Design and Development of a Parabolic Trough Solar Air Heater for a Greenhouse Dryer

Design and Development of a Parabolic Trough Solar Air Heater (PTSAH) for a Greenhouse Dryer (GD) was done to improve the dryer’s performance. The materials used for the fabrication of the PTSAH included galvanized sheets covered with aluminium foil, an absorber tube made of GI pipe painted matt black to increase heat absorbance at the focal line, mild steel square tubes, shutter plywood, and an axial fan to push air through the absorber tube. Key geometrical parameters used for the design of the PTSAH were a rim angle of 98 degrees, focal length of 0.2608 m, height of 0.3451 m, length of 2 m, and an aperture width of 1.2 m. The PTSAH’s total aperture surface area was 2.4 m2, while its absorber tube surface area was 0.1587 m2. The PTSAH was experimentally tested to establish its thermal performance. It was found that the ambient air recorded an average value of 31.1˚C and that the air heater could increase the air temperature by 45.6˚C above ambient with a thermal efficiency of 5.3%. It can, therefore, be concluded that the PTSAH can significantly improve the performance of a GD by supplying the GD with air at a higher temperature than ambient.

Electrostatic Self-Assembly of Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x) MXene/Cellulose Nanofiber Composite Films for Wearable Supercapacitor and Joule Heater

The titanium carbide nanosheets(MXene)hold great potential for fabricating high-performance electronics due to their two-dimensional layered structure,high electrical conductivity,and versatile surface chemistry.However,assembling the small MXene nanosheets into flexible macroscopic films for wearable electronics still remains a challenge.Herein,we report the hierarchical assembling of MXene nanosheets and cellulose nanofibers into high-performance composite films via an electrostatic self-assembly strategy induced by polyethyleneimine.Benefited from the nacre-like microstructure of MXene"bricks"and cellulose nanofibers"mortars"interlocked by polyethyleneimine via hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction,composite films possess integrated superior flexibility,high tensile strength,and stable electrical conductivity,which are advantageous for wearable electronic applications.To provide a proof-of-concept design,a symmetric quasi-solid-state supercapacitor with the as-prepared composite film as electrode is fabricated,which exhibits a specific capacitance of 93.9 mF cm^(-2)at a current density of 0.1 mA cm^(-2)and almost constant capacitive behavior under different bending states.In addition,the composite film possesses capacities of electrothermal conversion and complete degradation in a hydrogen peroxide solution.These results demonstrate that the electrostatically self-assembled composite films hold great promise in the development of highly flexible,mechanically robust,and environmentally friendly energy storage and conversion devices.

Optically pumped wavelength-tunable lasing from a GaN beam cavity with an integrated Joule heater pivoted on Si

Dynamically tunable laser sources are highly promising for realizing visionary concepts of integrated photonic circuits and other applications. In this paper, a Ga N-based laser with an integrated PN junction heater on Si is fabricated.The photoluminescence properties of the Ga N beam cavity are controlled by temperature, and the Joule heater provides electrically driven regulation of temperature. These two features of the cavity make it possible to realize convenient tuning of the lasing properties. The multi-functional Ga N beam cavity achieves optically pumped lasing with a single mode near 362.4 nm with a high Q-factor of 1394. The temperature of this device increases by 0–5℃ under the Joule heating effect. Then, electrical control of the lasing mode is demonstrated. The lasing resonant peak shows a continuous redshift of about 0.5 nm and the device also exhibits dynamic switching of its lasing mode. The lasing modulation can be ascribed to temperature-induced reduction of the bandgap. Our work may be of benefit for external optical modulation in future chip-based optoelectronic devices.

