On the validity of a design method for a solar-assisted ejector cooling system

A solar-assisted ejector cooling system is simulated in order to investigate the validity of a design methodology. Hourly simulation results allow for computing the solar fraction, in cases when the cooling capacity of the ejector cycle is kept constant during daily periods. The computed solar fraction is compared with estimates obtained from the method based on the utilizability concept. An equivalent minimum temperature for the utilizability of the solar system is found, which proves to be different, but close to, the vapor generator temperature of the ejector cycle. It is shown that the solar fraction derived from the utilizability concept based on the monthly means of the global solar radiation is applicable to solar-assisted ejector cooling cycles, in cases when the minimum temperature at which solar heat is supplied to the load is determined. Good agreement is found between the solar fraction results obtained from the simulations and those obtained by the method.     

On various modeling approaches to radiative heat transfer in pool fires

Six computational methods for solution of the radiative transfer equation in an absorbing-emitting, nonscattering gray medium were compared for a 2-m JP-8 pool fire. The emission temperature and absorption coefficient fields were taken from a synthetic fire due to the lack of a complete set of experimental data for computing radiation for large and fully turbulent fires. These quantities were generated by a code that has been shown to agree well with the limited quantity of relevant data in the literature. Reference solutions to the governing equation were determined using the Monte Carlo method and a ray-tracing scheme with high angular resolution. Solutions using the discrete transfer method (DTM), the discrete ordinates method (DOM) with both S₄ and LC₁₁ quadratures, and a moment model using the M₁ closure were compared to the reference solutions in both isotropic and anisotropic regions of the computational domain. Inside the fire, where radiation is isotropic, all methods gave comparable results with good accuracy. Predictions of DTM agreed well with the reference solutions, which is expected for a technique based on ray tracing. DOM LC₁₁ was shown to be more accurate than the commonly used S₄ quadrature scheme, especially in anisotropic regions of the fire domain. On the other hand, DOM S₄ gives an accurate source term and, in isotropic regions, correct fluxes. The M₁ results agreed well with other solution techniques and were comparable to DOM S₄. This represents the first study where the M₁ method was applied to a combustion problem occurring in a complex three-dimensional geometry. Future applications of M₁ to fires and similar problems are recommended, considering its similar accuracy and the fact that it has significantly lower computational cost than DOM S₄.     

Study of the performance of three micromixing models in transported scalar PDF simulations of a piloted jet diffusion flame (“Delft Flame III”)

Numerical simulation results are presented for a turbulent nonpremixed flame with local extinction and reignition. The transported scalar PDF approach is applied to the turbulence-chemistry interaction. The turbulent flow field is obtained with a nonlinear two-equation turbulence model. A C₁ skeletal scheme is used as the chemistry model. The performance of three micromixing models is compared: the interaction by exchange with the mean model (IEM), the modified Curl's coalescence/dispersion model (CD) and the Euclidean minimum spanning tree model (EMST). With the IEM model, global extinction occurs. With the standard value of model constant C?=2, the CD model yields a lifted flame, unlike the experiments, while with the EMST model the correct flame shape is obtained. However, the conditional variances of the thermochemical quantities are underestimated with the EMST model, due to a lack of local extinction in the simulations. With the CD model, the flame becomes attached when either the value of C? is increased to 3 or the pilot flame thermal power is increased by a factor of 1.5. With increased value of C? better results for mixture fraction variance are obtained with both the CD and the EMST model. Lowering the value of C? leads to better predictions for mean temperature with EMST, but at the cost of stronger overprediction of mixture fraction variance. These trends are explained as a consequence of variance production by macroscopic inhomogeneity and the specific properties of the micromixing models. Local time stepping is applied so that convergence is obtained more quickly. Iteration averaging reduces statistical error so that the limited number of 50 particles per cell is sufficient to obtain accurate results.     

