Hybrid thermal management of lithium-ion batteries using nanofluid,metal foam,and phase change material: an integrated numerical–experimental approach

Safety issues of Li-ion batteries imposed by unfavorable thermal behavior accentuate the need for efficient thermal management systems to prevent the runaway conditions. To that end, a hybrid thermal management system is designed and further investigated numerically and experimentally in the present study. The passive cooling system is fabricated by saturating copper foam with paraffin as the phase change material (PCM) and integrated with an active cooling system with alumina nanofluid as the coolant fluid. Results for various Reynolds numbers and different heating powers indicate that the hybrid nanofluid cooling system can successfully fulfill safe operation of the battery during stressful operating conditions. The maximum time in which all PCM field is changed to the liquid phase is defined as the onset of the stressful conditions. Therefore, the start time of stressful conditions at 41 W and Re 420 is increased from 3700 s with nanofluid composed of 1% volume fraction nanoparticles (VF-1%) to 4600 s with nanofluid VF-2% during high current discharge rates. Nanofluid cooling extends the operating time of the battery in comparison with the water-based cooling system with 200-s (nanofluid with volume fraction of 1%) and 900-s (nanofluid with volume fraction of 2%) increases in operating time at Reynolds of 420. Using nanofluid, instead of water, postpones the onset of paraffin phase transition effectively and prolongs its melting time which consequently leads to a decrease in the rate of temperature rise.

     

Crystal Growth in Gels at Elevated Pressures: The Upper Limit of Temperature for Metastable Formation of Aragonite

Both rapid precipitation and diffusion controlled gel growth were applied to crystallize calcium carbonate at temperatures in the range of 100 °C to 270 °C. The amount of aragonite was determined by means of X-ray diffraction data. The morphology of the aragonite crystals are described. Metastable formation of aragonite was observed only at temperatures below 270 °C.     

The inhibitory effect of dissolved carbaryl in dioxane on physically adsorbed acetylcholinesterase

Acetylcholinesterase was immobilized by means of physical adsorption. The aim of this work is to describe the kinetic characterization of the immobilized acetylcholinesterase. Here we report the effects of immobilization, carbaryl and its solvent dioxane on the kinetic properties of acetylcholinesterase. The immobilized product has significant storage stability. Dioxane could decrease the acetylcholinesterase activity and increase the inhibitory effect of carbaryl. Immobilization could change acetylcholinesterase activity cooperatively. The inhibitory mechanism is hyperbolic noncompetitive. Carbaryl and dioxane could eliminate the substrate inhibition by a competitive mechanism and by changing the native conformation of acetylcholinesterase.     

Fragmentation energetics of the phenol(+)···Ar(3) cation cluster

The various dissociation thresholds of phenol(+)···Ar(3) complexes for the consecutive loss of all three Ar ligands were measured in a molecular beam using resonant photoionization efficiency and mass analyzed threshold ionization spectroscopy via excitation of the first excited singlet state (S(1)). The adiabatic ionization energy is derived as 68077 ± 15 cm(-1). The analysis of the dissociation thresholds demonstrate that all three Ar ligands in the neutral phenol···Ar(3) tetramer are attached to the aromatic ring via π-bonding, denoted phenol···Ar(3)(3π). The value of the dissociation threshold for the loss of one Ar ligand from phenol(+)···Ar(3)(3π), ～190 cm(-1), is significantly lower than the binding energy measured for the π-bonded Ar ligand in the phenol(+)···Ar(π) dimer, D(0) = 535 ± 3 cm(-1). This difference is rationalized by an ionization-induced π → H isomerization process occurring prior to dissociation, that is, one Ar atom in phenol(+)···Ar(3)(3π) moves to the OH binding site, leading to a structure with one H-bonded and 2 π-bonded ligands, denoted phenol(+)···Ar(3)(H/2π). The dissociation thresholds for the loss of two and three Ar atoms are also reported as 860 and 1730 cm(-1). From these values, the binding energy of the H-bound Ar atom can be estimated as 870 cm(-1).     

