Assessing the effects of technological progress on energy efficiency in the construction industry: A case of China

Energy-saving technologies in buildings have received great attention from energy efficiency researchers in the construction sector. Traditional research tends to focus on the energy used during building operation and in construction materials production, but it usually neglects the energy consumed in the building construction process. Very few studies have explored the impacts of technological progress on energy efficiency in the construction industry. This paper presents a model of the building construction process based on Cobb-Douglas production function. The model estimates the effects of technological progress on energy efficiency with the objective to examine the role that technological progress plays in energy savings in China's construction industry. The modeling results indicated that technological progress improved energy efficiency by an average of 7.1% per year from 1997 to 2014. Furthermore, three main technological progress factors (the efficiency of machinery and equipment, the proportion change of the energy structure, and research and development investment) were selected to analyze their effects on energy efficiency improvement. These positive effects were verified, and results show the effects of first two factors are significant. Finally, recommendations for promoting energy efficiency in the construction industry are proposed

Corrections to the thermodynamics of Schwarzschild-Tangherlini black hole and the generalized uncertainty principle

We investigate the thermodynamics of Schwarzschild-Tangherlini black hole in the context of the generalized uncertainty principle. The corrections to the Hawking temperature, entropy and the heat capacity are obtained via the modified Hamilton-Jacobi equation. These modifications show that the GUP changes the evolution of Schwarzschild-Tangherlini black hole. Specially, the GUP effect becomes susceptible when the radius or mass of black hole approach to the order of Planck scale, it stops radiating and leads to black hole remnant. Meanwhile, the Planck scale remnant can be confirmed through the analysis of the heat capacity. Those phenomenons imply that the GUP may give a way to solve the information paradox. Besides, we also investigate the possibilities to observe the black hole at LHC, the results demonstrate that the black hole can not be produced in the recent LHC.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Advances and challenges in commercializing radiative cooling

Radiative cooling (RC) dissipates terrestrial heat to outer space through the atmospheric window, without external energy input and production of environmental pollutants. More and more efforts have been devoted to this clean promising cooling technology; thus diverse radiative coolers have emerged. However, the performance, cost, and effectiveness of various radiative coolers are not exactly the same. In addition, the large-scale application of RC technology is impeded by the low energy density, uncontrollable cooling power, and limited sky-facing area. Here, we critically review the recent progress of RC technology, evaluate the cooling performance of various radiative coolers, and discuss the challenges and feasible solutions to commercialize RC technology. Furthermore, valuable insights are provided to make new breakthroughs in this field

Effect of surfactant on flow boiling heat transfer of ethylene glycol/water mixtures in a mini-tube

This paper was presented at the 4th Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2014), which was held at University College, London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute, ASME Press, LCN London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL University College London, UCL Engineering, the International NanoScience Community, www.nanopaprika.eu.In this study, the effect of adding a surfactant (sodium dodeobcylbenzene sulfonate, SDBS) to ethylene glycol/water mixtures boiling in a vertical mini-tube was studied. Experiments were done using solutions containing 300 ppm by weight of surfactant and the results were compared with those for pure mixture. Local heat transfer coefficient was measured and found to be dependent on the mass quality. Addition of surfactant significantly enhanced the evaporation of saturated liquid, so that the difference between outlet fluid temperature and outlet bubble point temperature of SDBS solutions was much higher than that of ethylene glycol/water mixture. Though the surfactant intensifies the vaporization process, it does not necessarily enhance the heat transfer coefficient. The heat transfer coefficients at two different mass fluxes were compared, and the result could be explained based on the local flow pattern and heat transfer mechanism. After a critical quality, higher quality will deteriorate the heat transfer due to intermittent dryout, therefore adding surfactant to generate more vapor may have a negative effect on the heat transfer of flow boiling in a mini-tube, which is contrast to the experience of enhancing nucleate pool boiling heat transfer with trace surfactant

The applications of building information modelling for the lifecycle performance of green buildings: a systematic literature review

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Entanglement of separate nitrogen-vacancy centers coupled to a whispering-gallery mode cavity

We present a quantum electrodynamical model involving nitrogen-vacancy centers coupled to a whispering-gallery mode cavity. Two schemes are considered to create W state and Bell state, respectively. One of the schemes makes use of the Raman transition with the cavity field virtually excited; The other enables the Bell state preparation and quantum information transfer by virtue of dark state evolution and adiabatic passage, which is tolerant to ambient noise and experimental parameter fluctuations. We justify our schemes by considering the experimental feasibility and challenge using currently available technology.Comment: 8 pages and 5 figure

Possible Way to Synthesize Superheavy Element Z=117

Within the framework of the dinuclear system model, the production of superheavy element Z=117 in possible projectile-target combinations is analyzed systematically. The calculated results show that the production cross sections are strongly dependent on the reaction systems. Optimal combinations, corresponding excitation energies and evaporation channels are proposed in this letter, such as the isotopes ^{248,249}Bk in ^{48}Ca induced reactions in 3n evaporation channels and the reactions ^{45}Sc+^{246,248}Cm in 3n and 4n channels, and the system ^{51}V+^{244}Pu in 3n channel.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl