Resonator Gathers Energy from Changes in Temperature Over 24 Hours

Thermoelectric devices have been the subject of many researchers interest for years. Researchers have been trying to figure out a way to use these devices for clean energy and now a team from MIT may have found a way to do just that.

more…

Tau.Neutrino said:

Resonator Gathers Energy from Changes in Temperature Over 24 Hours

Thermoelectric devices have been the subject of many researchers interest for years. Researchers have been trying to figure out a way to use these devices for clean energy and now a team from MIT may have found a way to do just that.

more…

At least they have always kept the time well.

roughbarked said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Resonator Gathers Energy from Changes in Temperature Over 24 Hours

Thermoelectric devices have been the subject of many researchers interest for years. Researchers have been trying to figure out a way to use these devices for clean energy and now a team from MIT may have found a way to do just that.

more…

At least they have always kept the time well.

> For the resonator to produce electricity from the power it gathered, the researchers used a material that had thermal effusivity. Thermal effusivity is a characteristic that describes how a material can draw in heat from its surroundings. Thermal effusivity combines thermal capacity and thermal conduction to help the resonator gather energy. The materials that the research team ended up using to create the structure was a metal foam made of copper or nickel, coated in a layer of graphene and the whole structure was infused with octadecane, a phase changing wax.

Cripes, this is so similar to some work I did for the CSIRO.

My brief was to design a solid material that would gather heat during the hottest part of the day and release it during the coldest. The best option was a phase change material injected into a solid with micropores that could hold liquid in place. One of the options I looked at was using a phase changing wax, a paraffin. For me using a halogenated paraffin was better because it wouldn’t catch fire.

But I did not aim to produce electricity from it, or consider using “a metal foam made of copper or nickel, coated in a layer of graphene”. Nor did I consider using it to generate electricity, because the generation of electricity from small temperature differences is very inefficient (which explains why diesel is more efficient than petrol – it burns hotter).

Using a phase changing wax wasn’t ideal because it only used about 5 degrees of the daily temperature cycles.

mollwollfumble said:

roughbarked said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Resonator Gathers Energy from Changes in Temperature Over 24 Hours

Thermoelectric devices have been the subject of many researchers interest for years. Researchers have been trying to figure out a way to use these devices for clean energy and now a team from MIT may have found a way to do just that.

more…

At least they have always kept the time well.

> For the resonator to produce electricity from the power it gathered, the researchers used a material that had thermal effusivity. Thermal effusivity is a characteristic that describes how a material can draw in heat from its surroundings. Thermal effusivity combines thermal capacity and thermal conduction to help the resonator gather energy. The materials that the research team ended up using to create the structure was a metal foam made of copper or nickel, coated in a layer of graphene and the whole structure was infused with octadecane, a phase changing wax.

Cripes, this is so similar to some work I did for the CSIRO.

My brief was to design a solid material that would gather heat during the hottest part of the day and release it during the coldest. The best option was a phase change material injected into a solid with micropores that could hold liquid in place. One of the options I looked at was using a phase changing wax, a paraffin. For me using a halogenated paraffin was better because it wouldn’t catch fire.

But I did not aim to produce electricity from it, or consider using “a metal foam made of copper or nickel, coated in a layer of graphene”. Nor did I consider using it to generate electricity, because the generation of electricity from small temperature differences is very inefficient (which explains why diesel is more efficient than petrol – it burns hotter).

Using a phase changing wax wasn’t ideal because it only used about 5 degrees of the daily temperature cycles.

Another approach could be to use zeolites (eg laumontite-heulandite) or other hydrated-non hydrated mineral pairs.

Michael V said:

mollwollfumble said:

roughbarked said:

At least they have always kept the time well.

> For the resonator to produce electricity from the power it gathered, the researchers used a material that had thermal effusivity. Thermal effusivity is a characteristic that describes how a material can draw in heat from its surroundings. Thermal effusivity combines thermal capacity and thermal conduction to help the resonator gather energy. The materials that the research team ended up using to create the structure was a metal foam made of copper or nickel, coated in a layer of graphene and the whole structure was infused with octadecane, a phase changing wax.

Cripes, this is so similar to some work I did for the CSIRO.

My brief was to design a solid material that would gather heat during the hottest part of the day and release it during the coldest. The best option was a phase change material injected into a solid with micropores that could hold liquid in place. One of the options I looked at was using a phase changing wax, a paraffin. For me using a halogenated paraffin was better because it wouldn’t catch fire.

But I did not aim to produce electricity from it, or consider using “a metal foam made of copper or nickel, coated in a layer of graphene”. Nor did I consider using it to generate electricity, because the generation of electricity from small temperature differences is very inefficient (which explains why diesel is more efficient than petrol – it burns hotter).

Using a phase changing wax wasn’t ideal because it only used about 5 degrees of the daily temperature cycles.

Another approach could be to use zeolites (eg laumontite-heulandite) or other hydrated-non hydrated mineral pairs.

Yes. I looked into zeolites, as well as bentonite and kaolin, wood, charcoal, silica gel etc., as sources of the microporosity needed. It had to hold a lot of liquid paraffin without letting it drip out. I didn’t find anything ideal, and I know I didn’t look far enough.