Courtyard geometry plays an important role in the amount of received solar radiation, also heating and cooling energy consumption of buildings. Considering this geometry for finding its proper proportion and orientation is significant to increase indoor thermal comfort, and as a result reduce the amount of energy consumption. This paper mainly focuses on a dormitory courtyard in Yazd and invest...

This paper presents a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model for the optimal design of mechanical counter-flow cooling towers, subjected to standard design constraints. The objective function consists of the minimization of the total annual cost, which includes the capital cost of the cooling tower (that depends on the filling material and the air flowrate) and the operating cost (th...

Temperature affects growth and development, and morphometry can provide a quantitative description of how temperature changes affect the resulting phenotype. We performed a morphometric analysis on zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) embryos that were either exposed to periodic cooling to 20 or 30 degrees C throughout incubation over a background temperature of 37.5 degrees C, or were incubated a...

Here, we propose a simple and inexpensive method for fish sperm cryopreservation. Sperm samples of the loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Teleostei: Cobitidae) were diluted 7-fold by an extender containing 63.5 mM NaCl, 114 mM KCl, 20 mM Tris and 10% methanol. The cryogenic straws were placed in three kinds of self-made tubes which diameter was changed by commercially available materials and the...

A multigeneration system based on solar thermal energy associated with hot and cold thermal storage is designed and analyzed energetically and exergetically. The system produces electricity, a heating effect, a cooling effect, hydrogen, and dry sawdust biomass as outputs by means of organic Rankine cycles, a heat pump, two absorption chillers, an electrolyser, and a belt dryer. The intermittent...

This study investigated experimentally and theoretically, how condensate and initial formation of a thin frost layer on the surface of the evaporator affects the evaporator performance of room air-conditioners compared to dry coil conditions. The theoretically obtained results were validated with the measured values in both wet and initial frost formation conditions and a good correlation was f...

A traditional mulching technique used in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, allows dry farming as well as pronounced water savings in irrigation. It is known to reduce evaporational losses, but is also supposed to enhance the nocturnal condensation of water vapour from the atmosphere. The mulch layer consists of porous volcanic rock fragments abundantly available on the island. The mulched surface is b...

Calculation of evaporative heat loss is essential to heat balance calculations. Despite recognition that the value for latent heat of evaporation, used in these calculations, may not always reflect the real cooling benefit to the body, only limited quantitative data on this is available, which has found little use in recent literature. In this experiment a thermal manikin, (MTNW, Seattle, WA) w...

The exchange of lithium (Li) with sodium (Na) was explored in an effort to quantify cellular Na in the rat tail artery. Two phases of cellular Na were demonstrated by the kinetics of exchange at 37°C. Cellular Na, was rapidly lost following cell disruption and increased in proportion to potassium (K) loss during conventional Na enrichment in a Kfree medium. Cooling to 2°C almost abolished the t...

Sensing skin wetness is linked to inputs arising from cutaneous cold-sensitive afferents. As thermosensitivity to cold varies significantly across the torso, we investigated whether similar regional differences in wetness perception exist. We also investigated the regional differences in thermal pleasantness and whether these sensory patterns are influenced by ambient temperature. Sixteen males...