Lattice Boltzmann simulation of 3-dimensional natural convection heat transfer of CuO/water nanofluids

The present study investigated fluid flow and natural convection heat transfer in an enclosure embedded with isothermal cylinder. The purpose was to simulate the three-dimensional natural convection by thermal lattice Boltzmann method based on the D3Q19 model. The effects of suspended nanoparticles on the fluid flow and heat transfer analysis have been investigated for different parameters such as particle volume fraction, particle diameters, and geometry aspect ratio. It is seen that flow behaviors and the average rate of heat transfer in terms of the Nusselt number (Nu) are effectively changed with different controlling parameters such as particle volume fraction (5 % ≤ φ ≤ 10 %), particle diameter (d _p = 10 nm to 30 nm) and aspect ratio (0.5 ≤ AR ≤ 2) with fixed Rayleigh number, Ra = 10⁵. The present results give a good approximation for choosing an effective parameter to design a thermal system.     

Mixed convection and entropy generation in a square cavity using nanofluids

In this work, two-dimensional mixed convection and entropy generation of water-(Cu, Ag, Al₂O₃, and TiO₂) nanofluids in a square lid-driven cavity containing two heat sources, have been numerically investigated. The upper lid and bottom wall of the cavity are maintained at a cold temperature T_C, respectively. The governing equations along with boundary conditions are solved using the finite volume method. Comparisons with the previous results were performed and found to be in excellent agreement. The effects of the solid volume fraction (0≤φ≤0.10), Rayleigh (10³≤Ra≤10⁵) and Reynolds (1≤Re≤500) numbers, and different types of nanofluids on the total entropy generation S_t and on entropy generation due to heat transfer S_h are presented and discussed. Moreover, the heat sources positions have an effect on the total entropy generation and Bejan number. It was found that S_t and S_h decrease with increase of φ, Ra, and Re.     

Intriguingly high convective heat transfer enhancement of nanofluid coolants in laminar flows

We reported on investigation of the convective heat transfer enhancement of nanofluids as coolants in laminar flows inside a circular copper tube with constant wall temperature. Nanofluids containing Al₂O₃, ZnO, TiO₂, and MgO nanoparticles were prepared with a mixture of 55 vol.% distilled water and 45 vol.% ethylene glycol as base fluid. It was found that the heat transfer behaviors of the nanofluids were highly depended on the volume fraction, average size, species of the suspended nanoparticles and the flow conditions. MgO, Al₂O₃, and ZnO nanofluids exhibited superior enhancements of heat transfer coefficient, with the highest enhancement up to 252% at a Reynolds number of 1000 for MgO nanofluid. Our results demonstrated that these oxide nanofluids might be promising alternatives for conventional coolants.     

Unsteady boundary layer flow of a nanofluid over a stretching sheet with variable fluid properties in the presence of thermal radiation

In this paper, we investigated numerically an unsteady boundary layer flow of a nanofluid over a stretching sheet in the presence of thermal radiation with variable fluid properties. Using a set of suitable similarity transformations, the governing partial differential equations are reduced into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. System of the nonlinear ordinary differential equations are then solved by the Keller-box method. The physical parameters taken into consideration for the present study are: Prandtl number Pr, Lewis number Le, Brownian motion parameter N _b, thermophoresis parameter N _t, radiation parameter N _r, unsteady parameter M. In addition to these parameters, two more new parameters namely variable thermophoretic diffusion coefficient parameter e and variable Brownian motion diffusion coefficient parameter β have been introduced in the present study. Effects of these parameters on temperature, volume fraction of the nanoparticles, surface heat and mass transfer rates are presented graphically and discussed briefly. To validate our method, we have compared the present results with some previously reported results in the literature. The results are found to be in a very good agreement.     

