Experimental investigation of a solar water distillation-cum-drying unit

In this communication, a new design of solar-energy-based water distillation cum drying unit with parabolic reflector has been designed, fabricated, and tested. Bitter gourd and potato slices are chosen as a drying commodity. Thermal performance of the developed system has been evaluated based on the experimental results and using linear regression analysis. Heat transfer coefficients (convective, evaporative, and radiative) for solar distillation system have been observed to be 2.48–4.09, 13.25–52.38, and 8.75–9.66 W/m²°C, respectively. Overall thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency for the distillation system has been found to be 18.77% and 1.2%, respectively. The convective heat transfer coefficient for potato slices are observed higher for initial hours and decreases as the day progresses. The average convective heat transfer coefficients for bitter gourd and potato slices have been observed as 2.18 and 5.04 W/m²°C, respectively. Experimental error in terms of percent uncertainty for bitter gourd and potato slices are found to be 42.93% and 37.06%, respectively. The present design of solar distillation and drying in a single unit could be beneficial for the development of remote, arid, and rural areas.     

Experimental investigation of a 250-kW turbine organic Rankine cycle system for low-grade waste heat recovery

An organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is generally used for converting low-grade heat into electricity. In this study, an extensive literature survey was conducted to identify current research gaps on experimental ORC systems. Specifically, there is limited experimental data and limited details on thermal and expander efficiencies of ORC systems. In order to address these gaps, the objective of this study included developing a turbine ORC with a power output exceeding 50 kW and thermal efficiency exceeding 8% for a heat source temperature < 120°C. The experimental results indicated that the system achieved a net power output of 242.5 kW and a thermal efficiency of 8.3% (the highest value for a turbine ORC system for the heat source temperature below 120°C). Thus, the study addressed the gaps identified in the research area of ORCs.     

Comparative study on performances of a heat-pipe PV/T system and a heat-pipe solar water heating system

The heat-pipe solar water heating (HP-SWH) system and the heat-pipe photovoltaic/thermal (HP-PV/T) system are two practical solar systems, both of which use heat pipes to transfer heat. By selecting appropriate working fluid of the heat-pipes, these systems can be used in the cold region without being frozen. However, performances of these two solar systems are different because the HP-PV/T system can simultaneously provide electricity and heat, whereas the HP-SWH system provides heat only. In order to understand these two systems, this work presents a mathematical model for each system to study their one-day and annual performances. One-day simulation results showed that the HP-SWH system obtained more thermal energy and total energy than the HP-PV/T system while the HP-PV/T system achieved higher exergy efficiency than the HP-SWH system. Annual simulation results indicated that the HP-SWH system can heat the water to the available temperature (45°C) solely by solar energy for more than 121 days per year in typical climate regions of China, Hong Kong, Lhasa, and Beijing, while the HP-PV/T system can only work for not more than 102 days. The HP-PV/T system, however, can provide an additional electricity output of 73.019 kWh/m², 129.472 kWh/m², and 90.309 kWh/m² per unit collector area in the three regions, respectively.     

A real-time simulating non-isothermal mathematical model for the passive feed direct methanol fuel cell

In order to understand the complex transport phenomena in a passive direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), a theoretical model is essential. The analytical model provides a computationally efficient framework with a clear physical meaning. For this, a non-isothermal, analytical model for the passive DMFC has been developed in this study. The model considers the coupled heat and mass transport along with electrochemical reactions. The model is successfully validated with the experimental data. The model accurately describes the various species transport phenomena including methanol crossover and water crossover, heat transport phenomena, and efficiencies related to the passive DMFC. It suggests that the maximum real efficiency can be achieved by running the cell at low methanol feed concentration and moderate current density. The model also accurately predicts the effect of various operating and geometrical parameters on the cell performance such as methanol feed concentration, surrounding temperature, and polymer electrolyte membrane thickness. The model predictions are in accordance with the findings of the other researchers. The model is rapidly implementable and can be used in real-time simulation and control of the passive DMFC. This comprehensive model can be used for diagnostic purpose as well.     

近60a长三角地区极端高温事件变化特征及其对城市化的响应

基于长三角地区1951~2014年56个国家级气象站点逐日气温记录资料,通过计算极端高温事件相关指标(极端最高温TXx,极端最低温TNn,高温日数Htd和低温日数Ltd),利用GIS空间分析技术和Mann-Kendall时间趋势分析方法分析了长三角地区近60 a极端高温事件的空间分异特征和时间变化趋势,并探讨了城市化发展对区域极端高温事件时空变异的影响。结果表明:(1)长三角地区极端高温事件指标均表现为一定的上升趋势,极端低温指标(TNn和Ltd)线性变化趋势比极端高温指标(TXx和Htd)更为显著,变化趋势最显著的地区集中在经济和城市化水平较高的城市及周边地区(如上海、杭州等)。(2)极端高温指标(TXx和Htd)多年平均总体表现为南高北低,西高东低的趋势,而极端低温指标中TNn多年平均为由中部向南北两侧降低,Ltd多年平均呈现自中部向南北南侧增多的趋势。(3)从1990~2000到2000~2010年,城市化对极端高温事件的影响增强,快速城市化对北部城市极端高温事件的影响高于南部城市。     

