Coal fly ash (FA) valorization is of great significance and sustainable interests to addressing the current environmental challenges faced by coal power industry. Herein, this work attempted a novel molten salt Na2CO3 treatment for processing FA into a robust matrix to support lauric acid (LA) toward construction of latent phase change composite. Their micromorphology, physiochemical, and thermal properties were monitored with scanning and transmission microscopy, X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, among others. As Na2CO3 dosage increased from 20% to 40%, the FA experienced firstly higher loss of SiO2 and then substantial loss of Al2O3, and yet exhibited merely varied porosity. Then, both the composites revealed a maximum LA content of 20% that doubled that of pristine FA. Nevertheless, the optimal composite was disclosed with thermal conductivity of 0.5668 W/mK, which was 69% higher than its FA-based counterpart. It was proposed that the surfa... [more]

Protecting low coordinated sites (LCS) of Pt nanoparticles, which are vulnerable to dissolution, may be an ideal solution for enhancing the durability of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs). However, the selective protection of LCSs without deactivating the other sites presents a key challenge. Herein, we report the preferential protection of LCSs with a thiol derivative having a silane functional group, (3-mercaptopropyl) triethoxysilane (MPTES). MPTES preferentially adsorbs on the LCSs and is converted to a silica framework, providing robust masking of the LCSs. With the preferential protection, the initial oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity is marginally reduced by 8% in spite of the initial electrochemical surface area (ECSA) loss of 30%. The protected Pt/C catalyst shows an ECSA loss of 5.6% and an ORR half-wave potential loss of 5 mV after 30,000 voltage cycles between 0.6 and 1.0 V, corresponding to a 6.7- and 2.6-fold durability improvement compared to unprotected Pt/... [more]

Calcium ions can react with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to form a form-stable phase change material, but the low thermal conductivity hinders its practical application. In this paper, hydroxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with different mass are introduced into PEG1500·CaCl2 form-stable phase change material to prepare a new type of energy storage material. Carbon nanotubes increased the mean free path (MFP) of phonons and effectively reduced the interfacial thermal resistance between pure PEG and PEG1500·CaCl2 3D skeleton structure. Thermal conductivity was significant improved after increasing MWCNTs mass, while the latent heat decreases. At 1.5 wt%, composite material shows the highest phase change temperature of 42 °C, and its thermal conductivity is 291.30% higher than pure PEG1500·CaCl2. This article can provide some suggestions for the preparation and application of high thermal conductivity form-stable phase change materials.

Air classification (AC) is a cost-effective technology that separates the energy-dense light ash fraction (LAF) from the inorganic-rich high ash fraction (HAF) of corn stover. HAF could be upgraded into energy-dense solid fuel by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC). However, HTC is a high-temperature, high-pressure process, which requires additional energy to operate. In this study, three different scenarios (i.e., AC only, HTC only, and integrated AC−HTC) were investigated for the energy recovery of corn stover. AC was performed on corn stover at an 8 Hz fan speed, which yielded 84.4 wt. % LAF, 12.8 wt. % HAF, and 2.8 wt. % below screen particles. About 27 wt. % ash was reduced from LAF by the AC process. Furthermore, HTC was performed on raw corn stover and the HAF of corn stover at 200, 230, and 260 °C for 30 min. To evaluate energy recovery, solid products were characterized in terms of mass yield, ash yield, ultimate analysis, proximate analyses, and higher heating value (HHV). The r... [more]

A triboelectric generator (TEG) is a simple coupling combined with triboelectrification and electrostatic induction, which can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and have the potential for self-powered device application. In this study, TEGs are fabricated consisting of a conductive textile (CT) layer (a fabric woven with polyester and stainless steel) and a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer. The CT friction layer is also used as a conductive electrode and designed with various surface morphologies, including unpatterned, dots, and lines with 1 and 2 cm spacings. Experimental results show that the TEG with an unpatterned CT layer produces an output voltage of 54.6 V and an output current of 5.46 µA. The patterned surfaces increase the effective contact area and friction effect between the CT and PDMS layers and hence enhance the output voltage and current to 94.4 V and 9.44 µA. Compared to the unpatterned CT layer, the pattern use of 1 cm spaced lines, 2 cm spaced lines,... [more]