Effect of thermal inhomogeneity on the performance of a Brownian heat engine

We explore the effect of thermal inhomogeneity on the performance of a Brownian heat engine by considering exactly solvable models. We first consider a Brownian heat engine which is modeled as a Brownian particle in a ratchet potential moving through a highly viscous medium driven by the thermal kick it receives from a linearly decreasing background temperature. We show that even though the energy transfer due to kinetic energy is neglected, Carnot efficiency cannot be achieved at quasistatic limit. At quasistatic limit, the efficiency for such a Brownian heat engine approaches the efficiency of endoreversible engine η = 1 ? √T _c /T _h [F.L. Curzon, B. Ahlborn, Am. J. Phys. 43, 22 (1975)]. Moreover, the dependence of the current, the efficiency and the coefficient of performance of the refrigerator on the model parameters is also explored via Brownian dynamic simulations and analytically. We show that such a Brownian heat engine has a higher performance when acting as a refrigerator than when operating as a device subjected to a piecewise constant temperature [M. Asfaw, M. Bekele, Eur. Phys. J. B 38, 457 (2004), M. Asfaw, M. Bekele, Physica A 384, 346 (2007)]. Furthermore, for a Brownian heat engine driven by a piecewise constant temperature, we show that systematic removal of the inhomogeneous medium leads to a homogeneous medium with a uniform temperature where the effect of temperature inhomogeneity is replaced by an effective load.     

First-principles study on the electronic and optical properties of Si and Al co-doped zinc oxide for solar cell devices

Electronic and optical properties of co-doped zinc oxide ZnO with silicon (Si) and aluminum (Al), in Zn_1?2x Si _x Al _x O (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.0625) original structure forms, are investigated by the first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT). The optical constants and dielectric functions are investigated with the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) by WIEN2k package. The complex dielectric functions, refractive index and band gap of the pure as well as doped and co-doped ZnO were investigated, which are in good agreement with the available experimental results for the undoped ZnO. Thus, the maximum optical transmittance of the co-doped ZnO of about 95 % was achieved; it is higher than that of pure ZnO. Thus, we showed for the Si–Al co-doped ZnO with x = 0.0315 that the optical transmittance can cover a larger range in the visible light region. In addition, an occurrence of important energy levels around Fermi levels was showed, which is mainly due to doping atoms that lead to an overlap between valence and conduction bands, and consequently to the significant conductor behavior of the Si–Al co-doped ZnO. The original Zn_1?2x Si _x Al _x O structure reveals promising optical and electronic properties, and it can be investigated as good candidates for practical uses as transparent and conducting electrodes in solar cell devices.     

Reciprocal Time Relation of Noncolliding Brownian Motion with Drift

We consider an N-particle system of noncolliding Brownian motion starting from x ₁≤x ₂≤…≤x _N with drift coefficients ν _j , 1≤j≤N satisfying ν ₁≤ν ₂≤…≤ν _N . When all of the initial points are degenerated to be zero, x _j =0, 1≤j≤N, the equivalence is proved between a dilatation with factor 1/t of this drifted process and the noncolliding Brownian motion starting from ν ₁≤ν ₂≤…≤ν _N without drift observed at reciprocal time 1/t, for arbitrary t>0. Using this reciprocal time relation, we study the determinantal property of the noncolliding Brownian motion with drift having finite and infinite numbers of particles.     

Brownian motion on a manifold as a limit of Brownian motions with drift

Let ?ⁿ be n-dimensional Euclidean space and let M ? ?ⁿ be a smooth compact m-dimensional Riemannian manifold (without boundary) embedded in ?ⁿ. By a Brownian motion on M we mean a Markovian process whose transition semigroup is defined by the generator ?½Δ_M, where Δ_M stands for the Laplace-Beltrami operator on M (see, e.g., [2]). This note extends a series of papers in which a measure generated by a Brownian motion on M on the space of trajectories (with values in M) can be represented as the weak limit of measures on the space of trajectories in the ambient space ?ⁿ (see [7–10]). Namely, we claim that a sequence of diffusion processes on ?n which are Brownian motions with drift (in the direction of the manifold) with infinitely increasing modulus converges in distribution to a Brownian motion on the manifold.     

