This work includes wetted wall column experiments that measure the CO₂ equilibrium partial pressure and liquid film mass transfer coefficient (kg') in 7, 9, 11, and 13 m MEA and 2, 5, 8, and 12 m PZ solutions. A 7 m MEA/2 m PZ blend was also examined. Absorption and desorption experiments were performed at 40, 60, 80, and 100°C over a range of CO₂ loading. Diaphragm diffusion cell experiments were performed with CO₂ loaded MEA and PZ solutions to characterize diffusion behavior. All experimental results have been compared to available literature data and match well. MEA and PZ spreadsheet models were created to explain observed rate behavior using the wetted wall column rate data and available literature data. The resulting liquid film mass transfer coefficient expressions use termolecular (base catalysis) kinetics and activity-based rate expressions. The kg' expressions accurately represent rate behavior over the very wide range of experimental conditions. The models fully explain rate effects with changes in amine concentration, temperature, and CO₂ loading. These models allow for rate behavior to be predicted at any set of conditions as long as the parameters in the kg' expressions can be accurately estimated. An Aspen Plus® RateSep™ model for MEA was created to model CO₂ flux in the wetted wall column. The model accurately calculated CO₂ flux over the wide range of experimental conditions but included a systematic error with MEA concentration. The systematic error resulted from an inability to represent the activity coefficient of MEA properly. Due to this limitation, the RateSep™ model will be most accurate when finetuned to one specific amine concentration. This Aspen Plus® RateSep™ model allows for scale up to industrial conditions to examine absorber or stripper performance. / text

<p>I denna rapport redogör projektgruppen för resultatet i kursen examensarbete 15hp (C-nivå) utfört på maskiningenjörsprogrammet, inriktning produktutveckling och design, vid Jönköpings Tekniska Högskola.</p><p>Examensarbetet har utförts i samarbete med Kongsberg Power Product Systems AB i Ljungsarp. Syftet var att utveckla en ny typ av övre teleskopfunktion till Kongsbergs modulsystem för ställbara rattstänger.</p><p>Utgångspunkten i projektet var att skapa en mer ergonomisk förarmiljö, något som Kongsbergs kunder och marknaden för långsamtgående fordon allt mer efterfrågar. Kraven som ställts på projektet bestod i största del av axiella och radiella krafter som konstruktionen skulle klara av, samt den axiella förlängningen av rattstången.</p><p>För att strukturera arbetet har en produktutvecklingsmetod från boken The Mechanical Design Process av David G. Ullman använts. Dessa metoder har använts i genomförandefasen för att leda fram till resultatet.</p><p>Projektet har resulterat i ett koncept som löser Kongsbergs krav på förbättrad förarergonomi.</p> / <p>In this report the project team describes the outcome of the course degree project 15 ECTS (C level) performed at the program of mechanical engineering, targeted product development and design, at Jönköping University.</p><p>The degree project has been carried out in cooperation with Kongsberg Power Products Systems AB in Ljungsarp. The aim was to develop a new type of upper telescopic function to the Kongsberg modular system for adjustable steering columns.</p><p>The starting point of the project was to create a more ergonomic driver's environment, as Kongsberg’s customers and the market for slow vehicles are increasingly demanding.</p><p>The requirements placed on the project consisted in the main part of the forces that construction would meet, and the axial extension of the steering column.</p><p>To structure the work a product development methodology from the book The Mechanical Design Process by David G. Ullman has been used.</p><p>The project has resulted in a concept that solves Kongsberg's demands for improved driver ergonomics.</p>

