Chemical Scissors Tailored Nano‑Tellurium with High‑Entropy Morphology for Efficient Foam‑Hydrogel‑Based Solar Photothermal Evaporators

The development of tellurium(Te)-based semiconductor nanomaterials for efficient light-to-heat conversion may offer an effective means of harvesting sunlight to address global energy concerns.However,the nanosized Te(nano-Te)materials reported to date suffer from a series of drawbacks,including limited light absorption and a lack of surface structures.Herein,we report the preparation of nano-Te by electrochemical exfoliation using an electrolyzable room-temperature ionic liquid.Anions,cations,and their corresponding electrolytic products acting as chemical scissors can precisely intercalate and functionalize bulk Te.The resulting nano-Te has high morphological entropy,rich surface functional groups,and broad light absorption.We also constructed foam hydrogels based on poly(vinyl alcohol)/nano-Te,which achieved an evaporation rate and energy efficiency of 4.11 kg m^(−2)h^(−1)and 128%,respectively,under 1 sun irradiation.Furthermore,the evaporation rate was maintained in the range 2.5-3.0 kg m^(−2)h^(−1)outdoors under 0.5-1.0 sun,providing highly efficient evaporation under low light conditions.

Effect of an Internal Heat Exchanger on the Performances of a Double Evaporator Ejector Refrigeration Cycle

A theoretical investigation is presented about a double evaporator ejector refrigeration cycle(DEERC).Special attention is paid to take into account the influence of the sub-cooling and superheating effects induced by an internal heat exchanger(IHX).The ejector is introduced into the baseline cycle in order to mitigate the throttling process losses and increase the compressor suction pressure.Moreover,the IHX has the structure of a concentric counter-flow type heat exchanger and is intentionally used to ensure that the fluid at the compressor inlet is vapor.To assess accurately the influence of the IHX on the DEERC performance,a mathematical model is derived in the frame of the dominant one-dimensional theory for ejectors.The model also accounts for the friction effect in the ejector mixing section.The equations of this model are solved using an Engineering Equation Solver(EES)for different fluids.These are:R134a as baseline fluid and other environment friendly refrigerants used for comparison,namely,R1234yf,R1234ze,R600,R600a,R290,R717 and R1270.The simulation results show that the DEERC with an IHX can achieve COP(the coefficient of performance)improvements from 5.2 until 10%.

A Biomass-Based Hydrogel Evaporator Modified Through Dynamic Regulation of Water Molecules:Highly Efficient and Cost-Effective

Solar-driven hydrogel evaporator used for water purification demonstrates great potential in seawater desalination and domestic sewage treatment.However,much uncertainty still exists about the most efficient design to obtain cost-effective drinkable water.In this paper,a natural rich biomass Nicandra physalodes(Linn.)Gaertn.polysaccharide was introduced into the polyvinyl alcohol network to control the water distribution during evaporation and build a low-cost hybrid hydrogel solar evaporator with a total material cost of$7.95 m^(−2).The mixed evaporator works stably in a long-span acid–base range(pH 1–14)and salinity range(0–320 g kg^(−1)).Its daily water purification capacity can reach 24.4 kg m^(−2)with a water purification capacity of 3.51 kg m^(−2)h^(−1)under sunlight.This paper provides a new possibility for a highly efficient and cost-effective water desalination system with guaranteed water quality by focusing on the dynamic regulation of water molecules at the evaporation interface.

Pressure Drop of Liquid–Solid Two-Phase Flow in the Vertical Tube Bundle of a Cold-Model Circulating Fluidized Bed Evaporator

