CAM CORRELATION ANALYSIS USING ACOUSTIC DISCHARGE MEASUREMENT
The low head hydro power plant in Wettingen, Switzerland, is in operation since 1933 and no effective cam optimization has been carried out up to now. The goal of the measuring campaign was to provide data enabling an economic study for a retrofit and upgrade project of the plant and the measurement of the efficiency improvement of turbines after refurbishment. The contribution discusses cam tests using the acoustic transit time method in the intake for discharge measurements. A cam correlation analysis and an efficiency test of the installed Kaplan turbines were performed as a first measurement campaign showing the actual status. While one turbine operated at optimum cam, the other two turbines operated off-cam. After rehabilitation works, based on the recommendations of the first measurements, a second measurement campaign was performed. The results showed the expected efficiency increase due to overhaul of the regulating mechanics (connection between the piston stroke in the machine hall and the regulating ring / guide vane stem at the turbine) of the governor. With the set of data from the second measurement campaign an optimization study for the operation of the three Kaplan units were conducted. Especially the transition zone from one to two and from two to three machine operation could be optimized due to the knowledge of the individual efficiency curves.
DISCHARGE MEASUREMENTS AT LA RANCE TIDAL POWER PLANT USING CURRENT METERS METHOD
La Rance was the first tidal power plant worldwide with a capacity of 240 MW supplied by 24 bulb units working in both flow directions. Many tests had been undertaken in laboratory and on the prototype of Saint-Malo, but no real commissioning tests had been carried out until now. Measuring discharge at La Rance is indeed complex because of a very low and changing head from 2 m to 11 m depending on the tides, large gate bays of 8.7 m on 8.8 m, and high flow rate variations from 75 m 3 /s to 280 m 3 /s. It was decided to use current meters on a moving frame in the bulkhead slot for flow rate measurement. Further challenge was to maintain an almost constant head of 4 m during data acquisition. Full exploration of the velocity field was completed in both directions in 6 vertical positions. Additionally cam tests were performed, using index measurement with the frame in the middle position.
An injectable and thermosensitive hydrogel: Promoting periodontal regeneration by controlled-release of aspirin and erythropoietin.
Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease induced by complex interactions between host immune system and plaque microorganism. Alveolar bone resorption caused by periodontitis is considered to be one of the main reasons for tooth loss in adults. To terminate the alveolar bone resorption, simultaneous anti-inflammation and periodontium regeneration is required, which has not appeared in the existing methods. In this study, chitosan (CS), β-sodium glycerophosphate (β-GP), and gelatin were used to prepare an injectable and thermosensitive hydrogel, which could continuously release aspirin and erythropoietin (EPO) to exert pharmacological effects of anti-inflammation and tissue regeneration, respectively. The releasing profile showed that aspirin and EPO could be continuously released from the hydrogels, which exhibited no toxicity both in vitro and in vivo, for at least 21 days. Immunohistochemistry staining and micro-CT analyses indicated that administration of CS/β-GP/gelatin hydrogels loaded with aspirin/EPO could terminate the inflammation and recover the height of the alveolar bone, which is further confirmed by histological observations. Our results suggested that CS/β-GP/gelatin hydrogels are easily prepared as drug-loading vectors with excellent biocompatibility, and the CS/β-GP/gelatin hydrogels loaded with aspirin/EPO are quite effective in anti-inflammation and periodontium regeneration, which provides a great potential candidate for periodontitis treatment in the dental clinic. Statement of Significance To terminate the alveolar bone resorption caused by periodontitis, simultaneous anti-inflammation and periodontium regeneration is required, which has not appeared in the existing methods. Here, (1) the chitosan (CS)/β-sodium glycerophosphate/gelatin hydrogels loaded with aspirin/erythropoietin (EPO) can form at body temperature in 5 min with excellent biocompatibility in vitro and in vivo; (2) The faster release of aspirin than EPO in the early stage is beneficial for anti-inflammation and provides a microenvironment for ensuring the regeneration function of EPO in the following step. In vivo experiments revealed that the hydrogels are effective in the control of inflammation and regeneration of the periodontium. These results indicate that our synthesized hydrogels have a great potential in the future clinical application.