Coupled Heat and Mass Transfer Analysis of NH_3-H_2O Falling Film Absorption on Inner Tube Surface with Low Solution Flow Rates

NH_3-H_2O falling film absorption usually takes place with low solution flow rate in real absorption refrigeration system. An experimental study of inner vertical absorption is carried out for the consideration of air-cooling absorber. Variable working conditions are tested to evaluate the heat and mass transfer performances.The traditional evaluation method based on log-mean-temperature(concentration) difference is criticized for its lack of theoretical basis while simultaneous heat and mass transfer process occurs. A new method proposed by Kim and Infante Ferreira is modified to evaluate the experimental results with reasonable assumptions. The method is based on the derivation of coupled heat and mass transfer differential equations of NH_3-H_2O absorption process.The analysis of the same experimental data shows that the new method realizes better consistency with smaller error, especially in heat transfer aspect. Heat and mass transfer performance is enhanced with the increase of solution Reynolds number. Sub-cooling of inlet weak solution also has positive influence on the absorption process,which should be evaluated by the new method correctly. Two correlations are developed to evaluate both Nusselt and Sherwood numbers for the design of air-cooling absorber.     

Research on reduction of Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> by biomass sawdust

The research on biomass reduction of Fe₂O₃ was carried out by using sawdust as reductant. The direct reducing agents in the biomass magnetization process were determined by comparing various biomass pyrolysis products with the reduction degree (divalent iron content in total iron), reduction temperature range and valence change of Fe₂O₃ in the reduction process. The microstructure variation of Fe₂O₃ at different stages was also analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Nonisothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was applied to explore the thermal reduction process. The results show that the direct reducing substances in the biomass reaction with Fe₂O₃ are H₂ and bio-oil, and the reduction process can be divided into two steps: biomass pyrolyzing to release H₂ and bio-oil, and reductive volatiles reacting with Fe₂O₃. The two steps are relatively independent. The kinetic of the reduction reaction follows a first-order reaction kinetic model, with 88.99 kJ/mol activation energy and 9.55 × 10⁸ min^?1 frequency factor.     

Catalytic Combustion of Lean Methane Assisted by Electric Field over Pd/Co<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> Catalysts at Low Temperature

A series of Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts were prepared by Self-Propagating High-Temperature Synthesis (SHS) method in this study, and electric field was applied for catalytic combustion of lean methane over Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts at low temperature. When electric field was applied, the catalytic combustion performance of Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts was greatly improved, and the application of electric field could reduce the load of active element Pd to some extent while maintaining the same efficiency. Based on experimental tests and the analysis results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), H₂-temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR) and in-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in-situ DRIFTS), the mechanism of catalytic oxidation of CH₄ over Pd/Co₃O₄ catalysts in electric field was proposed. The catalytic combustion of CH₄ occurs only when the temperature is higher than 250 °C normally, but when electric field was applied, the whole process of CH₄ oxidation was promoted significantly and the reaction temperature was reduced. Electric field could promote the reduction of the support Co₃O₄ to release the lattice oxygen, resulting in the increase of PdO_x and the surface chemisorbed oxygen, which could provide more active sites for the low-temperature oxidation of CH₄. Furthermore, electric field could accelerate the dehydroxylation of CoOOH to further enhance the activity of the catalysts.     

Combustion optimization model for NO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> reduction with an improved particle swarm optimization

Abstract: This paper focuses on the combustion optimization to cut down NO _x emission with a new strategy. Firstly, orthogonal experimental design (OED) and chaotic sequences are introduced to improve the performance of particle swarm optimization (PSO). Then, a predicting model for NO _x emission is established on support vector machine (SVM) whose parameters are optimized by the improved PSO. Afterwards, a new optimization model considering coal quantity and air quantity along with the traditional optimization variables is established. At last, the operating parameters are optimized by the improved PSO to cut down the NO _x emission. An application on 600MW unit shows that the new optimization model can cut down NO _x emission effectively and maintain the load balance well. The NO _x emission optimized by the improved PSO is lowest among some state-of-the-art intelligent algorithms. This study can provide important guides for the low NO _x combustion in the power plant.     

