Piezo-driven thermoacoustic refrigerators with dynamic magnifiers

Thermoacoustic refrigeration is an emerging cooling technology which does not rely for in its operation on the use of any moving parts or harmful refrigerants. This technology uses acoustic waves to pump heat across a temperature gradient. The temperature gradient forms across the ends of a porous body, called the stack, enclosed in a resonator. The vast majority of thermoacoustic refrigerators to date have used electromagnetic loudspeakers to generate the acoustic input. In this paper, the design, construction, operation, and modeling of a piezo-driven thermoacoustic refrigerator are detailed. The performance of the refrigerator is significantly enhanced by coupling the acoustic driver with an elastic structure, referred to as a dynamic magnifier. Proper selection of the magnifier parameters can increase the magnitude of the pressure oscillations across the stack, and consequently the temperature difference. The magnified refrigerator demonstrates the effectiveness of piezoelectric actuation in moving 0.3 W of heat across a 10 °C temperature difference with an input power of 7 W. All the theoretical predictions are validated against data from experimental prototypes. The developed theoretical and experimental tools can serve as invaluable means for the design and testing of piezo-driven thermoacoustic refrigerator configurations.     

Studies on Performance of Thermoacoustic Prime Mover

Thermoacoustic engines are the devices that convert thermal energy into acoustic energy without moving parts. The main objective of this study is to analyze the performance of a thermoacoustic prime mover measured in terms of onset temperature difference, frequency, and pressure amplitude by varying resonator, stack length, and plate thickness. From the experiments, it is observed that onset temperature difference and pressure amplitude increases with increase in resonator and stack length with minimum plate thickness, whereas the frequency increases with decrease in resonator and stack length with higher plate thickness. The experimental results are compared with simulated results via Design Environment for Low Amplitude Thermoacoustic Energy Conversion software (Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA).     

Nonlinear saturation of the thermoacoustic instability

A weakly nonlinear theory of the thermoacoustic instability in gas-filled tubes is developed in the time domain by exploiting the difference between the instability time scale and the period of standing waves. By carrying the expansion to fourth order in the perturbation parameter, explicit results for the initial growth, nonlinear evolution, and final saturation are obtained. The dependence of the saturation amplitude upon the temperature difference in the stack, the tube geometry, stack plate spacing, Prandtl number, and other parameters is illustrated.     

Facile one-step sonochemical synthesis of ultrafine and stable fluorescent C-dots

This work describes a one-step synthesis of carbon dots (C-dots), which is carried out by sonication of polyethylene glycol (PEG-400) for 0.5–3 h. The effect of the various experimental parameters, such as sonication time, amplitude and temperature on the size and the fluorescence of the C-dots was studied. It was found that the average diameter of the C-dots is between 2 and 9 nm, depending on the preparation conditions. The highest quantum yield of emission was ∼16%. These high fluorescence properties of the C-dots could be used for bioimaging and for solar cell applications.     

Theoretical and experimental investigation of desalting and dehydration of crude oil by assistance of ultrasonic irradiation

In this paper desalting/dehydration process of crude oil by ultrasonic irradiation in a novel batch standing-wave resonator reactor is studied both theoretically and experimentally. The effect of main parameters including ultrasonic irradiation parameters, namely irradiation input power and irradiation time, and also operating parameters, such as temperature and injected water, on the removal efficiencies of salt and water is examined. The obtained results demonstrate that finding the optimum values of the above mentioned parameters is important to prevent a significant decrease in the removal efficiencies of water and especially salt. Thus, crude oil was subjected to optimal ultrasonic irradiation with an input power of 57.7 W, and irradiation time of 6.2 min at temperature of 100 °C. The injected water to dissolve the salt of crude oil was 7 vol.%. Also, the applied settling time and dosage of chemical demulsifier were 60 min and 2 ppm, respectively. Under these optimum conditions the removal efficiencies of the desalting/dehydration process were 84% and 99.8%, respectively, which are suitable for refineries.Also, based on the optimal experimental data, two inferential estimators are developed to obtain the relationships between the salt and water removal efficiencies, and input energy density. These empirical relationships can offer a proper estimation for the salt and water removal efficiencies with irradiation input energy.     

