Conventional and enhanced exergy analysis of a hydrogen liquefaction system

In the present work, conventional and enhanced exergy analyses were applied to the cryogenic liquefaction process of hydrogen gas. The hydrogen liquefaction unit consists of a multi-stage compressor, booster compressor-turbine pair, and heat exchanger block. Convectional exergy analysis cannot identify parts of exergy inefficiencies. In addition, by convectional exergy analysis, it cannot determine inevitable exergy losses that occur due to technological limits. For this reason, enhanced exergy analysis should be applied to the system. The exergy destruction affecting the exergy efficiency of the hydrogen liquefaction unit was investigated in detail. This study suggests an enhanced exergy analysis of a cryogenic liquefaction system. According to the results of the convectional exergy analysis, exergy efficiency of the whole liquefaction process are 32.22%. Also, the highest and lowest endogenous exergy destruction among whole components is calculated as 9563 kW and 92.83 kW in the turbine and CM-1, respectively. With these calculated results, the potential for improvement in the turbine in the liquefaction system was found to be high.     

Exergetic analysis and evaluation of a new application of gas engine heat pumps (GEHPs) for food drying processes

In this study, three medicinal and aromatic plants (Foeniculum vulgare, Malva sylvestris L. and Thymus vulgaris) were dried in a pilot scale gas engine driven heat pump drier, which was designed, constructed and installed in Ege University, Izmir, Turkey. Drying experiments were performed at an air temperature of 45 °C with an air velocity of 1 m/s. In this work, the performance of the drier along with its main components is evaluated using exergy analysis method. The most important component for improving the system efficiency is found to be the gas engine, followed by the exhaust air heat exchanger for the drying system. An exergy loss and flow diagram (the so-called Grassmann diagram) of the whole drying system is also presented to give quantitative information regarding the proportion of the exergy input dissipated in the various system components, while the sustainability index values for the system components are calculated to indicate how sustainability is affected by changing the exergy efficiency of a process. Gas engine, expansion valve and drying ducts account for more than 60% amount of exergy in the system. The exergetic efficiency values are in the range of 77.68–79.21% for the heat pump unit, 39.26–43.24% for the gas engine driven heat pump unit, 81.29–81.56% for the drying chamber and 48.24–51.28% for the overall drying system.     

Nitrate Ion Sensing Properties of Peripheral 3,4,5-Trimethoxyphenoxy and Chlorine Substituted Metallo and Metal-free Phthalocyanines

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - The purpose of this study is to investigate the capability of novel peripheral metal-free and metallo (2H, Fe, Co, Zn) mono nuclear...     

The effect of biodiesel fuel obtained from waste frying oil on direct injection diesel engine performance and exhaust emissions

In this study, usage of methyl ester obtained from waste frying oil (WFO) is examined as an experimental material. A reactor was designed and installed for production of methyl ester from this kind of oil. Physical and chemical properties of methyl ester were determined in the laboratory. The methyl ester was tested in a diesel engine with turbocharged, four cylinders and direct injection. Gathered results were compared with No. 2 diesel fuel. Engine tests results obtained with the aim of comparison from the measures of torque, power; specific fuel consumptions are nearly the same. In addition, amount of emission such as CO, CO₂, NO_x, and smoke darkness of waste frying oils are less than No. 2 diesel fuel.     

Evaluation of the Parameters of Water Quality with Wavelet Techniques

Generally, wavelets are purposefully crafted to have specific properties that make them useful for signal processing. In recent years, wavelet analysis have commonly been used instead of Fourier analysis. This is a new approach for evaluation of water quality parameters. This study determined water quality parameters and effects on water quality in Gölcük, Turkey. A 13-month data series was compared with results from laboratory analysis by using wavelet model techniques. The study investigated eight surface water sources, located in rural areas (five different villages) in the vicinity of Gölcük. Water samples were obtained during spring and analyzed for contaminants. The samples were analyzed for Cl^- (chlorine), NO₃-N (nitrate) and pH values. Wavelet analysis of extreme events showed the role of seasonal oscillations, and small-, meso- and large-scale effects on some water quality parameters. In addition, the Cl^-, NO₃-N and pH contents were determined for their suitability for irrigation, drinking and other domestic uses.     

α‐Thiophene end‐capped styrene copolymer containing fullerene pendant moieties: Synthesis,characterization, and gas sensing properties

We report the synthesis, characterization, and gas sensing properties of a styrene copolymer bearing α‐thiophene end group and fullerene (C₆₀) pendant moieties P(S‐co‐CMS‐C₆₀). First, the copolymer of styrene (S) and chloromethylstyrene (CMS) monomers was prepared in bulk via a bimolecular nitroxide‐mediated radical polymerization (NMP) technique using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as the radical initiator and nitroxy‐functional thiophene compound (Thi‐TEMPO) as the co‐radical and this gave α‐thiophene end‐capped copolymer P(S‐co‐CMS). The chloromethylstyrene units of P(S‐co‐CMS) allowed further side‐chain functionalization onto P(S‐co‐CMS). The obtained P(S‐co‐CMS) was then reacted with sodium azide (NaN₃) and this led to the copolymer with pendant azide groups, P(S‐co‐CMS‐N₃), and then grafted with electron‐acceptor C₆₀ via the reaction between N₃ and C₆₀. The final product was characterized by using NMR, FTIR, and UV–vis methods. Electrical characterization of P(S‐co‐CMS‐C₆₀) thin film was also investigated at between 30 and 100 °C as the ramps of 10 °C. Temperature dependent electrical characterization results showed that P(S‐co‐CMS‐C₆₀) thin film behaves like a semiconductor. Furthermore, P(S‐co‐CMS‐C₆₀) was employed as the sensing layer to investigate triethylamine (TEA), hydrogen (H₂), acetone, and ethanol sensing properties at 100 °C. The results revealed that P(S‐co‐CMS‐C₆₀) thin film has a sensing ability to H₂. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43641.     

