The subject of the numerical investigation is an ellipsoidal head with a central (axis-symmetrical) nozzle. The nozzle is loaded by axial load force. The ellipsoidal head is under axial-symmetrical compression load. The numerical FEM model is elaborated. The calculation will provide the critical loads and equilibrium paths for the sample head.. The investigation will measure the influence of the diameter of the nozzle on the critical state of the ellipsoidal head.

The objective of this paper is to present a probabilistic method of analyzing the combinations of snow and wind loads using meteorological data and to determine their combination factors. Calculations are based on data measured at twelve Polish meteorological stations operated by the Institute for Meteorology and Water Management. Data provided are from the years 1966 - 2010. Five combinations of snow load and 10-minute mean wind velocity pressure have been considered. Gumbel probability distribution has been used to fit the empirical distributions of the data. As a result, the interdependence between wind velocity pressure and snow load on the ground for a return period of 50 years has been provided, and the values of the combination factors for snow loads and wind actions are proposed.

Sound intensity measurements using special sensors in a form of pressure-velocity and pressure-pressure probes are becoming more and more often the method of choice for characterization of sound sources. Its wider usability is blocked by the probes’ costs. This paper is on a possible modification of the well-known pressure-pressure sound intensity measurement method. In the proposed new approach a synchronized measurement procedure using only single microphone is used. The paper presents the basics of the sound intensity theory, a review of currently usedmethods of intensity measurement and requirements and limitations of the new method. In the proposed approach one microphone and a properly designed positioning system is used. The application of the method to study the directional characteristics of an active loudspeaker system have been described in detail. The obtained results were compared with those of measurements performed with a commercial p–u probe. The paper contains conclusions indicating advantages of the applied method in comparison with standard pressure measurement methods.

Experimental investigation of heat transfer during pool boiling of two nanofluids, i.e. water-Al2O3 and water-Cu has been carried out. Nanoparticles were tested at the concentration of 0.01%, 0.1%, and 1% by weight. The horizontal smooth stainless steel tubes having 10 mm OD and 0.6 mm wall thickness formed the test heater. The experiments have been performed to establish the influence of nanofluids concentration on heat transfer characteristics during boiling at different absolute operating pressure values, i.e. 200 kPa, ca. 100 kPa (atmospheric pressure) and 10 kPa. It was established that independent of nanoparticle materials (Al2O3 and Cu) and their concentration, an increase of operating pressure enhances heat transfer. Generally, independent of operating pressure, sub- and atmospheric pressure, and overpressure, an increase of nanoparticle concentration caused heat transfer augmentation.

The paper presents the method of preparing a composite slurry composed of AlSi11 alloy matrix and 10 vol.% of SiC particles, as well as

the method of its high-pressure die casting and the measurement results concerning the castability of the obtained composite. Composite

castings were produced at various values of the piston velocity in the second stage of injection, diverse intensification pressure values, and

various injection gate width values. There were found the regression equations describing the change of castability of the examined

composite as a function of pressure die casting process parameters. The conclusion gives the analysis and the interpretation of the obtained

results.

The theoretical aspects of a new type of piezo-resistive pressure sensors for environments with rapidly changing temperatures are presented. The idea is that the sensor has two identical diaphragms which have different coefficients of linear thermal expansion. Therefore, when measuring pressure in environments with variable temperature, the diaphragms will have different deflection. This difference can be used to make appropriate correction of the sensor output signal and, thus, to increase accuracy of measurement. Since physical principles of sensors operation enable fast correction of the output signal, the sensor can be used in environments with rapidly changing temperature, which is its essential advantage. The paper presents practical implementation of the proposed theoretical aspects and the results of testing the developed sensor.

Investigations of refrigerant condensation in pipe minichannels are very challenging and complicated issue. Due to the multitude of influences very important is mathematical and computer modeling. Its allows for performing calculations for many different refrigerants under different flow conditions. A large number of experimental results published in the literature allows for experimental verification of correctness of the models. In this work is presented a mathematical model for calculation of flow resistance during condensation of refrigerants in the pipe minichannel. The model was developed in environment based on conservation equations. The results of calculations were verified by authors own experimental investigations results.

Axial piston pumps with constant pressure and variable flow have extraordinary possibilities for controlling the flow by change of pressure. Owing to pressure feedback, volumetric control of the pump provides a wide application of these pumps in complex hydraulic systems, particularly in aeronautics and space engineering. Mathematical modeling is the first phase in defining the conception of a design and it has been carried out at the beginning of the project. Next very important phase is the check-out of the characteristics at the physical model when the pump has been produced. Optimal solution to the hydropump design has been reached by thorough analysis of the parameters obtained at the physical model by means of the simulation results of the mathematical model. The paper presents the possibilities for selecting the most influential parameters, their correction for certain values, and eventually the simulation at the mathematical model which shows the change of hydropump performances. After all these analyses, appropriate changes are made in design documentation which will serve for prototype production. Finally, when all kinds of tests are done at the prototypes along with fine adjustment of design solution, the series production of hydropump will be organized.

