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%.

Improving Performance of Computer Algebra Systems

Computer Algebra Systems have been extensively used in higher education. The reasons are many e.g., visualize mathematical problems, correlate real-world problems on a conceptual level, are flexible, simple to use, accessible from anywhere, etc. However, there is still room for improvement. Computer algebra system (CAS) optimization is the set of best practices and techniques to keep the CAS running optimally. Best practices are related to how to carry out a mathematical task or configure your system. In this paper, we are going to examine these techniques. The documentation sheets of CASs are the source of data that we used to compare them and examine their characteristics. The research results reveal that there are many tips that we can follow to accelerate performance.

Anti-aging performance improvement and enhanced combustion efficiency of boron via the coating of PDA

Boron is an ambitious fuel in energetic materials since its high heat release values,but its application is prohibited by low combustion efficiency and oxidization during storage.The polydopamine(PDA)was introduced into boron particles,investigating the impact of PDA content on the energetic behavior of boron.The results indicated that the PDA coating formed a fishing net structure on the surface of boron particles.The heat release results showed that the combustion calorific value of B@PDA was higher than that of the raw boron.Specifically,the actual combustion heat of boron powder in B@10%PDA increased by 38.08%.Meanwhile,the DSC peak temperature decreased by 100.65℃under similar oxidation rate compared to raw boron.Simultaneously,the B@PDA@AP and B@AP composites were prepared,and their combustion properties were evaluated.It was demonstrated that B@10%PDA@AP exhibited superior performance in terms of peak pressure and burning time,respectively.The peak pressure is 12.43 kPa more than B@AP and burning time is 2.22 times higher than B@AP.Therefore,the coating of PDA effectively inhibits the oxidization of boron during storage and enhances the energetic behavior of boron and corresponding composites.

Improving Performance of Cloud Computing and Big Data Technologies and Applications

Cloud computing technology is changing the development and usage patterns of IT infrastructure and applications. Virtualized and distributed systems as well as unified management and scheduling has greatly im proved computing and storage. Management has become easier, andOAM costs have been significantly reduced. Cloud desktop technology is develop ing rapidly. With this technology, users can flexibly and dynamically use virtual ma chine resources, companies＇ efficiency of using and allocating resources is greatly improved, and information security is ensured. In most existing virtual cloud desk top solutions, computing and storage are bound together, and data is stored as im age files. This limits the flexibility and expandability of systems and is insufficient for meetinz customers＇ requirements in different scenarios.

Heuristics for Improving Operational Performance of Permutation Circulati on-type Vehicle Routing System

This paper discusses an optimization of operating a p ermutation circulation-type vehicle routing system (PCVRS, for short), in w hich several stages are located along by a single loop, and a fleet of vehicles travels on the loop unidirectionally and repeatedly. Traveling on the loop, each vehicle receives an object from the loading stage and then carries it to a cert ain processing stage, or receives an object from a certain processing stage and then carries it to the unloading stage per a turnaround. No passing is allowed f or the vehicles on the loop (from which the system is called permutation, and th is restriction may cause interferences between vehicles). Material handling systems such as PCVRS are actually encountered in flexible man ufacturing systems and in automated storage/retrieval systems. In this paper, we propose a heuristic algorithm for operating the PCVRS, which i ncorporates a new scheduling method for the vehicles with the SPT (shortest proc essing time) numbering of jobs and a round-robin manner of allocating jobs to t he stages, aiming to reduce interferences between the vehicles. We also give num erical results with respect to system performances attained by the heuristic. Description of the system The PCVRS consists of a set of n v vehicles V={V 1,V 2,...,V n v}, a set of n s, processing stages S p={S 1,S 2,...,S n s}, a loading stage S 0 and an unloading stage S n s +1. We denote by S=S p∪{S 0,S n s+l} the set of all the stages. The vehicles travel on a single loop unidirectionany and repeated ly. The system layout is depicted in Fig.1. There is a set of n jobs J={J 1,J 2,...,J n} to be processed b y the vehicles. Each job consists of two tasks: That is, each vehicle receives a n object from S 0 and then carries it to S l with a certain l∈{1,2, ...,n s} (a throw-in job), or receives an object from S l with a certain l∈{1,2,...,n s} and then carries it to S n s+1 (a throw-out job ) per a turnaround. The loop consists of buffer zones BZ(l) and travel zones TZ(l) (see Fig. 1). Each buffer zone BZ(l) is placed in front of stage S l, l=0,1,..., n s, n s+1, in order to avoid a collision between vehicles (i.e., the syste m adopts the so-called zone control strategy). A heuristic algorithm We develop a heuristic algorithm to obtain a good performance for the PCVRS. An operation π={A/B/C} for the PCVRS consists of three decision factors: (A) Numbering jobs Jobs are loaded into S 0 according to an assending order of job numbers. In this paper, we use the following rules to number jobs: SPT: Order jobs in the shortest processing time rule, i.e., P 1≤P 2≤...≤P n for the set of jobs J={J 1,J 2,...,J n}, rather than the FCFS numbering (i.e., number jobs in first-come-first-served order). The SPT rule intends to reduce interferences between two adjacent vehicles at stages. (B) Allocating jobs to stages For the purpose of balancing loads of processing stages, we adopt the following to allocate jobs to the stages: ORDER: Allocate n jobs to n s, processing stages by an in-order manner , i.e., let l(i) be the index of processing stage allocated job J i by ORDER, it holds that l(i)=n s+1-(i-[(i-1)/n s]n s).(1) The ORDER rule intends to process jobs parallel at stages as many as possible. (C) Scheduling vehicles The following method for scheduling vehicles under ORDER rule is already known: Fig.1 The vehicle ro uting system, PCVRS Fig.2 Mean turnaroun d times by heuristics Unchange: Assign n jobs to n v vehicles such that let k(i) be the i ndex of vehicle processing job J i, then k(i)= i-[(i-1)/n v]n v.(2) In csse of n v≥n s, mod (n v,n s)=0 or n v<n s, mod (n s,n v)=0 (mod(x,y) is the remainder of x/y), the number of interferences between vehicles is minimized at stage S 1 under Unchange sche dules, while in the other cases it is not [Lu et al. (2001a)]. Therefore, in t his paper, we develop a new scheduling method of the vehicles, denoted by Ex change, to modify Unchange schedules. Note

