An experimental study on CHF enhancement in flow boiling using Al2O3 nano-fluid

The critical heat flux (CHF) is one of the most important thermal hydraulic parameters in heat transfer system design and safety analyses. CHF enhancement allows higher limits of operation conditions such that heat transfer equipment can be operated safely with greater margins and better economy. The application of nano-fluids is thought to have strong potential for enhancing the CHF. In this study, zeta potentials of Al₂O₃ nano-fluids were measured and flow boiling CHF enhancement experiments using Al₂O₃ nano-fluids were conducted under atmospheric pressure. The CHFs of Al₂O₃ nano-fluids were enhanced up to ～70% in flow boiling for all experimental conditions. Maximum CHF enhancement (70.24%) was shown at 0.01 vol% concentration, 50 °C inlet subcooling, and a mass flux of 100 kg/m² s. Inner surfaces of the test section tube were observed by FE–SEM and the zeta potentials of Al₂O₃ nano-fluids were measured before and after the CHF experiments.     

Flow boiling CHF enhancement with surfactant solutions under atmospheric pressure

Surfactant effect on CHF (critical heat flux) was determined during water flow boiling at atmospheric pressure in closed loop filled with solution of tri-sodium phosphate (TSP, Na₃PO₄ · 12H₂O). TSP was added to the containment sump water to adjust pH level during accident in nuclear power plants. CHF was measured for four different water surfactant solutions in vertical tubes, at different mass fluxes (100–500 kg/m² s) and two inlet subcooling temperatures (50 °C and 75 °C). Surfactant solutions (0.05–0.2%) at low mass flux (～100 kg/m² s) showed the best CHF enhancement. CHF was decreased at high mass flux (500 kg/m² s) compared to the reference plain water data. Maximum increase in CHF was about 48% as compared to the reference data. Surfactant caused a decrease in contact angle associated with an increase of CHF from surfactant addition.     

Nucleate boiling heat transfer enhancement for water and FC-72 on titanium oxide and silicon oxide surfaces

An experimental study was performed to investigate the nucleate boiling and critical heat flux (CHF) of water and FC-72 dielectric liquid on hydrophilic titanium oxide (TiO₂) nanoparticle modified surface. A 1 cm² copper heater with 1 μm thick TiO₂ coating was utilized in saturated pool boiling tests with water and highly-wetting FC-72, and its performance was compared to that of a smooth surface. Results showed that TiO₂ coated surface increased CHF by 50.4% and 38.2% for water and FC-72, respectively, and therefore indicated that boiling performance enhancement depends on the level of wettability improvement. A silicon oxide (SiO₂) coated surface, exhibiting similar surface topology, was tested to isolate the roughness related enhancement from the overall enhancement. Data confirmed that hydrophilicity of TiO₂ coated surface provides an additional mechanism for boiling enhancement.     

Boiling enhancement by TiO2 nanoparticle deposition

TiO₂ nanoparticle-coated nickel wires were produced by electrical heating in various nanofluid concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 1 wt.% with various processing heat fluxes from 0 to 1000 kW/m². The experimental results demonstrated up to 82.7% enhancement on critical heat flux (CHF) in condition of coated nickel wire (processed in 1 wt.% with 1000 kW/m²) boiling in pure water. The contact angle measurement revealed that the hydrophilic porous coating formed by vigorous vaporization of TiO₂ nanofluid in nucleate boiling regime enormously modified the wettability of heating surface consequently improving the CHF. Besides, it is evident that the coverage of nanoparticle deposition tended to become more complete as concentration and processing heat flux increased based on SEM and EDS analysis. The nanoparticles dispersed in base fluid exhibited little effect on CHF enhancement and could even hinder the percentage of CHF augmentation from boosting, which demonstrated that one could enhance CHF by using only small amount of nanoparticles just adequate to form surface coatings instead of preparing working fluid with great bulk. However, according to the boiling curves in all cases of coated nickel wires, it is supposed that the nucleate boiling heat transfer coefficient deteriorates as a result of thermal resistance resulted from the occurrence of nanoparticle deposition. In summary, the coated porous structure of nanoparticles leads to enhance CHF and to decrease boiling heat transfer coefficient.     

