A molecular dynamics study of proton hopping in nafion membrane

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.We have investigated the transport phenomena of hydronium ions and water molecules in the nanostructure of hydrated Nafion membrane by systematically changing the hydration level using classical molecular dynamics simulations. The new empirical valence bond (EVB) model is developed in order to improve the description of proton mobility in both aqueous and Nafion environments. The new EVB model predicts a significantly enhanced transport in comparison with previous hopping models as well as the classical hydronium diffusion, which largely improves the agreement with the available experimental data. We have determined diffusion coefficients of hydronium ions and water molecules in hydrated Nafion membrane as a function of hydration level to investigate the impact of the Grotthuss mechanism on the proton transport property. Proton hopping mechanism was found to become more significant at higher hydration levels. It was also found that a proton-hopping mechanism has a small effect on the diffusivity of water molecules for various hydration levels

Particle based modeling and simulation of the red blood cell Infected by malaria-mechanism of the margination of the Infected red blood cell

This paper was presented at the 3rd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2011), which was held at the Makedonia Palace Hotel, Thessaloniki in Greece. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute.Motion and distribution of red blood cells in blood microvessels depend on vessel diameter, hematocrit (Hct), RBCs deformability and other factors. Migration of deformable red blood cells (RBCs) to the center of microvessels and away from the wall leads to the formation of cell-free layer (CFL). Few experiments or simulations considered the effects of motion and interaction of RBCs on CFL thickness. We employ a meshless (particle) method to model microvascular blood flow. An efficient parallel algorithm is developed for large-scale simulations of blood flow in microvessels. Using the developed method, we analyze the change in RBCs shape and RBCs distribution and also thickness of CFL in a variety of vessel sizes and Hct conditions. The results indicate that the CFL thickness increases when the vessel size increases or Hct decreases, which is in good agreement with previous experimental results. We also show change on RBCs shape and distribution for different microvessels diameter and Hct conditions

Viscous dissipation effect in trapezoidal microchannels at constant heat flux

This paper was presented at the 2nd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2009), which was held at Brunel University, West London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IPEM, the Italian Union of Thermofluid dynamics, the Process Intensification Network, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.Present paper is dealt with the steady state, laminar and hydrodynamically and thermally developed flow in a trapezoidal channel under H2 boundary condition is investigated. Slip flow, temperature jump and viscous dissipation effects are considered. Firstly, Navier-Stokes equations are transformed from physical plane to square domain, and then solved using finite difference method. Also, it is possible to obtain fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics for a rectangular microchannel with this method. The effects of aspect ratio, rarefaction, base angle and viscous heating on Nusselt number are discussed. The results of the numerical method are verified with the conventional theory of macrochannels (i.e. Kn=0, Br=0). Also, the friction factors and the Nusselt numbers for Br=0, Kn≠0 are in a good agreement with the available results of flow and heat transfer of rectangular microchannels in the literature. The results showed that the increase in rarefaction reduces the Nusselt numbers in trapezoidal and rectangular microchannels. When the Kn number is fixed and the Br number is small, the microchannel with the higher aspect ratio has the greater Nu, but for higher Br numbers, the greater aspect ratio results in smaller Nu. Also, at the same rarefaction, when Br number is large, the difference between Nu number of different aspect ratios decreases

Comparison of heat transfer characteristics in surface cooling with boiling microjets of water, ethanol and HFE7100

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.The basis of microjet technology is to produce laminar jets which when impinging the surface have a very high kinetic energy at the stagnation point. Boundary layer is not formed in those conditions, while the area of film cooling has a very high turbulence resulting from a very high heat transfer coefficient. Applied technology of jet production can result with the size of jets ranging from 20 to 500μm in breadth and 20 to 100μm in width. Presented data are used in order to validate authors own semi-empirical model of surface cooling by evaporating microjet impingement in the stagnation point. Main objective of this paper was to investigate the physical phenomena occurring on solid surfaces upon impingement of the single microjet in case of three fluids. Intense heat transfer in the impact zone of microjet has been examined and described with precise measurements of thermal and flow conditions of microjets. Reported tests were conducted under steady state conditions for surface cooling by single microjet producing an evaporating film. Obtained database of experimental data with analytical solutions and numerical computer simulation allows the rational design and calculation of microjet modules and optimum performance of these modules for various industrial applications

