Effect of series and parallel combination of photovoltaic thermal collectors on the performances of integrated active solar still

In this paper, an analytical expression for hourly yield, electrical energy and overall exergy of self-sustained solar still integrated with series and parallel combination of photovoltaic thermal-compound parabolic concentrator (PVT-CPC) collectors have been derived. Based on numerical computations, it has been observed that the yield is maximum for all self-sustained PVT-CPC collectors are connected in series [case (i)]. Further, the daily yield and exergy increase with the increase of water depth unlike passive solar still for all collectors connected in series. However, overall exergy decreases with an increase of water depth for all collectors connected in parallel [case (iv)]. For numerical simulations, the total numbers of self-sustained PVT-CPC collectors has been considered as constant. Further, an effect of series and parallel combination of PVT-CPC collectors on daily yield, electrical energy and overall exergy have also been carried out. Following additional conclusions have also been drawn: (i) The daily yield of the proposed active solar still decreases with the increase of packing factor of semi-transparent PV module for a given water depth and electrical energy and overall exergy increase with water depth for case (i) as expected due to low operating temperature range at higher water depth in the basin. (i) The daily yield, electrical energy and overall exergy increase with the increase of water depth for all combination of series and parallel arrangement of PVT-CPC collectors for a packing factor of 0.22 as per our expectation.

Semi-transparent Photovoltaic Thermal Greenhouse System Combined with Earth Air Heat Exchanger for Hot Climatic Condition

Semi-transparent photovoltaic thermal (SPVT) greenhouse system combined with an earth air heat exchanger (EAHE) has been developed to make the system sustainable. The system is designed to cultivate plants in a hot climatic condition, where green net is provided which bifurcates the enclosed space of the greenhouse into zone-1 and zone-2, and this green net cuts the solar radiation incident on the plants. The influence of air changes in zone-1, mass flow rate of air flowing through EAHE, and packing factor on PV cell, air of the greenhouse, and the plant temperatures is investigated for a typical harsh summer day by using periodic model of these parameters. Further, for a holistic performance assessment of this SPVT greenhouse, exergy, thermal load leveling, and decrement factor are evaluated. Results indicate that the optimum temperature range for plant growth (30 °C- 37 °C) within the greenhouse can be achieved through a combination of ventilation in zone-1 and integration of EAHE. The temperature of plants reduced by 9 °C for 30 air changes in zone-1, and the temperature reduces further by 24 °C when EAHE having a flow rate of 0.5 kg/s is operated. The SPVT greenhouse system also generates 128 kWh of daily overall exergy that makes the system sustainable.

Maximum Achievable N Content in Atom-by-Atom Growth of Amorphous Si-B-C-N Materials

Amorphous Si-B-C-N alloys can combine exceptional oxidation resistance up to 1500 °C with high-temperature stability of superior functional properties. Because some of these characteristics require as high N content as possible, the maximum achievable N content in amorphous Si-B-C-N is examined by combining extensive ab initio molecular dynamics simulations with experimental data. The N content is limited by the formation of unbonded N2 molecules, which depends on the composition (most intensive in C rich materials, medium in B rich materials, least intensive in Si-rich materials) and on the density (increasing N2 formation with decreasing packing factor when the latter is below 0.28, at a higher slope of this increase at lower B content). The maximum content of N bonded in amorphous Si-B-C-N networks of lowest-energy densities is in the range from 34% to 57% (materials which can be grown without unbonded N2) or at most from 42% to 57% (at a cost of affecting materials characteristics by unbonded N2). The results are important for understanding the experimentally reported nitrogen contents, design of stable amorphous nitrides with optimized properties and pathways for their preparation, and identification of what is or is not possible to achieve in this field.

Modeling of Bifacial Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) Air Heater with Jet Plate

This research demonstrates how to develop a novel energy balance equation to investigate heat transmission between the components of a bifacial photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) air heater with a jet plate. The temperature output and efficiency of the system are shown. A greater mass flow rate reduces the exit air temperature and increases the thermal efficiency of the thermal component. Increased sun irradiation raises the output air temperature and thermal efficiency. In terms of electrical efficiency, a greater mass flow rate reduces the temperature of the PV panel while increasing electrical efficiency. On the other hand, higher solar irradiation raises the temperature of the PV panel, lowering its electrical efficiency. The maximum thermal efficiency of BPVTJPR is 51.09% under the circumstances of 12 PV cells with a packing factor of 0.66, a jet plate reflector with 36 holes, 900 W/m2 solar irradiances, and a mass flow rate of 0.035 kg/s. The maximum electrical efficiency of BPVTJPR is 10.73% under the circumstances of 12 PV cells with a packing factor of 0.66, a jet plate reflector with 36 holes, 700 W/m2 solar irradiances, and a mass flow rate of 0.035 kg/s.

