Low temperature heat capacity measurements of β-Si3N4 and γ-Si3N4: Determination of the equilibrium phase boundary between β-Si3N4 and γ-Si3N4

Isobaric heat capacities of β-Si₃N₄ and γ-Si₃N₄ were measured at temperatures between 1.8 and 309.9 K with a thermal relaxation method. The measured heat capacities of γ-Si₃N₄ are smaller than those of β-Si₃N₄ in this temperature range. Using these data, we determined the standard entropies of β-Si₃N₄ and γ-Si₃N₄ to be 62.30 J·mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ and 51.79 J·mol⁻¹ K⁻¹, respectively. The equilibrium phase boundary between β-Si₃N₄ and γ-Si₃N₄ was calculated using these values and thermodynamic parameters reported in previous studies. The obtained equilibrium phase transition pressure at 2000 K is 11.4 GPa. It is lower than the experimental pressures at which γ-Si₃N₄ was synthesized in previous studies. The calculated Clapeyron slope at this temperature is 0.6 MPa K⁻¹, which is consistent with those of theoretical studies.     

Design method of the layered active magnetic regenerator (AMR) for hydrogen liquefaction by numerical simulation

The design procedure of an active magnetic regenerator (AMR) operating between liquid nitrogen temperature and liquid hydrogen temperature is discussed with the selected magnetic refrigerants. Selected magnetic refrigerants (GdNi₂, Dy_0.85Er_0.15Al₂, Dy_0.5Er_0.5Al₂, and Gd_0.1Dy_0.9Ni₂) that have different transition temperatures are layered in an AMR to widen the temperature span. The optimum volume fraction of the layered refrigerants for the maximum COP with minimum volume is designed in a two-stage active magnetic regenerative refrigerator (AMRR) using one dimensional numerical simulation. The entropy generation in each stage of the AMR is calculated by the numerical simulation to optimize the proposed design. The main sources of the entropy generation in the AMR are pressure drop, convection and conduction heat transfers in the AMR. However, the entropy generation by the convective heat transfer is mostly dominant in the optimized cases. In this paper, the design parameters and the operating conditions such as the distribution of the selected refrigerants in the layered AMR, the intermediate temperature between two stages and the mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid are specifically determined to maximize the performance of the AMR. The proposed design method will facilitate the construction of AMR systems with various magnetic refrigerants and conditions such as AMR size, operating temperature range, and magnetic field variation.     

A model for multicomponent diffusion in oxide melts

A general flux equation for multicomponent diffusion in oxide melts is presented. An explicit method was developed to calculate the gradients of single-ion activities from those of oxides with the constraints of local equilibrium and electroneutrality. This resolves ambiguity in quantifying the thermochemical driving force for ionic diffusion. A model equation for multicomponent ionic diffusion was derived within the framework of non-equilibrium thermodynamics by de Groot and Mazur. The proposed model takes empirically measurable quantities as input variables, so the diffusion calculations are consistent with thermochemical data, as furnished by the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) method, as well as ionic mobility measurements. Although the model is derived for oxides, it can be applied to diffusion in other concentrated liquid electrolytes, such as chloride and fluoride melts. Formulas for multicomponent ionic diffusion in various reference frames are presented with respect to mole fraction.     

基于熵权-灰色关联分析的电动汽车充电基础设施PPP项目风险评价研究

电动汽车充电基础设施PPP项目的建设和实施,不仅可以有效缓解政府财政和管理压力,还可以借助社会资本先进的管理运营经验,提高充电服务供给效率,实现双赢。但是,电动汽车充电基础设施PPP项目具有投资大、特许运营期长等特点,同时还涉及多个项目参与者,关系复杂,潜在的风险因素较多。文章通过文献梳理,首先识别出了电动汽车充电基础设施PPP项目潜在的风险因素,从宏观、中观、微观三个层次建立了基于项目全生命周期的风险评价指标体系,然后建立了基于熵权-灰色关联分析的项目风险评价模型。最后,以T市电动汽车充电基础设施PPP项目为例进行了实证分析,并根据风险评价的结果,从不同项目参与方的角度提出了风险应对的策略。     

Experimental study on the heat transfer and flow characteristics of nanorefrigerants inside a corrugated tube

The heat transfer and flow characteristics of MWCNT-R141b nanorefrigerant with different mass fractions have been studied through experiments. Experimental results were compared with existing correlations. A two-step method was used to prepare the nanorefrigerants. Span-80 was used as surfactant with an average particle diameter of 20 nm. Transmittance method was used to evaluate the stability of nanorefrigerants. Results showed that the stability of MWCNT-R141b nanorefrigerant, which is the added dispersant, was good during the experiments. The 0.3 wt% MWCNT-R141b nanorefrigerants had optimal heat transfer enhancement effects compared with pure refrigerants. The maximum Nusselt number increased by 40%. The specific pressure drop of nanorefrigerant increased as the Reynolds number (Re) increased, and the specific pressure drop of the pure refrigerant was minimum, which is similar to R141b.     

