Truman S. Storvick

Rotational Collision Number and Eucken Factors from Thermal Transpiration Measurements

The formal kinetic theory of Wang Chang and Uhlenbeck as modified by Mason and Monchick provides an explicit expression for the heat conductivity of a polyatomic gas. The rotational collision number is an important parameter in this expression. The maximum differential pressure supported by a thermal transpiration measurement is related to the rotational collision number by the dusty gas model proposed by Mason. Thermal transpiration measurements were made that confirm the dusty gas model relationship and provide rotational collision numbers for nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide at 366°, 398°, and 444°K. Single values of Zrot were obtained for hydrogen, methane, and tetrafluoromethane. These values of Zrot agree with those obtained by ultrasonic measurements and the kinetic theory equations provide Eucken factors that agree within the experimental error with the factors obtained from direct heat conductivity measurements.

Kinetic theory of thermal transpiration and mechanocaloric effect. III. Flow of a polyatomic gas between parallel plates

The phenomenological coefficients for one‐dimensional mass and energy flows between infinite parallel plates containing polyatomic gases at all degrees of rarefaction are reported. The polyatomic gas model equations developed by Hansen and Morse were used in the linearized Wang Chang and Uhlenbeck equation with Maxwell’s diffuse scattering boundary conditions. The solutions reproduce the molecular flow results at large Knudsen numbers and the continuum fluid properties for small Knudsen numbers. The phenomenological coefficients are functions of the Eucken factor, the internal constant volume heat capacity, and the translational Eucken factor. Calculations for the Gross–Jackson and the BGK model are reported and compared to the polyatomic gas results. We find the thermal transpiration effect depends on the translational Eucken factor and is independent of the inelastic collisions. The monatomic gas results can be used to estimate the thermal transpiration effect by ’’scaling’’ the Knudsen numbers used to ...

Analysis of the Heat Conductivity Data for Polar and Nonpolar Gases Using Thermal Transpiration Measurements

Thermal transpiration experiments for carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide at 366, 398, and 444°K are reported. The “dusty gas” model proposed by Mason, Evans, and Watson describes the variation of the thermomolecular pressure difference as a function of the mean pressure for each temperature. The thermal transpiration measurements for each gas were used to analyze the heat conductivity data for each gas. It appears that nonresonant rotational energy exchange must be included in the kinetic theory representation of the polar gas heat conductivities. The rotational collision numbers deduced from the thermal transpiration measurements are found to increase with increasing temperature. The recent model of the thermal transpiration effect developed by Loyalka reproduces these collision numbers and the temperature dependences.

Kinetic theory of thermal transpiration and mechanocaloric effect. V. Flow of polyatomic gases in a cylindrical tube with arbitrary accommodation at the surface

Thermal transpiration and mechanocaloric effect in a long cylindrical tube are studied by use of the Hansen and Morse polyatomic gas model of the linearized Wang–Chang and Uhlenbeck equation and Maxwellian diffuse–specular reflection model for the gas–surface interaction. For all rarefactions, the dimensionless phenomenological coefficients for mass and energy flows due to axial pressure and temperature gradients are calculated as a function of the fraction of incident molecules that are reflected diffusely at the surface. The calculated thermal transpiration effect ratios were compared with the experimental data to obtain α for Xe, Ar, Ne, He, and H2, and CO2 in the transition flow regime, and Kr, Ar, Ne, and He in the near‐continuum regime. The values of α were found to lie in the range of 0.8–1.0 and are in general agreement with the reported experimental results.

Thermal transpiration and mechanocaloric effect. IV. Flow of a polyatomic gas in a cylindrical tube

The phenomenological coefficients for mass and energy flows due to axial pressure and to temperature gradients on long capillary tubes containing a polyatomic gas at all degrees of rarefaction are reported. The Hansen and Morse polyatomic gas model of the linearized Wang Chang and Uhlenbeck equation was used together with Maxwell’s diffuse scattering boundary conditions. The results are consistent with previous results obtained for flow between parallel plates. Experimental isothermal flow data are nearly quantitatively represented by the theory in the transition flow regime (Knudsen number ∼ 1). Experimental thermal transpiration effect ratios (Δp/p0)/(ΔT/T0) are also quantitatively represented for simple gases, argon, air, and carbon dioxide. Thermal transpiration measurements on sulfur dioxide correlate as the other gases but the transpiration effect ratio is not quantitatively given by the theory due to inadequacy of the Hansen–Morse model and the continuum theory for strongly polar gases.

Kinetic theory calculations of pressure effects of diffusion

The pressure effects of diffusion in an isothermal capillary tube are calculated. The linearized Boltzmann equation, the third‐order Gross–Jackson model for the collision term, and Maxwell’s diffuse‐specular boundary condition at the wall are used to compute the dimensionless component mean velocities for binary mixtures using numerical methods. The pressure effects are obtained by mass conservation. With the accommodation coefficients as parameters, the calculations reproduce the experimental data for the systems of nitrogen–hydrogen, argon–nitrogen, and carbon dioxide–argon quantitatively and the sign change in pressure effects observed for the system of ethylene–neon. Independent assignment of the accommodation coefficients is required for a predictive theory.

Energy Conversion and Storage

Man has developed many ways to convert stored energy into the most useful forms of mechanical and electrical energies. This chapter reviews the basic approaches of performing these conversions.

Chapter 5 – The New Electric Vehicle Society

Use of electrical power for vehicles brings with it stability in prices and supply as well as national security. A primary obstacle to displacing larger amounts of liquid fuels with electrical power in the past has been the high price of batteries. For the first time in history, the path to lower cost batteries and ultimate sustainable and major gains of battery-powered vehicles seems inevitable. In addition, there are new approaches to direct use of grid power for transportation.

The Future in Nuclear Power

Perceptions of nuclear power tend to be dominated by concerns on safety and waste management, and the key to understanding how these can be handled with security and sustainability is a fundamental understanding of nuclear processes and materials. This chapter traverses the chapters from atomic-level nuclear changes, to reactor options, and finally the handling of spent nuclear fuel. A comprehensive understanding leads to comprehensive solutions that are sustainable.

Options for Remote Locations

One of the best applications of wind and solar power is in remote locations. Sufficient data and reports are available to estimate benchmark costs for wind applications, and these benchmark costs show that these renewable energy applications tend to be more costly than grid power. Also, backup power is needed and can cost more than the wind or solar systems. However, there are great opportunities and paths forward that will lead to a resurgence of off-grid power in the United States and a dominance of off-grid power in countries where an electrical grid structure is not already in place