Effect of Carbon Particle Feeding as Radiant Absorbent for Enhanced Heat Transfer

Carbon particles can be used as catalyst in solar reactors where they serve as radiant absorbent and nucleation sites for the heterogeneous decomposition reaction. Unlike commonly used metal catalysts, carbon catalyst does not have durability problem and high cost. However, in order to achieve sustainable catalytic decomposition of feedstock over carbon catalysts at elevated temperatures, the surface area of the carbon particles must be maintained. A subsequent treatment of deactivated carbon samples with CO2 at about 1000 °C would increase the surface and would recover the original activity as catalyst. In a windowed solar reactor, carbon particles are directly exposed to the high flux irradiation providing efficient radiation heat transfer directly to the reaction site. Therefore, one of the key parameters to achieve higher conversion efficiencies in a solar reactor is the presence and transport of carbon particles. In this paper, a transient one-dimensional model is presented to describe effect of carbon particle feeding on energy transport and temperature profile of a cavity-type solar receiver. The model was developed by dividing the receiver into several control volumes and formulating energy balance equations for gas phase, particles, and cavity walls within each control volume. Monte Carlo ray tracing (MCRT) method was used to determine the solar heat absorbed by particles and cavity walls, as well as the radiative exchange between particles and cavity walls. Model accuracy was verified by experimental work using a solar receiver where carbon particles were injected uniformly. Comparison of simulation results with the experimentally measured temperatures at three different locations on cavity receiver wall showed an average deviation of 3.81%. The model was then used to study the effect of carbon particle size and feeding rate on the heat transfer, temperature profile, and energy absorption of the solar receiver. Based on the simulation results, it was found that injection of carbon particles with a size bigger than 500 µm has no significant influence on heat transfer of the system. However, by reducing the particle size lower than 500 µm, temperature uniformity and energy absorption were enhanced.

Investigation into the Mechanism of the Steel Particle Feeding Process: A Numerical and Experimental Study

The particle feeding system is a prerequisite for the realization of particle impact drilling technology. Because of the high density, the storage and flow of the steel particle are different from those of the other nonviscous particles. The differential equation of the particle movement was built with the liquid bridge force model and the discrete element method. The dynamic movement process and the distribution state of particles in the high-pressure tank were analyzed. For 1 mm steel particles, the mass flow rate decreased with the increase in water content. For 2 mm and 3 mm steel particles, the water content of 15% and 20% was the dividing point of the mass flow rate from increasing to decreasing. When the water content was 10% and 20%, the mass flow rate increased with the steel particle size. But when the water content was 30% and 40%, the mass flow rate decreased with the steel particle size. The study of the control mechanism of the uniformity and stability of particles showed that the funnel flow was the major reason causing the instability and blocking of the feeding process. This research results can provide a basis for the further improvement of the differential pressure feeding system.

Dynamic characteristic analysis of vertical screw conveyor in variable screw section condition

Vertical screw conveyors are used widely in industry for elevating bulk materials over relatively short distances, but the problem of insufficient feeding and low conveying efficiency always exist in the vertical conveying process. In this paper, a vertical screw conveyor with variable screw section is presented, and the characteristics of vertical screw conveyor are investigated under the variable screw sections using discrete element method (DEM). The results show that the particle volume fraction in the inlet and the mass flow rate increase in the condition of variable screw section, and the screw rotational speed has a significant influence on mass flow rate. It is evident that the design of variable screw section provides an effective way in improving the particle feeding rate and the conveying efficiency.

Vertical distribution, population structure and developmental characteristics of the less studied but globally distributed mesopelagic copepod Scaphocalanus magnus in the western Arctic Ocean

Scaphocalanus magnus is a large copepod species with a worldwide distribution. Information on the ecology of this species is scarce. In this study, S. magnus was collected using vertically stratified net sampling from an ice station in the western Arctic Ocean over a year. The vertical distribution differed between periods of polar night and midnight sun, with core depth distributions of 264–381 m for the polar night and 518–745 m for the midnight sun. The shallower distribution during the polar night may have resulted from the animals moving upwards to find sufficient food during the less productive season. The abundance of early copepodite stages showed clear seasonality. The C2 and C3 stages were abundant June–August and August–September, respectively. After C4, seasonality in abundance was not clear. For C4 and C5, body sizes and masses were greater for males than for females while the opposite was the case for C6. Adult males do not feed and thus have shorter life spans than females, skewing the adult sex ratio towards females. For these mesopelagic particle feeding copepods, a long residence time at C6F suggests that in a varying food environment, it is possible to wait to initiate reproduction until favourable food conditions occur.

Influence of Ti and Zn on Particle Incorporation of AlB2, B and B4C Particles in Aluminum Using the Stir Casting Process

The outstanding performance of many aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) regarding specific stiffness makes AMCs attractive materials for lightweight construction. Low density boride compounds promise both an increase in stiffness and decrease in composite density. Therefore for this study AlB2, B and B4C were chosen for composite manufacturing. The composites were fabricated with the stir casting process. To avoid gas entrapment during mixing and ensure nonporous composites, partial vacuum was adapted during particle feeding and stirring. Poor wettability of used particle material in contact with liquid aluminum hindered particle incorporation, but alloying elements such as titanium were shown to affect wettability and particle incorporation for B4C. Zn had no influence on wettability or reactivity and did not improve particle incorporation. In contrast to Zn, Ti improved adhesion and wettability, but particle incorporation was improved exclusively for B4C. Besides alloying Ti, the use of high-shear force mixers improved particle incorporation enabling uniform particle distribution. AMCs with up to 12 vol.% of B4C particles were produced via stir casting without alloying Ti.