Is the entropy-weighted water quality index a suitable index for evaluating the groundwater quality in Ha'il, Saudi Arabia?

This study examined the groundwater quality in Ha'il according to World Health Organization (WHO) standards using the entropy-weighted water quality index (EWQI) more accurately. The study investigated several parameters in groundwater quality and found that more than 75% of the changes in Ha'il can be attributed to four main factors (MF1, MF2, MF3, and MF4). The MF1 was found to have the biggest role in controlling more than 33% of the changes in the water quality. Due to the entropy calculations for each parameter, zinc was found to have the highest rate of influence on groundwater quality. The results of the EWQI showed that the highest number of samples (76%) had Rank 2 and good quality. Also, it was tried to couple EWQI with machine-learning techniques to improve the model performance and survey the related results in this study. The results showed that the efficiency criteria are improved noticeably. Root-mean-square error decreases by 25%, and the determination coefficient (R2) increases by 27.94%.

Statistical quality control based on control charts and process efficiency index by the application of fuzzy approach (case study: Ha'il, Saudi Arabia).

Fuzzy methods using linguistic expressions and fuzzy numbers can provide a more accurate examination of manufacturing systems where data is not clear. Researchers expanded fuzzy control charts (CCs) using fuzzy linguistic statements and investigated the current process efficiency index to evaluate the performance, precision, and accuracy of the production process in a fuzzy state. Compared to nonfuzzy data mode, fuzzy linguistic statements provided decision makers with more options and a more accurate assessment of the quality of products. The fuzzy index of the actual process efficiency analyzed the process by considering mean, target value, and variance of the process simultaneously. Inspection of household water meters in Ha'il, Saudi Arabia showed the actual process index values were less than 1, indicating unfavorable production conditions. Fuzzy methods enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of statistical quality control in real-world systems where precise information may not be readily available. In addition, to provide a new perspective on the comparison of urban water and sewage systems, the results obtained from fuzzy-CC were compared with various machine learning methods such as artificial neural network and M5 model tree, in order to identify and understand their respective advantages and limitations.

Deleterious Effect of Air Pollution on Human Microbial Community and Bacterial Flora: A Short Review.

A balanced microbiota composition is requisite for normal physiological functions of the human body. However, several environmental factors such as air pollutants may perturb the human microbiota composition. It is noticeable that currently around 99% of the world's population is breathing polluted air. Air pollution's debilitating health impacts have been studied scrupulously, including in the human gut microbiota. Nevertheless, air pollution's impact on other microbiotas of the human body is less understood so far. In the present review, the authors have summarized and discussed recent studies' outcomes related to air pollution-driven microbiotas' dysbiosis (including oral, nasal, respiratory, gut, skin, and thyroid microbiotas) and its potential multi-organ health risks.

Numerical analysis of the energy-storage performance of a PCM-based triplex-tube containment system equipped with arc-shaped fins.

This study numerically intends to evaluate the effects of arc-shaped fins on the melting capability of a triplex-tube confinement system filled with phase-change materials (PCMs). In contrast to situations with no fins, where PCM exhibits relatively poor heat response, in this study, the thermal performance is modified using novel arc-shaped fins with various circular angles and orientations compared with traditional rectangular fins. Several inline and staggered layouts are also assessed to maximize the fin's efficacy. The effect of the nearby natural convection is further investigated by adding a fin to the bottom of the heat-storage domain. Additionally, the Reynolds number and temperature of the heat-transfer fluid (HTF) are evaluated. The outcomes showed that the arc-shaped fins could greatly enhance the PCMs' melting rate and the associated heat-storage properties. The melting rate is 17% and 93.1% greater for the case fitted with an inline distribution of the fins with a circular angle of 90° and an upward direction, respectively, than the cases with uniform rectangular fins and no fins, which corresponded to the shorter melting time of 14.5% and 50.4%. For the case with arc-shaped fins with a 90° circular angle, the melting rate increases by 9% using a staggered distribution. Compared to the staggered fin distribution, adding an extra fin to the bottom of the domain indicates adverse effects. The charging time reduces by 5.8% and 9.2% when the Reynolds number (Re) rises from 500 to 1000 and 1500, respectively, while the heat-storage rate increases by 6.3% and 10.3%. When the fluid inlet temperature is 55°C or 50°C, compared with 45°C, the overall charging time increases by 98% and 47%, respectively.

Three-Dimensional Study of Magnetohydrodynamic Natural Convection, Entropy Generation, and Electromagnetic Variables in a Nanofluid Filled Enclosure Equipped with Inclined Fins.

This article provides a numerical study on carbon nanotube-water nanofluid convection in a three-dimensional cavity under a magnetic field effect. Two walls are kept at a hot temperature, and the upper and lower horizontal walls are considered adiabatic. As a new configuration, the beneficial effect of using a nanofluid is coupled with the incorporation of cold V-shape obstacle placed in the cubic cavity; in addition, an external magnetic field is applied toward the horizontal x-axis direction. The finite element method based on the Galerkin's Weighted Residual technique is used to solve the three-dimensional governing equations. In this paper, the ranges of the parameters used are the Hartmann number, varied from 0 to 100, Rayleigh number from 103 to 105, nanofluid volume fraction between 0% and 4.5%, and the body V-shaped opening angle varied from 0 to 80°. The effect of the obstacle shape and the added nanoparticle concentration on the flow behaviors, the different instabilities generated, and the heat transfer exchanged were exposed. An enhancement in heat transfer was recorded by increasing the obstacle opening angle and the volume fraction of the carbon nanotubes. Special attention has also been devoted to the calculation of the different kinds of entropy generations.

