Solid Conductivity Research Articles

Dual role of two-dimensional graphene in silica aerogel composite: Thermal resistance and heat node

Incorporating two-dimensional graphene sheets, known for their high in-plane thermal conductivity, into silica aerogel enhances both the thermal insulation and mechanical properties of the composite. This work delves into the impact of graphene doping on the solid thermal conductivity of silica composites and their mechanical characteristics, employing molecular dynamics simulations that encompass both amorphous silica bulk and porous silica aerogel structures. Our findings reveal that graphene–silica interface thermal resistance notably restricts heat conduction in graphene doped silica aerogel, with the most pronounced effect occurring when graphene aligns vertically with the heat flux. Within porous silica aerogel, graphene serves as a “heat node”, bridging and connecting adjacent pores. A notable “trade-off” emerges: high weight percentages of graphene sheets augment heat transfer through the “heat node effect”, whereas the interfacial thermal resistance between graphene and aerogel reduces solid heat transfer, leading to decreased thermal conductivity. Additionally, while the inclusion of graphene sheets offers limited mechanical property enhancements, their two-dimensional structure can cause detachment and slipping from the silica matrix, leading to localized improvements in mechanical strength. This work sets the stage for advancing graphene-based aerogel composites characterized by low thermal conductivity and enhanced mechanical properties.

Triazolium bromoferrates – An alternative choice for ionic liquids

Four triazolium salts of iron were synthesized. One of them had melting point below 100 °C classifying it as an ionic liquid. Crystal structures of three salts were measured by X-Ray diffraction. DFT calculations of the synthesized anions were performed in order to help with the identification of measured Raman spectra signals, which were used to confirm the presence of tetrabromoferrate anions. Conductivities of the solutions of synthesized salts as well as their solid state conductivities were measured, confirming them as useful electrolytes and solid state conductors. This research expands the scope of cations of ionic liquids to rarely used in this regard triazoles. Additionally, atypical anions namely FeBr4− and FeBr42− were used giving interesting insights into crystal structures of triazolium ferrate salts.

Numerical simulation and experimental study on effect of cooling rate on microstructure and strength of nanostructured materials

In this study, by numerical simulation (finite element method, FEM) and experimental, the cooling rate was investigated by changing the product thickness (20, 3, 2, 1, 0.5 and 0.3) mm of Al based two-phase nanostructured materials casted through a copper mold. The effect of cooling rate on the microstructure and strength of the alloy was studied. The Experimental results showed that the precipitated intermetallic phases have a decreasing size corresponding to the increasing cooling rates by simulation from ~102 K/s to ~104 K/s. The results show that an appropriate cooling rate can improve the microstructure and properties of the alloy. The Abaqus/Standard capability for uncoupled heat transfer analysis was intended to model solid body heat conduction with general, temperature-dependent conductivity; internal energy (including latent heat effects); and quite general convection and radiation boundary conditions. This study describes the basic energy balance, constitutive models, boundary conditions, finite element discretization, and time integration procedures used. The time step used an automatic algorithm through the smallest tolerance. The maximum temperature change was allowed over a period and the increment was adjusted for this parameter, as was the rate of convergence in the non-linear cases. First-order heat transfer elements used the rule of numerical integration with integrated stations located at the corners of the element for thermal capacitance terms. (Jacobian terminology). This approach is particularly effective when there is a strong latent thermal effect. Thus, first - order elements were used in the case of latent heat. The HEATCAP element is available for single - point pooled thermal capacitance modeling. Centralized film loading options between the mold and the casting were specified by the user.

Crystallinity dependence of thermal and mechanical properties of glass-ceramic foams

Glass foams and glass-ceramic foams exhibit great potential in thermal insulation of buildings, consequently reducing the necessity for heating or cooling, and ultimately contributing to energy saving. In this study, we prepared glass-ceramic foams utilizing silicate glass as starting material and CaCO3 as foaming agent through a thermochemical process. Foams with varying degrees of relative crystallinity were produced by controlling temperature and duration of isothermal heat treatment. The foaming mechanism in the glass-ceramics was discussed by analyzing how the heat flow, mass, and volume evolve within the powder mixture during dynamic heating. The crystallization in glass did not show any clear trend on the compressive strength of glass foams. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity of the glass-ceramic foams increases with increasing relative crystallinity. The calculated solid thermal conductivity exhibited a minimum at low relative crystallinity (<20 %). These findings are crucial for designing high performance glass-ceramic foams for thermal insulation, potentially also for fabricating glass-ceramic foams using waste glasses.

