Design and proof of concept of an innovative very high temperature ceramic solar absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Leray, Cédric; Ferriere, Alain; Toutant, Adrien; Olalde, Gabriel; Peroy, Jean-Yves; Chéreau, Patrick; Ferrato, Marc

2017-06-01

Hybrid solar gas-turbine (HSGT) is an attractive technology to foster market penetration of CSP. HSGT offers some major advantages like for example high solar-to-electric conversion efficiency, reduced water requirement and low capital cost. A very high temperature solar receiver is needed when elevated solar share is claimed. A few research works, as reported by Karni et al. [8] and by Buck et al. [1], have been dedicated to solar receiver technologies able to deliver pressurized air at temperature above 750°C. The present work focuses on research aiming at developing an efficient and reliable solar absorber able to provide pressurized air at temperature up to 1000°C and more. A surface absorber technology is selected and a modular design of receiver is proposed in which each absorber module is made of BOOSTEC® SiC ceramic (silicon carbide) as bulk material with straight air channels inside. Early stage experimental works done at CNRS/PROMES on lab-scale absorbers showed that the thermo-mechanical behavior of this material is a critical issue, resulting in elevated probability of failure under severe conditions like large temperature gradient or steep variation of solar flux density in situations of cloud covering. This paper reports on recent progress made at CNRS/PROMES to address this critical issue. The design of the absorber has been revised and optimized according to thermo-mechanical numerical simulations, and an experimental proof of concept has been done on a pilot-scale absorber module at Themis solar tower facility.

Regeneration performance of CO2-rich solvents by using membrane vacuum regeneration technology: Relationships between absorbent structure and regeneration efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, Shuiping; Fang, Mengxiang; Wang, Zhen; Luo, Zhongyang

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► MVR may be viable to successfully use less valuable heat to replace high grade steam. ► Increasing OH and amine groups will increase the regeneration efficiency. ► Absorbents with a four carbon chain length will be more attractive to MVR. ► Amino acid salts will be more appropriate for MVR. ► HRM conducted at ambient pressure and low temperature is inferior to MVR. -- Abstract: In order to give a better understanding for the selection of suitable absorbents for the novel membrane vacuum regeneration technology (MVR) which has the potential to reduce CO 2 energy requirement by utilizing the waste heat or low-grade energy, an experimental study to determine the relationships between chemical structure and vacuum regeneration behavior of CO 2 absorbents at 70 °C and 10 kPa was performed. Eleven typical absorbents with different functional groups in their chemical structures were investigated in terms of vacuum regeneration efficiencies. Results showed that the regeneration efficiency decreased with an increase of number of activated hydrogen atom in amine group and decreased with the number of hydroxyl group. Especially, more attention should be paid to these alkanolamines with one hydrogen atom in amine group and two or more hydroxyl groups in the structures due to their better comprehensive performance in regeneration, absorbent loss and CO 2 absorption aspects. Increasing the carbon chain length and amine groups in the absorbent structure contributed to the improvement of regeneration performance and reduction of absorbent volatile loss. These absorbents with a four carbon chain length bonded at amine group might be more attractive to MVR. Furthermore, polyamines were superior to monoamines in terms of higher regeneration efficiencies and lower absorbent losses. Additionally, the individual effects of the potassium carboxylate group and hydroxymethylene group were also compared in this study. Results showed that amino acid salts were more

Radiative heat transfer enhancement using geometric and spectral control for achieving high-efficiency solar-thermophotovoltaic systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kohiyama, Asaka; Shimizu, Makoto; Yugami, Hiroo

2018-04-01

We numerically investigate radiative heat transfer enhancement using spectral and geometric control of the absorber/emitter. A high extraction of the radiative heat transfer from the emitter as well as minimization of the optical losses from the absorber leads to high extraction and solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) system efficiency. The important points for high-efficiency STPV design are discussed for the low and high area ratio of the absorber/emitter. The obtained general guideline will support the design of various types of STPV systems.

Improved high temperature solar absorbers for use in Concentrating Solar Power central receiver applications.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stechel, Ellen Beth; Ambrosini, Andrea; Hall, Aaron Christopher; Lambert, Timothy L.; Staiger, Chad Lynn; Bencomo, Marlene

2010-09-01

Concentrating solar power (CSP) systems use solar absorbers to convert the heat from sunlight to electric power. Increased operating temperatures are necessary to lower the cost of solar-generated electricity by improving efficiencies and reducing thermal energy storage costs. Durable new materials are needed to cope with operating temperatures >600 C. The current coating technology (Pyromark High Temperature paint) has a solar absorptance in excess of 0.95 but a thermal emittance greater than 0.8, which results in large thermal losses at high temperatures. In addition, because solar receivers operate in air, these coatings have long term stability issues that add to the operating costs of CSP facilities. Ideal absorbers must have high solar absorptance (>0.95) and low thermal emittance (<0.05) in the IR region, be stable in air, and be low-cost and readily manufacturable. We propose to utilize solution-based synthesis techniques to prepare intrinsic absorbers for use in central receiver applications.

Extinction efficiencies of coated absorbing aerosols measured by cavity ring down aerosol spectrometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Segre

2008-03-01

Full Text Available In this study, we measure the extinction efficiency at 532 nm of absorbing aerosol particles coated with a non-absorbing solid and liquid organic shell with coating thickness varying between 5 and 100 nm using cavity ring down aerosol spectrometry. For this purpose, we use nigrosin, an organic black dye, as a model absorbing core and two non-absorbing organic substances as shells, glutaric acid (GA and Di-Ethyl-Hexyl-Sebacate (DEHS. The measured behavior of the coated particles is consistent with Mie calculations of core-shell particles. Errors between measured and calculated values for nigrosin coated with GA and DEHS are between 0.5% and 10.5% and between 0.5% and 9%, respectively. However, it is evident that the calculations are in better agreement with the measured results for thinner coatings. Possible reasons for these discrepancies are discussed.

Heat pump cycle by hydrogen-absorbing alloys to assist high-temperature gas-cooled reactor in producing hydrogen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satoshi, Fukada; Nobutaka, Hayashi

2010-01-01

A chemical heat pump system using two hydrogen-absorbing alloys is proposed to utilise heat exhausted from a high-temperature source such as a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), more efficiently. The heat pump system is designed to produce H 2 based on the S-I cycle more efficiently. The overall system proposed here consists of HTGR, He gas turbines, chemical heat pumps and reaction vessels corresponding to the three-step decomposition reactions comprised in the S-I process. A fundamental research is experimentally performed on heat generation in a single bed packed with a hydrogen-absorbing alloy that may work at the H 2 production temperature. The hydrogen-absorbing alloy of Zr(V 1-x Fe x ) 2 is selected as a material that has a proper plateau pressure for the heat pump system operated between the input and output temperatures of HTGR and reaction vessels of the S-I cycle. Temperature jump due to heat generated when the alloy absorbs H 2 proves that the alloy-H 2 system can heat up the exhaust gas even at 600 deg. C without any external mechanical force. (authors)

Amine-Functionalized Amino Acid-based Ionic Liquids as Efficient and High-Capacity Absorbents for CO2

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shunmugavel, Saravanamurugan; Kunov-Kruse, Andreas Jonas; Fehrmann, Rasmus

2014-01-01

Ionic liquids (ILs) comprised of ammonium cations and anions of naturally occurring amino acids containing an additional amine group (e.g., lysine, histidine, asparagine, and glutamine) were examined as high-capacity absorbents for CO2. An absorption capacity of 2.1 mol CO2 per mol of IL (3.5 mol...

Thin absorbers for large-area soft X-ray microcalorimeters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rocks, L. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)]. E-mail: rocks@wisp.physics.wisc.edu; Anderson, M.B. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Bilgri, N. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Brekosky, R. [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Gwynne Crowder, S. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Figueroa-Feliciano, E. [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Kelley, R. [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Kilbourne, C.A. [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Lai, T. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Lindeman, M.A. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Man, J. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); McCammon, D. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Nelms, K.L. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Porter, F.S. [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Sivananthan, S. [University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607 (United States); Vidugiris, G. [Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Zhao, J. [University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607 (United States)

2006-04-15

The X-ray Quantum Calorimeter (XQC) sounding rocket experiment utilizes a microcalorimeter array for observing the diffuse soft X-ray background. Observations of such low surface-brightness targets require a large-area detector. We will be using an array of large absorbers. Good absorbers must rapidly and completely thermalize photons, have small heat capacity for high stopping efficiency and have good lateral thermal transport. For observing the soft X-ray background (energies <1 keV), the volume and heat capacity of absorber material can be kept to a minimum by making the absorbers only as thick as needed for high quantum efficiency at these low energies. These thin, large-area absorbers are not self-supporting and have poor lateral heat transport. Depositing the absorber material on a Si substrate provides support and improves lateral thermal conduction. We present heat capacity results for thin HgTe and thin Bi, each on Si substrates. We also describe the HgTe absorber fabrication.

Highly efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells grown on flexible polymer films.

Science.gov (United States)

Chirilă, Adrian; Buecheler, Stephan; Pianezzi, Fabian; Bloesch, Patrick; Gretener, Christina; Uhl, Alexander R; Fella, Carolin; Kranz, Lukas; Perrenoud, Julian; Seyrling, Sieghard; Verma, Rajneesh; Nishiwaki, Shiro; Romanyuk, Yaroslav E; Bilger, Gerhard; Tiwari, Ayodhya N

2011-09-18

Solar cells based on polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se(2) absorber layers have yielded the highest conversion efficiency among all thin-film technologies, and the use of flexible polymer films as substrates offers several advantages in lowering manufacturing costs. However, given that conversion efficiency is crucial for cost-competitiveness, it is necessary to develop devices on flexible substrates that perform as well as those obtained on rigid substrates. Such comparable performance has not previously been achieved, primarily because polymer films require much lower substrate temperatures during absorber deposition, generally resulting in much lower efficiencies. Here we identify a strong composition gradient in the absorber layer as the main reason for inferior performance and show that, by adjusting it appropriately, very high efficiencies can be obtained. This implies that future manufacturing of highly efficient flexible solar cells could lower the cost of solar electricity and thus become a significant branch of the photovoltaic industry.

Super-hydrophilic copper sulfide films as light absorbers for efficient solar steam generation under one sun illumination

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Zhenzhen; Ming, Xin; Wang, Gang; Hou, Baofei; Liu, Xinghang; Mei, Tao; Li, Jinhua; Wang, Jianying; Wang, Xianbao

2018-02-01

Solar steam technology is one of the simplest, most direct and effective ways to harness solar energy through water evaporation. Here, we report the development using super-hydrophilic copper sulfide (CuS) films with double-layer structures as light absorbers for solar steam generation. In the double-layer structure system, a porous mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane is used as a supporting layer, which enables water to get into the CuS light absorbers through a capillary action to provide continuous water during solar steam generation. The super-hydrophilic property of the double-layer system (CuS/MCE) leads to a thinner water film close to the air-water interface where the surface temperature is sufficiently high, leading to more efficient evaporation (˜80 ± 2.5%) under one sun illumination. Furthermore, the evaporation efficiencies still keep a steady value after 15 cycles of testing. The super-hydrophilic CuS film is promising for practical application in water purification and evaporation as a light absorption material.

Indocyanine green loaded graphene oxide for high-efficient photoacoustic tumor therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baoyun Yan

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Photoacoustic therapy, using the photoacoustic effect of agents for selectively killing tumor cells, has shown promising for treating tumor. Utilization of high optical absorption probes can help to effectively improve the photoacoustic therapy efficiency. Herein, we report a novel high-absorption photoacoustic probe that is composed of indocyanine green (ICG and graphene oxide (GO, entitled GO-ICG, for photoacoustic therapy. The attached ICG with narrow absorption spectral profile has strong optical absorption in the infrared region. The absorption spectrum of the GO-ICG solution reveals that the GO-ICG particles exhibited a 10-fold higher absorbance at 780nm (its peak absorbance as compared with GO. Importantly, ICG’s fluorescence is quenched by GO via fluorescence resonance energy transfer. As a result, GO-ICG can high-efficiently convert the absorbed light energy to acoustic wave under pulsed laser irradiation. We further demonstrate that GO-ICG can produce stronger photoacoustic wave than the GO and ICG alone. Moreover, we conjugate this contrast agent with integrin αvβ3 mono-clonal antibody to molecularly target the U87-MG human glioblastoma cells for selective tumor cell killing. Finally, our results testify that the photoacoustic therapy efficiency of GO-ICG is higher than the existing photoacoustic therapy agent. Our work demonstrates that GO-ICG is a high-efficiency photoacoustic therapy agent. This novel photoacoustic probe is likely to be an available candidate for tumor therapy.

