Baichao Wang , Yanfeng Liu , Dengjia Wang , Cong Song , Hongsen Chen
{"title":"Thermal response analysis of pipeline under fluctuating heat input for solar district heating system","authors":"Baichao Wang , Yanfeng Liu , Dengjia Wang , Cong Song , Hongsen Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127360","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127360","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To address pipeline delay response and substantial heat loss caused by time-varying temperature fluctuations in solar collector fluid and step-change heating temperatures within SHDS, a pseudo-dynamic thermal numerical model was developed. The thermal response characteristics of the CLP and HDP under fluctuating heat input and temperature step-change conditions were investigated. Coupled analysis of multiple influencing factors and pipeline inlet conditions quantified the evolution patterns of delay response time, temperature drop along pipeline, and heat loss. Regression analysis incorporating external dynamic boundary conditions was conducted. The results indicated that peak heat loss per unit length in the CLP reached 58.30 W/m during daytime, with temperature drop along pipeline of approximately 0.11 °C. These dynamic characteristics were synergistically governed by solar radiation intensity and fluid flow velocity. During step-change in inlet temperature, the delay response time of outlet temperature increased significantly by 97–101 min. For each kilometer increase in pipe length, the delay response time extended by approximately 12 min, whereas a 0.3 m/s flow velocity increase reduced it by about 14 min. Furthermore, pipe length extension has minimal effect on heat loss per unit length, while every 5-mm increase in insulation thickness decreased heat loss by 1.9–3.4 W/m. The study demonstrated that the pseudo-dynamic model accurately predicted dynamic thermal behaviors in pipeline, providing a reference basis for dynamic thermal management, precise regulation, and energy-efficient design of solar district heating pipeline.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"278 ","pages":"Article 127360"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144534195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"High-temperature porous phase change heat storage ceramsite: the crucial impact of pore structure","authors":"Yongle Qi, Wukui Zheng, Yuchen Li, Zhigang Qiao, Yujin Gou, Xuening Wang, Taiyu Cao, Shahid Ali, Hui Li","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127364","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127364","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Phase-change heat storage technology contributes to balancing supply and demand, thereby enhancing overall system efficiency and stability. However, phase change materials may leak or corrode theirs containers during the phase change process, necessitating encapsulation to improve thermal and structural stability. This study employed a porous adsorption method to investigate the effects of different pore structure designs on high-temperature porous phase change heat storage ceramsite, achieved by controlling the content and distribution of the pore-forming agent. To further suppress leakage, a silica sol coating technique was introduced for surface modification. The results showed that as the pore-forming agent content increased, the adsorbance of the non-structurally designed porous ceramsites gradually increased, reaching a maximum at a sintering temperature of 1050 ℃. A sample composed primarily of fly ash with 30 % fine coal powder achieved an adsorbance of 124 %, a phase transition temperature of 146.09 ℃, a latent heat of 54.91 J/g, a thermal storage density of 379.29 kJ/kg, and a compressive strength of 4.46 MPa. Atmospheric encapsulation using JN-40 silica sol yielded the best results, reducing the leakage rate to as low as 1.36 %. Therefore, through the integration of pore structure optimization and surface modification, high-temperature porous phase change heat storage ceramsite exhibits enhanced performance, offering robust support for the advancement of new energy technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"278 ","pages":"Article 127364"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Experimental investigation of an innovative water-based photovoltaic/thermal module in moderate climate of Cracow, Poland","authors":"Mehmet Ali Yildirim, Artur Cebula","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127366","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127366","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Renewable energy sources in energy production have become imperative as the world transitions toward a greener future. The growing demand for sustainable and efficient energy has led to the emergence of photovoltaic/thermal systems as a promising approach to enhance solar energy utilization. These hybrid systems simultaneously convert solar energy into electrical and thermal energy offering advantages over stand-alone photovoltaic and solar-thermal systems. However, many photovoltaic/thermal system designs reported in the literature suffer from