Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Carbon dioxide is a natural gas that has been used as a refrigerant as far back as the 1850s. It was then primarily used because it was easily obtainable and non-toxic. Due to the high operating pressure and relatively low critical temperature (and high critical pressure) of CO2, it was gradually phased out and replaced with hydrochlorofluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons. With the discovery of the greenhouse effect, greenhouse gasses and ozone depleting gasses, the Montreal Protocol and the Kyoto Protocol were placed into effect. These two protocols call for the reduction in use of certain greenhouse gasses and the complete exclusion of others. The focus turned to natural gasses that are more environmentally friendly and easier to come by. Carbon dioxide is one such gas. However, CO2 has a low critical temperature and high pressure, 33.98 °C and 73.77 bar respectively. CO2 refrigeration systems are more effective, have a greater coefficient of performance and have a greater operating temperature difference (over the gas-cooler) when used under transcritical conditions. It is preferred to have transcritical CO2 refriger-ation systems. The drawback of such a system is the extreme operating conditions. A special system must be designed, built and commissioned at the University of Stellenbosch. The system will demand the use or manufacture of unique, special-ised components. Most of the components utilised are extremely expensive and/or difficult to come by, or designed and manufactured specifically for this system. The CO2 system at the University of Stellenbosch is exceptional and stands out from conventional systems in that: - it can operate under both the subcritical and transcritical conditions; - it has multiple expansion units, which can be alternated, giving a total of four different operating configurations; - the system can run with fully automated controllers or as a static system; - the internal heat exchanger can be included or excluded from the system; - all the heat exchangers can run in counter flow or parallel flow; and - The system has multiple testing points, for both temperature and pressure, to give the operator accurate measurements to be used in comparison with design software, etc. Three simulation programs are given that describe the physical system. The first simulation program is a steady-state simulator used to aid in the design of the heat exchangers and the capillary tube. The second simulator is a steady-state program that determines the mass flow rate in the capillary tube. The third simulation is a transient program, programmed to determine the steady-state conditions of a sys-tem, given set initial conditions and a transient start-up. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Koolstofdioksied is 'n natuurlike gas wat gebruik word as 'n verkoelingsmiddel so ver terug as die 1850's. Dit is toe hoofsaaklik gebruik omdat dit maklik verkrygbaar en nie giftig is nie. As gevolg van die hoë werksdruk en relatief lae kritiese temperatuur (en hoë kritiese druk) van CO2, is dit geleidelik uitgefaseer en vervang met hidrochloorfluoorkoolstof en chloorfluoorkoolstowwe. Met die ontdekking van die kweekhuiseffek, kweekhuisgasse en osoon-afbrekende gasse, is die Montreal-protokol en die Kyoto-protokol in werking gestel. Hierdie twee protokolle vereis die afname in die gebruik van sekere kweekhuisgasse en die algehele uitsluiting van ander. Die fokus het verskuif na natuurlike gasse wat omgewingsvriendeliker en makliker is om te bekom. Koolstofdioksied is so 'n gas. Maar CO2 het 'n lae kritiese temperatuur en hoë kritiese druk, 33.98 °C en 73.77 bar onderskeidelik. CO2 verkoelingstelsels is meer effektief, het 'n groter koëffisiënt van werksverrigting en het 'n groter bedryfstemperatuur-verskil (oor die gas-verkoeler) wanneer dit gebruik word onder transkritiese toestande. Dit is dus verkieslik om transkritiese CO2 verkoelingstelsels te hê. Die nadeel van so 'n stelsel is die relatief uiterste bedryfstoestande. 'n Spesiale stelsel moet ontwerp word, dikwels met die gebruik of vervaardiging van unieke, hoogs gespesialiseerde komponente. So 'n stelsel is ontwerp vir die Universiteit van Stellenbosch. Die meeste van die komponente wat gebruik is, is baie duur en/of moeilik om te bekom, of is spesifiek ontwerp en vervaardig vir hierdie stelsel. Die CO2-stelsel by die Universiteit van Stellenbosch is uitsonderlik en staan uit bo konvensionele stelsels deurdat: - dit kan funksioneer onder beide subkritiese en transkritiese toestande; - dit verskeie gasuitsettings-eenhede het, wat afgewissel kan word, wat 'n totaal van vier verskillende bedryfskonfigurasies gee; - die stelsel bedryf kan word met volle outomatiese beheerders of as 'n statiese stelsel; - die interne hitte-uitruiler óf in-, óf uitgesluit kan word van die stelsel; - al die hitte-uitruilers bedryf kan word in kontra-vloei of parallelle vloei; en - die stelsel verskeie toetspunte het, vir beide temperatuur en druk, wat die operateur akkurate metings gee om te vergelyk met die ontwerp sagteware, ens., wat gebruik word. Drie gegewe simulasieprogramme beskryf die fisiese stelsel. In een simulasie word 'n bestendige toestand-simulator gebruik om te help met die ontwerp van die hitteruilers en die kapillêre buis. Die tweede simulasie program is 'n bestendige toestands-program wat die algehele vloeitempo in die kapillêre buis bepaal. Die laaste simulasie is 'n vlugtige program, geprogrammeer om die tydelike toestande van 'n stelsel te bepaal, gegewe vasgestelde aanvanklike toestande en 'n kortstondige aanskakeling.

