Since their discovery, carbon nanotubes were used for numerous applications in the most diverse knowledge areas. However, the lack of solubility of these molecules in aqueous media compromises their beneficial properties for certain applications. Several methods to solubilize carbon nanotubes are described, however, depending on the intended application, the impact that the solubilization has on the physical and chemical properties needs to be considered. In the present study, a simple methodology is described that utilizes polyvinylpyrrolidone combined with sonication and centrifugation to solubilize multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Proteins were coupled to the surface of the solubilized products and characterized using various spectroscopic and electron microscopic techniques, evaluating the characteristics and integrity of the nanoparticle after the process. It was successfully demonstrated that nanotubes can be solubilized through a simple technique, without compromising their chemical characteristics, which makes them suitable materials for use in biomedical applications, due to their biocompatibility and lack of toxicity, among others.

Dando continuidade ao estudo referenteà utilização de Dinâmica dos Fluidos Computacional (DFC) no ensino de física e engenharia, o presente trabalho visa analisar e comparar, com fins didáticos, soluções obtidas numericamente com soluções analíticas e empíricas, comumente apresentadas em sala de aula e de interesse de laboratórios de graduação, de problemas clássicos envolvendo dinâmica dos fluidos e transferência de calor. Neste estudo o foco maior foi dado a problemas de transferência de calor. Para o cálculo das soluções numéricas foi utilizado um dos softwares representantes do estado da arte de DFC, o ANSYS CFX 12.1. Os problemas escolhidos foram: convecção em placa plana em regime laminar, escoamento laminar em torno de um cilindro aquecido, escoamento interno turbulento em dutos circulares aquecidos e trocador de calor de tubos concêntricos. Estes problemas, aqui apresentados, foram escolhidos e resolvidos por alunos de graduação, avalizando a utilidade da DFC como ferramenta de aprendizado de fenômenos físicos. Palavras-chave: mecânica dos fluidos, transmissão de calor, dinâmica dos fluidos computacional, método dos volumes finitos, Ansys-CFX 12.1, ferramenta didática.Continuing the study on the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in physics and engineering teaching, the present work aims to analyze and compare, for didactic purposes, solutions numerically obtained against known analytical and empirical solutions, commonly presented in the classroom and in undergraduate labs, of classical problems involving fluid dynamics and heat transfer. In this study the main focus was pointed to heat transfer problems. For the numerical solutions computation, one of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) softwares that represent its state-of-the-art, ANSYS CFX 12.1 was employed. The chosen problems were: laminar heated plate convection, laminar flow around a heated cylinder, turbulent internal flow in heated circular ducts and concentric tubes heat exchanger. These problems were chosen and solved by undergraduate students, demonstrating the usefulness of CFD as a tool for learning physical phenomena.

The present work consisted in obtaining and studying selective surfaces for applications in low-cost flat plate solar collectors, using residues from the granite industry. Five different surfaces were studied, varying the percentage by weight: 100% granite powder, 75% granite powder + 25% titanium oxide, 50% granite powder + 50% titanium oxide, 25% granite powder + 75% titanium oxide and 100% titanium oxide. For the tests, an experimental wooden bench was built, and it was possible to simulate the conditions of a flat plate solar collector. For characterization of the surfaces, SEM techniques, infrared analysis and UV-VIS absorbance determination were used, as well as graphs with surface temperatures and with radiation in the sun tests. The efficiency of the surfaces was determined by the ratio of the absorptivity through the emissivity, as well as the trademark MRTiNOX. An efficiency of 23.58 was obtained for this, while for the 50% granite - 50% titanium surface the value of 23.30 (closest to the trade mark) was calculated. Therefore, replacing the traditional components of selective surfaces with granite proved to be a satisfactory solution, contributing to the reduction of costs with solar energy.

The depletion of fossil fuel reserves and climate change caused by atmospheric pollution has led the human being to seek alternatives that are less damaging to the environment. The concern and the awareness of the population open space for the study of renewable energies to be deepened, among them the best use of solar energy.The use of alternative materials to replace selective surfaces is a natural trend, since improvements in surface efficiency are usually sought while attempting to reduce costs. Composite substances are already used to obtain some selective surfaces, and, as a result, the search for better processes awakens research on more appropriate and lower cost materials, which represents a great scientific potential in the evolution of these technologies.Thus, the present work consisted in obtaining and studying selective surfaces for applications in lowcost flat plate solar collectors, using residues from the granite industry. Five different surfaces were studied, varying the weight percentage: 100% granite powder, 75% granite powder + 25% chromium oxide, 50% granite powder + 50% chromium oxide, 25% granite powder + 75% chromium oxide and 100% chromium oxide.For the tests, an experimental wooden stand was built, and it was possible to simulate the conditions of a flat plate solar collector. To characterize the surfaces, scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques, infrared analysis, X-ray diffraction and UV-VIS absorbance determination, as well as graphs with surface temperatures and with radiation, during the tests in the sun, were used.The surfaces` efficiency was determined by the ratio of the absorptivity by the emissivity, as well as the trademark MRTiNOX, a commercial selective surface applied on copper substrate. For this, an efficiency of 23.56 was obtained, while for the 50% granite and 50% chromium surfaces the value of 23.27 (closest to the trade mark) was calculated. Therefore, replacing the traditional components of selective surfaces with granite proved to be a satisfactory solution, contributing to the reduction of costs with work involving solar energy.

The depletion of conventional energy sources and the concern with the environmental impacts of the use of fossil fuels sparked interest in researching new energy sources and improving existing processes. In this context, the solar energy presents itself as one of the most promising energy sources on the planet, given its wide availability and applicability in thermal processes. However, its use still represents a great technological and economic challenge, because many systems that use this energy still have low efficiency and high cost, which makes them uncompetitive in competition with systems using other energies. With that, the search for the improvement of the processes awakens the researches in more adequate and cheaper materials, which represents a great scientific potential in the evolution of these technologies. Thus, the present work proposes to obtain and analyze a selective surface for applications in solar-thermal collectors, using CRFO (compound formed by chromium and iron oxides), varying the percentage by weight, and then mixed with aluminum oxide. For the tests, an experimental bench was built to simulate a flat plate solar-thermal collector in real operating conditions. Some characterizations were carried out, such as: techniques scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared analysis and UV-VIS absorptivity determination, as well as the graphs with surface temperatures and with radiation during the tests in the Sun for the composite (CRFO and aluminum oxide) and for the commercial surface (MRTiNOX). With the results obtained, it was verified in the field test that one of the produced selective surfaces obtained a result of absorptivity of 0.94 and 0.0349 of emissivity, which is close to that of the commercial surface. The results were confirmed in the characterization by UV-VIS, which showed high absorptivity values in the visible light range.