Development of mobile miniature natural gas liquefiers

With increasing consumption of natural gas (NG), small NG reservoirs, such as coalbed methane and oil field associated gas, have recently drawn significant attention. Owing to their special characteristics (e.g., scattered distribution and small output), small-scale NG liquefiers are highly required. Similarly, the mixed refrigerant cycle (MRC) is suitable for small-scale liquefaction systems due to its moderate complexity and power consumption. In consideration of the above, this paper reviews the development of mobile miniature NG liquefiers in Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (TIPC), China. To effectively liquefy the scattered NG and overcome the drawbacks of existing technologies, three main improvements, i.e., low-pressure MRC process driven by oil-lubricated screw compressor, compact cold box with the new designed heat exchangers, and standardized equipment manufacturing and integrated process technology have been made. The development pattern of “rapid cluster application and flexible liquefaction center” has been eventually proposed. The small-scale NG liquefier developed by TIPC has reached a minimum liquefaction power consumption of about 0.35 kW·h/Nm³. It is suitable to exploit small remote gas reserves which can also be used in boil-off gas reliquefaction and distributed peak-shaving of pipe networks.     

Efficiency and effectiveness enhancement of an intercooler of two‐stage air compressor by low‐cost Al2O3/water nanofluids

The present study was aimed to utilize low‐cost alumina (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles for improving the heat transfer behavior in an intercooler of two‐stage air compressor. Experimental investigation was carried out with three different volume concentrations of 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1.0% Al₂O₃/water nanofluids to assess the performance of the intercooler, that is, counterflow heat exchanger at different loads. Thermal properties such as thermal conductivity and overall heat transfer coefficient of nanofluid increased substantially with increasing concentration of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles. Specific heat capacity of nanofluids were lower than base water. The intercooler performance parameters such as effectiveness and efficiency improved appreciably with the employment of nanofluid. The efficiency increased by about 6.1% with maximum concentration of nanofluid, that is, 1% at 3‐bar compressor load. It is concluded from the study that high concentration of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles dispersion in water would offer better heat transfer performance of the intercooler.     

Optimal scheduling of single stage batch plants with direct heat integration

This paper addresses the multi-objective optimization problem arising in the operation of heat integrated batch plants, where makespan and utility consumption are the two conflicting objectives. A new continuous-time MILP formulation with general precedence variables is proposed to simultaneously handle decisions related to timing, product sequencing, heat exchanger matches (selected from a two-stage superstructure) and their heat loads. It features a complex set of timing constraints to synchronize heating and cooling tasks, derived from Generalized Disjunctive Programming. Through the solution of an industrial case study from a vegetable oil refinery, we show that major savings in utilities can be achieved while generating the set of Pareto optimal solutions through the ɛ-constraint method.     

Unsteady free convection of second‐grade nanofluid with a new time‐space fractional heat conduction

The Caputo and Caputo–Fabrizio derivative are applied to study a second‐grade nanofluid over a vertical plate. A comparative analysis is presented to study the unsteady free convection of a second‐grade nanofluid with a new time–space fractional heat conduction. The governing equations with mixed time–space fractional derivatives are non‐dimensionalized and solved numerically, and a comparison between the Caputo and the Caputo–Fabrizio models is made. It is found that the temperature is higher for the Caputo–Fabrizio fractional model than the Caputo model, but the higher velocity only exists near the vertical plate for the Caputo–Fabrizio model than the Caputo model. Moreover, the velocity for the Caputo model will exceed the Caputo–Fabrizio model as y evolves.     

An experimental study of forced convective heat transfer for fully developed Al 2 O 3 –water nanofluid in an annulus tube

Nanofluids have been known as practical materials to ameliorate heat transfer within diverse industrial systems. The current work presents an empirical study on forced convection effects of Al₂O₃–water nanofluid within an annulus tube. A laminar flow regime has been considered to perform the experiment in high Reynolds number range using several concentrations of nanofluid. Also, the boundary conditions include a constant uniform heat flux applied on the outer shell and an adiabatic condition to the inner tube. Nanofluid particle is visualized with transmission electron microscopy to figure out the nanofluid particles. Additionally, the pressure drop is obtained by measuring the inlet and outlet pressure with respect to the ambient condition. The experimental results showed that adding nanoparticles to the base fluid will increase the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and average Nusselt number. In addition, by increasing viscosity effects at maximum Reynolds number of 1140 and increasing nanofluid concentration from 1% to 4% (maximum performance at 4%), HTC increases by 18%.     

