Thermal Performance of a Closed-Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe With Multiple Heat Sources

A closed-loop pulsating heat pipe with multiple heat sources (CLPHP w/MHS) was invented to be used as a heat transfer medium between a number of heat sources to a single heat sink. However, an issue on the suitable heat source arrangement that causes the heat pipe to have the highest thermal performance was suspicious. The CLPHP w/MHS was made of a copper capillary tube with 32 turns. There were three heat sources with nonidentical input heat flux installed along a longitudinal axis in the evaporator section. Experimental investigations were conducted by permuting the heat sources into six unduplicated arrangements. For the vertical CLPHPs, the highest thermal performance is achieved when heat sources are arranged in consecutive order ascending from the lowest heat flux at the inlet of the evaporator section, since working fluid is promoted to circulate in complete one direction and then the heat can transfer more continuously. Finally, for the horizontal CLPHPs, the highest thermal performance is achieved when the heat sources are arranged in opposite order to the case of vertical CLPHPs, that is, descending from the highest heat flux, since working fluid pulsates with no intermission stop and this causes the heat transfer to be not interrupted.     

Nanogold‐based immunochromatographic strip test for rapid detection of clinical and environmental strains of Vibrio cholerae

A nanogold‐based immunochromatographic strip test (VCG strip test) for the detection of all 70 isolates of Vibrio cholerae including O1, O139, and non‐O1/O139 (NVCs) was developed using two monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), namely VC‐63 and VC‐201, which bound specifically to 10 and 15 kDa proteins. Direct detection of V. cholerae in experimentally spiked fresh seafood samples such as shrimp, blood clam, mussel, and oyster could be achieved with sensitivities of 10⁷ CFU/ml, which was similar to that of the dot blotting test using each MAb. The detection sensitivity could be improved to 10³ or 10 or 1 CFU/ml of original bacterial content after preincubation of the sample in alkaline peptone water for 6, 12, and 24 hr consecutively. However, the detection sensitivities were also dependent on the content of other bacteria in the sample that might compete or inhibit the growth of V. cholerae during the preenrichment step. Due to its broad specificity, simplicity and rapid result generation, the VCG strip test can be used for the preliminary detection of V. cholerae at point of care for both environmental and clinical strains to assist appropriate decision or epidemiological surveillance of virulent V. cholerae strains (including NVC strains), which are ubiquitous in the environment and seafood.     

A High Speed Autofocusing System for Micro System Applications

In this paper, we present a high speed autofocus system for micro system applications and design a look-up-table based autofocusing algorithm for applications when a target object is always visible, e.g., manufacturing parts with alignment fiducials. We perform an evaluation of 24 focus measures to verify that which focus measure is the best for the look-up-table based method. From the evaluation, we find that the Chebyshev moments-based focus measure (CHEB) is the most suitable. Furthermore, we also develop a look-up-table based autofocus system that uses CHEB as the focus measure. In training phase, we offline construct a table from training images of an object that are captured at several lens distances. Each entry of table consists of focus measure computed from image and lens distance. In working phase, given an input image, the algorithm first computes the focus measure and then finds the best match focus measure from the table and looks up the corresponding lens position for moving it into the in-focus position. Our algorithm can perform autofocusing within only 2 steps of lens moving. The experiment shows that the system can perform high speed autofocusing of micro objects.     

Modified rubber seed oil based polyurethane foams

In this work, rubber seed oil (RSO) was extracted with cyclohexane at room temperature for 24 h. The yield of RSO was about 40 %. The RSO was purified by using sodium hydroxide to eliminate some free fatty acids. Then the RSO was modified by simultaneous epoxidation and hydroxylation. Hydroxylated RSO (HRSO) had the hydroxylation extents 120 and 230 mgKOH/g with 2 h and 4 h reaction times, respectively. The chemical structures of the oils were studied by FT-IR and ¹H-NMR, and they were characterized also in other ways. Polyurethane foam samples based on the HRSOs were successfully prepared, and their physico-mechanical and thermal properties were also studied, with varied NCO index and water content in the formulations. The PUF230 had better thermal stability and compressive strength but lower density than the PUF120. Both the NCO index and the water content had large effects on density, cell size, and compressive strength of the polyurethane foams.     

Investigation of the Startup Condition of a Closed-Loop Oscillating Heat Pipe

This article develops a concept for a suitable startup condition for a closed-loop oscillating heat pipe (CLOHP). This concept was developed by using visual data and the thermodynamics theory for predicting the amount of vapor evaporation and condensation in a CLOHP. The visual data indicated that the key to a suitable startup is the amount of net vapor expansion in the evaporator and the amount of net collapsed vapor in the condenser. Initial dryout, an event that occurs after a startup failure, results when the net vapor expansion is higher than the amount of net vapor collapsed. This situation obstructs the replacement process. This is a mechanism in which the volume of mixture from the condenser section flows to the evaporator section to replace the volume of mixture that leaves the evaporator section. When the replacement process is impeded, all of the liquid in the evaporator section evaporates and the evaporator section is not refilled by the mixture from the condenser section. The evaporator section is then filled with vapor and initial dryout occurs. In addition, this article presents a mathematical model that predicts the operating temperature for a suitable startup condition. This prediction can be used to avoid a startup failure of a CLOHP. When comparing the model with that of the experimental data, a 16% error range was attained.     