Simulation of Natural Convection Flow with Magneto-Hydrodynamics in a Wavy Top Enclosure with a Semi-Circular Heater

Natural convection flow in enclosure has different applications such as room ventilation, heat exchangers, the cooling system of a building etc. The Finite-Element method based on the Galerkin weighted residual approach is used to solve two-dimensional governing mass, momentum and energy-equations for natural convection flow in the presence of a magnetic field on a roof top with semi-circular heater. In the enclosure the horizontal lower wall was heated, the vertical two walls were adiabatic, inside the semi-circular heater, the wavy top wall cooled. The parameters Rayleigh number, Hartmann number and Prandtl number are considered. The effects of the Hartmann number and Rayleigh number on the streamlines, isotherms, velocity profiles and average Nusselt number are examined graphically. The local Nusselt number and the average Nusselt number of the heated portion of the enclosure with the semi-circular heater are presented in this paper. Finally, for the validation of the existing work, the current results are compared with published results and the auspicious agreement is achieved.

Electromagnetic simulation and experimental analysis of microwave heaters for asphalt pavements

In order to study the thermoelectric efficiency of microwave heating and reproduction of asphalt pavements and the uniformity of reproduction temperature distribution, a waveguide excitation cavity is designed and applied to the structural design of a microwave heater. The structural sizes of the incentive cavities are determined based on the waveguide transmission line theory. Using IE3D software, electromagnetic simulations are respectively carried out in four different situations, including the distances between the magnetron probes （antennas） and a short-circuit board, different horn electric lengths and aperture sizes, different dielectric properties of the asphalt mixture, and the distances between the asphalt surface and the mouth cavity. The results show that, when the distance between the magnetron probe and the short-circuit board is 32.5 ram, it is the best installation site; reduction of aerial length is the main factor in improving the heating uniformity. When the aggregate is limestone, the best heating effect can be produced. Maximum radiation efficiency can be realized by adjusting the space between the heater radiation port and the asphalt pavement. The experimental results of asphalt mixture heating in four different situations have a substantial agreement with the simulation results, which confirms that the developed microwave heater can achieve better impedance matching, thus improving the quality and efficiency of heating regeneration.

Development and Experimental Study of Air Source Heat Pump Water Heater

The principle and development prospect of air source heat pump water heat were introduced,as well as the designation of condenser (storage water tank),experimental study on installations was also carried out.The results showed that air source heat pump water heater was superior to conventional system.Under the operation of cooling and heating,heat pump comprehensive utilization equipment could improve heating performance,reduce energy consumption,and recycle condensing heat to provide hot water.

Structural design and experimental research of microwave radiation heater for asphalt pavements

In order to improve the efficiency of heating and the uniformity of temperature distribution in recycling asphalt mixtures, a pyramidal radiation heater is designed. The principles of designing horn surface size and antenna length are established according to the law of energy conservation and microwave antenna radiation theory. Modeling and simulation are carried out using IE3D software. The simulation results demonstrate that, with a fixed horn surface size, the shortened electric antenna length is the main factor leading to the improved heating uniformity. On the other hand, with a fixed antenna length and diminished surface size, the standing wave ratio decreases with the improved radiation efficiency. Furthermore, the efficiency of radiation drops with increased distance between the horn surface and the asphalt pavement. Microwave heating experiments are carried out using this type of heater. The temperature distribution of asphalt samples is obtained by the grid temperature measurement method, and Matlab simulation is performed. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation.

Experimental study on characteristics of transcritical heat pump water heater using refrigerant HFC125

To evaluate the performance of heat pumps using refrigerant HFC125,an experimental rig of a DC-inverter heat pump water heater is designed and set up,and the research on the transcritical heat pump water heater is carried out experimentally.It is found that there is a top value of the coefficient of performance（COP）when the system runs at 95 Hz of frequency.The relationships between the COP and compressor frequency,condensation pressure,evaporation pressure,condensation water temperature rise,and discharge temperature are discussed and analyzed at 95 Hz.And the COP of the HFC125 transcritical cycle is also compared with that of a R410 subcritical heat pump under the same conditions.The results indicate that there exists an optimum frequency for a better COP,and the system COP shows an increasing tendency with the decrease in condensation pressure and compressor ratio while the evaporation pressure remains invariant,and the COP decreases rapidly when cooling water temperature rises over 47.5 ℃.Compared with the R410A sub-critical cycle,the COP of HFC125 transcritical cycle significantly increases by 12% on average.

