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Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Secondary Students' Ideas About Scientific Concepts Underlying Climate Change, Lorna E. Jarrett, George J. Takacs Jan 2019

Secondary Students' Ideas About Scientific Concepts Underlying Climate Change, Lorna E. Jarrett, George J. Takacs

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

We present ideas about concepts underlying climate change, held by students in years 9 and 10. Misconceptions about climate change are common among students, and may be due to misconceptions about underlying concepts. To investigate this, we developed the Climate Change Concept Inventory (CCCI), and trialed it with 229 students; corroborating findings through focus group interviews. Our interview method and data analysis methods are described. Findings included overestimation of human contributions to atmospheric carbon inputs, ultra violet radiation in sunlight, and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Students were unaware that CO2 dissolves in water, and of the role of oceans …


A Novel Empirical Heat Transfer Model For A Solar Thermal Storage Process Using Phase Change Materials, Yu Bie, Ming Li, Fei Chen, Grzegorz Krolczyk, Lin Yang, Zhixiong Li, Weihua Li Jan 2019

A Novel Empirical Heat Transfer Model For A Solar Thermal Storage Process Using Phase Change Materials, Yu Bie, Ming Li, Fei Chen, Grzegorz Krolczyk, Lin Yang, Zhixiong Li, Weihua Li

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Numerical and experimental analyses are often used to evaluate the solar thermal system with latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES). However, the relationship between the numerical simulation and actual heat transfer process is still unclear. This work compares the simulated average temperature of two different phase change materials (PCMs) with experimental result at different operation conditions for the purpose of developing a temperature correction model. A novel empirical heat transfer model is then established to improve the simulation accuracy of PCM-based solar thermal systems. The contributions of this work include that (1) the system performance could be evaluated by the …


Solar-Assisted Hvac Systems With Integrated Phase Change Materials, Zhenjun Ma, Haoshan Ren, Wenye Lin, Shugang Wang Jan 2018

Solar-Assisted Hvac Systems With Integrated Phase Change Materials, Zhenjun Ma, Haoshan Ren, Wenye Lin, Shugang Wang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Solar-assisted heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are receiving increasing attention. This chapter presents the development of HVAC systems with integrated solar photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collectors and phase change materials (PCMs) to reduce building energy consumption while providing satisfactory indoor thermal comfort. PVT collectors, which can generate both thermal energy and electricity simultaneously, are a promising technology for developing high-performance buildings. As solar energy is intermittent, the integration of phase change materials (PCMs) with PVTdriven HVAC systems can provide an opportunity to effectively utilise solar energy and maximise the performance of HVAC systems. The results showed that the coefficient of performance …


Preparation Of Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials (Mepcm) For Thermal Energy Storage, Weiguang Su, Jo Darkwa, Georgios Kokogiannakis, Tongyu Zhou, Yilin Li Jan 2017

Preparation Of Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials (Mepcm) For Thermal Energy Storage, Weiguang Su, Jo Darkwa, Georgios Kokogiannakis, Tongyu Zhou, Yilin Li

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Microencapsulated phase change materials (MEPCM) could be used for energy saving applications in buildings due to their relatively high energy storage capacities at constant temperature, which could passively reduce peak cooling loads in summer. In this study, poly(methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) (PMMA-MAA) was used as a shell material to fabricate MEPCM by crosslinking methyl methacrylate (MMA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) through in-situ suspension-like polymerization method. The effects of initiator weight percentage and the ratio of shell monomers for the preparation of MEPCM were also investigated. The experimental results showed that the best MEPCM sample was achieved with a shell monomer weight …


Heat Transfer Analysis Of An Integrated Double Skin Facade And Phase Change Material Blind System, Yilin Li, Jo Darkwa, Georgios Kokogiannakis Jan 2017

Heat Transfer Analysis Of An Integrated Double Skin Facade And Phase Change Material Blind System, Yilin Li, Jo Darkwa, Georgios Kokogiannakis

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

In this study, the heat transfer in an integrated double skin facade (DSF) and phase change material (PCM) blind system has been theoretically analysed. Both heat transfer and airflow models with CFD methods have been developed for the integrated DSF and PCM blind system. Data from an existing typical DSF building have been obtained in order to define input parameters for the simulation exercise and validate the numerical models. The temperature and velocity fields in DSF with the PCM blind system has been predicted under overheating scenario using the ANSYS Workbench FLUENT software and been compared with case of conventional …


Performance Evaluation Of A Novel Frost-Free Air-Source Heat Pump Integrated With Phase Change Materials (Pcms) And Dehumidification, Zhihua Wang, Fenghao Wang, Zhenjun Ma, Chun Li, Yibo Xu Jan 2017

Performance Evaluation Of A Novel Frost-Free Air-Source Heat Pump Integrated With Phase Change Materials (Pcms) And Dehumidification, Zhihua Wang, Fenghao Wang, Zhenjun Ma, Chun Li, Yibo Xu

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Air-source heat pump (ASHP) has been widely used in domestic and commercial buildings because of its energy savings, high efficiency and environmental friendliness. However, the heating capacity of an ASHP system is greatly influenced by the frost accumulation on the surface of the outdoor exchanger. To solve this problem, a novel frost-free ASHP system, integrating with Phase Change Materials (PCMs) and dehumidification, has been developed. In this paper, the schematic design of this system is first presented. The effect of the match relationship between the desiccant materials and PCM thermal energy storage on the performance of the novel system is …


Thermal Performance Evaluation Of An Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal-Phase Change Material System Using Taguchi Method, Haoshan Ren, Wenye Lin, Zhenjun Ma, Wenke Fan Jan 2017

Thermal Performance Evaluation Of An Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal-Phase Change Material System Using Taguchi Method, Haoshan Ren, Wenye Lin, Zhenjun Ma, Wenke Fan

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

This paper presents the performance evaluation of an integrated photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collector-phased change material (PCM) thermal energy storage (TES) system. The PVT collectors can generate both electricity and low-grade thermal energy during the daytime, and the thermal energy generated can be temporarily stored in the PCM TES unit and used for space heating during the night-time. Taguchi method and analysis of variance are used for the simulation design and data analysis, respectively. The thermal performance of the proposed system was evaluated in terms of the useful energy stored in the TES system. The results showed that the outlet air …