Ammonia-water mixture property code (AWProC) development,verification and Kalina cycle design for nuclear power plant

The improvement of thermodynamic efficiency of power plants is of great interest for the whole energy industry. The use of Kalina cycle has a great potential to improve the thermal efficiency of a nuclear power plant. This cycle uses a mixture of ammonia and water as working fluid. In this paper, we discuss the development of an Ammonia-Water mixture Property Code (AWProC). The estimation of the mixture properties are based on the Gibbs free energy functions. The code is verified and validated against experimental data available in the literature and REFPROP code. It is shown that AWProC can accurately estimate the thermodynamic properties of ammonia-water mixtures over a wide range of conditions, including high temperature and pressure regions. The code is then used to investigate the feasibility of applying the Kalina cycle to a typical Pressurizer Water Reactor (PWR) plant as an effective way to improve the plant efficiency. The fundamental of Basic-Kalina (B-K) cycle is described in detail firstly. Then, two modified configurations, Recuperation-Kalina (R-K) and Flash-Kalina (F-K) cycles respectively, are proposed for a typical 1000 MWe PWR. The simulation results indicate that the R-K type cycle can reach about 31.2% efficiency with simple equipment requirements, while the F-K type cycle can reach efficiencies up to about 34.8%, but at the expenses of a slightly more complex design. The present work demonstrates the applicability of the Kalina cycle as a way to improve the thermal efficiency of a nuclear power plant. This concept is meaningful for improving nuclear power plants economic and competitiveness.     

Wide color-range tunable and low roll-off fluorescent organic light emitting devices based on double undoped ultrathin emitters

We demonstrated a novel wide color-range tunable, highly efficient and low efficiency roll-off fluorescent organic light-emitting diode (OLED) using two undoped ultrathin emitters having complementary colors and an interlayer between them. The OLED can be tuned to emit sky blue (0.22, 0.30), cold white (0.29, 0.33), warm white (0.43, 0.42) and yellow (0.40, 0.45) according to the Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage (CIE) 1931 (x, y) chromaticity diagram. The device fabrication was simplified by eliminating doping process in the emission layers. The influence of interlayer thickness on luminous efficiency, efficiency roll-off and color tuning mechanism is thoroughly studied. The recombination zone is greatly broadened in the optimized device, which contributes to stable energy transfer to both emitters and suppressed concentration quenching. With a threshold voltage of 2.82 V, the color tunable organic light emitting diode (CT-OLED) shows a maximum luminance of 39,810 cd/m², a peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) 6% and the efficiency roll-off as low as 11.1% at the luminance from 500 cd/m² to 5000 cd/m². This structure of CT-OLED has great advantages of easy fabrication and low reagent consumption. The fabricated CT-OLEDs are tunable from cold white (0.30, 0.36) to warm white (0.43, 0.42) with correlated color temperature (CCT) 6932 K and 3072 K, respectively, demonstrating that our proposed approach helps to meet the need for lighting with various CCTs.     

Suppression of efficiency roll-off in TADF-OLEDs using Ag-island nanostructures with localized surface plasmon resonance effect

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) have emerged as promising alternatives to phosphorescent OLEDs for harvesting both singlet and triplet excitons. However, the development of TADF-OLEDs meets a thorny problem of serious efficiency roll-off at high luminance. Here, we demonstrate an approach to suppress the efficiency roll-off characteristics in TADF-OLEDs by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of easy-fabricated Ag-island nanostructures. Compared with the common TADF-OLEDs at a high current density of 100 mA cm⁻², the efficiency roll-off ratio of the TADF-OLEDs with Ag-island nanostructures decreases from 49.75% to 35.76% significantly, and the maximum current efficiency is increased by 10.5%. The performance enhancement is mainly attributed to the coupling between excitons and localized surface plasmons (LSPs), which could alter the excited state kinetic characteristics of TADF molecules.     

Periodic nano/micro-hole array silicon solar cell

In this study, we applied a metal catalyst etching method to fabricate a nano/microhole array on a Si substrate for application in solar cells. In addition, the surface of an undesigned area was etched because of the attachment of metal nanoparticles that is dissociated in a solution. The nano/microhole array exhibited low specular reflectance (<1%) without antireflection coating because of its rough surface. The solar spectrum related total reflection was approximately 9%. A fabricated solar cell with a 40-μm hole spacing exhibited an efficiency of 9.02%. Comparing to the solar cell made by polished Si, the external quantum efficiency for solar cell with 30 s etching time was increased by 16.7%.     