Study on Oxidation Activity of CuCeZrO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> Doped with K for Diesel Engine Particles in NO/O<Subscript>2</Subscript>

CuCeZrO_x and KCuCeZrO_x catalysts were synthesized and coated on the blank diesel particulate filter (DPF) substrate and a particulate matter (PM) loading apparatus was used for soot loading. The catalytic performances of soot oxidation were evaluated by temperature programmed combustion (TPC) test and characterization tests were conducted to investigate the physicochemical properties of the catalysts. The reaction mechanism in the oxidation process was analyzed with diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that CuCeZrO_x catalyst exhibited high activities of soot oxidation at low temperature and the best results have been attained with Cu_0.9Ce_0.05Zr_0.05O_x over which the maximum soot oxidation rate decreased to 410 °C. Characterization tests have shown that catalysts containing 90% Cu have uniformly distributed grains and small particle sizes, which provide excellent oxidation activity by providing more active sites and forming a good bond between the catalyst and the soot. The low-temperature oxidation activity of soot could be further optimized due to the excellent elevated NO’s conversion rate by partially substituting Cu with K. The maximum particle oxidation rate can be easily realized at such a low temperature as 347°C.     

Monte Carlo simulation of B2-L2<Subscript>1</Subscript> ordering transitions in Au-Cu-Al alloy systems

The B2-L2₁ ordering transitions in Au-Cu-Al shape-memory alloys are studied by the Monte Carlo exchange simulations, where a set of the first, the second and the third nearest-neighbor mixing potentials for Cu-Al in the Au-Cu-Al alloys are calculated from first principals using the Connolly-Williams methods. To ensure the phase stability of the β-Au-Cu-Al, the investigation includes the range of compositions Au₂Cu_1−x Al_1+x (−0.15 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.15). The B2-L2₁ transition temperatures are predicted, and are in agreement with the experimental results. The atomic ordering around vacancy of the L2₁ structure is further discussed.     

Investigation on the formation mechanism of ordered carbide (FeMn)<Subscript>3</Subscript>AlC in the Al added twinning-induced plasticity steels

The spinodal composition zone in Al added Fe-Mn-Al-C twinning-induced plasticity（TWIP） steels can be determined by contents of Al and C and aging temperature together, based on the thermodynamic analysis. Precipitation of ordered（FeMn）₃AlC carbide by the mechanism of spinodal decomposition occurs in the C-rich and Al-rich zone with low aging temperature. Increase of aging temperature shrinks spinodal composition zone to the high Al and C contents. As a result, the precipitation of（FeMn）₃AlC carbide alters from spinodal decomposition to classical nucleation-growth manner gradually. Further calculation indicates that the diffusion of Al can play a key role in determining the growth rate of（FeMn）₃AlC carbide at high aging temperature.     

Scale-invariant occupancy of phase space and additivity of nonextensive entropy <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis></Subscript>

Phase space can be constructed for N equal and distinguishable binary subsystems which are correlated in a scale-invariant manner. In the paper, correlation coefficient and reduced probability are introduced to characterize the scale-invariant correlated binary subsystems. Probabilistic sets for the correlated binary subsystems satisfy Leibnitz triangle rule in the sense that the marginal probabilities of N-system are equal to the joint probabilities of the (N −1)-system. For entropic index q ≠ 1, nonextensive entropy S _q is shown to be additive in the scale-invariant occupation of phase space.     

Research on electron beam welding of in situ TiB<Subscript>2p</Subscript>/ZL101 composite

Electron beam welding of in situ TiB_2p reinforced aluminum composites was studied. The results show that no obvious pores or cracks is presented in the weld seam. The grains in the weld seam are remarkably refined and TiB₂ particles distribute much more homogeneously than that in base metal. The hardness values of fusion zone and heat affected zone (HAZ) are both increased in comparison with that of base metal. There are no interface reactions between TiB₂ particle and Al matrix. This results supply the evidence that the novel TiB_2p reinforced aluminum composites can be well joined with the electron beam welding.     