Nowadays, the heat transfer enhancement in electronic cabinets with heat-generating elements can be achieved using the phase change materials and finned heat sink. The latter allows to improve the energy transference surface and to augment the cooling effects for the heat sources. The present research deals with numerical analysis of phase change material behavior in an electronic cabinet with an energy-generating element. For an intensification of heat removal, the complex finned heat sink with overall width of 10 cm was introduced, having the complicated shape of the fins with width of 0.33 cm and height H = 5 cm. The fatty acid with melting temperature of 46 °C was considered as a phase change material. The considered two-dimensional challenge was formulated employing the non-primitive variables and solved using the finite difference method. Impacts of the volumetric heat flux of heat-generating element and sizes of the fins on phase change material circulation and energy transferen... [more]

The traditional way to mitigate loss circulation in drilling operations is to use preventative and curative materials. However, it is difficult to quantify the amount of materials from every possible combination to produce customized rheological properties. In this study, machine learning (ML) is used to develop a framework to identify material composition for loss circulation applications based on the desired rheological characteristics. The relation between the rheological properties and the mud components for polyacrylamide/polyethyleneimine (PAM/PEI)-based mud is assessed experimentally. Four different ML algorithms were implemented to model the rheological data for various mud components at different concentrations and testing conditions. These four algorithms include (a) k-Nearest Neighbor, (b) Random Forest, (c) Gradient Boosting, and (d) AdaBoosting. The Gradient Boosting model showed the highest accuracy (91 and 74% for plastic and apparent viscosity, respectively), which can... [more]

The energy consumption for space cooling is growing faster than for any other end-use in buildings, more than tripling between 1990 and 2016. Energy efficiency is an important topic in the drive to reduce the consumption of electricity, particularly in air conditioning. This paper presents a simulation of an absorption cooling system with a parabolic trough collector under dynamic conditions using TRaNsient SYstem Simulation (TRNSYS) software. The thermal analysis seeks to evaluate a storage tank at three different configurations: (1) sensible heat, (2) latent heat, and (3) latent heat incorporating a tempering valve. The latent heat storage tank is a rectangular heat exchanger using MgCl2·6H2O as the phase change material, programmed in EES software; in addition, water and synthetic organic fluid were analyzed as heating fluids. The process was analyzed while varying the solar collector area from 20 to 40 m2 and the storage tank volume from 0.25 to 0.75 m3. The results showed that the... [more]

This article presents a high-performance lead-free piezoelectric energy harvester (LPEH) system for magnetic field. It based on a Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti0.90Zr0.10O3 + CuO 0.3 wt% (BCTZC0.3) composite was fabricated by sintering at 1450 °C. The BCTZC0.3 composite, which has an enhanced high energy conversion constant (d33×g33), shows improved piezoelectric power-generation performance when compared with conventional piezoelectric energy harvesters. The BCTZC0.3-based LPEH produces instantaneous maximum power of 8.2 mW and an energy density of 107.9 mW/cm3 in a weak magnetic field of 250 μT. This system can be used to charge a capacitor and operate a wireless sensor network (WSN) system to provide temperature sensing and radio-frequency (RF) transmission in a 250 μT magnetic field. The proposed LPEH is a promising green-energy device for potentially self-powering WSN systems when applied.

The building sector is the largest consumer of energy, but there are still major scientific challenges in this field. The façade, being the interface between the exterior and interior space, plays a key role in the energy efficiency of a building. In this context, this paper focuses on a ventilated bioclimatic wall for nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEB). The aim of this study is to investigate an experimental setup based on a hot box for the characterization of the thermal performances of the ventilated wall. A specific ventilated prototype and an original thermal metrology are developed. This paper presents the ventilated prototype, the experimental setup, and the experimental results on the thermal performances of the ventilated wall. The influence of the air space thickness and the air flow rate on the thermal performances of the ventilated wall is studied.

