Magnetic nanoparticles in nanofluid have a unique ability in that they can be influenced by an external magnetic field, making them a promising heat-exchanging fluid to meet the demands of highly efficient thermal systems. The parametric impact of the magnetic field (static and time-varying) on the heat exchanging rate of Fe3O4 nanoparticles and water-based ferrofluid was investigated in this study. The experimental setup for generating a variable frequency magnetic field and analyzing the thermal behavior of ferrofluid is presented. Temperature data was obtained as heat is transferred from heated water to the ferrofluid used as a coolant. An enhancement of the heat transfer of the magnetic nanofluid was observed when varying the magnetic field frequency, through experimental analysis. The concentration of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the ferrofluid was varied (0.5 wt%, 1 wt%)to study the impact of nanoparticle loading on heat transfer. An alternative approach for controlling the heat exchange rate in thermal systems is proposed, utilizing the magnetic tunability of the ferrofluid.
The structural, thermal, and electrical characteristics of the superconducting Bi2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10+δ compound are the main subjects of this work. The solid-state reaction (SSR) method was used to prepare the samples. The samples were placed in a furnace and heated at 820 °C for 70 hours at a heating rate of 5 °C/min. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies were then performed on the prepared samples. XRD results revealed an orthorhombic crystal structure with variations in the lattice constants a, b, and c (where a = 5.416, b = 5.432, and c = 36.5 Å). The highest superconducting transition phase fraction (HTP%) was 78.76 %. The composition and morphology of the superconducting compound were studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Images were taken at 20 kX magnification, where we observed nanoparticles with a size of 86.65 nm had formed. The elemental analysis of the sample was conducted with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and the results showed the presence of different elements and their proportions for each sample. Thermal conductivity was also measured and it was found that the sample conductivity increased with increasing temperature. The electrical resistivity was examined, and it was observed that the resistivity decreased as the sample was cooled. The results showed that the highest initial critical temperature was 131 K, while the zero critical temperature was 114 K.
Many recent research efforts have focused on developing high-performance wearable health monitoring systems. This work presents a mechanically stretchable and skin-mountable sensor system based on a conductive polymer composite-based elastic printed circuit board (EPCB) in which a resistive-type composite strain sensor is monolithically integrated. The composite-based EPCB is simply prepared by patterning a silver nanowire (AgNW)/dragon skin (AgNW/DS) composite film in a programmable manner using a direct cut patterning technique. The proposed sensor system was successfully fabricated by directly mounting various components (e.g., microcontroller, circuit elements, light emitting device chips, temperature sensor, Bluetooth module) on the prepared AgNW/DS-based EPCB. The fabricated sensor system was found to be highly stretchable and rollable enough to maintain tight adhesion to the wrist region without significant physical deterioration, even when the wrist was in motion. The wireless sensor system attached to the wrist part enabled us to monitor the wrist motion and surrounding temperature in real time, opening the possible application as a wearable health monitoring platform.
Gas sensors play a crucial role in monitoring harmful gas concentrations and air quality in real-time, ensuring safety and protecting health in both environmental and industrial settings. Additionally, they are essential in various applications for energy efficiency and environmental protection. As the demand for hydrogen refueling stations and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles increases with the growth of the hydrogen economy, accurate gas concentration measurement technology is increasingly necessary given hydrogen's wide explosion range. To ensure safety and efficiency, gas sensors must accurately detect a wide range of gas concentrations in real-world environments. This study presents two types of gas sensors with high sensitivity, stability, low cost, fast response time, and compact design. These sensors, based on volume and pressure analysis principles, can measure gas filling amounts, solubility, diffusivity, and the leakage of hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, and argon gases in high-density polyethylene charged under high-pressure conditions. Performance evaluation shows that the two sensors have a stability of 0.2 %, a resolution of 0.12 wt・ppm, and can measure gas concentrations ranging from 0.1 wt・ppm to 1400 wt・ ppm within one second. Moreover, the sensitivity, resolution, and measurement range of the sensors are adjustable. Measurements obtained from these sensors of gas filling amounts and the diffusivity of four gases showed consistent results within uncertainty limits. This system, capable of real-time gas detection and characterization, is applicable to hydrogen infrastructure facilities and is expected to contribute to the establishment of a safe hydrogen society in the future.
AlN thin film is highly valued for use as a high-temperature material because of its excellent heat resistance, thermal conductivity and high mechanical strength. In addition, it is known as a replacement material for ZnO, because it can be applied to surface acoustic wave elements and high-frequency filters using piezoelectric properties or sound velocity. In this study, an alternating sputtering method was used to fabricate an AlN thin film with excellent film quality. The c-axis orientation and residual stress of the fabricated AlN thin film were measured using an X-ray diffraction method. Nitrogen gas pressure and target electrode conversion time are important deposition conditions when producing a thin film using the alternating sputtering method. The AlN thin film fabricated on the glass substrate using the alternating planar magnetron sputtering method exhibited a crystal structure in which the c-axis was preferentially oriented in the normal direction of the substrate surface. The c-axis orientation was better when the target electrode switching time was short under the condition of low nitrogen gas pressure. Residual stress is tensile stress in the very low nitrogen gas pressure range (PN ≤ 0.3 Pa), compressive stress in the low nitrogen gas pressure range (0.3 < PN < 0.9 Pa), and in the high nitrogen gas pressure range (PN ≥ 0.9 Pa), it becomes tensile stress. Residual stress shows tensile stress when the switching time is short, tensile stress decreases as the switching time increases, and becomes compressive stress when the switching time is sufficiently long (300 to 600 s). Compared to the simultaneous sputtering of two targets, the use of the alternating sputtering method can produce a high-quality thin film with excellent c-axis orientation and low residual stress.