Hydrogen production with integrated microchannel fuel processor for portable fuel cell systems

An integrated microchannel methanol processor was developed by assembling unit reactors, which were fabricated by stacking and bonding microchannel patterned stainless steel plates, including fuel vaporizer, heat exchanger, catalytic combustor and steam reformer. Commercially available Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃ catalyst was coated inside the microchannel of the unit reactor for steam reforming. Pt/Al₂O₃ pellets prepared by ‘incipient wetness’ were filled in the cavity reactor for catalytic combustion. Those unit reactors were integrated to develop the fuel processor and operated at different reaction conditions to optimize the reactor performance, including methanol steam reformer and methanol catalytic combustor. The optimized fuel processor has the dimensions of 60 mm × 40 mm × 30 mm, and produced 450sccm reformed gas containing 73.3% H₂, 24.5% CO₂ and 2.2% CO at 230–260 °C which can produce power output of 59 Wt.     

Enhancement of pool boiling critical heat flux in dielectric liquids by microporous coatings

An experimental investigation into the effects of pressure and subcooling on the pool boiling critical heat flux from a bare silicon chip-like heater and from a silicon heater coated with microporous layers, is reported. The dual inline heater package was immersed in FC-72, a dielectric fluid, and the experiments were performed in the horizontal orientation, with subcooling varying between 0 K and 72 K, and the pressure between 101.3 kPa and 303.9 kPa. The maximum CHF values on the diamond-base microporous-coated silicon heater were found to reach 47 W/cm², at 3 atm and nearly 50 K of subcooling, and to provide an average enhancement of approximately 60% over the values attained with un-treated silicon surfaces. An available CHF correlation, with a reported standard deviation of 12.5% for un-treated surfaces over a large range of pressures, subcoolings, and surface conditions, was shown to predict the pressure and subcooling effects on CHF from the surface-enhanced chip with a standard deviation of 12%.     

Experimental investigation of oxide nanofluids laminar flow convective heat transfer

In the present investigation nanofluids containing CuO and Al₂O₃ oxide nanoparticles in water as base fluid in different concentrations produced and the laminar flow convective heat transfer through circular tube with constant wall temperature boundary condition were examined. The experimental results emphasize that the single phase correlation with nanofluids properties (Homogeneous Model) is not able to predict heat transfer coefficient enhancement of nanofluids. The comparison between experimental results obtained for CuO / water and Al₂O₃ / water nanofluids indicates that heat transfer coefficient ratios for nanofluid to homogeneous model in low concentration are close to each other but by increasing the volume fraction, higher heat transfer enhancement for Al₂O₃ / water can be observed.     

Creep behavior of Ni-12 wt.% Al anodes for molten carbonate fuel cells

Ni-12 wt.% Al anodes are fabricated for use in molten carbon fuel cells by tape casting and sintering. Sintering is performed in three steps, first at 1200 °C for 10 min in argon, then at 700 °C for 2.5 h in a partial oxidation atmosphere (P_H2/P_H2O=10⁻²), and finally at 950 °C for 5 min, 30 min or 1.5 h in hydrogen. Three anodes with different phases or microstructures are produced at different reduction times. One anode contains three phases, namely Ni–Al solid solution, Ni₃Al, and Al₂O₃. The amount of Al₂O₃ is extremely small at 5 min. A second anode also contains the three phases with the amount of Al₂O₃ comparable with that of Ni₃Al at 30 min. Third anode contains two phases, i.e. Ni–Al solid solution and Al₂O₃ formed at 1.5 h. The creep strains measured for the three anodes after a 100-h creep test are practically the same with an average value of 0.85%.     

Correlation of critical heat flux and two-phase friction factor for subcooled convective boiling in structured surface microchannels

Critical heat flux (CHF) and pressure drop of subcooled flow boiling are measured for a microchannel heat sink containing 75 parallel 100 μm × 200 μm structured surface channels. The heated surface is made of a Cu metal sheet with/without 2 μm thickness diamond film. Tests and measurements are conducted with de-ionized water, de-ionized water +1 vol.% MCNT additive solution, and FC-72 fluids over a mass velocity range of 820–1600 kg/m² s, with inlet temperatures of 15(8.6)°C, 25(13.6)°C, 44(24.6)°C, and 64(36.6)°C for DI water (FC-72), and heat fluxes up to 600 W/cm². The CHF of subcooled flow boiling of the test fluids in the microchannels is measured parametrically. The two-phase pressure drop is also measured. Both CHF and the two-phase friction factor correlation for one-side heating with two other side-structured surface microchannels are proposed and developed in terms of the relevant parameters.     