This paper describes the analysis and characterization of NayWOx bronze nanowires bundles and evaluation of their effective adsorption of methylene blue dye (MB). The Na-doped WOx bronze nanowires bundles were first synthesized via a simple solvothermal method, which were then fully characterized by using different techniques including TEM, XRD, XPS and UV-Vis, to validate the successful Na+ insertion into the WOx framework. The adsorption activities of the resulting NayWOx bronze nanowires bundles, compared with the undoped WOx form, were investigated by evaluating the adsorption effect on methylene blue under both UV and visible light irradiations. An enhanced adsorption performance of the Na-doped WOx bronze samples was recorded, which demonstrated a 90% of removal efficiency of the MB under different conditions (dark, visible and UV light). Moreover, the NayWOx bronze samples also offered a 4 times better kinetic rate of MB removal than the plain WOx nanowires.

Electrochemical water splitting is considered a promising way of producing hydrogen and oxygen for various electrochemical energy devices. An efficient single, bi-functional electrocatalyst that can perform hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) and oxygen evolution reactions (OERs) is highly essential. In this work, Co@NC core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized via a simple, eco-friendly, solid-state synthesis process, using cobalt nitrate and with pyrazole as the N and C source. The morphological analysis of the resulting Co@NC nanoparticles was performed with a scanning and transmission electron microscope, which showed Co nanoparticles as the core and the pyrolysis of pyrazole organic ligand N-doped carbon derived shell structure. The unique Co@NC nanostructures had excellent redox sites for electrocatalysis, wherein the N-doped carbon shell exhibited superior electronic conductivity in the Co@NC catalyst. The resulting Co@NC nanocatalyst showed considerable HER and OER activity in... [more]

Equilibrium phase formations below 600 K in the parts Ag2Te−FeTe2−F1.12Te−Ag2Te and Ag8GeTe6−GeTe−FeTe2−AgFeTe2−Ag8GeTe6 of the Fe−Ag−Ge−Te system were established by the electromotive force (EMF) method. The positions of 3- and 4-phase regions relative to the composition of silver were applied to express the potential reactions involving the AgFeTe2, Ag2FeTe2, and Ag2FeGeTe4 compounds. The equilibrium synthesis of the set of phases was performed inside positive electrodes (PE) of the electrochemical cells: (−)Graphite ‖LE‖ Fast Ag+ conducting solid-electrolyte ‖R[Ag+]‖PE‖ Graphite(+), where LE is the left (negative) electrode, and R[Ag+] is the buffer region for the diffusion of Ag+ ions into the PE. From the observed results, thermodynamic quantities of AgFeTe2, Ag2FeTe2, and Ag2FeGeTe4 were experimentally determined for the first time. The reliability of the division of the Ag2Te−FeTe2−F1.12Te−Ag2Te and Ag8GeTe6−GeTe−FeTe2−AgFeTe2−Ag8GeTe6 phase regions was confirmed by the calculat... [more]

In this paper, we developed the small-signal state-space (SS) model of hybrid multi-terminal high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) systems and fault localization method in a failure situation. The multi-terminal HVDC (MTDC) system is composed of two wind farm side voltage-source converters (VSCs) and two grid side line-commutated converters (LCCs). To utilize relative advantages of the conventional line-commutated converter (LCC) and the voltage source converter (VSC) technologies, hybrid multi-terminal high-voltage direct-current (MTDC) technologies have been highlighted in recent years. For the models, grid side LCCs adopt distinct two control methods: master−slave control mode and voltage droop control mode. By utilizing root-locus analysis of the SS models for the hybrid MTDC system, we compare stability and responses of the target system according to control method. Furthermore, the proposed SS models are utilized in time-domain simulation to illustrate difference between master−slav... [more]

The melting process of a multi-tube’s thermal energy storage system in the existence of free convection effects is a non-linear and important problem. The placement of heated tubes could change the convective thermal circulation. In the present study, the impact of the position of seven heat exchanger tubes was systematically investigated. The energy charging process was numerically studied utilizing liquid fraction and stored energy with exhaustive temperature outlines. The tubes of heat transfer fluid were presumed in the unit with different locations. The unit’s heat transfer behavior was assessed by studying the liquid fraction graphs, streamlines, and isotherm contours. Each of the design factors was divided into four levels. To better investigate the design space for the accounted five variables and four levels, an L16 orthogonal table was considered. Changing the location of tubes could change the melting rate by 28%. The best melting rate was 94% after four hours of charging. I... [more]

