In tumor cryoablation therapy, the effective improvement of the cooling rate of the freezing process is a research hotspot. In this study, a novel cryoablation needle with an adjustable throttle nozzle was designed. The external surface temperature of the needle could be reduced to -80 ℃ within just 4 s, while the traditional cryoablation needle with a fixed throttling nozzle requires 73 s. The three-dimensional heat transfer model simulation results show that the temperature around the cryoablation needle drops sharply to -150 ℃ within 120 s, and the fastest instantaneous cooling rate is 1 500-1 575 ℃/min, which achieves the purpose of rapid cooling. In addition, the -20 ℃ isotherm has a small variation range from 60 s to 120 s (increasing from 5 mm to 6.5 mm), and the temperature changes tend to be gentle after 120 s, and the tissue damage range increases to 9 mm, indicating that the tissue damage range increases significantly. Comprehensive studies have shown that the adjustable throttling nozzle cryoablation needle has a higher cooling rate and larger effective ablation range, which is of great significance for clinical cryoablation treatment.

The current greenhouse effect and the "dual-carbon" goal have set off a new wave of refrigerant substitution, requiring new refrigerants to achieve a comprehensive balance between environmental protection, safety and thermal properties. However, there are currently no ideal substitutes for these refrigerants. Most environmentally friendly refrigerants, such as R290, R32, and R1234yf, which have low ozone depletion potential (ODP) and Global Warming Potential (GWP), are flammable and pose safety risks. Identifying suitable flame retardants for environmentally friendly flammable refrigerants has emerged as a crucial focus of current research on refrigerant alternatives. This article provides a recent overview of research progress on the compatibility of flame retardants with flammable refrigerants. The main focus was categorizing the various flame retardants and assessing their efficacy across different flammable substances. It also discusses their performance, effects, mechanisms, and environmental impacts. Furthermore, the article analyzes their potential applications and development trends and recommends flame retardants compatible with flammable substances.

Ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems using composite energy geostructures can efficiently transfer heat to soil and provide a high coefficient of performance (COP) for both cooling and heating, which has broad application prospects for energy saving in buildings. However, groundwater seepage in the soil can significantly affect the heat-transfer performance of a composite energy geostructure, thereby affecting the overall system performance. Therefore, this study establishes a numerical model of composite energy geo-structures considering groundwater seepage and investigates their synergistic heat transfer mechanism of composite energy geo-structures during summer. The results indicate that the heat transfer of composite energy geostructures is 60% higher than that of single energy piles under seepage conditions owing to the synergistic heat transfer of the energy pile and borehole. Groundwater seepage contributes to heat transfer in composite energy geostructures. When the seepage velocity reaches 60 m/a, heat transfer capacity increases by 1.39 compared to non-seepage conditions, while the temperature rise of the structure itself decreases by 25.32%. Under seepage, the upstream energy geostructures exhibit greater heat transfer with the soil than those downstream. The thermal influence area of the energy geostructures significantly reduced upstream and expanded downstream. This study guides the rational application of composite energy geostructures in regions with seepage.

Slurries containing a large number of suspended particles, such as ice slurries, have a strong correlation between internal flow patterns and resistance characteristics. The study of its flow characteristics is of great significance for ensuring safety, energy saving, and the prevention of blockages in slurry transportation systems. To ensure safe and energy-efficient operation of the slurry transport system and prevent blockages, this study experimentally investigated the flow characteristics of slurry in pipelines and its critical Reynolds number (Re_c). The focus is on analyzing the flow behavior of the slurry in the transition region, as well as the effects of the ice packing factor (IPF), particle size, and pipe diameter on the slurry flow properties. The results show that the Re_c increases with an increase in the IPF, while the Re_c decreases with an increase in the pipe diameter and particle size. The flow regime transition of the slurry occurred within the Reynolds number (Re) range of approximately 1 700-2 600. In the transition region, the resistance coefficient of the slurry first increases and then decreases as the Re increases.

To further study the influence of heat exchanger structures on system performance and overall power consumption in transcritical CO₂ heat pump air conditioning systems for high-speed trains to improve performance and reduce power consumption, this study builds a numerical simulation model based on the AMEsim simulation platform. The simulation results show that, in the high-speed train heat pump air conditioning system, the influence of the gas cooler structure on system performance is greater than that of the evaporator structure. In terms of the selection of heat exchanger structure, the optimal structure is that during refrigeration, the outdoor heat exchanger adopts the countercurrent arrangement and the indoor heat exchanger adopts the concurrent arrangement (vice versa for heating). At the rated cooling condition of 35 ℃ ambient temperature, the COP is increased by 20.38% compared to the concurrent arrangement in outdoor heat exchangers, and at a rated heating condition of 7 ℃ ambient temperature, the COP is increased by 68.04% compared to the concurrent arrangement of indoor heat exchangers. Considering both the degree of backflow and fan power consumption, in the "fully heat exchange state", system COP increases with backflow degree, while system COP decreases with backflow degree when the air flow rate is insufficient.

