The paper presents a numerical study on the heat transfer and pressure drop, related to flow in pipes with helical micro-fins. For all tested geometries, one applied a constant wall heat flux and fully developed 3D turbulent flow conditions. The influence of the angle of micro fins (referred to the tube axis) on thermal-flow characteristics were tested. The value of this angle was varied – with a step of 10 degrees – from 0 to 90 degrees (representing grooves parallel and perpendicular to the axis, respectively). Before numerical investigation, the pipe with helical angle of 30 degree was tested on an experimental stand. The results obtained from experiment and numerical simulations were compared and presented on the charts. As an effect of the numerical simulations, the friction factor f and Nusselt number characteristics was determined for the range of Re=104/1.6x106. The analysis of the results showed high, irregular influence of the helical angle on thermal characteristics and pressure drops. Additionally, the ratios: f/fplain, Nu/Nuplainand efficiency indexes (Nu/Nuplain)/( f/fplain) as a function of the Reynolds number for every helical angle were shown on the charts.

In the paper, the author presents experimental analysis of propagation of plastic zones in two-dimensional models with different stress concentrators. The experimental tests were carried out by photoelastic coating method on duralumin stripes loaded by tensile stresses. For various levels of loading, the photographs of isochromatic pattern were taken under loading and after removing loading. On the basis of isochromatic pattern recorded for loaded models, the boundaries of plastic zones were determined using the Treska-Coulomb yield condition. The isochromatic pattern taken for the unloaded, but previously partly plastified elements, show the picture of the residual strain remaining in the material. A discussion of the results is presented.

In this paper, the authors investigate a cylindrical shell reinforced by carbon nanotubes. The critical buckling load is calculated using analytical method when it is subjected to compressive axial load. The Mori-Tanaka method is firstly utilized to estimate the effective elastic modulus of composites having aligned oriented straight CNTs. The eigenvalues of the problem are obtained by means of an analytical approach based on the optimized Rayleigh-Ritz method. There is presented a study on the effects of CNTs volume fraction, thickness and aspect ratio of the shell, CNTs orientation angle, and the type of supports on the buckling load of cylindrical shells. Furthermore the effect of CNTs agglomeration is investigated when CNTs are dispersed none uniformly in the polymer matrix. It is shown that when the CNTs are arranged in 90 degrees direction, the highest critical buckling load appears. Also, the results are plotted for different longitudinal and circumferential mode numbers. There is a specific value for aspect ratio of the cylinder that minimizes the buckling load. The results reveal that for very low CNTs volume fractions, the volume fraction of inclusions has no important effect on the critical buckling load.

Purpose: The influence of age-hardening solution treatment at temperature 515 degrees centigrade with holding time 4 hours, water quenching at 40 degrees centigrade and artificial aging by different temperature 130, 150, 170 and 210 degrees centigrade with different holding time 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32 hours on changes in morphology of Fe-rich Al15(FeMn)3Si2and Cu-rich (Al2Cu, Al-Al2Cu-Si) intermetallic phases in recycled AlSi9Cu3 cast alloy. Material/Methods: Recycled (secondary) AlSi9Cu3 cast alloy is used especially in automotive industry (dynamic exposed cast, engine parts, cylinder heads, pistons and so on). Microstructure was observed using a combination of different analytical techniques (scanning electron microscopy upon standard and deep etching and energy dispersive X-ray analysis – EDX) which have been used for the identification of the various phases. Quantitative study of changes in morphology of phases was carried out using Image Analyzer software NIS-Elements. The mechanical properties (Brinell hardness and tensile strength) were measured in line with STN EN ISO. Results/Conclusion: Age-hardening led to changes in microstructure include the spheroidization of eutectic silicon, gradual disintegration, shortening and thinning of Fe-rich intermetallic phases and Al-Al2Cu-Si phases were fragmented, dissolved and redistributed within alpha-matrix. These changes led to increase in the hardness and tensile strength in the alloy.

The paper presents the idea of a system for controlling the movement of a flowmeter for air velocity profile measurement. In such a system, due to massive amount of data and limitations of the Data Acquisition Equipment, it is necessary to use moveable sensors. The flowmeter sensor is moved with the use of a linear module with a stepper motor and a tooth-belt drive. The location and speed of the sensor are controlled by a program based on the idea of virtual instrument. The proposed structure allows the user to control operation of the stand and provides automatic measurement. A wide range of velocity and step increments of the stepper motor drive, and flexibility of the virtual instrument software, allow one to create effective measurement systems ensuring sufficiently precise location with optimal time duration of measurement. It is shown that the linear module with tooth-belt is an effective alternative for similar modules with micro-screw drives.

Thrust bearing model is developed for fluid flow calculation and for determination of bearing integral characteristics in the presence of sliding surfaces closure and shaft angular displacements. The model is based on the coupled solution of the problem of incompressible fluid flow between the sliding surfaces and the problem of bearing and shaft elements deformation under the action of the fluid film pressure. Verification of the bearing model results is carried out by the comparison versus the fluid flow calculation results obtained by STAR-CD software and the experimental and theoretical results represented in the certain literature. Thrust bearing characteristics are determined versus sliding surfaces closure and rotating disk (runner) angular displacements. The contribution of the sliding surfaces deformations into bearing integral characteristics is estimated.