Designing high-efficiency light-to-thermal conversion materials for solar desalination and photothermal catalysis

Light-to-thermal conversion materials(LTCMs)have been of great interest to researchers due to their impressive energy conversion capacity and wide range of applications in biomedical,desalination,and synergistic catalysis.Given the limited advances in existing materials(metals,semiconductors,π-conjugates),researchers generally adopt the method of constructing complex systems and hybrid structures to optimize performance and achieve multifunctional integration.However,the development of LTCMs is still in its infancy as the physical mechanism of light-to-thermal conversion is unclear.In this review,we proposed design strategies for efficient LTCMs by analyzing the physical process of light-tothermal conversion.First,we analyze the nature of light absorption and heat generation to reveal the physical processes of light-to-thermal conversion.Then,we explain the light-to-thermal conversion mechanisms of metallic,semiconducting andπ-conjugated LCTMs,and propose new material design strategies and performance improvement methods.Finally,we summarize the challenges and prospects of LTCMs in emerging applications such as solar water evaporation and photothermal catalysis.

Advances in photothermal conversion of carbon dioxide to solar fuels

Converting carbon dioxide(CO_(2)) into useful fuels or chemical feedstocks is important for achieving peak carbon emission and carbon neutrality.Recently,photothermal catalysis has been extensively studied and applied due to its advantages over traditional heat-driven catalysis.In this review,we focus on photothermal catalysis of thermodynamically uphill reactions that convert CO_(2)into value-added products.We first introduce the fundamentals of photothermal catalysis for CO_(2)reduction,including the definition and classification of photothermal catalysis,followed by their photothermal conversion processes.The structure design of different types of photothermal catalysts is summarized.The superior performance of photothermal catalytic conversion of CO_(2)is illustrated and discussed,including improved CO_(2)activation,tunable selectivity towards different solar fuel products,and resistance to sintering and coking.Finally,the perspectives and challenges in this cutting-edge field are presented with the aim of advancing understanding of the underlying mechanisms and inspiring rational design of photothermal catalysts for highly efficient solar-to-fuel conversion.

Optimization of Blade Geometry of Savonius Hydrokinetic Turbine Based onGenetic Algorithm

Savonius hydrokinetic turbine is a kind of turbine set which is suitable for low-velocity conditions.Unlike conventional turbines,Savonius turbines employ S-shaped blades and have simple internal structures.Therefore,there is a large space for optimizing the blade geometry.In this study,computational fluid dynamics(CFD)numerical simulation and genetic algorithm(GA)were used for the optimal design.The optimization strategies and methods were determined by comparing the results calculated by CFD with the experimental results.The weighted objective function was constructed with the maximum power coefficient Cp and the high-power coefficient range R under multiple working conditions.GA helps to find the optimal individual of the objective function.Compared the optimal scheme with the initial scheme,the overlap ratioβincreased from 0.2 to 0.202,and the clearance ratioεincreased from 0 to 0.179,the blade circumferential angleγincreased from 0°to 27°,the blade shape extended more towards the spindle.The overall power of Savonius turbines was maintained at a high level over 22%,R also increased from 0.73 to 1.02.In comparison with the initial scheme,the energy loss of the optimal scheme at high blade tip speed is greatly reduced,and this reduction is closely related to the optimization of blade geometry.As R becomes larger,Savonius turbines can adapt to the overall working conditions and meet the needs of its work in low flow rate conditions.The results of this paper can be used as a reference for the hydrodynamic optimization of Savonius turbine runners.

