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Full-Text Articles in Mechanical Engineering
High Performance Thermal Insulation: Silica Aerogels In Construction Technology, Matthew Giarrusso
High Performance Thermal Insulation: Silica Aerogels In Construction Technology, Matthew Giarrusso
Honors Theses
The United States is a world leader in the production and expenditure of energy, accounting for 18% of the total global energy consumption in 2016, 40% of which was used for the heating, cooling, and lighting of commercial and residential buildings. Currently, traditional air-based insulation products are being used in thicker and more numerous layers in an attempt to keep up with contemporary codes and standards. One promising alternative to traditional insulation is silica aerogel. With a remarkably low density and thermal conductivity, silica aerogel could save energy, space, and weight in new and retrofit structures. Silica aerogels are currently …
Multicomponent Working Fluids In Organic Rankine Cycle Evaporators, Jennifer Fromm
Multicomponent Working Fluids In Organic Rankine Cycle Evaporators, Jennifer Fromm
Honors Theses
Organic Rankine cycles are a promising technology to convert waste heat energy into usable mechanical or electric power, giving them the potential to reduce fossil fuel emissions generated by traditional energy generation. The heat exchangers of these devices are of particular interest, as maximizing energy extraction from these free heat sources will increase net electrical power output. For this project I created a model to predict the effects of mixture working fluids on the evaporator performance of an organic Rankine cycle generator for a wide range of waste heat source temperatures. This model combines empirically derived heat exchanger performance parameters …