Heavy mass materials used in building structures and architecture can significantly affect building energy performance and occupant comfort. The purpose of this study was to investigate if thermal mass can improve the internal environment of a building, resulting in lower energy requirements from the mechanical systems. The study was focused on passive building energy performance and compared annual space heating and cooling energy requirements for an office building in Belgrade with several different applications of thermal mass. A three-dimensional building model was generated to represent a typical office building. Building shape, orientation, glazing to wall ratio, envelope insulation thickness, and indoor design conditions were held constant while location and thickness of building mass (concrete) was varied between cases in a series of energy simulations. The results were compared and discussed in terms of the building space heating and cooling energy and demand affected by thermal mass. The simulation results indicated that with addition of thermal mass to the building envelope and structure: 100% of all simulated cases experienced reduced annual space heating energy requirements, 67% of all simulated cases experienced reduced annual space cooling energy requirements, 83% of all simulated cases experienced reduced peak space heating demand and 50% of all simulated cases experienced reduced peak space cooling demand. The study demonstrated that there exists a potential for reducing space heating and cooling energy requirements with heavy mass construction in the analyzed climate region (Belgrade, Serbia)

Traditional methods of analysis and calculation of complex thermal systems are based on the first law of thermodynamics. These methods use energy balance for a system. In general, energy balances do not provide any information about internal losses. In contrast, the second law of thermodynamics introduces the concept of exergy, which is useful in the analysis of thermal systems. Exergy is a measure for assessing the quality of energy, and allows one to determine the location, cause, and real size of losses incurred as well as residues in a thermal process. The purpose of this study is to comparatively analyze the performance of four thermal power plants from the energetic and exergetic viewpoint. Thermodynamic models of the plants are developed based on the first and second law of thermodynamics. The primary objectives of this paper are to analyze the system components separately and to identify and quantify the sites having largest energy and exergy losses. Finally, by means of these analyses, the main sources of thermodynamic inefficiencies as well as a reasonable comparison of each plant to others are identified and discussed. As a result, the outcomes of this study can provide a basis for the improvement of plant performance for the considered thermal power plants.

The mathematical model of unsteady one-dimensional gas to particles heat transfer for non-isothermal fluidized bed with periodic heating of solid particles has been described. The method of numerical solution of governing differential equations, the algorithm and the computer program, have been presented. By using mathematical model and computer program, the temperature profiles for interstitial gas, gas in bubbles, and solid particles along the height of fluidized bed in function of time, have been determined. The results obtained on the basis of prediction method are compared to the experimental results of the authors; the satisfactory agreement has been found for interstitial gas temperature and solid particle temperature. On the basis of this comparison, the mathematical model has been verified.

The need for compact heat exchangers has led to the development of many types of surfaces that enhance the rate of heat transfer, among them the perforated plate heat exchangers, also known as matrix heat exchangers. The perforated plate heat exchangers consist of a series of perforated plates that are separated by a series of spacers. The present study investigates the heat transfer characteristics of the package of perforated plates. Perforated plates were 2 mm thick, with holes with 2 mm in diameter and porosity of 25.6%. The package of one, two, and three perforated plates was set in the channel of the experimental chamber at which entrance was a thrust fan with the ability to control the flow rate. The fluid flow rates, the temperatures of the fluids at the inlet and outlet of the chamber and the temperature of the air between the plates, were measured at the predefined locations in the package and the experimental chamber. Based on the measurements, heat transfer coefficients for the individual plates, as well as for the packages of perforated plates were determined. In further research, an iterative analytical procedure for investigation of the heat transfer process and the overall heat transfer coefficient for the package of perforated plates were developed. Based on these analytical and experimental results, conclusions were drawn about the heat transfer in a package of perforated plates.

Fluidization has become a subject of wide interest in chemical engineering during the past few decades. This paper presents one part of the results of the kinetics research into the drying of fine grained material in a two-component fluidized bed. A review of theoretical and experimental investigations of aerodynamics of the fluidized bed and minimum fluidization velocity of particles are given, with a special insight into two-component fluidized beds (binary mixture), as well as the basics of heat and material transfer through a fluidized bed. The interaction between complex hydrodynamics and transfer mechanisms complicates the analysis, design and prediction of gas-fluidized-bed processes. Based on experimental investigations, where zeolits was used as a representative of fine grained material, and polyethylene as a representative of the inert material (another component), an analysis of the influence of working parameters on drying in a two-component fluidized bed has been performed. Before that, the minimum velocities for two-component fluidized bed with particles of different sizes and densities were studied experimentally. Also, the ability of elutriation of fine particles from the fluidized bed is described.The present paper deals with the experimental results on the influence of the considered parameters, such as the drying agent temperature and the mass ratio of zeolite and the inert material on the drying curve. The participation of the inert material can considerably increase the intensity of heat and material transfer in the fluidized bed.