Thermal characteristics of turbulent nanofluid flow in a rectangular pipe have been investigated numerically. The continuity, momentum, and energy equations were solved by means of a finite volume method (FVM). The symmetrical rectangular channel is heated at the top and bottom at a constant heat flux while the sides walls are insulated. Four different types of nanoparticles Al2O3, ZnO, CuO, and SiO2 at different volume fractions of nanofluids in the range of 1% to 5% are considered in the present investigation. In this paper, effect of different Reynolds numbers in the range of 5000 < Re < 25000 on heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids flowing through the channel is investigated. The numerical results indicate that SiO2-water has the highest Nusselt number compared to other nanofluids while it has the lowest heat transfer coefficient due to low thermal conductivity. The Nusselt number increases with the increase of the Reynolds number and the volume fraction of nanoparticles. The results of simulation show a good agreement with the existing experimental correlations.
In this study an expression for soot absorption coefficient is introduced to extend the weighted-sum-of-gray gases data to the furnace medium containing gas-soot mixture in a utility boiler 150 MWe. Heat transfer and temperature distribution of walls and within the furnace space are predicted by zone method technique. Analyses have been done considering both cases of presence and absence of soot particles at 100% load. To validate the proposed soot absorption coefficient, the expression is coupled with the Taylor and Foster's data as well as Truelove's data for CO2-H2O mixture and the total emissivities are calculated and compared with the Truelove's parameters for 3-term and 4-term gray gases plus two soot absorption coefficients. In addition, some experiments were conducted at 100% and 75% loads to measure furnace exit gas temperature as well as the rate of steam production. The predicted results show good agreement with the measured data at the power plant site.
The requirement for high quality pulps which are widely used in paper industries has increased the demand for pulp refining (beating) process. Pulp refining is a promising approach to improve the pulp quality by changing the fiber characteristics. The diversity of research on the effect of refining on fiber properties which is due to the different pulp sources, pulp consistency and refining equipment has interested us to provide a review on the studies over the last decade. In this article, the influence of pulp refining on structural properties i.e., fibrillations, fine formation, fiber length, fiber curl, crystallinity and distribution of surface chemical compositions is reviewed. The effect of pulp refining on electrokinetic properties of fiber e.g., surface and total charges of pulps is discussed. In addition, an overview of different refining theories, refiners as well as some tests for assessing the pulp refining is presented.
An experimental as well as numerical investigation was conducted on the melting/solidification processes of a stationary phase change material (PCM) in a shell around a finned-tube heat exchanger system. The PCM was stored in the horizontal annular space between a shell and finned-tube where distilled water was employed as the heat transfer fluid (HTF). The focus of this study was on the behavior of PCM for storage (charging or melting) and removal (discharging or solidification), as well as the effect of flow rate on the charged and discharged solar thermal energy. The impact of the Reynolds number was determined and the results were compared with each other to reveal the changes in amount of stored thermal energy with the variation of heat transfer fluid flow rates. The results showed that, by increasing the Reynolds number from 1000 to 2000, the total melting time decreases by 58%. The process of solidification also will speed up with increasing Reynolds number in the discharging process. The results also indicated that the fluctuation of gradient temperature decreased and became smooth with increasing Reynolds number. As a result, by increasing the Reynolds number in the charging process, the theoretical efficiency rises.
Since most starting materials for tissue engineering are in powder form, using powder-based additive manufacturing methods is attractive and practical. The principal point of employing additive manufacturing (AM) systems is to fabricate parts with arbitrary geometrical complexity with relatively minimal tooling cost and time. Selective laser sintering (SLS) and inkjet 3D printing (3DP) are two powerful and versatile AM techniques which are applicable to powder-based material systems. Hence, the latest state of knowledge available on the use of AM powder-based techniques in tissue engineering and their effect on mechanical and biological properties of fabricated tissues and scaffolds must be updated. Determining the effective setup of parameters, developing improved biocompatible/bioactive materials, and improving the mechanical/biological properties of laser sintered and 3D printed tissues are the three main concerns which have been investigated in this article.
Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) a nature-based material, has gained significant attentions for its unique properties. The present study aims to investigate the flow behavior of cellulosic suspension containing non-wood pulp fibers and NCC, by means of rheological and pressure drop measurements. The NCC sample was prepared by sulfuric acid hydrolysis from Acacia mangium fibers. The rheological properties of kenaf/NCC suspensions were studied using viscosity and yield stress measurements. The pressure drop properties of the suspension flow were studied with respect to variation in flow velocity (0.4 m/s-3.6 m/s) and the NCC concentration (70 mg/l and 150 mg/l). The pressure drop results showed that the pulp suspension containing 150 mg/l NCC had higher drag reduction than kenaf suspension alone. The present insights into the flow of pulp/NCC suspension provide a new data and promote the application of NCC in industries.