Synthesis,structural and electrochemical properties of pulsed laser deposited Li(Ni,Co)O2 films

We report the epitaxial growth of the LiNi_1−yM_yO₂ films (M = Co, Co–Al) on heated nickel foil using pulsed laser deposition in oxygen environment from lithium-rich targets. The structure and morphology was characterized by X-ray diffractometry, electron scanning microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Data reveal that the formation of oriented films is dependent on two important parameters: the substrate temperature and the gas pressure during ablation. The charge–discharge process conducted in Li-microcells demonstrates that effective high specific capacities can be obtained with films 1.35 μm thick. Stable capacities of 83 and 92 μAh cm⁻² μm are available in the potential range 4.2–2.5 V for LiNi_0.8Co_0.2O₂ and LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂ films, respectively. The self-diffusion coefficient of Li ions determined from galvanostatic intermittent titration experiments is found to be 4 × 10⁻¹² cm² s⁻¹.     

Comparison study of liquid replenishing impacts on critical heat flux and heat transfer coefficient of nucleate pool boiling on multiscale modulated porous structures

The critical heat flux (CHF) and heat transfer coefficient of de-ionized (DI) water pool boiling have been experimentally studied on a plain surface, one uniform thick porous structure, two modulated porous structures and two hybrid modulated porous structures. The modulated porous structure design has a porous base of 0.55 mm thick with four 3 mm diameter porous pillars of 3.6 mm high on the top of the base. The microparticle size combinations of porous base and porous pillars are uniform 250 μm, uniform 400 μm, 250 μm for base and 400 μm for pillars, and 400 μm for base and 250 μm for pillars. Both the CHF and heat transfer coefficient are significantly improved by the modulated porous. The boiling curves for different kinds of porous structures and a plain surface are compared and analyzed. Hydrodynamic instability for the two-phase change heat transfer has been delayed by the porous pillars which dramatically enhances the CHF. The highest pool boiling heat flux occurring on the modulated porous structures has a value of 450 W/cm², over three times of the CHF on a plain surface. Additionally, the highest heat transfer coefficient also reaches a value of 20 W/cm² K, three times of that on a plain copper surface. The study also demonstrates that the horizontal liquid replenishing is equally important as the vertical liquid replenishing for the enhancement of heat transfer coefficient and CHF improvement in nucleate pool boiling.     

Investigation of thermal conductivity and viscosity of Al2O3/water–ethylene glycol mixture nanocoolant for cooling channel of hot-press forming die application

Hot-press forming process is widely used to produce lightweight chassis in automotive industries. The hot-press forming process currently uses water as coolant to quench boron steels in a closed die with a cooling channel. However, to enhance performance of hot-press forming die, the fluid with better thermal properties will be used instead of normal water. This study dispersed Al₂O₃ nanoparticles with an average diameter of 13 nm in three volume percentages base ratios of water (W) to ethylene glycol (EG) (i.e. 60:40, 50:50, and 40:60) by two-step preparation. The two main parameters in cooling rate performance are thermal conductivity and viscosity. The nanocoolant of Al₂O₃/water–ethylene glycol mixture is prepared for the volume concentration range of 0.2 to 1.0%. The thermal conductivity and viscosity are then measured at temperature range of 15 to 55 °C. The highest enhancement of thermal conductivity was observed to be 10% higher than base fluid for 1.0% volume concentration at 55 °C in 60:40 (W/EG). However, the highest enhancement of viscosity was measured to be 39% for 1.0% volume concentration in 40:60 (W/EG) at 25 °C. The convective heat transfer coefficient of 1.0% concentration in 60:40 (W:EG) at 25 °C is enhanced by 25.4% better than that of 50:50 and 40:60 (W:EG) base fluid. Therefore, this study recommends the use of Al₂O₃ in 60:40 (W:EG) mixture with volume concentration of less than 1.0% for application in cooling channel of hot-press forming die. Nanocoolant as cooling agent with higher heat transfer coefficient compared to the base fluid can reduce the cycle time and increase the productivity of hot-press forming process.     

The performance evaluation of Al2O3/water nanofluid flow and heat transfer in microchannel heat sink

The numerical modeling of the conjugate heat transfer and fluid flow of Al₂O₃/water nanofluid through the microchannel heat sink is presented in the paper. The laminar flow regime was considered along with viscous dissipation effect. The microchannel heat sink with square microchannels and D_h = 50 μm is considered. The heat flux was fixed to q = 35 W/m² with heating and cooling cases. The water based Al₂O₃ nanofluid was encountered with various volume concentrations of Al₂O₃ particles $?=1''–''9\%$ and three diameters of the particle d_p = 13, 28 and 47 nm. The analysis is performed on the results obtained for the local heat transfer coefficients based on a fixed pumping power. The results reveal a different local heat transfer behavior compared to the analysis made on a basis of the constant Re.     