Combustion of hydrogen in a bubbling fluidized bed

The combustion of hydrogen in a hot, bubbling bed of quartz sand fluidized by air has been studied for the first time, by injecting hydrogen just above the distributor, via six horizontal fine tubes of Cr/Ni. Overall the fluidizing gas was oxygen-rich, with the composition varying from nearly stoichiometric to very lean mixtures. With the bed initially fluidized at room temperature, combustion (after ignition by a pilot flame) occurs in a premixed flame sitting on top of the bed. When the sand warms up, combustion becomes explosive in bubbles leaving the bed, exactly as with a hydrocarbon as fuel. However, in contrast to hydrocarbons, it is clear that when the bed reaches 500-600 °C, heat is produced both above the top of the bed (because of H₂ bypassing the bed) and very low down in the bed. In fact, with hydrogen as fuel, the location of where bubbles ignite descends abruptly to low in the sand; furthermore, the descent occurs at ∼500 °C, which is ∼100 K below the ignition temperature predicted by well-established kinetic models. However, the kinetic models do reproduce the observations, if it is assumed that the Cr/Ni hypodermic tubes, through which the fuel was injected, exert a catalytic effect, producing free H atoms, which then give rise to HO₂ radicals. In this situation, kinetic modeling indicates that bubbles ignite when they become sufficiently large and few enough to have a lifetime (i.e. the interval between their collisions) longer than the ignition delay for the temperature of the sand. The amounts of NO found in the off-gases were at a maximum (24 ppm), when the bed was at ∼500 °C for λ=[O₂]/stoich[O₂]=1.05. The variations of [NO] with [air]/[H₂] and also temperature indicate that NO is produced, at least partly, via the intermediate N₂H. In addition, the air-afterglow emission of green light (from NO+O→NO₂+hν) was observed in the freeboard, indicating the presence there of both NO and free atoms of oxygen for 1.05<λ<1.1.     

Mathematical modeling of MILD combustion of pulverized coal

MILD (flameless) combustion is a new rapidly developing technology. The IFRF trials have demonstrated high potential of this technology also for N-containing fuels. In this work the IFRF experiments are analyzed using the CFD-based mathematical model. Both the Chemical Percolation Devolatilization (CPD) model and the char combustion intrinsic reactivity model have been adapted to Guasare coal combusted. The flow-field as well as the temperature and the oxygen fields have been accurately predicted by the CFD-based model. The predicted temperature and gas composition fields have been uniform demonstrating that slow combustion occurs in the entire furnace volume. The CFD-based predictions have highlighted the NO_x reduction potential of MILD combustion through the following mechanism. Before the coal devolatilization proceeds, the coal jet entrains a substantial amount of flue gas so that its oxygen content is typically not higher than 3-5%. The volatiles are given off in a highly sub-stoichiometric environment and their N-containing species are preferentially converted to molecular nitrogen rather than to NO. Furthermore, there exists a strong NO-reburning mechanism within the fuel jet and in the air jet downstream of the position where these two jets merge. In other words, less NO is formed from combustion of volatiles and stronger NO-reburning mechanisms exist in the MILD combustion if compared to conventional coal combustion technology.     

Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of an alternating phenylenevinylene copolymer with substituted-triphenylamine units along the backbone for bulk heterojunction and dye-sensitized solar cells

We have fabricated bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic devices based on the as cast and thermally annealed P:[6,6]-phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blends and found that these devices gave power conversion efficiency (PCE) of about 1.15 and 1.60% respectively. P is a novel alternating phenylenevinylene copolymer which contains 2-cyano-3-(4-(diphenylamino)phenyl)acrylic acid units along the backbone and was synthesized by Heck coupling. This copolymer was soluble in common organic solvents and showed long-wavelength absorption maximum at 390-420 nm with optical band gap of 1.94 eV. The improvement of PCE after thermal annealing of the device based on the P:PCBM blend was attributed to the increase in hole mobility due to the enhanced crystallinity of P induced by thermal treatment. In addition, we have fabricated BHJ photovoltaic devices based on the as cast and thermally annealed PB:P:PCBM ternary blend. PB is a low band gap alternating phenylenevinylene copolymer with BF₂-azopyrrole complex units, which has been previously synthesized in our laboratory. We found that the device based on this ternary blend exhibited higher PCE (2.56%) as compared to either P:PCBM (1.15%) or PB:PCBM (1.57%) blend. This feature was associated with the well energy level alignment of P, PB and PCBM, the higher donor-acceptor interfaces for the exciton dissociation and the improved light harvesting property of the ternary blend. The further increase in the PCE with thermally annealed ternary blend (3.48%) has been correlated with the increase in the crystallinity of both P and PB. Finally, we used copolymer P as sensitizer for quasi solid state dye-sensitized solar cell and we achieved PCE of approximately 3.78%.     

