Conjugate Free Convection Heat Transfer and Thermodynamic Analysis of Infrared Suppression Device with Cylindrical Funnels

A convection system can be designed as an energy-efficient one by making a considerable reduction in exergy losses. In this context, entropy generation analysis is performed on the infrared suppression system numerically. In addition, results due to heat transfer are also shown. The numerical solution of the Navier-stokes equation, energy equation, and turbulence equation is executed using ANSYS Fluent 15.0. To perform the numerical analysis, different parameters such as the number of funnels, Rayleigh number (Ra), inner surface temperature, and geometric ratio are varied in the practical range. Results are shown in terms of heat transfer, entropy generation, irreversibility (due to heat transfer and fluid friction), and Bejan number with some relevant parameters. Streamlines and temperature contours are also provided for better visualization of temperature and flow field around the device. Results show that heat transfer and mass flow rate increase with the increase in Ra. Entropy generation and the irreversibility rise with an increase in the number of funnels and geometric ratio. Also, the Bejan number decreases with an increase in Ra and the number of funnels. A cooling time is also obtained using the lumped capacitance method.

Hydraulic flow rate increase maneuver for ichthyofauna repulsion in bulb-type generating units – Jirau Hydroelectric Power Plant

Several repulsion systems have been developed to minimize the confinement of ichthyofauna in draft tubes. In this perspective, this study intends to analyze the efficiency of the hydraulic flow rate increase maneuver, using a hydroacoustic system for real-time monitoring of the movement of the ichthyofauna confined within the draft tube of the generating units of Jirau Hydroelectric Power Plant. It is located on the Madeira River, in Rondônia, Brazil. We analyzed footage of 105 machine shutdowns taken between 2019 and 2020 at Jirau Hydroelectric Power Plant that used the hydraulic flow rate increase maneuver as a strategy to repulse ichthyofauna. Also, the footage of 7 two-stage shutdowns in the year 2020 was analyzed, the first stage without the maneuver and the second with the maneuver. The follow-up of 105 shutdowns demonstrate that approximately 85% of the footage showed little or no movement of ichthyofauna in the draft tube, with images of movements showing patterns characteristic of small fish (~97%). Furthermore, the quantitative evaluation of the two-stage maneuver indicated a reduction of approximately 91% in the movement of ichthyofauna after the hydraulic flow rate increase maneuver. Thus, the increase in the rate of the hydraulic flow procedure, developed by Jirau Energia, proved to be an innovative and efficient strategy in reducing extensive social and environmental impacts and in favoring positive economic impacts.

Influence of Blade Wrap Angle on the Hydrodynamic Radial Force of Single Blade Centrifugal Pump

To investigate the effect of blade wrap angle on the hydrodynamic radial force of a single blade centrifugal pump, numerical simulation is conducted on the pumps with different blade wrap angles. The effect of the wrap angle on the external characteristics and the radial force of a single blade centrifugal pump was analyzed according to the simulation result. It is found that, with the increase of the blade wrap angle, the head and efficiency of the single blade centrifugal pump are improved, the H-Q curve becomes steeper, and the efficiency also increased gradually, while the high-efficiency area is narrowed. The blade wrap angle has a great effect on the radial force of the single blade centrifugal pump. When the blade wrap angle is less than 360°, the horizontal component of the radial force is negative and the value is reduced with the increase of the wrap angle of the blade. When the wrap angle is larger than 360°, the horizontal component of the radial force is positive and the value increases with the increase of the wrap angle. Under part-loading conditions, the radial force of the single blade pump is significantly reduced with the increase of the blade wrap angle. When the wrap angle is smaller than 360°, the radial force decreases with the flow rate increase. In the condition that the wrap angle is larger than 360°, the radial force increases with the flow rate increase.

Effect of Temperature and Flow Rate on the Cell-Free Area in the Microfluidic Channel

Blood cell manipulation in microdevices is an interesting task for the separation of particles, by their size, density, or to remove them from the buffer, in which they are suspended, for further analysis, and more. This study highlights the cell-free area (CFA) widening based on experimental results of red blood cell (RBC) flow, suspended in a microfluidic device, while temperature and flow rate incrementally modify RBC response within the microflow. Studies of human red blood cell flow, at a concentration of 20%, suspended in its autologous plasma and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) buffer, were carried out at a wide flow rate, varying between 10 and 230 μL/min and a temperature range of 23 °C to 50 °C. The plotted measures show an increment in a CFA near the channel wall due to cell flow inertia after a constricted channel, which becomes more significant as temperature and flow rate increase. The temperature increment widened the CFA up to three times. In comparison, flow rate increment increased the CFA up to 20 times in PBS and 11 times in plasma.