Variety of nanostructures induced by femtosecond laser pulses on surface of Au/Cr film stack

Several nanostructures were obtained after irradiation with femtosecond laser pulse (130 fs, 800 nm, 1 kHz pulse repetition frequency) on Au/Cr film stack. The influence of laser parameters such as fluence (0.5 J/cm², 1.5 J/cm², 3 J/cm²) and the number of pulse were investigated. With single pulse irradiation, the nanoline and nonoparticle were obtained for the pulse fluence of 0.5 J/cm² and 3 J/cm², respectively. The formation mechanism of those nanostructures was discussed. The results of this experiment demonstrate that different kinds of nanostructures could be formed by varying the laser parameters such as fluence and the number of pulse.     

A beam shaping design for coupling high power diode laser stack to fiber with capability of spectral narrowing and stabilizing

We applied a VHG-FAC lens in our design in this work to collimate the fast axis and lock the output spectrally. We used a beam shaping technique to improve the beam symmetry and power density of a high power diode laser stack with a stripe mirror plate, a V-Stack mirror and polarization beam combining elements. By this technique, the beam of a high power diode laser stack is effectively coupled into a standard 365 μmcore diameter and a NA = 0.22 fiber. By this technique, compactness, higher efficiency, narrower spectral line width and lower production cost of the diodes are possible.     

Effects of processing parameters in the sonic assisted water extraction (SAWE) of 6-gingerol

The use of water in subcritical conditions for extraction has several drawbacks. These include the safety features, higher production costs and possible degradation of the bioactive compounds. To overcome these problems, sonic energy and an entrainer were used as external interventions to decrease the polarity of water at milder operating conditions. The effect of low (28 kHz) and high (800 kHz) frequencies of sonication in the extraction of the main ginger bioactive compound (6-gingerol) were compared. Six parameters were studied: mean particle size (MPS, mm), time of extraction, applied power, sample to solvent ratio (w/v), temperature of extraction, and the percentage of entrainer. The optimum conditions for high frequency SAWE prototype were MPS 0.89–1.77 mm, 45 min, 40 W applied power, 1:30 (w/v), 45 °C, and 15% of ethanol as entrainer. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) gave the most significant parameter, which was power with F (1, 45.07), p < 2.50 × 10⁻⁹. Although the effect of low frequency was stronger than high frequency, at the optimum conditions of the sample to solvent ratio 1:30 (w/v) with 700 mL solvent and temperature 45 °C, the concentration and recovery of 6-gingerol from high frequency of SAWE prototype was 2.69 times higher than at low frequency of SAWE. It was found that although the effects of high frequency (800 kHz) were negligible in other studies, it could extract suitable compounds, such as 6-gingerol, at lower temperature. Therefore, the effects of sonication, which cause an enlargement in the cell wall of the ginger plant matrix, were observed using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). It was found that the applied power of sonication was the most significant parameter compared to the other parameters.     

Simulation study using GEANT4 Monte Carlo code for a Gd-coated resistive plate chamber as a thermal neutron detector

The Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) has been developed in many application areas ever since its introduction, from high energy physics experiments to positron emission tomography. Such detectors can be coated with a Gd layer that enables them to detect thermal neutrons. Consequently these RPCs can be utilized for industrial and medical purposes. Here, we present the configuration of a resistive plate chamber which is utilized to detect thermal neutrons by employing GEANT4 Monte Carlo code. The response of the RPC was evaluated as a function of neutron energy in the GEANT4 Monte Carlo code. The simulation results are taken for incident neutron energy in the energy range from 25 meV to 100 meV. The detection efficiency was found to be between 10% and 20%, depending on the detector configuration, for incident thermal neutrons of 25 meV energy.     

