Experimental measurements of thermal conductivity of wood were performed using the heat flow meter and transient plane source technique. The specimens were prepared from five species of both softwoods and hardwoods widely available and used in China, with a wide range of density and moisture content. The transverse thermal conductivity of ovendry specimens is presented as a function of density and temperature up to 90°C and is compared with that along the grain direction for two select species. The influence of moisture content up to 23 percent, which is below the typical fiber saturation point of wood, on the transverse thermal conductivity is presented as well. It is shown that the transverse thermal conductivity of wood increases with density, temperature, and moisture content. Linear correlating equations are proposed in terms of these factors.

To understand the effect of hydrogen addition on the laminar burning velocity (LBV) of ethanol–air mixtures, experiments were conducted in a constant volume combustion chamber with the high-speed schlieren photography technique. The experiments were carried out under the equivalence ratios (ERs) of 0.7–1.4, an initial temperature of 400 K, an initial pressure of 0.1 MPa, and hydrogen fractions of 30% and 90% by volume, respectively. The effects of ER, initial temperature, initial pressure, and hydrogen fractions on the LBV were investigated. Moreover, adiabatic flame temperature (AFT), heat release rate (HRR), flow rate sensitivity analysis, and ROP (rate of production) analysis were also performed. Results showed that LBV increased with increasing hydrogen addition and temperature but decreased with increasing pressure. The hydrogen addition significantly increased the HRR of ethanol–hydrogen–air flames. The sensitivity analysis showed that R5 (O₂ + H = O + OH) significantly influenced the LBV.

A parametric study of Prandtl number effects on laminar natural convection heat transfer in a horizontal equilateral triangular cylinder with a coaxial circular cylinder is conducted. The Prandtl number is varied over a wide range from 10⁻² to 10⁵, which corresponds to a variety of working fluids. The governing equations with the Boussinesq approximation for buoyancy are iteratively solved using the finite volume approach. It is shown that the flow patterns and temperature distributions are unique for low-Prandtl-number fluids (Pr ≤ 0.1), and are nearly independent of Prandtl number when Pr ≥ 0.7. In addition, the inclination angle of the triangular enclosure is found to noticeably affect the variations of the local Nusselt number, and to have insignificant influence on the average Nusselt numbers for low Rayleigh numbers when Pr ≥ 0.7.