Geothermal heating of bridge decks is a reliable and sustainable method for bridge de-icing that has been in-creasing in demand since conventional de-icing methods were proved to be environmentally hazardous.Previous ...Geothermal heating of bridge decks is a reliable and sustainable method for bridge de-icing that has been in-creasing in demand since conventional de-icing methods were proved to be environmentally hazardous.Previous research on geothermal heating of bridge decks relied on hydronic pipes embedded inside of bridge decks,which are confined to newly constructed bridges.For existing bridges,a newly devised method for external heating has been recently tested under limited laboratory conditions to determine its overall performance.This study explores laboratory heating tests of a concrete slab with a thickness representing a typical concrete bridge deck.This slab was equipped with a simulated geothermal bridge de-icing system and tested inside a freezer subjected to sub-freezing controlled conditions.Various winter scenarios were applied to the system to determine its heat-ing performance and how feasible it will be for the system to be transferred to the field.A prediction equation was developed to estimate the total energy reserves required to permit de-icing,and statistical analysis was performed and validated with test results.The slab surface heat flux was estimated to range from 27 W/m^(2) K to 73 W/m^(2) K from the heating test.The externally-heated deck can be designed with the developed prediction equation for snow melting.展开更多
The hydronic thermal barrier(HTB)makes the building envelope gradually regarded as a multifunctional element,which is an opportunity to transform thermal insulation solutions from high to zero-carbon attributes.Howeve...The hydronic thermal barrier(HTB)makes the building envelope gradually regarded as a multifunctional element,which is an opportunity to transform thermal insulation solutions from high to zero-carbon attributes.However,inappropriate design,construction,and operation control may lead to issues like low efficiency and high investment,and even the opposite technical effects.In this paper,a comprehensive uncertainty and variable ranking analysis is numerically conducted to explore the influence mechanism of twelve risk variables on three types and five thermal performance indexes under summer conditions.The uncertainty analysis results showed that the correct application of HTB could significantly reduce the heat gain that needs to be handled by the traditional air-conditioning system and even have the technical effect of auxiliary cooling if the variables are appropriately selected.The comprehensive influences of water temperature,room temperature,charging duration,and thermal conductivity of the HTB layer were in the first 1/3 range.Among them,the first two variables were identified as the two most influential variables,and they had a significant mutual restriction relationship in all other four indexes except for the exterior surface cold loss.The recommended charging duration was not less than eight hours in practical application,and the HTB layer with a higher thermal conductivity value but less than 3.3 W/(m·℃)was suggested.Besides,the climate zone was no longer the most influential variable affecting the mean radiant temperature of the interior surface due to the combined effects of HTB and static thermal insulation measures.In addition,pipe spacing should preferably be selected between 100 and 250 mm to help form a continuous thermal buffer zone inside the building envelope.展开更多
The unavailability of high-performance and cost-effective electrocatalysts has impeded the large-scale deployment of alkaline water electrolyzers.Professor Zidong Wei's group has focused on resolving critical chal...The unavailability of high-performance and cost-effective electrocatalysts has impeded the large-scale deployment of alkaline water electrolyzers.Professor Zidong Wei's group has focused on resolving critical challenges in industrial alkaline electrolysis,particularly elucidating hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction(HER/OER)mechanisms while addressing the persistent activity-stability trade-off.This review summarizes their decade-long progress in developing advanced electrodes,analyzing the origins of sluggish alkaline HER kinetics and OER stability limitations.Professor Wei proposes a unifying"12345 Principle"as an optimization framework.For HER electrocatalysts,they have identified that metal/metal oxide interfaces create synergistic"chimney effect"and"local electric field enhancement effect",enhancing selective intermediate adsorption,interfacial water enrichment/reorientation,and mass transport under industrial high-polarization conditions.Regarding OER,innovative strategies,including dual-ligand synergistic modulation,lattice oxygen suppression,and self-repairing surface construction,are demonstrated to balance oxygen species adsorption,optimize spin states,and dynamically reinforce metal-oxygen bonds for concurrent activity-stability enhancement.The review concludes by addressing remaining challenges in long-term industrial durability and suggesting future research priorities.展开更多
