise bout compared with the first identical exercise bout on the same day (Chapter 6, 7 and 8). The determination of the effects of CHO ingestion on exercise-induced immunoendocrine responses showed that when two bouts of exercise are performed on the same day, the greater benefit in terms of circulating immunoendocrine responses is obtained by feeding CHO at the earliest opportunity (Chapter 6, 7 and 8). A 3-h interval is insufficient for recovery of leukocyte mobilisation and neutrophil function from the impact of previous exercise whether subjects consumed placebo or CHO during exercise or recovery (Chapter 5, 6, 7 and 8). However, an 18-h interval is sufficient for full recovery of all immunoendocrine variables that were measured in this thesis from the impact of two bouts of prolonged exercise (Chapter 8).

The characterization of perphenazine and scopolamine aerosols generated using the capillary aerosol generator (CAG) was reported. Variables including steady state power, the formulation vehicle, the drug concentration and the formulation flow rate were studied for their effects on the chemical stability and particle size of these drug aerosols.Stability-indicating HPLC and LC-MS assays were developed and validated for perphenazine and scopolamine, respectively. The chemical stability of each compound was investigated under a variety of stress conditions and the structure of degradation products was proposed.Perphenazine aerosols were generated from propylene glycol (PG) formulations with concentrations of 9, 48 and 90mM at formulation flow rates of 2.5 and 5.0µL/s at a series of steady state powers. At higher aerosolization powers, the low concentration formulation (9mM) degraded with dehalogenation being the major pathway. The size of perphenazine aerosols was between 0.4 to 0.6µm. Changing the solute concentration produced only small changes (~0.2µm) in perphenazine aerosol particle size. The formulation flow rate did not significantly affect the aerosol size.Scopolamine degraded significantly when aerosolized in PG formulations. It was possible to generate chemically stable scopolamine aerosols from ethanol formulations. Significant amounts of degradation products were formed only at or above 4.6W at 5.0µL/s. Hydrolysis and dehydration appeared to be the major degradation pathways at higher powers and low formulation flow rate. The MMAD of scopolamine aerosols was between 0.5 and 2.0µm from 8, 20 and 40mM formulations at 5.0 and 10.0µL/s. The size of scopolamine aerosols increased as a function of increasing the solute concentration. Increasing the formulation flow rate increased the linear velocity of the spray, thus the Reynolds number was increased and smaller particles were generated.

Evaluating the performance of filter media for filtration applications is essential to assure design engineers and users that filter device will deliver promised performance for specific applications under the environmental stress. The study of particle loading characteristics of filter media in the laboratory setting is typically performed under the steady flow conditions, i.e., at the constant particle concentration and flow rate. In reality, filtration products are operated under the situations that the flow rate and mass concentration of particles are varied in time. The success of translating the laboratory data to estimate the performance of filter media in the fields is thus limited. It is necessary to investigate the performance of filter media under the real-world conditions, i.e., unsteady flow rate and mass concentration to bridge the gap. The overall goals of this research are (1) to study the performance of filter medium under unsteady conditions (i.e., the performance of respirator filter media under simulated breathing conditions); and (2) to investigate the issue of non-uniform particle deposition on HVAC filter panels. A new experimental setup was developed to accomplish the former goal. Numerical modeling tool, Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), was applied to achieve the latter objective……

Post-exercise carbohydrate-protein consumption and tapering periods during training periodisation have been proposed as effective recovery strategies in several sports; however, limited attention has been given to judo. Apart from training and recovery, effective competition performance can also be influenced by several stimuli on the competition day, which may be manifested as distinct endocrine responses. The main objective of this thesis was to influence effective competition performance in judo, through examining strategies that can aid recovery from intense exercise/training and examining endocrine responses to competition. Three experimental studies on recovery were completed (chapters 3-5) followed by an observational study on a judo competition day (chapter 6) in elite, national level, male judo athletes. Studies 1 and 2 examined the effects 1000 ml of post-exercise chocolate milk (CM) consumption compared with water (W) following an intense judo training session (chapter 3) and five days of intense judo training with concomitant weight loss (chapter 4) on the recovery of salivary cortisol (sC), salivary testosterone (sT), salivary testosterone:cortisol (sT/C) ratio, salivary secretory IgA (SIgA) absolute concentrations and secretion rate, muscle soreness, mood state and judo-related performance. Study 1 (n=10) did not show any beneficial effects of acute CM consumption on aspects of recovery of any of the measured variables, except for a lower perception of soreness (p<0.05) and a tendency for better push-up performance (p=0.09). Study 2 (n=12) showed that post-exercise CM consumption resulted in significantly lower sC levels, a tendency for higher sT/C ratio (p=0.07), better judo-related performance, lower muscle soreness and reduced mood disturbance (p<0.05) with W. In addition, post-exercise consumption of CM resulted in a 1.1% decrease in body weight, indicating that CM is an effective recovery beverage during periods of intense judo training without affecting intentional weight loss. Study 3 (n=11) examined the effects of a 2-week exponential taper following 2 weeks of intense judo training on recovery of the aforementioned variables. Within 12 days of tapering there were evidence of enhanced performance, lower sC, higher sT and higher sT/C ratio, higher SIgA secretion rate, lower muscle soreness and reduced mood disturbance, indicating that a tapering period of ~10 days is an effective recovery strategy for optimising judo performance. Study 4 observed the responses of sC, sT, SIgA absolute concentrations and SIgA secretion rate and self-measured anxiety state in the winners (n=12) and losers (n=11) of a judo competition. Winners presented significantly higher morning sC levels and higher cognitive anxiety in anticipation of the competition, as well as a tendency for higher SIgA secretion rate (p=0.07) and significantly higher saliva flow rate mid-competition. These findings indicate that winners experienced higher arousal levels and that anticipatory sC might have some predictive value for winning performance in judo. This thesis concludes that nutrition and tapering are both important aspects of effective recovery; CM can be an effective nutritional recovery aid during periods of intense judo training and tapering for 7-12 days can optimise judo performance and can be implemented prior to competitions. In addition, elevated sC levels in anticipation of a judo competition and higher levels of arousal could have some predictive value for winning performance in judo. Further research could focus on strategies to increase levels of arousal in anticipation of competition.