方腔内Cu/Al2O3水混合纳米流体自然对流的格子Boltzmann模拟

纳米流体作为一种较高的导热介质, 广泛应用于各个传热领域. 鉴于纳米颗粒导热系数和成本之间的矛盾, 本文提出了一种混合纳米流体. 为了研究混合纳米流体颗粒间相互作用机理和自然对流换热特性, 在考虑颗粒间相互作用力的基础上, 利用多尺度技术推导了纳米流体流场和温度场的格子Boltzmann方程, 通过耦合流动和温度场的演化方程, 建立了Cu/Al₂O₃水混合纳米流体的格子Boltzmann模型, 研究了混合纳米流体颗粒间的相互作用机理和纳米颗粒在腔体内的分布. 发现在颗粒间相互作用力中, 布朗力远远大于其他作用力, 温差驱动力和布朗力对纳米颗粒的分布影响最大. 分析了纳米颗粒组分、瑞利数对自然对流换热的影响, 对比了混合纳米流体(Cu/Al₂O₃-水)与单一金属颗粒纳米流体(Al₂O₃-水)的自然对流换热特性, 发现混合纳米流体具有更强的换热特性.     

Surface and volume superconductivity of Pb embedded in nanopores

The heat capacity of lead embedded in glass nanopores (7 nm in diameter) and bulk lead was studied in the temperature range 2–40 K without a magnetic field and in magnetic fields of 1–8 T. The properties of lead nanoparticles and bulk lead were compared. The results obtained allowed us to separate the surface superconductivity from the volume superconductivity. The temperature dependence of the heat capacity of lead nanoparticles was shown to exhibit two superconducting transitions above and below the transition temperature for bulk lead (T _c = 7.2 K), which are associated with the surface and volume superconductivity. The upper critical fields H _c3 for the surface superconductivity and H _c2 for the volume superconductivity were determined. It turned out that these fields for Pb nanoparticles are two orders of magnitude higher than those for bulk lead. The “superconductor-normal metal” phase diagrams were constructed for lead nanoparticles. The study established an increase in the density of low-frequency excitations in Pb nanocrystals as compared to bulk Pb and a difference in the electronic heat capacity of Pb nanoparticles as compared to bulk Pb.     

A statistical model of a metallic inclusion in semiconducting media

The atomic dynamics of the binary Al_100–xCu_x system is simulated at a temperature T = 973 K, a pressure p = 1.0 bar, and various copper concentrations x. These conditions (temperature, pressure) make it possible to cover the equilibrium liquid Al_100–xCu_x phase at copper concentrations 0 ≤ x ≤ 40% and the supercooled melt in the concentration range 40% ≤ x ≤ 100%. The calculated spectral densities of the time correlation functions of the longitudinal \({\tilde C_L}\)(k, ω) and transverse \({\tilde C_T}\)(k, ω) currents in the Al_100–xCu_x melt at a temperature T = 973 K reveal propagating collective excitations of longitudinal and transverse polarizations in a wide wavenumber range. It is shown that the maximum sound velocity in the v_L(x) concentration dependence takes place for the equilibrium melt at an atomic copper concentration x = 10 ± 5%, whereas the supercooled Al_100–xCu_x melt saturated with copper atoms (x ≥ 40%) is characterized by the minimum sound velocity. In the case of the supercooled melt, the concentration dependence of the kinematic viscosity ν(x) is found to be interpolated by a linear dependence, and a deviation from the linear dependence is observed in the case of equilibrium melt at x < 40%. An insignificant shoulder in the ν(x) dependence is observed at low copper concentrations (x < 20%), and it is supported by the experimental data. This shoulder is caused by the specific features in the concentration dependence of the density ρ(x).     

Isotropic positive magnetoresistance in Co-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>n</Subscript> nanocomposites

The magnetotransport properties of Co_x(Al₂O_n)_{100 ? x} nanocomposites were studied in a wide concentration range (34 ≤ x ≤ 74 at %). Negative tunnel magnetoresistance reaching 6.5% in a field of 10 kOe was established. In addition to the negative magnetoresistance, the Co_x(Al₂O_n)_{100 ? x} composites were found to exhibit positive magnetoresistance reaching 1.5% in fields of 10 kOe over the concentration range corresponding to the percolation threshold (54 ≤ x ≤ 67 at %). The positive magnetoresistance is assumed to be due to the simultaneous existence in the composite structure of clusters and individual nanoparticles characterized by different values of the magnetic anisotropy and due to the dipole-dipole interaction between the clusters and nearest neighbor particles.     

Investigation of quasicrystalline Al<Subscript>62.5</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>25</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>12.5</Subscript> and crystalline β-Al<Subscript>50</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>33</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>17</Subscript> alloys by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The electronic spectra of the valence band and core levels of the surface of polygrain alloys with the icosahedral structure and the β-(CsCl)-type solid solution of Al₅₀Cu₃₃Fe₁₇ were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The obtained XPS spectra of the Al_62.5Cu₂₅Fe_12.5 alloy, in comparison with those of the crystalline Al₅₀Cu₃₃Fe₁₇ alloy demonstrate narrowing and a decrease in asymmetry of the Fe2p core level and a decrease in the electron state density N(E _F ) near the Fermi level, features expected for the poorly conducting icosahedral phase. The XPS data are compared with the estimates of N(E _F ) based on the low-temperature specific heat measurements.     

Effect of Hall current and chemical reaction on MHD flow along a fluctuating porous flat plate with internal heat absorption/generation

Effect of Hall current on the unsteady free convection flow of a viscous incompressible and electrically conducting fluid past a fluctuating porous flat plate with internal heat absorption/generation in the presence of foreign gasses (such as H₂, CO₂, H₂O, NH₃) was investigated. The results are discussed with the effect of the parameters m, the Hall current, Mt, the hydromagnetic parameter, G _r the Grashoff number for heat transfer, G _c , the Grashoff number for mass transfer, S, the internal heat absorption/generation parameter, α, the transpiration parameter, S _c , the Schmidt parameter, and K _c the chemical reaction parameter for Prandtl number P _r = 0.71, which represents air. Further, the present study accounts for the 1st order chemical reaction affecting the flow characteristics. The governing equations are solved in closed form applying Hh _n (x) function. The effects of pertinent parameters characterizing the flow field are discussed with the help of graphs and tables. The important observation of the present study is that heat generation/absorption modifies the flow of current simultaneously to a magnetic force and thermal bouncy force. Heat generation combined with blowing leads to a sharp fall of temperature.     

MHD mixed convection flow and heat transfer in a porous medium

The effects of a steady two-dimensional laminar MHD mixed convection flow and heat transfer against a heated vertical semi-infinite permeable surface in a porous medium are discussed. The coupled nonlinear partial differential equations describing the conservation of mass, momentum, and energy are solved by a perturbation technique. The results are presented to illustrate the influence of Hartmann number (M), Prandtl number (Pr), permeability parameter (K _p ), suction/blowing parameter (f _w ), heat generation/absorption coefficient (?), and mixed convection or buoyancy parameter (γ). The effects of different parameters on the velocity and temperature as well as the skin friction and wall heat transfer are discussed with the help of figures.     