A cold-model vertical multi-tube circulating fluidized bed evaporator was designed and built to conduct a visualization study on the pressure drop of a liquid–solid two-phase flow and the corresponding particle distribution.Water and polyformaldehyde particle(POM)were used as the liquid and solid phases,respectively.The effects of operating parameters such as the amount of added particles,circulating flow rate,and particle size were systematically investigated.The results showed that the addition of the particles increased the pressure drop in the vertical tube bundle.The maximum pressure drop ratios were 18.65%,21.15%,18.00%,and 21.15%within the experimental range of the amount of added particles for POM1,POM2,POM3,and POM4,respectively.The pressure drop ratio basically decreased with the increase in the circulating flow rate but fluctuated with the increase in the amount of added particles and particle size.The difference in pressure drop ratio decreased with the increase in the circulating flow rate.As the amount of added particles increased,the difference in pressure drop ratio fluctuated at low circulating flow rate but basically decreased at high circulating flow rate.The pressure drop in the vertical tube bundle accounted for about 70%of the overall pressure drop in the up-flow heating chamber and was the main component of the overall pressure within the experimental range.Three-dimensional phase diagrams were established to display the variation ranges of the pressure drop and pressure drop ratio in the vertical tube bundle corresponding to the operating parameters.The research results can provide some reference for the application of the fluidized bed heat transfer technology in the industry.

Development and Investigation of a Miniature Copper-Acetone Loop Heat Pipe with a Flat Evaporator

The paper presents the results of development and investigation of a copper miniature loop heat pipe (LHP) with acetone as a working fluid. The device was equipped with a flat evaporator measuring 80 × 42 × 7 mm and vapor and liquid lines with an outside diameter of 3 mm, whose lengths were 145 mm and 175 mm, respectively. The LHP was tested at heat loads from 5 W to 60 W, different orientations in the gravity field and heat-sink temperatures from -40°C to +50°C. It is shown that the LHP retains its efficiency at all testing conditions. It is also mentioned that at a heat-sink temperature of +50°C the device operates in the mode of constant conductivity in the whole range of heat loads, and in this case a minimum thermal resistance of the “heat source-heat sink” system equal to 0.16°C/W is achieved, which is independent of the LHP orientation in the gravity field.

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH AND DESIGN ON HEAT TRANSFER OF EVAPORATOR USED IN THE LARGE QUICK FREEZE PLANT

The evaporator is the main part of a quick-freeze equipment. There are many factors influencing the heat transfer coefficient of an evaporator. The most important factors among them are the fin shape, tube diameter, distance of fin space, frost, and velocity of air flow etc. They mainly influence the thermal efficiency of an evaporator, and therefore its thermal efficiency has direct relationship with the whole efficiency of the quick freeze plant. Evaporators with different structural types have different heat transfer efficiency, in order to obtain high efficiency structure of evaporator, 8 evaporator models with different fin shape, tube diameter and tube arrangement are analyzed and compared. The calculation results show that the integral waved fins, equilateral-triangle arranged small diameter tubes and varying fin-spacing has the highest heat transfer coefficient. The experimental result also shows that the evaporator with this type of structure has better thermal efficiency. The experimental result is in good agreement with the calculation result, it can instruct engineering design for usual designer. A real quick-freeze equipment is designed and put into production. The result shows that, compared with traditional domestic quick-freeze equipments, this equipment decreases by 40% in size and by 20% in energy consumption.

Performance Assessment of a Shell Tube Evaporator for a Model Organic Rankine Cycle for Use in Geothermal Power Plant

The global energy demand increases with development and population rise. Most electrical power is currently generated by conventional methods from fossil fuels. Despite the high energy demand, the conventional energy resources such as fossil fuels have been declining and harmful combustion byproducts are causing global warming. The Organic Rankine Cycle power plant is a very effective option for utilization of low grade heat sources for power generation. In the Organic Rankine Cycle heat exchangers such as evaporators and condensers are key components that determine its performance. Researches indicated that shell tube heat exchangers are effectively utilized in this cycle. The design of the heat exchanger involves establishing the right flow pattern of the interacting fluids. The performance of these exchangers can be optimized by inserting baffles in the shell to direct the flow of fluid across the tubes on shell side. In this work heat exchangers have been developed to improve heat recovery from geothermal brine for additional power generation. The design involved sizing of heat exchanger (evaporator) using the LMTD method based on an expected heat transfer rate. The heat exchanger of the model power plant was tested in which hot water simulated brine. The results indicated that the heat exchanger is thermally suitable for the evaporator of the model power plant.