Simulation study on combustion system of tankless gas water heater

This paper simulates the combustion system of a regular tankless gas water heater under different static pressure conditions.The simulation results are in accordance with the test results.It proves that the used physical and mathematical models are reasonable.The results show that the flame height and the excess air ratios depend on the system pressure drop but not on the absolute pressure at the combustion chamber.The pressure drop and the amount of combustion air have an inverse relationship with CO generation,and they also impact on the temperature and velocity fields.To reduce CO emission,a stronger fan is needed to provide extra pressure head to ensure that enough combustion air is introduced into the system.This study provides a useful research tool to develop products through computational fluid dynamic analysis and laboratory testing.

Growth interface of CdMnTe crystal by traveling heater method

The growth interfaces of CdMnTe（CMT） crystals grown by traveling heater method（THM） were studied. Two types of polycrystalline CMT feed ingots synthesized in a traditional rocking furnace and vertical Bridgman（VB） furnace were adopted in THM growth, and the effects of the polycrystalline feed on the growth interface were revealed. The morphology of the growth interface of CMT crystal（CMT2） grown from the feed by vertical Bridgman was smoother with lower curvature compared with that of CMT crystal（CMT1） from the feed by rocking furnace. The radial Mn composition and Te inclusion distribution of the CMT wafers were analyzed and correlated to the growth interface. The Mn segregation along the radial direction and Te inclusion density of CMT2 were lower than those of CMT1. The VB method synthesized polycrystalline feed could improve the growth interface morphology, which is beneficial for decreasing the Te inclusions and Mn segregation in CMT wafers.

Research and Development of Hot Primary Air Heater for Coal-Fired Boilers in Power Plant

The reasons of introducing cold air into pulverizer are analyzed for boilers with large capacity and high parameters. The temperature rises of the exhaust gas are calculated when varying the amount of the cold air. The hot primary air heater, a new technology, is developed to eliminate the cold air from the pulverized coal system. The applications, advantages and disadvantages are introduced in detail for the new device and system. It is concluded that introducing cold air into pulverizer is one of the major factors that causes the exhaust gas temperature of boilers with large capacity to be high. The amount of the cold air could be reduced signif icantly, even to zero in some cases by adopting the hot primary air heater, which drops the exhaust gas temperature of the boiler effectively. The hot primary air heater, which could play part roles of the steam-air heater or the hot air recirculation system, could also be used to adjust the exhaust gas temperature within the range of 20 ℃ by controlling the flow rate of the cooling medium. Moreover, the startup period of the steam-air heater or the hot air recirculation system will be shortened, which is a unique advantage of the hot primary air heater among the measures to drop the exhaust gas temperature.

Experimental Study of Thermoelectric Heat Pump Water Heater with Exhaust Heat Recovery from Kitchens

A new kind of thermoelectric heat pump water heater for kitchens exhaust heat recovery was presented,and its performances were investigated under different operating voltages.The experiment results show that the coefficient of performance decreases and the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides becomes larger with the increase of the operating voltage,but the heating time becomes short.The higher the temperature of water,the greater the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides,leading to a smaller coefficient of performance.Under an exhaust temperature of 36 ℃,the coefficient of performance decreases from 1.66 to 1.22 when the temperature of water increases from 28 ℃ to 46 ℃ with operating voltage 16 V.Performance tests illustrate that,compared with the conventional electrical water heaters,the new kind of thermoelectric heat pump water heater is more coefficient.