Ductile plastic hinge zones in beams of reinforced concrete frames are known to incur extensive damage and elongate. This ‘beam elongation’ can inflict serious damage to adjacent floor diaphragms, raising concerns of life safety. In light of this, the slotted reinforced concrete beam was investigated as a promising non-tearing floor substitute for conventional design. It consists of a conventional reinforced concrete beam, modified with a narrow vertical slot adjacent to the column face, running approximately three-quarters of the beam depth. Seismic rotations occur about the remaining concrete “top-hinge”, such that deformations are concentrated in the bottom bars of the beam, away from the floor slab, and beam elongation is minimised. The inclusion of the slot raised several design issues which needed to be addressed. These were the shear transfer across the top-hinge, buckling of bottom longitudinal reinforcement, low cycle fatigue, bond anchorage of reinforcement in interior joints, interior joint design, detailing with floor units and beam torsion resulting from eccentric floor gravity loads. These issues were conceptually investigated in this project. It was found that most issues could be resolved by providing additional reinforcement and/or specifying alternative detailing. As part of the experimental investigation, quasi-static cyclic tests were performed on in-plane beam-column joint subassemblies. Specimens tested included exterior and interior joint subassemblies with slotted-beams and a conventional exterior joint as a benchmark. This was followed by a test on a slotted-beam interior joint subassembly with precast floor units and imposed gravity load. Experimental tests revealed significant reductions in damage to both the beam and floor when compared to conventional beams. Issues of bar buckling, bond-slip and altered joint behaviour were also highlighted, but were resolved in the final test. A simple analytical procedure to predict the moment-rotation response of slotted-beams was developed and verified with experimental results. This was used to perform sensitivity studies to determine appropriate limits for the concrete top-hinge depth, top-to-bottom reinforcement ratio and depth of diagonal shear reinforcement. For the numerical investigation, a multi-spring model was developed to represent the flexural response of slotted-beams. This was verified with experimental tests and implemented into a five-storey, three-bay frame for earthquake time history analyses. To provide a benchmark, a conventional frame was also setup using the plastic hinge element developed by Peng (2009). Time history analyses showed that the slotted-beam frame response was very similar to the response of a conventional frame. Due to greater hysteretic damping, there was a slight reduction in the average interstorey drift and lateral displacement envelopes. The slotted-beam frame also exhibited 40% smaller residual drifts than the conventional frame. The research carried out in this thesis showed slotted reinforced concrete beams to be an effective non-tearing floor solution, which could provide a simple and practical substitute for conventional reinforced concrete design.

The recent earthquakes in Christchurch have made it clear that issues exist with current RC frame design in New Zealand. In particular, beam elongation in RC frame buildings was widespread and resulted in numerous buildings being rendered irreparable. Design solutions to overcome this problem are clearly needed, and the slotted beam is one such solution. This system has a distinct advantage over other damage avoidance design systems in that it can be constructed using current industry techniques and conventional reinforcing steel. As the name suggests, the slotted beam incorporates a vertical slot along part of the beam depth at the beam-column interface. Geometric beam elongation is accommodated via opening and closing of these slots during seismically induced rotations, while the top concrete hinge is heavily reinforced to prevent material inelastic elongation. Past research on slotted beams has shown that the bond demand on the bottom longitudinal reinforcement is increased compared with equivalent monolithic systems. Satisfying this increased bond demand through conventional means may yield impractical and economically less viable column dimensions. The same research also indicated that the joint shear mechanism was different to that observed within monolithic joints and that additional horizontal reinforcement was required as a result. Through a combination of theoretical investigation, forensic analysis, and database study, this research addresses the above issues and develops design guidelines. The use of supplementary vertical joint stirrups was investigated as a means of improving bond performance without the need for non-standard reinforcing steel or other hardware. These design guidelines were then validated experimentally with the testing of two 80% scale beam-column sub-assemblies. The revised provisions for bond within the bottom longitudinal reinforcement were found to be adequate while the top longitudinal reinforcement remained nominally elastic throughout both tests. An alternate mechanism was found to govern joint shear behaviour, removing the need for additional horizontal joint reinforcement. Current NZS3101:2006 joint shear reinforcement provisions were found to be more than adequate given the typically larger column depths required rendering the strut mechanism more effective. The test results were then used to further refine design recommendations for practicing engineers. Finally, conclusions and future research requirements were outlined.