Understanding the advisor–advisee relationship via scholarly data analysis

Advisor–advisee relationship is important in academic networks due to its universality and necessity. Despite the increasing desire to analyze the career of newcomers, however, the outcomes of different collaboration patterns between advisors and advisees remain unknown. The purpose of this paper is to find out the correlation between advisors’ academic characteristics and advisees’ academic performance in Computer Science. Employing both quantitative and qualitative analysis, we find that with the increase of advisors’ academic age, advisees’ performance experiences an initial growth, follows a sustaining stage, and finally ends up with a declining trend. We also discover the phenomenon that accomplished advisors can bring up skilled advisees. We explore the conclusion from two aspects: (1) Advisees mentored by advisors with high academic level have better academic performance than the rest; (2) Advisors with high academic level can raise their advisees’ h-index ranking. This work provides new insights on promoting our understanding of the relationship between advisors’ academic characteristics and advisees’ performance, as well as on advisor choosing.     

Application of heuristic and hybrid-GASA algorithms to tool-path optimization problem for minimizing airtime during machining

In this paper, heuristic algorithms such as simulated annealing (SA), genetic algorithm (GA) and hybrid algorithm (hybrid-GASA) were applied to tool-path optimization problem for minimizing airtime during machining. Many forms of SA rely on random starting points that often give poor solutions. The problem of how to efficiently provide good initial estimates of solution sets automatically is still an ongoing research topic. This paper proposes a hybrid approach in which GA provides a good initial solution for SA runs. These three algorithms were tested on three-axis-cartesian robot during milling of wood materials. Their performances were compared based on minimum path and consequently minimum airtime. In order to make a comparison between these algorithms, two cases among the several milling operations were given here. According to results obtained from these examples, hybrid algorithm gives better results than other heuristic algorithms alone. Due to combined global search feature of GA and local search feature of SA, hybrid approach using GA and SA produces about 1.5% better minimum path solutions than standard GA and 47% better minimum path solutions than standard SA.     

A new conducting polymer of 2,5-bis(2-thienyl)-1H-(pyrrole) (SNS) containing carbazole subunit: Electrochemical, optical and electrochromic properties

We report here the synthesis of a new electroactive monomer 3,6-di-tert-butyl-[4-(2,5-di-2-thienyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)phenyl]-9H-carbazole in five steps and polymerization of this monomer by two different procceses: Kumada Coupling and electro-oxidative. The product obtained by chemical polymerization exhibits a high thermal stability and narrow molecular weight distribution. While, in the UV–vis absorption spectrum of monomer the absorption peaks appear at 338 nm, the chemically synthesized polymer absorbs at 428 nm with 90 nm red shift. Cyclic voltammogram of monomer shows two separate oxidation processes which reflect the first oxidation at +0.84 V and a second one at +1.43 V. When the polymeric film prepared by electrochemical process was subjected to a repeated cyclic scan between −0.2 V and +1.0 V, it switches among three different colors (orange, green and blue). The oxidation and reduction response times were calculated as 2.0 s for this polymer film and exhibits high redox stability. The results anticipate that this kind of polymers can be used for designing electrochromics based on the use of one molecule for the generation of three basic colors (RGB).     

Synthesis,characterization, mesomorphic and electrical properties of tetrakis(alkylthio)-substituted lutetium(III) bisphthalocyanines

The synthesis of new lutetium(III) bisphthalocyanines substituted with alkylthio groups (1–5) is described. These compounds (Pc₂Lu) are soluble in most common organic solvents and have been fully characterized (elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, mass spectrometry). The thermal stabilities of the Pc compounds were determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The mesogenic properties of these new materials forming columnar-hexagonal (Col_h) mesophases were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The compounds 2–5 exhibit a double clearing point. DC electrical properties of these compounds in different phases were determined by measuring I–V characteristics and dark current of their thin films on interdigital electrodes. The measurements were carried out in ambient air, in vacuum and in high purity nitrogen (N₂) flow in the temperature range between 300 and 420 K. Dark current measurements obtained in the crystal, liquid crystal (LC) and isotropic liquid phases were in agreement with the phase transitions of these compounds obtained by DSC and optical microscopy results. The relation between the phase transition and conductivity of the Pc₂Lu derivatives were investigated. Also, the influence of the nature of the substituted group (alkylthia and alkoxy) upon the DC electrical properties of the Pc₂Lu derivatives was investigated. The DC conductivities and the thermal activation energies depending on alkyl chain lengths of these compounds were found to be in the range of 10^?8 to 10^?5 S/cm and 0.12–0.38 eV in solid phase.