Numerical Study of Thermal Performance of a Capillary Evaporator in a Loop Heat Pipe with Liquid-Saturated Wick

Heat transfer of a capillary evaporator in a loop heat pipe was analyzed through 3D numerical simulations to study the effects of the thermal conductivity of the wick, the contact area between the casing and the wick, and the subcooling in the compensation chamber (CC) on the thermal performance of the evaporator. A pore network model with a distribution of pore radii was used to simulate liquid flow in the porous structure of the wick. To obtain high accuracy, fine meshes were used at the boundaries among the casing, the wick, and the grooves. Distributions of temperature, pressure, and mass flow rate were compared for polytetra-fluoroethylene (PTFE) and stainless steel wicks. The thermal conductivity of the wick and the contact area between the casing and the wick significantly impacted thermal performance of the evaporator heat-transfer coefficient and the heat leak to the CC. The 3D analysis provided highly accurate values for the heat leak;in some cases, the heat leaks of PTFE and stainless steel wicks showed little differences. In general, the heat flux is concentrated at the boundaries between the casing, the wick, and the grooves;therefore, thermal performance can be optimized by increasing the length of the boundary.

INVERSE CIRCULATING THERMOSYPHON EVAPORATOR

In this paper,the mechanism of operation of an inverse circulating thermosyphon evaporator isproposed.The performance characteristics of this novel evaporator have been studied experimentally andtheoretically,The inverse circulating thermosyphon evaporators have higher heat transfer coefficient and longeroperation period in comparison with ordinary circulating ordinary circulating evaporators.

BP-PID Control Applied in Evaporator of Organic Rankine Cycle System

According to the problem that the selection of traditional PID control parameters is too complicated in evaporator of Organic Rankine Cycle system(ORC),an evaporator PID controller based on BP neural netw ork optimization is designed. Based on the control theory,the model of ORC evaporator is set up. The BP algorithm is used to control the Kp,Kiand Kdparameters of the evaporator PID controller,so that the evaporator temperature can reach the optimal state quickly and steadily. The M ATLAB softw are is used to simulate the traditional PID controller and the BP neural netw ork PID controller. The experimental results show that the Kp,Kiand Kdparameters of the BP neural netw ork PID controller are 0. 5677,0. 2970,and 0. 1353,respectively.Therefore,the evaporator PID controller based on BP neural netw ork optimization not only satisfies the requirements of the system performance,but also has better control parameters than the traditional PID controller.

Investigation of Geometric Factors of Convex Platforms in the Flat Evaporator of Loop Heat Pipes

This paper investigated the influence of geometric factors of vapor groove structures on the performance of flat evaporator of a loop heat pipe system. COMSOL multiphysics software was employed to simulate the heat transfer in the evaporator with convex platforms of different shapes,sizes and area ratios(φ)between convex platforms and the heated surface. The maximum temperature and temperature distribution of each model were obtained. The results showed that the decrease of the size of platforms and the increase of φ can lower temperatures and improve temperature distribution homogeneity of the heated surface. Compared with circle and oval platforms,square platforms achieved lower temperature. The results also indicated that φ had the most significant impact on the performance of the evaporator.

INFLUENCE OF REFRIGERANT DISTRIBUTION ON HEAT TRANSFER IN EVAPORATORS

Objective To prevent the maldistribution of two phase refrigerant in dry expansion evaporators composed of parallel coils, a distributor is needed to supply refrigerant into the coils. Methods A simplified model of dry expansion evaporator was proposed. The flow and heat transfer in distributing pipes and evaporator coils were simulated with a numerical method. Results The heat flow rate decreases while the refrigerant is distributed unequally to evaporator coils. Conclusion In order to maintain the heat flow rate, larger heat transfer area should be arranged to make up the effect of maldistribution. The larger the discrepancy of mass flow rate is, the more heat transfer area is needed.