Solid-state electrolytes: a way to increase the power of lithium-ion batteries

Currently, all-solid-state lithium metal batteries are considered among the most promising energy storage devices, due to their safety and high energy density. Solid-state electrolytes, the key components of the batteries, are attracting increasing attention. This review presents an analysis of important recent advances in the field of lithium conducting solid-state electrolytes, including the mechanisms of conductivity, the main approaches to increase the conductivity, optimization of interfaces and ways to improve the stability for the main types of electrolytes, &lt;i&gt;i.e.&lt;/i&gt;, inorganic, polymer and composite materials. For solid inorganic electrolytes, high conductivity and stability have been achieved; however, the problems related the formation of dense thin films and formation of a reliable contact with electrode materials are still unsolved. Polymer electrolytes are characterized by lower conductivity, which is improved upon plasticization with aprotic solvents. Composite electrolytes, for which it is possible to achieve a combination of high conductivity and good mechanical properties along with stability, are considered as the most promising. The main problems in the field of solid electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium metal batteries and possible ways to solve them are outlined.&lt;Br&gt;The bibliography includes 661 references.&lt;Br&gt; Key words: solid-state lithium battery, inorganic electrolyte, polymer electrolyte, composite electrolyte, ionic conductivity, lithium conductivity, transference numbers

Exploring the influence of additives on the ignition, combustion and quenching of electrically controlled solid propellants

AbstractThe influence of additives on the decomposition and combustion characteristics of electrically controlled solid propellants was investigated through small scale experiments. Carbon black and aluminum additives were explored in a polyethylene oxide, lithium perchlorate propellant. Additives were used to improve the voltage response and their impact on ignition and combustion was characterized. The data showed that conductive additives can mitigate the loss of solid phase conductivity through solvent evaporation and that ignition delay decreases with higher voltage and solid phase conductivity. Steady‐state combustion experiments showed that electrical decomposition of the propellants proceeded more rapidly than a purely thermal stimulus illustrating the importance of electrochemistry in ECSP combustion. The combined effects of pressure and voltage on combustion rates were summarized in Saint‐Robert's burn relations. The regression rates increased with both applied voltage and pressure. The pressure deflagration limit of propellants with the carbon black additive was significantly reduced compared to a neat PEO/LP propellant, whereas the addition of 10 % aluminum did not affect the pressure deflagration limit.

Automated system for measuring thermal conductivity of solid materials

Automated system for measuring thermal conductivity of solid materials

Advancements in Thermal Insulation through Ceramic Micro-Nanofiber Materials.

Ceramic fibers have the advantages of high temperature resistance, light weight, favorable chemical stability and superior mechanical vibration resistance, which make them widely used in aerospace, energy, metallurgy, construction, personal protection and other thermal protection fields. Further refinement of the diameter of conventional ceramic fibers to microns or nanometers could further improve their thermal insulation performance and realize the transition from brittleness to flexibility. Processing traditional two-dimensional (2D) ceramic fiber membranes into three-dimensional (3D) ceramic fiber aerogels could further increase porosity, reduce bulk density, and reduce solid heat conduction, thereby improving thermal insulation performance and expanding application areas. Here, a comprehensive review of the newly emerging 2D ceramic micro-nanofiber membranes and 3D ceramic micro-nanofiber aerogels is demonstrated, starting from the presentation of the thermal insulation mechanism of ceramic fibers, followed by the summary of 2D ceramic micro-nanofiber membranes according to different types, and then the generalization of the construction strategies for 3D ceramic micro-nanofiber aerogels. Finally, the current challenges, possible solutions, and future prospects of ceramic micro-nanofiber materials are comprehensively discussed. We anticipate that this review could provide some valuable insights for the future development of ceramic micro-nanofiber materials for high temperature thermal insulation.