Magnetic Properties of the Densely Packed Ultra-Long Ni Nanowires Encapsulated in Alumina Membrane

High-quality and compact arrays of Ni nanowires with a high ratio (up to 700) were obtained by DC electrochemical deposition into porous anodic alumina membranes with a distance between pores equal to 105 nm. The nanowire arrays were examined using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and vibration magnetometry at 300 K and 4.2 K. Microscopic and X-ray diffraction results showed that Ni nanowires are homogeneous, with smooth walls and mostly single-crystalline materials with a 220-oriented growth direction. The magnetic properties of the samples (coercivity and squareness) depend more on the length of the nanowires and the packing factor (the volume fraction of the nanowires in the membrane). It is shown that the dipolar interaction changes the demagnetizing field during a reversal magnetization of the Ni nanowires, and the general effective field of magnetostatic uniaxial shape anisotropy. The effect of magnetostatic interaction between ultra-long nanowires (with an aspect ratio of >500) in samples with a packing factor of ≥37% leads to a reversal magnetization state, in which a “curling”-type model of nanowire behavior is realized.

Numerical Investigation of Latent Thermal Storage in a Compact Heat Exchanger Using Mini-Channels

This paper aims to numerically investigate the thermal enhancement of a latent thermal energy storage component with mini-channels as air passages. The investigated channels in two sizes of internal air passages (channel-1 with dh = 1.6 mm and channel-2 with dh = 2.3 mm) are oriented vertically in a cuboid of 0.15 × 0.15 × 0.1 m3 with RT22 as the PCM located in the shell. The phase change is simulated with a fixed inlet temperature of air, using ANSYS Fluent 19.5, with a varying number of channels and a ranging air flow rate entering the component. The results show that the phase change power of the LTES improves with by increasing the number of channels at the cost of a decrease in the storage capacity. Given a constant air flow rate, the increase in the heat transfer surface area of the increased number of channels dominates the heat transfer coefficient, thus increasing the mean heat transfer rate (UA). A comparison of the channels shows that the thermal performance depends largely on the area to volume ratio of the channels. The channel type two (channel-2) with a slightly higher area to volume ratio has a slightly higher charging/discharging power, as compared to channel type one (channel-1), at a similar PCM packing factor. Adding fins to channel-2, doubling the surface area, improves the mean UA values by 15–31% for the studied cases. The variation in the total air flow rate from 7 to 24 L/s is found to have a considerable influence, reducing the melting time by 41–53% and increasing the mean UA values within melting by 19–52% for a packing factor range of 77.4–86.8%. With the increase in the air flow rate, channel type two is found to have considerably lower pressure drops than channel type one, which can be attributed to its higher internal hydraulic diameter, making it superior in terms of achieving a relatively similar charging/discharging power in exchange for significantly lower fan power. Such designs can further be optimized in terms of pressure drop in future work, which should also include an experimental evaluation.

The Influence of Titanium Dioxide on Silicate-Based Glasses: An Evaluation of the Mechanical and Radiation Shielding Properties

The mechanical and radiation shielding features were reported for a quaternary Na2O-CaO-SiO2-TiO2 glass system used in radiation protection. The fundamentals of the Makishima–Mazinize model were applied to evaluate the elastic moduli of the glass samples. The elastic moduli, dissociation energy, and packing density increased as TiO2 increased. The glasses’ dissociation energy increased from 62.82 to 65.33 kJ/cm3, while the packing factor slightly increased between 12.97 and 13.00 as the TiO2 content increased. The MCNP-5 code was used to evaluate the gamma-ray shielding properties. The best linear attenuation coefficient was achieved for glass samples with a TiO2 content of 9 mol%: the coefficient decreased from 5.20 to 0.14 cm−1 as the photon energy increased from 0.015 to 15 MeV.

Elastic properties of cement phases using molecular dynamic simulation

The goal of this thesis is to shed light on the elastic properties, especially the Young modulus, of clinker phases and hydration products of cement paste through molecular dynamic simulation by COMPASS force field. The parameters that can affect the elastic properties of cement phases were also targeted, with special attention paid to analog C-S-H minerals, in which the Tobermorite family and Jennite were simulated to render their structures representative of C-S-H structure. The molecular dynamic simulations of this study show that CO force field can be applicable for most clinker phases and hydration products. Jennite, with its porosity and finite silicate chain accounted for, can be considered the closer and representative structure of C-S-H. In addition, this study confirms the important effect of C/S ratio, packing factor and chain length on elastic properties of C-S-H.