Microvalves have been developed for a variety of applications suitable for Microtechnology-Based Energy and Chemical Systems. Valve classification can be divided into passive and active categories. The passive type is the most fundamental and is configured as a basic check valve where a thin flapper plate covers an orifice. Microvalves of this type have been fabricated using a variety of techniques, including lithography and etching, laser micromachining, and electro-discharge machining. Materials have included metal on metal, metal on polymers, and silicon with photoresists such as PMMA and polyimides. (more…)
The pressure relief valves protect against the devastating effects of the overpressure. Unfortunately there are so careful with ...
Many small-scale energy systems require effective miniaturized pumps and expanders. These devices are responsible for conveying ...
Many characteristics of traditional engines make them attractive for use in power generation and propulsion technology. They tend t ...
Micro technology can be employed to produce miniaturized refrigeration and cryocooling systems. Although process intensificat ...
Fabrication techniques developed for integrated circuit (IC) production have been refined to the extent of supporting a multi-b ...

Many small-scale energy systems require effective miniaturized pumps and expanders. These devices are responsible for conveying a working fluid through various components to execute a cycle that may result in power production, heat pumping, or refrigeration. As an example, a pump is required for pressurizing the working fluid in Rankine power cycles. Miniaturized pumps could also cycle a heat transfer fluid through a cooling loop for heat rejection purposes. On the other hand, expanders are necessary for any cycle employing a working fluid to generate power. Specific examples include microturbines, miniaturized piston-based machines, and roots-type expanders. (more…)
Heat-actuated heat pumps are cooling systems requiring no electricity for operation. Rather, a heat source is used, avoiding the ne ...
Micro technology can be employed to produce miniaturized refrigeration and cryocooling systems. Although process intensificat ...
Separation is a unit operation used in absorption heat pumps and chemical processing applications such as solvent extraction and pr ...
Many characteristics of traditional engines make them attractive for use in power generation and propulsion technology. They tend t ...
Microvalves have been developed for a variety of applications suitable for Microtechnology-Based Energy and Chemical Systems. Valve ...
Separation is a unit operation used in absorption heat pumps and chemical processing applications such as solvent extraction and product separations. A typical separation process in a heat pump application involves the desorption of ammonia from a water–ammonia solution. Although a number of configurations have been studied for this process at the macroscale, most are based on gravity and have relatively low rates of desorption. (more…)
Heat-actuated heat pumps are cooling systems requiring no electricity for operation. Rather, a heat source is used, avoiding the ne ...
The most fundamental process from an energy systems standpoint is heat transfer to (or from) a working fluid. This unit operation t ...
Mixing is a process where two or more liquids or gas phase components are brought together and combined to form a uniform compositi ...
Microtechnology-Based Energy and Chemical Systems will most likely employ combustion for driving processes such as vapor generation ...
So-called thin-film photovoltaic devices are usually based on mixtures of elements other than silicon — most notably copper ind ...
Heat-actuated heat pumps are cooling systems requiring no electricity for operation. Rather, a heat source is used, avoiding the need for batteries. This consideration is critical for portable applications because on a weight basis, a stored liquid fuel has anywhere from 35 to 300 times the energy content of batteries, depending on the battery technology considered. Thus, although the simple solution of combining an electric motor, a battery package, and a vapor compression refrigerator may sound appealing, it actually suffers a severe volume and weight disadvantage when compared with a heat-actuated system. (more…)
Separation is a unit operation used in absorption heat pumps and chemical processing applications such as solvent extraction and pr ...
Many small-scale energy systems require effective miniaturized pumps and expanders. These devices are responsible for conveying ...
Micro technology can be employed to produce miniaturized refrigeration and cryocooling systems. Although process intensificat ...
Numerous other parts are needed for a complete fuel cell engine suitable for motor vehicles. These auxiliary components include man ...
The idea of using an absorption fluid as a refrigerant carrier derived from the drawback of VCR (vapor–compression refrigeration) s ...