Recent Patents on Engineering - Volume 10, Issue 1, 2016

Background: With the discovery of the Pre-Salt oil deposits, the exploration of oil and gas is being extended to great depths in Brazil, thereby generating increasing demand for drilling capabilities. Objective: This article is aimed at assessing the consequences of this discovery accomplished by Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) on patent applications in Brazil related to drilling fluid technologies. Methods: In essence, our study adopts a qualitative/quantitative approach based on a combination of literature review and empirical analysis of patent data. Results: Clearly, it was possible to observe a strong pattern in patent filings regarding the IPC main group C09K 8 in Brazil, which is the primary classification for drilling fluid technologies. Moreover, we found solid empirical evidence indicating that the majority of patent applications were filed by Multi-Nationals Companies (MNCs) with headquarters outside Brazil. Conclusion: This study provides robust empirical evidence pointing out that the pre-salt announcement contributed to strongly increase the interest of MNCs in protecting their drilling fluid technologies in Brazil.

Background: In recent years, the researches and developments on skull grinding to remove bone pathology are increasing. Clinically, the neurosurgeons usually treat skull based lesions by removing bone pathology with high speed grinding wheel. Nevertheless, high speed grinding produces a large amount of heat, which causes thermal damage to surrounding tissues and bone necrosis. The highest critical temperature of thermal damage is 43°C. In addition, the grinding force is a key factor to determine the success of the surgery. Objective: Too large or too small grinding power is unable to give ideal operation effect. At present, the clinical doctors can't detect and control the temperature and force in skull grinding operation. Methods: The goal of this work is to solve the urgent problem by summarizing patents on skull grinding equipments. Results: Qingdao Technological University research team carried out the studies on skull grinding equipments. Among these patents, one is the online detection and controllable hand-held grinding device. It can adjust the speed of grinding wheel through monitoring acoustic emission signal, thereby reducing the grinding temperature. The medical surgical operation 6-degree-of-freedom automatic adjusting mechanical arm grinding clamping device has the high control accuracy with the aid of advanced surgical instruments. The multi-degree-of-freedom skull surgical grinding experiment platform can accurately measure the grinding temperature and the grinding force through constructing multi-degree-of-freedom skull surgical grinding experiment platform. Conclusion: They can provide guidance for clinical practice and solve the unknown problems in the skull grinding process.

Background: Nanotechnology, as the branch of technology that deals with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometers, especially the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules, has implications on scientific, medical and economic and legal impacts on society. There are extensive researches in the nanotechnology and these studies have led important discoveries in the area of nanorobotics. Objective: The aim of the paper is to review the recent engineering issues in nanorobots. In this review, we focus on the recent progresses and patents in medical nanotechnology and medical nanorobotics. Method: Studies mainly focus on the level of threat to human life and its economic impact. To limit the number of issues in review, we have chosen studies considering their level of economic implications and socio-technical nature. Results: Recent studies show that remarkable improvements have been achieved in nanorobots to solve powering, control, communication problems and introducing the robot into the living organism.

Background: Ni(II) removal from water environment is very important because it is very toxic. There are many conventional methods for Ni(II) removal but many of them have high operational and maintenance cost. Adsorption is a treatment process which is highly effective, cheap and easy to adopt. Objective: The goal of this work is to develop a suitable adsorbent for Ni(II) removal and determine the optimal condition that can be used to get the best efficiency. Results: The surface of alumina is modified with an anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate to get a bilayer structure, which is suitable to adsorb Ni(II) efficiently. Both batch and fixed-bed column studies were performed with surfactantmodified alumina to remove Ni(II) from water. The adsorption follows Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetic model. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that adsorption is spontaneous, endothermic and favorable. About 92% removal efficiency, for an initial concentration of 10 mg/L Ni(II), was achieved under optimum conditions. Maximum desorption (~92%) of Ni(II) from the exhausted adsorbent is achieved with 0.2M disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Recovery/extraction of Ni(II) using monoesters of phosphonic acid and 2-hydroxyiminoacetic acid has been patented. In some patents removal of metals has been achieved using ion-exchange resins having bis-(2-picolyl) amine or iminodiacetic acid functionality. Conclusion: It is found that surfactant-modified alumina, prepared by treating alumina with sodium dodecyl sulfate, is an efficient adsorbent for Ni(II) removal from water and wastewater. The material is cheap, easy to prepare and can be recycled after exhaustion.

