Meguru Kaminoyama

Characterization of non-newtonian behavior during mixing of bacterial cellulose in a bioreactor

The mixing properties of bacterial cellulose (BC) in an aerated and agitated vessel are described. To characterize the mixing of BC culture broth, which can affect the productivity of BC, non-Newtonian behavior during mixing of a 1% BC suspension was studied using an image processor capable of detecting decoloration of a pH indicator and was compared with that of a 2% carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) solution. CMC solution was mixed homogeneously within the measured range of agitation speed, but the BC suspension was not mixed homogeneously at agitation speeds lower than 15 rps because mixing was delayed in some areas of the vessel. A possible reason for the inhomogeneity of the BC suspension at low agitation speeds is the non-Newtonian behavior which increases viscosity at low shear rates.

Sensor Design for Development of Tribo-Electric Tomography System with Increased Number of Sensors

Electrodynamic sensor, which can also be called as tribo-electric sensor, senses the electrostatic charge carried by the particle. The tomography system using electrodynamic sensor is called as tribo-electric tomography system. Source of the signal induced on the electrodynamic sensor is brought by the object to be measured and no excitation circuit is necessary. This electrodynamic sensing is a passive sensing and the fast and light weighted tomography system is expected. On the other hand, most of tomography system, like capacitance tomography or resistance tomography, demands excitation circuit and is an active sensing. The number of measurements with the passive sensing is equal to the number of sensors and that of active sensing is the number of the combinations of two sensors. The passive sensing tomography system demands more sensors to be settled. We plan to improve in reconstructed images by increasing the number of the electrodynamic sensors in tribo-electric tomography system. We investigate the influence of surface area to signal intensity solving the electrical field in the sensing zone using finite element method.

The measurement of bubble diameter distributions and liquid side mass transfer coefficients in a gas-liquid agitated vessel using a real-time,high-speed image processing system

In this study, we report the measurement results of various spatial distributions, such as Sauter diameter, gas holdup ratio, and interface area per unit liquid volume, in a vessel using a real-time, high-speed image processing system developed by ourselves. We attempted to separate liquid side mass transfer coefficients, k L , from overall volumetric mass transfer coefficients, k L a, based on the results mentioned above. And we examined the relations between power consumption per unit volume, P v , and both k L and k L a in order to establish correlation equations of k L and k L a with P v , gas holdup ratio, gas superficial velocity, v s , and surface tension.

Resolution enhancement of electrical resistance tomography by iterative back projection method

An iterative back projection method (i-BP) has been developed to improve the resolution of reconstructed images produced by electrical resistance tomography (ERT). This solution is based on an iterative calculation of the electrical fields and it is possible to reconstruct clearer images than those reconstructed by the conventional back projection method without divergence. However, it does take several minutes to finish the iteration process, and therefore this solution can be applied to flow fields that require high spatial resolution rather than short processing times, such as the accumulation of noble metals in glass melters. Numerical simulations and experiments using a simple model are performed in this study. The numerical simulations show that clear images are reconstructed both near the wall and at the center by i-BP. The conductivity correlation coefficient between the genuine distribution and the reconstructed image is improved from 0.4 to 0.9. The validity of the i-BP method is also confirmed by the experimental results. As a result, it is confirmed that ERT and i-BP are capable of reconstructing acceptable images and have potential for use in the visualization of the accumulation of noble metals in a glass melter.Graphical Abstract