Heat Transfer Characteristics and Pressure Drop in a Horizontal Circulating Fluidized Bed Evaporator

A vapor-liquid-solid horizontal circulating fluidized bed evaporation setup was constructed to study the thermal-exchange properties and pressure change.The influences of the operating variables,including the amount of added particles,heat flux,and circulating flow velocity,were systematically inspected using resistance temperature detectors and pressure sensors.The results showed that the heat transfer eff ect was improved with the increase in the amount of added particles,circulating flow velocity,and particle diameter,but decreased with increasing heat flux.The pressure drop fluctuated with the increase in operating parameters,except circulating flow velocity.The enhancing factor reached up to 71.5%.The enhancing fac-tor initially increased and then decreased with the increase in the amount of added particles and circulating flow velocity,fluctuated with increasing particle diameter,and decreased with increasing heat flux.Phase diagrams showing the variation ranges of the operation variables for the enhancing factor were constructed.

The Characteristics of the Evaporator/Evaporator for Direct Expansion Solar Assisted Heat Pump System

Direct expansion solar assisted heat pump (DX-SAHP) technology is developed by combining solar energy heat utilization with heat pump energy saving technology. The experimental researches of the DX-SAHP hot water system are conducted in this paper, and overall performance of DX-SAHP is analyzed with three different structures of collectors/evaporators, namely a bare-plate collector, a glass-plate collector and double collectors/evaporators (a bare-plate collector and a glass-plate collector). The influence factors and overall performance are studied, which show that the overall performance of the system is mainly influenced by solar irradiation intensity and the collector area. Comparing with glass-plate collector in similar conditions, bare-plate collector system COP is higher. While increasing collector area is conducive to improve the system COP, but will reduce the collector efficiency and increase the workload of the compressor by comparing the bare-plate collector with double-plate collectors.

Experimental Investigation on the Effection of Flow Regulator in a Multiple Evaporators/Condensers Loop Heat Pipe with Plastic Porous Structure

Multiple loop heat pipes which have two evaporators and two condensers in one loop are a kind of active heat transfer device. Since they have two evaporators and two condensers, the operating mode also becomes multiple. This work discusses the cases that multiple loop heat pipes were operated with one condenser at high temperature and the other at low temperature. To avoid the high temperature returning liquid and keep the multiple loop heat pipes work properly, the flow regulator which was made of polyethylene was designed, fabricated and applied in this test. The effect of flow regulator was confirmed and analyzed. In the test that large temperature difference existed between two sinks, it can be found according to the result that the flow regulator worked effectively and prevented the high temperature vapor to enter the inlet of common liquid line, which can keep the evaporators and returning liquid to operate at low temperature. With the increment of heat loads and the temperature difference between two sinks, the pressure difference between two condensers became larger and larger. When the pressure difference was larger than the flow regulator’s capillary force, the flow regulator could not work properly because the high temperature vapor began to flow through the flow regulator. According to the test data, the flow regulator can work properly within the sinks’ temperature 0°C/60°C and the two evaporators’ heat load 30/30 W.

Operating Characteristics of Multiple Evaporators and Multiple Condensers Loop Heat Pipe with Polytetrafluoroethylene Wicks

This paper presents fabrication and testing of a multiple-evaporator and multiple-condenser loop heat pipe (MLHP) with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) porous media as wicks. The MLHP has two evaporators and two condensers in a loop heat pipe in order to adapt to various changes of thermal condition in spacecraft. The PTFE porous media was used as the primary wicks to reduce heat leak from evaporators to compensation chambers. The tests were conducted under an atmospheric condition. In the tests that heat loads are applied to both evaporators, the MLHP was stably operated as with a LHP with a single evaporator and a single condenser. The relation between the sink temperature and the thermal resistance was experimentally evaluated. In the test with the heat load to one evaporator, the heat transfer from the heated evaporator to the unheated evaporator was confirmed. In the heat load switching test, in which the heat load is switched from one evaporator to another evaporator repeatedly, the MLHP could be stably operated. The loop operation with the large temperature difference between the heat sinks was also tested. From this result, the stable operation of the MLHP in the various conditions was demonstrated. It was also found that a flow regulator which prevents the uncondensed vapor from the condensers is required at the inlet of the common liquid line when one condenser has higher temperature and cannot condense the vapor in it.

