Design of low-power SAR ADCs using hybrid DACs

In the past decade, successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) has become a popular topology in a wide range of resolutions and sampling rates. This paper investigates methods to improve the energy-and-area efficiency of the SAR ADCs by focusing on the design of the internal digital-to-analog converter (DAC). Different hybrid resistive–capacitive DACs are studied in detail. It is shown that more than an order of magnitude improvement in energy efficiency of the DAC is achievable. The conditions for such an improvement are discussed.     

A kinetic study of the electrochemical hydrogenation of ethylene

In this study, we have examined the kinetics of the electrochemical hydrogenation of ethylene in a PEM reactor. While in itself this reaction is of little industrial interest, this reaction can be looked upon as a model reaction for many of the important hydrogenation processes including the refining of heavy oils and the hydrogenation of vegetable oils.To study the electrochemical hydrogenation of ethylene, several experimental techniques have been used including polarization measurements, measurement of the composition of the exit gases and potential step, transient measurements. The results show that the hydrogenation reaction proceeds rapidly and essentially to completion. By fitting the experimental transient data to the results from a zero-dimensional mathematical model of the process, a set of kinetic parameters for the reactions has been obtained that give generally good agreement with the experimental results. It seems probable that similar experimental techniques could be used to study the electrochemical hydrogenation of other unsaturated organic molecules of more industrial significance.     

Catalytic performance of CeAPSO-34 molecular sieve with various cerium content for methanol conversion to olefin

A series of CeAPSO-34s with various cerium contents was synthesized and characterized by multiple techniques such as XRD, SEM, BET, ²⁹Si MAS NMR, NH₃-TPD and CO₂-TPD. NH₃-TPD spectra showed that a number of acid sites, especially those of strong acidity, is reduced with the increasing of Ce incorporation. Incorporation of metal ions gave rise to more silica-islands in the CeAPSO-34 framework. CO₂-TPD showed that basic sites on the surface of modified samples are due to the presence of Ce-containing species incorporation into the framework of CeAPSO-34 molecular sieves. The performance of the catalysts was studied in methanol to olefin reactions at 425 °C under the atmospheric pressure. The results showed that the incorporation of cerium ions had great effects on the structure and acidity of the molecular sieves. All SAPO-34 and MeAPSO-34 molecular sieves were the very active and selective catalyst for light olefins production. Cerium incorporation improved the catalyst lifetime and favored the ethylene and propylene generation. However, an excess Ce content resulted in an inferior catalytic performance and stability. Therefore, there existed optimal cerium content for a specific SAPO-34.     

Assessment of immobilized cell reactor and microbial fuel cell for simultaneous cheese whey treatment and lactic acid/electricity production

Two biological methods for treatment of cheese whey and concentrated cheese whey were investigated in this research. As the first method, fermentation of cheese whey for production of lactic acid, in an immobilized cell reactor (ICR) was successfully carried out. The immobilisation of Lactobacillus bulgaricus was performed by the enriched cells cultured media harvested at exponential growth phase. Furthermore, the FTIR analysis has been done to prove the production of lactic acid. The COD removal during the continuous process for both whey and concentrated whey was above 70% which showed the capability of reaction for wastewater treatment. The cells were immobilised by sodium alginate as a perfect polymer in this regard. The maximum produced lactic acid from whey was 10.7 g l^?1 at 0.125 h^?1 and 19.5 g l^?1 from concentrated whey at 0.063 h^?1. Finally it can be concluded that the process is efficient for lactic acid production and COD removal simultaneously. As the second studied method, whey and concentrated cheese whey were used as the sources of carbon in a microbial fuel cell. The power densities of 188.8 and 288.12 mW m^?2 were recorded for whey-fed and concentrated whey-fed MFCs while the COD removal were 95% and 86% respectively. Biological wastewater treatment can be a very efficient alternative for traditional wastewater treatment which selecting any and or integrating of them depends on specific applications needed to be achieved.     

A combined experimental and computational study on the melting behavior of a medium temperature phase change storage material inside shell and tube heat exchanger

A combined experimental and numerical study is performed aiming to understand the role of buoyancy-driven convection during constrained melting of phase change materials (PCMs) inside a shell and tube heat exchanger. A series of experiments is conducted to investigate the effect of increasing the inlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid (HTF) on the charging process (melting) of the PCM. The computations are based on an iterative, finite-volume numerical procedure that incorporates a single-domain enthalpy formulation for simulation of the phase change phenomenon. It was observed from experimental results that the melting front appeared at different times at positions close to the HTF tube and progressing at different rates outwards towards the shell. The computational results show that by increasing the inlet water temperature to 80 °C, the total melting time is decreased to 37%.     

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of mixed convection heat transfer in eccentric annulus

Mixed convection heat transfer in eccentric annulus was simulated numerically by lattice Boltzmann model (LBM) based on multi-distribution function double-population approach. The effect of eccentricity on heat transfer at various locations was examined at Ra = 10⁴ and σ = 2. Velocity and temperature distributions as well as Nusselt number are obtained. The results are validated with published results and shown that multi-distribution function approach can evaluate the velocity and temperature fields in curved moving boundaries with a good accuracy in comparison with the previous studies. The results show that the average Nusselt number increases when the inner cylinder moves downward regardless of the radial position.     

Experimental and numerical investigation on passive and active μDMFC

In this paper, design and fabrication of a micro direct methanol fuel cell based on stainless steel in two kind of active and passive with cross strip and parallel flow field are presented. Dropping pressure, velocity and heat transfer of the cell is simulated by a 3D modeling in fluent software. An optimum operating condition of the cell is obtained by the mass flow and temperature limitation. The cell was tested in different temperatures and mass flow rate and the cell performance is investigated in different condition. Maximum power density of the cell in active condition and at 60 °C was 170 mW/cm² and in passive condition was 85 mW/cm². A μDMFC with different flow field is investigated. Cross strip flow field has shown better performance and the effect of cell orientation on performance is also investigated.     

Numerical simulation of direct methanol fuel cells using lattice Boltzmann method

In this study Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) as an alternative of conventional computational fluid dynamics method is used to simulate Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC). A two dimensional lattice Boltzmann model with 9 velocities, D2Q9, is used to solve the problem. The computational domain includes all seven parts of DMFC: anode channel, catalyst and diffusion layers, membrane and cathode channel, catalyst and diffusion layers. The model has been used to predict the flow pattern and concentration fields of different species in both clear and porous channels to investigate cell performance. The results have been compared well with results in literature for flow in porous and clear channels and cell polarization curves of the DMFC at different flow speeds and feed methanol concentrations.