Performance of compact TES arrays with integrated high-fill-fraction X-ray absorbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindeman, Mark A.; Bandler, Simon; Brekosky, Regis P.; Chervenak, James A.; Figueroa-Feliciano, Enectali; Finkbeiner, Fred M.; Kelley, Richard L.; Saab, Tarek; Stahle, Caroline K.; Talley, D.J.

2004-01-01

We have recently produced and tested two-dimensional arrays of Mo/Au transition-edge-sensor (TES) calorimeters with Bi/Cu absorbers. The arrays represent a significant step towards meeting the specifications of NASA's Constellation-X mission. The calorimeters are compactly spaced within 5x5 arrays of 250 μm square pixels necessary for an angular resolution of 5 arcsec. Lithographically produced absorbers hang over the substrate and wiring between the TESs for high filling fraction and high quantum efficiency. We designed the calorimeters with heat capacities and thermal couplings such that X-rays produce pulses with fall times of approximately 300 μs to allow relatively high count rates with low dead time. We read out up to four of the pixels simultaneously. The arrays demonstrated very good energy resolution (5 eV at 1.5 keV and 7 eV at 6 keV) and little crosstalk between neighboring pixels

Highly efficient, versatile, self-Q-switched, high-repetition-rate microchip laser generating Ince–Gaussian modes for optical trapping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jun Dong; Yu He; Xiao Zhou; Shengchuang Bai [Department of Electronics Engineering, School of Information Science and Engineering, Xiamen, 361005 (China)

2016-03-31

Lasers operating in the Ince-Gaussian (IG) mode have potential applications for optical manipulation of microparticles and formation of optical vortices, as well as for optical trapping and optical tweezers. Versatile, self-Q-switched, high-peak-power, high-repetition-rate Cr, Nd:YAG microchip lasers operating in the IG mode are implemented under tilted, tightly focused laser-diode pumping. An average output power of over 2 W is obtained at an absorbed pump power of 6.4 W. The highest optical-to-optical efficiency of 33.2% is achieved at an absorbed pump power of 3.9 W. Laser pulses with a pulse energy of 7.5 μJ, pulse width of 3.5 ns and peak power of over 2 kW are obtained. A repetition rate up to 335 kHz is reached at an absorbed pump power of 5.8 W. Highly efficient, versatile, IG-mode lasers with a high repetition rate and a high peak power ensure a better flexibility in particle manipulation and optical trapping. (control of laser radiation parameters)

High-efficiency diode-pumped femtosecond Yb:YAG ceramic laser

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Binbin; Wei, Z.Y.; Zou, Y.W.

2010-01-01

A highly efficient diode-end-pumped femtosecond Yb:yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) ceramic laser was demonstrated. Pumped by a 968 nm fiber-coupled diode laser, 1.9 W mode-locked output power at a repetition rate of 64.27 MHz was obtained with 3.5 W absorbed pump power, corresponding to a slope...... efficiency of 76%. Our measurement showed that the pulse duration was 418 fs with the central wavelength of 1048 nm....

Pinning down high-performance Cu-chalcogenides as thin-film solar cell absorbers: A successive screening approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Yubo; Zhang, Wenqing, E-mail: wqzhang@mail.sic.ac.cn, E-mail: pzhang3@buffalo.edu [Materials Genome Institute and Department of Physics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444 (China); State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Wang, Youwei; Zhang, Jiawei; Xi, Lili [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructures, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Zhang, Peihong, E-mail: wqzhang@mail.sic.ac.cn, E-mail: pzhang3@buffalo.edu [Materials Genome Institute and Department of Physics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444 (China); Department of Physics, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, New York 14260 (United States)

2016-05-21

Photovoltaic performances of Cu-chalcogenides solar cells are strongly correlated with the absorber fundamental properties such as optimal bandgap, desired band alignment with window material, and high photon absorption ability. According to these criteria, we carry out a successive screening for 90 Cu-chalcogenides using efficient theoretical approaches. Besides the well-recognized CuInSe{sub 2} and Cu{sub 2}ZnSnSe{sub 4} materials, several novel candidates are identified to have optimal bandgaps of around 1.0–1.5 eV, spike-like band alignments with CdS window layer, sharp photon absorption edges, and high absorption coefficients. These new systems have great potential to be superior absorbers for photovolatic applications if their carrrier transport and defect properties are properly optimized.

A high-efficiency solution-deposited thin-film photovoltaic device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mitzi, David B; Yuan, Min; Liu, Wei; Chey, S Jay; Schrott, Alex G [IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY (United States); Kellock, Andrew J; Deline, Vaughn [IBM Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA (United States)

2008-10-02

High-quality Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) films are deposited from hydrazine-based solutions and are employed as absorber layers in thin-film photovoltaic devices. The CIGS films exhibit tunable stoichiometry and well-formed grain structure without requiring post-deposition high-temperature selenium treatment. Devices based on these films offer power conversion efficiencies of 10% (AM1.5 illumination). (Abstract Copyright [2008], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

High-temperature absorbed dose measurements in the megagray range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balian, P.; Ardonceau, J.; Zuppiroli, L.

1988-01-01

Organic conductors of the tetraselenotetracene family have been tested as ''high-temperature'' absorbed dose dosimeters. They were heated up to 120 0 C and irradiated at this temperature with 1-MeV electrons in order to simulate, in a short time, a much longer γ-ray irradiation. The electric resistance increase of the crystal can be considered a good measurement of the absorbed dose in the range 10 6 Gy to a few 10 8 Gy and presumably one order of magnitude more. This dosimeter also permits on-line (in-situ) measurements of the absorbed dose without removing the sensor from the irradiation site. The respective advantages of organic and inorganic dosimeters at these temperature and dose ranges are also discussed. In this connection, we outline new, but negative, results concerning the possible use of silica as a high-temperature, high-dose dosimeter. (author)

High Efficient Bidirectional Battery Converter for residential PV Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pham, Cam; Kerekes, Tamas; Teodorescu, Remus

2012-01-01

Photovoltaic (PV) installation is suited for the residential environment and the generation pattern follows the distribution of residential power consumption in daylight hours. In the cases of unbalance between generation and demand, the Smart PV with its battery storage can absorb or inject...... the power to balance it. High efficient bidirectional converter for the battery storage is required due high system cost and because the power is processed twice. A 1.5kW prototype is designed and built with CoolMOS and SiC diodes, >;95% efficiency has been obtained with 200 kHz hard switching....

Characterization of selective solar absorber under high vacuum.

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, Roberto; Monti, Matteo; di Giamberardino, Francesco; Palmieri, Vittorio G

2018-05-14

Total absorption and emission coefficients of selective solar absorbers are measured under high vacuum conditions from room temperature up to stagnation temperature. The sample under investigation is illuminated under vacuum @1000W/m 2 and the sample temperature is recorded during heat up, equilibrium and cool down. During stagnation, the absorber temperature exceeds 300°C without concentration. Data analysis allows evaluating the solar absorptance and thermal emittance at different temperatures. These in turn are useful to predict evacuated solar panel performances at operating conditions.

Large-Scale Nanophotonic Solar Selective Absorbers for High-Efficiency Solar Thermal Energy Conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Pengfei; Liu, Baoan; Ni, Yizhou; Liew, Kaiyang Kevin; Sze, Jeff; Chen, Shuo; Shen, Sheng

2015-08-19

An omnidirectional nanophotonic solar selective absorber is fabricated on a large scale using a template-stripping method. The nanopyramid nickel structure achieves an average absorptance of 95% at a wavelength range below 1.3 μm and a low emittance less than 10% at wavelength >2.5 μm. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Toward High-Efficiency Solution-Processed Planar Heterojunction Sb2S3 Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmermann, Eugen; Pfadler, Thomas; Kalb, Julian; Dorman, James A; Sommer, Daniel; Hahn, Giso; Weickert, Jonas; Schmidt-Mende, Lukas

2015-05-01

Low-cost hybrid solar cells have made tremendous steps forward during the past decade owing to the implementation of extremely thin inorganic coatings as absorber layers, typically in combination with organic hole transporters. Using only extremely thin films of these absorbers reduces the requirement of single crystalline high-quality materials and paves the way for low-cost solution processing compatible with roll-to-roll fabrication processes. To date, the most efficient absorber material, except for the recently introduced organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites, has been Sb 2 S 3 , which can be implemented in hybrid photovoltaics using a simple chemical bath deposition. Current high-efficiency Sb 2 S 3 devices utilize absorber coatings on nanostructured TiO 2 electrodes in combination with polymeric hole transporters. This geometry has so far been the state of the art, even though flat junction devices would be conceptually simpler with the additional potential of higher open circuit voltages due to reduced charge carrier recombination. Besides, the role of the hole transporter is not completely clarified yet. In particular, additional photocurrent contribution from the polymers has not been directly shown, which points toward detrimental parasitic light absorption in the polymers. This study presents a fine-tuned chemical bath deposition method that allows fabricating solution-processed low-cost flat junction Sb 2 S 3 solar cells with the highest open circuit voltage reported so far for chemical bath devices and efficiencies exceeding 4%. Characterization of back-illuminated solar cells in combination with transfer matrix-based simulations further allows to address the issue of absorption losses in the hole transport material and outline a pathway toward more efficient future devices.

Absorber Materials for Transition-Edge Sensor X-ray Microcalorimeters

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Ari-David; Bandler, Simon; Brekosky, Regis; Chervenak, James; Figueroa-Feliciano, Enectali; Finkbeiner, Fred; Sadleir, Jack; Iyomoto, Naoko; Kelley, Richard; Kilbourne, Caroline;

Design Strategies for High-Efficiency CdTe Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Tao

With continuous technology advances over the past years, CdTe solar cells have surged to be a leading contributor in thin-film photovoltaic (PV) field. While empirical material and device optimization has led to considerable progress, further device optimization requires accurate device models that are able to provide an in-depth understanding of CdTe device physics. Consequently, this thesis is intended to develop a comprehensive model system for high-efficiency CdTe devices through applying basic design principles of solar cells with numerical modeling and comparing results with experimental CdTe devices. The CdTe absorber is central to cell performance. Numerical simulation has shown the feasibility of high energy-conversion efficiency, which requires both high carrier density and long minority carrier lifetime. As the minority carrier lifetime increases, the carrier recombination at the back surface becomes a limitation for cell performance with absorber thickness cell performance, since it can induce a large valence-band bending which suppresses the hole injection near the interface for the electron-hole recombination, but too large a spike is detrimental to photocurrent transport. In a heterojunction device with many defects at the emitter/absorber interface (high SIF), a thin and highly-doped emitter can induce strong absorber inversion and hence help maintain good cell performance. Performance losses from acceptor-type interface defects can be significant when interface defect states are located near mid-gap energies. In terms of specific emitter materials, the calculations suggest that the (Mg,Zn)O alloy with 20% Mg, or a similar type-I heterojunction partner with moderate DeltaE C (e.g., Cd(S,O) or (Cd,Mg)Te with appropriate oxygen or magnesium ratios) should yield higher voltages and would therefore be better candidates for the CdTe-cell emitter. The CdTe/substrate interface is also of great importance, particularly in the growth of epitaxial

Broadband infrared metamaterial absorber based on anodic aluminum oxide template

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jingfan; Qu, Shaobo; Ma, Hua; Wang, Jiafu; Yang, Shen; Pang, Yongqiang

2018-05-01

In this work, a broadband infrared metamaterial absorber is proposed based on trapezoid-shaped anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. Unlike traditional metamaterial absorber constructed from metal-dielectric-metal sandwich structure, our proposed absorber is composed of trapezoid-shaped AAO template with metallic nanowires inside. The infrared absorption efficiency is numerically calculated and the mechanism analysis is given in the paper. Owing to the superposition of multiple resonances produced by the nanowires with different heights, the infrared metamatrial absorber can keep high absorption efficiency during broad working wavelength band from 3.4 μm to 6.1 μm. In addition, the resonance wavelength is associated with the height of nanowires, which indicates that the resonance wavelength can be modulated flexibly through changing the heights of nanowires. This kind of design can also be adapted to other wavelength regions.

