Zhongliang Hu

Experimental and numerical investigation on integrated thermal management for lithium-ion battery pack with composite phase change materials

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Yongqi Xie, Jincheng Tang, Shang Shi, Yuming Xing, Hongwei Wu, Zhongliang Hu, and Dongsheng Wen, ‘Experimental and numerical investigation on integrated thermal management for lithium-ion battery pack with composite phase change materials’, Energy Conversion and Management, Vol. 154: 562-575, November 2017. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 23 November 2018. The final, published version is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2017.11.046

Nanoparticle-enabled delivery of surfactants in porous media

The adsorption of surfactants on the reservoir rocks surface is a serious issue in many energy and environment related areas. Learning from the concept of drug delivery in the nano-medicine field, this work proposes and validates the concept of using nanoparticles to deliver a mixture of surfactants into a porous medium. TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) are used as carriers for a blend of surfactants mixtures including anionic alkyl aryl sulfonic acid (AAS) and nonionic alcohol ethoxylated (EA) at the optimum salinity and composition conditions. The transport of NPs through a core sample of crushed sandstone grains and the adsorption of surfactants are evaluated. By using TiO2 NPs, the adsorption of surfactant molecules can be significantly reduced, i.e. half of the initial adsorption value. The level of surfactant adsorption reduction is related to the NPs transport capability through the porous medium. An application study shows that comparing to surfactant flooding alone, the total oil recovery can be increased by 7.81% of original oil in place (OOIP) by using nanoparticle bonded surfactants. Such work shows the promise of NP as an effective surfactant carrier for sandstone reservoirs, which could have many potential applications in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and environmental remediation.

Protective composite silica/polyelectrolyte shell with enhanced tolerance to harsh acid and alkali conditions

Here we report a facile method to fabricate composite polymeric/inorgainc shells consisting of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH)/poly-(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) multilayers strengthed by the in situ formed silica (SiO2) nanoparticles (NPs), achieving an enhanced stability under harsh acidic and basic conditions. While the unsiliconised PAH/PSS multilayers show a pH-dependent stability and permeability, the composite PAH/PSS/SiO2 shells display significantly higher chemical tolerance towards a variety of harsh conditions (1 ≤ pH ≤ 13, high salinity). Upon treatment with either hydrochloric acid (HCl, pH=1) or 0.2 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA, weak acid, chelator), the (PAH/PSS)6/SiO2 shells are able to maintain the integrity of most calcium carbonate (CaCO3) particles, as the shells are tickened and densified by sufficient SiO2 NPs. When treated with NaOH solution at pH=13, the (PAH/PSS)6/SiO2 shells also display an intact morphology and maintain the ability to intercept rhodamin B (Rh-B) molecules, which is quite different to that observed with the unsiliconised (PAH/PSS)6 shells. Ultrasound is proved to rapidly break the composite shells, hence can be used as a potential stimulus to trigger the release of encapsulated substances. All the results demonstrate the fact that the composite (PAH/PSS)6/SiO2 shells have a higher chemical stability, lower permeability for small molecules and a greater sensitivity to ultrasound, which is promising for many applications where protecting the activity of small molecules is required, such as the delivery of encapsulated drugs in an unhindered form to their specific destination within the human body.