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Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (SCO2) is considered as a potential working fluid in next generation power and energy systems. The SCO2 Brayton cycle is advantaged with higher cycle efficiency, smaller compression work, and more compact layout, as compared with traditional cycles. When the inlet total condition of the compressor approaches the critical point of the working fluid, the cycle efficiency is further enhanced. However, the flow acceleration near the impeller inducer causes the fluid to enter two-phase region, which may lead to additional aerodynamic losses and flow instability. In this study, a new impeller inlet design method is proposed to achieve a better balance among the cycle efficiency, compressor compactness, and inducer condensation. This approach couples a concept of the maximum swallowing capacity of real gas and a new principle for condensation design. Firstly, the mass flow function of real gas centrifugal compressors is analytically expressed by non-dimensional parameters. An optimal inlet flow angle is derived to achieve the maximum swallowing capacity under a certain inlet relative Mach number, which leads to the minimum energy loss and a more compact geometry for the compressor. Secondly, a new condensation design principle is developed by proposing a novel concept of the two-zone inlet total condition for SCO2 compressors. In this new principle, the acceptable acceleration margin (AAM) is derived as a criterion to limit the impeller inlet condensation. The present inlet design method is validated in the design and simulation of a low-flow-coefficient compressor stage based on the real gas model. The mechanisms of flow accelerations in the impeller inducer, which form low-pressure regions and further produce condensation, are analyzed and clarified under different operating conditions. It is found that the proposed method is efficient to limit the condensation in the impeller inducer, keep the compactness of the compressor, and maintain a high cycle efficiency.

In this article, a compound unit of swirl and impingement cooling techniques is designed to study the performance of flow and heat transfer using multi-conical nozzles in a leading-edge of a gas turbine blade. Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations and the Shear Stress Transport model are numerically solved under different nozzle Reynolds numbers and temperature ratios. Results indicated that the compound cooling unit could achieve a 99.7% increase in heat transfer enhancement by increasing the nozzle Reynolds number from 10,000 to 25,000 at a constant temperature ratio. Also, there is an 11% increase in the overall Nusselt number when the temperature ratio increases from 0.65 to 0.95 at identical nozzle Reynolds number. At 10,000 and 15,000 of nozzle Reynolds numbers, the compound cooling unit achieves 47.9% and 39.8% increases and 63.5% and 66.3% increases in the overall Nusselt number comparing with the available experimental swirl and impingement models, respectively. A correlation for the overall Nusselt number is derived as a function of nozzle Reynolds number and temperature ratio to optimize the results. The current study concluded that the extremely high zones and uniform distribution of heat transfer are perfectly achieved with regard to the characteristics of heat transfer of the compound cooling unit.

The influence of electromagnetic induction coil launcher (EICL) system parameters on the launch performance was analyzed, and a method for measuring the launch performance of an EICL system with a muzzle velocity and energy conversion efficiency was proposed. The EICL system mainly includes a pulse power supply and launcher. The parameters of the pulse power supply mainly include the discharge voltage and the capacitance value of the capacitor bank. The structural parameters of the launcher mainly include the bore size of the launcher, the air gap length between the armature and the drive coil, the length and width of the drive coil, and the trigger position of the armature. Change in single or multiple parameters in the launch system will influence the launch performance. The influence of single or multiple parameters on the launch performance was summarized, and the physical law as analyzed. The influence law of the EICL system parameters on the launch performance was obtained, which lays a theoretical foundation for the optimization design of EICL. Finally, experimental verification was carried out by a single-stage test platform.

Many studies have investigated resonator structures and winding methods. The aims of this paper are as follows. First, the paper proposes an optimized winding model for a bio-inspired joint for a wireless power transfer (WPT) system. The joint consists of a small spherical structure, which rotates inside a hemispherical structure. The transmitter coil (Tx) is wound on the hemisphere structure, and the receiver coil (Rx) is wound on the small sphere. The power is transferred while rotating Rx over a wide range of angular misalignment. In addition, the algorithm design of the proposed winding method is given to get an optimized model. Moreover, the circuit analysis of the WPT system is discussed. Second, the magnetic field density is investigated considering a safety issue, which is linked to human exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Moreover, EMF mitigation methods are proposed and discussed in detail. Finally, the simulation results are validated by experiments, which have confirmed that the proposed winding method allows the system to rotate up to 85 degrees and achieve an efficiency above 86%. The proposed winding method for the WPT system can be a good technique for some robotic applications or a future replacement of the human joint.