Microcrystalline silicon deposited at high rate on large areas from pure silane with efficient gas utilization

Microcrystalline silicon thin film deposited by RF-PECVD and integrated in a tandem structure is a promising material for low cost photovoltaic solar cells compared to solar cells based on crystalline silicon. However, in order to allow a cost-effective mass production of solar cells based on this material, deposition processes should fulfill several conditions such as high deposition rate, good uniformity over large area and efficient gas utilization. In this work, it is shown that the atomic hydrogen density can be high enough to form microcrystalline thin films even from a pure silane RF discharge and that the pure silane regime is more efficient in terms of gas utilization. In situ Fourier transform infrared absorption and ex situ Raman spectroscopy measurements have been used to determine the fraction of dissociated silane in the discharge and the crystallinity of the deposited layers. Results have shown that microcrystalline silicon can be deposited uniformly on a large area substrate with a deposition rate of more than with a low powder formation and an input power density of from a pure silane discharge.     

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system-based maximum power point tracking of solar PV modules for fast varying solar radiations

This paper analyses the operation of an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS)-based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for solar photovoltaic (SPV) energy generation system. The MPPT works on the principle of adjusting the voltage of the SPV modules by changing the duty ratio of the boost converter. The duty ratio of the boost converter is calculated for a given solar irradiance and temperature condition by a closed-loop control scheme. The ANFIS is trained to generate maximum power corresponding to the given solar irradiance level and temperature. The response of the ANFIS-based control system is highly precise and offers an extremely fast response. The response time is seen as nearly 1 ms for fast varying cell temperature and 6 ms for fast varying solar irradiance. The simulation is done for fast-changing solar irradiance and temperature conditions. The response of the proposed controller is also presented.     

Dye-sensitized solar cell using natural dyes extracted from rosella and blue pea flowers

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated using natural dyes extracted from rosella, blue pea and a mixture of the extracts. The light absorption spectrum of the mixed extract contained peaks corresponding to the contributions from both rosella and blue pea extracts. However, the mixed extract adsorbed on TiO₂ does not show synergistic light absorption and photosensitization compared to the individual extracts. Instead, the cell sensitized by the rosella extract alone showed the best sensitization, which was in agreement with the broadest spectrum of the extract adsorbed on TiO₂ film. In case that the dyes were extracted at , using water as extracting solvent, the energy conversion efficiency (η) of the cells consisting of rosella extract alone, blue pea extract alone and mixed extract was 0.37%, 0.05% and 0.15%, respectively. The sensitization performance related to interaction between the dye and TiO₂ surface is discussed. The explanations are supported by the light absorption of the extract solution compared to extracts adsorbed on TiO₂ and also dye structures. The effects of changing extracting temperature, extracting solvent and pH of the extract solution are also reported. The efficiency of rosella extract sensitized DSSC was improved from 0.37% to 0.70% when the aqueous dye was extracted at instead of and pH of the dye was adjusted from 3.2 to 1.0. Moreover, DSSC stability was also improved by the changes in conditions. However, the efficiency of a DSSC using ethanol as extracting solvent was found to be diminished after being exposed to the simulated sunlight for a short period.     