Direct Yaw Moment Control for Distributed Drive Electric Vehicle Handling Performance Improvement

For a distributed drive electric vehicle（DDEV） driven by four in-wheel motors, advanced vehicle dynamic control methods can be realized easily because motors can be controlled independently, quickly and precisely. And direct yaw-moment control（DYC） has been widely studied and applied to vehicle stability control. Good vehicle handling performance： quick yaw rate transient response, small overshoot, high steady yaw rate gain, etc, is required by drivers under normal conditions, which is less concerned, however. Based on the hierarchical control methodology, a novel control system using direct yaw moment control for improving handling performance of a distributed drive electric vehicle especially under normal driving conditions has been proposed. The upper-loop control system consists of two parts： a state feedback controller, which aims to realize the ideal transient response of yaw rate, with a vehicle sideslip angle observer; and a steering wheel angle feedforward controller designed to achieve a desired yaw rate steady gain. Under the restriction of the effect of poles and zeros in the closed-loop transfer function on the system response and the capacity of in-wheel motors, the integrated time and absolute error（ITAE） function is utilized as the cost function in the optimal control to calculate the ideal eigen frequency and damper coefficient of the system and obtain optimal feedback matrix and feedforward matrix. Simulations and experiments with a DDEV under multiple maneuvers are carried out and show the effectiveness of the proposed method： yaw rate rising time is reduced, steady yaw rate gain is increased, vehicle steering characteristic is close to neutral steer and drivers burdens are also reduced. The control system improves vehicle handling performance under normal conditions in both transient and steady response. State feedback control instead of model following control is introduced in the control system so that the sense of control intervention to drivers is relieved.

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT OF CENTRIFUGAL FAN BY MEANS OF NUMERICAL SIMULATION

Numerical simulation is used to investigate the flow field in a model centrifugal fan for steam power stations in order to improve the performance. During testing the model fan, it is found that the efficiency is only 62.5% with inlet box, without it the efficiency is 83%. In addition, the strong vibration of test rig is observed with inlet box. It would be highly desirable if the aerodynamics of the fan could be studied. Therefore, numerical simulation is carried out to investigate the internal flow characteristics of a model fan with inlet box. The results from CFD analysis show that the whole region of the inlet box is occupied by a spiral vortex rotating inversely as the rotor＇s direction, which significantly affect the most flow＇region inside the fan. For this reason, a dummy plate is arranged in the inlet box to impede the generation of the spiral vortex, the results from CFD after the reform demonstrate that the modification is quiet effective, the former large spiral vertex has been destroyed effectively, the large one is superseded in favor of two small vortexes. However, two small vortexes have little effect on the inner flow of the rotor and the following parts. Finally, the efficiency of the model fan is improved by the test and the strong vibration of the test rig disappears. This type of modification has been used in steam power stations, the fan efficiency raises to 84% successfully.

Graphite Anode for Potassium Ion Batteries: Current Status and Perspective

With the increased demand from the storage of renewable energy sources,some safe and inexpensive energy storage technologies instead of Li-ion batteries become urgently needed.Therefore,K-ion batteries(KIBs)have attracted much attention and evolved significant development because of the low price,safety,and similar property compared with Li-ion batteries.Due to the high reversibility,stability,and low potential plateau,graphite becomes a current research focus and is regarded as one of the most promising KIB’s anode materials.In this review,we mainly discuss the electrochemical reaction mechanism of graphite during potassiation-depotassiation process and analyze the effects of electrode/electrolyte interface on graphite for Kion storage.Besides,we summarize several kinds of methods to improve the performance of graphite for KIBs,including the design of graphite structure,selection of appropriate binder,solvent chemistry,and salt chemistry.Meanwhile,a concept of“relative energy density”is raised,which can be more accurate to evaluate the genuine electrochemical performance of graphite anode involving the specific capacity and potential.In addition,we also summarize the considerable challenges to current graphite anode in KIBs and we believe our work will offer alterative solutions to further explore high-performance graphite anode of K-ion storage.

