Integrated study of experiment and first‐principles computation for the characterization of a corium type ZrO8 complex in a Zr‐doped fluorite UO2

We, for the first time, observe ZrO₈ complex in Zr‐doped UO₂, which is a corium structure, using experimental characterization integrated with first‐principle computational validation. Atomic level structure of U_1?yZr_yO₂ pellets (y = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.1) is identified using Raman spectroscopy measurement and X‐ray diffraction pattern analysis. The lattice constants shrink with increasing Zr doping levels, which consistently represents in the positive shift of T_2g Raman vibration peak around 445 cm^?1. More interestingly, conventionally unknown new Raman peak appears around 598 cm^?1, which has not been observed in neither a pure ZrO₂ nor UO₂ doped with tetravalent elements other than Zr. We unveil that the new peak originates from ZrO₈‐type complex formed on the fluorite UO₂. Our study provides precise understanding on the formation mechanisms and material properties of the corium in the hypervalent oxide.     

Technoeconomic study for the optimization of turbine size and wind farm layouts

A technoeconomic analysis and optimization of wind turbine size and layout are performed using WAsP software. A case study of a 100‐MW wind farm located in Egypt is considered. Wind atlas for Egypt was used as the input data of the WAsP software. Two turbine models of powers 52 and 80 MW are considered for this project. The wind turbine size and distributions are selected based on the technoeconomic optimization, namely minimum wake effect, maximum annual energy production (AEP) rate, optimum cash flow, and payback period. The future worth method is adopted in economic comparison between the two alternatives, and the cash flow diagram provided the payback period and future worth after the lifetime of the plant. The results showed that (1) the AEP dramatically decreases for a wind farm area less than 15 km²; (2) the turbine spacing, spacing‐to‐diameter ratio, and the setback distances decrease and the wind turbine density and wake losses increase with decreasing the wind turbines size; (3) the total net AEP using G52 is lower than that of using G80 by about 16%; (4) the technoeconomic analysis recommended using G80 as it has higher profit than those of G52 by about $20 million.     

Improving the performances of earth air heat exchangers through Constructal design

Earth to air heat exchanger (EAHE) is a well‐known technique used to preheat or precool outdoor air before blowing it into a building. However, its geometry is often very simple as it consists in one or multiple straight pipes, while more complex arrangements can be found in heat exchangers design. In this paper, we explore the advantage of designing an EAHE as a network through the Constructal law point of view. A methodology is first proposed to design a single pipe EAHE when the need is defined in terms of cooling power, overall efficiency and enthalpy difference between the inlet air and the ground. Next, the single pipe EAHE is used as a reference for designing a tree‐shaped network under the constraint of identical fluid volume and cooling power. The geometrical features are allowed to change for the different branches of the network. The network coefficient of performance is found to increase significantly with the bifurcation level, illustrating the superior performances of the network. This approach was found to be robust as the improvements were not depending on the cooling demand or the environmental conditions. However, further work is needed to move from this theoretical result to practical considerations.     

基于遗传算法-BP神经网络法的深埋地下水水质评价

为探究开封市地下水水质特征及成因,依据开封市31眼深度600～1 600m地下水开采井的水质检测资料,系统研究了各亚含水层的水化学特征,利用遗传算法-BP神经网络法进行了水质评价,并从埋深、富水性两个方面分析了水质特征的分布规律。结果表明,开封市600～800m亚含水层地下水水质最好,800～1 400m次之,1 400～1 600m亚含水层水质最差,随着埋深的增加,水质变差,富水性越强、水质越好。可见遗传算法-BP神经网络法能够客观地描述地下水水质综合情况,避免了人为主观影响,使评价结果更为合理。     