Degradation of selected indoor air pollutants: Comparison study of photocatalytic,ozone-assisted photocatalytic and amine adsorption processes

Indoor air pollutants impact human health, comfort and productivity. The method of photocatalysis has been applied mainly in flow reactors and little information is available on indoor air pollutant removal in airtight reactors. In the paper, experiments were carried out to remove formaldehyde (HCHO), ammonia (NH₃) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the airtight and ventilated chambers. Results demonstrated that 90.4% of HCHO, 92.3% of NH₃ and 57.9% of VOCs were removed in the amine adsorption process, while 67.5% (hereinbefore, these are the mass fraction) of HCHO, 60.0% of NH₃, and 61.2% of VOCs were removed in the photocatalytic process. However, ozone-assisted photocatalytic process showed great potential to degrade indoor air pollutants in the ventilated chamber. Factors and mechanisms of the photocatalytic degradation of HCHO, NH₃ and VOCs were also discussed.     

Preparation of benzene adsorption materials using waste activated alumina

A new type of benzene adsorption material was prepared by using the airtight heat treatment method. This method can directly transform the organic impurities of the activated alumina waste into carbon with adsorption capability. The microstructure and carbon content of materials were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET (Brunauer Emmett Teller) surface area analysis and elemental analysis. The influences of heat treatment temperature on the properties of the composite materials were discussed. The benzene adsorption capability of the material was investigated. The experimental results show that the optimal heat treatment process condition is airtight heating at 400°C for 2 h. The resulting sample has carbon mass fraction of 3.57%, specific surface area of 234.70m²/g, pore volume of 0.41m³/g, and average pore size of 6.59 nm. The samples show excellent benzene adsorption capability with an adsorption rate of 21.80%.     

Gain and noise figure analysis of Er<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-doped YAG transparent ceramic microchip amplifier

The rate equations and the power evolution equations based on excited state absorption (ESA) and cooperative upconversion (CUC) of high concentration erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) transparent ceramic waveguide amplifier are set up to analyze the effects of the pump power, active ion concentration and waveguide length on the amplifier gain and noise figure (NF). The numerical analysis predicts that with a pump power of 100mW, an active ion concentration of 1.0×10²⁶ ion/m³ and a waveguide length of 3 cm, a small-signal gain of 30 dB and an NF of 5 dB can be achieved in the micro-chip amplifier.     

Characteristics of new-type energy absorber for vehicle collision

A new type energy absorber was introduced, which is composed of thousands of thin ring plates with different diameters. Because it can switch the impact to thousands of shearing actions among thin ring plates inside the absorber, the impact energy is decentralized and dissipated gradually, the impact acting time is extended and the peak of acceleration is reduced obviously. Numerical simulations by finite element method (FEM) coupled with smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method were preformed to predict the energy absorption characteristics. Energy absorption ability with different impact velocities was studied and the effects of thickness and material of ring plates were discussed. The sled crash test was carried out to validate the result of simulations. The new type absorber is effective for collision that impact velocity is lower than 40 km/h.     

MATHEMATICAL AND PHYSICAL MODELS OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER PROCESS IN SATURATOR

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Impacts of CaO Solid Particles in Carbon Dioxide Absorption Process from Ship Emission with NaOH Solution

CO₂ emitted from ship exhaust is one of the major sources of atmospheric pollution. In order to reduce ship CO₂ emissions, this paper comes up with the idea of recovering CO₂ from ship exhaust by NaOH solution and improves the absorption rate by adding CaO solid particles. The effect mechanism of CaO solid particles on CO₂ absorption efficiency is analyzed in detail, and the mathematical model is deduced and the CaO enhancement factor is calculated through experiments. Experiment result demonstrates that the effect of CaO solid particles on the absorption of CO₂ in alkali solution is significant. The absorption rate of pure CO₂ gas, the simulated ship exhaust gas and 6135AZG marine diesel engine emission can be increased by 10%, 15.85% and 10.30%, respectively. So it can be seen that CaO solid particles play an important role in improving the absorption efficiency of ship CO₂ emission.     