NiO–YSZ cermets supported low temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Solid oxide fuel cells with thin electrolyte of two types, Sm_0.2Ce_0.8O_1.9 (SDC) (15 μm) single-layer and 8 mol% Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) (5 μm) + SDC (15 μm) bi-layer on NiO–YSZ cermet substrates were fabricated by screen printing and co-firing. A Sm_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃ cathode was printed, and in situ sintered during a cell performance test. The SDC single-layer electrolyte cell showed high electrochemical performance at low temperature, with a 1180 mW cm⁻² peak power density at 650 °C. The YSZ + SDC bi-layer electrolyte cell generated 340 mW cm⁻² peak power density at 650 °C, and showed good performance at 700–800 °C, with an open circuit voltage close to theoretical value. Many high Zr-content micro-islands were found on the SDC electrolyte surface prior to the cathode preparation. The influence of co-firing temperature and thin film preparation methods on the Zr-islands’ appearance was investigated.     

Lithium cobalt oxide cathode film prepared by rf sputtering

Thin films of LiCoO₂ prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering on Pt-coated silicon are investigated under various deposited parameters such as working pressure, gas flow rate of Ar to O₂, and heat-treatment temperature. The as-deposited film was a nanocrystalline structure with (1 0 4) preferred orientation. After annealing at 500–700 °C, single-phase LiCoO₂ is obtained when the film is originally deposited under an oxygen partial pressure (P_O2) from 5 to 10 mTorr. When the sputtering process is performed outside these P_O2 values, a second phase of Co₃O₄ is formed in addition to the HT-LiCoO₂ phase. The degree of crystallization of the LiCoO₂ films is strongly affected by the annealing temperature; a higher temperature enhances the crystallization of the deposited LiCoO₂ film. The grain sizes of LiCoO₂ films annealed at 500, 600 and 700 °C are about 60, 95, and 125 nm, respectively. Cyclic voltammograms display well-defined redox peaks. LiCoO₂ films deposited by rf sputtering are electrochemically active. The first discharge capacity of thin LiCoO₂ films annealed at 500, 600 and 700 °C is about 41.77, 50.62 and 61.16 μAh/(cm² μm), respectively. The corresponding 50th discharge capacities are 58.1, 72.2 and 74.9% of the first discharge capacity.     

An experimental study of forced convection effectiveness of Al2O3-water nanofluid flowing in circular tubes

In the present study, experimental efforts have been performed to explore the forced convection heat transfer using water-based suspension of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles (nanofluid) to replace the pure water as the working fluids in circular tubes. The nanofluid was prepared as a functional forced convection fluid and the thermal properties including the density, thermal conductivity, and dynamic viscosity were investigated experimentally. Besides, forced convection heat transfer in circular tubes was investigated with water-based nanofluid containing various mass fractions of the Al₂O₃ nanoparticles (2, 5, and 10 wt%) under the following operating conditions: the volume flow rate Q_f = 23.6–183.5 cm³/min (the Reynolds number Re_f,0 = 188–2095), the heating power applied at the outer wall of the tube q_o , eff.^″ = 1908–7362 W/m², and the inlet fluid temperature T_in = 24.5–25.5 °C or 49.5–50.5 °C. Measured data showed that the dispersion of increasing mass fraction of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles can effectively improve the thermal conductivity relative to the pure water. Besides, higher average heat transfer effectiveness ${\stackrel{-}{\epsilon }}_{h,\mathit{btd}}$ and figure of merit FOM are noted for the cases with higher inlet fluid temperature T_in.     

