There has been an ever-increasing demand for power generation, which is predicted to grow as society becomes more advanced. However, tradition fossil fuels are beginning to deplete, and there is a great necessity for alternative fuel sources that will bridge the gap between energy production and consumption. To decrease the high demand alternative fuel sources are gaining in popularity. The supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton power cycle has been proposed as a possible cycle for nuclear and concentrated solar power generation. Two main advantages of having supercritical carbon dioxide are the large property variations and component size associated with power cycle. Forced convection heat transfer of supercritical carbon dioxide in printed circuit heat exchanger geometries were investigated in the following study using a finite volume framework and the FLUENT 12.1 code. The geometries of interest were: non- chamfered zig-zag, chamfered zig-zag, and air foil. Flow through the three geometries was in the horizontal orientation and subject to a heating mode operation. A range of testing conditions were explored, including operating pressures between 7.5 to 10.2 MPa with the mass flux ranging from 326 to 762 kg/m2-s. Due to the turbulent nature of this problem, the k−E with enhanced wall treatment and shear stress transport k−ω turbulence models were considered. With this addition a total of 54 simulations were performed. Results indicated that there was an increase in the heat transfer coefficient as the supercritical carbon dioxide reached the pseudocritical temperature, conversely as there was an increase in operating pressure, the heat transfer coefficient decreased. Nevertheless, this increase near the pseudocritical temperature was due to a sharp increase in the specific heat. Mass flux effects indicated that there was an increase in heat transfer as the mass flux was increased. This was due to the increase in Reynolds number near the pseudocritical temperature. Next, pressure losses were investigated for the three geometries. The non-chamfered zig-zag channel had the greatest pressure loss associated with it, while the air foil channel had the least. Based on the results, the ratio of the friction factor to heat transfer for the non-chamfered and chamfered zig-zag geometries were approximately 2.65 and 1.57 times higher than for the air foil, thus leading to the idea that the air foil channel may be best suited for practical applications. Finally, the simulation results were compared to experimental data and existing correlations. Many existing correlations failed to accurately predict the magnitude of heat transfer, although they exhibited a similar trend. A new correlation was developed for the zig-zag geometries based on the numerical data obtained during this investigation and published experimental data. The new correlation is able to predict the maximum heat transfer coefficient within 12.4%.

Gravure printing is a conventional printing process used for printing graphics on products ranging from magazines and packaging to wallpaper and floor coverings. It is a versatile process that can be used to deposit a variety of fluid materials onto many different surfaces. It is also capable of very high speed deposition, with speeds up to 60 m/min being reported. Because of its versatility and high throughput capability, gravure is an attractive platform for the manufacture of devices composed of relatively thin layers of functional, electronic materials deposited onto flexible substrates. In many cases, these materials can be deposited in liquid form, in which case gravure printing can potentially be used. One such material that is commonly used is Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), a transparent, conducting ceramic material. It is commonly deposited onto flexible, transparent polyethylene terapthalate (PET) films that can be used in flexible displays, solar cells, and other devices requiring a transparent, conducting layer. This thesis examines the effect of key process parameters on the physical and functional characteristics of a printed ITO nanoparticle layer. ITO layers were successfully printed that were between 300 and 1300 nm thick, with roughness Ra generally less than a few hundred nm. The sheet resistance values were relatively high, in the hundreds of kohms/square. The transparency was relatively low, although the films were generally transparent. Several parameters were found to be significant in affecting the several different physical and performance measures, specifically solvent and ITO content, as well as cell geometry.

There is a great demand for low-cost disposable sensors in a variety of markets, such as the food chainand health care. No assay is performed more than that of glucose and approximately 85 % of the entirebiosensor market accounts for glucose biosensors. Each year, 6 billion glucose assays are performed andthe majority of them are based on electrochemical detection. Organic electrochemical transistors(OECTs) have favorable properties in terms of low operating voltages and have previously been used asbase for electrochemical detection of glucose. A low-cost disposable biosensor can be achieved by theuse of high throughput printing techniques. Up until now, no printable biosensors based on organic electrochemicaltransistors have been developed. In this thesis a printable miniaturized prototype for a glucose biosensor based on an OECT with a platinizedgate electrode has been designed, developed and evaluated. The biosensor has been functionalizedwith the enzyme glucose oxidase. Different platinum deposition techniques have been used to depositplatinum onto the printed carbon gate electrode: electrodeposition, platinum nanoparticle solutiondeposited either by inkjet printing or pipetting and thermal evaporation. The gate electrodes were characterized with cyclic voltammetry in hydrogen peroxide, ferricyanide andglucose. The characterizations revealed no significant differences between the different deposition techniques.However, with gate electrodes produced by printed carbon followed by electrodeposition ofplatinum it was possible to sense glucose in a concentration in the range of the values for diabetic persons.Thus, the electrodes are a promising option as gate electrodes in a glucose biosensor based on anOECT. The characteristics of the OECT revealed that the responses resembled a transistor.

Thesis (M. App. Sc.)--Carleton University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-105). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-71). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-92). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (doctoral)--Katholieke Universiteit te Nijmegen, 1984. / Summary in English. Includes indexes. Includes bibliographical references (p. xviii-xxix).