Effect of source temperature on phase and metal–insulator transition temperature of vanadium oxide films grown by atomic layer deposition

Vanadium oxide films were grown by atomic layer deposition using the tetrakis[ethylmethylamino] vanadium as the vanadium precursor and H2O as the oxide source. The effect of the source temperature on the quality of vanadium oxide films and valence state was investigated. The crystallinity, surface morphology, film thickness, and photoelectric properties of the films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope, I–V characteristics curves, and UV–visible spectrophotometer. By varying the source temperature, the content of V6O11, VO2, and V6O13 in the vanadium oxide film increased, that is, as the temperature increased, the average oxidation state generally decreased to a lower value, which is attributed to the rising of the vapor pressure and the change of the ionization degree for organometallics. Meanwhile, the root-mean-square roughness decreased and the metal–insulator transition temperature reduced. Our study is great significance for the fabrication of vanadium oxide films by atomic layer deposition.

Spatial-temporal variations in near-surface soil freeze-thaw cycles in the source region of the Yellow River during the period 2002–2011 based on the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System(AMSR-E) data

Detecting near-surface soil freeze-thaw cycles in high-altitude cold regions is important for understanding the Earth＇s surface system, but such studies are rare. In this study, we detected the spatial-temporal variations in near-surface soil freeze-thaw cycles in the source region of the Yellow River（SRYR） during the period 2002–2011 based on data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System（AMSR-E）. Moreover, the trends of onset dates and durations of the soil freeze-thaw cycles under different stages were also analyzed. Results showed that the thresholds of daytime and nighttime brightness temperatures of the freeze-thaw algorithm for the SRYR were 257.59 and 261.28 K, respectively. At the spatial scale, the daily frozen surface（DFS） area and the daily surface freeze-thaw cycle surface（DFTS） area decreased by 0.08% and 0.25%, respectively, and the daily thawed surface（DTS） area increased by 0.36%. At the temporal scale, the dates of the onset of thawing and complete thawing advanced by 3.10（±1.4） and 2.46（±1.4） days, respectively; and the dates of the onset of freezing and complete freezing were delayed by 0.9（±1.4） and 1.6（±1.1） days, respectively. The duration of thawing increased by 0.72（±0.21） day/a and the duration of freezing decreased by 0.52（±0.26） day/a. In conclusion, increases in the annual minimum temperature and winter air temperature are the main factors for the advanced thawing and delayed freezing and for the increase in the duration of thawing and the decrease in the duration of freezing in the SRYR.

Compositional and temperature variations of the Pacific upper mantle since the Cretaceous

The geological evolution of the Earth during the mid-Cretaceous were shown to be anomalous, e.g., the pause of the geomagnetic field, the global sea level rise, and increased intra-plate volcanic activities, which could be attributed to deep mantle processes. As the anomalous volcanic activities occurred mainly in the Cretaceous Pacific, here we use basalt chemical compositions from the oceanic drilling（DSDP/ODP/IODP） sites to investigate their mantle sources and melting conditions. Based on locations relative to the Pacific plateaus, we classified these sites as oceanic plateau basalts, normal mid-ocean ridge basalts, and near-plateau seafloor basalts. This study shows that those normal mid-ocean ridge basalts formed during mid-Cretaceous are broadly similar in average Na8, La/Sm and Sm/Yb ratios and Sr-Nd isotopic compositions to modern Pacific spreading ridge（the East Pacific Rise）. The Ontong Java plateau（125–90 Ma） basalts have distinctly lower Na8 and143Nd/144 Nd, and higher La/Sm and 87Sr/86 Sr than normal seafloor basalts, whereas those for the near-plateau seafloor basalts are similar to the plateau basalts, indicating influences from the Ontong Java mantle source. The super mantle plume activity that might have formed the Ontong Java plateau influenced the mantle source of the simultaneously formed large areas of seafloor basalts. Based on the chemical data from normal seafloor basalts, I propose that the mantle compositions and melting conditions of the normal mid-ocean ridges during the Cretaceous are similar to the fast spreading East Pacific Rise. Slight variations of mid-Cretaceous normal seafloor basalts in melting conditions could be related to the local mantle source and spreading rate.

Analysis of a Water-Cooled Unit under Different Loads

In order to ensure the safe operation of the compressors used in water chillers,in the present study some interlock protections have been added to the related design.These include a low pressure protection,a high pressure protection,an exhaust temperature protection and a differential pressure protection.Some tests have been conducted by tuning the saturation suction and exhaust temperatures of the compressor through adjustment of the cold source outlet temperature and the ambient temperature.The results show that the ambient temperature increases with decreasing device load and increasing fan speed under the same saturated suction temperature;the device refrigerating capacity steps up with augmenting load and dropping saturation exhaust temperature,while it is not greatly affected by the fan speed.Moreover,the Energy efficiency ratio(COP)decreases with the rise of the saturation exhaust temperature.This parameter is not affected much by the device load and fan speed at high saturation exhaust temperature,while it improves on increasing the device load and decreasing the fan speed at low saturation exhaust temperature.

Parametric Optimization of Organic Rankine Cycle with R245fa/R601a as Working Fluid

In order to select the appropriate working fluids and optimize parameters for medium-temperature geothermally-powered organic Rankine cycle(ORC), R245 fa is mixed with R601 a at geothermal water temperature of 110 ℃. Based on thermodynamics, the characteristics of mixture and its influence on the performance of ORC under different evaporating temperatures and composition proportions are analyzed. Results show that the zeotropic mixture R245fa/R601a(0.4/0.6) has the highest performance. When the evaporating temperature reaches 67 ℃, the outlet temperature of geothermal water is 61 ℃, the net power output is the highest and the thermal efficiency is about 9%.

A thermodynamics comparison of subcritical and transcritical organic Rankine cycle system for power generation

A comparison on subcritical and transcritical organic Rankine cycle（ORC） system with a heat source of 110 ℃ geothermal water was presented. The net power output, thermal and exergy efficiencies and the products of the heat transfer coefficient（U） and the total heat exchange area（A）（UA values） were calculated for parametric optimization. Nine candidate working fluids were investigated and compared. Under the given conditions, transcritical systems have higher net power outputs than subcritical ones. The highest net power output of transcritical systems is 18.63 k W obtained by R218, and that of subcritical systems is 13.57 k W obtained by R600 a. Moreover, with the increase of evaporating pressure, the thermal and exergy efficiencies of transcritical systems increase at first and then decrease, but the efficiencies of subcritical ones increase. As a result, the efficiencies of transcritical systems cannot always outperform those of the subcritical ones. However, the subcritical systems have lower minimum UA values and lower expansion ratios than the transcritical ones at the maximum net power output. In addition, the transcritical cycles have higher expansion ratios than the subcritical ones at their maximum net power output.