Micro-layered film and foam alternating structures: A novel passive daytime radiative cooling material

This study investigates the confined foaming mechanisms and passive cooling performance of Micro-/Nano-Layered (MNL) film/foam alternating structures. These structures consist of solid poly(carbonate) (PC) film layers and foamed poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) layers. We examine the impact of confinement effects, layer thicknesses, and foaming conditions on cell morphology, cell nucleation, growth, and bulk expansion behavior. Samples ranging from 1 to 513 layers were foamed at 20 MPa and temperatures between 70 and 150°C. We identified three distinct cell structures—multiple, double, or single row(s) of cells—in MNL film/foam structures. We observed that cell size decreases and cell nucleation density increases with increasing layer count. The highest cell nucleation density (1.1×1013 cells/cm3) and smallest cell size (400 nm) were achieved in a 513-layer sample foamed at 70°C and 20 MPa. MNL samples primarily expand vertically, with the apparent expansion ratio ranging from 2.3 to 11 times as layers increase. Samples with double or single row(s) of cells exhibited tensile strengths (∼30 MPa) comparable to their solid counterparts and thermal conductivities (29.7 mW/m·K) comparable to air. Our samples exhibited high solar radiation reflection (93.5 %) and strong infrared emissivity (91.2 %) in the atmospheric transparent window. Mid-day passive cooling experiments showed an average temperature of 17.7°C lower under our sample than ambient conditions. Given these combined properties and the cost-effective nature of the manufacturing method, our samples are readily applicable for building applications, offering significant energy savings and contributing to the mitigation of global warming.

Model Based Exploration of Physical Parameters for Liquid Hydrogen System Insulation Performance

Cryogenic Systems require a highly efficient insulation so as to limit the heat ingress and boil-off, which is generally achieved through the use of vacuum combined with an insulated media. The performance of Multi layer Insulation (MLI) will be investigated with detailed thermal models developed to account for all the heat transfer contributions, solid conduction, gaseous conduction and radiation. Results are presented for an usual cold vacuum pressure (CVP) corresponding to high vacuum (<10−6 torr) and compared with available experimental measurements for state of the art technologies. The nominal thermal performances are then evaluated for a cold temperature of 20K (representative of liquid hydrogen storage temperature), for a degraded CVP with hydrogen and nitrogen as residual gasses and for increased hot boundary temperatures. Other parameters are also discussed such as, the number of layers, material, layers density, venting options, assembly process and material optical properties. Finally, a sensitivity of the thermal performance is also presented with a pressure gradient through the insulation thickness, that could be induced by cryopumping, materials outgassing, pumping times or small leakages.

Integral solution method of the laminar conjugated natural convection heat transfer from a hollow cylinder

The laminar conjugated natural convection heat transfer from a hollow cylinder is a common problem in engineering. The accurate calculation of the hot-spot temperature helps to monitor and evaluate the operating status of the equipment. In this paper, first, a mathematical model of the conjugated natural convection from a hollow cylinder is established. The boundary layer integral equations under arbitrary heat flux distribution on the surface are derived, and the optimal velocity and temperature profiles corresponding to different Prandtl numbers are determined. By combining the integral equations and the thermal network model, the hot-spot temperature and the average surface temperature of a hollow cylinder are solved iteratively. Subsequently, a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation based on finite volume method is carried out to verify the accuracy of the integral solution method. The maximum relative error of the computed results of the two methods is 1.35%. The integral solution method performs much better in computation speed, increasing by 90 times. It is also found that as the thermal conductivity of solid materials decreases, although the hot-spot temperature increases, the average surface temperature remains basically unchanged. Finally, based on the lumped thermal equivalent circuit, the correlation of the Nusselt number corresponding to the hot-spot temperature is predicted. The parameters in the correlation are estimated by regression orthogonal design. The results show that under a wide range of solid thermal conductivity and fluid Prandtl numbers, the maximum error of the correlation is 6.02%. Therefore, this novel method is feasible and significant for calculating hot-spot temperature.

Suppressed Lone Pair Electrons Explain Unconventional Rise of Lattice Thermal Conductivity in Defective Crystalline Solids.