Design and development of large-scale in-situ PRACLAY heater test and horizontal high-level radioactive waste disposal gallery seal test in Belgian HADES

In Belgium,the Boom clay was selected as a potential host formation for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste（HLW）.To demonstrate the suitability of Boom clay for bearing thermal load induced by the HLW,a large-scale in-situ heater test,called PRACLAY heater test,will be conducted in the underground research laboratory（URL） in Mol.Owing to the limitations of the test（a short period of time compared with that considered in a real repository,different boundary conditions,etc.）,the test is designed to simulate,in a conservative way,the most critical state and phenomena that could occur in the host rock.The PRACLAY gallery was excavated at the end of 2007;the heating phase will begin in 2010 and will last for at least 10 years.The PRACLAY gallery itself leaves an opportunity to study the possibilities of sealing a disposal drift in Boom clay and testing the feasibility of hydraulic cut-off of any preferential pathway to the main access gallery through the excavation damage zone（EDZ） and the lining with a seal in a horizontal drift（horizontal seal）.Indeed,this is a generic problem for all deep geological disposal facilities for HLW.An annular seal made of compacted swelling bentonite will be installed in the front of the heated part of the PRACLAY gallery for these purposes.This paper provides detailed considerations on the thermo-hydro-mechanical（THM） boundary conditions for the design of the PRACLAY heater test and the seal test with the support of numerical calculations.It is believed that these important items considered in the PRACLAY heater test design also constitute key issues for the repository design.The outcome of the PRACLAY heater test will be an important milestone for the Belgian repository design.

Epinephrine plus argon plasma or heater probe coagulation in ulcer bleeding

AIM:To compare the effectiveness of argon plasma coagulation (APC) and heater probe coagulation (HPC) in non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding.METHODS:Eighty-five (18 female,67 male) patients admitted for acute gastrointestinal bleeding due to gastric or duodenal ulcer were included in the study.Upper endoscopy was performed and HPC or APC were chosen randomly to stop the bleeding.Initial hemostasis and rebleeding rates were primary and secondary end-points of the study.RESULTS:Initial hemostasis was achieved in 97.7% (42/43) and 81% (36/42) of the APC and HPC groups,respectively (P < 0.05).Rebleeding rates were 2.4% (1/42) and 8.3% (3/36) in the APC and HPC groups,respectively,at 4 wk (P > 0.05).CONCLUSION:APC is an effective hemostatic method in bleeding peptic ulcers.Larger multicenter trials are necessary to confirm these results.

Performance investigation of solar thermal collector with auxiliary heater for space heating

In this paper,the performance of a solar thermal system with a focus on space heating was investigated.A 70 m^(2) detached house was considered in the weather conditions of the city of Tehran,Iran.A thermosyphon solar water heater with a flat plate collector combined with an auxiliary electrical heater supplies the heating demand of the house.The proposed system was modeled and analyzed using TRNSYS software.In this regard,the TRNBuild module was employed for the building load calculation.The model has been simulated for one year of operation.The effects of the solar collector’s surface area and storage volume were assessed.The results show that for a solar collector with a 15 m^(2) surface area,the solar fraction is 0.29 in January,during which the solar radiation is the lowest.Using solar collectors of10 m^(2) and 5 m^(2) surface areas,the solar fraction falls to 0.23 and 0.14,respectively in January.Besides,two cases of 150 L and 300 L storage tanks are taken into account.Eventually,it is found that using a 15 m^(2) solar collector and a 150 L storage tank can appropriately provide the building’ s heating demand taking the thermal performance and economic aspects into consideration.

Effect of obstruction on thermal performance of solar water heaters

Solar water heaters(SWH) are widely used in urban areas because of their advantages in reducing energy consumption and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. However, the performance of SWH subjected to obstructions is unclear yet. In this study, we present a numerical evaluation on thermal performance of fa?ade-installed SWH under three typical obstructed scenarios, based on various levels of sunshine duration. This study is carried out for four locations with various latitudes across China. Thermal performance is measured by solar fraction for annual and monthly evaluation. The results show that the obstruction can seriously degrade annual solar fraction of SWH, even in the 4-hour sunshine duration scenario, for all the studied locations. Interestingly, only lengthening sunshine duration in the standard day(e.g., from 2 h to 4 h) may not result in increasing annual solar fraction markedly. In terms of the monthly performance, solar fraction in January and December decreases significantly, while from May to August it just declines slightly, except for Guangzhou having a swift reduction. This study can provide insights into the behavior and promote the appropriate application of SWH in urban areas.

