The term photonic crystals appears because of the analogy between electron waves in crystals and the light waves in artificial periodic dielectric structures. During the recent years the investigation of one-, two-and three-dimensional periodic structures has attracted a widespread attention of the world optics community because of great potentiality of such structures in advanced applied optical fields. The interest in periodic structures has been stimulated by the fast development of semiconductor technology that now allows the fabrication of artificial structures, whose period is comparable with the wavelength of light in the visible and infrared ranges.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/6354/16969/00781867.pdf

Photonic crystals

New heat conversion technologies need to be developed and improved to take advantage of the necessary increase in the supply of renewable energy. The Organic Rankine Cycle is well suited for these applications, mainly because of its ability to recover low-grade heat and the possibility to be implemented in decentralized lower-capacity power plants. In this paper, an overview of the different ORC applications is presented. A market review is proposed including cost figures for several commercial ORC modules and manufacturers. An in-depth analysis of the technical challenges related to the technology, such as working fluid selection and expansion machine issues is then reported. Technological constraints and optimization methods are extensively described and discussed. Finally, the current trends in research and development for the next generation of Organic Rankine Cycles are presented.

Techno-economic survey of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems

This paper presents a review of the organic Rankine cycle and supercritical Rankine cycle for the conversion of low-grade heat into electrical power, as well as selection criteria of potential working fluids, screening of 35 working fluids for the two cycles and analyses of the influence of fluid properties on cycle performance. The thermodynamic and physical properties, stability, environmental impacts, safety and compatibility, and availability and cost are among the important considerations when selecting a working fluid. The paper discusses the types of working fluids, influence of latent heat, density and specific heat, and the effectiveness of superheating. A discussion of the 35 screened working fluids is also presented.

A review of thermodynamic cycles and working fluids for the conversion of low-grade heat

Applied Numerical Analysis. By C.F. Gerald. Pp. xii, 340. £3·60. 1970. (Addison-Wesley.)

How to effectively utilize low and medium temperature energy is one of the solutions to alleviate the energy shortage and environmental pollution problems. In the past twenty years, because of its feasibility and reliability, organic Rankine cycle has received widespread attentions and researches. In this paper, it reviews the selections of working fluids and expanders for organic Rankine cycle, including an analysis of the influence of working fluids' category and their thermodynamic and physical properties on the organic Rankine cycle's performance, a summary of pure and mixed working fluids' screening researches for organic Rankine cycle, a comparison of pure and mixture working fluids' applications and a discussion of all types of expansion machines' operating characteristics, which would be beneficial to select the optimal working fluid and suitable expansion machine for an effective organic Rankine cycle system.

Bo-Tau Liu

Papers

Effect of working fluids on organic Rankine cycle for waste heat recovery

A review of recent developments in fluorescent sensors for the selective detection of palladium ions

Graphene/silver nanowire sandwich structures for transparent conductive films

High-refractive-index polymer/inorganic hybrid films containing high TiO2 contents

Antireflective surface fabricated from colloidal silica nanoparticles