High-Capacity Spacesuit Evaporator Absorber Radiator (SEAR)

Science.gov (United States)

Izenson, Michael G.; Chen, Weibo; Phillips, Scott; Chepko, Ariane; Bue, Grant; Quinn, Gregory

2015-01-01

Future human space exploration missions will require advanced life support technology that can operate across a wide range of applications and environments. Thermal control systems for space suits and spacecraft will need to meet critical requirements for water conservation and multifunctional operation. This paper describes a Space Evaporator Absorber Radiator (SEAR) that has been designed to meet performance requirements for future life support systems. A SEAR system comprises a lithium chloride absorber radiator (LCAR) for heat rejection coupled with a space water membrane evaporator (SWME) for heat acquisition. SEAR systems provide heat pumping to minimize radiator size, thermal storage to accommodate variable environmental conditions, and water absorption to minimize use of expendables. We have built and tested a flight-like, high-capacity LCAR, demonstrated its performance in thermal vacuum tests, and explored the feasibility of an ISS demonstration test of a SEAR system. The new LCAR design provides the same cooling capability as prior LCAR prototypes while enabling over 30% more heat absorbing capacity. Studies show that it should be feasible to demonstrate SEAR operation in flight by coupling with an existing EMU on the space station.

Performance of an absorbing concentrating solar collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imadojemu, H.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on a comparison of the efficiency of an absorbing fluid parabolic trough concentrating solar collector and a traditional concentrating collector that was made. In the absorbing fluid collector, black liquid flows through a glass tube absorber while the same black liquid flows through a selective black coated copper tube absorber while the same black fluid flows through a selective black coated copper tube absorber in the traditional collector. After a careful study of the properties of available black liquids, a mixture of water and black ink was chosen as the black absorbing medium or transfer fluid. In the black liquid glass collector there is a slightly improved efficiency based on beam radiation as a result of the direct absorption process and an increase in the effective transmittance absorptance. At worst the efficiency of this collector equals that of the traditional concentrating collector when the efficiency is based on total radiation. The collector's reflecting surfaces were made of aluminum sheet, parabolic line focus and with cylindrical receivers. The ease of manufacture and reduced cost per unit energy collected, in addition to the clean and pollution free mode of energy conversion, makes it very attractive

Development of highly effective neutron shields and neutron absorbing materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuda, K.; Matsuda, F.; Taniuchi, H.; Yuhara, T.; Iida, T.

1993-01-01

A wide range of materials, including polymers and hydrogen-occluded alloys that might be usable as the neutron shielding material were examined. And a wide range of materials, including aluminum alloys that might be usable as the neutron-absorbing material were examined. After screening, the candidate material was determined on the basis of evaluation regarding its adaptabilities as a high-performance neutron-shielding and neutron-absorbing material. This candidate material was manufactured for trial, after which material properties tests, neutron-shielding tests and neutron-absorbing tests were carried out on it. The specifications of this material were thus determined. This research has resulted in materials of good performance; a neutron-shielding material based on ethylene propylene rubber and titanium hydride, and a neutron-absorbing material based on aluminum and titanium hydride. (author)

Enhanced conductive loss in nickel–cobalt sulfide nanostructures for highly efficient microwave absorption and shielding

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wanrong; Zhou, Min; Lu, Fei; Liu, Hongfei; Zhou, Yuxue; Zhu, Jun; Zeng, Xianghua

2018-06-01

Microwave-absorbing materials with light weight and high efficiency are desirable in addressing electromagnetic interference (EMI) problems. Herein, a nickel–cobalt sulfide (NCS) nanostructure was employed as a robust microwave absorber, which displayed an optimized reflection loss of  ‑49.1 dB in the gigahertz range with a loading of only 20 wt% in an NCS/paraffin wax composite. High electrical conductivity was found to contribute prominent conductive loss in NCS, leading to intense dielectric loss within a relatively low mass loading. Furthermore, owing to its high electrical conductivity and remarkable dielectric loss to microwaves, the prepared NCS exhibited excellent performance in EMI shielding. The EMI shielding efficiency of the 50 wt% NCS/paraffin composite exceeded 55 dB at the X-band, demonstrating NCS is a versatile candidate for solving EMI problems.

Metamaterial Receivers for High Efficiency Concentrated Solar Energy Conversion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yellowhair, Julius E. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Concentrating Solar Technologies Dept.; Kwon, Hoyeong [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Alu, Andrea [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Jarecki, Robert L. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Concentrating Solar Technologies Dept.; Shinde, Subhash L. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Concentrating Solar Technologies Dept.

2016-09-01

Operation of concentrated solar power receivers at higher temperatures (>700°C) would enable supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO₂) power cycles for improved power cycle efficiencies (>50%) and cost-effective solar thermal power. Unfortunately, radiative losses at higher temperatures in conventional receivers can negatively impact the system efficiency gains. One approach to improve receiver thermal efficiency is to utilize selective coatings that enhance absorption across the visible solar spectrum while minimizing emission in the infrared to reduce radiative losses. Existing coatings, however, tend to degrade rapidly at elevated temperatures. In this report, we report on the initial designs and fabrication of spectrally selective metamaterial-based absorbers for high-temperature, high-thermal flux environments important for solarized sCO₂ power cycles. Metamaterials are structured media whose optical properties are determined by sub-wavelength structural features instead of bulk material properties, providing unique solutions by decoupling the optical absorption spectrum from thermal stability requirements. The key enabling innovative concept proposed is the use of structured surfaces with spectral responses that can be tailored to optimize the absorption and retention of solar energy for a given temperature range. In this initial study through the Academic Alliance partnership with University of Texas at Austin, we use Tungsten for its stability in expected harsh environments, compatibility with microfabrication techniques, and required optical performance. Our goal is to tailor the optical properties for high (near unity) absorptivity across the majority of the solar spectrum and over a broad range of incidence angles, and at the same time achieve negligible absorptivity in the near infrared to optimize the energy absorbed and retained. To this goal, we apply the recently developed concept of plasmonic Brewster angle to suitably designed

Secure data storage by three-dimensional absorbers in highly scattering volume medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matoba, Osamu; Matsuki, Shinichiro; Nitta, Kouichi

2008-01-01

A novel data storage in a volume medium with highly scattering coefficient is proposed for data security application. Three-dimensional absorbers are used as data. These absorbers can not be measured by interferometer when the scattering in a volume medium is strong enough. We present a method to reconstruct three-dimensional absorbers and present numerical results to show the effectiveness of the proposed data storage.

High-temperature stable absorber coatings for linear concentrating solar thermal power plants; Hochtemperaturstabile Absorberschichten fuer linear konzentrierende solarthermische Kraftwerke

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hildebrandt, Christina

2009-03-23

This work describes the development of new absorber coatings for different applications - para-bolic trough and linear Fresnel collectors - and operating conditions - absorber in vacuum or in air. The demand for higher efficiencies of solar thermal power plants using parabolic trough technology results in higher temperatures in the collectors and on the absorber tubes. As heat losses increase strongly with increasing temperatures, the need for a lower emissivity of the absorber coating at constant absorptivity arises. The linear Fresnel application envisions ab-sorber tubes stable in air at high temperatures of about 450 C, which are to date commercially not available. This work comprises the theoretical background, the modeling and the fabrication of absorber tubes including the technology transfer to a production-size inline sputter coater. In annealing tests and accompanying optical measurements, degradation processes have been observed and specified more precisely by material characterization techniques. The simulations provided the capability of different materials used as potential IR-reflector. The highest selectivity can be achieved by applying silver which consequently has been chosen for the application in absorber coatings of the parabolic trough technology. Thin silver films how-ever need to be stabilized when used at high temperatures. Appropriate barrier layers as well as process and layer parameters were identified. A high selectivity was achieved and stability of the absorber coating for 1200 h at 500 C in vacuum has been demonstrated. For the application in air, silver was also analyzed as a potential IR-reflector. Even though the stability could be increased considerably, it nevertheless proved to be insufficient. The main factors influencing stability in a positive way are the use of higher quality polishing, additional barrier layers and adequate process parameters. This knowledge was applied for developing coatings which are stable in air at

Carbon Nanomaterials for Optical Absorber Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anupama KAUL

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Optical absorbers based on vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs, synthesized using electric-field assisted growth, are described here that show an ultra-low reflectance, 100X lower compared to the benchmark, a diffuse metal black - Au-black - from wavelength l ~ 350 nm – 2500 nm. The reflectance of the MWCNT arrays was measured to be as low as 0.02 % at 2 mm in the infra-red (IR. Growth conditions were optimized for the realization of high-areal density arrays of MWCNTs using a plasma-based chemical vapor deposition (CVD process. Such high efficiency absorbers are particularly attractive for radiometry, as well as energy harnessing applications. Optical modeling calculations were conducted that enabled a determination of the extinction coefficient in the films.

Efficiency enhancement of perovskite solar cells using structural and morphological improvement of CH3NH3PbI3 absorber layers

Science.gov (United States)

Alidaei, Maryam; Izadifard, Morteza; Ghazi, Mohammad E.; Ahmadi, Vahid

2018-01-01

Perovskite solar cells have been heavily investigated due to their unique properties such as high power conversion efficiency (PCE), low-cost fabrication by solution processes, high diffusion length, large absorption coefficient, and direct and tunable band gap. PCE of perovskite devices is strongly dependent on the absorber layer properties such as morphology, crystallinity, and compactness, which are required to be optimized. In this work, the CH3NH3PbI3 (170-480 nm) absorber layers with various methylammonium iodine (MAI) concentrations (7, 10, 20 and 40 mg ml-1) and perovskite solar cells with the fluorine-doped tin oxide (400 nm)/C-TiO2 (30 nm)/Meso-TiO2 (400 nm)/CH3NH3PbI3 (170-480 nm)/P3HT (30 nm)/Au (100 nm) structure were fabricated. A two-step solution process was used for deposition of the CH3NH3PbI3 absorber layers. The morphology, crystal structure, and optical properties of the perovskite layer grown on glass and also the photovoltaic properties of the fabricated solar cells were studied. The results obtained showed that by controlling the deposition conditions, due to the reduction in charge recombination, PCE enhancement of the perovskite solar cell (up to 11.6%) was accessible.

High Efficiency Multijunction Solar Cells with Finely-Tuned Quantum Wells

Science.gov (United States)

Varonides, Argyrios C.

The field of high efficiency (inorganic) photovoltaics (PV) is rapidly maturing in both efficiency goals and cover all cost reduction of fabrication. On one hand, know-how from space industry in new solar cell design configurations and on the other, fabrication cost reduction challenges for terrestrial uses of solar energy, have paved the way to a new generation of PV devices, capable of capturing most of the solar spectrum. For quite a while now, the goal of inorganic solar cell design has been the total (if possible) capture-absorption of the solar spectrum from a single solar cell, designed in such a way that a multiple of incident wavelengths could be simultaneously absorbed. Multi-absorption in device physics indicates parallel existence of different materials that absorb solar photons of different energies. Bulk solid state devices absorb at specific energy thresholds, depending on their respective energy gap (EG). More than one energy gaps would on principle offer new ways of photon absorption: if such a structure could be fabricated, two or more groups of photons could be absorbed simultaneously. The point became then what lattice-matched semiconductor materials could offer such multiple levels of absorption without much recombination losses. It was soon realized that such layer multiplicity combined with quantum size effects could lead to higher efficiency collection of photo-excited carriers. At the moment, the main reason that slows down quantum effect solar cell production is high fabrication cost, since it involves primarily expensive methods of multilayer growth. Existing multi-layer cells are fabricated in the bulk, with three (mostly) layers of lattice-matched and non-lattice-matched (pseudo-morphic) semiconductor materials (GaInP/InGaN etc), where photo-carrier collection occurs in the bulk of the base (coming from the emitter which lies right under the window layer). These carriers are given excess to conduction via tunnel junction (grown between

Ultrathin high band gap solar cells with improved efficiencies from the world's oldest photovoltaic material.

Science.gov (United States)

Todorov, Teodor K; Singh, Saurabh; Bishop, Douglas M; Gunawan, Oki; Lee, Yun Seog; Gershon, Talia S; Brew, Kevin W; Antunez, Priscilla D; Haight, Richard

2017-09-25

Selenium was used in the first solid state solar cell in 1883 and gave early insights into the photoelectric effect that inspired Einstein's Nobel Prize work; however, the latest efficiency milestone of 5.0% was more than 30 years ago. The recent surge of interest towards high-band gap absorbers for tandem applications led us to reconsider this attractive 1.95 eV material. Here, we show completely redesigned selenium devices with improved back and front interfaces optimized through combinatorial studies and demonstrate record open-circuit voltage (V OC ) of 970 mV and efficiency of 6.5% under 1 Sun. In addition, Se devices are air-stable, non-toxic, and extremely simple to fabricate. The absorber layer is only 100 nm thick, and can be processed at 200 ˚C, allowing temperature compatibility with most bottom substrates or sub-cells. We analyze device limitations and find significant potential for further improvement making selenium an attractive high-band-gap absorber for multi-junction device applications.Wide band gap semiconductors are important for the development of tandem photovoltaics. By introducing buffer layers at the front and rear side of solar cells based on selenium; Todorov et al., reduce interface recombination losses to achieve photoconversion efficiencies of 6.5%.