Vapor-Phase Alkylation of Phenol with Tert-butyl Alcohol Catalyzed by H3PO4/MCM-41

 The catalytic performance of Al-MCM-41 containing 5?5 wt% H3PO4 was studied for the vapor phase alkylation of phenol with tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) from 383 to 493 K. 4-Tert-butyl phenol was produced as the main product with moderate selectivity. The product distribution depends on the reaction temperature, number of acid sites, and the Br鰊sted to Lewis sites ratios. A lower molar ratio of reactants (TBA/phenol = 2) and a higher space velocity facilitated the production of 4-tert-butyl phenol. The influence of various parameters such as temperature, reactant feed molar ratio, feed rate, and time on stream were investigated for conversion yield and product selectivity.     

Surface-induced phase transformations: multiple scale and mechanics effects and morphological transitions

Strong, surprising, and multifaceted effects of the width of the external surface layer Δ(ξ) and internal stresses on surface-induced pretransformation and phase transformations (PTs) are revealed. Using our further developed phase-field approach, we found that above some critical Δ(ξ)(*), a morphological transition from fully transformed layer to lack of surface pretransformation occurs for any transformation strain ε(t). It corresponds to a sharp transition to the universal (independent of ε(t)), strongly increasing the master relationship of the critical thermodynamic driving force for PT X(c) on Δ(ξ). For large ε(t), with increasing Δ(ξ), X(c) unexpectedly decreases, oscillates, and then becomes independent of ε(t). Oscillations are caused by morphological transitions of fully transformed surface nanostructure. A similar approach can be developed for internal surfaces (grain boundaries) and for various types of PTs and chemical reactions.     

Isothermal differential scanning calorimetry study of a glass/epoxy prepreg

Isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to study the curing behavior of epoxy prepreg Hexply®1454 system, based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DEGBA)/dicyandiamid (DICY) reinforced by glass fiber. Cure kinetics of an autocatalytic‐type reaction were analyzed by general form of conversion‐dependent function. The characteristic feature of conversion‐dependent function was determined using a reduced‐plot method where the temperature‐dependent reaction rate constant was analytically separated from the isothermal data. An autocatalytic kinetic model was used; it can predict the overall kinetic behavior in the whole studied cure temperature range (115–130°C). The activation energy and pre‐exponential factor were determined as: E = 94.8 kJ/mol and A = 1.75 × 10¹⁰ sec^?1 and reaction order as 2.11 (m + n = 0.65 + 1.46 = 2.11). A kinetic model based on these values was developed by which the prediction is in good agreement with experimental values. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of CO2 transport through hollow-fiber membranes

Chemical absorption of carbon dioxide was studied theoretically using hollow-fiber membrane contactors in this work. A 2D mathematical model was developed to study CO₂ transport through hollow-fiber membrane contactors. The model considers axial and radial diffusion in the membrane contactor. It also considers convection in the tube and shell side with chemical reaction. The finite element method (FEM) was used to solve the model equations. Modeling predictions were validated with the experimental data obtained from literature for CO₂ absorption in amine aqueous solutions as solvent. The modeling predictions were in good agreement with the experimental data for different values of gas and liquid velocities. The liquid solvents considered for this study include aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA), 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) and potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃). The simulation results indicated that amine aqueous solutions were better than K₂CO₃ aqueous solution for CO₂ absorption. Also simulation results revealed that the removal of CO₂ with aqueous solution of MEA was the highest among the amines solvents. The hollow-fiber membrane contactors showed a great potential in the area of CO₂ absorption.     

Newtonian and Shear-thinning Taylor flow heat transfer in wavy micro-tubes: a numerical study

Meccanica - In the present study, the two-phase gas–liquid convective heat transfer is numerically studied inside uniformly heated wavy micro-tubes in the Taylor flow regime. Both Newtonian...