Background: This article reviews recent patents pertaining to the technological achievements and shortcomings of aircraft Position Indicator and Actuator System (PIAS). Generally, most patents have concentrated more on design, while implementing various developed single or multiobjective algorithms to solve component or system optimal design problems such as those of PIAS. Thus, there is a noticeable lack of patent efforts on either developing new constraint-handling techniques especially for multi-objective optimization, or applying advance single-objective constrainthandling techniques to multi-objective optimization. Method: To address this, the authors of this article in there past work developed a multi-objective optimization algorithm called Genetic Pareto Set Identification Algorithm plus Different Sex (GPSIA+DS), which considers the feasible and infeasible solution in it optimization strategy. However, the application of GPSIA+DS to real world reliability engineering problem has not been validated. Result: Thus, in this work, GPSIA+DS ability to handle an aircraft PIAS optimization problem was presented. PIAS component failure rates were obtained via Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). PIAS cost and reliability were the study objective functions subject to weight constrains. The performance of GPSIA+DS for the test problem was investigated through a comparative study. Conclusion: In the comparative study GPSIA+DS was compared with fast-sort genetic algorithm plus constrained dominance principle (NSGA-II+CD). Although NSGA-II+DS out performed GPSIA+DS for this test problem, it is evident that GPSIA+DS is equally an efficient algorithm.

Background: Stiffened plates are commonly used in many engineering applications. Engineers in practice encounter many challenges in the analysis and design of stiffened plates due to the modelling complexities and many parameters involved. Little guidelines are available in industrial codes of practice for the design of stiffened plates. This article reviews recent developments and patents related to analysis and design of thin walled stiffened steel plates. Various numerical procedures used for static and dynamic analysis are reviewed. Engineering Patents describing various cost effective fabrication procedures are briefly discussed. Objectives: The paper illustrates the behaviour of stiffened steel supports under static and dynamic loadings. Design guidelines are presented that can be utilized in practice. Method: The potential energy is expressed in terms generalized functions that describe the displacement profile. The resulting non-linear functions are minimized with respect displacement coefficients. Results: Numerical results are presented to highlight the essential parameters that need to be considered in the design of transversely stiffened panels. Influence of the web and flange geometrical sizes on the stability of stiffened supports are also illustrated. Design curves are provided that can be utilized in the industry to optimize the design of stiffened steel supports. Conclusion: It is shown that the number of longitudinal stiffening configuration largely influence the magnitude of the natural frequency and the buckling coefficients. The results are very useful and can be utilized in the industry very effectively for the steel supports.

Background: Loop Seal is a key component in circulating fluidized bed. It is necessary to study its internal flow rules. Diameter of solid particle in Loop Seal is too large or small can produce bigger effects for fluidized bed operation. Objective: We will study internal flow rules in Loop Seal, and look for relationship between the key parameters of solid particle circulation and particle diameter by cold experiment. Method: The cold experiment method is introduced based on a new J-type Loop Seal of three chambers internal circulating fluidized bed for different particle diameters silica sand in the paper. It includes building the experimental device and measuring related parameters. The equivalent model and theory formula of solid particles circulation are provided. The influences of particle diameter on three key parameters of the solid particles circulation are discussed on emphasis. Results: The experiment results show that on the same conditions the height difference of two chambers in running increases as the particle diameter increasing. The dynamic head of feedback valve in running is not affected by the right lateral blow nearly, but is linear relationship with the left lateral blow, relationship between their slope coefficients and intercepts and relative value of particle diameter both are linear nearly; the resistance coefficient in the feedback valve is power exponent relationship with right lateral blow, and particle diameters have almost nothing to do with it. Conclusion: The method provides references for particle diameter selection and usage, design and operation for feedback valve of internal circulating fluidized bed. Here, we also discussed few related patents.