Enhancement of 3D Mass and Heat Transfer within a Porous Ceramic Exchanger by Flow-Induced Vibration.

This work investigates heat transfer enhancement for a porous ceramic heat exchanger. The effect of flow-induced vibration of exchanging air flow through porous tube banks has been tested. A numerical model able to assess the vibration effect on heat and mass transfer inside a porous ceramic exchanger has been carefully developed. A three-dimensional unstructured control volume finite element method (CVFEM) is developed to simulate the transport phenomena that arise during convective exchange. In this respect, several numerical tests have been conducted. The time evolution of temperature, liquid saturation, and pressure of the porous domain are analyzed and compared for two cases: with and without vibration. It is found that the vibration highly enhances the heat and mass transfer inside the ceramic exchanger. As a result, the gain of exchanging time to reach the thermal equilibrium between the hot air and the porous domain was 75% for the case of air vibration under sawtooth type at a frequency of f v = 5 Hz and V max = 10 m/s compared to nonvibrating exchange.

Thermal and flow performance analysis of a concentrated linear Fresnel solar collector with transverse ribs.

This article deals with the impact of including transverse ribs within the absorber tube of the concentrated linear Fresnel collector (CLFRC) system with a secondary compound parabolic collector (CPC) on thermal and flow performance coefficients. The enhancement rates of heat transfer due to varying governing parameters were compared and analyzed parametrically at Reynolds numbers in the range 5,000-13,000, employing water as the heat transfer fluid. Simulations were performed to solve the governing equations using the finite volume method (FVM) under various boundary conditions. For all Reynolds numbers, the average Nusselt number in the circular tube in the CLFRC system with ribs was found to be larger than that of the plain absorber tube. Also, the inclusion of transverse ribs inside the absorber tube increases the average Nusselt number by approximately 115% at Re = 5,000 and 175% at Re = 13,000. For all Reynolds numbers, the skin friction coefficient of the circular tube with ribs in the CLFRC system is larger than that of the plain absorber tube. The coefficient of surface friction reduces as the Reynolds number increases. The performance assessment criterion was found to vary between 1.8 and 1.9 as the Reynolds number increases.

Melting Enhancement in a Triple-Tube Latent Heat Storage System with Sloped Fins.

Due to the potential cost saving and minimal temperature stratification, the energy storage based on phase-change materials (PCMs) can be a reliable approach for decoupling energy demand from immediate supply availability. However, due to their high heat resistance, these materials necessitate the introduction of enhancing additives, such as expanded surfaces and fins, to enable their deployment in more widespread thermal and energy storage applications. This study reports on how circular fins with staggered distribution and variable orientations can be employed for addressing the low thermal response rates in a PCM (Paraffin RT-35) triple-tube heat exchanger consisting of two heat-transfer fluids flow in opposites directions through the inner and the outer tubes. Various configurations, dimensions, and orientations of the circular fins at different flow conditions of the heat-transfer fluid were numerically examined and optimized using an experimentally validated computational fluid-dynamic model. The results show that the melting rate, compared with the base case of finless, can be improved by 88% and the heat charging rate by 34%, when the fin orientation is downward-upward along the left side and the right side of the PCM shell. The results also show that there is a benefit if longer fins with smaller thicknesses are adopted in the vertical direction of the storage unit. This benefit helps natural convection to play a greater role, resulting in higher melting rates. Changing the fins' dimensions from (thickness × length) 2 × 7.071 mm2 to 0.55 × 25.76 mm2 decreases the melting time by 22% and increases the heat charging rate by 9.6%. This study has also confirmed the importance of selecting the suitable values of Reynolds numbers and the inlet temperatures of the heat-transfer fluid for optimizing the melting enhancement potential of circular fins with downward-upward fin orientations.

Control of Magnetohydrodynamic Mixed Convection and Entropy Generation in a Porous Cavity by Using Double Rotating Cylinders and Curved Partition.

In this work, mixed convection and entropy generation analyses in a partitioned porous cavity with double inner rotating cylinders are explored under magnetic field effects. A curved partition shape is considered with identical rotating cylinders and an inclined magnetic field, while the right vertical wall moves with a constant speed in the y-direction. Numerical simulations are performed by considering various values of Rayleigh number, Hartman number, Darcy number, inclination of the magnetic field, size of the curved partitions, and rotational speeds of the inner cylinders and their vertical locations with the cavity. Complicated flow field with multicellular structures are observed due to the complex interaction between the natural convection, moving wall, and rotational effects of inner cylinders. Improved heat-transfer performance is obtained with higher values of magnetic field inclination, higher values of permeability/porosity of the medium, and higher rotational speeds of the cylinders. Almost doubling of the average Nu number is obtained by decreasing the value of the Hartmann number from 25 to 0 or varying the magnetic field inclination from 90 to 0. When rotational effects of the cylinders are considered, average heat-transfer improvements by a factor of 5 and 5.9 are obtained for nondimensional rotational speeds of 5 and -5 in comparison with the case of motionless cylinders. An optimum length of the porous layer is achieved for which the best heat-transfer performance is achieved. As the curvature size of the partition is increased, better heat transfer of the hot wall is obtained and up to 138% enhancement is achieved. Significant increments of entropy generation are observed for left and right domains including the rotating cylinders. The magnetic field parameter also affects the entropy generation and contributions of different domains including the curved porous partition.