Heat transfer characteristics of hydrid microjet-microchannel cooling module

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.The paper presents the experimental investigation of heat transfer intensification in a microjetmicrochannel cooling module. Applied technology takes benefits from two very attractive heat removal techniques. When jets are impinging on the surface, they have a very high kinetic energy at the stagnation point, also in microchannels boundary layer is very thin allowing to obtain very high heat fluxes. Main objective of this paper was to experimentally investigate the performance of a microjet-microchannel cooling module. Intense heat transfer in the test section has been examined and described with precise measurements of thermal and flow conditions. Reported tests were conducted under steady state conditions for single phase liquid cooling. Obtained database of experimental data were compared to standard cooling techniques, and compared with superposed semi-empirical models for minichannels and microjet cooling, Mikielewicz and Muszynski (2009). Gathered data with analytical solutions and numerical computer simulation allows the rational design and calculation of hybrid modules and optimum performance of these modules for various industrial applications

A pressure drop investigation of immiscible liquid-liquid micro flows

This paper was presented at the 2nd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2009), which was held at Brunel University, West London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IPEM, the Italian Union of Thermofluid dynamics, the Process Intensification Network, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.Over the past decade there has been a considerable increase in the research on lab-on-a-chip applications that focuses on designing analytical chemical and biological devices. One such application is the possibility of integrating the functional steps of DNA analysis into a micro-total-analysis system (μTAS). Encapsulation of PCR samples within an inert carrier fluid allows the samples to be transported as micro-reactors. Plug based micro reactors suspended in an inert carrier fluid have a lot of promise in microfluidic analytical devices, offering a reduction in resident-time, reagents and labour with an increase in through-put, accuracy and quality. The development of a thin wetting film between the wall of the capillary and the micro reactor increase the interfacial area of the plug and can also intensify the internal circulation occurring within the plug. Only recently has work being preformed on the fluid mechanics that characterise this scale. An experimental study is carried out to study the effect capillary diameter, carrier viscosity and flow rate has on the pressure drop under bi-phasic flow conditions

Temperature Stabilisation in Fischer-Tropsch Reactors Using Phase Change Material (PCM)

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.The Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction is a highly exothermic reaction. The high exothermicity combined with a high sensitivity of product selectivity to temperature, constitute the main challenges in the design of FT reactors. The use of micro-encapsulated- Phase Change Material (PCM) in conjunction with the supervisory temperature control mechanism has been suggested as an effective way of mitigating these challenges. A 2-dimensional, pseudo-homogeneous, steady-state model, with the dissipation of the enthalpy of reaction into an isothermal PCM sink, in a fixed bed reactor is presented. Effective temperature control with the PCM shows a shift in thermodynamic equilibrium favouring the selectivity of C5 to the disadvantage of CH4 selectivity - a much desired outcome in the hydrocarbon Gas-to-Liquid industry

Measurement of cavitation in a sliding bearing using digital holography

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.Although most of the mathematical models for cavitation in bearings provide reasonable estimates of engineering parameters such as load capacity and friction, they are based on substantially different assumptions and further work is required to understand the fundamental operation of bearings. In this study digital holography was used to examine bubble formation within a glass sliding bearing. Digital holography collects the both the phase and amplitude of the transmitted wavefront and therefore contains quantitative information concerning the thickness of the cavitation bubbles. This paper introduces the experimental configuration and the digital holography system used to study cavitation. It also discusses the demodulation process and how the information can be used to find other interesting parameters such as bubble position and shape

Flow boiling in rectangular microchannels: 1-D modelling of the influence of inlet resistance on flow reversal

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.Pressure changes caused by the growth of confined bubbles during flow boiling in mini/microchannels lead to transient flow reversal in the presence of inlet (upstream) compressibility. A 1-D model is presented to study the effect of inlet resistance on maximum flow reversal distance, return time and local pressure fluctuations for different initial upstream compressible volumes for water boiling at atmospheric pressure. The two upstream compressibility models considered are condensable vapour in a subcooled boiling region and trapped non-condensable gas

Deformability of red blood cells affects their velocity in deterministic lateral displacement devices

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.Recent years have witnessed a strong increase of interest in mechanical particle separation in structured microfluidic devices. Particular examples are enrichment of rare cells in blood (e.g. cancer cells) or separation of complex mixtures of suspended particles. In many cases, particles are separated based on their size, for example white and red blood cells (RBCs). A less common idea is deformability-based sorting of particles of the same size – an approach relevant for malaria detection where the infected RBCs are usually more rigid than their healthy counterparts. We have recently shown that the trajectories of RBCs in deterministic lateral displacement devices strongly depend on their rigidity. In the present article, we investigate – via computer simulations based on the immersed-boundary, lattice-Boltzmann and finite-element methods – the RBC velocity and show that it is significantly affected by the cells’ deformability