Performance Improvement of GaN-Based Violet Laser Diodes

The influences of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and AlGaN electron-blocking layers (EBL) on the performance of GaN-based violet laser diodes are investigated. Compared with the InGaN/GaN MQWs grown at two different temperatures, the same-temperature growth of InGaN well and GaN barrier layers has a positive effect on the threshold current and slope efficiency of laser diodes, indicating that the quality of MQWs is improved. In addition, the performance of GaN laser diodes could be further improved by increasing Al content in the AlGaN EBL due to the fact that the electron leakage current could be reduced by properly increasing the barrier height of AlGaN EBL. The violet laser diode with a peak output power of 20 W is obtained.

Performance improvement of continuous carbon nanotube fibers by acid treatment

Continuous CNT fibers have been directly fabricated in a speed of 50 m/h-400 m/h,based on an improved chemical vapor deposition method.As-prepared fibers are further post-treated by acid.According to the SEM images and Raman spectra,the acid treatment results in the compaction and surface modification of the CNTs in fibers,which are beneficial for the electron and load transfer.Compared to the HNO3 treatment,HClSO_3 or H_2SO_4 treatment is more effective for the improvement of the fibers＇ properties.After HCISO_3 treatment for 2 h,the fibers＇ strength and electrical conductivity reach up to-2 GPa and-4.3 MS/m,which are promoted by-200%and almost one order of magnitude than those without acid treatment,respectively.The load-bearing status of the CNT fibers are analyzed based on the downshifts of the G＇ band and the strain transfer factor of the fibers under tension.The results reveal that acid treatment could greatly enhance the load transfer and inter-bundle strength.With the HCISO3 treatment,the strain transfer factor is enhanced from-3.9%to-53.6%.

Improved Performance of W/HZSM-5 Catalysts for Dehydroaromatization of Methane

The dehydroaramatization of methane over W-supported ZSM-5 with varying degrees of Li+ ion-exchanged catalysts was studied with and without oxygen at 1073 K and atmospheric pressure. Catalyst activity and stability were found to be influenced by the catalyst acidity related to Bronsted acid sites and by the presence of oxygen in the feed. The NH3-TPD and FTIR-pyridine results demonstrated that partially exchanged of H+ ions by Li+ into the W/HZSM-5 catalysts could be used to control the amount of strong acid sites on the catalyst surface. Without oxygen, the 3WHLi-Z (5:1) catalyst that has strong acid sites equal to nearly 74% of the original strong acid sites in the parent HZSM-5 exhibited the highest methane conversion and selectivity towards aromatics. However, the catalyst deactivated in a five hour period. In the presence of oxygen, the catalyst activity and stability could be improved further. The results of this study revealed that a suitable amount of strong Bronsted acid sites as well as oxygen addition in the feed increased the catalyst activity and stability. The 3WHLi-Z(5:1) catalyst exhibited improved performance in the dehydroaromatization of methane.

Artificial intelligence for early detection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: The future is promising

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC) is a worldwide public health concern. Despite extensive research efforts toward improving diagnosis and treatment, the 5-year survival rate at best is approximately 15%. This dismal figure can be attributed to a variety of factors including lack of adequate screening methods, late symptom onset, and treatment resistance. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma remains a grim diagnosis with a high mortality rate and a significant psychological burden for patients and their families. In recent years artificial intelligence(AI) has permeated the medical field at an accelerated pace, bringing potential new tools that carry the promise of improving diagnosis and treatment of a variety of diseases. In this review we will summarize the landscape of AI in diagnosis and treatment of PDAC.

Performance Improvement in Hydrogenated Few-Layer Black Phosphorus Field-Effect Transistors

A capping layer for black phosphorus（BP） field-effect transistors（FETs） can provide effective isolation from the ambient air; however, this also brings inconvenience to the post-treatment for optimizing devices. We perform low-temperature hydrogenation on Al2 O3 capped BP FETs. The hydrogenated BP devices exhibit a pronounced improvement of mobility from 69.6 to 107.7 cm2 v-1 s-1, and a dramatic decrease of subthreshold swing from8.4 to 2.6 V/dec. Furthermore, high/low frequency capacitance-voltage measurements suggest reduced interface defects in hydrogenated BP FETs. This could be due to the passivation of interface traps at both Al2 O3/BP and BP/SiO2 interfaces with hydrogen revealed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy.

