Heat Transfer in Cassava Starch Biopolymers: Effect of the Addition of Borax

In recent years, polymer engineering, at the molecular level, has proven to be an effective strategy to modulate thermal conductivity. Polymers have great applicability in the food packaging industry, in which transparency, lightness, flexibility, and biodegradability are highly desirable characteristics. In this work, a possible manner to adjust the thermal conductivity in cassava starch biopolymer films is presented. Our approach is based on modifying the starch molecular structure through the addition of borax, which has been previously used as an intermolecular bond reinforcer. We found that the thermal conductivity increases linearly with borax content. This effect is related to the crosslinking effect that allows the principal biopolymer chains to be brought closer together, generating an improved interconnected network favoring heat transfer. The highest value of the thermal conductivity is reached at a volume fraction of 1.40% of borax added. Our analyses indicate that the heat transport improves as borax concentration increases, while for borax volume fractions above 1.40%, heat carriers scattering phenomena induce a decrement in thermal conductivity. Additionally, to obtain a deeper understanding of our results, structural, optical, and mechanical characterizations were also performed.

Matrix method to solve inverse problem of heat transfer in heat exchangers with phase transition in heat carriers

The transition to environmentally friendly and resource-saving energy, efficient use of natural resources and energy performance are the key priorities of the state energy policy of the Russian Federation. Maximum use of heat combustion of fuel and simultaneously production of condensate water of the combustion products of natural gas is one of the directions of energy saving policy. Despite many scientific papers on the issues of utilization of flue gas heat, condensation heat exchangers are not used in most gas boiler houses, energy power providers and thermal power plants in this country. And there are several reasons to explain this fact due to the lack of universal methods to calculate and design condensation-type heat exchangers. Thus, the development of new methods to simulate multithreaded heat exchangers considering the phase transition in heat carriers is an urgent task of power engineering and industry sectors. Matrix models of heat transfer based on mass and energy balance equations are applied to solve the inverse problem of heat transfer in heat exchangers, considering the phase transition in heat carriers. A method to calculate and select the designs of multi-threaded heat exchangers, considering the phase transition in heat carriers, has been developed. The author suggests a numerical solution to choose the design of a contact economizer of a heat power plant steam boiler used for heat recovery of flue gases to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed method to solve the inverse problem of heat transfer provides the possibility to identify simultaneously the most acceptable values of the parameters of heat carriers and design characteristics of heat exchangers for various purposes.

Thermal Conductivity of VO2 Nanowires at Metal-Insulator Transition Temperature

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) nanowires endowed with a dramatic metal−insulator transition have attracted enormous attention. Here, the thermal conductance of VO2 nanowires with different sizes, measured using the thermal bridge method, is reported. A size-dependent thermal conductivity was observed where the thicker nanowire showed a higher thermal conductivity. Meanwhile, the thermal conductivity jump at metal−insulator transition temperature was measured to be much higher in the thicker samples. The dominant heat carriers were phonons both at the metallic and the insulating regimes in the measured samples, which may result from the coexistence of metal and insulator phases at high temperature. Our results provide a window into exploring the mechanism of the metal−insulator transition of VO2 nanowires.

Inelastic phonon transport across atomically sharp metal/semiconductor interfaces

Understanding thermal transport across metal/semiconductor interfaces is crucial for heat dissipation of electronics The dominant heat carriers in non-metals, phonons, transport elastically across most interfaces, except for a few extreme cases where the two materials that formed the interface are highly dissimilar with a large difference in Debye temperature. In this work we show that even for two materials with similar Debye temperatures (Al/Si, Al/GaN), a substantial portion of phonons will transport inelastically across their interfaces at high temperatures, significantly enhancing interface thermal conductance. Moreover, we find that interface roughness strongly affects phonon transport process. For atomically sharp interfaces, phonons are allowed to transport inelastically and interface thermal conductance linearly increases at high temperatures. With increasing interface roughness, inelastic phonon transport rapidly diminishes. Our results provide new insights on phonon transport across interfaces and open up opportunities to engineering interface thermal conductance specifically for materials of relevance to microelectronics.