Effects of driving frequency of longitudinal transducer on the vibration characteristics of a stepped plate

The flexural vibration characteristics of a stepped plate, driven at its center by different frequency of longitudinal transducer with a certain area are investigated. The variation in the nodal circle, fundamental frequency and displacement distribution of the stepped plate are calculated by using finite element method (FEM) under different driving frequencies. The results show that the fundamental frequency and nodal circle of the flexural-vibration stepped plate (FVSP) increase with an increase in the driving frequency of the longitudinal vibration ultrasonic transducer (LVUT), before the second-order flexural vibration occurs. When the driving frequency is f = 28 kHz, the displacement amplitude of the stepped plate can achieve the maximum, and the nodal circle radius of the stepped plate is 2.61 cm which fits evenly the edge of stepped profile. Meanwhile, the directivity and radiation efficiency of the FVSP would be greatly improved in a special driving frequency. The conclusions agree with the experimental ones and are significant for both design and applications of the stepped plate.     

Effect on thermoluminescence parameters of biotite mineral due to thermal quenching

The Thermally Stimulated Luminescence (TSL) at room temperature X-ray irradiated natural biotite in form of micro-grain powder was studied under various heating rates. TSL peaks showed at temperatures 393 K, 399.6 K, 403.5 K, 404.5 K, 406.9 K at their respective heating rates 2 K/s, 4 K/s, 6 K/s, 8 K/s and 10 K/s. The effect of thermal quenching on thermoluminescence parameters such as peak maximum temperature, peak area, FWHM, geometrical symmetry factor, the activation energy were investigated. From the symmetry factor it is clear that the TL glow curve follows the first order kinetics for the lowest heating rate, but as the heating rate increases it defers from the first order. The activation energies for each heating rates were calculated by using Chen peak shape methods for general order kinetics and found to be decreased for higher heating rates. When activation energy is calculated by variable heating rate method it is observed that the method overestimated the value of activation energy and pre-exponential frequency factor significantly due to thermal quenching.     

Ultrasonic imaging using air-coupled P(VDF/TrFE) transducers at 2 MHz

A reflection non-contact ultrasonic microscope system working both in amplitude and phase difference modes at 2 MHz has been developed using an air-coupled concave transducer made of piezoelectric polymer films of poly(vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF/TrFE)]. The transducer is composed of three 95 μm-thick P(VDF/TrFE) films stacked together, each of which is activated electrically in parallel by a driving source. The transducer has a wide aperture angle of 140° and a focal length of 10 mm. The measured two-way transducer insertion loss is 80 dB at 1.83 MHz. Despite 20 dB higher insertion loss than that estimated from Mason’s equivalent circuit, we have obtained clear amplitude acoustic images of a coin with transverse resolution of 150 μm, and clear phase difference acoustic images of the rough surface of a paper currency bill with depth resolution of sub-micrometer. Using two planar transducers of P(VDF/TrFE), we have also successfully measured in through-transmission mode the sound velocity and absorption of a 3 mm-thick silicone-rubber plate. The present study proves that, owing to its low acoustic impedance and flexibility, P(VDF/TrFE) piezoelectric film is very useful for high frequency acoustic imaging in air in the MHz range.     

Structure,dielectric and optical properties of p-type (PVA/CuI) nanocomposite polymer electrolyte for photovoltaic cells

A novel PVA/CuI nanocomposite polymer electrolyte layer synthesized via the reduction of CuCl₂ by NaI in an aqueous PVA solution. The as-prepared films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, as well as impedance spectroscopy. The obtained results indicated the formation of hexagonal CuI nano particles of ≈55 nm sizes embedded in the PVA matrix. In addition, the study of dielectric parameters and conductivity of PVA/CuI nanocomposite in wide range of temperature and frequency are given and discussed. The frequency dependence of ac-conductivity suggests power law with an exponent 0.026 < s < 0.73 which predicts hopping of charge carriers. The bulk conductivity showed activation with temperature, significant values of activation energy are deduced and discussed. An average value of the energy gap width, 2.05 eV obtained using optical absorption in UV–visible spectra for PVA/CuI nanocomposite polymer electrolyte.     