PWR burnable absorber evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cacciapouti, R.J.; Weader, R.J.; Malone, J.P.

1995-01-01

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relative neurotic efficiency and fuel cycle cost benefits of PWR burnable absorbers. Establishment of reference low-leakage equilibrium in-core fuel management plans for 12-, 18- and 24-month cycles. Review of the fuel management impact of the integral fuel burnable absorber (IFBA), erbium and gadolinium. Calculation of the U 3 O 8 , UF 6 , SWU, fuel fabrication, and burnable absorber requirements for the defined fuel management plans. Estimation of fuel cycle costs of each fuel management plan at spot market and long-term market fuel prices. Estimation of the comparative savings of the different burnable absorbers in dollar equivalent per kgU of fabricated fuel. (author)

Convection-type LH2 absorber R and D for muon ionization cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishimoto, S.; Bandura, L.; Black, E.L.; Boghosian, M.; Cassel, K.W.; Cummings, M.A.; Darve, C.; Dyshkant, A.; Errede, D.; Geer, S.; Haney, M.; Hedin, D.; Johnson, R.; Johnstone, C.J.; Kaplan, D.M.; Kubik, D.; Kuno, Y.; Majewski, S.; Popovic, M.; Reep, M.; Summers, D.; Suzuki, S.; Yoshimura, K.

2003-01-01

A feasibility study on liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) absorbers for muon ionization cooling is reported. In muon ionization cooling, an LH 2 absorber is required to have a high cooling power greater than 100 W to cool heat deposited by muons passing through. That heat in LH 2 can be removed at either external or internal heat exchangers, which are cooled by cold helium gas. As one of the internal heat exchanger types, a convection-type absorber is proposed. In the convection-type absorber, heat is taken away by the convection of LH 2 in the absorber. The heat exchanger efficiency for the convection-type absorber is calculated. A possible design is presented

Novel multi-chromophor light absorber concepts for DSSCs for efficient electron injection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schuetz, Robert; Strothkaemper, Christian; Bartelt, Andreas; Hannappel, Thomas; Eichberger, Rainer [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fuer Materialien und Energie, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Fasting, Carlo [Institut fuer Organische Chemie, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Takustrasse 3, 14195 Berlin (Germany); Thomas, Inara [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fuer Materialien und Energie, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Institut fuer Organische Chemie, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Takustrasse 3, 14195 Berlin (Germany)

2011-07-01

Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) operate by injecting electrons from the excited state of a light-harvesting dye into the continuum of conduction band states of a wide bandgap semiconductor. The light harvesting efficiency of pure organic dyes is limited by a narrow spectral electronic transition. A beneficial broad ground state absorption in the VIS region can be achieved by applying a single molecular dye system with multiple chromophors involving a Foerster resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism for an efficient electron injection. A model donor acceptor dye system capable for FRET chemically linked to colloidal TiO{sub 2} and ZnO nanorod surfaces was investigated in UHV environment. We used VIS/NIR femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy and optical pump terahertz probe spectroscopy to study the charge injection dynamics of the antenna system. Different chromophors attached to a novel scaffold/anchor system connecting the organic absorber unit to the metal oxide semiconductor were probed.

Polarization insensitive metamaterial absorber based on E-shaped all-dielectric structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liyang Li

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we designed a metamaterial absorber performed in microwave frequency band. This absorber is composed of E-shaped dielectrics which are arranged along different directions. The E-shaped all-dielectric structure is made of microwave ceramics with high permittivity and low loss. Within about 1 GHz frequency band, more than 86% absorption efficiency was observed for this metamaterial absorber. This absorber is polarization insensitive and is stable for incident angles. It is figured out that the polarization insensitive absorption is caused by the nearly located varied resonant modes which are excited by the E-shaped all-dielectric resonators with the same size but in the different direction. The E-shaped dielectric absorber contains intensive resonant points. Our research work paves a way for designing all-dielectric absorber.

Pneumatic Adaptive Absorber: Mathematical Modelling with Experimental Verification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grzegorz Mikułowski

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Many of mechanical energy absorbers utilized in engineering structures are hydraulic dampers, since they are simple and highly efficient and have favourable volume to load capacity ratio. However, there exist fields of applications where a threat of toxic contamination with the hydraulic fluid contents must be avoided, for example, food or pharmacy industries. A solution here can be a Pneumatic Adaptive Absorber (PAA, which is characterized by a high dissipation efficiency and an inactive medium. In order to properly analyse the characteristics of a PAA, an adequate mathematical model is required. This paper proposes a concept for mathematical modelling of a PAA with experimental verification. The PAA is considered as a piston-cylinder device with a controllable valve incorporated inside the piston. The objective of this paper is to describe a thermodynamic model of a double chamber cylinder with gas migration between the inner volumes of the device. The specific situation considered here is that the process cannot be defined as polytropic, characterized by constant in time thermodynamic coefficients. Instead, the coefficients of the proposed model are updated during the analysis. The results of the experimental research reveal that the proposed mathematical model is able to accurately reflect the physical behaviour of the fabricated demonstrator of the shock absorber.

Design of a size-efficient tunable metamaterial absorber based on leaf-shaped cell at near-infrared regions

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Hailong; Xia, Hui; Xie, Wenke; Guo, Zhibo; Li, Hongjian

2018-06-01

A size-efficient tunable metamaterial absorber (MA) composed of metallic leaf-shaped cell, graphene layer, silicon substrate, and bottom metal film is investigated theoretically and numerically at near-infrared (NIR) regions. Simulation results reveal that the single-band high absorption of 91.9% is obtained at 1268.7 nm. Further results show that the single-band can be simply changed into dual-band high absorption by varying the geometric parameters of top metallic layer at same wavelength regions, yielding two high absorption coefficients of 96.6% and 95.3% at the wavelengths of 1158.7 nm and 1323.6 nm, respectively. And the effect of related geometric parameter on dual-band absorption intensities is also investigated to obtain the optimized one. The peak wavelength can be tuned via modifying the Fermi energy of the graphene layer through controlling the external gate voltage. The work shows that the proposed strategy can be applied to other design of the dual-band structure at infrared regions.

Tuning Transpiration by Interfacial Solar Absorber-Leaf Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuang, Shendong; Zhou, Lin; Xu, Weichao; Xu, Ning; Hu, Xiaozhen; Li, Xiuqiang; Lv, Guangxin; Zheng, Qinghui; Zhu, Shining; Wang, Zhenlin; Zhu, Jia

2018-02-01

Plant transpiration, a process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts especially leaves, consumes a large component of the total continental precipitation (≈48%) and significantly influences global water distribution and climate. To date, various chemical and/or biological explorations have been made to tune the transpiration but with uncertain environmental risks. In recent years, interfacial solar steam/vapor generation is attracting a lot of attention for achieving high energy transfer efficiency. Various optical and thermal designs at the solar absorber-water interface for potential applications in water purification, seawater desalination, and power generation appear. In this work, the concept of interfacial solar vapor generation is extended to tunable plant transpiration by showing for the first time that the transpiration efficiency can also be enhanced or suppressed through engineering the solar absorber-leaf interface. By tuning the solar absorption of membrane in direct touch with green leaf, surface temperature of green leaf will change accordingly because of photothermal effect, thus the transpiration efficiency as well as temperature and relative humidity in the surrounding environment will be tuned. This tunable transpiration by interfacial absorber-leaf engineering can open an alternative avenue to regulate local atmospheric temperature, humidity, and eventually hydrologic cycle.

Highly Flexible and Efficient Solar Steam Generation Device.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chaoji; Li, Yiju; Song, Jianwei; Yang, Zhi; Kuang, Yudi; Hitz, Emily; Jia, Chao; Gong, Amy; Jiang, Feng; Zhu, J Y; Yang, Bao; Xie, Jia; Hu, Liangbing

2017-08-01

Solar steam generation with subsequent steam recondensation has been regarded as one of the most promising techniques to utilize the abundant solar energy and sea water or other unpurified water through water purification, desalination, and distillation. Although tremendous efforts have been dedicated to developing high-efficiency solar steam generation devices, challenges remain in terms of the relatively low efficiency, complicated fabrications, high cost, and inability to scale up. Here, inspired by the water transpiration behavior of trees, the use of carbon nanotube (CNT)-modified flexible wood membrane (F-Wood/CNTs) is demonstrated as a flexible, portable, recyclable, and efficient solar steam generation device for low-cost and scalable solar steam generation applications. Benefitting from the unique structural merits of the F-Wood/CNTs membrane-a black CNT-coated hair-like surface with excellent light absorbability, wood matrix with low thermal conductivity, hierarchical micro- and nanochannels for water pumping and escaping, solar steam generation device based on the F-Wood/CNTs membrane demonstrates a high efficiency of 81% at 10 kW cm -2 , representing one of the highest values ever-reported. The nature-inspired design concept in this study is straightforward and easily scalable, representing one of the most promising solutions for renewable and portable solar energy generation and other related phase-change applications. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Convection-type LH{sub 2} absorber R and D for muon ionization cooling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ishimoto, S. E-mail: shigeru.ishimoto@kek.jp; Bandura, L.; Black, E.L.; Boghosian, M.; Cassel, K.W.; Cummings, M.A.; Darve, C.; Dyshkant, A.; Errede, D.; Geer, S.; Haney, M.; Hedin, D.; Johnson, R.; Johnstone, C.J.; Kaplan, D.M.; Kubik, D.; Kuno, Y.; Majewski, S.; Popovic, M.; Reep, M.; Summers, D.; Suzuki, S.; Yoshimura, K

2003-05-01

A feasibility study on liquid hydrogen (LH{sub 2}) absorbers for muon ionization cooling is reported. In muon ionization cooling, an LH{sub 2} absorber is required to have a high cooling power greater than 100 W to cool heat deposited by muons passing through. That heat in LH{sub 2} can be removed at either external or internal heat exchangers, which are cooled by cold helium gas. As one of the internal heat exchanger types, a convection-type absorber is proposed. In the convection-type absorber, heat is taken away by the convection of LH{sub 2} in the absorber. The heat exchanger efficiency for the convection-type absorber is calculated. A possible design is presented.

Computational design for a wide-angle cermet-based solar selective absorber for high temperature applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakurai, Atsushi; Tanikawa, Hiroya; Yamada, Makoto

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to computationally design a wide-angle cermet-based solar selective absorber for high temperature applications by using a characteristic matrix method and a genetic algorithm. The present study investigates a solar selective absorber with tungsten–silica (W–SiO 2 ) cermet. Multilayer structures of 1, 2, 3, and 4 layers and a wide range of metal volume fractions are optimized. The predicted radiative properties show good solar performance, i.e., thermal emittances, especially beyond 2 μm, are quite low, in contrast, solar absorptance levels are successfully high with wide angular range, so that solar photons are effectively absorbed and infrared radiative heat loss can be decreased. -- Highlights: • Electromagnetic simulation of radiative properties by characteristic matrix method. • Optimization for multilayered W–SiO 2 cermet-based absorber by a Genetic Algorithm. • We propose a successfully high solar performance of solar selective absorber

Energy-harvesting shock absorber with a mechanical motion rectifier

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhongjie; Zuo, Lei; Kuang, Jian; Luhrs, George

2013-02-01

Energy-harvesting shock absorbers are able to recover the energy otherwise dissipated in the suspension vibration while simultaneously suppressing the vibration induced by road roughness. They can work as a controllable damper as well as an energy generator. An innovative design of regenerative shock absorbers is proposed in this paper, with the advantage of significantly improving the energy harvesting efficiency and reducing the impact forces caused by oscillation. The key component is a unique motion mechanism, which we called ‘mechanical motion rectifier (MMR)’, to convert the oscillatory vibration into unidirectional rotation of the generator. An implementation of a MMR-based harvester with high compactness is introduced and prototyped. A dynamic model is created to analyze the general properties of the motion rectifier by making an analogy between mechanical systems and electrical circuits. The model is capable of analyzing electrical and mechanical components at the same time. Both simulation and experiments are carried out to verify the modeling and the advantages. The prototype achieved over 60% efficiency at high frequency, much better than conventional regenerative shock absorbers in oscillatory motion. Furthermore, road tests are done to demonstrate the feasibility of the MMR shock absorber, in which more than 15 Watts of electricity is harvested while driving at 15 mph on a smooth paved road. The MMR-based design can also be used for other applications of vibration energy harvesting, such as from tall buildings or long bridges.