Performance improvement of CdS/Cu(In,Ga)Se_2 solar cells after rapid thermal annealing

In this paper, we investigated the effect of rapid thermal annealing （RTA） on solar cell performance. An opto-electric conversion efficiency of 11.75% （Voc = 0.64 V, Jsc = 25.88 mA/cm2, FF=72.08%） was obtained under AM 1.5G when the cell was annealed at 300℃ for 30 s. The annealed solar cell showed an average absolute efficiency 1.5% higher than that of the as-deposited one. For the microstructure analysis and the physical phase confirmation, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Raman spectra, front surface reflection （FSR）, internal quantum efficiency （IQE）, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） were respectively applied to distinguish the causes inducing the efficiency variation. All experimental results implied that the RTA eliminated recombination centers at the p-n junction, reduced the surface optical losses, enhanced the blue response of the CdS buffer layer, and improved the ohmic contact between Mo and Cu（In, Ga）Se2 （CIGS） layers. This leaded to the improved performance of CIGS solar cell.

Analysis of Moving Target Detection in Space-Surface BiSAR

Based on the geometric structure of multi-channel space-surface bistatic aperture radar（SS-BiSAR）,the time-frequency and spatial-frequency relationships of clutter and moving target are detailedly analyzed.It is found that the prepositive stationary receiver can improve the spatial separation between moving target and correspondingly competitive clutter,furthermore the processing scheme of space-time adaptive processing（STAP） in SS-BiSAR echo domain is given.Meanwhile,compared to the STAP in monostatic synthetic aperture radar（SAR）,it is firstly proved that the minimum detectable velocity in SS-BiSAR system can improve R0/R1（transmitter-to-target distance over receiver-to-target） times.Finally,the computer simulation verifies the effectiveness of the STAP processing scheme.

A Quantum Spatial Graph Convolutional Network for Text Classification

The data generated from non-Euclidean domains and its graphical representation(with complex-relationship object interdependence)applications has observed an exponential growth.The sophistication of graph data has posed consequential obstacles to the existing machine learning algorithms.In this study,we have considered a revamped version of a semi-supervised learning algorithm for graph-structured data to address the issue of expanding deep learning approaches to represent the graph data.Additionally,the quantum information theory has been applied through Graph Neural Networks(GNNs)to generate Riemannian metrics in closed-form of several graph layers.In further,to pre-process the adjacency matrix of graphs,a new formulation is established to incorporate high order proximities.The proposed scheme has shown outstanding improvements to overcome the deficiencies in Graph Convolutional Network(GCN),particularly,the information loss and imprecise information representation with acceptable computational overhead.Moreover,the proposed Quantum Graph Convolutional Network(QGCN)has significantly strengthened the GCN on semi-supervised node classification tasks.In parallel,it expands the generalization process with a significant difference by making small random perturbations
G of the graph during the training process.The evaluation results are provided on three benchmark datasets,including Citeseer,Cora,and PubMed,that distinctly delineate the superiority of the proposed model in terms of computational accuracy against state-of-the-art GCN and three other methods based on the same algorithms in the existing literature.

Fault Aware Dynamic Resource Manager for Fault Recognition and Avoidance in Cloud

Fault tolerance(FT)schemes are intended to work on a minimized and static amount of physical resources.When a host failure occurs,the conventional FT frequently proceeds with the execution on the accessible working hosts.This methodology saves the execution state and applications to complete without disruption.However,the dynamicity of open cloud assets is not seen when taking scheduling choices.Existing optimization techniques are intended in dealing with resource scheduling.This method will be utilized for distributing the approaching tasks to the VMs.However,the dynamic scheduling for this procedure doesn’t accomplish the objective of adaptation of internal failure.The scheme prefers jobs in the activity list with the most elevated execution time on resources that can execute in a shorter timeframe,but it suffers with higher makespan;poor resource usage and unbalance load concerns.To overcome the above mentioned issue,Fault Aware Dynamic Resource Manager(FADRM)is proposed that enhances the mechanism to Multi-stage Resilience Manager at an application-level FT arrangement.Proposed FADRM method gives FT a Multi-stage Resilience Manager(MRM)in the client and application layers,and simultaneously decreases the over-head and degradations.It additionally provides safety to the application execution considering the clients,application and framework necessities.Based on experimental evaluations,Proposed Fault Aware Dynamic Resource Manager(FADRM)method 157.5 MakeSpan(MS)time,0.38 Fault Rate(FR),0.25 Failure Delay(FD)and improves 5.5 Performance Improvement Ratio(PIR)for 25,50,75 and 100 tasks and 475 MakeSpan(MS)time,0.40 Fault Rate(FR),1.30 Failure Delay(FD)and improves 6.75 improves Performance Improvement Ratio(PER)for 100,200,300 and 500 Tasks compare than existing methodologies.