Effect of Evaporator Load on Heat Pump Operating Parameters and Performance

This work investigates the impact of varying the evaporator load on the performance and parameter characteristics of a heat pump.A series of experiments have been done on a vapor compression cycle heat pump which is run with R134a.The evaporator in this system is a coil submerged in a water/glycol bath accommodated in a thermally insulated steel container.The load of the evaporator is changed through a heater in this bath with a capacity of 1.8 kW.The glycol bath is mixed through an electric stirrer.The results showed that system pressures and temperatures generally increase and then decrease after a certain heat load has been imposed.The same trend is for COP of the refrigeration system;hence there is an optimum load point to which the COP increases to a maximum and then starts to decline.This optimum point corresponds to the best efficiency of the system.

Simulation-Guided Design of Bamboo Leaf-Derived Carbon-Based High-Efficiency Evaporator for Solar-Driven Interface Water Evaporation

Solar interface water evaporation has been demonstrated to be an advanced method for freshwater production with high solar energy utilization.The development of evaporators with lower cost and higher efficiency is a key challenge in the manufacture of practical solar interface water evaporation devices.Herein,a bamboo leaf-derived carbon-based evaporator is designed based on the light trace simulation.And then,it is manufactured by vertical arrangement and carbonization of bamboo leaves and subsequent polyacrylamide modification.The vertically arranged carbon structure can extend the light path and increase the light-absorbing area,thus achieving excellent light absorption.Furthermore,the continuous distribution of polyacrylamide hydrogel between these vertical carbons can support high-speed water delivery and shorten the evaporation path.Therefore,this evaporator exhibits an ultrahigh average light absorption rate of~96.1%,a good water evaporation rate of 1.75 kg m^(-2) h^(-1),and an excellent solar-to-vapor efficiency of 91.9%under one sun irradiation.Furthermore,the device based on this evaporator can effectively achieve seawater desalination,heavy metal ion removal,and dye separation while completing water evaporation.And this device is highly available for actual outdoor applications and repeated recycling.

Particle collision behavior and heat transfer performance in a Na_(2)SO_(4) circulating fluidized bed evaporator

The particle collision behavior and heat transfer performance are investigated to reveal the heat transfer enhancement and fouling prevention mechanism in a Na_(2)SO_(4) circulating fluidized bed evaporator.The particle collision signals are analyzed with standard deviation by varying the amount of added particles ε(1%–3%),circulation flow velocity u(0.37–1.78 m·s^(-1)),and heat flux q(7.29–12.14 kW·m^(-2)).The results show that the enhancement factor reach up to 14.6%by adding polytetrafluoroethylene particles at ε=3%,u=1.78 m·s^(-1),and q=7.29 kW·m^(-2).Both the standard deviation of the particle collision signal and enhancement factor increase with the increase in the amount of added particles.The standard deviation increases with the increase in circulation flow velocity;however,the enhancement factor initially decreases and then increases.The standard deviation slightly decreases with the increase in heat flux at low circulation flow velocity,but initially increases and then decreases at high circulation flow velocity.The enhancement factor decreases with the increase in heat flux.The enhancement factor in Na_(2)SO_(4) solution is superior to that in water at high amount of added particles.The empirical correlation for heat transfer is established,and the model results agree well with the experimental data.

Emulsion‐templated synthesis of 3D evaporators for efficient solar steam generation

Interfacial solar steam generation holds great promise in water desalination thanks to its high energy efficiency by heating only the top layer of water for evaporation.While three‐dimensional(3D)evaporators have been proven to increase the evaporation rate by harnessing the energy from the surroundings,further development is still required in terms of convenient fabrication with potential scalability.Herein,we propose to overcome this challenge by using a high internal phase emulsion(HIPE)to template the synthesis of 3D hierarchically porous evaporators.The HIPE‐templated synthesis combined with a molding process can efficiently fabricate the desired 3D shape without wasting any materials and generate a hierarchically porous internal structure for continuous water supply.Engineering the overall shape and internal pores produces a 3D evaporator that can suppress conduction heat loss and efficiently collect thermal energy from its surroundings,boosting the evaporation rate to 2.82 kg/(m2 h)under 1‐sun illumination,which is significantly higher than conventional 2D evaporators.HIPE‐templating synthesis is an easy but effective way to produce various porous polymers,promising for a wide range of applications where easy production,excellent shape control,and potential scalability are critical.