近10 a武汉市城市热岛效应演变及其#br# 与土地利用变化的关系

城市化进程的加快，农村人口大量涌入城市，城市布局及局部气候改变等因素使得城市热岛效应问题日益突出，已成为当前城市环境研究热点之一。以武汉市为例，应用遥感技术与地理信息系统技术，选取2004~2015年5个时相Landsat系列影像数据，利用单窗算法反演地表温度，并以此为基础进行热岛强度分级，获取了近10 a武汉市城市热岛效应变化结果，并分析了武汉市11个辖区城市热岛效应动态变化特征及热岛效应与土地利用变化的关系。研究结果表明：（1）自2007年后，武汉市老城区热岛面积持续减少，而新城区热岛面积则持续增加，呈现出以老城区为中心向新城区扩张的趋势，至2015年，新老城区热岛面积仅相差20.74 km2；（2）东西湖区、蔡甸区、江夏区与洪山区是近些年城市热岛面积增长较为显著的辖区，其中江夏区的热岛面积年际变化最大，最高值达95.42 km2；（3）城市热岛效应与土地利用类型的面积年际平均值拟合关系显示，2004~2015年，城市热岛效应与建筑用地的R2值最大，为0.681 2，建筑用地面积的增加是城市热岛强度面积扩张的重要影响因素。     

2,2'',4,4''-四溴联苯醚对赤子爱胜蚓的抗氧化酶、代谢酶及其基因表达的影响

多溴联苯醚(PBDEs)是广泛存在于环境中的一种新型持久性有机污染物.四溴联苯醚同分异构体中的BDE-47是多溴联苯醚中最重要的单体之一.试验采用人工土壤培养法,通过亚急性试验,研究了在不同暴露时间阶段下,不同BDE-47剂量对赤子爱胜蚓(Eisenia fetida)抗氧化酶(过氧化氢酶CAT)、代谢酶(谷胱甘肽转移酶GST)以及二者基因表达的影响.结果表明,在暴露14 d和28 d时,CAT活性被诱导上升并且差异显著;GST活性变化差异不显著;CAT基因表达水平在第14 d时呈现抑制效应,在后续的第28 d和第42 d基因表达水平上调;GST基因表达水平整体呈现诱导效应,并且差异显著,随着暴露时间的增加,低毒处理组(10、50 mg·kg-1)的基因表达水平逐渐下调至低于对照组的水平,高毒处理组(100、200 mg·kg-1)的基因表达量仍高于对照组水平;在BDE-47的暴露试验中,CAT与GST活性及其基因表达水平两项指标对低毒处理组较高毒处理组更为敏感.     

Molecular characterization and developmental expression patterns of thyroid hormone receptors (TRs) and their responsiveness to TR agonist and antagonist in Rana nigromaculata

Considering some advantages of Rana nigromaculata as an experimental species, we propose that this species, like Xenopus laevis, could be used to assay thyroid hormone（TH） signaling disrupting actions. To validate the utilizability of R. nigromaculata, we investigated the responsiveness of R. nigromaculata to a TH receptor（TR） agonist（T3） and antagonist（amiodarone） by analyzing expression, based on characterizing TR cDNA and developmental expression patterns. With high levels of identity with the corresponding genes in X. laevis, both TRα and TRβ in R. nigromaculata exhibited roughly similar developmental expression patterns to those of X. laevis, in spite of some species-specific differences. Both TRα and TRβ expression had greater changes in the liver and intestine than in the tail and brain during metamorphosis. T3 exposure for 2 days induced more dramatic increases of TRβ expression in stage 27 than in stage34 tadpoles but not in stage 42 tadpoles, showing that the responsiveness of R. nigromaculata to TH decreased with development and disappeared at the onset of metamorphic climax.Corresponding to greater changes of TRβ expression in the liver and intestine than in the tail and brain during metamorphosis, the liver and intestine had higher responsiveness to exogenous T3 than the tail and brain. Amiodarone inhibited T3-induced TRβ expression. Our results show that R. nigromaculata can be used as a model species for assaying TH signaling disrupting actions by analyzing TRβ expression, and intestine tissues at stage 27 are ideal test materials due to high responsiveness and easy accessibility.     

Microstructure of 2205 duplex stainless steel joint in submerged arc welding by post weld heat treatment

The 2205 duplex stainless steel (DSS) is of both good properties austenitic steel and ferritic steel, which applies to the shipbuilding industry usually. In this paper, the OM, XRD and microhardness test methods are used to analyze the variation of submerged arc welded (SAW) joints with and without post weld heat treatment (PWHT). The research results show that the σ phase disappear in the fusion edge zone near heat affect zone (HAZ) and an increase in the welded center zone during the follow-up PWHT, while the amount of γ phase is decreased in the welded center zone with PWHT. A segregation distribution of some second phases is also found in the welded center zone after PWHT. There have two pick values of microhardness arise in the fusion edge zone and the welded center zone separately without PWHT. However, a maximum value of microhardness at the fusion edge zone near HAZ is disappeared and the other is still held at the welded center zone during PWHT. It can be attributed to the changes of second phases, element diffusions and particle segregation during PWHT. A developing mechanism is issued to demonstrate the second phases transferring of the 2205 DSS SAW joints by PWHT.     

Improvement of welding heat source models for TIG-MIG hybrid welding process

Tungsten inert gas-metal inert gas (TIG-MIG) hybrid welding process is an effective way to improve welding productivity and quality due to advantages of the two processes. Mathematical analysis is crucial to fundamentally understand this synergetic welding process. In this study, based on experimental visualization of arc behaviors, some assumptions are proposed to deduce adaptive plane and volumetric heat source models separately for each involved welding method first. The influence of torch angles on distribution of temperature and geometry of weld bead are calculated and compared with experimental results. It shows that this developed algorithm of heat source can be employed to accurately predict welding process whether the electrode gun is slanted backward or forward to the direction of welding. Then TIG-MIG hybrid welding process is simulated and analyzed without considering the attractive or repulsive force of two arcs. The characteristic of TIG-MIG welding process is discussed compared to single MIG. It lays the foundation for the further research on the interaction of the two arcs during TIG-MIG hybrid welding.