Energy-harvesting shock absorber with a mechanical motion rectifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Zhongjie; Zuo, Lei; Kuang, Jian; Luhrs, George

2013-01-01

Energy-harvesting shock absorbers are able to recover the energy otherwise dissipated in the suspension vibration while simultaneously suppressing the vibration induced by road roughness. They can work as a controllable damper as well as an energy generator. An innovative design of regenerative shock absorbers is proposed in this paper, with the advantage of significantly improving the energy harvesting efficiency and reducing the impact forces caused by oscillation. The key component is a unique motion mechanism, which we called ‘mechanical motion rectifier (MMR)’, to convert the oscillatory vibration into unidirectional rotation of the generator. An implementation of a MMR-based harvester with high compactness is introduced and prototyped. A dynamic model is created to analyze the general properties of the motion rectifier by making an analogy between mechanical systems and electrical circuits. The model is capable of analyzing electrical and mechanical components at the same time. Both simulation and experiments are carried out to verify the modeling and the advantages. The prototype achieved over 60% efficiency at high frequency, much better than conventional regenerative shock absorbers in oscillatory motion. Furthermore, road tests are done to demonstrate the feasibility of the MMR shock absorber, in which more than 15 Watts of electricity is harvested while driving at 15 mph on a smooth paved road. The MMR-based design can also be used for other applications of vibration energy harvesting, such as from tall buildings or long bridges. (paper)

Charge reversible gold nanoparticles for high efficient absorption and desorption of DNA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Can; Zhuang Jiaqi; Jiang Shan; Li Jun; Yang Wensheng, E-mail: wsyang@jlu.edu.cn [Jilin University, State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry (China)

2012-10-15

Mercaptoundecylamine and mercaptoundecanoic acid co-modified Au nanoparticles were prepared by two-step ligand exchange of 6-mercaptohexanoic acid modified gold nanoparticles. Such particles terminated by appropriate ratios of the amine and carboxyl groups (R{sub N/C}) were identified to show reversible charge on their surface, which were switchable by pH of the solution. The isoelectric point (IEP) of the particles is tunable by changing the ratios of the amine and carboxyl groups on the particle surfaces. The particles can absorb DNA effectively at pH lower than the IEP driven by the direct electrostatic interactions between DNA and the particle surface. When pH of the solutions was elevated to be higher than the IEP, the absorbed DNA can be released almost completely due to the electrostatic repulsion between the particle surface and DNA. With appropriate R{sub N/C} ratios of 0.8, the absorption and desorption efficiencies of DNA were 97 and 98%, respectively, corresponding an extraction efficiency of 95 %. Such particles with reversible surface charges allow the high efficient extraction of DNA by simply changing pH instead of by changing salt concentration in the conventional salt bridge method.Graphical Abstract.

Design, simulation and optimization of a solar dish collector with spiral-coil thermal absorber

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavlović Saša R.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The efficient conversion of solar radiation into heat at high temperature levels requires the use of concentrating solar collectors. The goal of this paper is to present the optical and the thermal analysis of a parabolic dish concentrator with a spiral coil receiver. The parabolic dish reflector consists of 11 curvilinear trapezoidal reflective petals constructed by PMMA with silvered mirror layer and has a diameter of 3.8 m, while its focal distance is 2.26m. This collector is designed with commercial software SolidWorks and simulated, optically and thermally in its Flow Simulation Studio. The optical analysis proved that the ideal position of the absorber is at 2.1m from the reflector in order to maximize the optical efficiency and to create a relative uniform heat flux over the absorber. In thermal part of the analysis, the energetic efficiency was calculated approximately 65%, while the exergetic efficiency is varied from 4% to 15% according to the water inlet temperature. Moreover, other important parameters as the heat flux and temperature distribution over the absorber are presented. The pressure drop of the absorber coil is calculated at 0.07bar, an acceptable value.

Absorbing coatings for high power millimeter-wave devices and matched loads

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bin, W., E-mail: wbin@ifp.cnr.it [Istituto di Fisica del Plasma, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, EURATOM-ENEA/CNR Association, Milano (Italy); Bruschi, A.; Cirant, S. [Istituto di Fisica del Plasma, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, EURATOM-ENEA/CNR Association, Milano (Italy); Muzzini, V. [Istituto di Biologia Agro-ambientale e Forestale, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Area di Ricerca di Roma 1, Monterotondo, Rome (Italy); Simonetto, A.; Spinicchia, N. [Istituto di Fisica del Plasma, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, EURATOM-ENEA/CNR Association, Milano (Italy); Angella, G. [Istituto per l’Energetica e le Interfasi, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milano (Italy); Dell’Era, F. [Istituto di Fisica del Plasma, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, EURATOM-ENEA/CNR Association, Milano (Italy); Gantenbein, G.; Leonhardt, W. [Institut für Hochleistungsimpuls-und Mikrowellentechnik, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Association EURATOM-KIT, Karlsruhe (Germany); Nardone, A. [Istituto di Fisica del Plasma, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, EURATOM-ENEA/CNR Association, Milano (Italy); Samartsev, A.; Schmid, M. [Institut für Hochleistungsimpuls-und Mikrowellentechnik, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Association EURATOM-KIT, Karlsruhe (Germany)

2013-10-15

Highlights: ► An overview of the activity at IFP-CNR concerning the absorbing coatings is presented. ► The application of the absorbing ceramics to the IFP-CNR matched loads is described. ► B{sub 4}C is presented as a promising material for power absorption in the EC frequency range. ► The most important high power validation tests performed on coatings are described. ► Some results from simulations of the absorption capability of a double layer coating are shown. -- Abstract: In the electron cyclotron frequency range the handling of high power is critical. In some cases an unpredictable amount of stray radiation can reach some components or accumulate in localized regions, with risk of damages caused by thermal overloads, and any uncontrolled reflection represents a danger for the sources. A possibility to mitigate the problem consists in covering some regions exposed to radiation with absorbers. Enhanced absorption of stray radiation lowers requirements on active protection systems in microwave diagnostics. The released heat can be extracted by dedicated cooling systems. The chromium oxide (Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3}), largely tested at IFP-CNR, has been routinely used as internal coating for matched loads. The performances of a variable thickness coating has been tested at high power at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), with a 140 GHz gyrotron of the W7-X ECRH system and an averaged power density absorbed at the coating surface higher than 1 MW/m{sup 2} for 3 min. Also boron carbide (B{sub 4}C) has been tested at low power and patented as a millimeter-wave absorber. In the paper, the results of some tests performed on these coatings are given, together with some simulations of the absorption capability based on low power measurements on samples. Finally, some calculations are presented for a coating obtained combining together Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} and B{sub 4}C.

Moisture buffering capacity of highly absorbing materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cerolini, S.; D' Orazio, M.; Stazi, A. [Department of Architecture, Construction and Structures (DACS), Faculty of Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60100 Ancona (Italy); Di Perna, C. [Department of Energetics, Faculty of Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60100 Ancona (Italy)

2009-02-15

This research investigates the possibility to use highly absorbing materials to dampen indoor RH% variations. The practical MBV of sodium polyacrylate, cellulose-based material, perlite and gypsum is evaluated for a daily cyclic exposure that alternates high (75%) and low (33%) RH% levels for 8 h and 16 h, respectively. The adjustment velocity to RH% variations and the presence of hysteretic phenomena are also presented. The cellulose-based material proves to be the most suitable for moisture buffering applications. Starting from this material's properties, the effect of thickness, vapour resistance factor ({mu}) and mass surface exchange coefficient (Z{sub v}) on sorption capacity is evaluated by the use of a numerical model. (author)

Selective solar absorber coating research at the CSIR (South Africa)

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Roro, Kittessa T

2011-05-01

Full Text Available A sol-gel technique has been established at a laboratory scale for low cost production of high efficient selective solar absorbers comprising a composite material of nano-structured carbon in a nickel oxide matrix. In order for these materials...

High energy model for irregular absorbing particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiappetta, Pierre.

1979-05-01

In the framework of a high energy formulation of relativistic quantum scattering a model is presented which describes the scattering functions and polarization of irregular absorbing particles, whose dimensions are greater than the incident wavelength. More precisely in the forward direction an amplitude parametrization of eikonal type is defined which generalizes the usual diffraction theory, and in the backward direction a reflective model is used including a shadow function. The model predictions are in good agreement with the scattering measurements off irregular compact and fluffy particles performed by Zerull, Giese and Weiss (1977)

Preparation of CuGaSe2 absorber layers for thin film solar cells by annealing of efficiently electrodeposited Cu-Ga precursor layers from ionic liquids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steichen, M.; Larsen, J.; Guetay, L.; Siebentritt, S.; Dale, P.J.

2011-01-01

CuGaSe 2 absorber layers were prepared on molybdenum substrates by electrochemical codeposition of copper and gallium and subsequential annealing in selenium vapour. The electrodeposition was made from a deep eutectic based ionic liquid consisting of choline chloride/urea (Reline) with a plating efficiency of over 85%. The precursor film composition is controlled by the ratio of the copper to gallium fluxes under hydrodynamic conditions and by the applied deposition potential. X-ray diffraction reveals CuGa 2 alloying during the electrodeposition and CuGaSe 2 formation after annealing. Photoluminescence (PL) and photocurrent spectroscopy revealed the good opto-electronic properties of the CuGaSe 2 absorber films. The absorber layers have been converted to full devices with the best device achieving 4.0 % solar conversion efficiency.

On the absorbed dose determination method in high energy photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarlat, F.; Scarisoreanu, A.; Oane, M.; Mitru, E.; Avadanei, C.

2008-01-01

The absorbed dose determination method in water, based on standards of air kerma or exposure in high energy photon beams generated by electron with energies in the range of 1 MeV to 50 MeV is presented herein. The method is based on IAEA-398, AAPM TG-51, DIN 6800-2, IAEA-381, IAEA-277 and NACP-80 recommendations. The dosimetry equipment is composed of UNIDOS T 10005 electrometer and different ionization chambers calibrated in air kerma method in a Co 60 beam. Starting from the general formalism showed in IAEA-381, the determination of absorbed dose in water, under reference conditions in high energy photon beams, is given. This method was adopted for the secondary standard dosimetry laboratory (SSDL) in NILPRP-Bucharest

Efficient CsF interlayer for high and low bandgap polymer solar cell

Science.gov (United States)

Mitul, Abu Farzan; Sarker, Jith; Adhikari, Nirmal; Mohammad, Lal; Wang, Qi; Khatiwada, Devendra; Qiao, Qiquan

2018-02-01

Low bandgap polymer solar cells have a great deal of importance in flexible photovoltaic market to absorb sun light more efficiently. Efficient wide bandgap solar cells are always available in nature to absorb visible photons. The development and incorporation of infrared photovoltaics (IR PV) with wide bandgap solar cells can improve overall solar device performance. Here, we have developed an efficient low bandgap polymer solar cell with CsF as interfacial layer in regular structure. Polymer solar cell devices with CsF shows enhanced performance than Ca as interfacial layer. The power conversion efficiency of 4.5% has been obtained for PDPP3T based polymer solar cell with CsF as interlayer. Finally, an optimal thickness with CsF as interfacial layer has been found to improve the efficiency in low bandgap polymer solar cells.

Advanced procedure for the assessments of the lifetime of solar absorber coatings

OpenAIRE

Köhl, M.; Heck, M.; Brunold, S.; Frei, U.; Carlsson, B.; Möller, K.

2003-01-01

New solar absorber coatings are developed and used in advanced collector designs with improved efficiency. The operation temperature as well as the stagnation temperature as the main durability load for the absorbers were increasing during the past due to these innovations. Especially the highly selective new coatings have to suffer by these stronger loads. The service life estimation procedure developed in the framework of research activities of the IEA Solar Heating and Cooling Programme (T...