In this study, music teachers' exposure to sound was tested by measuring the A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level (SPL), the A-weighted maximum SPL and the C-weighted peak SPL. Measurements were taken prior to and after acoustic treatment in four rooms during classes of trumpet, saxophone, French horn, trombone and percussion instruments. Results showed that acoustic treatment affects the exposure of music teachers to sound. Daily noise exposure levels (LEX, 8 h) for all teachers exceeded a limit of 85 dB while teaching music lessons prior to room treatment. It was found that the LEX, 8 h values ranged from 85.8 to 91.6 dB. The highest A-weighted maximum SPL and C-weighted peak SPL that music teachers were exposed to were observed with percussion instruments (LAmax = 110.4 dB and LCpeak = 138.0 dB). After the treatments, daily noise exposure level decreased by an average of 5.8, 3.2, 3.0, 4.2 and 4.5 dB, respectively, for the classes of trumpet, saxophone, French horn, trombone and drums, and did not exceed 85 dB in any case.

The pressure drop in microreactors for the gas - liquid Taylor flow was measured for 4 different microreactor geometries and 3 different gas - liquid systems. The results have been compared with the existing literature correlations. A selection of the best correlations has been made.

A one-dimensional transient mathematical model describing thermal and flow phenomena during coal coking in an oven chamber was studied in the paper. It also accounts for heat conduction in the ceramic oven wall when assuming a constant temperature at the heating channel side. The model was solved numerically using partly implicit methods for gas flow and heat transfer problems. The histories of temperature, gas evolution and internal pressure were presented and analysed. The theoretical predictions of temperature change in the centre plane of the coke oven were compared with industrialscale measurements. Both, the experimental data and obtained numerical results show that moisture content determines the coking process dynamics, lagging the temperature increase above the water steam evaporation temperature and in consequence the total coking time. The phenomenon of internal pressure generation in the context of overlapping effects of simultaneously occurring coal transitions - devolatilisation and coal permeability decrease under plastic stage - was also discussed.

A high pressure resonator transducer (0 to 100 MPa) devised by the author has been described. The elastic element of the converter consists of a cylinder with an offset arranged axis hole. Quartz resonators were used for the measurement of deformations of the pipe. Based upon the results of the transducer testing, a new algorithmic method for the minimizalizsation of the temperature error, that eliminates the need for a temperature gauge has been worked out.

The paper deals with the impact of technological parameters on the heat transfer coefficient and microstructure in AlSi12 alloy using

squeeze casting technology. The casting with crystallization under pressure was used, specifically direct squeeze casting method. The goal

was to affect crystallization by pressure with a value 100 and 150 MPa. The pressure applied to the melt causes a significant increase of

the coefficient of heat transfer between the melt and the mold. There is an increase in heat flow by approximately 50% and the heat

transfer coefficient of up to 100-fold, depending on the casting conditions. The change in cooling rate influences the morphology of the

silicon particles and intermetallic phases. A change of excluded needles to a rod-shaped geometry with significantly shorter length occurs

when used gravity casting method. By using the pressure of 150 MPa during the crystallization process, in the structure can be observed an

irregular silica particles, but the size does not exceed 25 microns.

The measurement results concerning the abrasive wear of AlSi11-SiC particles composites are presented in paper. The method of

preparing a composite slurry composed of AlSi11 alloy matrix and 10, 20% vol.% of SiC particles, as well as the method of its highpressure

die casting was described. Composite slurry was injected into metal mould of cold chamber pressure die cast machine and

castings were produced at various values of the piston velocity in the second stage of injection, diverse intensification pressure values, and

various injection gate width values. Very good uniform arrangement of SiC particles in volume composite matrix was observed and these

results were publicated early in this journal. The kinetics of abrasive wear and correlation with SiC particles arrangement in composite

matrix were presented. Better wear resistance of composite was observed in comparison with aluminium alloy. Very strong linear

correlation between abrasive wear and particle arrangement was observed. The conclusion gives the analysis and the interpretation of the

obtained results.

The paper presents the method of preparing a composite slurry composed of AlSi11 alloy matrix and 10 vol.% of SiC particles, as well as

the method of its high-pressure die casting and the measurement results concerning the tensile strength, the yield point, the elongation and

hardness of the obtained composite. Composite castings were produced at various values of the piston velocity in the second stage of

injection, diverse intensification pressure values, and various injection gate width values. There were found the regression equations

describing the change of mechanical properties of the examined composite as a function of pressure die casting process parameters. The

conclusion gives the analysis and the interpretation of the obtained results.

Pressure pulsations occurring in volumetric compressors manifold are still one of the most important problems in design and operation of compressor plants. The resulting vibrations may cause fatigue cracks and noise. Accuracy of the contemporary method is not sufficient in many cases. The methods for calculating pressure pulsation propagation in volumetric compressors manifolds are based on one-dimensional models. In one-dimensional models, the assumption is made that any installation element may be simplified and modeled as a straight pipe with given diameter and length or as a lumped volume. This simplification is usually sufficient in the case of small elements and long waves. In general, the geometry of the element shall be also considered. This may be done using two ways: experimental measurements of pressure pulsations, which lead to transmittance approximation for the investigated element, or CFD analysis and simulation for the acoustic manifold element. In this paper, a new method based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation is presented. The main idea is to use CFD simulation instead of experimental measurements. The impulse flow excitation is introduced as a source. The results of simulation are averaged in the inlet and outlet cross sections, so time only dependent functions at the inlet and outlet of the simulated element are determined. The transmittances of special form are introduced. On the basis of introduced transmittances, the generalized four pole matrix elements and impedance matrix elements may be calculated. The method has been verified on the basis of experimental measurements.