Hydrazide- and Diazole-Linked Covalent Organic Frameworks and Their Water Harvesting Properties

We report a retrosynthetic strategy and its implementation to making covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with irreversible hydrazide and diazole (oxadiazole and thiadiozole) linkages. This involved the synthesis of a series of 2D and 3D hydrazine-linked frameworks, followed by their oxidation and dehydrative cyclization. Each linkage synthesis and functional group transformation—hydrazine, hydrazide, oxadiazole, and thiadia-zole—was evidenced by 15N multi-CP-MAS NMR. In addition, the isothermal water uptake profiles of these frameworks were studied, leading to the discovery that one hydrazide-linked COF is suitable for water harvest-ing from air in arid conditions. These COFs displayed characteristic S-shaped water sorption profiles, a steep pore-filling step below 18% relative humidity at 25 °C, and a total uptake capacity of 0.45 g g–1 at P/Psat = 0.95. In addition, a total of ten 2D and 3D structures with various such linkages were studies for their affinity to water. We found that even small changes made on the molecular level can lead to major differences in the water isotherm profiles and therefore pointing to the utility of water sorption analysis as a complementary analytical tool to study linkage transformations.

A Thermochemical Study of Iron Aluminate-Based Materials: A Preferred Class for Isothermal Water Splitting

The use of hydrogen as a renewable fuel has been stymied by our inability to produce it cleanly and economically. The conventional solar thermochemical approach considers a two-step redox cycle...

A simulation study of processes for mixing non-isothermal flows under dynamic effects

The processes for mixing of non-isothermal streams essentially define the parameters of the heat-carrier on an input in a core in modes with incomplete structure of the working equipment and, as a consequence, - a heat engineering condition of a core. Besides, the task of researching the temperature pulsations accompanying practically all modes of currents for non-isothermal streams is extremely relevant, as these pulsations lead to additional thermocyclic loadings on elements of the equipment and in many cases define its resource. The paper describes the research of mixing processes for non-isothermal water coolant flows in hydraulic model of ship nuclear power plant. In several experiments, attention was paid to the mixing processes when feeding non-isothermal flows through the circulation loops located opposite of each other. To simulate the effect of external dynamic force in the form of periodic effect on the spatial orientation of the model, the ship was tested on a stand "Swinging platform". These vibrations affected the mixing processes occurring within the model. The main impact they had on the transition time, temperature gradient, vertical component of the velocity projection. In the future, these parameters will be clarified and the influence of other factors on the mixing of non-isothermal flows in the ship's nuclear power plant will be studied in more detail.

Optimal Control Strategy to Distribute Water Through Loop-Like Planar Networks

In this article, loop like planar networks formed by circular cross sectioned conduits with possibly different geometric measurements are studied to supply the required amount of isothermal water within the optimal time and through the shortest path. The flow optimization procedure is controlled by time varying pressures at nodes throughout the network for given specifications about pressure value at multiple demanding and single supply nodes. The flow governing equation is solved analytically to correlate transient flow rate and pressure and then studied using analogous electrical circuit. For each possible path between source and demand node, minimum equivalent flow impedance criterion is considered to pick the optimum path. This sets a multi-objective dynamic flow optimization algorithm and the same is executed under the assumption of fully developed and laminar flow. The optimum flow impedance can further be used to measure the pumping power as the cost of flow of a particular path. The algorithm can be extended to reduce the water wastages by controlling pressures efficiently.

Automotive Subzero Cold-Start Quasi-Adiabatic Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Fixture: Design and Validation

Subzero automotive cold-starts of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks require accelerated thermal rises to achieve nominal operating conditions and close-to-instantaneous usable output power. Advances in the material, structure and operational dependence on the balance between the maximum power output and the electrochemical conversion of hydrogen and oxygen into water requires validation with subzero cold-starts. Herein are presented the design and validation of a quasi-adiabatic PEMFC to enable single-cell evaluation, which would provide a more cost-effective option than stack-level testing. At –20 °C, the operational dependence of the preconditioned water content (3.2 verse 6.2) for a galvanic cold-start (<600 mA cm−2) was counter to that of a laboratory-scale isothermal water fill test (10 mA cm−2). The higher water content resulted in a faster startup to appreciable power output within 0.39 min versus 0.65 min. The water storage capacity, as determined from the isothermal water fill test, was greater, for the lower initial water content of 3.2, than 6.2, 17.4 ± 0.3 mg versus 12.8 ± 0.4 mg, respectively. Potentiostatic cold-starts produced usable power in 0.09 min. The versatility and reproducibility of the single cell quasi-adiabatic fixture avail it to future universal cold-start stack relevant analyzes involving operational parameters and advanced materials, including: applied load, preconditioning, interchanging flow field structures, diffusion media, and catalyst coated membranes.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Thermal Transition Area at the Heated Bottom-Wall of a Horizontal Rectangular Channel

This article represents a part of an ongoing work on the preparation of an experimental rectangular channel for the PIV and LIF measurements of vortex structures and temperature field in a non-isothermal water flow. The main aim of the current study is to develop a sufficiently accurate simplified numerical model of the real problem. The basic requirements for thermal properties of heated bottom-wall are specified. In the computational model, there are several simplifications such as 2D case and a constant temperature of a heated surface along the longitudinal coordinate. Results of the numerical simulation of the fluid flow and heat transfer are verified on the experimental data obtained in a laboratory channel with the same geometry and similar flow conditions. The presented results helped to define additional requirements on the design of a new experimental channel intended for investigation of the flow instabilities in a non-isothermal liquid flow.