Scalable, "Dip-and-Dry" Fabrication of a Wide-Angle Plasmonic Selective Absorber for High-Efficiency Solar-Thermal Energy Conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandal, Jyotirmoy; Wang, Derek; Overvig, Adam C; Shi, Norman N; Paley, Daniel; Zangiabadi, Amirali; Cheng, Qian; Barmak, Katayun; Yu, Nanfang; Yang, Yuan

2017-11-01

A galvanic-displacement-reaction-based, room-temperature "dip-and-dry" technique is demonstrated for fabricating selectively solar-absorbing plasmonic-nanoparticle-coated foils (PNFs). The technique, which allows for facile tuning of the PNFs' spectral reflectance to suit different radiative and thermal environments, yields PNFs which exhibit excellent, wide-angle solar absorptance (0.96 at 15°, to 0.97 at 35°, to 0.79 at 80°), and low hemispherical thermal emittance (0.10) without the aid of antireflection coatings. The thermal emittance is on par with those of notable selective solar absorbers (SSAs) in the literature, while the wide-angle solar absorptance surpasses those of previously reported SSAs with comparable optical selectivities. In addition, the PNFs show promising mechanical and thermal stabilities at temperatures of up to 200 °C. Along with the performance of the PNFs, the simplicity, inexpensiveness, and environmental friendliness of the "dip-and-dry" technique makes it an appealing alternative to current methods for fabricating selective solar absorbers. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Determination of high level absorbed dose in a 60Co gamma ray field with ionization chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhongying Li; Benjiang Mao; Lu Zhang

1995-01-01

This paper relates to the principles and methods for determining the absorbed dose of high energy photons radiation with ionization chambers, and its shows the doserate results of high level 60 Co γ-rays in water measured with Farmer chambers. The results with two kinds of chambers at a same point are consistent within 0.3%, and the total uncertainty is less than ± 4%. In the domestic intercomparison on determining high level absorbed dose in which 12 laboratories participated, the deviation of our result from the mean result of the intercomparison is -0.04% [Chen Yundong (1992). Summing up report on a high level absorbed dose intercomparison (in Chinese)]. (author)

A New Vibration Absorber Design for Under-Chassis Device of a High-Speed Train

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu Sun

2017-01-01

Full Text Available To realize the separation of vertical and lateral stiffness of the under-chassis device, a new type of vibration absorber is designed by using the negative stiffness of the disc spring in parallel with the rubber component. To solve its transmission characteristics, harmonic transfer method was used. A rigid-flexible coupling multibody dynamic model of a high-speed train with an elastic car body is established, and the vertical and lateral optimal stiffness of the under-chassis device are calculated. The Sperling index and acceleration PSD of the vehicle with the new vibration absorber and the vehicle with traditional rubber absorber are compared and analyzed. The results show that, with the new vibration absorber, vehicle’s running stability and vibration of the car body are more effective than the vehicle with the traditional rubber absorber.

High-efficiency heat pump technology using metal hydrides (eco-energy city project)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morita, Y.; Harada, T.; Niikura, J.; Yamamoto, Y.; Suzuki, J. [Human Environmental Systems Development Center, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Moriguchi, Osaka (Japan); Gamo, T. [Corporate Environmental Affairs Div., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Kadoma, Osaka (Japan)

1999-07-01

Metal hybrides are effective materials for utilizing hydrogen as a clean energy medium. That is, when the metal hydrides absorb or desorb the hydrogen, a large heat output of reaction occurs. So, the metal hydrides can be applied to a heat pump. We have researched on a high efficiency heat pump technology using their metal hydrides. In this report, a double effect type metal hydride heat pump configuration is described in which the waste heat of 160 C is recovered in a factory cite and transported to areas far distant from the industrial district. In the heat recovery unit, a low pressure hydrogen is converted into highly effective high pressure hydrogen by applying the metal hydrides. Other metal hydrides perform the parts of heating by absorbing the hydrogen and cooling by desorbing the hydrogen in the heat supply unit. One unit scale of the system is 3 kW class as the sum of heating and cooling. This system using the hydrogen absorbing alloy also has good energy storage characteristics and ambient hydrogen pressure self-safety control ability. Furthermore, this heating and cooling heat supply system is not harmful to the natural environment because it is a chlorofluorocarbon-free, and low noise type system. We have developed in the following element technologies to attain the above purposes, that is development of hydrogen absorbing alloys with high heat outputs and technologies to construct the heat pump system. This study is proceeded at present as one of the programs in New Sunshine Project, which aims for development of ingenious energy utilization technology to achieve reduction of primary energy consumption with keeping cultural and wealthy life and preventing deterioration of global environment. (orig.)

Integration of regenerative shock absorber into vehicle electric system

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chongxiao; Li, Peng; Xing, Shaoxu; Kim, Junyoung; Yu, Liangyao; Zuo, Lei

2014-03-01

Regenerative/Energy harvesting shock absorbers have a great potential to increase fuel efficiency and provide suspension damping simultaneously. In recent years there's intensive work on this topic, but most researches focus on electricity extraction from vibration and harvesting efficiency improvement. The integration of electricity generated from regenerative shock absorbers into vehicle electric system, which is very important to realize the fuel efficiency benefit, has not been investigated. This paper is to study and demonstrate the integration of regenerative shock absorber with vehicle alternator, battery and in-vehicle electrical load together. In the presented system, the shock absorber is excited by a shaker and it converts kinetic energy into electricity. The harvested electricity flows into a DC/DC converter which realizes two functions: controlling the shock absorber's damping and regulating the output voltage. The damping is tuned by controlling shock absorber's output current, which is also the input current of DC/DC converter. By adjusting the duty cycles of switches in the converter, its input impedance together with input current can be adjusted according to dynamic damping requirements. An automotive lead-acid battery is charged by the DC/DC converter's output. To simulate the working condition of combustion engine, an AC motor is used to drive a truck alternator, which also charges the battery. Power resistors are used as battery's electrical load to simulate in-vehicle electrical devices. Experimental results show that the proposed integration strategy can effectively utilize the harvested electricity and power consumption of the AC motor is decreased accordingly. This proves the combustion engine's load reduction and fuel efficiency improvement.

High Performance Infrared Plasmonic Metamaterial Absorbers and Their Applications to Thin-film Sensing

KAUST Repository

Yue, Weisheng

2016-04-07

Plasmonic metamaterial absorbers (PMAs) have attracted considerable attention for developing various sensing devices. In this work, we design, fabricate and characterize PMAs of different geometrical shapes operating in mid-infrared frequencies, and explore the applications of the PMAs as sensor for thin films. The PMAs, consisting of metal-insulator-metal stacks with patterned gold nanostructured surfaces (resonators), demonstrated high absorption efficiency (87 to 98 %) of electromagnetic waves in the infrared regime. The position and efficiency of resonance absorption are dependent on the shape of the resonators. Furthermore, the resonance wavelength of PMAs was sensitive to the thin film coated on the surface of the PMAs, which was tested using aluminum oxide (Al2O3) as the film. With increase of the Al2O3 thickness, the position of resonance absorption shifted to longer wavelengths. The dependence of the resonant wavelength on thin film thickness makes PMAs a suitable candidate as a sensor for thin films. Using this sensing strategy, PMAs have potential as a new method for thin film detection and in situ monitoring of surface reactions. © 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

High Performance Infrared Plasmonic Metamaterial Absorbers and Their Applications to Thin-film Sensing

KAUST Repository

Yue, Weisheng; Wang, Zhihong; Yang, Yang; Han, Jiaguang; Li, Jingqi; Guo, Zaibing; Tan, Hua; Zhang, Xixiang

2016-01-01

Plasmonic metamaterial absorbers (PMAs) have attracted considerable attention for developing various sensing devices. In this work, we design, fabricate and characterize PMAs of different geometrical shapes operating in mid-infrared frequencies, and explore the applications of the PMAs as sensor for thin films. The PMAs, consisting of metal-insulator-metal stacks with patterned gold nanostructured surfaces (resonators), demonstrated high absorption efficiency (87 to 98 %) of electromagnetic waves in the infrared regime. The position and efficiency of resonance absorption are dependent on the shape of the resonators. Furthermore, the resonance wavelength of PMAs was sensitive to the thin film coated on the surface of the PMAs, which was tested using aluminum oxide (Al2O3) as the film. With increase of the Al2O3 thickness, the position of resonance absorption shifted to longer wavelengths. The dependence of the resonant wavelength on thin film thickness makes PMAs a suitable candidate as a sensor for thin films. Using this sensing strategy, PMAs have potential as a new method for thin film detection and in situ monitoring of surface reactions. © 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

An experimental study of an energy absorbing restrainer for piping systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sone, A.; Suzuki, K.

1989-01-01

Recently, in the seismic design methodology of the piping systems in nuclear power plants, new and improved design criteria and calculation techniques which will lead to more reliable and cost saving design products have been investigated. For instance, problems for reducing the snubbers in nuclear power plants which provide high costs for their inspections and maintenances and related flexible design problems for the dynamic piping systems have been investigated. Thus, in order to replace snubbers, various types of alternative supporting devices such as dynamic absorbers, gapped support and energy absorbing support devices have been proposed. A number of energy absorbing restrainers have been designed in Japan and United-States by allowing yield to occur during strong earthquakes. Advantages and disadvantages of these restrainers were examined analytically and experimentally. In order to overcome the disadvantages, the authors introduced new absorbing material LSPZ (laminated super plastic zinc) in which SPZ is expected to have reliable ductility and also efficient energy absorbability still under the normal temperature condition. This paper is devoted to an experimental works for this updated absorbing restrainer

The precipitation synthesis of broad-spectrum UV absorber nanoceria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nurhasanah, Iis; Sutanto, Heri; Puspaningrum, Nurul Wahyu

2013-01-01

In this paper the possibility of nanoceria as broad-spectrum UV absorber was evaluated. Nanoceria were synthesized by precipitation process from cerium nitrate solution and ammonium hydroxide as precipitant agent. Isopropanol was mixed with water as solvent to prevent hard agglomeration. The structure of resulting nanoceria was characterized by x-ray diffractometer (XRD). The transparency in the visible light and efficiency of protection in UV A region were studied using ultraviolet-visible (UV - Vis) spectrophotometer. The results show that nanoceria possess good tranparency in visible light and high UV light absorption. The critical absorption wavelenght of 368 nm was obtained which is desirable for excellent broad-spectrum protection absorbers. Moreover, analysis of photodegradation nanoceria to methylene blue solution shows poor photocatalytic activity. It indicates that nanoceria suitable for used as UV absorber in personal care products

Absorbing rods for nuclear fast neutron reactor absorbing assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aji, M.; Ballagny, A.; Haze, R.

1986-01-01

The invention proposes a neutron absorber rod for neutron absorber assembly of a fast neutron reactor. The assembly comprises a bundle of vertical rods, each one comprising a stack of pellets made of a neutron absorber material contained in a long metallic casing with a certain radial play with regard to this casing; this casing includes traps for splinters from the pellets which may appear during reactor operation, at the level of contact between adjacent pellets. The present invention prevents the casing from rupture involved by the disintegration of the pellets producing pieces of boron carbide of high hardness [fr

Two-Photon Absorbing Molecules as Potential Materials for 3D Optical Memory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazuya Ogawa

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this review, recent advances in two-photon absorbing photochromic molecules, as potential materials for 3D optical memory, are presented. The investigations introduced in this review indicate that 3D data storage processing at the molecular level is possible. As 3D memory using two-photon absorption allows advantages over existing systems, the use of two-photon absorbing photochromic molecules is preferable. Although there are some photochromic molecules with good properties for memory, in most cases, the two-photon absorption efficiency is not high. Photochromic molecules with high two-photon absorption efficiency are desired. Recently, molecules having much larger two-photon absorption cross sections over 10,000 GM (GM= 10−50 cm4 s molecule−1 photon−1 have been discovered and are expected to open the way to realize two-photon absorption 3D data storage.

Methods for applying microchannels to separate methane using liquid absorbents, especially ionic liquid absorbents from a mixture comprising methane and nitrogen

Science.gov (United States)

Tonkovich, Anna Lee Y [Dublin, OH; Litt, Robert D [Westerville, OH; Dongming, Qiu [Dublin, OH; Silva, Laura J [Plain City, OH; Lamont, Micheal Jay [Plain City, OH; Fanelli, Maddalena [Plain City, OH; Simmons, Wayne W [Plain city, OH; Perry, Steven [Galloway, OH

2011-10-04

Methods of using microchannel separation systems including absorbents to improve thermal efficiency and reduce parasitic power loss. Energy is typically added to desorb methane and then energy or heat is removed to absorb methane using a working solution. The working solution or absorbent may comprise an ionic liquid, or other fluids that demonstrate a difference in affinity between methane and nitrogen in a solution.