Carbon/carbon nanocomposites as counter electrodes for platinum free dye-sensitized solar cells

In this work, carbonaceous materials and their combinations with each other were used as counter electrodes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). A small amount of TiO₂ paste was also incorporated in each electrocatalyst to increase the adhesion between the carbon material and the conductive glass substrate. The dispersion of carbonaceous materials in composite films was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrocatalytic characteristics of carbon/carbon catalysts are systematically investigated by electrochemical techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Solar cells assembled with carbon/carbon composite counter electrodes were characterized by photocurrent–voltage characteristic and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The results indicate that under optimal conditions, the solar cell assembled with carbon/carbon composite counter electrode containing activated carbon, multi-walled carbon nanotube and graphene, shows power conversion efficiency of 10.73%. This photovoltaic performance is comparable with 11.20% for the platinum-based dye-sensitized solar cell. The results exhibit that carbonaceous material is an encouraging alternative for low-cost DSSCs.     

A new solar based multigeneration system with hot and cold thermal storages and hydrogen production

A multigeneration system based on solar thermal energy associated with hot and cold thermal storage is designed and analyzed energetically and exergetically. The system produces electricity, a heating effect, a cooling effect, hydrogen, and dry sawdust biomass as outputs by means of organic Rankine cycles, a heat pump, two absorption chillers, an electrolyser, and a belt dryer. The intermittent behavior of the renewable energy source is addressed through the incorporation of hot and cold thermal storage systems to operate an organic Rankine cycle and provide cooling at night. The performance assessment indicates that the overall (day and night) energy and exergy efficiencies are 20.7% and 13.7%, respectively. The majority of the total exergy destruction is attributable to the sawdust belt dryer, at about 64.0%.     

京沪高速铁路上海虹桥站新建站房设计

京沪高速铁路上海虹桥站位于上海虹桥交通枢纽,与机场、磁浮、地铁以及其他公共交通设施紧密结合,形成先进高效的交通换乘系统。设计采用多层面、多角度进出站的新型站型,使旅客得以通过最短的行走线路、最直接的方式进出站及换乘,且能够快速分流疏散。设计通过节约城市用地、充分利用自然采光通风等方式,并采用大面积太阳能光伏板发电系统、光导照明、热回收利用等绿色技术,尽可能实现节能。     

基于物联网的锅炉能效测试集成系统的研发

基研发了一种基于物联网的锅炉能效测试集成系统。该系统以物联网为网络技术架构、以Zigbee为无线通讯技术，高度集成化测试设备，完全实现了现场测试数据自动采集、无线传输、记录和处理等功能，可现场出具测试报告等功能，可极大地减少测试人员的劳动强度，提高工业锅炉能效测试的科学性和可信度。     

Efficiency analysis of information technology and online social networks management: An integrated DEA-model assessment

This paper analyses the relationship between productive efficiency and online-social-networks (OSN) in Spanish telecommunications firms. A data-envelopment-analysis (DEA) is used and several indicators of business “social Media” activities are incorporated. A super-efficiency analysis and bootstrapping techniques are performed to increase the model's robustness and accuracy. Then, a logistic regression model is applied to characterise factors and drivers of good performance in OSN. Results reveal the company's ability to absorb and utilise OSNs as a key factor in improving the productive efficiency. This paper presents a model for assessing the strategic performance of the presence and activity in OSN.     

Dynamic modelling of a two-phase thermofluidic oscillator for efficient low grade heat utilization: Effect of fluid inertia

In this paper, a promising heat engine technology capable of utilizing low grade heat is examined. Based on a two-phase thermofluidic oscillator concept, the novelty and advantage of this particular system lie in its use of phase change and its lack of reliance on inertia to sustain oscillations, though it is recognized that inertia will always be present in any physical manifestation of the engine. The system is analysed using lumped linearized one-dimensional network models, both with and without inertia, based on thermoacoustic principles and extending these to account for phase change. The gain (temperature difference between source and sink heat exchangers) and frequency at which marginal stability (desirable continuous oscillations) can be achieved is calculated. The effects of the load resistance (fluid drag) and fluid inertia, as well as of the flow resistance due the feedback valve on the marginal stability gain, frequency and exergetic efficiency of the system are investigated. It is found that an increase in feedback resistance leads to a need for a higher gain for oscillatory behaviour to be achieved. In addition, even though an increase in either the resistance or inertia in the load, or the feedback resistance at low values of these variables has almost no effect on the required gain and the oscillation frequency of the system, an increase in these variables can lead at higher values to increased gains and reduced frequencies. A reduced feedback resistance and greater load inertia can also lead to considerably higher efficiencies, while increasing the load resistance allows for an increase in efficiency until a maximum is reached, after which the efficiency decreases again. The validity of certain approximations made previously is considered, and it is shown that these must be made with care. The results from this study can be used for the improved design and optimization of such oscillators, and similar systems.