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The overarching aim of this chapter is to propose a novel clean thermochemical process that harnesses thermal plasma technology to co-produce hydrogen and ammonia using a chemical looping process. The thermodynamic potential and feasibility of the process were demonstrated using a simulation of the system with aluminium and aluminium oxide as the oxygen and nitrogen carriers between the reactors. The effect of different operating parameters, such as feed ratio and temperature of the reactor, on the energetic performance of the process was investigated. Results showed that the nitridation and ammoniation reactors could operate at 6273 K) to reduce the alumina oxide to aluminium. The ratio of steam to aluminium nitride was identified as the key operating parameter for controlling the ammoniation reactor. Using a heat recovery unit, the extracted heat from the products was utilised to generate auxiliary steam for a combined cycle aiming at generating electricity for a thermal plasma reactor. It was demonstrated that the process can operate at an approximate self-sustaining factor ∼ 0.11, and an exergy partitioning fraction of up to 0.65. Integrating the process with solar photovoltaic showed a solar share of ∼32% without considering any battery storage units.

The capture and activation of individual T cells on functionalised surfaces enables real-time analyses of the magnitude and rhythm of intracellular calcium release. Application of Haarlet transformations generate a calcium flux 'threshold', with the frequency of the 'threshold crossings' correlating with the strength of the original T cell stimulus. These findings represent a new method to evaluate graduations in T cell activation in real time, and at a single-cell level. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The present invention relates to a method of detecting a change in intracellular calcium flax of a cell by (i) providing a platform comprising a surface to which is bound an at least one ligand that binds with, the cell and induces a change in the intracellular calcium flux of the cell; (ii) contacting the surface with a fluid sample comprising the cell under conditions suitable for the at least one ligand to bind with the cell such that the cell is captured by the platform, and wherein binding of the at least one ligand with the cell induces a change in the intracellular calcium flux of the cell; and (iii) detecting the change in a parameter of intracellular calcium flux of the cell in a continuous manner. Method of determining magnitude of cell activation and use of said method to determine vaccine efficacy or to assess an immune response are also provided.

This study examines the flow and flame characteristics of a trapped-vortex burner (TVB) under various external flow conditions. A detailed numerical study was carried out to explore and better understand the flow features that enable the burner to maintain flame stability under high-velocity co-flow and cross-flow conditions. Three-dimensional steady-state and time-dependent calculations are performed for a turbulent, reacting propane jet burning in air with a co-flow speed in the range 5.5ms-1–27.7ms-1. The calculations are repeated for the same velocity range with the burner model oriented in a cross-flow configuration. Among several two-equation turbulence models, the κ-ω SST turbulence model provided the best agreement against published experimental data, and therefore was used in all the calculations. The turbulence-chemistry interaction is modelled using the laminar-flamelet concept, with the propane chemistry represented using a kinetics mechanism with 31 species and 65 reactions. The results identified two distinct combustion zones; an internal vortex-flame within the cavity of the burner and an external jet-flame anchored outside the cavity, consistent with experimental observations. The size and location of the internal vortex-flame was almost independent of the external flow conditions. The vortex-flame acts as a re-ignition source should the jet-flame experience localised extinguishment. This study provides a detailed insight into the turbulent mixing and combustion features of a TVB flame, and identifies the main flow characteristics responsible for enhancing its stability.