Highly Flexible and Washable Nonwoven Photothermal Cloth for Efficient and Practical Solar Steam Generation

KAUST Repository

Jin, Yong

2018-03-29

Solar-driven water evaporation is emerging as a promising solar-energy utilization process. In the present work, highly stable, flexible and washable nonwoven photothermal cloth is prepared by electrospinning for efficient and durable solar steam evaporation. The cloth is composed of polymeric nanofibers as matrix and inorganic carbon black nanoparticles encapsulated inside the matrix as light absorbing component. The photothermal cloth with an optimized carbon loading shows a desirable underwater black property, absorbing 94% of the solar spectrum and giving rise to a state-of-the-art solar energy utilization efficiency of 83% during pure water evaporation process. Owing to its compositions and special structural design, the cloth possesses anti-photothermal-component-loss property and is highly flexible and mechanically strong, chemically stable in various harsh environment such as strong acid, alkaline, organic solvent and salty water. It can be hand-washed for more than 100 times without degrading its performance and thus offers a potential mechanism for foulant cleaning during practical solar steam generation and distillation processes. The results of this work stimulate more research in durable photothermal materials aiming at real world applications.

A new laboratory-scale experimental facility for detailed aerothermal characterizations of volumetric absorbers

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez-Garcia, Fabrisio; Santiago, Sergio; Luque, Salvador; Romero, Manuel; Gonzalez-Aguilar, Jose

2016-05-01

This paper describes a new modular laboratory-scale experimental facility that was designed to conduct detailed aerothermal characterizations of volumetric absorbers for use in concentrating solar power plants. Absorbers are generally considered to be the element with the highest potential for efficiency gains in solar thermal energy systems. The configu-ration of volumetric absorbers enables concentrated solar radiation to penetrate deep into their solid structure, where it is progressively absorbed, prior to being transferred by convection to a working fluid flowing through the structure. Current design trends towards higher absorber outlet temperatures have led to the use of complex intricate geometries in novel ceramic and metallic elements to maximize the temperature deep inside the structure (thus reducing thermal emission losses at the front surface and increasing efficiency). Although numerical models simulate the conjugate heat transfer mechanisms along volumetric absorbers, they lack, in many cases, the accuracy that is required for precise aerothermal validations. The present work aims to aid this objective by the design, development, commissioning and operation of a new experimental facility which consists of a 7 kWe (1.2 kWth) high flux solar simulator, a radiation homogenizer, inlet and outlet collector modules and a working section that can accommodate volumetric absorbers up to 80 mm × 80 mm in cross-sectional area. Experimental measurements conducted in the facility include absorber solid temperature distributions along its depth, inlet and outlet air temperatures, air mass flow rate and pressure drop, incident radiative heat flux, and overall thermal efficiency. In addition, two windows allow for the direct visualization of the front and rear absorber surfaces, thus enabling full-coverage surface temperature measurements by thermal imaging cameras. This paper presents the results from the aerothermal characterization of a siliconized silicon

System for determining absorbed dose and its distribution for high-energy electron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hegewald, H.; Wulff, W.

1977-01-01

Taking into account the polarization effect, the dose determination for high-energy electron radiation from particle accelerators depends on the knowledge of the energy dependence of the mass stopping power. Results obtained with thermoluminescent dosemeters agree with theoretical values. For absorbed dose measurements the primary energy of electron radiation has been determined by nuclear photoreactions, and the calculation of the absorbed dose from charge measurements by means of the mass stopping power is described. Thus the calibration of ionization chambers for high-energy electron radiation by absolute measurements with the Faraday cage and chemical dosemeters has become possible. (author)

Adaptive inertial shock-absorber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faraj, Rami; Holnicki-Szulc, Jan; Knap, Lech; Seńko, Jarosław

2016-01-01

This paper introduces and discusses a new concept of impact absorption by means of impact energy management and storage in dedicated rotating inertial discs. The effectiveness of the concept is demonstrated in a selected case-study involving spinning management, a recently developed novel impact-absorber. A specific control technique performed on this device is demonstrated to be the main source of significant improvement in the overall efficiency of impact damping process. The influence of various parameters on the performance of the shock-absorber is investigated. Design and manufacturing challenges and directions of further research are formulated. (paper)

Dataset demonstrating the modeling of a high performance Cu(In,GaSe2 absorber based thin film photovoltaic cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Asaduzzaman

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The physical data of the semiconductor materials used in the design of a CIGS absorber based thin film photovoltaic cell have been presented in this data article. Besides, the values of the contact parameter and operating conditions of the cell have been reported. Furthermore, by conducting the simulation with data corresponding to the device structure: soda-lime glass (SLG substrate/Mo back-contact/CIGS absorber/CdS buffer/intrinsic ZnO/Al-doped ZnO window/Al-grid front-contact, the solar cell performance parameters such as open circuit voltage (Voc, short circuit current density Jsc, fill factor (FF, efficiency (η, and collection efficiency ηc have been analyzed.

Earth-Abundant Chalcogenide Photovoltaic Devices with over 5% Efficiency Based on a Cu2 BaSn(S,Se)4 Absorber.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Donghyeop; Zhu, Tong; Huang, Xuan; Gunawan, Oki; Blum, Volker; Mitzi, David B

2017-06-01

In recent years, Cu 2 ZnSn(S,Se) 4 (CZTSSe) materials have enabled important progress in associated thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technology, while avoiding scarce and/or toxic metals; however, cationic disorder and associated band tailing fundamentally limit device performance. Cu 2 BaSnS 4 (CBTS) has recently been proposed as a prospective alternative large bandgap (~2 eV), environmentally friendly PV material, with ~2% power conversion efficiency (PCE) already demonstrated in corresponding devices. In this study, a two-step process (i.e., precursor sputter deposition followed by successive sulfurization/selenization) yields high-quality nominally pinhole-free films with large (>1 µm) grains of selenium-incorporated (x = 3) Cu 2 BaSnS 4- x Se x (CBTSSe) for high-efficiency PV devices. By incorporating Se in the sulfide film, absorber layers with 1.55 eV bandgap, ideal for single-junction PV, have been achieved within the CBTSSe trigonal structural family. The abrupt transition in quantum efficiency data for wavelengths above the absorption edge, coupled with a strong sharp photoluminescence feature, confirms the relative absence of band tailing in CBTSSe compared to CZTSSe. For the first time, by combining bandgap tuning with an air-annealing step, a CBTSSe-based PV device with 5.2% PCE (total area 0.425 cm 2 ) is reported, >2.5× better than the previous champion pure sulfide device. These results suggest substantial promise for the emerging Se-rich Cu 2 BaSnS 4- x Se x family for high-efficiency and earth-abundant PV. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Methods for absorbing neutrons

Science.gov (United States)

Guillen, Donna P [Idaho Falls, ID; Longhurst, Glen R [Idaho Falls, ID; Porter, Douglas L [Idaho Falls, ID; Parry, James R [Idaho Falls, ID

2012-07-24

A conduction cooled neutron absorber may include a metal matrix composite that comprises a metal having a thermal neutron cross-section of at least about 50 barns and a metal having a thermal conductivity of at least about 1 W/cmK. Apparatus for providing a neutron flux having a high fast-to-thermal neutron ratio may include a source of neutrons that produces fast neutrons and thermal neutrons. A neutron absorber positioned adjacent the neutron source absorbs at least some of the thermal neutrons so that a region adjacent the neutron absorber has a fast-to-thermal neutron ratio of at least about 15. A coolant in thermal contact with the neutron absorber removes heat from the neutron absorber.

Spectrally selective solar absorber with sharp and temperature dependent cut-off based on semiconductor nanowire arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yang; Zhou, Lin; Zheng, Qinghui; Lu, Hong; Gan, Qiaoqiang; Yu, Zongfu; Zhu, Jia

2017-05-01

Spectrally selective absorbers (SSA) with high selectivity of absorption and sharp cut-off between high absorptivity and low emissivity are critical for efficient solar energy conversion. Here, we report the semiconductor nanowire enabled SSA with not only high absorption selectivity but also temperature dependent sharp absorption cut-off. By taking advantage of the temperature dependent bandgap of semiconductors, we systematically demonstrate that the absorption cut-off profile of the semiconductor-nanowire-based SSA can be flexibly tuned, which is quite different from most of the other SSA reported so far. As an example, silicon nanowire based selective absorbers are fabricated, with the measured absorption efficiency above (below) bandgap ˜97% (15%) combined with an extremely sharp absorption cut-off (transition region ˜200 nm), the sharpest SSA demonstrated so far. The demonstrated semiconductor-nanowire-based SSA can enable a high solar thermal efficiency of ≳86% under a wide range of operating conditions, which would be competitive candidates for the concentrated solar energy utilizations.

Broadband near-infrared metamaterial absorbers utilizing highly lossy metals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ding, Fei; Dai, Jin; Chen, Yiting

2016-01-01

Radiation absorbers have increasingly been attracting attention as crucial components for controllable thermal emission, energy harvesting, modulators, etc. However, it is still challenging to realize thin absorbers which can operate over a wide spectrum range. Here, we propose and experimentally...... demonstrate thin, broadband, polarization-insensitive and omnidirectional absorbers working in the near-infrared range. We choose titanium (Ti) instead of the commonly used gold (Au) to construct nano-disk arrays on the top of a silicon dioxide (SiO2) coated Au substrate, with the quality (Q) factor...

Tunable Narrow Band Gap Absorbers For Ultra High Efficiency Solar Cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bedair, Salah M. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Hauser, John R. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Elmasry, Nadia [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Colter, Peter C. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Bradshaw, G. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Carlin, C. Z. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Samberg, J. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Edmonson, Kenneth [Spectrolab, Inc., Sylmar, CA (United States)

2012-07-31

We report on a joint research program between NCSU and Spectrolab to develop an upright multijunction solar cell structure with a potential efficiency exceeding the current record of 41.6% reported by Spectrolab. The record efficiency Ge/GaAs/InGaP triple junction cell structure is handicapped by the fact that the current generated by the Ge cell is much higher than that of both the middle and top cells. We carried out a modification of the record cell structure that will keep the lattice matched condition and allow better matching of the current generated by each cell. We used the concept of strain balanced strained layer superlattices (SLS), inserted in the i-layer, to reduce the bandgap of the middle cell without violating the desirable lattice matched condition. For the middle GaAs cell, we have demonstrated an n-GaAs/i-(InGaAs/GaAsP)/p-GaAs structure, where the In_xGa_1-xAs/GaAs_1-yP_y SLS is grown lattice matched to GaAs and with reduced bandgap from 1.43 eV to 1.2 eV, depending upon the values of x and y.

Research of the absorbance detection and fluorescence detection for multifunctional nutrition analyzer

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Zhengyuan; Yan, Huimin; Ni, Xuxiang; Zhang, Xiuda

2017-10-01

The research of the multifunctional analyzer which integrates absorbance detection, fluorescence detection, time-resolved fluorescence detection, biochemical luminescence detection methods, can make efficient detection and analysis for a variety of human body nutrients. This article focuses on the absorbance detection and fluorescence detection system. The two systems are modular in design and controlled by embedded system, to achieve automatic measurement according to user settings. In the optical path design, the application of confocal design can improve the optical signal acquisition capability, and reduce the interference. A photon counter is used for detection, and a high performance counter module is designed to measure the output of photon counter. In the experiment, we use neutral density filters and potassium dichromate solution to test the absorbance detection system, and use fluorescein isothiocyanate FITC for fluorescence detection system performance test. The experimental results show that the absorbance detection system has a detection range of 0 4OD, and has good linearity in the detection range, while the fluorescence detection system has a high sensitivity of 1pmol/L concentration.

