Investigation of the structural and reactants properties on the thermal characteristics of a premixed porous burner

Porous burners offer attractive features such as competitive combustion efficiency, high power ranges, and lower pollutant emissions. In the present study, the thermal characteristics of a porous burner are numerically investigated for a range of operating conditions and design specifications within a practical range. The premixed flame propagation of a methane/air mixture in a ceramic porous medium is simulated through an unsteady, one-dimensional model. The combustion process is modeled using a suitable single-step chemical kinetics. The reaction location is not predetermined, thus the flame is allowed to float within the solid matrix or to run off from either side of the porous medium. The numerical results indicate that flame stability and thermal characteristics of the burner are strongly dependent on the inlet mixture specifications and the solid matrix structural properties. For a fixed value of the inlet firing rate, the combustion products temperature will increase by an increase in the inlet gas temperature, an increase in the matrix porosity, or by a decrease of the matrix pore density. Among the geometrical properties, the burner length has virtually no effect on the burner performance. An increase in the solid matrix porosity or burner firing rate will increase the efficiency of the preheating zone, while increasing the inlet gas temperature or matrix pore density will cause a reduction in this efficiency. Simulation results also suggest that in order to prevent flame blow-out or flash-back, critical values of the burner settings and design parameters must be avoided.     

Performance prediction of proton exchange membrane fuel cells using a three-dimensional model

In this study a steady-state three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell is developed and presented for a single cell. A complete set of conservation equations of mass, momentum, species, energy transport, and charge is considered with proper account of electrochemical kinetics based on Butler–Volmer equation. The catalyst layer structure is considered to be agglomerate. This model enables us to investigate the flow field, current distribution, and cell voltage over the fuel cell which includes the anode and cathode collector plates, gas channels, catalyst layers, gas diffusion layers, and the membrane. The numerical solution is based on a finite-volume method in a single solution domain. In this investigation a CFD code was used as the core solver for the transport equations, while mathematical models for the main physical and electrochemical phenomena were devised into the solver using user-developed subroutines. Three-dimensional results of the flow structure, species concentrations and current distribution are presented for bipolar plates with square cross section of straight flow channels. A polarization curve is obtained for the fuel cell under consideration. A comparison between the polarization curves obtained from the current study and the corresponding available experimental data is presented and a reasonable agreement is obtained. Such CFD model can be used as a tool in the development and optimization of PEM fuel cells.     

Influence of van der Waals force on the pull-in parameters of cantilever type nanoscale electrostatic actuators

In this paper, the influence of the van der Waals force on two main parameters describing an instability point of cantilever type nanomechanical switches, which are the pull-in voltage and deflection are investigated by using a distributed parameter model. The fringing field effect is also taken into account. The nonlinear differential equation of the model is transformed into the integral form by using the Green’s function of the cantilever beam. The integral equation is solved analytically by assuming an appropriate shape function for the beam deflection. The detachment length and the minimum initial gap of the cantilever type switches are given, which are the basic design parameters for NEMS switches. The pull-in parameters of micromechanical electrostatic actuators are also investigated as a special case of our study by neglecting the van der Waals force.     

The Development of a Robust ANFIS Model for Predicting Minimum Miscibility Pressure

Miscible gas injection has been considered one of the most important enhanced oil recovery techniques. Minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) is a key parameter in the design of an efficient miscible gas injection project. This parameter is usually determined using a slimtube apparatus in the laboratory. However, many attempts have been made to introduce MMP predicting correlations. In this study an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS)–based correlation has been developed to estimate the MMP values. In this model, the MMP of reservoir fluid is correlated with 27 variables containing concentrations of different components in reservoir oil and injecting gas, molecular weight and specific gravity of C₇ ⁺ in reservoir oil and also reservoir temperature. This correlation can be applied to predict the effect of each individual parameter on the MMP values.     

The Effect of the Structure of Clay and Clay Modifier on Polystyrene-Clay Nanocomposite Morphology: A Review

Nanocomposites formation brings about an enhancement of many properties for polymers. They have attracted interests since they attain significant properties with far less clay content. It is generally assumed that exfoliation nanocomposites are preferred for the greatest increases in properties, but that is not correct in flame retardency properties. In this paper the effects of different types of clays and clay modifiers on final morphology of PS/clay nanocomposites were reviewed. Clay charge density and length, bulk, polarity, functional groups and polymerizability of the clay modifier are very significant in their efficiency and final morphology of PS/Clay nanocomposite.     

