Heat transfer in pipes with twisted tapes: CFD simulations and validation

Inserts are placed inside heat exchangers to promote turbulence and maximize the heat transferred. Twisted tapes enhance heat transfer with minimal pressure drop increase for double pipe heat exchangers. Their design typically relied on experimental correlations, but nowadays CFD software is gaining interest. The choice of the turbulent model is of paramount importance and not addressed in the literature. This research aims to compare the combinations of k-ε, k-ω and RSM as well as their different wall treatments available in Ansys Fluent® and literature experimental data. Different twist ratios and Reynolds numbers are tested. Currently, no research is found in literature comparing different CFD methods for this type of units. The main objective of this research is to find the combination of RANS turbulent model and wall treatment that will most accurately reproduce the global values needed (Nusselt number and friction factor) when designing a heat exchanger with twisted tape inserts. Results show that the selection of the wall treatment is far more relevant than the turbulence model. Simulations have less discrepancy between themselves than the empirical correlations. Best performing models were k-ε Standard with ML wall treatment, which provided an average deviation from correlations ranging between 15 and 18%. K-ω SST models also provided accurate performance when estimating friction factor values with 17 to 20% deviation. Results provide clues for choosing a suitable turbulent model and are useful to minimize the error provided by the models

1-Butanol adsorption in poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) ion exchange resins for catalysis

The swelling behaviour of poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene), P(S-DVB), ion exchange resins in 1-butanol (BuOH) has been studied by means of atomistic classical molecular dynamics simulations (MD). The topological characteristics reported for the resin in the dry state, which exhibited complex internal loops (macropores), were considered for the starting models used to examine the swelling induced by BuOH contents ranging from 10% to 50% w/w. Experimental measurements using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer indicate that swelling causes a volume variation with respect to the dry resin of 21%. According to MD simulations, such a volume increment corresponds to a BuOH absorption of 31-32% w/w, which is in excellent agreement with the indirect experimental estimation (i.e. 31% w/w). Simulations reveal that, independently of the content of BuOH, the density of the swelled resin is higher than that of the dry resin, evidencing that the alcohol provokes important structural changes in the polymeric matrix. Thus, BuOH molecules cause a collapse of the resin macropores when the content of alcohol is ≤20% w/w. In contrast, when the concentration of BuOH is close to the experimental value (∼30% w/w), P(S-DVB) chains remain separated by pores faciliting the access of the reactants to the reaction centers. On the other hand, evaluation of both bonding and non-bonding interactions indicates that the mixing energy is the most important contribution to the absorption of BuOH into the P(S-DVB) resin. Overall, the results displayed in this work represent a starting point for the theoretical study of the catalytic conversion of BuOH into di-n-butyl ether in P(S-DVB) ion exchange resins using sophisticated electronic methods

Sensitive thermal transitions of nanoscale polymer samples using the bimetallic effect: Application to ultra-thin polythiophene

A sensitive nanocalorimetric technology based on microcantilever sensors is presented. The tech- nology, which combines very short response times with very small sample consumption, uses the bimetallic effect to detect thermal transitions. Specifically, abrupt variations in the Young’s modu- lus and the thermal expansion coefficient produced by temperature changes have been employed to detect thermodynamic transitions. The technology has been used to determine the glass transition of poly(3-thiophene methyl acetate), a soluble semiconducting polymer with different nanotechno- logical applications. The glass transition temperature determined using microcantilevers coated with ultra-thin films of mass = 10 − 13 gis5.2 ◦ C higher than that obtained using a conventional differential scanning calorimeter for bulk powder samples of mass = 5 × 10 − 3 g. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations on models that represent the bulk powder and the ultra-thin films have been carried out to provide understanding and rationalization of this feature. Simulations indicate that the film-air in- terface plays a crucial role in films with very small thickness, affecting both the organization of the molecular chains and the response of the molecules against the temperature.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

BioBlitz Serra Llarga-Secans de la Noguera 2021: desenvolupament i espècies presents

En aquest article es fa la descripció de la tasca duta a terme durant el BioBlitz Serra Llarga-Secans de la Noguera dels dies 21 i 22 de maig de 2021 i es presenta el llistat despècies observades amb lobjectiu de facilitar que aquestes observacions es puguin integrar en les bases de dades públiques de biodiversitat.This paper lists the work carried out during the BioBlitz Serra Llarga-Secans de la Noguera on 21-22 May 2021. We present the list of observed species with the aim of facilitating that these observation could be integrated into public biodiversity databases

Impact of a Primary Care Antimicrobial Stewardship Program on Bacterial Resistance Control and Ecological Imprint in Urinary Tract Infections

Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are a central component in reducing the overprescription of unnecessary antibiotics, with multiple studies showing benefits in the reduction of bacterial resistance. Less commonly, ASPs have been performed in outpatient settings, but there is a lack of available data in these settings. We implemented an ASP in a large regional outpatient setting to assess its feasibility and effectiveness. Over a 5-year post-implementation period, compared to the pre-intervention period, a significant reduction in antibiotic prescription occurred, with a reduction in resistance in E. coli urinary isolates. ASP activities also were found to be cost-effective, with a reduction in medication prescription

Comblike poly(a-alkyl g glutamate)s: computer simulation studies of an intermediate thermal phase.

Monte Carlo (MC) simulations have been used to study the structure of an intermediate thermal phase of poly(R-octadecyl ç,D-glutamate). This is a comblike poly(ç-peptide) able to adopt a biphasic structure that has been described as a layered arrangement of backbone helical rods immersed in a paraffinic pool of polymethylene side chains. Simulations were performed at two different temperatures (348 and 363 K), both of them above the melting point of the paraffinic phase, using the configurational bias MC algorithm. Results indicate that layers are constituted by a side-by-side packing of 17/5 helices. The organization of the interlayer paraffinic region is described in atomistic terms by examining the torsional angles and the end-to-end distances for the octadecyl side chains. Comparison with previously reported comblike poly(â-peptide)s revealed significant differences in the organization of the alkyl side chains

Reliability of the density functional approximation to describe the charge transfer of electrostatic complexes involved in the modeling of organic conducting polymers

Both the intermolecular interaction energies and the geometries for M ⋯ thiophene, M ⋯ pyrrole, M n + ⋯ thiophene, and M n + ⋯ pyrrole (with M = Li , Na, K, Ca, and Mg; and M n + = Li + , Na + , K + , Ca 2 + , and Mg 2 + ) have been estimated using four commonly used density functional theory (DFT) methods: B3LYP, B3PW91, PBE, and MPW1PW91. Results have been compared to those provided by HF, MP2, and MP4 conventional ab initio methods. The PBE and MPW1PW91 are the only DFT methods able to provide a reasonable description of the M ⋯ π complexes. Regarding M n + ⋯ π complexes, the four DFT methods have been proven to be adequate in the prediction of these electrostatically stabilized systems, even though they tend to overestimate the interaction energies