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Carbonate-based heterogeneous reacting systems are investigated for the applications of thermochemical carbon dioxide capture and energy storage. This paper aims to review recent progress in numerical modeling of thermal transport phenomena in such systems.

Calcium oxide looping is selected as the model carbonate-based reacting system. Numerical models coupling heat and mass transfer to chemical kinetics are reviewed for solar-driven calcium oxide looping on the sorbent particle, particle bed, and reactor levels.

At the sorbent particle level, a transient numerical model of heat and mass transfer coupled to chemical kinetics has been developed for a single particle undergoing cyclic calcination and carbonation driven by time-periodic boundary conditions. Modeling results show cycle times impact the maximum sorbent utilization and solar-to-chemical energy efficiency. At the reactor level, a model of heat and mass transfer coupled to chemical kinetics of calcination of a packed-bed reactor concept has been developed to estimate the reactor’s performance. The model was used to finalize reactor geometry by evaluating pressure drops, temperature distributions, and heat transfer in the reactor.

Successful solar thermochemical reactor designs maximize solar-to-chemical energy conversion by matching chemical kinetics to reactor heat and mass transfer processes. Modeling furthers the understanding of thermal transport phenomena and chemical kinetics interactions and guides the design of solar chemical reactors.

The purpose of this paper is to review the applications of the chemical reactor network (CRN) approach for modeling the combustion in gas turbine combustors and classify the CRN construction methods that have been frequently used by researchers.

This paper initiates with introducing the CRN approach as a practical tool for precisely predicting the species concentrations in the combustion process with lower computational costs. The structure of the CRN and its elements as the ideal reactors are reviewed in recent studies. Flow field modeling has been identified as the most important input for constructing the CRNs; thus, the flow field modeling methods have been extensively reviewed in previous studies. Network approach, component modeling approach and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), as the main flow field modeling methods, are investigated with a focus on the CRN applications. Then, the CRN construction approaches are reviewed and categorized based on extracting the flow field required data. Finally, the most used kinetics and CRN solvers are reviewed and reported in this paper.

It is concluded that the CRN approach can be a useful tool in the entire process of combustion chamber design. One-dimensional and quasi-dimensional methods of flow field modeling are used in the construction of the simple CRNs without detailed geometry data. This approach requires fewer requirements and is used in the initial combustor designing process. In recent years, using the CFD approach in the construction of CRNs has been increased. The flow field results of the CFD codes processed to create the homogeneous regions based on construction criteria. Over the past years, several practical algorithms have been proposed to automatically extract reactor networks from CFD results. These algorithms have been developed to identify homogeneous regions with a high resolution based on the splitting criteria.

This paper reviews the various flow modeling methods used in the construction of the CRNs, along with an overview of the studies carried out in this field. Also, the usual approaches for creating a CRN and the most significant achievements in this field are addressed in detail.

This study explores a reactor model designed to describe the decomposition, ignition and combustion of energetic materials in combination with real experimental data for these energetic materials. Spatial uniformity is initially assumed which reduces the system of partial‐differential‐equations to a system of ordinary‐differential‐equations that can be easily solved numerically. The phase‐plane is explicitly presented and examined to illustrate how chemistry and temperature evolve in time. The computations provide an understanding of the vast different timescales that exist and illustrate the singularity structure. Following this the effect of including this chemical regime in an environment typically induced by the combustion of these materials, that is within a compressible fluid flow, is pursued.

The paper presents a numerical technique for the simulation of the effects of grey‐diffusive surface radiation on fluid flow using a finite volume procedure for two‐dimensional (plane and axi‐symmetric) geometries. The governing equations are solved sequentially, and the non‐linearities and coupling of variables are accounted for through outer iterations (coefficients updates). In order to reduce the number of outer iterations, a multigrid algorithm was implemented. The radiating surface model assumes a non‐participating medium, semi‐transparent walls and constant elementary surface temperature and radiation fluxes. The calculation of view factors is based on the analytical evaluation for the plane geometry and numerical integration for axi‐symmetric geometry. Ashadowing algorithm was implemented for the calculation of view factors in general geometries. The method for the calculation of view factors was first tested by comparison with available analytical solutions for a complex geometric configuration. The flow prediction code combined with radiation heat transfer was verified by comparisons with analytical one‐dimensional solutions. Further test calculations were done for the flow and heat transfer in a cavity with a radiating submerged body. As an example of the capabilities of the method, transport processes in metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) reactors were simulated.

This paper aims to focus on the development of an optical concentration sensor designed for measuring the concentration of components in solutions.

The operating principle of the developed sensor is based on the Bouguer–Lambert–Beer law. An optical measuring system using fiber optical cables was used for the practical implementation of the concentration sensor.

As a result of fiber optical cable use in the concentration sensor, the remote measurement principle was implemented, ensuring the instrument’s reliability and the reduction of operating costs.

The advantage of the proposed measuring system is that the sensitive element is maintenance-free, does not require power supply and can operate under severe industrial conditions. Using a fiber optic cable to transmit a light signal allows placing the sensitive element at a distance of several tens of meters from the electronics unit (the smart part).

The purpose of this paper is to propose a new method for computing validities in the multimodel approach.

The multimodel approach offers an interesting alternative and a powerful tool to bypass the difficulties to model, control and diagnose a nonlinear and complex system. Its idea is defined as the apprehension of a nonlinear behaviour of a system by a set of local models characterizing the system operation in different operating zones. In spite of the success of its application in different fields, many problems related to the synthesis of multimodel approach remain open. These include, in particular, the method of obtaining the contribution degrees, also called validities, of the base-models for the deduction of the multimodel output.