Manipulating thermal properties of materials can be interpreted as the control of how vibrations of atoms (known as phonons) scatter in a crystal lattice. Compared to a perfect crystal, crystalline solids with defects are expected to have shorter phonon mean free paths caused by point defect scattering, leading to lower lattice thermal conductivities than those without defects. While this is true in many cases, alloying can increase the phonon mean free path in the Cd-doped AgSnSbSe3 system to increase the lattice thermal conductivity from 0.65 to 1.05Wm-1K-1 by replacing 18% of the Sb sites with Cd. It is found that the presence of lone pair electrons leads to the off-centering of cations from the centrosymmetric position of a cubic lattice. X-ray pair distribution function analysis reveals that this structural distortion is relieved when the electronic configuration of the dopant element cannot produce lone pair electrons. Furthermore, a decrease in the Grüneisen parameter with doping is experimentally confirmed, establishing a relationship between the stereochemical activity of lone pair electrons and the lattice anharmonicity. The observed "harmonic" behavior with doping suggests that lone pair electrons must be preserved to effectively suppress phonon transport in these systems.

On conjugate heat transfer in microchannel heat sinks

This work aims to study the anisotropic thermal impacts of employing liquid metal fluids including Na and NaK as coolants in two metallic microchannel heat sinks. The two studied microchannel heat sinks have aspect ratios of 1 and 2 while their hydraulic diameters are 267 µm and 400 μm. In the first stage, the accuracy and reliability of the developed numerical model are verified against benchmark problems and experimental data. In the second stage, the utilized verified and validated numerical model is extended to forced convection of Na and NaK in metallic microchannel heat sinks. The investigated metallic microchannel heat sinks are assumed to be out of stainless steel and Nickel with thermal conductivities of 17 W/mK and 90 W/mK, respectively. Obtained results revealed that NaK provides higher Nusselt numbers than Na regardless of the microchannel aspect ratio and hydraulic diameter. The effect of the microchannel heat sink solid substrate thermal conductivity on the temperature and heat flux distributions over the microchannel walls are also investigated comprehensively. For the investigated steady state Na and NaK flow within metallic microchannel heat sinks, the thermal conductivity of the heat sink solid substrate is observed to have a significant effect on the local temperature and heat flux distributions over microchannel walls.

Anderson Localization of Phonons in Thermally Superinsulating Graphene Aerogels with Metal-Like Electrical Conductivity.

In the quest to improve energy efficiency and design better thermal insulators, various engineering strategies have been extensively investigated to minimize heat transfer through a material. Yet, the suppression of thermal transport in a material remains elusive because heat can be transferred by multiple energy carriers. Here, the realization of Anderson localization of phonons in a random 3D elastic network of graphene is reported. It is shown that thermal conductivity in a cellular graphene aerogel can be drastically reduced to 0.9mWm-1K-1 by the application of compressive strain while keeping a high metal-like electrical conductivity of 120Sm-1 and ampacity of 0.9A. The experiments reveal that the strain can cause phonon localization over a broad compression range. The remaining heat flow in the material is dominated by charge transport. Conversely, electrical conductivity exhibits a gradual increase with increasing compressive strain, opposite to the thermal conductivity. These results imply that strain engineering provides the ability to independently tune charge and heat transport, establishing a new paradigm for controlling phonon and charge conduction in solids. This approach will enable the development of a new type of high-performance insulation solutions and thermally superinsulating materials with metal-like electrical conductivity.

Effects of one-side confinement and current on heat transfer mechanisms over single electrical wire flame spread behaviors

