Tailoring properties and processing of Sylgard 184: Curing time,adhesion, and water affinity

The curing time, surface adhesion, and water absorption characteristics of Sylgard 184 were modified through the addition of catalysts and fillers. Incorporation of small amounts of a platinum-based Karstedt catalyst greatly decreased curing time at room temperature, whereas the addition of talcum powder (talc), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and NaY zeolite fillers changed surface adhesion and functionality of Sylgard 184. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), rheological and mechanical tests (tensile strength and hardness) were used to quantify the acceleration in the curing time. The surface adhesion was evaluated for aluminum and glass-like substrates using a 90° peel-off test. The interaction between fillers and Sylgard was studied by molecular dynamics simulations, which showed the interaction between NaY and Sylgard is greater than that for PTFE. Water absorption studies indicated that 10 wt% NaY added to Sylgard 184 helped to improve water absorption, whereas incorporation of talc had the opposite effect. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48530.     

Rheological studies of disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) plasticized with poly(ethylene glycol) for membrane formation

Disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (BPS) random copolymers, prepared from a sulfonated monomer, have been considered for use as membrane materials for various applications in water purification and power generation. These membranes can be melt-processed to avoid the use of hazardous solvent-based processes with the aid of a plasticizer, a low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). PEG was used to modify the glass transition temperature and melt rheology of BPS to enable coextrusion with polypropylene (PP). Our previous paper discussed the miscibility of BPS with PEG and the influence of PEG on the glass transition of BPS. In this study, the rheological properties of disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)s plasticized with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) are investigated to identify coextrusion processing conditions with candidate PPs. The effects of various factors including PEG molecular weight, PEG concentration, temperature and BPS molecular weight on blend viscosity were studied. The rheological data effectively lie on the same master curve developed by Bueche and Harding for non-associating polymers such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polystyrene (PS). Although sulfonated polysulfone contains ionic groups, the form of its viscosity versus shear rate (or frequency) behavior appears to be dominated by the relaxation of polymer entanglements.     

A numerical study of flow distribution effect on a parallel flow heat exchanger

The effect of flow distribution on thermal and flow performance of a parallel How heat exchanger has been numerically investigated. The flow distribution has been altered by varying the geometrical parameters that included the locations of the separators, and the inlet/outlet of the heat exchanger. Flow nonuniformities along paths of the heat exchanger, which were believed to be dominantly influential to the thermal performance, have been observed to eventually optimize the design of the heat exchanger. The optimization has been accomplished by minimizing the flow nonuniformity that served as an object function when the Newton’s searching method was applied. It was found that the heat transfer of the optimized model increased approximately 7.6%, and the pressure drop decreased 4.7%, compared to those of the base model of the heat exchanger.     

The structural variation of the gas diffusion layer and a performance evaluation of polymer electrolyte fuel cells as a function of clamping pressure

Interfacial contact resistance between gas diffusion layers (GDLs) and bipolar plates (BPs) has a substantial effect on the performance loss of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Particularly during the final manufacturing process of a fuel cell stack, an externally applied clamping load determines the extent of electrical contact between those two solid components. In order to have the least electrical contact loss, it is highly necessary to keep all PEFC components close each other without causing structural failure of fuel cell stacks. In the present work, we investigated the effect of the clamping pressure on extrinsic properties such as porosity and permeability, which is closely related to mass transfer of reactants. Also, the variance of interfacial electrical resistance was analyzed as a function of the stack clamping pressure or the compressed GDL thickness, which reflects the external clamping load. Then with these experimentally obtained material properties of GDL, computational efforts were made to account for the effect of the clamping pressure on the fuel cell performance.     

Dimensionless correlations of frost properties on a cold plate

This study proposes dimensionless correlations for predicting the properties of frost formed on a cold plate. Frosting experiments are carried out to obtain the correlations with various environmental parameters including the air temperature, air velocity, absolute humidity, and cooling plate temperature. The thickness, density, surface temperature, effective thermal conductivity, average heat and mass transfer coefficients of the frost layer are correlated as functions of the Reynolds number, Fourier number, absolute humidity, and dimensionless temperature by using a dimensional analysis. The correlations proposed in this study agree well with the experimental data within a maximum error of 10%, and can be used to predict the average frost properties in the following ranges: the air temperature of 5–15 °C, air velocity of 1.0–2.5 m s⁻¹, absolute humidity of 0.00322–0.00847 kg kg_a⁻¹, and cooling plate temperature of −35–−15 °C.     

