Optimization of thermal performances and pressure drop of rectangular microchannel heat sink using aqueous carbon nanotubes based nanofluid

The present work focuses on analytical optimization of a rectangular microchannel heat sink using aqueous carbon nanotubes based nanofluid as coolant. The particles weight concentration used in this study is 0.01%. The density, the thermal conductivity and the rheological behavior of the nanofluid are experimentally investigated in order to evaluate the thermal resistance and the pumping power in microchannel under laminar flow. An analytical approach of optimization scheme was applied; it is compiled from a systematic thermal resistance model as an analysis method and the elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA2). The effects of the temperature, the channel aspect ratio, the channel wall ratio and the use of aqueous carbon nanotubes based nanofluid on the thermal resistance and the pumping power are investigated. The optimized results showed that use of the nanofluid as a working fluid reduce the total thermal resistance and can enhance significantly the thermal performances of the working fluid at high temperatures.     

Applying a normalized ratio scale technique to assess influences of urban expansion on land surface temperature of the semi-arid city of Erbil

The difference between surface and air temperature within a city and its surrounding area is a result of variations in surface cover, thermal capacity, and 3-dimensional geometry. This research has examined and quantified the decreasing daytime land surface temperature (LST) in Erbil, Kurdistan region of Iraq, and the influence of rapid urban expansion on urban heat/cool island effect over a 20 year period. Land-use/land-cover change across this time period is also established using pixel samples. The current study proposes the application of the normalized ratio scale (NRS) to adjust the temperature of images acquired at different dates to the same range. Eleven satellite images acquired by Landsat 4, 5, 7, and 8 during the period 1992–2013 are used to retrieve LST. The results indicate that 55.3 km² of city land cover changed from bare soil to urban; consequently, the mean LST of the new urbanized area decreased by 2.28°C. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of Sami Abdul-Rahman (S.A.) Park increased from 0.09 ± 0.01 to 0.32 ± 0.11, resulting in a decrease of the mean LST by 7.29°C. This study shows that the NRS method is appropriate for detecting temperature trends from urbanization using remote-sensing data. It also highlights that urban expansion may lead to a decrease in daytime LST in drylands.     

Modelling of the bond behaviour of tuff elements externally bonded with FRP sheets

The performance of fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) materials used for external strengthening depends strongly on the bond behaviour at the FRP-substrate interface. In this paper, the results of an analytical model and of two Finite Element (FE) models (bi-and three-dimensional) for simulating bond behaviour in FRP-strengthened masonry elements using zero-thickness interface elements are presented. The primary parameters of bilinear and nonlinear bond-slip laws were determined from experimental results of single shear bond tests that the authors conducted on masonry blocks of yellow tuff bonded with FRP carbon and glass fabrics. Several parametric analyses were conducted to estimate the effect of the primary bond law parameters on the global behaviour of the specimens and to determine the effective bonded length for the investigated masonry support.     

Microwave assisted synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles in ionic liquid [Bmim]cl and their photocatalytic investigation

In this study, ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized based on the chemical reaction of zinc acetate and NaOH in ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) under microwave irradiation. The prepared ZnO were characterized by utilizing various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–Vis spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, and BET method. XRD pattern reveals the produced ZnO has hexagonal structure and the images of SEM and TEM also reveal it consists of nanoparticles with an average size between 15 and 25 nm. The role of the ionic liquid on morphology of ZnO was investigated. For this purpose, a control ZnO sample was prepared without using any [Bmim]Cl. Photocatalytic properties of the synthesized ZnO on degradation of malachite green dye as model pollutant was investigated. The effect of various parameters such as pH, concentration of the dye and catalyst on the degradation of malachite green was investigated. In order to explore the mechanism of photocatalytic degradation of malachite green, scavenger addition method has been employed. It is found that hydroxide radicals are main reactive species for the degradation.     

