6 Search Results

The International Muon Collider Collaboration (IMCC) [1] was established in 2020 following the recommendations of the European Strategy for Particle Physics (ESPP) and the implementation of the European Strategy for Particle Physics-Accelerator R&D Roadmap by the Laboratory Directors Group [2], hereinafter referred to as the the European LDG roadmap. The Muon Collider Study (MuC) covers the accelerator complex, detectors and physics for a future muon collider. In 2023, European Commission support was obtained for a design study of a muon collider (MuCol) [3]. This project started on 1st March 2023, with work-packages aligned with the overall muon collider studies. Inmore » preparation of and during the 2021-22 U.S. Snowmass process, the muon collider project parameters, technical studies and physics performance studies were performed and presented in great detail. Recently, the P5 panel [4] in the U.S. recommended a muon collider R&D, proposed to join the IMCC and envisages that the U.S. should prepare to host a muon collider, calling this their "muon shot". In the past, the U.S. Muon Accelerator Programme (MAP) [5] has been instrumental in studies of concepts and technologies for a muon collider.« less

Herein, we present a theoretical description for a new desiccant air conditioning cycle that uses thermoresponsive polymers instead of traditional desiccants. We use a combined first and second law analysis to demonstrate that this new cycle has three major advantages relative to the traditional case: (i) it can regenerate at lower temperatures, (ii) it can harvest liquid water and (iii) it has significantly higher coefficients of performance (COPs). For example, this new cycle can achieve a COP of 5.1 when regenerated at 95 degrees C, whereas the traditional desiccant cycle is limited to a COP of ~ 1. The fundamentalmore » origins of these advantages can be traced to the method of regeneration. The traditional desiccant cycle regenerates by flowing hot air over the desiccant, which provides a medium for gaseous water desorption. However, this also generates entropy and places a minimum temperature constraint on the hot air. In contrast, the thermoresponsive polymer cycle regenerates through a polymer phase transition. The polymer absorbs water vapor in humid air, and then it expels liquid water when raised above its transition temperature. This regeneration method generates liquid water that can be harvested and relaxes constraints on entropy generation and minimum temperature. The minimum regeneration temperature of the thermoresponsive cycle is only limited by the transition temperature of the polymer, which can be tuned through materials science. Due to its liquid water harvesting capability, the new cycle potentially eliminates water consumption when used with evaporative cooling, or it can be directly used for atmospheric water harvesting.« less