Numerical investigation of the phase change in transpiration cooling with the VOF method

Transpiration cooling with phase change is numerically investigated in the present work. As shown in Figure 1, a liquid coolant flow is injected into a porous medium from the bottom side. The porous medium receives heat from the hot gas on the top surface and heats the coolant. Thus, phase change can occur in this porous medium. The surface temperature, the heat flux received by the porous medium, the phase distribution and the flow and cooling characteristics are the most important unknowns on this topic. Please download the full abstract below

Numerical simulation of pressure pulse decay experiment on crushed low permeability rocks considering Klinkenberg effect and gas absorption/desorption

Pressure pulse decay method is widely used for permeability tests for low permeability rock plug samples. This method can be used for crushed grain samples by removing the downstream chamber in standard pulse decay tests. Processes in pulse decay tests for low permeability crushed shale are investigated using numerical simulation. Both the Klinkenberg slip effect for gas flows in low permeability rock and the gas absorption/desorption in the porous matrix are considered. The complete mathematical model is set up to include the two effects. Deviation of the numerical pulse decay curve from the analytical one with an assumption that the pressure keeps a constant in the porous sample is investigated. The relative importance of gas absorption/desorption and gas compressibility is also investigated quantitatively. According to the present investigation, gas compressibility and adsorption both make negative contributions to the permeating process. A potential two-curve method is proposed to decide absolute permeability and the Klinkenberg coefficient when these two parameters cannot be distinguished using one pulse decay curve during the inverse fitting procedure. These two parameters can be determined at the same time only if the experiment is conducted under big initial pressure difference and the Klinkenberg coefficient has at least the same order of magnitude as the pressure

Effective solid-to-fluid heat transfer coefficient in EGS reservoirs

The present work developed a three-equation local thermal non-equilibrium model to predict the effective solid-to-fluid heat transfer coefficient in the enhanced geothermal system reservoirs based on the volume averaging method. Due to the high rock-to-fracture size ratio, the solid thermal resistance effect in the internal rocks cannot be neglected in the effective solid-to-fluid heat transfer coefficient. The present three-equation local thermal non-equilibrium model can consider the dynamic variation of the solid thermal resistance in transient heat transfer by introducing the penetration temperature difference. The model was validated by comparison with pore-scale numerical simulations and macro-scale LTNE model numerical simulations. The results show that the three-equation local thermal non-equilibrium model has a high accurac

Experimental investigation of combined transpiration and jet cooling of sintered metal porous struts

The scramjet combustion chamber provides the propulsion for hypersonic vehicle. The fuel is combusted in the chamber to generate thrust. The strut is used to inject fuel into the core of combustion chamber to enhance the mixing and the combustion. The mainstream in a scramjet combustion chamber is at supersonic velocity and high temperature. The tremendous aerodynamic heating will then cause ablation of the strut without adequate cooling. Therefore, effective thermal protection methods must be provided for the strut, especially for the leading edge. Transpiration cooling is one of the most effective cooling methods to protect surfaces at high heat flux conditions, and can effectively protect most part of the strut, but some ablation was found at the strut leading edge. Please download the full abstract below

Experimental research on internal convection heat transfer of supercritical pressure CO2 in porous media

The flow and heat transfer of fluids at supercritical pressure in porous media has attracted much attention due to its extensive applications, such as supercritical water-cooled nuclear reactor, CO2 gas cooled reactor, transpiration cooling and supercritical CO2 solar thermal power generation system. There are mainly two theories to describe convection heat transfer in porous media, i.e., the local thermal equilibrium model (LTE) and the local thermal non-equilibrium model (LTNE). Compared with LTE model, the LTNE model is a more detailed model that uses two energy equations to describe heat transport in the solid and fluid. The internal heat transfer coefficient is a key parameter for LTNE model which has been studied thoroughly and many correlations have been proposed. Please download the full abstract below

Investigation of transpiration cooling with local thermal non-equilibrium model: Effects of different thermal boundary conditions at the porous-fluid interface

In this study, the main stream coupled with a porous medium with local thermal non-equilibrium assumption is analyzed. The flow inside the porous material is modelled using the Darcy–Brinkman–Forchheimer equation and the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved for the main stream. Several couple conditions between the main flow temperature and the temperatures of the solid matrix and coolant flow at the fluid/porous interface is calculated. The results show that the Model C assumes the main flow temperature equals the solid phase temperature and the main flow heat flux is all imposed on the solid phase gives the most reasonable answer