Hourly simulation and performance of solar electric-vapor compression refrigeration system

A solar electric-vapor compression refrigeration (SE-VCR) system has been proposed in this study. The SE-VCR system was investigated for different evaporating temperatures and months in Adana city located in the southern region of Turkey. First, the hourly cooling load capacities (heat gain) of a sample building during the 23rd days of May, June, July, August and September months were determined by using meteorological data such as hourly average solar radiations and atmospheric temperatures. The hourly total heat gain of the sample building comprised of wall, window, humans, illumination and devices were determined by using the Cooling Load Hourly Analysis Program (HAP) 4.4. Then, the hourly variations of various parameters such as coefficient of the performance, condenser capacity and compressor power consumption were calculated. In addition, the minimum photovoltaic panel surface area was determined to meet the compressor power demand according to the hourly average solar radiation data. For evaporating temperature T_e = 0 °C, the maximum compressor power consumption was obtained as 2.53 kW at 15:00 PM on August 23. The required photovoltaic panel surface area was found to be around 31.26 m². It was determined that the SE-VCR system could be used for home/office-cooling purposes during the day in the southern region of Turkey.     

Investigation of cloudless solar radiation with PV module employing Matlab-Simulink

This paper focuses on a novel approach to the prediction of Voltage-Current (V-I) characteristics of a Photovoltaic panel under varying weather conditions and also the modelling of hourly cloudless solar radiation to provide the insolation on a PV module of any orientation, located at any site. The empirical model developed in this study uses standard specifications together with the actual solar radiation and cell temperature. This proposed work develops a Matlab-Simulink model to generate solar radiation at any location and for any time of the year. A new model for V-I characteristics and maximum power operation of a Photovoltaic (PV) module is also presented, which aims to model the effect on V-I and P-V curves of varying climatic conditions. Moreover, this model has been implemented using the Matlab-Simulink and is used to investigate the effect of meteorological conditions on the performance of a PV module generator. Thus the combined model of cloudless solar radiation and the photovoltaic module provides a tool that may be loaded in the library for analysis purpose. It is found that the predicted solar radiation strongly agrees with the experimental data.     

Carrier collection in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells with graded band gaps and transparent ZnO:Al back contacts

Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ Solar cells with graded band gap and efficiencies up to 13% have been fabricated on transparent ZnO:Al back contacts. The back contact structure includes a transparent 10 nm thin Mo interlayer with NaF precursor between the ZnO:Al and the Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ absorber that transforms the blocking ZnO:Al/Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ interface into an Ohmic back contact. To investigate the electronic quality of the back contact, the cells are analyzed by internal quantum efficiency measurements under illumination from front and back side. A new semianalytical model for the quantum efficiency of graded band gap absorbers yields quantitative information about the back contact recombination velocity as well as optical and electronic material parameters of the absorber layer. Band gap grading significantly increases carrier collection. However, in the immediate vicinity of the back contact carrier collection is limited by a high ratio of back contact recombination velocity and diffusion constant .     

A novel parameter extraction method for the one-diode solar cell model

With the increase in the capacity of photovoltaic generation systems, studies are being actively conducted to improve system efficiency. To develop precise solar cell simulators or design a high-performance photovoltaic generation system, it is important to accurately understand the physical properties of solar cells. However, solar cell models have a non-linear form with numerous parameters. To obtain accurate parameter values, assumptions that differ from real operating conditions must be made to avoid computational complexity. In this paper, a new method for extracting parameter values is proposed. The proposed method deduces the characteristic curve of an ideal solar cell without resistance using the I-V characteristic curve measured and reported by solar cell manufacturers and calculates the difference between the deduced and actual measured curves. In addition, the precision of the proposed method is demonstrated by calculating the correlation between the I-V characteristic curve based on modeling parameters and the I-V curve actually measured employing the least-squares method.     