A comparison analysis of the heating properties of the hydronic heating system of bridge decks with external(exchange tubes installed at the bottom of the existing bridge deck with voids inside)or internal(exchange tu...A comparison analysis of the heating properties of the hydronic heating system of bridge decks with external(exchange tubes installed at the bottom of the existing bridge deck with voids inside)or internal(exchange tubes embedded in pavement of the newly built bridge deck)tubes was carried out through field tests.Two heating methods(constant heating power and constant inlet fluid temperature)were used to analyze the heat exchange flux and the temperature increments as well as thermally induced stress of the slab.Numerical simulation was conducted to model the bridge deck heating process to analyze the temperature distribution of the bridge surface.The results shows that the heat exchange flux are the same under the same constant heating powers for the two embedded tube position heating systems;the maximum temperature increment of the bridge deck surface obtained by the external heating system is 0.46 times that obtained by the internal heating system;the maximum thermally induced stress caused by the external heating is 20.4%of the concrete strength(19.1 MPa),which is much higher than that caused by the internal heating under the same heating powers.The thermal efficiencies of the external and internal heating systems are approximately 24.4%and 47.9%,respectively.Under the same constant inlet temperatures,the temperature increment of the bridge deck caused by the external heating is 20.4%of that of the internal heating.展开更多
Fuel poverty is one of the global concerns affecting not only users’financial capacity or affordability for maintaining housing operation but also the occupants’health and wellbeing.Space heating and cooling require...Fuel poverty is one of the global concerns affecting not only users’financial capacity or affordability for maintaining housing operation but also the occupants’health and wellbeing.Space heating and cooling require a relatively large amount of domestic energy use in housing.Therefore,this study was formed with the aim to propose an innovative approach to utilising free,clean renewable sources of energy applicable to the space heating and cooling of housing in both cold and hot regions.Accordingly,housing test facilities based in Melbourne,Australia,and Kuching,Malaysia,were selected and used for this study that examined the thermal performance of a proposed‘hydronic radiator’(HR)system through simulation and onsite measurements.The geothermal heat capacity of a‘vertical ground heat exchanger’(VGHE)installed in the house in Melbourne was examined previously by the authors and the VGHE measured data was also applied to this HR performance simulation.The water that circulates through the HRs is heated by sunlight and VGHE or cooled by night sky radiation.This study drew conclusions that the sole utilisation of renewable sources through these proposed HR space heating and cooling systems can provide thermally accessible or comfortable indoor living environments in both heating or cooling dominant regions.Thus,fuel poverty issues may be alleviated through HR system application.The HRs can remove a‘sensible’portion of metabolic heat,but they cannot effectively contribute to the‘latent’heat removal.Thus,the future potential use or effect of‘flow-through’HRs,which are integrated into a underfloor air distribution(UFAD)plenum,was also dsicussed in this study.In the test house located in Melbourne,the flow-through HR UFAD system is currently under development.Therefore,the performance will be measured once the system has come into operation for further testing.展开更多
A novel building integrated photovoltaic thermal(BIPVT)roofing panel has been designed considering both solar energy harvesting efficiency and thermal performance.The thermal system reduces the operating temperature o...A novel building integrated photovoltaic thermal(BIPVT)roofing panel has been designed considering both solar energy harvesting efficiency and thermal performance.The thermal system reduces the operating temperature of the cells by means of a hydronic loop integrated into the backside of the panel,thus resulting in maintaining the efficiency of the solar panels at their feasible peak while also harvesting the generated heat for use in the building.The performance of the proposed system has been evaluated using physical experiments by conducting case studies to investigate the energy harvesting efficiency,thermal performance of the panel,and temperature differences of inlet/outlet working liquid with various liquid flow rates.The physical experiments have been simulated by coupling the finite element method(FEM)and finite volume method(FVM)for heat and mass transfer in the operation.Results show that the thermal system successfully reduced the surface temperature of the solar module from 88℃to as low as 55℃.Accordingly,the output power that has been decreased from 14.89 W to 10.69 W can be restored by 30.2%to achieve 13.92 W.On the other hand,the outlet water from this hydronic system reaches 45.4℃which can be used to partially heat domestic water use.Overall,this system provides a versatile framework for the design and optimization of the BIPVT systems.展开更多
基金the financial support and guidance provided for this study by the Texas Department of Transportation(TxDOT).