How tyramine β-hydroxylase controls the production of octopamine, modulating the mobility of beetles

Biogenic amines perform many kinds of important physiological functions in the central nervous system (CNS) of insects, acting as neuromodulators, neurotransmitters, and neurohormones. The five most abundant types of biogenic amines in invertebrates are dopamine, histamine, serotonin, tyramine, and octopamine (OA). However, in beetles, an important group of model and pest insects, the role of tyramine beta-hydroxylase (T beta H) in the OA biosynthesis pathway and the regulation of behavior remains unknown so far. We therefore investigated the molecular characterization and spatiotemporal expression profiles of T beta H in red flour beetles (Triboliun castaneum). Most importantly, we detected the production of OA and measured the crawling speed of beetles after dsTcT beta H injection. We concluded that TcT beta H controls the biosynthesis amount of OA in the CNS, and this in turn modulates the mobility of the beetles. Our new results provided basic information about the key genes in the OA biosynthesis pathway of the beetles, and expanded our knowledge on the physiological functions of OA in insects

Integrating transcriptomics and metabolomics to analyze the mechanism of hypertension-induced hippocampal injury

ObjectiveHypertension is a public health challenge worldwide due to its high prevalence and multiple complications. Hypertension-induced damage to the hippocampus leads to behavioral changes and various brain diseases. Despite the multifaceted effects of hypertension on the hippocampus, the mechanisms underlying hippocampal lesions are still unclear.MethodsThe 32-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were selected as the study subjects. Behavioral experiments such as an open field test (OFT), an elevated plus maze (EPM) test, and the Morris water maze (MWM) test were performed to show the behavioral characteristics of the rats. A comprehensive transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis was performed to understand the changes in the hippocampus at the metabolic and genetic levels.ResultsBehavioral tests showed that, compared to WKY rats, SHR showed not only reduced memory capacity but more hyperactive and impulsive behavior. In addition, transcriptomic analysis screened for 103 differentially expressed genes. Metabolomic analysis screened 56 metabolites with significant differences, including various amino acids and their related metabolites.ConclusionComprehensive analysis showed that hypertension-induced hippocampal lesions are closely associated with differential metabolites and differential genes detected in this study. The results provide a basis for analyzing the mechanisms of hypertension-induced hippocampal damage

A controllable superconducting electromechanical oscillator with a suspended membrane

We fabricate a microscale electromechanical system, in which a suspended superconducting membrane, treated as a mechanical oscillator, capacitively couples to a superconducting microwave resonator. As the microwave driving power increases, nonmonotonic dependence of the resonance frequency of the mechanical oscillator on the driving power has been observed. We also demonstrate the optical switching of the resonance frequency of the mechanical oscillator. Theoretical models for qualitative understanding of our experimental observations are presented. Our experiment may pave the way for the application of a mechanical oscillator with its resonance frequency controlled by the electromagnetic and/or optical fields, such as a microwave-optical interface and a controllable element in a superqubit-mechanical oscillator hybrid system.Comment: 8 pages,4 figure

The Impacts of Swimming Exercise on Hippocampal Expression of Neurotrophic Factors in Rats Exposed to Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress

Depression is associated with stress-induced neural atrophy in limbic brain regions, whereas exercise has antidepressant effects as well as increasing hippocampal synaptic plasticity by strengthening neurogenesis, metabolism, and vascular function. A key mechanism mediating these broad benefits of exercise on the brain is induction of neurotrophic factors, which instruct downstream structural and functional changes. To systematically evaluate the potential neurotrophic factors that were involved in the antidepressive effects of exercise, in this study, we assessed the effects of swimming exercise on hippocampal mRNA expression of several classes of the growth factors (BDNF, GDNF, NGF, NT-3, FGF2, VEGF, and IGF-1) and peptides (VGF and NPY) in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Our study demonstrated that the swimming training paradigm significantly induced the expression of BDNF and BDNF-regulated peptides (VGF and NPY) and restored their stress-induced downregulation. Additionally, the exercise protocol also increased the antiapoptotic Bcl-xl expression and normalized the CUMS mediated induction of proapoptotic Bax mRNA level. Overall, our data suggest that swimming exercise has antidepressant effects, increasing the resistance to the neural damage caused by CUMS, and both BDNF and its downstream neurotrophic peptides may exert a major function in the exercise related adaptive processes to CUMS