Submitted by Rodolfo César de Oliveira Anderson null (rco.anderson@gmail.com) on 2017-09-12T12:04:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_final.pdf: 1603715 bytes, checksum: 0b40e4e5998ff7807dd5b93ea532c5fa (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Monique Sasaki (sayumi_sasaki@hotmail.com) on 2017-09-12T17:51:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 anderson_rco_me_rcla.pdf: 1603715 bytes, checksum: 0b40e4e5998ff7807dd5b93ea532c5fa (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-12T17:51:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 anderson_rco_me_rcla.pdf: 1603715 bytes, checksum: 0b40e4e5998ff7807dd5b93ea532c5fa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-09 / Devido à alta permeabilidade da pele e a ectotermia, anfíbios terrestres são confrontados por compromissos envolvendo o balanço de água e a regulação da temperatura corpórea. O modo como tais compromissos são acomodados, sobre uma extenção de temperaturas e estados de hidratação, influencia importantemente o comportamento e a ecologia desses animais. Nesse contexto, usando o anfíbio terrestre Rhinella schneideri como organismo modelo, os objetivos do presente estudo foram duplos. Primeiramente, nós determinamos como a sensibilidade termal de uma característica ecologicamente relevante – a locomoção – é afetada pela desidratação. Além disso, nós examinamos os efeitos dos mesmos níveis de desidratação na preferência termal e na tolerância termal. A medida que a desidratação se torna mais severa, as temperaturas ótimas para o desempenho locomotor diminuíram e a amplitude de temperaturas para um desempenho próximo ao máximo se estreitou. Semelhantemente, a desidratação foi acompanhada por uma diminuição da amplitude de tolerância termal. Tal declínio foi causado pelo aumento da temperatura crítica mínima e pela diminuição da temperatura crítica máxima, com este último mudando de modo mais acentuado. Em geral, nossos resultados mostram que os efeitos negativos da desidratação no desempenho comportamental e na tolerância termal são, ao menos parcialmente, amenizados pelo simultâneo ajuste na preferência termal. Nós discutimos algumas potenciais implicações dessa observação para a conservação dos anfíbios anuros. / Due to their highly permeable skin and ectothermy, terrestrial amphibians are challenged by compromises between water balance and body temperature regulation. The way in which such compromises are accommodated, under a range of temperatures and dehydration levels, impact importantly the behavior and ecology of amphibians. Thus, using the terrestrial toad Rhinella schneideri as a model organism, the goals of the present study were two-fold. First, we determined how the thermal sensitivity of a centrally relevant trait – locomotion – was affected by dehydration. Secondly, we examined the effects of the same levels of dehydration on thermal preference and thermal tolerance. As dehydration becomes more severe, the optimal temperature for locomotor performance was lowered and performance breadth narrower. Similarly, dehydration was accompanied by a decrease in the thermal tolerance range. Such a decrease was caused by both, an increase in the critical minimal temperature and a decrease in the thermal maximal temperature, with the latter changing more markedly. In general, our results show that the negative effects of dehydration on behavioral performance and thermal tolerance are, at least partially, counteracted by concurrent adjustments in thermal preference. We discuss some of the potential implications of this observation for the conservation of anuran amphibians.