Francesco Corvaro

Effect of Heat Transfer on Natural Convection in a Square Cavity With Two Source Pairs

In this paper, the influence of a small heating source, positioned in the lateral walls of a square cavity, is investigated. Numerical and experimental analyses are performed to investigate natural convection heat transfer in a square cavity heated by hot strips in the side walls. The H side square cavity is filled with air and heated by two hot strips with heights of H/4. The effect of placing the hot strips at two different positions is evaluated. The temperature distribution and the Nusselt numbers at different Rayleigh numbers are experimentally measured using both real-time and double-exposure holographic interferometry. The isothermal patterns obtained through the holographic interferometry are compared with the temperature and velocity fields from a numerical study performed using the finite-volume code Fluent.

The Natural Convective Heat Transfer in a Partially Divided Enclosure: A Study on the Influence of the Source Position

The aim of this paper is to analyse the natural convective heat transfer generated by a source with a height of 𝜁 located in two different positions inside a square enclosure of side 𝐻. In the first case, 𝛿 is 0.5 of 𝐻 while in the second case it is 0.4. The comparison is based both on the evaluation of the local and average Nusselt numbers at different Rayleigh numbers and on the study of the velocity fields at the same Rayleigh numbers in the two different configurations. The experimental analysis was carried out through a holographic interferometry, to study the heat transfer, and through a 2D-PIV system, to analyse the dynamic behaviour of the phenomenon. Finally, for 𝛿 = 0.5 we compared the experimental results with those obtained through the volume finite software Fluent 6.3.26. In the analysis, it is possible to see that the position of the source influences both the average Nusselt numbers on the hot surfaces and the development of a small bubble on the upper surface.

A 2D-PIV Study on Natural Convective Heat Transfer in a Square Enclosure With Partially Active Side Walls

The present study is an experimental and numerical analysis on the natural convection of air in square enclosures with partially active side walls. The experimental equipment is based on two different systems: an holographic interferometer and a 2D-PIV. The test cell is a square enclosure filled of air with vertical partially active side walls at different temperatures. The hot and cold regions on these sides are located in the middle of the cavity. The remaining vertical walls are made up of glass to allow an optical access to the cavity. The top and bottom surfaces of the enclosure are made up of plexiglas to reduce heat leakages. The experimental study is carried out both through the holographic interferometry, in order to obtain the average Nusselt numbers at different Rayleigh numbers, and through the 2D-PIV, in order to analyse the dynamic behaviour of the phenomenon at the same Rayleigh numbers. The average Nusselt numbers are obtained measuring the temperature distribution in the air layer trough the real-time and double-exposure holographic interferometry; the dynamic structures are the velocity vector distribution, the streamlines and the velocity maps. Finally these experimental data are compared to the results obtained through a numerical study carried out using the finite volume code, Fluent 6.2.3. The aim of this comparison is the validation of the numerical procedure. In this way it is possible to use the numerical code to enlarge the Rayleigh number range.Copyright

Double Green Process: a low environmental impact method for recycling of CdTe, a-Si and CIS/CIGS thin-film photovoltaic modules

Abstract On the basis of the method for managing the end of life of CdTe photovoltaic panels previously proposed by the authors, a new method for the recycling of all types of thin-film panels (CdTe, a-Si and CIS/CIGS) has been developed and optimised under a research project founded by Enel Foundation and CRUI Foundation. The DGP process has been developed through a feasibility study carried out from three points of view: technical, environmental and economic. The process is composed by two sub-processes matched to each other, one suitable for CdTe panels (named DGPa) and the other one for a-Si and CIS/CIGS panels (DGPb). The Double Green Panel process is based mainly on mechanical treatments with a minimum use of chemicals and it is characterised by a greater level of automation and a high flexibility in production capacity. The potential environmental impacts of various configurations of the DGP process have been extensively analysed with LCA tool in order to develop an environmentally friendly process. The economic feasibility has been assessed through the Discounted Cash Flow Analysis (DCFA) method. The revenues associated to the recovery of valuable and common materials and the recycling costs have been taken into account.

Modelling the pressurization induced by solar radiation on above ground installations of LPG pipeline systems

Pipelining Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a mode of LPG transportation more environmentally-friendly than others due to the lower energy consumption and exhaust emissions. Worldwide, there are over 20000 kilometers of LPG pipelines. There are a number of codes that industry follows for the design, fabrication, construction and operation of liquid LPG pipelines. However, no standards exist to modelling particular critical phenomena which can occur on these lines due to external environmental conditions like the solar radiation pressurization. In fact, the solar radiation can expose above ground pipeline sections at pressure values above the maximum Design Pressure with resulting risks and problems. The present work presents an innovative practice suitable for the Oil & Gas industry to modelling the pressurization induced by the solar radiation on above ground LPG pipeline sections with the application to a real case.

An efficiency analysis on Italian thermopower plants

This paper deals with the efficiency of electrical energy generation in the thermopower plants in Italy. A method based on the principles of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to assess the conversion efficiency of each power plant based on a set of input data. The analysis was conducted over a period of six years (1993–1998), before the power generation plants were privatised by the Thermopower Generation Directorates (DPT) of the Italian Electricity Board (ENEL). The results of the analysis enabled us to distinguish the DPTs implementing the Best Practices (BP DPTs) from those failing to do so (NBP DPTs) on the strength of an efficiency score. A global score was obtained for each DPT to enable their comparison and the performance shortfalls of the NBP DPTs were attributed values indicative of the gap between the BP and NBP DPTs in relation to the various contributions to the efficiency score.