complex structures, low efficiencies, and limited practicality for real-world deployment. This paper proposes a novel water-based photovoltaic/thermal module that integrates a highly efficient cooling system with a photovoltaic module. An experimental analysis of the proposed system was conducted in a town located 60 km from Cracow, Poland. The outdoor experiments showed that at an inlet mass flow rate and temperature were 360 kg/h and at an inlet temperature of 16.3 °C, the photovoltaic/thermal module reached the maximum thermal efficiency of 98.0 % under solar irradiance of 875 W/m<sup>2</sup> and an ambient temperature of 29 °C. The integrated cooling system reduced the rear surface temperature of the photovoltaic module by 54.3 °C. A theoretical model of the system was also developed and validated using the experimental data. A case study on domestic hot water supply for a single-family house demonstrated the practical applicability of the system. Results drawn prove that the designed photovoltaic/thermal system can contribute substantially to decarbonization and green energy transition for commercial and residential buildings where available space is scarce.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"278 ","pages":"Article 127366"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523902","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A bionic lotus-leaf-shaped evaporator with zonal wettability and high salt resistance","authors":"Junyan Wang, Sai Zhang, Qiao Lan, Jian Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127367","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127367","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Interfacial solar vapor generation (ISVG) is a promising and environmentally friendly desalination strategy to solve the global water crisis. However, producing a long-lasting evaporative system, which has effective salt resistance, heat management and solar energy utilization, remains a major challenge. Here, we propose a lotus-leaf-shaped carbon/cotton fabric-based evaporator with drainage strips (L-CCF/D). The lotus-leaf-shaped invert cone structure of the evaporator is designed to effectively localize heat to reduce heat losses and increase the times of light reflection to improve the utilization of solar energy. The drainage strips are introduced to form a zonal wettability to avoid salt crystals deposition, and draw out highly concentrated brine for long-lasted application. The designed evaporator has the evaporation rate of 2.45 kg m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>−1</sup> in deionized water at a light intensity of 1 kW m<sup>−2</sup>, and also shows long-term stability in highly concentrated brine, which has the average evaporation rate of 2.17 kg m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>−1</sup> in 10 wt% NaCl solution for 6 h. The evaporator has a fresh water yield of 8.05 kg m<sup>−2</sup> in the outdoor experiment. This unique design with drainage strips ensures the long-term stability of the evaporator in actual seawater applications, providing a broad application prospect for solar water treatment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"278 ","pages":"Article 127367"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E. Giulietti , E. Giacomazzi , C. Stringola , C. Romano
{"title":"Online characterization of the dynamical state of industrial combustion systems","authors":"E. Giulietti , E. Giacomazzi , C. Stringola , C. Romano","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126927","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126927","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although investigated for many years, real-time monitoring of combustion dynamics is still an important issue in modern gas turbine operation. In this article, attention is focused on two quantities, radiant energy and pressure, sampled in an industrial combustion system. Based on such quantities, and with the aim of selecting the best operational index to detect instability precursors, different strategies are here defined and compared. Upon the obtained results, the adopted monitoring and signal analysis strategy reveals promising as an online practical method to detect combustion instabilities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"278 ","pages":"Article 126927"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Changzhi Yan , Zhen Zeng , Xingxiao Tao , Wenzhe Zhang , Chengshuo Guan , Kai Sun , Zhizhao Che , Tianyou Wang
