Development of plastic heat exchangers for ocean thermal energy conversion. Final report, August 1976--December 1978

Materials and processes have been selected and design information obtained for plastic ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) heat exchangers as the result of a program comprising five types of laboratory experiments. Tests to evaluate the chemical resistance of seven commercially available thermoplastics to sea water and several possible working fluids were conducted with emphasis placed on compatibility with ammonia. Environmental rupture tests involving exposure of stressed specimens to sea water or liquid ammonia indicated that the high density polyethylene (HDPE) is the best suited candidate and produced an extrapolated 100,000 hour failure stress of 1060 psi for HDPE. Long term durability tests of extruded HDPE plate-tube panel confirmed that plastic heat transfer surface is mechanically reliable in an OTEC environment. Thermal conductivity measurements of acetylene black filled HDPE indicated that conductivity may be increased by 50% with a 35% by weight filler loading. The permeability coefficient measured for liquid ammonia through HDPE was higher than previous estimates. Test showed that the rate can be significantly reduced by sulfonation of HDPE. A review of biofouling mechanisms revealed that the permeable nature of the plastic heat exchanger surface may be used to control primary biofouling form formation by allowing incorporation of non-toxic organic repellents into the plastic. A preliminary design and fabrication development program suggests that construction of an ammonia condenser test unit is feasible using currently available materials and manufacturing techniques

Seasonal acclimatization to temperature in cardueline finches

1. Seasonal variation in body constituents and utilization of lipid, protein, and carbohydrate during cold stress in American goldfinches were studied to determine relations of these functions to the pronounced seasonal shift in thermogenic capacity documented in a previous study (Dawson and Carey, 1976).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47119/1/360_2004_Article_BF00686746.pd

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

Passive-solar-cooling system concepts for small office buildings. Final report

This report summarizes the efforts of a small group of building design professionals and energy analysis experts to develop passive solar cooling concepts including first cost estimates for small office buildings. Two design teams were brought together at each of two workshops held in the fall of 1982. Each team included an architect, mechanical engineer, structural engineer, and energy analysis expert. This report presents the passive cooling system concepts resulting from the workshops. It summarizes the design problems, solutions and first-cost estimates relating to each technology considered, and documents the research needs identified by the participants in attempting to implement the various technologies in an actual building design. Each design problem presented at the workshops was based on the reference (base case) small office building analyzed as part of LBL's Cooling Assessment. Chapter II summarizes the thermal performance, physical specifications and estimated first-costs of the base case design developed for this work. Chapters III - VI describe the passive cooling system concepts developed for each technology: beam daylighting; mass with night ventilation; evaporative cooling; and integrated passive cooling systems. The final Chapters, VII and VIII present the preliminary implications for economics of passive cooling technologies (based on review of the design concepts) and recommendations of workshop participants for future research in passive cooling for commercial buildings. Appendices provide backup information on each chapter as indicated

The impact of closures, including screw cap with three different headspace volumes, on the composition, colour and sensory properties of a Cabernet Sauvignon wine during two years' storage

Mariola J. Kwiatkowski, George K. Skouroumounis, Kate A. Lattey and Elizabeth J. Water