Choice of Efficient Linear Scale and Generalized Description of Internal Heat Transfer Coefficient in Porous Structures

The expedience of using the ratio of inertial β and viscous α hydraulic coefficients of a fluid flow in porous structures as the characteristic linear scale, when generalizing the experimental data on internal heat transfer in porous media, is shown. It is demonstrated that the correlation Nu = A · Pe, with both criteria based on β/α ratio, most efficiently describes the experimental data for a wide set of ordered and disordered porous structures, including sintered spheres, network materials, sintered felt and cellular foams of high porosity. The coefficient A depends on porosity and is equal to 0.004 for spheres, networks and felts, and 0.0004 for foams. For any specific case the values of α and β coefficients can be readily obtained from testing materials under consideration, control samples, or full-scale articles.     

Memristive Effect in Two-Layered Structures Based on Lithium Doped ZnO Films

The structure of Au/Li10ZnO/Li1ZnO/LaB₆ consisting of upper Au and lower LaB₆ ohmic electrodes and a p-n junction p-Li10ZnO/n-Li1ZnO, which has the resistive memory where two functions are simultaneously combined, that is, an address access and the process of reading and storing of information is investigated. The resistance ratio (R_reset/R_set = 10), the data storage time (> 3 hours) and the number of switching cycles (> 350) are improved as compared to the corresponding single-layer structures. The resistive memory is explained by the modulation effect of the Li10ZnO layer, the ferroelectric polarization of which, depending on the orientation, changes the width and height of the barrier of the p-n junction formed at the p-Li10ZnO/n-Li1ZnO contact.     

Specific heat of La(Fe<Subscript>0.873</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.007</Subscript>Al<Subscript>0.12</Subscript>)<Subscript>13</Subscript> compound in antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic states

The low-temperature specific heat C _p of La(Fe_0.873Co_0.007Al_0.12)₁₃ compound has been measured in two states: (i) antiferromagnetic (AFM) with a Néel temperature of T _N = 192 K and (ii) ferromagnetic (FM). The FM order appears at T = 4.2 K in a sample exposed to an external magnetic field with induction B _C ≥ 2.5 T and is retained for a long time in a zero field at temperatures up to T*_C = 23 K. The coefficient γ_FM in the low-temperature specific heat C = γT + βT ³ in the FM state differs quite insignificantly from that (γ_AFM) in the AFM state. Contributions to the low-temperature specific heat, which are related to a change in the elastic and magnetoelastic energy caused by magnetostrictive deformations, are considered.     

Electronic energy structure and x-ray spectra of wide-gap AlN and BN crystals and B<Subscript>x</Subscript>Al<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>N solid solutions

The electronic energy structure of 2H and 3C AlN and BN crystals and B_xAl_1?xN solid solutions is calculated on the basis of the local coherent potential method using the cluster version of the MT approximation and the theory of multiple scattering. The features of the electronic structure of 2H-AlN crystals are compared with x-ray K and L absorption and emission spectra of aluminum and nitrogen. An interpretation of these features is given. The concentration dependences of the width of the upper subband of the valence band and the band gap in B_xAl_1?xN solid solutions (x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75) are investigated. Charge transfer from aluminum to nitrogen atoms is shown to occur and increase with boron doping in both crystallographic modifications.     

Multiferroic properties and structural features of <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis>-type Al-substituted barium hexaferrites

Precise studies of the crystal and magnetic structures of M-type substituted barium hexaferrites BaFe_12–x Al _x O₁₉ (0.1 ≤ x ≤ 1.2) have been performed by powder neutron diffraction in the temperature range 300–730 K. The electric polarization and the magnetization, and also the magnetoelectric effect of the compositions under study have been studied in electric (to 110 kV/m) and magnetic (to 14 T) fields at room temperature. The spontaneous polarization and significant correlation between the dielectric and magnetic subsystems have been observed at room temperature. The magnetoelectric effect value is, on average, about 5%, and it increases slightly with the aluminum cation concentration. The precise structural studies made it possible to reveal the cause and the mechanism of formation of the spontaneous polarization in M-type substituted barium hexaferrites BaFe_12–x Al _x O₁₉ (x ≤ 1.2) with a collinear ferromagnetic structure.