The electrical wire fire often occurs in the confined space, making the flame spread behavior complex and the risk increase. In this paper, experimental and theoretical study on the flame spread over three types of polyethylene (PE) electrical wires under different side-confined distances (0∼40 mm) and currents (0∼60 A) was carried out.The ratios of copper diameter to entire wire diameter were 6mm/10 mm, 8mm/12 mm, and 6mm/12 mm for type I, type II and type III, respectively. The results show that, with the increase of s, the flame width and height, and flame spread rate will firstly increase to the maximum peaks at the position of s = 5 mm with attachment wall effect, and then gradually decrease to the values of the unconfined conditions. And with the increase of current, these parameters will gradually increase to the largest at I = 40 A and then decrease for I = 60 A, as the current effect changes from preheating to dripping acceleration.The firm correlation between preheating length δph and pressure difference ΔP is built, which demonstrates the smallest preheating length is at s = 5 mm with the maximum promotion of heat transfer by gypsum board. On the other hand, the generated Joule heat by the current will enhance the length of preheating, making it proportional to current. Meanwhile, it is found that, the dripping frequency influenced by the dripping mass rate, will increase with the current. The heat transfer components including of the solid conduction heat flux (q˙joule″ and q˙c″), flame heat flux (q˙νf″ and q˙rf″) and gypsum board heat flux (q˙rg″ and q˙νg″) are quantitatively analyzed. Correspondingly, a heat transfer model over flame spread is established, which can well predict the flame spread rate.As the diameter of the wire is relatively small, the controlling heat transfer is the flame convective heat flux q˙νf″ in this research. In addition, it is illustrated that, the heat flux of gypsum board q˙νg″+q˙rg″ will decrease with the increase of copper core diameter from type I of 6 mm to type II of 8 mm.While the solid conduction heat flux of copper q˙c″+q˙joule″ will decrease with the increase of thickness of PE from type I of 2 mm to type III of 3 mm. These findings can well give the understanding of heat transfer of flame spread over electrical wires with the effects of sidewall and current.

Investigations on Hot Air Anti-Icing Characteristics with Internal Jet-Induced Swirling Flow

The tangential jet-induced swirling flow is a highly efficient technology for enhancing heat transfer. This paper explores the application of swirling flow of an airfoil/aero-engine in a hot air anti-icing chamber, aiming to improve the anti-icing performance and achieve a more uniform temperature on the surface. A series of numerical computations adopting the SST k − ω turbulent model was carried out to obtain the internal flow and heat transfer characteristics, as well as the surface temperature distributions, considering water evaporation and solid heat conduction. Three jet arrangements, including impingement jets, offset jets, and swirl jets, were studied and compared, which evidently showed that the swirling effect was helpful to elevate the internal heat transfer. Compared to the impingement jets at the Reynolds number of 40,000, the Nusselt number with the offset jets is increased by 19.5%, while the corresponding Nusselt number of the swirl jets is augmented by 44.3%. The swirling flow significantly elevates the swirl number within the internal chamber, intensifying the vortex strength near the wall and increasing the circumferential velocity, which also results in an augmentation of internal pressure loss. By adopting the swirling internal flow, the temperature distribution on the anti-icing surface is more uniform and is increased by up to about 4.1 K in the leading edge when the internal-to-external temperature difference is 80 K. Simultaneously, the heat absorption of water evaporation and the matches between the internal heat transfer and external icing load are of particular importance to determine the anti-icing performance, and this has been discussed in this paper.

Synthesis, Characterization and Electrical conductivities of the Complexes of Nickel(II), Copper(II) and Zinc(II) with 2,5-diamino-3,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone

Complexes of the type [M(dadb)] (M = Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II)) with ligand 2,5-diamino-3,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (dadb) have been synthesized and characterized by microanalysis, magnectic susceptibility, electronic, IR, ESR spectroscopy techniques, thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and solid phase conductivity measurements. The room temperature ESR spectra of Cu(II) complex yield ‹g› values, characteristics of square planar geometry. The solid state electrical conductivities of the complexes increase as the temperature increases from 311-383 K, with a band gap of 0.11- 0.21 eV, indicating their semiconducting behaviour.

Machine learning backpropagation network analysis of permeability, Forchheimer coefficient, and effective thermal conductivity of macroporous foam–fluid systems