Experimental Analysis of Height to Base Length Effect in Trapezoidal Prism Inclined Solar Chimney

The use of a solar chimney for ventilation has a very significant environmental and economic impact. The aim of this work is to found the optimum ratio between height and base length in trapezoidal prism-shaped solar chimney. The idea is to give more flexibility to the architectural design in buildings and offer the possibility of combination with other passive or active systems. Trapezoidal shape of solar chimney can be interesting not by increasing the efficiency comparing with other shapes like the rectangular. It may be more aesthetically pleasing, easily to be installed and retrofitted on trapezoidal roofs even on existing buildings. For this reason, three differents ratios of height to base length (h/l = 1), (h/l = 1.5) and (h/l = 2) have been experimentally studied. Two correlations to predict solar chimney exit air velocity and efficiency were developed and tested; good agreement with experimental results is proved. Results show that the flow rate increase by increasing (h/l) in a logarithmic tendency. The optimum thermal efficiency is given where h/l = 1.65. An approach using RETScreen4 software was also carried out and showed that 1 m² solar chimney installed in favorable conditions can cover 37 m² of living space in term of ventilation. For a 120 m² house, solar chimney system saves the equivalent of 23.9 liters of gasoline per year.

Flow-Through Macroporous Polymer Monoliths Containing Artificial Catalytic Centers Mimicking Chymotrypsin Active Site

Synthetic catalysts that could compete with enzymes in term of the catalytic efficiency but surpass them in stability have a great potential for the practical application. In this work, we have developed a novel kind of organic catalysts based on flow-through macroporous polymer monoliths containing catalytic centers that mimic the catalytic site of natural enzyme chymotrypsin. It is known that chymotrypsin catalytic center consists of L-serine, L-histidine, and L-aspartic acid and has specificity to C-terminal residues of hydrophobic amino acids (L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, and L-tryptophan). In this paper, we have prepared the macroporous polymer monoliths bearing grafted polymer layer on their surface. The last one was synthesized via copolymerization of N-methacryloyl-L-serine, N-methacryloyl-L-histidine, and N-methacryloyl-L-aspartic acid. The spatial orientation of amino acids in the polymer layer, generated on the surface of monolithic framework, was achieved by coordinating amino acid-polymerizable derivatives with cobalt (II) ions without substrate-mimicking template and with its use. The conditions for the preparation of mimic materials were optimized to achieve a mechanically stable system. Catalytic properties of the developed systems were evaluated towards the hydrolysis of ester bond in a low molecular substrate and compared to the results of using chymotrypsin immobilized on the surface of a similar monolithic framework. The effect of flow rate increase and temperature elevation on the hydrolysis efficiency were evaluated for both mimic monolith and column with immobilized enzyme.

Influence of the Flow Rate in an Automated Microfluidic Electronic Tongue Tested for Sucralose Differentiation

Incorporating electronic tongues into microfluidic devices brings benefits as dealing with small amounts of sample/discharge. Nonetheless, such measurements may be time-consuming in some applications once they require several operational steps. Here, we designed four collinear electrodes on a single printed circuit board, further comprised inside a straight microchannel, culminating in a robust e-tongue device for faster data acquisition. An analog multiplexing circuit automated the signal’s routing from each of the four sensing units to an impedance analyzer. Both instruments and a syringe pump are controlled by dedicated software. The automated e-tongue was tested with four Brazilian brands of liquid sucralose-based sweeteners under 20 different flow rates, aiming to systematically evaluate the influence of the flow rate in the discrimination among sweet tastes sold as the same food product. All four brands were successfully distinguished using principal component analysis of the raw data, and despite the nearly identical sucralose-based taste in all samples, all brands’ significant distinction is attributed to small differences in the ingredients and manufacturing processes to deliver the final food product. The increasing flow rate improves the analyte’s discrimination, as the silhouette coefficient reaches a plateau at ~3 mL/h. We used an equivalent circuit model to evaluate the raw data, finding a decrease in the double-layer capacitance proportional to improvements in the samples’ discrimination. In other words, the flow rate increase mitigates the formation of the double-layer, resulting in faster stabilization and better repeatability in the sensor response.

Long-term experience with implantable infusion pumps for intravenous treprostinil in pulmonary arterial hypertension—procedural safety and system-related complications

Implantable pumps for intravenous treprostinil provide a promising option to overcome drawbacks of parenteral prostanoid administration with external pumps in pulmonary hypertension. We retrospectively analyzed 85 patients undergoing implantation in a single center since 2010. In our cohort, serious complications were rare, and flow rate increase over time warrants careful monitoring.

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.

NON-DARCY FLOW EVALUATION OF UNCONSOLIDATED POROUS MEDIA IN A CLOSED LOOP PERMEAMETER

A new closed loop permeameter was implemented in this work to study the fluid flow through two different unconsolidated porous media. An apparent permeability, similar to that proposed by Barree and Conway, was described in this work in terms of the absolute permeability combined with a new fluid property description, the inertial contribution factor that accounts for the domain of viscous and inertial forces. Such approach discriminate those properties of the rock as intrinsic permeability from those related to the fluid as the inertial contribution factor. The apparent permeability equation of Barree and Conway was applied to different intervals of the experimental data in which it was possible to obtain the Forchheimer coefficients as well as the inertial contribution factors according to each interval. Two different types of unconsolidated porous media materials were utilized in the new Closed Loop Permeameter, sand (1-2 mm) and glass spheres (3.96 mm). The equation of Barree and Conway provided a great agreement fitting the experimental data in a wide non-Darcy Reynolds number range. It was observed an increase in the Forchheimer coefficient and decrease in the apparent permeability with the flow rate increase. The results indicate a correlation between the permeability and the inertial effects in the non-Darcy turbulent regions in which the porous media materials with low permeability values are probably more subjected to flow losses due to the inertial effects.