Performance of low series-resistance interconnections on the polycrystalline solar cells

The performance of four ribbons of lead SnAgPb (SAP) and lead-free SnAgCu (SAC) photovoltaic (PV) ribbons in patterned (pat-) and high-conductivity (con-) types soldered on silicon solar cells are investigated by electron characteristics and microstructure analyses. The electrical performances of the solar strings were characterized before and after the soldering process by a solar flasher, and strings with commercial ribbons of lead and lead-free are compared. In general, lead ribbon solar strings show lower power loss value than lead-free counterparts. And the commercial lead and lead-free ribbon strings show highest power loss around 6.66%-10.65% of all the solar strings. Furthermore, the power losses for patterned lead (pat-SAP) and lead-free (pat-SAC) solar string are 3.93% and 5.51%, respectively, implying that a patterned structure should improve the soldering process and result in lower power loss. Yet, significant low output power loss values are detected in the solar strings which are soldered with high-conductivity ribbons. It is estimated that the power loss for high-conductivity lead (con-SAP) and lead-free (con-SAC) solar strings are 3.89% and 4.43%, respectively. And a similar condition was revealed when the solder materials were practically interconnected the solar cells in PV modules. According to the microstructure analyses, the low power loss of con-SAP solar string should be due to the good electrical performance in low series resistance (R_s) and high shunt resistance (R_sh), thus resulting in a high fill factor of the solar device.     

Fundamental time–domain wind turbine models for wind power studies

One critical task in any wind power interconnection study involves the modelling of wind turbines. This paper provides the most basic yet comprehensive time–domain wind turbine model upon which more sophisticated models along with their power and speed control mechanisms, can be developed. For this reason, this paper concentrates on the modelling of a fixed-speed wind turbine. The model includes turbine's aerodynamic, mechanical, and electrical components. Data for the rotor, drive-train, and electrical generator are given to allow replication of the model in its entirety. Each of the component-blocks of the wind turbine is modelled separately so that one can easily expand the model to simulate variable-speed wind turbines or customise the model to suit their needs. Then, an aggregate wind turbine model, or wind farm, is developed. This is followed by four case studies to demonstrate how the models can be used to study wind turbine operation and power grid integration issues. Results obtained from the case studies show that the models perform as expected.     

On the spectral bands measurements for combustion monitoring

In this work, spatial–spectral experimental issues affecting the detection of radical emissions in a natural gas flame are discussed and studied by a radiometric analysis of the flame spectral emission. As results of this analysis, Local and Global Spectral Radiation Measurements (LSRM and GSRM respectively) techniques are proposed, and guidelines for selecting the radical emission bands and spatial location of photodetectors are given. Two types of experiments have been performed in order to demonstrate the reliability of the GSRM technique for combustion characterization. In the first experiment, the LSRM and the GSRM have been implemented by using a home made sensor array, based on silicon photodiodes, for sensing the excited CH^∗ and radicals in a natural gas flame. It has been experimentally demonstrated that by using the GSRM, the signal’s dispersion can be reduced to about 86% for the CH^∗ and 76% for the with respect to the obtained values with LSRM methodology. In the second experiment, the GSRM technique has been applied for sensing the CH^∗ and radicals, where it has been found that the signals emissions ratio /CH^∗ provides a good indicator of the thermal combustion efficiency and the CO pollutants emissions, with small dispersion. Thus, the GSRM technique has corroborated the usefulness of that ratio for combustion monitoring.     

A field operational test on valve-regulated lead-acid absorbent-glass-mat batteries in micro-hybrid electric vehicles. Part II. Results based on multiple regression analysis and tear-down analysis

In the first part of this work [1] a field operational test (FOT) on micro-HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles) and conventional vehicles was introduced. Valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries in absorbent glass mat (AGM) technology and flooded batteries were applied. The FOT data were analyzed by kernel density estimation. In this publication multiple regression analysis is applied to the same data. Square regression models without interdependencies are used. Hereby, capacity loss serves as dependent parameter and several battery-related and vehicle-related parameters as independent variables. Battery temperature is found to be the most critical parameter. It is proven that flooded batteries operated in the conventional power system (CPS) degrade faster than VRLA-AGM batteries in the micro-hybrid power system (MHPS).A smaller number of FOT batteries were applied in a vehicle-assigned test design where the test battery is repeatedly mounted in a unique test vehicle. Thus, vehicle category and specific driving profiles can be taken into account in multiple regression. Both parameters have only secondary influence on battery degradation, instead, extended vehicle rest time linked to low mileage performance is more serious.A tear-down analysis was accomplished for selected VRLA-AGM batteries operated in the MHPS. Clear indications are found that pSoC-operation with periodically fully charging the battery (refresh charging) does not result in sulphation of the negative electrode. Instead, the batteries show corrosion of the positive grids and weak adhesion of the positive active mass.     

