Temperature Control System Using Mobile Application Interface

Temperature control becomes increasingly necessary with each day, be it in industrial, commercial or residential environments. In a similar way, technology has become a common tool in everyday life. Thus, the technologies need to accompany advances in the controls of processes in many fields, creating applications that can be used in mobile devices alongside these processes. Therefore, this paper proposes temperature monitoring of an environment, via Bluetooth wireless communication and with interface display on a mobile application, developed in MIT App Inventor. While implementing commands via hardware and software a procedure to lower room temperature was applied through a ventilation system. The data are collected through a DHT11 temperature sensor, and the wireless communication is through a HC-05 Bluetooth module, both connected to the development board Arduino. It was possible to condition the cooler to work accordingly with a preset temperature range by using its IDE (Integrated Development Environment). Thereby, this project is a low-cost and advantageous alternative to temperature control and monitoring supported by technological advancements.

A method for controlling liquid coolant temperature for thermal stabilization of a spacecraft and considerations for design of environmental test chambers using this method

The paper discusses a method for controlling the temperature of a coolant used for spacecraft liquid-based thermal stabilization, which makes it possible to feed to the item that is being thermally stabilized a liquid coolant at an exact preset temperature, with the capability to control the range of deviation from the preset value. The paper describes a liquid-based thermostatting facility for thermal vacuum tests that implements this method. The operational results of such facilities demonstrate the feasibility of using the proposed proven method in the development of environmental test chambers for various purposes. Taking as an example the KI-series Frigodesign® environmental chambers, the paper discusses the key factors driving the cost and power requirements for such chambers, as well as describes some of them that were developed for testing articles at temperatures ranging from –100 to +70 C. Key words: controlling the temperature of the coolant, cooler unit, ground thermostatting of a spacecraft, environmental chambers.

Remote Controlled Nociceptive Threshold Testing Systems in Large Animals

Nociceptive threshold (NT) testing is widely used for the study of pain and its alleviation. The end point is a normal behavioural response, which may be affected by restraint or unfamiliar surroundings, leading to erroneous data. Remotely controlled thermal and mechanical NT testing systems were developed to allow free movement during testing and were evaluated in cats, dogs, sheep, horses and camels. Thermal threshold (TT) testing incorporated a heater and temperature sensor held against the animal’s shaved skin. Mechanical threshold (MT) testing incorporated a pneumatic actuator attached to a limb containing a 1–2 mm radiused pin pushed against the skin. Both stimuli were driven from battery powered control units attached on the animal’s back, controlled remotely via infra-red radiation from a handheld component. Threshold reading was held automatically and displayed digitally on the unit. The system was failsafe with a safety cut-out at a preset temperature or force as appropriate. The animals accepted the equipment and behaved normally in their home environment, enabling recording of reproducible TT (38.5–49.8 °C) and MT (2.7–10.1 N); precise values depended on the species, the individual and the stimulus characteristics. Remote controlled NT threshold testing appears to be a viable refinement for pain research.

Remote Controlled Nociceptive Threshold Testing Systems in Large Animals

Nociceptive threshold (NT) testing is widely used for the study of pain and its alleviation. The end point is a normal behavioural response which may be affected by restraint or unfamiliar surroundings leading to erroneous data. Remotely controlled thermal and mechanical NT testing systems were developed to allow free movement during testing and were evaluated in cats, dogs, sheep, horses and camels. Thermal threshold (TT) testing incorporated a heater and temperature sensor held against the animal’s shaved skin. Mechanical threshold (MT) testing incorporated a pneumatic actuator attached to a limb containing a 1 - 2mm radiused pin pushed against the skin. Both stimuli were driven from battery powered control units attached on the animal’s back, controlled remotely via infra-red radiation from a hand held component. Threshold reading was held automatically and displayed digitally on the unit. The system was failsafe with a safety cutout at a preset temperature or force as appropriate. The animals accepted the equipment and behaved normally in their home environment enabling recording of reproducible TT (38.5 – 49.8°C) and MT (2.7 – 10.1N); precise values depended on species, the individual and the stimulus characteristics. Remote controlled NT threshold testing appears to be a viable refinement for pain research.

2D/2D Pomelo Peel Graphene/g-C3N4/Cu in situ for Enhancing Photocatalytic H2 Production under Visible Light Irradiation

Pomelo peel was firstly used as the precursor with activating agent KHCO3 to prepare few layered graphene nanosheets (GS) through gas stripping method. The precursor graphitized and transformed to few layered graphene nanosheets gradually because of the preset temperature program and KHCO3. GS-4-1100, possessed the highest graphitization (ID/IG = 0.14, I2D/IG = 0.923) in 2~3 layers, at the edges. Taking advantages of the excellent electronic transmission performance and unique two-dimensional structure of both graphene and porous graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), 2D/2D graphene/g-C3N4 nanosheet composite was fabricated for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The results showed that nano-copper (Cu NPs) performed the hydrogen evolution rate of 1.09 mmol g−1 h−1, while that of GS/CN-2 reached 2.91 mmol g−1 h−1 with in situ 5.49wt% Cu NPs. GS/CN-2/Cu turned out to be a stable and clean photocatalyst for hydrogen production.

Transfer and Storage of Molten Salt for the Pyroprocessing of Used Nuclear Fuel

A vacuum-induced salt transfer and storage (VISTAS) system is being evaluated to improve transfer and storage of molten electrorefiner (ER) salts at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Salt is transferred by vacuum through a heated drawtube into a storage container. To control salt flow, a redundant level switch triggered by salt thermal conductivity and a preset temperature threshold activate a solenoid, stopping argon supply to the vacuum pump. A fail-safe cooling coil freezes the salt, halting its flow if the level switch malfunctions. The VISTAS system allows safe, timely salt transfer and reduces the storage footprint of current salt-removal methods.