High-order fluxes in heat transfer with phonons and electrons: application towavepropagation

We propose a theoretical model to study heat transfer at the nanoscale by means of high-order thermodynamic fluxes. The model is fully compatible with the model of heat transfer of extended irreversible thermodynamics, represents a generalization of the Guyer–Krumhansl proposal (Guyer & Krumhansl 1966 Phys. Rev. 148 ) and is able to deal with relaxational and non-local effects. It also accounts for the role played by the different heat carriers (electrons and/or lattice vibrations) and captures different heat-carrier temperatures. The proposed model is hyperbolic and is used to investigate the propagation of thermal waves.

Nanofluids as a Coolant in Functional Units’ Coolers of Automotive Equipment

One of the most important elements of the cooling system of any automotive internal combustion engine is a coolant. Most often, water and a mixture of water with antifreeze are used as a coolant. Its main function is to transfer heat or to cool the engine. Nanofluids are promising heat carriers, with the help of which it is possible to reduce the metal consumption of aggregates, increase safety in emergency transient modes accompanied by boiling. (Research purpose) The research purpose is studying the possibilities, features and prospects of using innovative heat carriers as coolants of automotive equipment, which will allow overcoming the inefficiency of water and ethylene glycol mixtures, which consists in low thermal conductivity. (Materials and methods) Nanofluids consisting of a base liquid and nanoparticles of a highly heat-conducting material were proposed as innovative heat carriers. Their use in transport power plant coolers will reduce their volume and weight. Mixing of ethylene glycol and copper nanoparticles is effective, in such cases it is important to investigate the effect of the volume fraction of copper nanoparticles and the base liquid on thermal characteristics or to reduce the size of the radiator. Copper nanoparticles have better thermal conductivity than other nanoparticles (for example, aluminum oxide). (Results and discussion) It has been proved that the use of nanofluids in heating and ventilation systems can give a significant increase in heat transfer. At present the science of nanofluids is in its initial stage, for the development of this direction it is necessary to conduct comprehensive experimental studies of their chemical and physical properties, theoretical analysis, and compilation of general calculated correlations. (Conclusions) It was revealed that nanofluids can be effectively used as heat carriers of transport engines, with their use the metal consumption of coolers is reduced, the safety of units in emergency modes, including those accompanied by boiling, is increased.

MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF TECHNOLOGICAL MODES OF HEAT-PUMPING SYSTEMS FOR TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESSES

One of the ways to increase the energy efficiency of the process of heat supply of technological facilities and production facilities of the agro-industrial complex is the use of heat pumps. Their use allows to increase the energy potential of heat carriers. To optimize the mode parameters and create systems for automatic control of the heat pump installation, it is necessary to establish a relationship between the parameters of the processes occurring in the elements of the installation by creating a mathematical model of non-stationary thermal modes. In the analysis of recent studies and publications, it is established that the calculations of processes in heat pumps are presented mainly for stationary modes of operation without taking into account the dynamics of the condenser. If the dynamic modes of individual elements are given, then they are described by mathematical models of considerable complexity, which greatly complicates their practical implementation. In the article, the heat pump installation, as an object of modeling, is considered as a physical system, which consists of four series-connected elements: evaporator, condenser, compressor, throttle valve forming a closed circuit. The principle of operation of a simple heat pump installation is explained by the scheme and schedule of the theoretical cycle of the steam compressor heat pump. To simplify the mathematical model, certain assumptions were made: the change in the parameters of liquid, vapor and air varies in a straight line, the thermophysical characteristics of the material of heat exchangers, air and vapor flows, heat transfer coefficients do not depend on temperature and are average for the cycle. On the basis of thermal and material balance the corresponding differential equations which make mathematical model of dynamics of change of parameters of the heat exchanger have been made. The mathematical model is supplemented by a simulation model in the MatLAB / Simulink computer environment, as well as graphical interpretations of dynamic characteristics. The developed mathematical model of dynamics of thermal processes in the heat pump installation can be used for calculation of parameters of heating and cooling of streams of heat carriers and creation of system of automatic control of them.