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have been considered as promising candidates to tackle the need for sustainable and efficient energy conversion devices. However, the current operating temperature of SOFCs poses critical challenges relating to the costs of fabrication and materials selection. To overcome these issues, many attempts have been made by the SOFC research and manufacturing communities for lowering the operating temperature to intermediate ranges (600−800 °C) and even lower temperatures (below 600 °C). Despite the interesting success and technical advantages obtained with the low-temperature SOFC, on the other hand, the cell operation at low temperature could noticeably increase the electrolyte ohmic loss and the polarization losses of the electrode that cause a decrease in the overall cell performance and energy conversion efficiency. In addition, the electrolyte ionic conductivity exponentially decreases with a decrease in operating temperature based on the Arrhenius conduct... [more]

Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) play a significant role in science and technology because of their unique size, shape, properties and broad range of potential applications. This review focuses on the various approaches employed for the synthesis, modification and functionalization of nanostructured Au. The potential catalytic applications and their enhancement upon modification of Au nanostructures have also been discussed in detail. The present analysis also offers brief summaries of the major Au nanomaterials synthetic procedures, such as hydrothermal, solvothermal, sol-gel, direct oxidation, chemical vapor deposition, sonochemical deposition, electrochemical deposition, microwave and laser pyrolysis. Among the various strategies used for improving the catalytic performance of nanostructured Au, the modification and functionalization of nanostructured Au produced better results. Therefore, various synthesis, modification and functionalization methods employed for better catalytic outcome... [more]

The operating temperatures of photovoltaic (PV) modules can be impacted by the selection of specific packaging materials, e.g., backsheets and encapsulants. This research focuses on the evaluation of operating temperature reduction of one-cell modules by comparing conventional Tedlar/polyester/Tedlar (TPT) backsheet with novel thermally conductive backsheets (TCBs) materials. A large number of one-cell modules with two TCB types (TCB_A and TCB_B) and baseline TPT type were fabricated and installed in three different climatic conditions of the hot-dry desert in Arizona (high and low wind speed locations) and North Carolina (temperate with low wind speed location). In this study, these two TCBs were compared with conventional TPT backsheet in terms of performance, lifetime and levelized cost of energy (LCOE). The field results were analyzed for thermal performance of TCBs compared to TPT at three sites for two and half years. This study concludes that the thermal and electrical performan... [more]

Quantitate characterization of pore structures is fundamental to elucidate fluid flow in the porous media. Pore structures of the Lucaogou Formation in the Jimsar Sag were investigated using petrography, mercury intrusion capillary porosimetry (MICP) and X-ray computed tomography (X-ray μ-CT). MICP analyses demonstrate that the pore topological structure is characterized by segmented fractal dimensions. Fractal dimension of small pores (r < Rapex) ranges from 2.05 to 2.37, whereas fractal dimension of large pores (r > Rapex) varies from 2.91 to 5.44, indicating that fractal theory is inappropriate for the topological characterization of large pores using MICP. Pore volume of tight reservoirs ranges over nine orders of magnitude (10−1−108 μm3), which follows a power-law distribution. Fractal dimensions of pores larger than a lower bound vary from 1.66 to 2.32. Their consistence with MICP results suggests that it is an appropriate indicator for the complex and heterogeneous pore network.... [more]