This study reports on numerical predictions of velocity and pressure fields, and dust particles trajectories in steady and unsteady flows around a full-scale paraboloidal solar dish. Calculations are performed for three wind speeds of 4.16, 9.72, and 15.2 m s-1, and dish pitch angles from 0 degrees to 180 degrees. The flow field structure, lift and drag coefficients are calculated for each flow configuration. Using the predicted mean flow velocity field, analytical expressions for the aerodynamic coefficients, as a function of the pitch angle, are developed. The unsteady-state flow is characterised by formation of stable vortices behind the dish for most flow configurations, except at 60 degrees and 150 degrees pitch angles. At these angles vortex-shedding occurred with a strong flow oscillation extending downstream the dish. The calculations of dust particles trajectories provide a qualitative assessment of the deposition rate, dish orientation, and surface locations where dust accumulation is most likely to occur. The study also presents an initial assessment of the effectiveness of various windbreaks installed upstream of the dish in reducing aerodynamics drag. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The analysis explored two optional concepts; a hybrid solar-burner system and an integrated solar-burner-thermal storage system. The results are presented for the months of March (summer) and July (winter) using a minute-by-minute solar data. The analysis results show that integrating an auxiliary burner to a standard CSP-Rankin Cycle is required to deliver a constant 40 MWe for longer hours. The required amount of fuel for the months of March and July is 7% and 10% of the total energy required to generate 40MWe power respectively. A comparison between March and July (using a solar-burner system) showed that the number of power availability hours in March is approximately twice that for July; 162hours as apposite to 52 hours. The underlying idea of the proposed design is to decouple the solar field output from the power generation cycle. This can be achieved by using a medium-temperature (~500°C) thermal storage (TS) system, which is designed to manage the variability of solar energy and providing a constant power output during peak-demand for several hours. However, it was found that an additional external energy around 18% is still required for delivering a 40MWe power output. This study examines the thermal performance of a 40MWe direct steam generation dish-technology concentrating solar power (CSP) plant. It explores a design option for utilising and managing the collected solar energy, particularly during peak-demand periods. A steam cycle pressure of 100bar and a turbine inlet temperature of 750°C are selected for the proposed system. Analysis of the proposed cycle was performed using a measured (minute-by-minute) solar data. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This paper introduces a new concept of thermal cracking of aviation fuels using a porous media reactor (PMR). In this process thermal partial oxidation (TPOX) is achieved inside a porous bed where the heavy JP10 is broken down into a lighter molecules. A numerical modelling of the combustion of the decomposed JP10 injected in a scramjet engine is carried out. The results highlight the importance of selecting an appropriate chemistry, combustion and turbulence-chemistry interaction models. The superiority of using multistep chemistry and the eddy-dissipation concept, over fast-chemistry models, in predicting flow and flame characteristics is demonstrated. Overall, the TPOX-PMR approach offers a potential solution for achieving a stable burning of JP10 fuel in scramjet engines. However further design optimisation of the fuel injector is required. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

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The stability characteristics of Moderate or IntenseLow oxygen Dilution, MILD, combustion systemscan be assessed on the effectiveness with which theydilute the fresh reactants with combustion productsbefore they can react. Hence this study examines themixing patterns in a laboratory-scale furnaceequipped with a parallel jet MILD combustionburner system through CFD modelling. Velocitymeasurements using Laser Doppler Anemometry, ofthree different cases, were conducted and used formodel validation. The numerical results showed areasonable agreement with the experimental data. Itwas found that there is a strong coupling betweenthe furnace aerodynamics and the reaction zonestructure. This finding reinforces the argumentpresented in an earlier work [1] that the ratiobetween the air and the fuel jet momentum controlsthe stability of this multiple jet system.

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A numerical analysis using a CFD code specifically designed for hypersonic flows has been performed by modelling external supersonic combustion of hydrogen and ethylene fuels with hypersonic air flow at Mach 7.6. In comparison with the Coras- Paull [1,2] experimental data from the University of Queensland shock-tunnel, the results indicate good correlation of the relative pressure increase on fore (intake) and aft (thrust) surfaces due to fuel injection with and without combustion. For the geometry considered, air by itself results in an increase in the net drag force. With fuel injection and combustion the drag force increases further. Ethylene injection for several inflow conditions did not yield stable combustion, but only caused an increase in the drag force.

In this paper, LS-DYNA is used to model the detonation of Pentolite high explosive charges. The charges of interest have a mass of 570g, length 120mm and diameter 60mm. The modelling is validated against results from recent experiments conducted at DSTO [1]. Modelling of the early expansion of the detonation products is compared with images from an Imacon 468 CCD camera of the charge exploding in a blast chamber. The model captures the non-uniform vertical and horizontal components of the gas expansion.