Experimental Study of a Solar Thermal Incubator Using a Phase-Change Material for Off-Grid Use

The aim of this study was to provide a simple, easy-to-use incubation system for small-scale rural poultry farmers far from the electricity grid. To this end, a naturally ventilated solar thermal incubator was built and experimentally tested. A U-shaped evacuated tube collector and a wooden crate holding 50 eggs were used to build the solar thermal incubator. Water was used as the heat transfer fluid, and an EPCM was integrated into the incubation chamber for operation at night or when the sun was hidden. The heat generated by the solar collector and stored in the heat transfer fluid is transported to the incubation chamber by thermosiphon to heat the chamber. Temperature and humidity probes powered by a solar panel were placed at various locations to monitor the thermo-hygrometric efficiency of the incubation system. The incubator, heated by natural convection, proved to function normally, and the incubation chamber was maintained throughout the incubation period within a temperature range of 35.53˚C to 39.53˚C and relative humidity averaging 49.4% to 68.5%. The experiment was carried out by introducing 30 eggs and the results of the experimental study showed that the incubator’s efficiency was 87%. The performance tests gave a fertility rate of 93% and a hatching rate of 93%, i.e. 28 fertile eggs and 26 hatched eggs, respectively.

Key vacuum technology issues to be solved in evacuated tube transportation

Evacuated tube transportation （ETT） will be one of the ultra-large-scale vacuum application areas. This paper lists some key vacuum technology issues in ETT： （1） how to construct ultra-large-scale vacuum chamber with lower cost and high reliability, （2） how to evacuate gas out of the ETT tube in short time, （3） how to release heat or reduce temperature in the vacuum tube, （4） how to avoid vacuum discharge, （5） how to make vehicles with airproof shells and life support system, and （6） how to detect leaks and find leak positions efficiently. At the same time, some solutions are proposed.

HISTORY AND PRESENT STATE OF TRANSLATIONAL ELECTRO-OPTICAL APPLICATIONS TO MEDICINE

This paper reviews the history of the optoelectric devices applied to biomedical sciences in 20th century.It describes history of Vacuum tubes and Spectroscopies with the author’s personal experiences,especially doublebeam spectroscopy.Further,the present developments of Near Infra Red(NIR)devices are described in translational biomedical applications.It includes particulary micro optoelectronics developments and present status of NIR breast cancer detection.Lastly,intrinsic molecular biomarkers are discussed especially NIR measurements of angiogenensis,hypermetabolism and heat production for cancer detection.

Radio-Acoustic Study of Thunderstorms

The observation, in the past, that a thunderstorm perturbed the transmissions of an old vacuum tubes radio with noise discharges in correspondence with lightnings, suggested the possibility of radio-acoustic study of thunderstorms. The noise discharges appeared to convey not only information about lightnings, but also about any other thunderstorm electromagnetic phenomena generating noise discharges. The low-cost instrumentation involved in the radio-acoustic study, comprised a radio Telefunken mod. T33B, a 15 m long indoor wire antenna, a mobile telephone Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G provided with the recorder App Enregistreur vocal, a computer HP Pavillion dv5-1254eg and the s/w audio analyser Audacity. A first thunderstorm on 20 June 2023 and a second thunderstorm on 22 June 2023, both above Munich, were radio-acoustic studied. The second thunderstorm was more active than the first and released much more energy.

Consolidation behavior of Tianjin dredged clay using two air-booster vacuum preloading methods

This paper presents model tests(macro aspect)and microstructure tests(micro aspect)for investigating the consolidation behavior of Tianjin dredged clay using the prefabricated vertical drain air-booster vacuum preloading(PAVP)and tube air-booster vacuum preloading(TAVP)methods.The mechanism of air-booster vacuum preloading(AVP)using a spring-like system is explained.The main difference between these two methods is the air-boosting equipment.A new anticlogging air-booster prefabricated vertical drain(PVD)is used in the PAVP technique and a self-designed air-booster tube is used in the TAVP technique.In the model tests,a comparison of the variables that are monitored during reinforcement(vacuum pressure,surface settlement,water discharge,and pore-water pressure)and after reinforcement(water content,dry density,and vane shear strength)is conducted.The results indicate that the consolidation behavior of Tianjin dredged clay using the PAVP method is better than that using the TAVP method.PAVP more efficiently mitigates the issue of water-draining PVD clogging and significantly accelerates drainage consolidation.In addition,in the microstructure tests,a comparison of the variables that are monitored after reinforcement(via scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP))is conducted,and the results further explain the model test results.

Modelling and analysis of parameters of vacuum tube solar collector with U-shaped tube for different climates

In this study,based on the energy balance for different components of a double-layered vacuum-tube solar collector with a U-tube,the thermal performance of the collector unit is investigated separately using an analytical and quasi-dynamic method.The model used in this study determines the temperature distribution in longitudinal and radial directions.In this research,the effects of physical parameters and heat transfer including the size of the collector,thermal-loss coefficient,absorption coefficient,mass flow and thermal resistance of the air layer under different climate conditions have been evaluated on the performance of the vacuum-tube collector.The results showed that by increasing the diameter of the tube with constant length,the annual thermal efficiency of the collector increased.Also,in a fixed-diameter tube,with increasing tube length,the annual efficiency increases,but this increase is meagre for lengths of>1.5 m.The optimal mass flow rate for maximum efficiency has been obtained for cities with different climates.According to the results,the optimal flow for different climates has different values that can be optimized as a relationship between the average solar radiation annually as a symbol of temperature and flow.

Investigation and optimization of solar collector and geothermal pump hybrid system for cogeneration of heat and power with exergy-economic approach

To use energy systems based on renewable sources,it is very important to consider backup and hybrid sources because renewable energies are not available all the time;therefore,in this system,a geothermal pump is used to preheat the fluid,then the heated fluid is sent to the vacuum tube collector to reach a higher temperature by absorbing solar-thermal energy,and after absorbing solar energy,it goes to the evaporator to produce superheated steam and finally the superheated fluid moves to the steam turbine to produce energy.After the simulation,thermodynamic analysis along with economic analysis has been done.In the base state,the energy efficiency and exergy of cogeneration were 0.566 and 0.156,respectively;the energy efficiency and electrical exergy were better than 0.057 and 0.065;and the overall output and immutable work values were 50 and 671.1 kW,respectively.