HoYYVIP易游>About Us>Sustain米乐yy易游体育ility Management>Sustain易游游戏官网ility Report>易游YY体育官方网站stainability Report > Contributing to the EnvironYYVIP易游t Through R&D

YYVIP易游Contributing to the EnvironYYVIP易游t Through R&D

Contributing to the EnvironYYVIP易游t through Products, Technologies and Services

We are committed to developing environYYVIP易游tally friendly materials and machinery in an effort to create and increase sales of the Kobe Steel Group's "Only One" products. This section outlines some of the research and developYYVIP易游t activities that underpin our efforts to commercialize environYYVIP易游tally friendly materials.

High YYVIP易游at-transfer titanium sYYVIP易游et

YYVIP易游

We are always working to develop new materials that YYVIP易游ll meet society's needs, in terms of reducing CO2 emissions and cutting energy costs. Heat exchangers are a prime example, as they are able to use seawater as a readily available heating and cooling source. If we can harness the corrosion resistant properties of titanium sheet and improve heat conductivity, heat exchangers are likely to be used for an increasingly YYVIP易游de range of applications in the future.

To improve heat conductivity using a regular plate heat exchanger, the user would have to process the heat transfer surface by forming it into a corrugated shape. As an alternative, we opted to improve heat conductivity by making minute bumps on the surface of the titanium sheet itself. This increases the surface area, enhances turbulent heat transfer, and facilitates nucleate boiling (Figure 1). We therefore set about developing the necessary technology to manufacture this type of titanium sheet (Figure 2). Taking into account productivity and manufacturing costs, we decided to used cold rolling for faster processing. Titanium sheet is rolled between two work rolls YYVIP易游th uneven surfaces so that the unevenness is transferred onto the sheet. In order to make high enough protrusions of several tens of microns via the rolling process however, it is crucial to get the shape of the protrusions and rolling conditions just right. The rolling technology and process as a whole need to be advanced enough to achieve the right thickness and flatness for the material to be used in products.

Our Technical DevelopYYVIP易游t Group carried out testing and made prototypes using a small-scale rolling mill. Having compiled rolling force predictions, based on rolling theory and improved levels of flatness, our researchers managed to produce a viable high heat-transfer titanium sheet.

Using the resulting high heat-transfer titanium sheet is expected to increase heat conductivity by over 10% if using a heat exchanger YYVIP易游th a boiling media (Figure 3), making it possible to improve performance YYVIP易游thout reconfiguring equipment. It is also possible to reduce the number of heat exchange plates made of titanium sheet and the volume of fluid used as a heat source. As a result, it should be possible to streamline equipment, by reducing the level of pump usage required to circulate the fluid, and cut costs.

Practical research, commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), is underway into ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) generation using high heat-transfer titanium sheet (i.e. generating power using the small difference in temperature of around 20˚C between cold deep water and surface water that has been warmed by the sun). In order to make OTEC generation a commercial reality, we need to develop an inexpensive heat exchanger YYVIP易游th a large surface area that is highly resistant to corrosion from seawater (the heat source) and that can efficiently extract energy from such a small difference in temperature. The ideal solution would be to commercialize our high heat-transfer titanium sheet. As part of the aforementioned commissioned research, we are currently conducting trials on high heat-transfer titanium sheet in an effort to increase the efficiency of heat exchangers.

  • YYVIP易游Figure 1. YYVIP易游at exchanger made from high YYVIP易游at-transfer titanium sYYVIP易游ets

Figure 1: YYVIP易游at exchanger made from high YYVIP易游at-transfer titanium sYYVIP易游ets

  • YYVIP易游Figure 2. High YYVIP易游at-transfer titanium sYYVIP易游et

Figure 2: High YYVIP易游at-transfer titanium sYYVIP易游et

  • YYVIP易游Figure 3. Comparison of YYVIP易游at transfer against a regular sYYVIP易游et

Figure 3: Comparison of YYVIP易游at transfer against a regular plate