Photothermal superhydrophobic copper nanowire assemblies: fabrication and deicing/defrosting applications

Ice and frost buildup continuously pose significant challenges to multiple fields.As a promising de-icing/defrosting alternative,designing photothermal coatings that leverage on the abundant sunlight source on the earth to facilitate ice/frost melting has attracted tremendous attention recently.However,previous designs suffered from either localized surface heating owing to the limited thermal conductivity or unsatisfied meltwater removal rate due to strong water/substrate interaction.Herein,we developed a facile approach to fabricate surfaces that combine photothermal,heat-conducting,and superhydrophobic properties into one to achieve efficient de-icing and defrosting.Featuring copper nanowire assemblies,such surfaces were fabricated via the simple template-assisted electrodeposition method,allowing us to tune the nanowire assembly geometry by adjusting the template dimensions and electrodeposition time.The highly ordered copper nanowire assemblies facilitated efficient sunlight absorption and lateral heat spreading,resulting in a fast overall temperature rise to enable the thawing of ice and frost.Further promoted by the excellent water repellency of the surface,the thawed ice and frost could be spontaneously and promptly removed.In this way,the all-in-one design enabled highly enhanced de-icing and defrosting performance compared to other nanostructured surfaces merely with superhydrophobicity,photothermal effect,or the combination of both.In particular,the defrosting efficiency could approach∼100%,which was the highest compared to previous studies.Overall,our approach demonstrates a promising path toward designing highly effective artificial deicing/defrosting surfaces.

Operating performance of novel reverse-cycle defrosting method based on thermal energy storage for air source heat pump

To solve the fundamental problem of insufficient heat available during defrosting while ensuring the efficient and safe system operation for air-source heat pumps (ASHPs). A novel reverse-cycle defrosting (NRCD) method based on thermal energy storage to eliminate frost off the outdoor coil surface was developed. Comparative experiments using both the stand reverse cycle defrosting (SRCD) method and the NRCD method were carried out on an experimental ASHP unit with a nominal 2.5 kW heating capacity. The results indicate that during defrosting operation, using the NRCD method improves discharge and suction pressures by 0.24 MPa and 0.19 MPa, respectively, shortens defrosting duration by 60%, and reduces the defrosting energy consumption by 48.1% in the experimental environment, compared with those by the use of SRCD method. Therefore, using the NRCD method can shorten the defrosting duration, improve the indoor thermal comfort, and reduce the defrosting energy consumption in defrosting.

Detection of Accidental Fish Defrosting Using Non-Destructive Ultrasonic Technique

A non invasive ultrasonic method is used to detect whether or not the frozen fish has suffered a partial or total accidental thawing. The time of flight and the peak to peak amplitude of the ultrasonic signals backscattered by fish are recorded during thawing. The comparison of the evolution curves and images corresponding to first and second thawing shows indicators of accidental thawing. The monitoring of thawing process showed that its assessment can be reduced to the measurement of the water content lost by fish. The attempt to replace the original water lost by fish in first thawing is analyzed. The influence of the transducer frequency on fish thawing evaluation is tested.

Operation Performance of Air Source Heat Pump System for Space Heating in Tianjin

An air source heat pump system (ASHPS) used in an office building is set up and studied experimentally. Its operating performance in winter is evaluated based on test data and a comparative discussion is given on the effect of climate conditions and heating load ratio on the operation behavior. Then heating capacity variation caused by evaporator frosting is analyzed as well. Finally, the defrosting parameters and the technical feasibility are studied for a constant heating demand. The experimental results indicate that both the outlet water temperature drop and the system COP should be taken into account when setting defrosting parameters, and ASHPS is a viable technology for space heating and hot-water production in winter in Tianjin, which can maintain the room temperature above 19 ℃ when the outdoor temperature is -2 ℃.

Calculation of the Heat Energy Needed for Melting of the Ice Formed from Bounded Water in the Wood

An engineering approach for the calculation of the specific heat energy needed for melting of the ice, which is created from the freezing of hygroscopically bounded water in the wood, qbw, has been suggested. The approach, together with the equation that presents it, includes mathematical descriptions of the density of frozen wood in the hygroscopic diapason, Pw, and of the specific heat capacity of the ice formed from the bounded water in the wood, cbw for the calculation of Pw, cbw and qbw according to the suggested approach a software program has been prepared in the calculation environment of Visual Fortran. Using the program computations have been carried out for the determination ofpw, cbw and qbw, of oak, pine, beech and poplar frozen wood with initial temperature in the range from -20℃ to -2℃, at which the thawing of the ice from the bounded water is completed, and with moisture content in the hygroscopic range during wood defrosting. Based on the obtained results, a very simple and easy for use equation for the calculation of qbw depending only on the wood moisture content and on the content of non-frozen water in the wood at given initial wood temperature has been suggested.

Quick and Simple Spectrophotometric Method of Identification of the Thermal State of Meat on the Basis of Composition and Content of Free Nucleotides

At present, there is no method for identifying meat frozen in a thermal state acceptable for production control. The role of free nucleotides in the processes of refrigeration and storage of meat, affecting the structural and mechanical properties of muscle tissue, the formation of taste and its biological value is known. In this article we compared methods for identifying the thermal state of meat based on the determination of the composition and content of free nucleotides by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectrophotometry [SF]. High-purity reference substances were used: free nucleotides—ATP, ADP, AMP, IMP and nucleosides-inosine and hypoxanthine. It has been experimentally established that the characteristic peaks of the absorption spectra for extracts of free nucleotides of meat frozen depended from thermal state of meat. The content of ATP is 21.8 times higher in meat frozen in a fresh state, and the amount of IMF is 12.3 times lower than in meat frozen after cooling. The results of studies of meat frozen using the HPLC method and the developed SF method show the adequacy of the data obtained by both methods. SF-method based on the determination of the optical density of the extracts of free nucleotides is recommended to justify the choice of technological process meat defrost modes.

Design and analysis of a novel dual source vapor injection heat pump using exhaust and ambient air

A novel dual source vapor injection heat pump(DSVIHP)using exhaust and ambient air is proposed.The air exhausted from the building first releases energy to the medium-pressure evaporator and is then mixed with the ambient air to heat the low-pressure evaporator.A vapor injection(VI)compressor of two inlets is connected with the low and medium pressure evaporators.It’s first time that a VI compressor is employed to recover the ventilation heat.The system can minimize the ventilation heat loss and provide a unique defrosting approach by using the exhaust waste heat.Fundamentals of the proposed DSVIHP are illustrated.Mathematical models are built.Both energetic and exergetic analyses are carried out under variable conditions.The results indicate that the DSVIHP has superior thermodynamic performance.The superiority is more appreciable at a lower ambient temperature.It has a higher COP than the conventional vapor injection heat pump and air source heat pump by 11.3%and 23.2%respectively at an ambient temperature of-10°C and condensation temperature of 45°C.The waste heat recovery ratio from the exhaust air is more than 100%.The novel DSVIHP has great potential in the cold climate area application.