Numerical and experimental investigation of a thermosiphon solar water heater system thermal performance used in domestic applications

The thermosiphon is a passive heat exchange method, which circulates a fluid within a system without the need for any electrical or mechanical pumps. The thermosiphon is based on natural convection where the thermal expansion occurs when the temperature difference has a corresponding difference in density across the loop. Thermosiphons are used in different applications such as solar energy collection, automotive systems, and electronics. The current study aims to investigate thermosiphon thermal performance used in domestic applications. The thermal performance of a thermosiphon has been studied by many researchers; however, according to the knowledge of the authors, the influence of the amount of the working fluid on the thermal output has not yet been investigated. Therefore, the influence of the amount of working fluid within the riser pipe has been investigated on the thermal performance of the thermosiphon. In the current study, a computational fluid dynamics model is involved. This model has been validated by comparison with experimental findings. The maximum variation between numerical and experimental results is 14.2% and 11.2% for the working fluid at the inlet and outlet of the absorber pipe, respectively. Furthermore, the results show that the amount of working fluid inside the closed thermosiphon has a great influence on the thermal performance of the system. Additionally, it is found that Case-B, when the amount of working fluid is less than by 10% compared to the traditional model, is the best case among all cases under study. Furthermore, a correlation equation to predict water temperature at the exit of the absorber pipe has been established with an accuracy of 95.05%.     

Nanogaps formation and characterization via chemical and oxidation methods

Different materials were used to optimize the desired nano-size with smooth process and faster fabrication. Gold, polysilicon and silicon were used to apply this report (experimental). SOI and Si wafers have used as a substrate and one chrome mask to build up the nanogap devices using size reduction technique. Two chrome masks have used to fabricate the proposed pattern. Electrical characterization was applied to setup the fabricated devices with different materials. Conductivity and resistivity were measured to characterize the nanogap structure with gold, polysilicon and silicon as electrodes. However, gold nanogap has recorded an increment in the conductivity, and the silicon nanogap structures have recorded an increment in the resistivity comparing with the other used materials.     

Development of transparent conducting copper and iron co-doped cadmium oxide films: Effect of annealing in hydrogen atmosphere

Hydrogenated (annealed in hydrogen atmosphere) cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films co-doped with iron (Fe) of different levels and fixed (2.5%) copper (Cu) amount were deposited on glass and silicon wafer substrates by thermal evaporation. The films were characterised with X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, optical spectroscopy, and dc-electrical measurements. The obtained results show important improvements in the conductivity, mobility, and carrier concentration compared to un-doped and non-hydrogenated CdO. Hydrogenated CdO doped with 2.5% Cu and 1.3% Fe improved the conductivity (2293.6 S/cm) by ~46 times, mobility (78.31 cm²/V s) by ~11 times, and carrier concentration (1.82×10²⁰ cm⁻³) by ~4 times. This suggests the possibility of using CdO:Cu:Fe–H as transparent-conducting-oxide and dilute-magnetic-semiconductor field of applications.     

Effects of ZrO2 on the photoluminescence of 0.5 at% Eu:(Y0.9La0.1)2O3 transparent ceramics

Zr-codoped 0.5 at% Eu: (Y_0.9La_0.1)₂O₃ ceramics sintered in H₂-reducing atomsphere, together with the ceramics with annealing treatment, were fabricated by solid-state reactions and the effects of Zr codoping on these materials’ photoluminescence examined. The obtained emission spectra showed that Zr codoping adjust the materials’ photoluminescence with UV excitation and a logical explanation was proposed. The results suggested that an Eu-doped, yttrium-lanthanum oxide transparent ceramic with Zr in low concentration appeared to have promising potential in modern lighting applications.     

Field study of various air based photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar collectors

In the present work a comparative study for thermal and electrical performance of different hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collectors designs for Iraq climate conditions have been carried out. Four different types of air based hybrid PV/T collectors have been manufactured and tested. Three collectors consist of four main parts namely, channel duct, glass cover, axial fan to circulate air and two PV panels in parallel connection. The measured parameters are, the temperature of the upper and the lower surfaces of the PV panels, air temperature along the collector, air flow rate, pressure drop, power produced by solar cell, and climate conditions such as wind speed, solar radiation and ambient temperature. The thermal and hydraulic performances of PV/T collector model IV have been analyzed theoretically based on energy balance. A Matlab computer program has been developed to solve the proposed mathematical model.The obtained results show that the combined efficiency of collector model III (double duct, single pass) is higher than that of model II (single duct double pass) and model IV (single duct single pass). Model IV has the better electrical efficiency. The pressure drop of model III is lower than that of models II and IV. The root mean square of percentage deviations for PV outlet temperature, and thermal efficiency of model IV are found to be 3.22%, and 18.04% respectively. The calculated linear coefficients of correlation (r) are 0.977, 0.965 respectively.