Thermal insulation is a crucial performance indicator for cold-chain transportation equipment. Improving the thermal insulation performance can effectively reduce transportation energy consumption and, thus, lower costs. To enhance the thermal insulation performance of refrigerated trucks, this study conducted tests, analyzed the insulation performance using high-reflectivity insulation materials, and analyzed energy consumption. The study obtained data on the heat flux through the box, air cooling rate inside the box, and temperature uniformity. The experiments demonstrated that applying high-reflectivity insulation materials reduced the peak temperature of the external wall surface of the box by 23.6 ℃, leading to less heat transfer into the compartment through the roof. In the absence of refrigeration, the proportion of heat flux reduction was 46.3%, while at the set refrigeration temperature of 5 ℃, the reduction ranged from 16.7% to 26%. The insulation material improved the temperature uniformity of the external wall of the compartment to 1.12 and the internal uniformity to 1.68. This simultaneously allows the refrigeration system to reach the set temperature more quickly and maintain a lower temperature more easily. Compartments with insulation materials reduced the operating frequency of the compressor by 9.1%, leading to energy savings and good energy efficiency. The research results provide new insights into the energy-efficient use of cold chain transportation equipment and are relevant for facilities such as granaries and cold storage facilities with insulation requirements.

Coastal wells are a commonly used intake method for seawater-source heat pump systems because they help mitigate biofouling and increase seawater temperatures. Coastal well water intake systems operate underground across both saturated and unsaturated zones. Therefore, a three-dimensional gas-liquid porous media seepage model of coastal wells was established based on COMSOL Multiphysics to conduct in-depth research on the seepage mechanisms and water intake behavior of coastal wells. The effects of parameters, such as well depth, pressure difference, well arrangement, and well spacing, on the seepage water intake system were studied. The results indicate that as the well spacing increases, the well depth and well flow rate increase, but the flow rate per unit well depth decreases. The flow rate of the coastal wells is directly proportional to the square difference between the coastline and coastal well porosity pressure. When the seawater hydrostatic porosity pressure difference between the coastline and coastal well was 5 m, the influence radius of the well seepage velocity was approximately 25 m. The velocity field was not affected when the distance between the two wells was greater than 50 m, regardless of whether the wells were arranged parallel or perpendicular to the coastline.

Rainbow trout were used as a research subject to investigate the effects of different preservation techniques on the quality and physicochemical properties of aquatic products during storage. Total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), total viable count (TVC), pH, and drip loss rate were used as technical indicators. A comparative study was conducted on the preservation effects of four preservation methods on rainbow trout flesh, including refrigeration (4 ℃±1 ℃), ice temperature (-1 ℃±1 ℃), high-voltage electrostatic field (HVEF, 3 kV/m) + ice temperature (-1 ℃±1 ℃), and HEVF (3 kV/m) + compound biological preservative (mass fraction: 1.40% chitosan + 0.05% lysozyme + 1.30% theaflavin) + ice temperature (-1 ℃±1 ℃). The results showed that treatment with HVEF + compound biological preservatives effectively inhibited microbial growth. Samples from the refrigeration and ice temperature groups had already decayed by the 10th and 12th day, with TVC reaching 7.12 lg (CFU/g) and 7.13 lg (CFU/g), respectively. In contrast, the TVC values of the HVEF + ice temperature and HVEF + compound biological preservative + ice temperature groups were only 6.32 lg (CFU/g) and 5.89 lg (CFU/g) on the 12th day. On the 14th day of storage, the TVB-N of the HVEF + compound preservative + ice temperature group was only 20.17 mg/100 g, which was much lower than that of the other three groups. This investigation indicates that compared to refrigeration and ice-temperature storage, treatment with HVEF + composite preservatives can effectively delay the spoilage process of fish and extend the shelf life of rainbow trout by four days.

Room-temperature magnetic heat pumps, one of the main applications of the magnetocaloric effect near room temperature, offer high efficiency, environmental protection, low noise, and low vibrations. This study discusses the application potential of a cascade magnetic heat pump cycle with a large temperature span by comparing the theoretical magnetic heat pump and refrigeration cycles. The results show that meeting the kilowatt-level heating capacity and achieving a wide temperature span of approximately 30 K in an actual heating scenario poses challenges to room-temperature magnetic heat pumps. The differences in design and application between the room-temperature magnetic heat pump and the existing room-temperature magnetic refrigeration prototypes are discussed, with a focus on magnetocaloric material selection strategies and performance evaluation indices suited for large temperature spans. The comparative analysis of magnetic heat pumps and magnetic refrigeration in this study also helps researchers to clarify the key to the design and application of large temperature span magnetic heat pumps based on existing research on room-temperature magnetic refrigeration. It promotes the comprehension and application of room-temperature magnetic heat pumps.

Steam ejectors are vital components of ejector refrigeration systems and have attracted considerable attention owing to their energy savings and environmental protection. In this study, steam ejector models were optimized, validated, and compared by considering the three-dimensional and non-equilibrium condensation effects. The simulation results of the optimization model were compared with those of the ideal gas model. Based on the condensation model, the effects of the turbulence models (Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and large eddy simulation methods (LES)) on the simulation results were studied. Complex flow phenomena captured by different models, such as shock waves, non-equilibrium condensation, and boundary layer separation, were compared and analyzed. The results show that the optimized steam ejector model can credibly predict the ejector performance and capture the complex flow phenomena inside the ejector at the lowest computational cost. The maximum liquid mass fraction obtained using the large eddy simulation method is lower than that obtained using the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes method. The maximum relative deviation against experiments of the entrainment ratio was obtained using the large eddy simulation method of 11%. The condensation model reduces the average relative deviations of the entrainment ratio and critical discharge pressure by 72.0% and 29.9%, respectively.