In this study, our aim was to explore the potential energy savings obtainable from the recycling of 1 tonne of Construction and Demolition Waste (C&DW) generated in the Metropolitan City of Naples. The main fraction composing the functional unit are mixed C&DW, soil and stones, concrete, iron, steel and aluminium. The results evidence that the recycling option for the C&DW is better than landfilling as well as that the production of recycled aggregates is environmentally sustainable since the induced energy and environmental impacts are lower than the avoided energy and environmental impacts in the life cycle of recycled aggregates. This LCA study shows that the transition to the Circular Economy offers many opportunities for improving the energy and environmental performances of the construction sector in the life cycle of construction materials by means of internal recycling strategies (recycling C&DW into recycled aggregates, recycled steel, iron and aluminum) as well as external recycling by using input of other sectors (agri-food by-products) for the manufacturing of construction materials. In this way, the C&D sector also contributes to realizing the energy and bioeconomy transition by disentangling itself from fossil fuel dependence.

It is commonly believed that matrix and natural fractures randomly distribute in carbonate gas reservoirs. In order to increase the effective connected area to the storage space as much as possible, highly deviated wells are widely used for development. Although there have been some studies on the composite model for highly deviated wells, they have not considered the effects of stress sensitivity and threshold pressure gradient in a dual-porosity gas reservoir. In this paper, a semi-analytical composite model for low permeability carbonate gas reservoir was established to study the effect of non-Darcy flow. By employing source function, Fourier transform and the perturbation method, the pressure performance and typical well test curves were obtained. Eight flow regimes were identified, and their characteristics were discussed. As a result, it can be concluded that the effects of stress sensitivity and threshold pressure gradient would make pseudo-pressure and derivative curves rise, which is the characteristic of non-Darcy flow to determine whether there is stress sensitivity or threshold pressure gradient.

The variability of ground thermal conductivity, based on underground conditions, is often ignored during the design of ground-source heat pump systems. This study shows a field evidence of such site-scale variations through thermal response tests in eight borehole heat exchangers aligned at a site on a terrace along the foothills of mountains in northern Japan. Conventional analysis of the overall ground thermal conductivity along the total installation length finds that the value at one borehole heat exchanger is 2.5 times that at the other seven boreholes. History matching analysis of underground distributed temperature measurements generates vertical partial ground thermal conductivity data for four depth layers. Based on the moving line heat source theory, the partial values are generally within a narrow range expected for gravel deposits. Darcy velocities of groundwater are estimated to be 74–204 m/y at the borehole with high conductivity, increasing in the shallow layers above a depth of 41 m. In contrast, the velocities at the other seven boreholes are one-to-two orders of magnitude smaller with no trend. These high and low velocity values are considered for the topography and permeability. However, the relatively slow groundwater velocities might not apparently increase the partial conductivity.

A SiC MOSFET is a suitable replacement for a Si MOSFET due to its lower on-state resistance, faster switching speed, and higher breakdown voltage. However, due to the parasitic parameters and the low damping in the circuit, the turn-on overcurrent and turn-off overvoltage of a SiC MOSFET become more severe as the switching speed increases. These effects limit higher frequency applications of SiC MOSFET. Based on the causes of overcurrent and overvoltage of SiC MOSFET, a novel gate driver with the variable driving voltage and variable gate resistance is proposed in this paper to suppress the overcurrent and overvoltage of SiC MOSFETs. The proposed gate driver can realize the variation in driving voltage and gate resistance during switching transitions. It not only suppresses the overcurrent and overvoltage of SiC MOSFETs, but also has little effect on switching loss. The working principle of the proposed gate driver is analyzed in this paper. Finally, experimental verification on a double-pulse test platform is performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed gate driver.