The presented method may lead to superior results in comparison with the residue approach commonly used in the calculation of validities. Numerical simulation results and an experimental validation on a semi-batch reactor clearly illustrated the effectiveness of the proposed method and proved its impact on the improvement of the performances of the multimodel approach. Moreover, the multimodel approach using the new validities’ computation method can lead to perfect modelling of the process.

The proposed method discussed in the paper has the potential to make the multimodel approach more efficient in the modelling of complex real systems.

A significant contribution of the paper is the formulation of a new constrained optimization problem that can be solved by using a powerful mathematical tool such as the active set method, allowing to estimate the validity indexes in the multimodel approach. The obtained optimal solution can lead to perfect modelling of nonlinear and complex real systems.

In various kinds of materials processes, heat and mass transfer control in nuclear phenomena, constructing buildings, turbines and electronic circuits, etc., there are numerous problems that cannot be enlightened by uniform wall temperature. To explore such physical phenomena researchers incorporate non-uniform or ramped temperature conditions at the boundary, the purpose of this paper is to achieve the closed-form solution of a time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow with heat and mass transfer of an electrically conducting non-Newtonian Casson fluid toward an infinite vertical plate subject to the ramped temperature and concentration (RTC). The consequences of chemical reaction in the mass equation and thermal radiation in the energy equation are encompassed in this analysis. The flow regime manifests with pertinent physical impacts of the magnetic field, thermal radiation, chemical reaction and heat generation/absorption. A first-order chemical reaction that is proportional to the concentration itself directly is assumed. The Rosseland approximation is adopted to describe the radiative heat flux in the energy equation.

The problem is formulated in terms of partial differential equations with the appropriate physical initial and boundary conditions. To make the governing equations dimensionless, some suitable non-dimensional variables are introduced. The resulting non-dimensional equations are solved analytically by applying the Laplace transform method. The mathematical expressions for skin friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are calculated and expressed in closed form. Impacts of various associated physical parameters on the pertinent flow quantities, namely, velocity, temperature and concentration profiles, skin friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number, are demonstrated and analyzed via graphs and tables.

Graphical analysis reveals that the boundary layer flow and heat and mass transfer attributes are significantly varied for the embedded physical parameters in the case of constant temperature and concentration (CTC) as compared to RTC. It is worthy to note that the fluid velocity is high with CTC and lower for RTC. Also, the fluid velocity declines with the augmentation of the magnetic parameter. Moreover, growth in thermal radiation leads to a declination in the temperature profile.

The proposed model has relevance in numerous engineering and technical procedures including industries related to polymers, area of chemical productions, nuclear energy, electronics and aerodynamics. Encouraged by such applications, the present work is undertaken.

Literature review unveils that sundry studies have been carried out in the presence of uniform wall temperature. Few studies have been conducted by considering non-uniform or ramped wall temperature and concentration. The authors are focused on an analytical investigation of an unsteady MHD boundary layer flow with heat and mass transfer of non-Newtonian Casson fluid past a moving plate subject to the RTC at the plate. Based on the authors’ knowledge, the present study has, so far, not appeared in scientific communications. Obtained analytical solutions are verified by considering particular cases of the published works.

The analysis of fluid flow and thermal transport performance inside the cavity has found numerous applications in various engineering fields, such as nuclear reactors and solar collectors. Nowadays, researchers are concentrating on improving heat transfer by using ternary nanofluids. With this motivation, the present study analyzes the natural convective flow and heat transfer efficiency of ternary nanofluids in different types of porous square cavities.

The cavity inclination angle is fixed ω = 0 in case (I) and ω=π4 in case (II). The traditional fluid is water, and Fe3O4+MWCNT+Cu/H2O is treated as a working fluid. Ternary nanofluid's thermophysical properties are considered, according to the Tiwari–Das model. The marker-and-cell numerical scheme is adopted to solve the transformed dimensionless mathematical model with associated initial–boundary conditions.

The average heat transfer rate is computed for four combinations of ternary nanofluids: Fe3O4(25%)+MWCNT(25%)+Cu(50%),Fe3O4(50%)+MWCNT(25%)+Cu(25%),Fe3O4(33.3%)+MWCNT(33.3%)+Cu(33.3%) and Fe3O4(25%)+MWCNT(50%)+Cu(25%) under the influence of various physical factors such as volume fraction of nanoparticles, inclined magnetic field, cavity inclination angle, porous medium, internal heat generation/absorption and thermal radiation. The transport phenomena within the square cavity are graphically displayed via streamlines, isotherms, local and average Nusselt number profiles with adequate physical interpretations.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the ternary nanofluids may be used to achieve the high thermal transmission in nuclear power systems, generators and electronic device applications.

The current analysis is useful to improve the thermal features of nuclear reactors, solar collectors, energy storage and hybrid fuel cells.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research has been carried out related to the magneto-hydrodynamic natural convective Fe3O4+MWCNT+Cu/H2O ternary nanofluid flow and heat transmission filled in porous square cavities with an inclined cavity angle. The computational outcomes revealed that the average heat transfer depends not only on the nanoparticle’s volume concentration but also on the existence of heat source and sink.

New from Philips Thermocoax Division is a mineral insulated cable, Negacoax — an overheating and fire sensing device. Designed for the continuous detection, control and measurement of the highest temperature at any point along the cable. Negacoax offers the ability to monitor constantly the highest temperatures of a system over a period of time.

With the advent of new discoveries in material sciences, it may be possible, in the future, to construct extremely small robots. Explores the idea of employing an excitable medium in the form of a molecular array of sensors and actuators to provide the controller for a nano‐robot by exploiting decentralised computation.