Numerical study of entropy generation in Darcy-Forchheimer (D-F) Bödewadt flow of CNTs

Three-dimensional Bödewadt flow (fluid rotates at a large enough distance from the stationary plate) of carbon nanomaterial is examined. Single walled and multi walled CNTs are dissolved in water and gasoline oil baseliquids. Darcy-Forchheimer porous medium is considered. Stationary disk is further stretched linearly in radial direction. Heat transfer effect is examined in presence of radiation and convection. Effect of viscous dissipation is accounted. Entropy generation rate is studied. By using adequate transformation (von Kármán relations), the flow field equations (PDEs) are transmitted into ODEs. Solutions to these ODEs are constructed via implementation of shooting method (bvp4c). In addition to Entropy generation rate, Bejan number, heat transfer rate (Nusselt number), skin friction and temperature of fluid are examined through involved physical parameters. Axial component of velocity intensifies with increment in nanoparticles volume fraction and ratio of stretching rate to angular velocity parameter while it decays with higher porosity parameter. Higher nanoparticles volume fraction and porosity parameter lead to decay in radial as well as tangential component of velocity. However it enhances with higher ratio of stretching rate to angular velocity parameter. Temperature of fluid directly varies with higher ratio of stretching rate to angular velocity parameter, radiation parameter, Eckert number, Biot number and nanoparticles volume fraction. Rate of Entropy generation is reduced with higher estimations of porosity parameter, nanoparticles volume fraction and radiation parameter. Skin friction coefficient decays with higher porosity parameter and ratio of stretching rate to angular velocity parameter. Intensification in porosity parameter, nanoparticles volume fraction and Biot number leads to higher Nusselt number. Prominent impact is shown by multiple-walled CNTs with gasoline oil basefluid than single-walled CNTs with water basefluid.     

Entanglement and Entropy Squeezing for Moving Two Two-Level Atoms Interaction with a Radiation Field

In this paper, we analyzed squeezing in the information entropy, quantum state fidelity, and qubit-qubit entanglement in a time-dependent system. The proposed model consists of two qubits that interact with a two-mode electromagnetic field under the dissipation effect. An analytical solution is calculated by considering the constants for the equations of motion. The effect of the general form of the time-dependent for qubit-field coupling and the dissipation term on the temporal behavior of the qubit-qubit entanglement, quantum state fidelity, entropy, and variance squeezing are examined. It is shown that the intervals of entanglement caused more squeezing for the case of considering the time-dependent parameters. Additionally, the entanglement between the qubits became more substantial for the case of time dependence. Fidelity and negativity rapidly reached the minimum values by increasing the effect of the dissipation parameter. Moreover, the amount of variance squeezing and the amplitude of the oscillations decreased considerably when the time dependence increased, but the fluctuations increased substantially. We show the relation between entropy and variance squeezing in the presence and absence of the dissipation parameter during the interaction period. This result enables new parameters to control the degree of entanglement and squeezing, especially in quantum communication.     

Entropic Contributions to Protein Stability

Thermodynamic stability is an important property of proteins that is linked to many of the trade-offs that characterize a protein molecule and therefore its function. Designing a protein with a desired stability is a complicated task given the intrinsic trade-off between enthalpy and entropy which applies for both the folded and unfolded states. Traditionally, protein stability is manipulated by point mutations which regulate the folded state enthalpy. In some cases, the entropy of the unfolded state has also been manipulated by means that drastically restrict its conformational dynamics such as engineering disulfide bonds. In this mini-review, we survey various approaches to modify protein stability by manipulating the entropy of either the unfolded or the folded states. We show that point mutations that involve elimination of long-range contacts may have a greater destabilization effect than mutations that eliminate shorter-range contacts. Protein conjugation can also affect the entropy of the unfolded state and thus the overall stability. In addition, we show that entropy can contribute to shape the folded state and yield greater protein stabilization. Hence, we argue that the entropy component can be practically manipulated both in the folded and unfolded state to modify protein stability.     

Maximum conversion efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells

Çengel and Boles discuss in their Thermodynamics textbook that the Carnot efficiency bound is not applicable to fuel cells, whereas some researchers have raised objection that maximum conversion efficiency of fuel cells is limited to the Carnot efficiency. We apply the conservation of energy and entropy balance equations to derive expressions for the maximum work of hydrogen-oxygen, hydrogen-air and methane-air fuel cells. We show that the theoretical efficiency of a fuel cell may exceed that of a Carnot engine operating between the same low and high temperatures. Contrary to past studies in that the efficiency of an ideal hydrogen fuel cell is shown to decline with temperature, the maximum efficiency is observed to first decrease with reactants temperature, then remains unaltered and finally rises. The lowest value of the maximum efficiency is found to be 79.3%, 75.7%, and 82.1% for hydrogen-oxygen, hydrogen-air and methane-air fuel cells, respectively. By increasing the stoichiometric coefficient of air, the efficiencies of both hydrogen-air and methane-air fuel cells monotonically increase and they approach the 100% limit at a stoichiometric coefficient of 7.2 and 9.8, respectively. It is shown that a Carnot engine whose heat is supplied by an isothermal combustor proposed in some past studies is not a correct means for comparison of the ideal performance of fuel cells and heat engines.     

Local entropy generation and entropy fluxes of a transient flame during head-on quenching towards solid and hydrogen-permeable porous walls

Premixed H₂-air flames are studied in a one-dimensional wall-bounded configuration. The laminar flame propagates towards and quenches at a wall that is either solid or permeable. Entropy generation by each of 19 elementary reactions is evaluated. Their total contribution remains the most important up to the quenching instance. Close to quenching, the conduction entropy generation grows considerable. Mass diffusion has a modest contribution, which decreases towards quenching. Viscous forces are negligible as a source of entropy. Effects of unburnt-mixture temperature and fuel-air ratio are investigated, and also dilution with nitrogen (inert) and water vapour. The diffusive entropy flux changed direction away from the permeating wall compared that of the solid wall. A major finding is that fuel permeation through the wall tends to decrease the entropy generation per unit of converted fuel, in particular for initially lean mixtures.