Composite construction is widely used worldwide and is undergoing significant technological development. New Zealand is part of this development, with new beam options incorporating multiple unstiffened web openings and new deck profiles supported by extensive testing. However, one area where relatively little research has been undertaken is in the interaction of the composite slab with the seismic resisting system under lateral loading. In order to provide important new information in this area, a series of full scale beam-column-joint-slab subassemblies were tested at the University of Canterbury. Specimens tested had moment end plate connections and different combinations of deck tray direction, and isolation of the slab from the column. An additional test uses a sliding-hinge type connection to assess the effect of the floor slab in this type of low damage connection. In these tests the lateral capacity of the seismic resisting system was increased by up to 25% due to the presence of the slab in contact with the column. The increase in capacity is 10% greater for decking running in longitudinal direction than in the transverse direction as a result of a more substantial full depth slab bearing on the column. The floor slabs of the subassemblies with the slab cast against the column all showed a higher level of damage than for those with the isolated column and the post ultimate strength degradation of the subassemblies without special detailing was significant. The subassembly with a section of full depth slab surrounding the column also exhibited a higher capacity but with an improved post ultimate strength degradation. All moment end plate subassemblies sustained drifts of up to 5% without significant strength loss. The sliding hinge joint showed little signs of damage under testing to 5% drift. Some inelastic deformation of the connection and beams was noted above 5% drift. Results from both testing and numerical modelling have shown that the current methods used to design these systems are conservative but within 15% of the values observed. Further testing and modelling will be necessary before any meaningful changes can be made to the way in which these systems are designed. Recommendations have been made regarding the placements of shear studs in plastic hinge zones and the provision of slab isolation around beam-column connections.

The project has demonstrated the use of both poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) PS-DVB and silica monolithic columns for the separation of nitro-compounds. Methods were developed with PS-DVB and ODS silica packed columns for the separation of these compounds. The first part of the project was the preparation of the monolithic stationary phases prepared from PS-DVB of (250 μm I.D. × 70 mm) functionalized with methacrylate by in-situ polymerisation. The alkylated PS-DVB then was used successfully for the first time in the separation of three aryl nitro-compounds (2-NA, 1,4-DNB and 4-NT) on micro-HPLC. However, the efficiency of this column was poor N = 318 (4675/m).The second part of the thesis used a commercial column (Chromolith Performance from Merck), with different diameters for the separation of nitro-compounds. Nitrocompounds were analysed on both Chromolith Performance 3 mm I.D. column and Chromolith Performance 4 mm I.D. column by HPLC/UV. Van Deemter plots showed that the 3 mm I.D. column gave higher efficiencies at higher flow rates than the 4.6 mm I.D. column. The plate number was 8216 (H = 0.0121 mm) at a flow rate of 0.4 ml/min (1.0206 mm/sec) and for Chromolith 4.6 mm I.D. it was 9436 (H = 0.0105 mm) at a flow rate of 0.8 ml/min (0.8577 mm/sec). The nitro-compounds analysed in this study were nitroaromatic, nitramines and nitrate esters which are used in the manufacture of explosives. These compounds were analysed for the first time using a Chromolith Performance 3 mm I.D. column on LCMS using both ESI and APCI in negative ionization modes. The sensitivity was higher in the APCI than the ESI mode in terms of higher intensity and lower background noise especially for nitroaromatic compounds. The LC-ESI-MS method was evaluated by injection of samples of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) in different concentrations. Calibration curves were constructed over the range of 1-1000 pg/μl with a correlation coefficient of (R2 = 0.9986) and with a concentration range between 1-200 ng/μl with a correlation coefficient of (R2 = 0.9971) and were found to be linear. The limit of detection (LOT) for pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) was 5 pg/μl at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 3:1 and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 10 pg/μl at a signal-to-noise ratio of 10:1. The applicability of the monolithic column for the LC-ESI-MS method was evaluated by injection of samples of the commercial explosives, P9 and Semtex 1H. The results showed that Semtex 1H contains 35% PETN using calibration curve 1-200 ng/μl and was much higher than in P9 0.0082% using calibration curve 1-1000 pg/μl.