Hydrogen as a battery for a rooftop household solar power generation unit

Decentralization of electrical power generation using rooftop solar units is projected to develop to not only mitigate power losses along transmission and distribution lines, but to control greenhouse gases emissions. Due to intermittency of solar energy, traditional batteries are used to store energy. However, batteries have several drawbacks such as limited lifespan, low storage capacity, uncontrolled discharge when not connected to a load and limited number of charge/discharge cycles. In this paper, the feasibility of using hydrogen as a battery is analyzed where hydrogen is produced by the extra diurnal generated electricity by a rooftop household solar power generation unit and utilized in a fuel cell system to generate the required electrical power at night. In the proposed design, two rooftop concentrated photovoltaic thermal (CPVT) systems coupled with an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) are used to generate electricity during 9.5 h per day and the extra power is utilized in an electrolyzer to produce hydrogen. Various working fluids (Isobutane, R134a, R245fa and R123) are used in the ORC system to analyze the maximum feasible power generation by this section. Under the operating conditions, the generated power by ORC as well as its efficiency are evaluated for various working fluids and the most efficient working fluid is selected. The required power for the compressor in the hydrogen storage process is calculated and the number of electrolyzer cells required for the hydrogen production system is determined. The results indicate that the hybrid CPVT-ORC system produces 2.378 kW of electricity at 160 suns. Supplying 65% of the produced electricity to an electrolyzer, 0.2606 kg of hydrogen is produced and stored for nightly use in a fuel cell system. This amount of hydrogen can generate the required electrical power at night while the efficiency of electrolyzer is more than 70%.     

Microstructure and hydrogen storage properties of the laser sintered alloy

The Mg₂Ni hydrogen storage samples were prepared by the laser sintering method. Before laser sintering, the Mg and Ni powders were pre-mixed by pestle milling (sample PM) or ball milling (sample BM). The microstructures and hydrogen storage properties of the laser sintered Mg₂Ni samples were investigated. The sintered samples contained Mg₂Ni and small amount of MgNi₂, Mg, Ni and MgO. Compared with the sample PM, the amounts of Mg₂Ni and MgNi₂ reduced and the amounts of Mg and Ni increased in the sample BM. The laser sintered Mg₂Ni samples can be activated easily at 573 K. The maximum hydrogen storage capacities of the PM and BM samples were 3.23 and 3.44 wt%, respectively.     

Performance evaluation of hybrid (wind/solar/diesel) power systems

Depleting oil and gas reserves, combined with the growing concerns of global warming, have made it inevitable to seek alternative/renewable energy sources. The integration of renewables such as solar and wind energy is becoming increasingly attractive and is being used widely, for substitution of oil-produced energy, and eventually to minimize atmospheric degradation. The literature shows that commercial/residential buildings in Saudi Arabia consume an estimated 10–40% of the total electric energy generated. In the present investigation, hourly wind-speed and solar radiation measurements made at the solar radiation and meteorological monitoring station, Dhahran (26°32′ N, 50°13′ E), Saudi Arabia, have been analyzed to investigate the feasibility of using hybrid (wind+solar+diesel) energy conversion systems at Dhahran to meet the energy needs of twenty 2-bedroom houses. The monthly average wind speeds for Dhahran range from 4.1 to 6.4 m/s. The monthly average daily values of solar radiation for Dhahran range from 3.6 kWh/m² to 7.96 kWh/m². The performance of hybrid systems consisting of different rated power wind farms, photovoltaic (PV) areas, and storage capacities together with a diesel back-up are presented. The monthly average daily energy generated from the above hybrid system configuration has been presented. The deficit energy generated from the back-up diesel generator and the number of operational hours of the diesel system to meet a specific annual electrical energy demand of 702,358 kWh have also been presented.