Stability and thermophysical properties of fly ash nanofluid for heat transfer applications

Improving the performance of heat transfer fluids is altogether significant. The best approach for improving the thermal conductivity is the addition of nanoparticles to the base fluid. In the present study, specific heat, dynamic viscosity, and thermal conductivity of water-based Indian coal fly ash stable nanofluid for 0.1% to 0.5% volume concentration in the temperature range of 30 to 60°C has been investigated. To evaluate an average particle diameter of 11.5 nm, the fly ash nanoparticles were characterized with scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Using zeta potential, the stability of nanofluid in the presence of surfactant Triton X-100 was tested. Thermal conductivity and viscosity of fly ash nanofluid increased, while specific heat decreased as volume concentration increased. The effect of temperature on the fly ash nanofluid was directly proportional to its thermal conductivity and specific heat and inversely proportional to viscosity.     

渣油胶质和沥青质在分散型催化剂作用下的临氢热反应行为

采用四组分法从辽河减压渣油中分离出胶质、沥青质，分别考察了它们在分散型催化剂作用下的临氢热反应行为。结果表明，胶质、沥青质一方面要裂化生成较轻的产物；另一方面也要发生缩合反应生成较重的反应产物以及甲苯不溶物。渣油在临氢热反应过程中，沥青质是生焦的主要来源，其次才是胶质。比较了热反应生成的沥青质与原生沥青质之间以及热反应生成的胶质与原生胶质之间化学组成的区别，结果表明，反应生成的沥青质和胶质较原生的沥青质和胶质分子结构缩合程度高，并且反应苛刻度越高，缩合程度也越高。     

结构形式对椭圆扁管管内传热与流阻性能影响

利用数值模拟方法结合场协同理论,对直椭圆扁管、单向螺旋椭圆扁管和变向螺旋椭圆扁管管内传热与流动情况进行了数值模拟计算和理论分析,比较研究了不同的Re、Pr下,3种椭圆扁管的管内传热与流阻特性。结果表明,单向螺旋椭圆扁管和变向螺旋椭圆扁管与直椭圆扁管相比有很好的强化传热性能,而变向螺旋椭圆扁管要比单向螺旋椭圆扁管的强化传热性能更好。在管内流体具有高Pr及低Re的条件下,2种螺旋椭圆扁管的强化传热效果显著,可作为很好的强化传热元件应用于工程实际中。     

氮化硅/石墨激光合金化涂层的组织结构与性能研究

为获得金属表面特别是高副接触金属表面含自润滑特性且具有高硬度耐磨特性的功能材料 ,研究了 45 # 钢表面激光合金化氮化硅 /石墨复合涂层的工艺方法、组织特征、界面形态及其形成机制 ,利用光学显微镜、扫描电镜和X射线能谱对所形成合金化层的元素分布和含量进行了分析 ,并对试样硬度进行了测定。结果表明 ,合金化层中元素Fe ,Co ,Si,C分布均匀 ;C含量达到了 15 6 9%,大部分以石墨的形式存在 ,具有一定的自润滑性能 ;但在形成合金化层的温度条件下 ,氮化硅分解严重 ;合金化层硬度提高的主要原因是Si Fe ,Co Fe固溶体的强化作用及高碳马氏体的生成和高硬度碳化物的存在。     

机械力化学作用对低介硅灰石瓷料的相变和相组成的影响

采用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、差热分析(DTA)手段详细研究了由氧化物粉末制备硅灰石陶瓷时,机械力化学作用及后续热处理对硅灰石陶瓷相组成和相变过程的影响,分析了机械力化学在球磨过程中的作用机理主要是细化晶粒、使晶格畸变、晶格缺陷增多、非晶化和诱导低温化学反应。结果表明:高能球磨中的机械力化学作用能够有效地降低硅灰石陶瓷的烧成温度(11160~11220℃)。探明了经高能球磨的样品在烧成过程中的晶相转变规律。瓷料最终的晶相为单一的-硅灰石(高温变体)。