Combined effect of blanching and sonication on quality parameters of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) juice

This study evaluated the combined effect of blanching and sonication treatment on selected quality parameters of bottle gourd juice (BGJ). Bottle gourd cubes were blanched and juice was extracted. Effect of frequency (20–50 kHz), amplitude (50–90%) and time (10–30 min) was also studied on quality parameters like titratable acidity (TA), pH, total soluble solids (TSS), physical stability (PS), ascorbic acid (AA), total phenolics (TP), total carotenoids (TC), browning index (BI), total plate count (TPC) and yeast & mold count (Y&M) of BGJ to derive the level of these parameters. Combined effect of blanching followed by sonication (BFS) showed significant (P ⩽ 0.05) change in all quality parameters except TA. Highest percentage of TSS (5.9 °B), PS (2%), AA (18.99 mg/100 g), TP (1010 mg/100 g) and TC (5.8 mg/100 g) was observed at 70% amplitude, 50 kHz frequency and 20 min. Results suggested 70% amplitude, 50 kHz frequency and 20 min as best treatment conditions for processing of BGJ. Microstructure examination, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and laser diffraction analysis of BGJ showed significant change in particle size and distribution. Moreover, TEM of blanched and sonicated samples of BGJ also showed significant (P ⩽ 0.05) change in microbial profile.     

Ultrasound-assisted acid hydrolysis of cellulose to chemical building blocks: Application to furfural synthesis

In this work, the use of ultrasound energy for the production of furanic platforms from cellulose was investigated and the synthesis of furfural was demonstrated. Several systems were evaluated, as ultrasound bath, cup horn and probe, in order to investigate microcrystalline cellulose conversion using simply a diluted acid solution and ultrasound. Several acid mixtures were evaluated for hydrolysis, as diluted solutions of HNO₃, H₂SO₄, HCl and H₂C₂O₄. The influence of the following parameters in the ultrasound-assisted acid hydrolysis (UAAH) were studied: sonication temperature (30 to 70 °C) and ultrasound amplitude (30 to 70% for a cup horn system) for 4 to 8 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃ solutions. For each evaluated condition, the products were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ToF-MS), which provide accurate information regarding the products obtained from biomass conversion. The furfural structure was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H and ¹³C NMR) spectroscopy. In addition, cellulosic residues from hydrolysis reaction were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which contributed for a better understanding of physical-chemical effects caused by ultrasound. After process optimization, a 4 mol L⁻¹ HNO₃ solution, sonicated for 60 min at 30 °C in a cup horn system at 50% of amplitude, lead to 78% of conversion to furfural. This mild temperature condition combined to the use of a diluted acid solution represents an important contribution for the selective production of chemical building blocks using ultrasound energy.     

Design parameters of stainless steel plates for maximizing high frequency ultrasound wave transmission

This work validated, in a higher frequency range, the theoretical predictions made by Boyle around 1930, which state that the optimal transmission of sound pressure through a metal plate occurs when the plate thickness equals a multiple of half the wavelength of the sound wave. Several reactor design parameters influencing the transmission of high frequency ultrasonic waves through a stainless steel plate were examined. The transmission properties of steel plates of various thicknesses (1–7 mm) were studied for frequencies ranging from 400 kHz to 2 MHz and at different distances between plates and transducers. It was shown that transmission of sound pressure through a steel plate showed high dependence of the thickness of the plate to the frequency of the sound wave (thickness ratio). Maximum sound pressure transmission of ∼60% of the incident pressure was observed when the ratio of the plate thickness to the applied frequency was a multiple of a half wavelength (2 MHz, 6 mm stainless steel plate). In contrast, minimal sound pressure transmission (∼10–20%) was measured for thickness ratios that were not a multiple of a half wavelength. Furthermore, the attenuation of the sound pressure in the transmission region was also investigated. As expected, it was confirmed that higher frequencies have more pronounced sound pressure attenuation than lower frequencies. The spatial distribution of the sound pressure transmitted through the plate characterized by sonochemiluminescence measurements using luminol emission, supports the validity of the pressure measurements in this study.     