Growth mechanism of electroplated copper columns has been systematically studied by simulations and characterizations. A two-dimensional cross-sectional kinetic Monte Carlo (2DCS-KMC) model has been developed to simulate the electrodeposition of single crystal copper. The evolution of the microstructure has been visualized. The cluster density, average cluster size, variance of the cluster size and average aspect ratio were obtained from the simulations. The growth history of the deposition from the first atom to an equivalent of 100 monolayers was reconstructed. Following the single-lattice 2DCS-KMC model for a single crystal, a two-dimensional cross-sectional poly-lattice kinetic Monte Carlo (2DCSP-KMC) model has been developed for simulation of the electrodeposition of polycrystalline copper on both a copper and a gold substrate. With this model, the early-stage nucleation and the grain growth after impingement of nuclei can be simulated; as such the entire growth history is reconstructed in terms of the evolution of microstructure, grain statistics and grain boundary misorientation. The model is capable of capturing some key aspects of nucleation and growth mechanisms including the nucleation type (e.g. homogeneous or heterogeneous), texture development, the growth of grains and higher energetic state of grain boundaries. The model has also proven capable of capturing the effects of deposition parameters including applied electrode potential, concentration of cupric ions and temperature. Their effects are largely dependent on the substrates. The early-stage electrocrystallization of Cu on polycrystalline Au has been studied by ex-situ AFM observations. The evolution of surface morphology of the electrodeposited copper on a sputtered Au seed layer from 16ms to 1000s was observed and their formation mechanism discussed. The heterogeneous nucleation phenomenon, the competitive growth both longitudinally and laterally, and the dominant growth of some nuclei were experimentally observed, which are also visualized by the relevant KMC simulation results at a smaller size scale and a shorter time scale. A heuristic model is therefore proposed to describe the mechanism of the early-stage electrocrystallization of Cu on a polycrystalline Au seed layer. Electroplated copper columns plated for different times have been characterized in terms of the evolution of their external morphology, cross-sectional microstructure and crystal structure. The microstructure of electroplated copper columns is characteristic of bi-modal or tri-modal grain size distribution. The results indicate that recrystallization has occurred during or after the plating, top-down and laterally. Slight changes of the crystal structure were observed by in-situ XRD and it was found that the changes of the (111) and (200) planes occurred at different stages of self-annealing. Finally, the results indicate the presence of organic additives is not essential for self-annealing of a copper column to occur.

There is a significant problem for the paper recycling industry known as “stickies”. “Stickies” are tacky species, present in recycled paper and coated broke, derived from coating formulations, adhesives, etc. They impact negatively on paper quality and cause web runnability problems by deposit build-up. To sustain recycling, stickies are controlled by adsorbing them onto minerals added to the recycled stock. So the aim of the project was to characterise non-porous and porous minerals suitable for paper-making, and then use the knowledge gained to improve the adsorption of stickies. The pore level properties of the minerals used to control stickies are highly relevant in regulating adsorption of the stickies. Levels of pore architecture were investigated by characterising filter media with porosimetry, porometry, electron microscopy and modelling the combined results. Seven samples were studied, with pore size distributions ranging from simple unimodal to complicated bimodal. Porometry, porosimetry and SEM, individually can only determine primary pore architecture. A combination of experimental and modelling techniques allows a full characterisation of pore architecture from primary to quaternary levels. Calcium carbonates can be modified to change the pore architecture, which affects properties such as wetting. Their pore architecture was investigated to understand why some modified calcium carbonates do not show two distinct wetting rates. The investigation implied a significant surface area could be attributed to nano rugosity. The nano rugosity was responsible for the enhanced wetting of a sample. A zero length column was used to study diffusion and desorption of benzene with calcium carbonate. Desorption and diffusion coefficients for calcium carbonate systems were calculated from the corrected concentration versus time measurements. They showed how the pore architecture affects diffusion and desorption. By comparing the experimental results with a pore network simulation, it was possible to deduce the relative effect of surface diffusion. The adsorption of stickies onto different mineral grades was investigated using a novel proxy method to determine equilibrium constants and adsorption isotherms. The results were then used to understand the influence of particle size on the adsorption behaviour, with three mechanisms proposed. The equilibrium constant and adsorption isotherm data also allowed comparisons between hydrophilic and hydrophobic adsorption onto grades of talc. Recommendations are made for the optimum use of minerals for the removal of stickies, and for in-situ methods for monitoring and optimising removal.