Mathematical Modeling of Closed-End Pulsating Heat Pipes Operating with a Bottom Heat Mode

The mathematical model of a closed-end pulsating heat pipe (CEPHP) with a bottom heat mode at different inclination angles was constructed. The closed-end pulsating heat pipe was modeled with specified assumptions that were observed visually (i.e., the scaling factor for geometrical size and the frequency of bubble generation inside the liquid slugs). The solution for all of the basic governing equations of liquid film, liquid slugs, and vapor plugs, in which the effects of surface tension, viscous friction of the working fluid, and perfect gas were included, has been numerically obtained by solving a series of ordinary differential equations by means of the explicit method. However, the solution for the momentum equation of liquid slugs was numerically obtained by solving a series of partial differential equations by using the implicit method. Results from the model clearly simulated the dynamics of the internal working fluid in the CEPHP. Moreover, the results were compared with existing experimental data, and good agreement was found with an error range of ± 13%. It was also noted that the maximum heat transfer rate of the CEPHP with bottom heat mode occurred at the highest evaporator temperature (150°C for this study) and inclination angles of 70–80 degrees from horizontal axis. The boiling frequencies in this range of inclination angles were observed by visual experiment and seen to be at their highest values. This has been justified by the higher amount of liquid in the evaporator section as well as the change in flow pattern to a stratified flow (inclination tube).     

Simple techniques to increase the production yield and enhance the quality of organic rice bran oils

This study develops simple techniques for increasing production yield and refining of crude RBO (CRBO). It was found that pre-heating of rice bran by hot air oven to reach 60°C before being extracted by screw press machine increased the yield from 4.8 to 8.3%w/w. This paper suggested three simple steps for refining of organic CRBO: (1) filtering using filter papers (2) sedimentation by adding 4%w/v fuller's earth and (3) bleaching by running through a packed column of activated carbon. These steps significantly enhanced the qualities of RBO when compared to CRBO before treatment. It was found that the lightness of oil as indicated by color value (L*) increased from 22.8 to 28.7, gum and wax decreased from 3.6 to 1.3%w/w. However, the simple refining method had no effect on peroxide value and free fatty acid content. Moreover, it slightly induced the loss of oryzanol content from 2.8 to 2.2%w/w.     

Correlation to Predict the Maximum Heat Flux of a Vertical Closed-Loop Pulsating Heat Pipe

The objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the effect of various parameters on the maximum heat flux of a vertical closed-loop pulsating heat pipe (CLPHP) and the inside phenomena that cause maximum heat flux to occur. A correlation to predict the maximum heat flux using the obtained results was also established. Quantitative and qualitative experiments were conducted and analyzed. A copper CLPHP and a transparent high-temperature glass capillary tube CLPHP were used in the quantitative and qualitative experiments. From the study, it was found that when the internal diameter and number of meandering turns increased, the maximum heat flux increased. However, when the evaporator section length increased, the maximum heat flux decreased. The maximum heat flux of a CLPHP occurs due to the dry-out of liquid film at the evaporator section. This occurs after a two-phase working fluid circulation changes flow pattern from countercurrent slug flow to co-current annular flow, because the vapor velocity increases beyond a critical value. A correlation to predict the maximum heat flux obtained from this study was developed.     

Heat extraction from salinity-gradient solar ponds using heat pipe heat exchangers

This paper presents the results of experimental and theoretical analysis on the heat extraction process from solar pond by using the heat pipe heat exchanger. In order to conduct research work, a small scale experimental solar pond with an area of 7.0 m² and a depth of 1.5 m was built at Khon Kaen in North-Eastern Thailand (16°27′N102°E). Heat was successfully extracted from the lower convective zone (LCZ) of the solar pond by using a heat pipe heat exchanger made from 60 copper tubes with 21 mm inside diameter and 22 mm outside diameter. The length of the evaporator and condenser section was 800 mm and 200 mm respectively. R134a was used as the heat transfer fluid in the experiment. The theoretical model was formulated for the solar pond heat extraction on the basis of the energy conservation equations and by using the solar radiation data for the above location. Numerical methods were used to solve the modeling equations. In the analysis, the performance of heat exchanger is investigated by varying the velocity of inlet air used to extract heat from the condenser end of the heat pipe heat exchanger (HPHE). Air velocity was found to have a significant influence on the effectiveness of heat pipe heat exchanger. In the present investigation, there was an increase in effectiveness by 43% as the air velocity was decreased from 5 m/s to 1 m/s. The results obtained from the theoretical model showed good agreement with the experimental data.