Additively manufactured soft magnetic Fe-3.7%w.t.Si toroidal samples with solid and novel partitioned cross-sectional geometries are characterized through magnetic measurements. This study focuses on the effect of air gaps and annealing temperature on AC core losses at the 50 Hz frequency. In addition, DC electromagnetic material properties are presented, showing comparable results to conventional and other 3D-printed, high-grade, soft magnetic materials. The magnetization of 1.5 T was achieved at 1800 A/m, exhibiting a maximum relative permeability of 28,900 and hysteresis losses of 0.61 (1 T) and 1.7 (1.5 T) W/kg. A clear trend of total core loss reduction at 50 Hz was observed in relation to the segregation of the specimen cross-sectional topology. The lowest 50 Hz total core losses were measured for the toroidal specimen with four internal air gaps annealed at 1200 °C, exhibiting a total core loss of 1.2 (1 T) and 5.5 (1.5 T) W/kg. This is equal to an 860% total core loss reduction... [more]

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is an important thermoplastic material which can be made into films, containers, wires, cables, etc. It is highly valued in the fields of packaging, medicine, and health, as well as cables. The method of improving the dielectric property of materials by blending LDPE with inorganic particles as filler has been paid much attention by researchers. In this paper, low-density polyethylene is used as the matrix, and montmorillonite (MMT) particles and silica (SiO2) particles are selected as micro and nano fillers, respectively. In changing the order of adding two kinds of particles, a total of five composite materials were prepared. The crystallization behavior and crystallinity of five kinds of composites were observed, the εr and tanδ changes of each material were investigated with frequency and temperature, and the power frequency (50 Hz) AC breakdown performance of materials were measured. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction... [more]

Internal short circuits and thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are mainly caused by deformation-induced failures in their internal components. Understanding the mechanisms of mechanical failure in the internal materials is of much importance for the design of LIB pack safety. In this work, the constitutive behaviors and deformation-induced failures of these component materials were tested and simulated. The stress-strain constitutive models of the anode/cathode and the separator under uniaxial tensile and compressive loads were proposed, and maximum tensile strain failure criteria were used to simulate the failure behaviors on these materials under the biaxial indentations. In order to understand the deformation failure mechanisms of ultrathin and multilayer materials within the prismatic cell, a mesoscale layer element model (LEM) with a separator-cathode-separator-anode structure was constructed. The deformation failure of LEM under spherical punches of different sizes w... [more]

The development of civilization, and subsequent increase in the number of new buildings, poses engineering problems which are progressively more difficult to solve, especially in the field of geotechnics and geoengineering. When designing new facilities, particular attention should be paid to environmental aspects, and thus any new facility should be a passive building, fully self-sufficient in energy. The use of load-bearing energy piles could be a solution. This article presents research on the cement slurry formulas with the addition of graphite and graphene, that can be used as a material for load-bearing piles. The proposed solution is to introduce U-tubes into the pile to exchange heat with the rock mass (the so-called energy piles). A comparison of four slurry formulas is presented: the first one consisting mainly of cement (CEM I), graphite, and water, and the remaining three with different percentages of graphene relative to the weight of dry cement. The results could contribu... [more]

Composting is the natural, exothermic process where the huge amount of heat that is created is an issue of organic matter decomposition. However, too high temperature can reduce the microbial activity during the thermophilic composting phase. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of heat excess removal from composted materials on the process dynamic. The experiment was performed in two parallel bioreactors. One of them was equipped with a heat removal system from the bed of the composted material. Three experiments were carried out with mixtures of different proportions: biological waste, wheat straw, and spent coffee grounds. The content of each option was determined based on a previous study of substrates to maintain the C/N ratio for the right composting process, provide adequate porosity composted material, and enable a proper degree of aeration. The study showed the possibility of receiving part of the heat from the bed of composted material during the thermophilic phase... [more]

Ceramic outdoor insulators play an important role in electrical insulation and mechanical support because of good chemical and thermal stability, which have been widely used in power systems. However, the brittleness and surface discharge of ceramic material greatly limit the application of ceramic insulators. From the perspective of sintering technology, flash sintering technology is used to improve the performance of ceramic insulators. In this paper, the simulation model of producing the ceramic insulator by the flash sintering technology was set up. Material Studio was used to study the influence of electric field intensity and temperature on the alumina unit cell. COMSOL was used to study the influence of electric field intensity and current density on sintering speed, density and grain size. Obtained results showed that under high temperature and high voltage, the volume of the unit cell becomes smaller and the atoms are arranged more closely. The increase of current density can... [more]