Gas sampling method for determining pollutant concentrations in the flame zone of two swirl-can combustor modules

A gas sampling probe and traversing mechanism were developed to obtain detailed measurements of gaseous pollutant concentrations in the primary and mixing regions of combustors in order to better understand how pollutants are formed. The gas sampling probe was actuated by a three-degree-of-freedom traversing mechanism and the samples obtained were analyzed by an on-line gas analysis system. The pollutants in the flame zone of two different swirl-can combustor modules were measured at an inlet-air temperature of 590 K, pressure of 6 atmospheres, and reference velocities of 23 and 30 meters per second at a fuel-air ratio of 0.02. Typical results show large spatial gradients in the gaseous pollutant concentration close to the swirl-can module. Average concentrations of unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide decrease rapidly in the downstream wake regions of each module. By careful and detailed probing, the effect of various module design features on pollutant formation can be assessed. The techniques presently developed seem adequate to obtain the desired information

Load Balancing with Energy Storage Systems Based on Co-Simulation of Multiple Smart Buildings and Distribution Networks

In this paper, we present a co-simulation framework that combines two main simulation tools, one that provides detailed multiple building energy simulation ability with Energy-Plus being the core engine, and the other one that is a distribution level simulator, Matpower. Such a framework can be used to develop and study district level optimization techniques that exploit the interaction between a smart electric grid and buildings as well as the interaction between buildings themselves to achieve energy and cost savings and better energy management beyond what one can achieve through techniques applied at the building level only. We propose a heuristic algorithm to do load balancing in distribution networks affected by service restoration activities. Balancing is achieved through the use of utility directed usage of battery energy storage systems (BESS). This is achieved through demand response (DR) type signals that the utility communicates to individual buildings. We report simulation results on two test cases constructed with a 9-bus distribution network and a 57-bus distribution network, respectively. We apply the proposed balancing heuristic and show how energy storage systems can be used for temporary relief of impacted networks

Quantum Dynamics with Bohmian Trajectories

We describe the advantages and disadvantages of numerical methods when Bohmian trajectory-grids are used for numerical simulations of quantum dynamics. We focus on the crucial non crossing property of Bohmian trajectories, which numerically must be paid careful attention to. Failure to do so causes instabilities or leads to false simulations.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures; some typos corrected, 4 figures added, some paragraphs extended, source code extende

Gamma Lines from Majorana Dark Matter

We discuss simple models which predict the existence of significant gamma-ray fluxes from dark matter annihilation. In this context the dark matter candidate is a Majorana fermion with velocity-suppressed tree-level annihilation into Standard Model fermions but unsuppressed annihilation into photons. These gamma lines can easily be distinguished from the continuum and provide a possibility to test these models.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, version to appear in PR

Baryonic Higgs at the LHC

We investigate the possible collider signatures of a new Higgs in simple extensions of the Standard Model where baryon number is a local symmetry spontaneously broken at the low scale. We refer to this new Higgs as "Baryonic Higgs". This Higgs has peculiar properties since it can decay into all Standard Model particles, the leptophobic gauge boson, and the vector-like quarks present in these theories to ensure anomaly cancellation. We investigate in detail the constraints from the $\gamma \gamma$, $Z \gamma$, $Z Z$, and $W W$ searches at the Large Hadron Collider, needed to find a lower bound on the scale at which baryon number is spontaneously broken. The di-photon channel turns out to be a very sensitive probe in the case of small scalar mixing and can severely constrain the baryonic scale. We also study the properties of the leptophobic gauge boson in order to understand the testability of these theories at the LHC.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures; minor corrections, to appear in JHE

Self-interacting dark matter with a stable vector mediator

Light vector mediators can naturally induce velocity-dependent dark matter self-interactions while at the same time allowing for the correct dark matter relic abundance via thermal freeze-out. If these mediators subsequently decay into Standard Model states such as electrons or photons however, this is robustly excluded by constraints from the Cosmic Microwave Background. We study to what extent this conclusion can be circumvented if the vector mediator is stable and hence contributes to the dark matter density while annihilating into lighter degrees of freedom. We find viable parts of parameter space which lead to the desired self-interaction cross section of dark matter to address the small-scale problems of the collisionless cold dark matter paradigm while being compatible with bounds from the Cosmic Microwave Background and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis observations.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures. Matches published versio

New Forces and the 750 GeV Resonance

Recently, the ATLAS and CMS collaborations have pointed out the possible existence of a new resonance with a mass around 750 GeV. We investigate the possibility to identify this new resonance with a spin zero field responsible for the breaking of a new gauge symmetry. We focus on a simple theory where the baryon number is a local symmetry spontaneously broken at the low scale. In this context new vector-like quarks are needed to cancel all baryonic anomalies and define the production mechanism and decays of the new Higgs at the LHC. Assuming the existence of the new Higgs with a mass of 750 GeV at the LHC we find an upper bound on the symmetry breaking scale. Therefore, one expects that a new force associated with baryon number could be discovered at the LHC.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure

Effect of flameholder pressure drop on emissions and performance of premixed-prevaporized combustors

Parametric tests were conducted to determine the effects of flameholder pressure drop on the emissions and performance of lean premixed-prevaporized combustors. A conical flameholder mounted in a diverging duct was tested with two values of flameholder blockage. Emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and unburned hydrocarbons were measured for combustor entrance conditions of 600 to 800 K air temperature, 0.3 MPa to 0.5 MPa pressure, and 20 m/sec to 35 m/sec reference velocity. Jet A fuel was injected at flow rates corresponding to an equivalence ratio range from 0.8 down to the lean stability limit. Emission results for the high-blockage flameholder were a substantial improvement over the low-blockage emission results. A correlation of combustion efficiency with flameholder pressure drop was developed for pressure drops less than 9 percent