文摘Geothermal heating of bridge decks is a reliable and sustainable method for bridge de-icing that has been in-creasing in demand since conventional de-icing methods were proved to be environmentally hazardous.Previous research on geothermal heating of bridge decks relied on hydronic pipes embedded inside of bridge decks,which are confined to newly constructed bridges.For existing bridges,a newly devised method for external heating has been recently tested under limited laboratory conditions to determine its overall performance.This study explores laboratory heating tests of a concrete slab with a thickness representing a typical concrete bridge deck.This slab was equipped with a simulated geothermal bridge de-icing system and tested inside a freezer subjected to sub-freezing controlled conditions.Various winter scenarios were applied to the system to determine its heat-ing performance and how feasible it will be for the system to be transferred to the field.A prediction equation was developed to estimate the total energy reserves required to permit de-icing,and statistical analysis was performed and validated with test results.The slab surface heat flux was estimated to range from 27 W/m^(2) K to 73 W/m^(2) K from the heating test.The externally-heated deck can be designed with the developed prediction equation for snow melting.
基金This study is co-sponsored by the Open Project Program of Engineering Research Center of Building Energy Efficiency Control and Evaluation,Ministry of Education(No.AHJZNX202103)Youth Fund of Anhui Natural Science Foundation(No.2208085QE163,No.2108085QE241)+3 种基金Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.JZ2022HGTA0336,No.JZ2022HGQA0173)Natural Science Research Program of Anhui Colleges(No.KJ2020A0462)Scientific Research and Cultivation Project of Anhui Jianzhu University(No.2021XMK04)Open Project Program of Anhui Academy of Territory Space Planning and Ecology(No.GTY2021202).
文摘The hydronic thermal barrier(HTB)makes the building envelope gradually regarded as a multifunctional element,which is an opportunity to transform thermal insulation solutions from high to zero-carbon attributes.However,inappropriate design,construction,and operation control may lead to issues like low efficiency and high investment,and even the opposite technical effects.In this paper,a comprehensive uncertainty and variable ranking analysis is numerically conducted to explore the influence mechanism of twelve risk variables on three types and five thermal performance indexes under summer conditions.The uncertainty analysis results showed that the correct application of HTB could significantly reduce the heat gain that needs to be handled by the traditional air-conditioning system and even have the technical effect of auxiliary cooling if the variables are appropriately selected.The comprehensive influences of water temperature,room temperature,charging duration,and thermal conductivity of the HTB layer were in the first 1/3 range.Among them,the first two variables were identified as the two most influential variables,and they had a significant mutual restriction relationship in all other four indexes except for the exterior surface cold loss.The recommended charging duration was not less than eight hours in practical application,and the HTB layer with a higher thermal conductivity value but less than 3.3 W/(m·℃)was suggested.Besides,the climate zone was no longer the most influential variable affecting the mean radiant temperature of the interior surface due to the combined effects of HTB and static thermal insulation measures.In addition,pipe spacing should preferably be selected between 100 and 250 mm to help form a continuous thermal buffer zone inside the building envelope.
基金the National Key R&D Program of China(2021YFB4000300)National Natural Science Foundation of China(21822803,22408030,22072009,91534205,51072239)National Program on Key Basic Research Project(973 Program,2012CB720303).
文摘The unavailability of high-performance and cost-effective electrocatalysts has impeded the large-scale deployment of alkaline water electrolyzers.Professor Zidong Wei's group has focused on resolving critical challenges in industrial alkaline electrolysis,particularly elucidating hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction(HER/OER)mechanisms while addressing the persistent activity-stability trade-off.This review summarizes their decade-long progress in developing advanced electrodes,analyzing the origins of sluggish alkaline HER kinetics and OER stability limitations.Professor Wei proposes a unifying"12345 Principle"as an optimization framework.For HER electrocatalysts,they have identified that metal/metal oxide interfaces create synergistic"chimney effect"and"local electric field enhancement effect",enhancing selective intermediate adsorption,interfacial water enrichment/reorientation,and mass transport under industrial high-polarization conditions.Regarding OER,innovative strategies,including dual-ligand synergistic modulation,lattice oxygen suppression,and self-repairing surface construction,are demonstrated to balance oxygen species adsorption,optimize spin states,and dynamically reinforce metal-oxygen bonds for concurrent activity-stability enhancement.The review concludes by addressing remaining challenges in long-term industrial durability and suggesting future research priorities.
