Adressing Energy Demand and Climate Change through the Second Law of Thermodynamics and LCA towards a Rational Use of Energy in Brazilian Households.

This study focuses on a typical Brazilian household through the lens of sustainable development, regarding energy demand and GHG emissions. The analysis encompasses both the direct and indirect energy, exergy consumption, and GHG emissions (quantified by life cycle assessment) associated with the usual routine of a household. The household is modeled as a thermodynamic system to evaluate inputs (food, electricity, fuels for transportation) and outputs (solid and liquid residues).

Behavior of skin temperature during incremental cycling and running indoor exercises.

The study of the human body's energy behavior has received more attention over the past years. The development of thermal infrared cameras brought new possibilities for evaluating physical exercise performance. This work aims to study the skin temperature distribution during treadmill running and cycle ergometer tests with a graded load exercise until exhaustion.

Energy and Exergy Analysis of an Absorption and Mechanical System for a Dehumidification Unit in a Gelatin Factory.

In this paper, an energy and exergy analysis is applied to the air dehumidification unit of a liquid desiccant system in an industrial gelatin conveyor dryer. The working fluid is a binary solution of lithium chloride (LiCl) in water. Dry air is used in order to decrease the amount of liquid in the gelatin.

Application of the Second Law of Thermodynamics in Brazilian Residential Appliances towards a Rational Use of Energy.

This article proposes the utilization of the concepts of destroyed exergy and exergy efficiency for equipment and process performance indicators that are related to the current energy planning scenario in Brazil, more specifically with energy-efficiency labelling. Several indicators associated with these concepts are discussed, including one national program that is based on labeling the energy efficiency of several residential, commercial and industrial appliances. The grades are indicated in the equipment using values from A to G.

Phenomenological and Thermodynamic Model of Gas Exchanges in the Placenta during Pregnancy: A Case Study of Intoxication of Carbon Monoxide.

The present work simulates the transport of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide between a fetus's circulatory system and the mother's. The organ responsible for this exchange is the placenta. Carbon monoxide is a common air pollutant, and it impacts the physiological conditions even in low concentration.

Exergy Analysis of the Heart with a Stenosis in the Arterial Valve.

In the past decade, several articles have proposed the use of an exergy perspective to analyze physiological systems of the human body under different physical conditions. Such a perspective focuses on the exergy transformations and the efficiency of the biological processes. This may aid the medical field in assessments of a patient's physical health by means of an index (exergy efficiency) based on the quality of the energy conversion in a given process within the human heart.

The Effect of Carbon Monoxide on the Exergy Behavior of the Lungs.

The present work evaluates the impact of carbon monoxide (CO) inhalation on the human lung's exergy behavior by considering different levels of intoxication and amounts of hemoglobin. Its impact is significant because CO is one of the most common air pollutants in cities and an increase in destroyed exergy may be correlated with lifespan reduction or the malfunctioning of certain human organs. An evaluation of the severity of intoxication as a function of city altitude may intensify the hazard associated with carbon monoxide.

Exergy Analysis and Human Body Thermal Comfort Conditions: Evaluation of Different Body Compositions.

This article focuses on studying the effects of muscle and fat percentages on the exergy behavior of the human body under several environmental conditions. The main objective is to relate the thermal comfort indicators with exergy rates, resulting in a Second Law perspective to evaluate thermal environment. A phenomenological model is proposed of the human body with four layers: core, muscle, fat and skin.

Exergy Analysis of the Musculoskeletal System Efficiency during Aerobic and Anaerobic Activities.

The first and second laws of thermodynamics were applied to the human body in order to evaluate the quality of the energy conversion during muscle activity. Such an implementation represents an important issue in the exergy analysis of the body, because there is a difficulty in the literature in evaluating the performed power in some activities. Hence, to have the performed work as an input in the exergy model, two types of exercises were evaluated: weight lifting and aerobic exercise on a stationary bicycle.