Enginuity’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP) System Part 1: Fundamental Design & Performance Evaluation of Residential Engine System

The development of highly compact and energy-efficient systems is critical for world energy security and technology leadership. Due to the abundance of natural gas, the natural gas fueled distributed energy systems that lower the energy consumption and utility costs would be ideal in the U.S. as well as worldwide markets. To meet these objectives, researchers from Enginuity Power Systems (EPS) are currently working on the development of an ultra-efficient Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system for residential and commercial applications. These CHP systems generate electricity at the point of use while also meeting the space and water heating demands. Furthermore, a single CHP system replaces the conventional electricity generator, space, and water heating systems in residential and commercial applications. The main technical objective of this research article is the demonstration of the fundamental design and performance characteristics of an EPS’s 6 kW–10 kW CHP system intended for residential applications. The proposed residential system utilized a mirror-balanced, patented, inwardly opposed piston, four-stroke internal combustion engine as a prime mover. This novel four-stroke opposed piston design resolved the scavenging, cooling, and lubrication issues faced by the conventional opposed designs in the market while also maintaining the power density, balancing, and performance benefits. Initially, a series of experiments were conducted on the proposed system for different speeds and throttle openings. Later, the combustion, performance, and quantified energy loss pathways were presented at Wide Open Throttle (WOT) conditions to demonstrate the performance benefits of the proposed system. Finally, a performance-oriented framework was developed for the proposed CHP system for future efforts.

Main characteristics of dock-kessons, their use in the river fleet system and improvements after commissioning

The purpose of this work is to collect, analyze and generalize information on the operation of river dock-caissons. Currently, dock-caissons are rarely built despite their advantages. However, ship-lifting structures do not lose their relevance. The paper analyzes the constructed dock-boxes intended for caissoning the ends of passenger and cargo ships and docking of small vessels, namely, their fundamental design, analysis of hulls, systems and devices, as well as supporting structures on the slipway-deck, identified the main problems and search their decisions. A patent search was carried out on this topic and the most successful solutions were identified. The results of the work are generalized information about the operation of dock-boxes and allow to optimize further design, construction and operation of dock-boxes, taking into account the accumulated experience, and also allows to avoid mistakes that were made earlier. As a result of this work, some aspects of the operation of the ship-lifting structures were identified that were not taken into account in the design

Contextual dependencies expand the re-usability of genetic inverters

The implementation of Boolean logic circuits in cells have become a very active field within synthetic biology. Although these are mostly focussed on the genetic components alone, the context in which the circuit performs is crucial for its outcome. We characterise 20 genetic NOT logic gates in up to 7 bacterial-based contexts each, to generate 135 different functions. The contexts we focus on are combinations of four plasmid backbones and three hosts, two Escherichia coli and one Pseudomonas putida strains. Each gate shows seven different dynamic behaviours, depending on the context. That is, gates can be fine-tuned by changing only contextual parameters, thus improving the compatibility between gates. Finally, we analyse portability by measuring, scoring, and comparing gate performance across contexts. Rather than being a limitation, we argue that the effect of the genetic background on synthetic constructs expands functionality, and advocate for considering context as a fundamental design parameter.

Antiviral-nanoparticle interactions and reactions

Fundamental design parameters for future development of novel antiviral nanomaterials.

Steric hindrance dependence on the spin and morphology properties of highly oriented self-doped organic small molecule thin films

We provide fundamental design principles on the effect of dopant structure (steric hindrance) on the doping efficiency in highly oriented self-doped organic semiconducting thin films.

A Heuristic Evaluative Framework for Self-Regulated Learning Design

Researchers and educators have explored a variety of technologies to facilitate self-regulated learning (SRL). Drawing from contemporary perspectives on SRL, this paper articulates two fundamental design principles for SRL-promoting technologies: the platform principle and the support principle. This paper then discusses how usability inspection methods, such as heuristic evaluations and cognitive walkthroughs, can readily assess whether and how these needs are met. This framework can assist researchers and educators in evaluating technologies to make strategic design and implementation decisions aligned with self-regulation.

Two-Effects-in-One: Kinetic Quantum and Molecular Sieving Effect in a Robust-Flexible [Th6Co2] Cage for both Isotope and Isomer Separation

Although molecular and quantum sieving (MS and QS) effects have been realized and employed to execute separation tasks, however, little is known about the coexistence of both effects in a compound and its corresponding structure. In this work, we show the first observation of coexistence of both quantum and molecular sieving effects in a [Th6Co2] cage-based compound (Th-Co-Cage-1). The [Th6Co2] cage shows 0.78 nm aperture but with an irregular crescent-like window. This allows [Th6Co2] cage to give ultrahigh uptake for hydrogen isotope and selectivity towards D2 over H2, leading to complete hydrogen isotope separation, as evidenced by experimental breakthrough test. When the size of guest molecule is more than the crescent-like window, a highly rare robust-flexible adsorption was observed, consequently leading to complete isomer separation for C4 and C6 isomers through molecular sieving effect. High thermal, water and chemical stability further supports the materials for practical separation application. The results open up a gate of material with coexistence of QS and MS effects and its fundamental design for superior separation application.