Experimental Investigation on Turbulent Convection in Solar Air Heater Channel Fitted with Delta Winglet Vortex Generator

The paper presents an experimental study on the heat transfer and flow friction characteristics in a solar air heater channel fitted with delta-winglet type vortex generators （DWs）. The experiments are conducted by varying the airflow rate for Reynolds number in the range of 5000 to 24000 in the test section with a uniform heat-flux applied on the upper channel wall. Firstly, the DW pairs are mounted only at the entrance of the lower wall of the test channel （called DW-E） to create multiple vortex flows at the entry. The effect of two transverse pitches （Re= Pt/H= 1 and 2） at three attack angles （a= 30°, 45° and 60°） of the DW-E with its relative height, b/H= 0.5 （half height of channel） is examined. Secondly, the 30° DWs with three different relative heights （blH = 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5） are placed on the upper wall only （absorber plate, called DW-A） of the test channel. The experimental result reveals that in the first case, the 60° DW-E at Rp = 1 provides the highest heat transfer and friction factor while the 30° DW-E at Rp = 1 performs overall better than the others. In the second case, the 30° DW-A at b/H= 0.5 yields the highest heat transfer and friction factor but the best thermal performance is found at b/H = 0.4.

THE INFLUENCE OF THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF TWT CATHODE-HEATER ASSEMBLY BY DIFFERENT CONTACT FORM BETWEEN INNER HEAT SHIELD AND SUPPORT CYLINDER

In this paper,the influence of thermal performance of cathode-heater assembly of Traveling Wave Tube(TWT),which has different contact form between inner heat shield and supporting cylinder,is analyzed using the simulation software ANSYS.With both thermal radiation and heat conduction are considered,the temperature and heat flux distribution of structures with different contact form are calculated,and also starting time which is needed before temperature come into steady status.The result of analysis suggests that changing the contact form between inner heat shield and support cylinder can influence the thermal performance of cathode-heater assembly and improve assembly's temperature distribution and promote heater's heating efficiency.The result of this paper provides theoretical guidance in the design of cathode-heater assembly.

Hydrodynamic Mixed Convection in a Lid-Driven Hexagonal Cavity with Corner Heater

Hydrodynamic mixed convection in a lid-driven hexagonal cavity with corner heater is numerically simulated in this paper by employing finite element method. The working fluid is assigned as air with a Prandtl num-ber of 0.71 throughout the simulation. The left and right walls of the hex-agonal cavity are kept thermally insulated and the lid moves top to bottom at a constant speed U0. The top left and right walls of the enclosure are maintained at cold temperature Tc. The bottom right wall is considered with a corner heater whereas the bottom remaining part is adiabatic and inside the cavity a square shape heated block Th. The focus of the work is to investigate the effect of Hartmann number, Richardson number, Grashof number and Reynolds number on the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics inside the enclosure. A set of graphical results is presented in terms of streamlines, isotherms, local Nusselt number, velocity profiles, temperature profiles and average Nusselt numbers. The results reveal that heat transfer rate increases with increasing Richardson number and Hartmann number. It is also observed that, Hartmann number is a good control parameter for heat transfer in fluid flow in hexagonal cavity.

Numerical Case Study on the LDIE Degradation Occurred in the Vent Header of a High Pressure Feedwater Heater

Piping installed in nuclear power plants is affected by various types of degradation mechanisms and may be ruptured due to gradual thinning. The degradation mechanisms such as flow-accelerated corrosion (FAC), cavitation, liquid droplet impingement erosion (LDIE), etc., can lead to costly outages and repairs and possibly affect plant reliability. In August 2008, the header pipe in the high pressure feedwater heater vent system leaked at a Korean nuclear power plant. After cutting the pipe during refueling outage, it was identified that the leak was due to LDIE. This paper presents the numerical analysis results, using various multi-phase models of ANSYS FLUENT for the purpose of identifying the cause of the LDIE. The numerical analysis methods which are most similar to the damage of the pipe are proposed for the comparison of analysis results with each multi-phase model.