梧桐河流域上游径流时序变化特性及趋势

为掌握梧桐河流域上游径流时序变化特性以指导流域水资源开发利用,基于梧桐河上游宝泉岭水文站1951～2013年天然径流序列,采用累积距平法、非参数检验Mann-Kendall法和Morlet小波分析法研究了年、季节径流量的趋势特征、突变特征及周期特征,探讨了引起天然径流量发生变化的主要原因。结果表明,梧桐河流域春、冬两季径流量分别以0.005×10~8、0.004×10~8 m~3/10a平均速率呈增加变化,夏、秋两季径流量分别以0.144×10~8、0.243×108 m~3/10a平均速率呈减少变化,仅秋季径流量减少趋势显著,在季节径流量综合作用下,年径流量以-0.379×10~8 m~3/10a平均速率呈不显著减少变化;年及季节径流量丰枯转变频繁,突变多发生于1960年代中期以前;年及四季径流量存在显著周期特征,第1主周期依次为12、14、12、11、11年;降水减少引起流域径流量减少,使得两者呈基本一致的时序变化特性。研究成果可为流域水资源开发利用及规划管理提供依据。     

宽尾墩体型对高拱坝表孔最大压力的影响

宽尾墩应用于高拱坝表孔后会增大壁面压力,在一定程度上增加了结构设计难度,为探究表孔壁面最大压力与宽尾墩体型之间的关系,采用数值计算方法研究了宽尾墩收缩比、收缩率等体型参数对高拱坝表孔流道中心线及侧墙最大压力的影响。结果表明,堰面中线与侧墙最大压力均随收缩率的增大而增大,随收缩比的增大而减小;并推出表孔流道中线及侧墙最大压力与收缩率、收缩比之间的定量计算公式,从而为表孔宽尾墩的结构设计提供参考。     

Forced convective heat transfer between assemblages of spherical particles and power‐law non‐Newtonian liquids with velocity slip at the interface

Heat transfer from spheres can be influenced by a varying degree of slip at the fluid‐particle interface along with the rheology of the surrounding continuous liquid and adjacent spheres. Thus in this study, the effects of dimensionless velocity slip parameter (λ) along with power‐law fluid rheology and other pertinent kinematic flow and heat transfer parameters on isotherm contours, local and average Nusselt numbers of assemblages of spherical slip particles are presented. This is done by adopting a segregated approach where dimensionless momentum and energy equations are solved by SMAC algorithm formulated in spherical coordinates within the finite difference formulation. Before obtaining new results, grid independence studies for either extreme values of power‐law consistency index of non‐Newtonian fluids are carried out. Finally, the major contribution of this study is the development of a correlative equation for the average Nusselt number of assemblages of spherical slip particles in power‐law fluids based on the present results (5880 data points) as a function of pertinent dimensionless parameters.     

Metamorphic degree of coal dependence of content and genesis of coal-bed methane in China

Aiming to investigate the coal metamorphic degree dependences of both the distribution characteristics of the content of CBM and the output characteristics of CBM, the thermal simulation experiments were adopted in this study. The results confirm that the content of CBM shows a unimodal relationship with the elevated coal metamorphic degree. The CBM in high-rank coal-bed mainly falls into the category of thermogenic CBM. The thermogenic CBM is generated after the thermal stability of coal metamorphism. The output characteristic of thermogenic CBM is the dominant factor determining the relationship between content of CBM and coal metamorphism degree. Both the amount of thermogenic CBM and the content of CBM increase with the coal metamorphism degree with R_{o max} ≤ 3.5%; however, the opposite trend is found for R_{o max} ≥ 3.5%.     

Formation and O2/CO2 combustion characteristics of real-environment coal char in high-temperature oxy-fuel conditions

Oxygen-fuel combustion is a promising technology for CO₂ emission reduction. The high-temperature entrained flow reactor and high-temperature drop tube furnace were used to analyses the formation and O₂/CO₂ combustion characteristics of real-environment coal char in high-temperature oxy-fuel conditions. It proposed “inflection point standard” of high-temperature flame method for the preparation of real-environmental oxy-fuel coal char according to the flame method. The results show that the ratios of C=O/C-O and C=O/C_ar increase in the coal char compared with the raw coals. The trend of C=O/C_ar in oxy-fuel condition is opposite to that in the inert atmosphere, due to the effect of high-concentration CO₂. To achieve the burnout rate similar to air combustion for coal char, with the increase of coal rank, the O₂ concentration should be enhanced. The optimal O₂ concentration for the oxy-fuel combustion of JC anthracite is 30%, while that of other low-rank coals could be lower than 30%. The combustion characteristic of JC anthracite is with the highest sensitivity to temperature and O₂ concentration.