The Randomized Gauss-Seidel Method (RGS) is an iterative algorithm that solves overdetermined systems of linear equations Ax = b. This paper studies an update on the RGS method, the Randomized Block Gauss-Seidel Method. At each step, the algorithm greedily minimizes the objective function L(x) = kAx bk2 with respect to a subset of coordinates. This paper describes a Randomized Block Gauss-Seidel Method (RBGS) which uses a randomized control method to choose a subset at each step. This algorithm is the first block RGS method with an expected linear convergence rate which can be described by the properties of the matrix A and its column submatrices. The analysis demonstrates that RBGS improves RGS more when given appropriate column-paving of the matrix, a partition of the columns into well-conditioned blocks. The main result yields a RBGS method that is more e cient than the simple RGS method.

Field flow fractionation of particles in rotating coiled column has been investigated in recent year. In contrast to the classical mode of field flow fractionation in narrow channels, the use of rotating coiled columns offers the possibility of large sample loading. In this thesis, the potential for new cell separation methods based on the use of flow fractionation in fluctuating g-fields generated in rotating coil columns is examined. The effects of operational conditions (flow rate and rotational speed – Chapter 3 and Chapter 5); cell properties (cell flexibility – Chapter 4); and column shapes (different inner diameters and coil geometries – Chapter 6) on the flow behaviour of a model system of red blood cells (RBCs) from different species, which differ markedly in size, shape & density, flowing in a single phase of buffered saline have been characterised. Operational Conditions: For a particular rotational speed, there was a minimum flow rate which caused all the cells to be retained in the column and a maximum flow rate at which all cells were eluted. Both the minimum and maximum flow rate were increased when a higher rotational speed was applied. Differences in the behaviour of sheep & hen RBCs have been used to develop a separation method using a continuously increasing flow gradient. This separation could be speeded up by using a step flow gradient. The effects of cell load and rotational direction on the behaviour of RBCs in the column was also studied in this thesis. Cell Properties: The minimum flow rate was found to correlate with cell diameter/cell volume of the RBCs as expected for a sedimentation related process and was partially described by a theoretic equation developed for particles by Fedotov and colleagues (Fedotov et al. 2005). However cell dependent departures from this equation were found which appear to indicate that cell specific surface properties may also be involved for cells (Chapter 3). By contrast the maximum flow rate showed no correlation with cell diameter/cell volume. An effect of cell deformability on the flow separation behaviour of the cells has been demonstrated. Chemical fixation of sheep RBCs with glutaraldehyde rendered the normally deformable RBCs rigid and non-deformable and resulted in the fixed sheep RBCs eluting significantly earlier than unfixed sheep RBCs. This difference was great enough that a mixture of deformable (unfixed) and non-deformable (fixed) sheep RBCs could be separated. Fixed cells tended to show cell aggregation, which could be reduced by the addition of surfactant. Column Geometry: An effect of column shapes on the flow separation behaviour of cells has been demonstrated showing that the optimisation of column design is an important feature of this mode of cell separation. For columns with the same cross sectional area, a “horizontal” rectangular column provided better separation than a circular column and a “vertical” rectangular column gave the least efficient separation. A possible explanation for this behaviour is suggested the thinner sedimentation layer and less secondary flow. Differences in the behaviour of various species of RBCs in the “horizontal” rectangular column have been used to study the efficiency of separation of a mixture of sheep and hen RBCs, and a mixture of rabbit and hen RBCs. This work shows similarities and differences with other reports on cell/particle separations in rotating coiled columns in single phases and also in aqueous two phases systems (ATPS) and these are discussed. Fedotov P.S., Kronrod V.A. & Kasatonova O.N. (2005). Simulation of the motion of solid particles in the carries liquid flow in a rotating coiled column. J. Anal. Chem., 60, 4, 310-316.