{"title":"Coupling study of large-scale commercial proton exchange membrane fuel cell with novel convergent-divergent flow field and multiple coolant flow fields","authors":"Changzhi Yan , Zhen Zeng , Xingxiao Tao , Wenzhe Zhang , Chengshuo Guan , Kai Sun , Zhizhao Che , Tianyou Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127363","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127363","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Effective thermal management is particularly pivotal for the commercial proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The previous researches on coolant flow field design are always limited by scale and lack the coupling investigation with the novel gas channels, leading to the neglect of the unique temperature distribution and heat transfer characteristics in large-scale. Hence, the three-dimensional multiphase models are developed by proposing a novel convergent–divergent flow field and introducing two cooling layouts with five different coolant channel structures. The results indicate that the novel structure of the convergent–divergent pattern not only improves the net output power density by 23.65 %, but also is more conducive to removing waste heat and better temperature uniformity. The temperature difference between the membrane electrode assembly and the coolant determines the cooling capacity based on the different factors. The ability of flow fluctuation induction demonstrates the significant advantage under the limited coolant mass flow rate. Compared to layout 1, layout 2 can approximately reduce the max temperature by 5 K, improve temperature uniformity by 55 % and enhance thermal-economic index by 17. This study can provide innovative guidance for the coupling design and optimization of next-generation high power density proton exchange membrane fuel cell with novel gas channel structure and coolant flow field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"278 ","pages":"Article 127363"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144523832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Haohan Sha , Haiming Yu , Qingxu Ma , Yalong Yang , Yu Feng , Siyi Luo
{"title":"Investigation of lifelong learning methods with elastic weight consolidation (EWC) for low-temperature ORC scroll expander modeling","authors":"Haohan Sha , Haiming Yu , Qingxu Ma , Yalong Yang , Yu Feng , Siyi Luo","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127359","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127359","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study applied a lifelong learning method, elastic weight consolidation (EWC), to enhance the memory stability and plasticity of deep learning models for organic Rankine cycle (ORC) expander modeling. We conducted multiple experiments using a low-temperature ORC power system with a scroll expander. Three deep-learning models were developed to predict the power output, exhaust temperature, and flow rate. Six task sequences consisting of combinations of three tasks were generated. Joint training (JT), fine-tuning (FT), and EWC were evaluated using these task sequences. The overall performance of the EWC and FT methods on model plasticity was close to that of the JT method across all three predictions (e.g., the largest MSE difference was only 61 for power prediction), but the performance of them on model memory stability was inferior to that of JT. Compared with the FT method, the EWC method showed good improvement, limited improvement, and no improvement in model memory stability for power, exhaust temperature, and flow rate prediction, respectively. In terms of MSE, the average performance increased by 18% for power prediction, but reduced by 76% for flow rate prediction. The effects of dataset sizes on the performance of lifelong learning were also evaluated. The performance of the EWC and FT methods stabilized when the dataset size reached approximately 300, which means that there is a threshold of dataset sizes for EWC practical application. The study results advance the application of deep learning modeling and offer insights into using EWC for scroll expander modeling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"278 ","pages":"Article 127359"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144518846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mehran Ghasemian , M. Sheikholeslami , Maziar Dehghan
{"title":"Experimental and numerical evaluation of PVT performance with V-trough reflectors and cooling tubes equipped with twisted tapes","authors":"Mehran Ghasemian , M. Sheikholeslami , Maziar Dehghan","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127282","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127282","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The irradiance received by photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems can be insufficient during certain seasons, decreasing the performance and cost-effectiveness of the thermal system. Concentrated PV/T systems address this issue by boosting both electrical and thermal output power, but this enhancement leads to greater PV temperatures, necessitating an advanced cooling solution. This study is the first to experimentally evaluate the impact of integrating twisted tapes (with twist ratios of 3, 4, and 5) into a flat plate collector on the electrical and thermal performance of a low-concentrated PV/T. Experiments were conducted with inlet flow rates ranging from 25 to 150 Lit/h under concentration ratios (CR) of 1.5, 2, and 2.5. The experimental results were verified through simulations conducted in ANSYS FLUENT for both scenarios—one including the collector and one without it. Results demonstrated that employing a solar concentrator with a CR of 2 and a thermal collector with twisted tapes (twist ratio of 3) at a flow rate of 150 Lit/h could increase