基金The work presented in this study was supported by the National Nat-ural Science Foundation of China(No.51778212,51922037).
文摘A comparison analysis of the heating properties of the hydronic heating system of bridge decks with external(exchange tubes installed at the bottom of the existing bridge deck with voids inside)or internal(exchange tubes embedded in pavement of the newly built bridge deck)tubes was carried out through field tests.Two heating methods(constant heating power and constant inlet fluid temperature)were used to analyze the heat exchange flux and the temperature increments as well as thermally induced stress of the slab.Numerical simulation was conducted to model the bridge deck heating process to analyze the temperature distribution of the bridge surface.The results shows that the heat exchange flux are the same under the same constant heating powers for the two embedded tube position heating systems;the maximum temperature increment of the bridge deck surface obtained by the external heating system is 0.46 times that obtained by the internal heating system;the maximum thermally induced stress caused by the external heating is 20.4%of the concrete strength(19.1 MPa),which is much higher than that caused by the internal heating under the same heating powers.The thermal efficiencies of the external and internal heating systems are approximately 24.4%and 47.9%,respectively.Under the same constant inlet temperatures,the temperature increment of the bridge deck caused by the external heating is 20.4%of that of the internal heating.
文摘Fuel poverty is one of the global concerns affecting not only users’financial capacity or affordability for maintaining housing operation but also the occupants’health and wellbeing.Space heating and cooling require a relatively large amount of domestic energy use in housing.Therefore,this study was formed with the aim to propose an innovative approach to utilising free,clean renewable sources of energy applicable to the space heating and cooling of housing in both cold and hot regions.Accordingly,housing test facilities based in Melbourne,Australia,and Kuching,Malaysia,were selected and used for this study that examined the thermal performance of a proposed‘hydronic radiator’(HR)system through simulation and onsite measurements.The geothermal heat capacity of a‘vertical ground heat exchanger’(VGHE)installed in the house in Melbourne was examined previously by the authors and the VGHE measured data was also applied to this HR performance simulation.The water that circulates through the HRs is heated by sunlight and VGHE or cooled by night sky radiation.This study drew conclusions that the sole utilisation of renewable sources through these proposed HR space heating and cooling systems can provide thermally accessible or comfortable indoor living environments in both heating or cooling dominant regions.Thus,fuel poverty issues may be alleviated through HR system application.The HRs can remove a‘sensible’portion of metabolic heat,but they cannot effectively contribute to the‘latent’heat removal.Thus,the future potential use or effect of‘flow-through’HRs,which are integrated into a underfloor air distribution(UFAD)plenum,was also dsicussed in this study.In the test house located in Melbourne,the flow-through HR UFAD system is currently under development.Therefore,the performance will be measured once the system has come into operation for further testing.
基金the National Science Foundation IIP#1941244,CMMI#1762891U.S.Department of Agriculture NIFA#2021-67021-34201,whose support is gratefully acknowledged.
文摘A novel building integrated photovoltaic thermal(BIPVT)roofing panel has been designed considering both solar energy harvesting efficiency and thermal performance.The thermal system reduces the operating temperature of the cells by means of a hydronic loop integrated into the backside of the panel,thus resulting in maintaining the efficiency of the solar panels at their feasible peak while also harvesting the generated heat for use in the building.The performance of the proposed system has been evaluated using physical experiments by conducting case studies to investigate the energy harvesting efficiency,thermal performance of the panel,and temperature differences of inlet/outlet working liquid with various liquid flow rates.The physical experiments have been simulated by coupling the finite element method(FEM)and finite volume method(FVM)for heat and mass transfer in the operation.Results show that the thermal system successfully reduced the surface temperature of the solar module from 88℃to as low as 55℃.Accordingly,the output power that has been decreased from 14.89 W to 10.69 W can be restored by 30.2%to achieve 13.92 W.On the other hand,the outlet water from this hydronic system reaches 45.4℃which can be used to partially heat domestic water use.Overall,this system provides a versatile framework for the design and optimization of the BIPVT systems.
