Wind resource assessment of northern part of Thailand

With the unpleasant occurrences of climate change and global warming, there is an inevitable need to generate energy from renewable sources. Energy generation from burning coal, extracting fuel, ignition of CO2, exploiting tar sands, or any other environmentally unfriendly resources are hazardous to our planet. Therefore, the world needs to switch towards renewable sources. Wind energy has developed across the globe due to being the most eco-friendly, comparatively efficient, and affordable. Thailand has a higher potential for wind energy because of the median height of 287 m above sea level with a soaring altitude of 2565 m above sea level. In addition to this, Thailand has a higher energy wind potential are of 550 km2. Regarding this, Thailand has realized wind energy is a strong potential renewable energy resource that needs to be developed. To fulfill energy demands, the prospect of particular provinces concerning wind power and the capacity of electrical energy acquired from wind energy has been studied. Consequently, with the data derived from the specific regions, consisting of 13 different stations at 10 m height and 10 min interval, the wind energy potential has been evaluated for each region in the WASP (Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program). In addition, 7 stations data was processable among 13 stations. In this program, the wind data acquired from the study area consists of Chiang Rai, Lamphun, Mae Hong Son, Mae Sa Riang, Pha Yao, Theon, and Thung Chang with the latitude and longitude through meteorological stations and entered as an input to the WASP. WAsP simulation software was used to analyze the data generated, which is considered to be among the best simulation applications worldwide. As a result, the potential areas for electricity generation are identified. This study supports the generation of renewable energy in particular northern regions of Thailand and accordingly the purpose is to provide guidelines and contributions to the researchers and related organizations to further dig into which can substitute the conventional methods and economically provide energy

Investigation and Analysis of R463A as an Alternative Refrigerant to R404A with Lower Global Warming Potential

This research presents the development of R463A refrigerant, a nonflammable refrigerant that was retrofitted to replace R404A. R463A is primarily composed of hydrofluorocarbons/hydrocarbons/carbon dioxide (HFCs/HCs/CO2), and has global-warming potential (GWP) of 1494. It is a nonazeotropic mixture of R32 (36%), R125 (30%), R134a (14%), R1234yf (14%), and R744 (6%). R463A is composed of polyol ester oil (POE), and it is classified as a Class A1 incombustible and nontoxic refrigerant. R463A has a higher cooling capacity (Qe) than that of R404A, as it is composed of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) R32 and carbon dioxide (CO2) R744, and has lower GWP than that of R404A due to the use of hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs) from R1234yf. The results of this research showed that R463A can be retrofitted to replace R404A due to its composition of POE, Class A1 incombustibility, and lower toxicity. The properties of R463A and R404A, as analyzed using national institute of standards and technology (NIST) reference fluid thermodynamic and transport properties database (REFPROP) software and NIST vapor compression cycle model accounting for refrigerant thermodynamic and transport properties (CYCLE_D-HX) software, are in accordance with the CAN/ANSI/AHRI540 standards of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). The normal boiling point of R463A was found to be higher than that of R404A by 23%, with a higher cooling capacity and a 63% lower GWP value than that of R404A. The critical pressure and temperature of R463A were found to be higher than those of R404A; it can be used in a high-ambient-temperature environment, has higher refrigerant and heat-rejection effects, and has lower GWP than that of R404A by 52% due to the HFOs from the R1234yf component. The cooling coefficient of performance (COPc) of R463A was found to be higher than that of R404A by 10% under low-temperature applications. R463A is another refrigerant option that is composed of 7% carbon dioxide (CO2), and is consistent with the evolution of fourth-generation refrigerants that contain a mixture of HFCs, HFOs, HCs, and natural refrigerants, which are required to produce a low-GWP, zero-ozone-depletion-potential (ODP), high-capacity, low-operating-pressure, and nontoxic refrigerant