average electrical power from 59.2 W to 67.5 W (14 % rise), and recover 197.2 W of thermal power. An economic analysis revealed that the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) index for PV/T systems, both with and without solar concentration, is higher than that for a plain PV, indicating that this system is cost-effective when its thermal energy is also utilized. Additionally, integrating a thermal collector with twisted tapes into a PV system with a nominal power of 1 kW and a solar concentrator (CR = 2) enhances net CO<sub>2</sub> mitigation over the module’s 25-year lifespan from 60 tons to 139.1 tons (131 % increase) and 156.9 tons (161 % increase), respectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"278 ","pages":"Article 127282"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144549244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Deyue Qin , Jianxiang Xu , Meijia Sun , Baokuan Li
{"title":"Effect of oxygen-enriched concentration on heat-mass transfer in an industrial-scale smelting reduction vessel","authors":"Deyue Qin , Jianxiang Xu , Meijia Sun , Baokuan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127326","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127326","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Assessing the impact of oxygen enrichment in the smelt reduction vessel is crucial, as improving heat and mass transfer efficiency is essential for optimizing production. A three-dimensional mathematical model employing a coupled Lagrangian and Eulerian approach has been developed to simulate key processes, including reduction reactions of ore powder, devolatilization of pulverized coal, post-combustion, and other reactions across three zones. The predicted results align closely with actual production data, confirming the model’s reliability and predictive accuracy. The effects of various oxygen concentrations (35 %, 50 %, 75 %, and 100 %) on critical parameters such as concentration of flue gas, temperature of flue gas, post-combustion ratio, production rate of pig iron, and coal rate were examined. Increasing the oxygen concentration led to an expansion of oxygen volume at the lance outlet by factors of 1.15, 2.46, and 2.51, compared to the baseline 35 % oxygen concentration. The post-combustion ratio notably increased from 0.576 to 0.596, 0.636, and 0.674, respectively. Under oxygen-only conditions, the average post-combustion core temperature rose by 11.1 %, reaching 2280.71 K, indirectly reducing coal consumption by 0.33 t per ton of hot metal (0.33 t/tHM). Elevated oxygen concentrations enhanced heat and mass transfer, as well as production metrics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"278 ","pages":"Article 127326"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144518843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muran He , Wei Bai , Lifeng Liu , Bo Wu , Jiangfeng Dong , Chunhuan Luo , Yufan Yang , Chunting Zhou , Xiaoran Lv , Changchang Yang , Qingquan Su
{"title":"Thermodynamic performance of fuel cell-absorption refrigeration coupling system based on novel low-temperature working pairs","authors":"Muran He , Wei Bai , Lifeng Liu , Bo Wu , Jiangfeng Dong , Chunhuan Luo , Yufan Yang , Chunting Zhou , Xiaoran Lv , Changchang Yang , Qingquan Su","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127351","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.127351","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thermal management of low-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (LT-PEMFCs) remains a major challenge in hydrogen energy applications. A coupled system of LT-PEMFC combing with absorption heat pump using a novel hydrofluoroolefin (HFO)-based working pair was proposed in this study to recover the low-temperature waste heat of the hydrogen stack below 353.15 K. Based on the measured thermophysical properties, the thermodynamic performance of the coupled system was evaluated under various operating conditions. Results show that HFO-based working pairs (R1233zd(Z)/TEGDME and R1336mzz(Z)/TEGDME) exhibit lower driven temperatures, enabling the utilization of waste heat below 348.15 K without risks of crystallization or corrosion. Notably, R1233zd(Z)/TEGDME exhibits superior waste heat recovery performance. The cooling capacity of R1233zd(Z)/TEGDME is enhanced by 10 %, the coefficient of performance of the AHP system is improved by 12 %, and the exergy efficiency is also correspondingly increased in comparison with R1336mzz(Z)/TEGDME. The coupled system using R1233zd(Z)/TEGDME is able to effectively recover low-grade heat (348.15–368.15 K) for refrigeration at temperatures ranging from 268.84 K to 289.86 K. Under typical operating conditions, the coupled system achieves a comprehensive coefficient of performance of 0.7, which is about 55 % larger over the efficiency of LT-PEMFC. These organic working pairs provide an innovative solution for fuel cell thermal management by utilizing the low-grade waste heat.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"278 ","pages":"Article 127351"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144518901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}