A Predictive Nighttime Ventilation Algorithm to Reduce Energy Use and Peak Demand in an Office Building

The effect of two nighttime ventilation strategies on cooling and heating energy use is investigated for a prototype office building in several northern America climates, using hourly building energy simulation software （DOE2.1E）. The strategies include： scheduled-driven nighttime ventilation and a predictive method for nighttime ventilation. The maximum possible energy savings and peak demand reduction in each climate is analyzed as a function of ventilation rate, indoor-outdoor temperature difference, and building thermal mass. The results show that nighttime ventilation could save up to 32% cooling energy in an office building, while the total energy and peak demand savings for the fan and cooling is about 13% and 10%, respectively. Consequently, finding the optimal control parameters for the nighttime ventilation strategies is very important. The performance of the two strategies varies in different climates. The predictive nighttime ventilation worked better in weather conditions with fairly smooth transition from heating to cooling season.     

Achieving Isolated Fe100−x Pt x Nanoparticles with High Magnetic Coercivity

Monodisperse Fe_100?x Pt _x (x=37, 41, 47, 54, 61, 66, 74) nanoparticles with an average size of 4.5 nm were successfully synthesized using the chemical polyol process. As-synthesized Fe_100?x Pt _x nanoparticles have the chemically disordered face-centered cubic (fcc) structure with A1 phase. To achieve an ordered structure L1₀ phase for FePt and L1₂ phase for FePt₃ particles, high-temperature annealing is required. In this work, with optimizing effective parameters of annealing and also by changing the stoichiometric of Fe_100?x Pt _x nanoparticles, we were able to achieve coercivity of 16,500 Oe for Fe₅₃Pt₄₇, which is heat treated at 650 ^°C for 60 min with 20 ^°C/min (annealing heating rate). It is obvious that the annealing procedure in this temperature leads to destruction of surfactant and sintering. In this work, chemically synthesized Fe₅₃Pt₄₇ nanoparticles were coated by a nonmagnetic CoO oxide shell to prevent them from sintering. Results show that the size of the core/shell (Fe₅₃Pt₄₇/CoO) nanoparticles after the annealing at a temperature of 650 ^°C has not changed compared to the size of the as-synthesized state. Meanwhile, the coercivity of about 5580 Oe is obtained for this nanocomposite.     

Prediction of the volumetric and thermodynamic properties of some refrigerants using GMA equation of state

The density of 11 refrigerants (hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFCs)) in the extended ranges of temperature and pressure has been calculated using Goharshadi–Morsali–Abbaspour equation of state (GMA EoS) and the results have been shown as the three-dimensional surfaces of density–temperature–pressure. A wide comparison with experimental data was made. The accuracy of the equation of state in the prediction of density was determined by statistical parameters. The results show that the GMA EoS can reproduce the experimental PVT data of HCFCs and HFCs within experimental errors throughout the liquid phase. The thermodynamic properties such as isobaric expansion coefficient, isothermal compressibility, and vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) prediction for these HCFC and HFC refrigerants have been performed using GMA EoS. GMA EoS can predict the characteristic feature of pressure behavior of isobaric expansion and isothermal compressibility coefficients.     

Free convective laminar flow within the Trombe wall channel

Free convective laminar heat transfer between the channel surfaces of the Trombe wall has been investigated. Considered in this study were the velocity profiles normal and parallel to the direction of fluid flow, the pressure drop due to flow acceleration at the channel entrance, and the effect of dissimilar but uniform channel surface temperatures for a wide range of flow rates and temperatures.A finite difference procedure was used to solve the governing equations in dimensionless form using air as the fluid. After comparison with available experimental data, results have been reduced, and several correlations developed to enable important performance characteristics to be estimated given the channel thickness, height, and surface temperatures.     

Cool surfaces and shade trees to reduce energy use and improve air quality in urban areas

Elevated summertime temperatures in urban ‘heat islands’ increase cooling-energy use and accelerate the formation of urban smog. Except in the city’s core areas, summer heat islands are created mainly by the lack of vegetation and by the high solar radiation absorptance by urban surfaces. Analysis of temperature trends for the last 100 years in several large U.S. cities indicate that, since 1940, temperatures in urban areas have increased by about 0.5–3.0°C. Typically, electricity demand in cities increases by 2–4% for each 1°C increase in temperature. Hence, we estimate that 5–10% of the current urban electricity demand is spent to cool buildings just to compensate for the increased 0.5–3.0°C in urban temperatures. Downtown Los Angeles (L.A.), for example, is now 2.5°C warmer than in 1920, leading to an increase in electricity demand of 1500 MW. In L.A., smoggy episodes are absent below about 21°C, but smog becomes unacceptable by 32°C. Because of the heat-island effects, a rise in temperature can have significant impacts. Urban trees and high-albedo surfaces can offset or reverse the heat-island effect. Mitigation of urban heat islands can potentially reduce national energy use in air conditioning by 20% and save over $10B per year in energy use and improvement in urban air quality. The albedo of a city may be increased at minimal cost if high-albedo surfaces are chosen to replace darker materials during routine maintenance of roofs and roads. Incentive programs, product labeling, and standards could promote the use of high-albedo materials for buildings and roads. Similar incentive-based programs need to be developed for urban trees.