Electrochemical and solid-state NMR studies on LiCoO2 coated with Al2O3 derived from carboxylate-alumoxane

The surface of LiCoO₂ cathodes was coated with various wt.% of Al₂O₃ derived from methoxyethoxy acetate-alumoxane (MEA-alumoxane) by a mechano-thermal coating procedure, followed by calcination at 723 K in air for 10 h. The structure and morphology of the surface modified LiCoO₂ samples have been characterized with XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, BET, XPS/ESCA and solid-state ²⁷Al magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR techniques. The Al₂O₃ coating forms a thin layer on the surface of the core material with an average thickness of 20 nm. The corresponding ²⁷Al MAS NMR spectrum basically exhibited the same characteristics as the spectrum for pristine Al₂O₃ derived from MEA-alumoxane, indicating that the local environment of aluminum atoms was not significantly changed at coating levels below 1 wt.%. This provides direct evidence that Al₂O₃ was on the surface of the core materials. The LiCoO₂ coated with 1 wt.% Al₂O₃ sustained continuous cycle stability 13 times longer than pristine LiCoO₂. A comparison of the electrochemical impedance behavior of the pristine and coated materials revealed that the failure of pristine cathode performance is associated with an increase in the particle–particle resistance upon continuous cycling. Coating improved the cathode performance by suppressing the characteristic structural phase transitions (hexagonal to monoclinic to hexagonal) that occur in pristine LiCoO₂ during the charge–discharge processes.     

Experimental thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol and water mixture based low volume concentration of Al2O3 and CuO nanofluids

Thermal conductivity of ethylene glycol and water mixture based Al₂O₃ and CuO nanofluids has been estimated experimentally at different volume concentrations and temperatures. The base fluid is a mixture of 50:50% (by weight) of ethylene glycol and water (EG/W). The particle concentration up to 0.8% and temperature range from 15 °C–50 °C were considered. Both the nanofluids are exhibiting higher thermal conductivity compared to base fluid. Under same volume concentration and temperature, CuO nanofluid thermal conductivity is more compared to Al₂O₃ nanofluid. A new correlation was developed based on the experimental data for the estimation of thermal conductivity of both the nanofluids.     

A study of Ni + 8YSZ/8YSZ/La0.6Sr0.4CoO3−δ ITSOFC fabricated by atmospheric plasma spraying

An intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (ITSOFC) based on 8YSZ electrolyte, La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO_3−δ (LSCo) cathode, and Ni − 8YSZ anode coatings were consecutively deposited onto a porous Ni-plate substrate by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The spray parameters including current, argon and hydrogen flow rate, and powder feed rate were investigated by an orthogonal experiment to fabricate a thin gas-tight 8YSZ electrolyte coating (80 μm). By proper selection of the spray parameters to decrease the particles velocity and temperature, the sprayed NiO + 8YSZ coating after reducing with hydrogen shows a good electrocatalytic activity for H₂ oxidation. With the same treatment, 100–170 μm dimensions LSCo particle could keep phase structure after spraying. And the deposited LSCo cathode shows a good cathode performance and chemical compatibility with 8YSZ electrolyte after operating at 800 °C for 50 h. Output power density of the sprayed cell achieved 410 mW cm⁻² at 850 °C and 260 mW cm⁻² at 800 °C. Electrochemical characterization indicated that IR drop of 8YSZ electrolyte, cathodic polarization, and the contact resistance at LSCo/8YSZ interface were the main factors restricting the cell performance. The results suggested that the use of APS cell allowed the reduction of the operating temperature of the SOFC to below 850 °C with lower production costs.     

Dry-out CHF correlation for R134a flow boiling in a horizontal helically-coiled tube

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the R134a dry-out critical heat flux (CHF) characteristics in a horizontal helically-coiled tube. The test section was heated uniformly by DC high-power source, and its geometrical parameters are the outer diameter of 10 mm, inner diameter of 8.4 mm, coil diameter of 300 mm, helical pitch of 75 mm and valid heated length of 1.89 m. The experimental parameters are the outlet pressures of 0.30–0.95 MPa, mass fluxes of 60–500 kg m^?2 s^?1, inlet qualities of ?0.36–0.35 and heat fluxes of 7.0 × 10³–5.0 × 10⁴ W m^?2. A method based on Agilent BenchLink Data Logger Pro was developed to determine the occurrence of CHF with a total of 68 T-type thermocouples (0.2 mm) set along the tube for accurate temperature measurement. The characteristics of wall temperatures and the parametric effect on dry-out CHF showed that temperature would jump abruptly at the point of CHF, which usually started to form at the front and offside (270° and 90°) of the outlet cross-section. The CHF values decrease nearly linearly with increasing inlet qualities, while they decrease more acutely with increasing critical qualities, especially under larger mass flux conditions. The mass flux has a positive effect on CHF enhancement, but the pressure has negative one. A new dimensionless correlation was developed to estimate dry-out CHF of R134a flow boiling in horizontal helically-coiled tubes under current experimental conditions and compared to calculated results from Bowring and Shah correlations.