Patent prior-art retrieval becomes especially challenging when relevant disclosures cross technological boundaries. Existing benchmarks lack explicit domain partitions, making it difficult to assess how retrieval systems cope with such shifts. We introduce DAPFAM, a family-level benchmark with explicit IN-domain and OUT-domain partitions defined by a new IPC3 overlap scheme. The dataset contains 1247 query families and 45,336 target families aggregated at the family level to reduce international redundancy, with citation-based relevance judgments. We conduct 249 controlled experiments spanning lexical (BM25) and dense (transformer) backends, document- and passage-level retrieval, multiple query and document representations, aggregation strategies, and hybrid fusion via Reciprocal Rank Fusion (RRF). Results reveal a pronounced domain gap: OUT-domain performance remains roughly five times lower than IN-domain across all configurations. Passage-level retrieval consistently outperforms document-level, and dense methods provide modest gains over BM25, but none close the OUT-domain gap. Document-level RRF yields strong effectiveness–efficiency trade-offs with minimal overhead. By exposing the persistent challenge of cross-domain retrieval, DAPFAM provides a reproducible, compute-aware testbed for developing more robust patent IR systems. The dataset is publicly available on huggingface at this repository.
To achieve net zero goal by 2050, enhancing energy efficiencies of thermal systems is crucial for advancing sustainable energy conversion and management in the built environment. Embedded cable/pipe thermal systems, as a key technology for heating and cooling systems within buildings and infrastructures, play a significant role in this context. This work presents a comprehensive steady-state theoretical framework to evaluate the thermal performance of embedded cable/pipe systems with different thermal management strategies, including asymmetric low-conductivity coating, high-conductivity surface layer, and independent insulation layer. A novel semi-analytical solution is developed for asymmetric coating strategy, incorporating the image method and thermal conductivity ratio between the substrate and coating material. It considers the effects of thermal conductivity and burial depth of the asymmetric coating materials. Extensive 2D steady-state numerical simulations were performed to validate the proposed solution with mean absolute percentage error of 0.1042. The comprehensive theoretical framework is used to evaluate not only the asymmetric coating, but also two other strategies: high thermal conductivity cement concrete as the surface layer and thermal insulation material as an independent layer below. The evaluation reveals that independent thermal insulation layers achieve the highest energy conservation with a relatively high thermal performance enhancement, while the asymmetric coating provides stable performance regardless of burial depth. The proposed framework supports configuration selection and optimization for applications such as pavement de-icing, snow melting, and near-surface energy harvesting, enabling more effective energy management in sustainable infrastructure.
Two-phase closed thermosiphon (TPCT) heat exchangers have been widely investigated due to their high efficiency in heat transfer and heat recovery applications. In this study, an experimental investigation was conducted to assess the feasibility of using water as a working fluid at a boiling temperature compatible with the operating temperature of central processing units (CPUs) in servers (55 °C recommended for long-term operation), while maintaining the cooling fluid temperature as high as possible for heat recovery. Four cooling temperatures (5 °C, 15 °C, 25 °C, and 30 °C) and six filling ratios (FRs) (20%≤FR≤150%) were tested under sub-atmospheric pressure. The heat input ranged from 40.9 W to 201.9 W. A copper tube (500 mm length, 20 mm inner diameter, 1 mm thickness) was used. Temperature distribution and vapor pressure were measured to determine evaporator and condenser heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) and thermal resistance. Stable and unstable regimes were identified depending on FR and heat input. The best operating conditions of the system were achieved at moderate to high FRs (80%–100%) and coolant temperatures of 25–30 °C, with evaporator temperatures below 40 °C at 201.9 W. Low FRs led to intermittent boiling and large fluctuations, while excessively high FRs slightly reduced performance coming from the increased hydrostatic pressure. In the stable regime, no superheating was observed, and the liquid temperature at the evaporator bottom matched the saturation temperature. Water demonstrates high heat transfer under conditions that promote continuous vapor generation and stable two-phase flow, with a heat transfer rate of 201.9 W for an average ΔT≈6°C (temperature difference between the evaporator and the condenser), supporting its potential application in sustainable thermal management for data centers.
Paré de toutes les vertus, l’utilisation du bois en construction est considérée comme moyen de mobiliser des ressources "locales" et donc d’incarner une économie circulaire ancrée dans les territoires. Structurer des filières territorialisées qui puissent nourrir les grands projets urbains affichant une utilisation importante du bois devient un leitmotiv pour les collectivités locales et autres aménageurs. Territoires approvisionneurs et territoires consommateurs n’ont pas toujours d’espaces d’interaction et de négociation et doivent les faire émerger, s’ils souhaitent faire converger leurs intérêts. Ainsi, se structurent de nouveaux collectifs, de nouveaux arrangements qui peuvent se concrétiser par des engagements réciproques, sans que soit posée clairement sur la table la problématique des écosystèmes forestiers face au changement climatique.
We propose to test the depollution efficiency of a storm basin. The study involves setting up different types of obstacles and different layout configurations in the basin and determining the amount of sediment deposited under different hydraulic conditions. The experiments are carried out in a rectangular basin of 1800 mm long × 760 m width. The sediments used are white polystyrol particles of diameter varying from 0.350 to 1.40 mm. Its density is 1.03 g/cm3. Twenty experiments are carried out to determine the efficiency of sediment deposition. We used various arrangements of obstacles placed inside the basin. The experiments were performed using five flow rates varying between 1 L/s and 5 L/s for each arrangement. The results obtained show that the arrangement of the obstacles in the basin and the flow rate have an effective influence on the hydraulic behavior of the sediment deposition and the depollution efficiency. In the case of the basin without obstacles, the deposition efficiency decreases as the flow rate increases. The basin is relatively efficient at low flows (96.1