Optimal shape of the multi-passage branching system in a single-phase parallel-flow heat exchanger

A numerical simulation is performed to examine the heat and fluid flow characteristics of the branching system in a single-phase parallel-flow heat exchanger (PFHE) and to obtain its optimal shape. The relative importance of the design parameters [injection angle of the working fluid (Θ), inlet shape and location (Y_c), and height of the protruding flat tube (Y_b)] is determined to decide the optimization sequence. The optimal geometric parameters are obtained as follows: Θ=−21°, Type A, Y_c=0 and Y_b=0. The heat transfer rate of the optimum model compared to that of the reference model is increased by about 55%. The optimal values of the parameters can be applicable to the Reynolds number ranging from 5000 to 20,000.     

Exact and Approximate Analytic Methods to Calculate Maximum Heat Flow in Annular Fin Arrays with a Rectangular Step Profile

Exact and approximate techniques to determine the performance of annular fins with a step rectangular profile are developed. A simple approximate method is proposed to analyze the prevalent heat transfer characteristics of the fin array. An algebraic expression based on the mean value approach is used as an approximation tool, and the temperature distribution in the fins is determined using an exponential function. A method based on a modified Bessel function formulation is employed for exact analysis. The analyses are extended to optimize fins based on the principle of maximizing heat transfer rate for a given volume. The results obtained from the exact and approximate analyses are presented in a one-to-one comparative manner to allow for a wide range of practical design variables. The error in the approximate analysis calculations is investigated, and it is found to be well within engineering accuracy requirements. It is expected that the approximate analytical tool designed here will be extremely useful for designers who want to easily determine design parameters. Because the approximate methodology is so simple, all calculations can easily be done.     

Thermo-acoustic random response of temperature-dependent functionally graded material panels

A nonlinear finite element model is provided for the nonlinear random response of functionally graded material panels subject to combined thermal and random acoustic loads. Material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent, and graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The governing equations are derived using the first-order shear-deformable plate theory with von Karman geometric nonlinearity and the principle of virtual work. The thermal load is assumed to be steady state constant temperature distribution, and the acoustic excitation is considered to be a stationary white-Gaussian random pressure with zero mean and uniform magnitude over the plate surface. The governing equations are transformed to modal coordinates to reduce the computational efforts. Newton–Raphson iteration method is employed to obtain the dynamic response at each time step of the Newmark implicit scheme for numerical integration. Finally, numerical results are provided to study the effects of volume fraction exponent, temperature rise, and the sound pressure level on the panel response.     

Frost formation on a cold surface under turbulent flow

This study presents a mathematical model to predict the frosting behavior on a cold surface under turbulent flow. The model consists of the standard κ–ε model for turbulent flow and the diffusion equation for the frost layer. The numerical results show that turbulent flow promotes the growth of the frost layer on the cold surface, compared to the laminar flow. Increase in air velocity has little effect on mass transfer under turbulent flow, while frost growth under laminar flow is influenced by the air velocity. With constant air humidity, the frost layer thickness increases with decreasing air temperature, while the relationship for the frost density is reversed. The effect of the air temperature on the mass flux is negligible, compared to the other frosting parameters.     

Analysis of heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in an offset strip fin heat exchanger

A steady-state three-dimensional numerical model was used to study the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of an offset strip fin heat exchanger. Water was the heat transfer medium, and the Reynolds number Re_dh ranged from 10 to 3500. Variations in the Fanning friction factor f and the Colburn heat transfer factor j relative to Re_dh were observed. General correlations for the f and j factors were derived, and these could be used to analyze fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of offset strip fins in the laminar, transition, and turbulent regions. Finally, three performance criteria (j/f, j/f^1/3, and JF) were adopted, and the best performance criteria for the cases Pr = 7 and Pr = 50 were chosen to be JF and j/f^1/3, respectively.