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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Parametric Analysis Of A Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Auxiliary Power Unit Operating On Syngas Produced By Autothermal Reforming Of Hydrocarbon Fuels, Jun Dong, Xinhai Xu, Ben Xu, Shuyang Zhang Apr 2016

Parametric Analysis Of A Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Auxiliary Power Unit Operating On Syngas Produced By Autothermal Reforming Of Hydrocarbon Fuels, Jun Dong, Xinhai Xu, Ben Xu, Shuyang Zhang

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A 1 kWe integrated auxiliary power unit (APU) system consisting of an autothermal reformer and a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) unit, as well as balance-of-plant components, was designed and analyzed. A relatively easy-to-approach SOFC model was developed in order to conveniently calculate V-I and P-I curves and the system's net efficiency at different operating conditions. The effects of steam to carbon and oxygen to carbon ratios in the reactants, channel dimensions of the SOFC unit, and hydrocarbon fuel types on the integrated APU system's performance were discussed. Five hydrocarbon fuels including diesel, Jet-A, gasoline, ethanol, and methanol were studied …


Forcespinning: A New Method For The Mass Production Of Sn/C Composite Nanofiber Anodes For Lithium Ion Batteries, Victor Agubra, Luis Zuniga, David De La Garza, Luis Gallegos, Madhab Pokhrel, Mataz Alcoutlabi Mar 2016

Forcespinning: A New Method For The Mass Production Of Sn/C Composite Nanofiber Anodes For Lithium Ion Batteries, Victor Agubra, Luis Zuniga, David De La Garza, Luis Gallegos, Madhab Pokhrel, Mataz Alcoutlabi

Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The development of nanostructured anode materials for rechargeable Lithium-ion Batteries has seen a growing interest. We herein report the use of a new scalable technique, Forcespinning (FS) to produce binder-free porous Sn/C composite nanofibers with different Sn particle size loading. The preparation process involves the FS of Sn/PAN precursor nanofibers and subsequently stabilizing in air at 280 °C followed by carbonization at 800 °C under an inert atmosphere. The Sn/C composite nanofibers are highly flexible and were directly used as binder-free anodes for lithium-ion batteries. The produced Sn/C composite nanofibers showed an improved discharge capacity of about 724 mA …


Effect Of Polymer Concentration, Rotational Speed, And Solvent Mixture On Fiber Formation Using Forcespinning, Nancy Obregon, Victor Agubra, Madhab Pokhrel, Howard Campos, David Flores, David De La Garza, Yuanbing Mao, Javier Macossay, Mataz Alcoutlabi Jan 2016

Effect Of Polymer Concentration, Rotational Speed, And Solvent Mixture On Fiber Formation Using Forcespinning, Nancy Obregon, Victor Agubra, Madhab Pokhrel, Howard Campos, David Flores, David De La Garza, Yuanbing Mao, Javier Macossay, Mataz Alcoutlabi

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Polycaprolactone (PCL) fibers were produced using Forcespinning® (FS). The effects of PCL concentration, solvent mixture, and the spinneret rotational speed on fiber formation were evaluated. The concentration of the polymer in the solvents was a critical determinant of the solution viscosity. Lower PCL concentrations resulted in low solution viscosities with a correspondingly low fiber production rate with many beads. Bead-free fibers with high production rate and uniform fiber diameter distribution were obtained from the optimum PCL concentration (i.e., 12.5 wt%) with tetrahydrofuran (THF) as the solvent. The addition of N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) to the THF solvent promoted the gradual formation …


Slip-Jump Model For Carbon Combustion Synthesis Of Complex Oxide Nanoparticles, A. A. Markov, Mkhitar A. Hobosyan, Karen S. Martirosyan Jan 2016

Slip-Jump Model For Carbon Combustion Synthesis Of Complex Oxide Nanoparticles, A. A. Markov, Mkhitar A. Hobosyan, Karen S. Martirosyan

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications and Presentations

Carbon Combustion Synthesis of Oxides (CCSO) is a promising method to produce submicron- and nano- sized complex oxides. The CCSO was successfully utilized for producing several complex oxides, a complete theoretical model including the sample porosity, fl ow parameters and reaction energetics is needed to predict the combustion parameters for CCSO. In this work, we studied the ignition temperature and combustion wave axial temperature distribution, activation energy, combustion heat and thermal losses for a typical CCSO synthesis for cylindrical samples of Ni-Zn ferrites with high (>85%) porosity. We developed a two level combustion model of chemically active nano-dispersed mixture, …