A National Institute of Standards and Technology scientist has developed a way to improve energy efficiency in cooling large commercial buildings.
The method, if confirmed through experiments with full-scale chiller systems, could save as much as 1 percent of the 320 billion kilowatt hours of electricity now used annually to cool such buildings. That's an equivalent 920,000 barrels of oil each day, said Mark Kedzierski, the NIST mechanical engineer who developed the technique.
The advance builds on past NIST research designed to optimize mixtures of chiller refrigerants with lubricants. The researchers discovered that some lubricants, when injected in small amounts, can significantly enhance evaporator heat transfer, increasing the efficiency of chillers.
Studying the method more closely, they found the most efficient heat transfer occurred when the added oil's surface tension, viscosity, composition and chemical characteristics complemented those of the chiller's base lubricant.
The process is described online at the Prior Art Database, ip.com.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
Related stories:
Nanoparticle Research Points to Energy Savings
(PhysOrg.com) -- Adding just the right dash of nanoparticles to standard mixes of lubricants and refrigerants could yield the equivalent of an energy-saving chill pill for factories, hospitals, ships, and others with large cooling systems, suggest the latest results from National Institute of Standards and Technology research that is pursuing promising formulations.
Nanotubes in a New Light
Using x-rays to investigate order and function in nanotube systems
Nanotubes are tiny cylindrical molecules just a few nanometers in diameter, but their potential for new technologies is vast. They are extraordinarily strong, conduct electricity well, and can even emit light, properties suitable for many applications, from flat-panel television displays to fuel cells to building materials. But nanotubes must be extensively studied before they can be used in industrial applications.
New Sensor Could Help Avert Pipeline Failures
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Colorado School of Mines (CSM) have developed a prototype sensor that quickly detects very small amounts of hydrogen accumulation in coated pipeline steel. The new sensor could provide early warning of pipes that have accumulated excessive amounts of hydrogen -- a notorious source of embrittlement—and avert potentially disastrous failures of pipelines carrying hydrogen fuel.
Models of Eel Cells Suggest Electrifying Possibilities
(PhysOrg.com) -- Engineers long have known that great ideas can be lifted from Mother Nature, but a new paper by researchers at Yale University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology takes it to a cellular level. Applying modern engineering design tools to one of the basic units of life, they argue that artificial cells could be built that not only replicate the electrical behavior of electric eel cells but in fact improve on them. Artificial versions of the eel’s electricity generating cells could be developed as a power source for medical implants and other tiny devices, they say.
Baked Slug: New Method to Test Fireproofing Material
In a high-temperature blaze, how well does a fireproofing material shield a building’s important steel structures from heat? Answering this question has been surprisingly difficult, but it is important information for builders selecting high-performance fire-resistive materials and for scientists conducting computer simulations that investigate fires.
Moths with a Nose for Learning
Much like Pavlov conditioned his dog to salivate in anticipation of food when a bell rang, insects can be trained to perform certain behaviors when enticed with different smells. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have discovered that when training insects, the interval between the signal, or odor, and the reward—delicious sugar water—is everything.
Scientists create first dense gas of ultracold 'polar' molecules
Scientists at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)and the University of Colorado at Boulder, have applied their expertise in ultracold atoms and lasers to produce the first high-density gas of ultracold molecules—two different atoms bonded together—that are both stable and capable of strong interactions.
Scientists peel away the mystery behind gold's catalytic prowess
Few materials have exercised as much of a hold on the human imagination, or on human history, as has gold. But for all of its popular uses – money, medals, jewelry and more – gold's potential as a catalyst lay hidden until the 1980s, when Masatake Haruta and Graham Hutchings independently discovered that gold, which had long been considered inactive, could be an extraordinarily good catalyst. Haruta demonstrated the low-temperature oxidation of CO and Hutchings the hydrochlorination of acetylene to vinyl chloride.