Ultrasound-assisted extraction of rare-earth elements from carbonatite rocks

In view of the increasing demand for rare-earth elements (REE) in many areas of high technology, alternative methods for the extraction of these elements have been developed. In this work, a process based on the use of ultrasound for the extraction of REE from carbonatite (an igneous rock) is proposed to avoid the use of concentrated reagents, high temperature and excessive extraction time. In this pioneer work for REE extraction from carbonatite rocks in a preliminary investigation, ultrasonic baths, cup horn systems or ultrasound probes operating at different frequencies and power were evaluated. In addition, the power released to the extraction medium and the ultrasound amplitude were also investigated and the temperature and carbonatite mass/volume of extraction solution ratio were optimized to 70 °C and 20 mg/mL, respectively. Better extraction efficiencies (82%) were obtained employing an ultrasound probe operating at 20 kHz for 15 min, ultrasound amplitude of 40% (692 W dm⁻³) and using a diluted extraction solution (3% v/v HNO₃ + 2% v/v HCl). It is important to mention that high extraction efficiency was obtained even using a diluted acid mixture and relatively low temperature in comparison to conventional extraction methods for REE. A comparison of results with those obtained by mechanical stirring (500 rpm) using the same conditions (time, temperature and extraction solution) was carried out, showing that the use of ultrasound increased the extraction efficiency up to 35%. Therefore, the proposed ultrasound-assisted procedure can be considered as a suitable alternative for high efficiency extraction of REE from carbonatite rocks.     

Effect of perspiration on skin temperature measurements by infrared thermography and contact thermometry during aerobic cycling

The aim of the present study was to compare infrared thermography and thermal contact sensors for measuring skin temperature during cycling in a moderate environment. Fourteen cyclists performed a 45-min cycling test at 50% of peak power output. Skin temperatures were simultaneously recorded by infrared thermography and thermal contact sensors before and immediately after cycling activity as well as after 10 min cooling-down, representing different skin wetness and blood perfusion states. Additionally, surface temperature during well controlled dry and wet heat exchange (avoiding thermoregulatory responses) using a hot plate system was assessed by infrared thermography and thermal contact sensors. In human trials, the inter-method correlation coefficient was high when measured before cycling (r = 0.92) whereas it was reduced immediately after the cycling (r = 0.82) and after the cooling-down phase (r = 0.59). Immediately after cycling, infrared thermography provided lower temperature values than thermal contact sensors whereas it presented higher temperatures after the cooling-down phase. Comparable results as in human trials were observed for hot plate tests in dry and wet states. Results support the application of infrared thermography for measuring skin temperature in exercise scenarios where perspiration does not form a water film.     

Ultrasound pressure distributions generated by high frequency transducers in large reactors

The performance of an ultrasound reactor chamber relies on the sound pressure level achieved throughout the system. The active volume of a high frequency ultrasound chamber can be determined by the sound pressure penetration and distribution provided by the transducers. This work evaluated the sound pressure levels and uniformity achieved in water by selected commercial scale high frequency plate transducers without and with reflector plates. Sound pressure produced by ultrasonic plate transducers vertically operating at frequencies of 400 kHz (120 W) and 2 MHz (128 W) was characterized with hydrophones in a 2 m long chamber and their effective operating distance across the chamber’s vertical cross section was determined. The 2 MHz transducer produced the highest pressure amplitude near the transducer surface, with a sharp decline of approximately 40% of the sound pressure occurring in the range between 55 and 155 mm from the transducer. The placement of a reflector plate 500 mm from the surface of the transducer was shown to improve the sound pressure uniformity of 2 MHz ultrasound. Ultrasound at 400 kHz was found to penetrate the fluid up to 2 m without significant losses. Furthermore, 400 kHz ultrasound generated a more uniform sound pressure distribution regardless of the presence or absence of a reflector plate. The choice of the transducer distance to the opposite reactor wall therefore depends on the transducer plate frequency selected. Based on pressure measurements in water, large scale 400 kHz reactor designs can consider larger transducer distance to opposite wall and larger active cross-section, and therefore can reach higher volumes than when using 2 MHz transducer plates.