Thermal Transport in Nanoporous Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia by Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is widely used as thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) to reduce heat transfer between hot gases and metallic components in gas-turbine engines. Porous structure can generally reduce the lattice thermal conductivity of bulk material, so porous YSZ can be potentially used as TBCs with better thermal performance. In this work, we investigate the thermal conductivity of nanoporous YSZ using the nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulation, and comprehensively discuss the effects of cross-sectional area, pore size, structure length, porosity, Y₂O₃ concentration and temperature on the thermal conductivity. To compare with the results of the NEMD simulation, we solve the heat diffusion equation and the gray Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) to calculate the thermal conductivity of the same porous structure. From the results, we find that the thermal conductivity of YSZ has a weak dependence on the structure length at the length range from 10 to 26 nm, which indicates that the majority of heat carriers have very short mean free path (MFP) but there exists small percentage (about 3%) of phonons with longer MFP (larger than 10 nm) contributing to the thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity predicted by NEMD simulation is smaller than that of solving heat diffusion equation (diffusive limit) with the same porous structure. It shows that the presence of pores affects phonon scattering and further affects the thermal conductivity of nanoporous YSZ. The results agree well with the solution of gray BTE with a average MFP of 0.6 nm. The thermal conductivity of nanoporous YSZ weakly depends on the Y₂O₃ concentration and temperature, which shows the phonons with very short MFP play the major contribution to the thermal conductivity. The results help to better understand the heat transfer in porous YSZ structure and develop better TBCs.     

Improved algorithm for calculating contributions to <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis>-statistic

D-statistic contribution analysis has been frequently used in practice for fault diagnosis. Existing algorithms for computing contributions to D-statistic tend to distribute cross-term contribution equally between two correlated variables. This leads to increased variance in contribution estimation and hence poor separability of faulty and normal variables. A new method for contribution calculation to D-statistic is proposed here which introduces a weighting scheme capable of distinguishing the contributions of two correlated variables. Simulation examples show that the proposed approach achieves improved resolution for distinguishing faulty and normal conditions.     

Hybrid process of fabricating high-quality micro wine-glass fused silica resonators

A new hybrid method, which combines improved glass-blown technology with wet etching, is reported to fabricate micro wine-glass resonators with high-quality fused silica. The optimum placement is compared to achieve the resonators with good shell shape. The typical shell diameter is about 4mm and its thickness covers from dozens to hundreds of micrometers. The etching rates in corrosion solutions with different ratios and at different thicknesses of hemispherical shells are studied. We also conclude how to precisely control the thickness. The corrosion solutions with different ratios of HF solution to NH₄F solution make the spherical shells rougher in different degrees. The best roughness is 0.581 nm in the 1: 8 ratio corrosion solution while the original roughness is 0.537 nm. This fact shows that the resonator remains atomically smooth surface. Based on the glassblowing spherical fused silica structure, the thickness of the resonator is effectively controlled by buffered oxide etch (BOE) technology according to the measured etching rate. The measured resonant frequency of the hemispherical shell at ambient pressure and room temperature is 1.75 kHz of rocking mode which is close to the simulated frequency. Using such a low-cost hybrid approach, we can fabricate high-quality microscale resonators in batch.     

PRETTA:A COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR PWR PRESSURIZER’S TRANSIENT THERMODYNAMICS

Introduction　　 For a safe reator operation in PWR,the pre-diction of the pressure during various transients isessential.For this purpose,the pressure predic-tions made by the computer codes based on theequilibrium pressurizer models developed in theearly 1 96 0 ' s are not always satisfactory. TheThree Mile Island(TMI) accident has resulted inan increased emphasis on the capability of simulat-ing system transients with greater accuracy[1] . Fora pressurized waterreactor,the accurate pred…     

Convective Boiling of Near-Azeotropic Refrigerant R410A in the Horizontal Micro-fin Tube

Using near-azeotropic refrigerant R410A as the working fluid, the experimental studies on the horizontal micro-fin tubes were conducted. Several factors affecting heat transfer coefficients were analyzed, and the characteristics of flow boiling of the refrigerant in the horizontal micro-fin tubes were discussed. The local heat transfer coefficients increase with mass flux, heat flux and quality. And the heat transfer enhancement factor of those testing tubes is about 1.6 to 2.2.