Macroporous materials exhibit outstanding properties in heat and mass transfer due to their high pore volume, high surface area, and high Young's modulus. Consequently, understanding their thermofluidic properties is crucial in the design, synthesis, and optimal application of these materials. Therefore, this study, premieres, the use of a machine learning (ML) backpropagation network to develop and train a series of datasets for permeability, Forchheimer coefficient, and effective thermal conductivity of variable macroporous foam–fluid systems with respect to degrees of interstices, fluid and solid properties. To account for permeability values for flowing fluids in the Darcy regime, numerical simulations of slow–moving fluids were implemented over the materials' interstices. In comparison to similarly substantiated values of permeability in the Forchheimer regime, these values were a bit lower. The ML-based backpropagation algorithm was used to analyze data, which produced predictions (output signals) that are more than 90 % in correlation to CFD datasets. This provided insight into the effect of porosity and reduced mean pore openings on macroporous structures' thermofluidic behaviour. Material porosity was observed to play a dominant role in estimating Forchheimer coefficients and effective thermal conductivities for these foam-fluid systems. However, reduced mean pore openings were observed to be more critical for estimating permeability. The contributory effects of reduced mean pore openings on the effective thermal conductivity for these macroporous foam–fluid systems were determined to vary between 5.8 and 13.2 percent. Furthermore, the effective thermal conductivity of macroporous foam–fluid systems was also evaluated in relation to changes in the interstitial fluid and solid matrix thermal conductivity.

Microstructure, Mechanical Property and Thermal Conductivity of Porous TiCO Ceramic Fabricated by In Situ Carbothermal Reduction of Phenolic Resin and Titania.

The porous TiCO ceramic was synthesized through a one-step sintering method, utilizing phenolic resin, TiO2 powder, and KCl foaming agent as raw materials. Ni(NO3)2·6H2O was incorporated as a catalyst to facilitate the carbothermal reaction between the pyrolytic carbon and TiO2 powder. The influence of Ni(NO3)2·6H2O catalyst content (0, 5, 10 wt.% of the TiO2 powder) on the microstructure, compressive strength, and thermal conductivity of the resultant porous TiCO ceramic was examined. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results confirmed the formation of TiC and TiO in all samples, with an increase in the peak of TiC and a decrease in that of TiO as the Ni(NO3)2·6H2O content increased from 0% to 10%. Scanning electron microscopy results demonstrated a morphological change in the pore wall, transforming from a honeycomb-like porous structure composed of well-dispersed carbon and TiC-TiO particles to rod-shaped TiC whiskers, interconnected with each other as the catalyst content increased from 0% to 10%. Mercury intrusion porosimetry results proved a dual modal pore-size distribution of the samples, comprising nano-scale pores and micro-scale pores. The micro-scale pore size of the samples minorly changed, while the nano-scale pore size escalated from 52 nm to 138 nm as the catalyst content increased from 0 to 10%. The morphology of the pore wall and nano-scale pore size primarily influenced the compressive strength and thermal conductivity of the samples by affecting the load-bearing capability and solid heat-transfer conduction path, respectively.

Investigation of different buffer layer impact on AlN/GaN/AlGaN HEMT using silicon carbide substrate for high-speed RF applications

The AlN/GaN heterostructure on the AlGaN back barrier with different buffer layer structures using a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate was investigated in this work. This study mainly focused on selecting a cost-effective buffer layer with a thickness of more than 1 μm and fewer defects for improving DC/RF performance. The extra epitaxial growth process steps can be avoided by choosing an appropriate, high-quality buffer material called β-Ga2O3 (β-gallium oxide). It has a good lattice match with AlGaN alloys and SiC. It leads to fabricating cost-effective, reliable HEMTs. The GaN buffer has a poor lattice match with SiC; the nucleation layer must be used between GaN and SiC for lattice match to avoid stress defects and dislocations, which helps to reduce buffer traps. The growth of thick GaN crystals leads to high costs and more defects. Creating a solid conduction band barrier with the help of a back-barrier (AlGaN) leads to a boost in the confinement of electrons in both devices. Still, the traps and defects in the GaN buffer do not effectively halt the leakage current compared to the β-Ga2O3 buffer. The T-shaped gate with the impact of LGD (gate to drain length) and LGS (gate to source length) scaling in lateral dimensions was also studied and the device performance was reported. The HEMT with β-Ga2O3 buffer delivers significant results in drain current (2.3 A/mm), transconductance (603 S/mm), and cut-off frequency (486 GHz) for the scaled lateral lengths LG (Gate Length) of 60 nm,LGD of 0.9 μm, and LGS of 0.4 μm. This excellent performance helps to use this HEMT device in cost-effective future high-speed RF applications.