Growth and characterization of CdTe absorbers on GaAs by MBE for high concentration PV solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ari, Ozan; Polat, Mustafa; Selamet, Yusuf [Department of Physics, Izmir Institute of Technology, Izmir 35430 (Turkey); Karakaya, Merve [Department of Material Science and Engineering, Izmir Institute of Technology, Izmir 35430 (Turkey)

2015-11-15

CdTe based II-VI absorbers are promising candidates for high concentration PV solar cells with an ideal band gap for AM1.5 solar radiation. In this study, we propose single crystal CdTe absorbers grown on GaAs substrates with a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) which is a clean deposition technology. We show that high quality CdTe absorber layers can be grown with full width half maximum of X-ray diffraction rocking curves (XRD RC) as low as 227 arc-seconds with 0.5% thickness uniformity that a 2 μm layer is capable of absorbing 99% of AM1.5 solar radiation. Bandgap of the CdTe absorber is found as 1.483 eV from spetroscopic ellipsometry (SE) measurements. Also, high absorption coefficient is calculated from the results, which is ∝5 x 10{sup 5}cm{sup -1} in solar radiation spectrum. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Emitter/absorber interface of CdTe solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Tao, E-mail: tsong241@gmail.com; Sites, James R. [Physics Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523 (United States); Kanevce, Ana [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States)

2016-06-21

The performance of CdTe solar cells can be very sensitive to the emitter/absorber interface, especially for high-efficiency cells with high bulk lifetime. Performance losses from acceptor-type interface defects can be significant when interface defect states are located near mid-gap energies. Numerical simulations show that the emitter/absorber band alignment, the emitter doping and thickness, and the defect properties of the interface (i.e., defect density, defect type, and defect energy) can all play significant roles in the interface recombination. In particular, a type I heterojunction with small conduction-band offset (0.1 eV ≤ ΔE{sub C} ≤ 0.3 eV) can help maintain good cell efficiency in spite of high interface defect density, much like with Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) cells. The basic principle is that positive ΔE{sub C}, often referred to as a “spike,” creates an absorber inversion and hence a large hole barrier adjacent to the interface. As a result, the electron-hole recombination is suppressed due to an insufficient hole supply at the interface. A large spike (ΔE{sub C} ≥ 0.4 eV), however, can impede electron transport and lead to a reduction of photocurrent and fill-factor. In contrast to the spike, a “cliff” (ΔE{sub C} < 0 eV) allows high hole concentration in the vicinity of the interface, which will assist interface recombination and result in a reduced open-circuit voltage. Another way to mitigate performance losses due to interface defects is to use a thin and highly doped emitter, which can invert the absorber and form a large hole barrier at the interface. CdS is the most common emitter material used in CdTe solar cells, but the CdS/CdTe interface is in the cliff category and is not favorable from the band-offset perspective. The ΔE{sub C} of other n-type emitter choices, such as (Mg,Zn)O, Cd(S,O), or (Cd,Mg)Te, can be tuned by varying the elemental ratio for an optimal positive value of ΔE{sub C}. These

Thermally Resilient, Broadband Optical Absorber from UV to IR Derived from Carbon Nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Kaul, Anupama B.; Coles, James B.

2012-01-01

Optical absorber coatings have been developed from carbon-based paints, metal blacks, or glassy carbon. However, such materials are not truly black and have poor absorption characteristics at longer wavelengths. The blackness of such coatings is important to increase the accuracy of calibration targets used in radiometric imaging spectrometers since blackbody cavities are prohibitively large in size. Such coatings are also useful potentially for thermal detectors, where a broadband absorber is desired. Au-black has been a commonly used broadband optical absorber, but it is very fragile and can easily be damaged by heat and mechanical vibration. An optically efficient, thermally rugged absorber could also be beneficial for thermal solar cell applications for energy harnessing, particularly in the 350-2,500 nm spectral window. It has been demonstrated that arrays of vertically oriented carbon nanotubes (CNTs), specifically multi-walled-carbon- nanotubes (MWCNTs), are an exceptional optical absorber over a broad range of wavelengths well into the infrared (IR). The reflectance of such arrays is 100x lower compared to conventional black materials, such as Au black in the spectral window of 350-2,500 nm. Total hemispherical measurements revealed a reflectance of approximately equal to 1.7% at lambda approximately equal to 1 micrometer, and at longer wavelengths into the infrared (IR), the specular reflectance was approximately equal to 2.4% at lambda approximately equal to 7 micrometers. The previously synthesized CNTs for optical absorber applications were formed using water-assisted thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which yields CNT lengths in excess of 100's of microns. Vertical alignment, deemed to be a critical feature in enabling the high optical absorption from CNT arrays, occurs primarily via the crowding effect with thermal CVD synthesized CNTs, which is generally not effective in aligning CNTs with lengths less than 10 m. Here it has been shown that the

The Time Structure of Hadronic Showers in Highly Granular Calorimeters with Tungsten and Steel Absorbers

CERN Document Server

Adloff, C.; Chefdeville, M.; Drancourt, C.; Gaglione, R.; Geffroy, N.; Karyotakis, Y.; Koletsou, I.; Prast, J.; Vouters, G.; Repond, J.; Schlereth, J.; Xia, L.; Baldolemar, E.; Li, J.; Park, S.T.; Sosebee, M.; White, A.P.; Yu, J.; Eigen, G.; Thomson, M.A.; Ward, D.R.; Benchekroun, D.; Hoummada, A.; Khoulaki, Y.; Apostolakis, J.; Arfaoui, A.; Benoit, M.; Dannheim, D.; Elsener, K.; Folger, G.; Grefe, C.; Ivantchenko, V.; Killenberg, M.; Klempt, W.; van der Kraaij, E.; Linssen, L.; Lucaci-Timoce, A.-I.; Münnich, A.; Poss, S.; Ribon, A.; Roloff, P.; Sailer, A.; Schlatter, D.; Sicking, E.; Strube, J.; Uzhinskiy, V.; Carloganu, C.; Gay, P.; Manen, S.; Royer, L.; Cornett, U.; David, D.; Ebrahimi, A.; Falley, G.; Feege, N.; Gadow, K.; Göttlicher, P.; Günter, C.; Hartbrich, O.; Hermberg, B.; Karstensen, S.; Krivan, F.; Krüger, K.; Lu, S.; Lutz, B.; Morozov, S.; Morgunov, V.; Neubüser, C.; Reinecke, M.; Sefkow, F.; Smirnov, P.; Terwort, M.; Fagot, A.; Tytgat, M.; Zaganidis, N.; Hostachy, J.-Y.; Morin, L.; Garutti, E.; Laurien, S.; Marchesini, I.; Matysek, M.; Ramilli, M.; Briggl, K.; Eckert, P.; Harion, T.; Schultz-Coulon, H.-Ch.; Shen, W.; Stamen, R.; Chang, S.; Khan, A.; Kim, D.H.; Kong, D.J.; Oh, Y.D.; Bilki, B.; Norbeck, E.; Northacker, D.; Onel, Y.; Wilson, G.W.; Kawagoe, K.; Miyazaki, Y.; Sudo, Y.; Ueno, H.; Yoshioka, T.; Dauncey, P.D.; Cortina Gil, E.; Mannai, S.; Baulieu, G.; Calabria, P.; Caponetto, L.; Combaret, C.; Della Negra, R.; Ete, R.; Grenier, G.; Han, R.; Ianigro, J-C.; Kieffer, R.; Laktineh, I.; Lumb, N.; Mathez, H.; Mirabito, L.; Petrukhin, A.; Steen, A.; Tromeur, W.; Vander Donckt, M.; Zoccarato, Y.; Berenguer Antequera, J.; Calvo Alamillo, E.; Fouz, M.-C.; Puerta-Pelayo, J.; Corriveau, F.; Bobchenko, B.; Chadeeva, M.; Danilov, M.; Epifantsev, A.; Markin, O.; Mizuk, R.; Novikov, E.; Rusinov, V.; Tarkovsky, E.; Kozlov, V.; Soloviev, Y.; Besson, D.; Buzhan, P.; Ilyin, A.; Kantserov, V.; Kaplin, V.; Popova, E.; Tikhomirov, V.; Gabriel, M.; Kiesling, C.; Seidel, K.; Simon, F.; Soldner, C.; Szalay, M.; Tesar, M.; Weuste, L.; Amjad, M.S.; Bonis, J.; Conforti di Lorenzo, S.; Cornebise, P.; Fleury, J.; Frisson, T.; van der Kolk, N.; Richard, F.; Pöschl, R.; Rouene, J.; Anduze, M.; Balagura, V.; Becheva, E.; Boudry, V.; Brient, J-C.; Cornat, R.; Frotin, M.; Gastaldi, F.; Guliyev, E.; Haddad, Y.; Magniette, F.; Ruan, M.; Tran, T.H.; Videau, H.; Callier, S.; Dulucq, F.; Martin-Chassard, G.; de la Taille, Ch.; Raux, L.; Seguin-Moreau, N.; Zacek, J.; Cvach, J.; Gallus, P.; Havranek, M.; Janata, M.; Kvasnicka, J.; Lednicky, D.; Marcisovsky, M.; Polak, I.; Popule, J.; Tomasek, L.; Tomasek, M.; Ruzicka, P.; Sicho, P.; Smolik, J.; Vrba, V.; Zalesak, J.; Belhorma, B.; Ghazlane, H.; Kotera, K.; Ono, H.; Takeshita, T.; Uozumi, S.; Chai, J.S.; Song, H.S.; Lee, S.H.; Götze, M.; Sauer, J.; Weber, S.; Zeitnitz, C.

2014-01-01

The intrinsic time structure of hadronic showers influences the timing capability and the required integration time of hadronic calorimeters in particle physics experiments, and depends on the active medium and on the absorber of the calorimeter. With the CALICE T3B experiment, a setup of 15 small plastic scintillator tiles read out with Silicon Photomultipliers, the time structure of showers is measured on a statistical basis with high spatial and temporal resolution in sampling calorimeters with tungsten and steel absorbers. The results are compared to GEANT4 (version 9.4 patch 03) simulations with different hadronic physics models. These comparisons demonstrate the importance of using high precision treatment of low-energy neutrons for tungsten absorbers, while an overall good agreement between data and simulations for all considered models is observed for steel.

High thermal efficiency x-ray energy conversion scheme for advanced fusion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quimby, D.C.; Taussig, R.T.; Hertzberg, A.

1977-01-01

This paper reports on a new radiation energy conversion scheme which appears to be capable of producing electricity from the high quality x-ray energy with efficiencies of 60 to 70 percent. This new reactor concept incorporates a novel x-ray radiation boiler and a new thermal conversion device known as an energy exchanger. The low-Z first walls of the radiation boiler are semi-transparent to x-rays, and are kept cool by incoming working fluid, which is subsequently heated to temperatures of 2000 to 3000 0 K in the interior of the boiler by volumetric x-ray absorption. The radiation boiler may be a compact part of the reactor shell since x-rays are readily absorbed in high-Z materials. The energy exchanger transfers the high-temperature working fluid energy to a lower temperature gas which drives a conventional turbine. The overall efficiency of the cycle is characterized by the high temperature of the working fluid. The high thermal efficiencies which appear achievable with this cycle would make an otherwise marginal advanced fusion reactor into an attractive net power producer. The operating principles, initial conceptual design, and engineering problems of the radiation boiler and thermal cycle are presented

A HIGH RESOLUTION VIEW OF THE WARM ABSORBER IN THE QUASAR MR 2251-178

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reeves, J. N.; Gofford, J.; Nardini, E. [Astrophysics Group, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG (United Kingdom); Porquet, D. [Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, UMR 7550, 11 rue de l' Université, F-67000 Strasbourg (France); Braito, V. [INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46 I-23807 Merate (Italy); Turner, T. J. [Center for Space Science and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States); Crenshaw, D. M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, Astronomy Offices, One Park Place South SE, Suite 700, Atlanta, GA 30303 (United States); Kraemer, S. B., E-mail: j.n.reeves@keele.ac.uk [Institute for Astrophysics and Computational Sciences, Department of Physics, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC 20064 (United States)

2013-10-20

High resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the warm absorber in a nearby quasar, MR 2251-178 (z = 0.06398), is presented. The observations were carried out in 2011 using the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG) and the XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer, with net exposure times of approximately 400 ks each. A multitude of absorption lines from C to Fe are detected, revealing at least three warm absorbing components ranging in ionization parameter from log (ξ/erg cm s{sup –1}) = 1-3 with outflow velocities ∼< 500 km s{sup –1}. The lowest ionization absorber appears to vary between the Chandra and XMM-Newton observations, which implies a radial distance of between 9 and 17 pc from the black hole. Several broad soft X-ray emission lines are strongly detected, most notably from He-like oxygen, with FWHM velocity widths of up to 10,000 km s{sup –1}, consistent with an origin from broad-line region (BLR) clouds. In addition to the warm absorber, gas partially covering the line of sight to the quasar appears to be present, with a typical column density of N{sub H} = 10{sup 23} cm{sup –2}. We suggest that the partial covering absorber may arise from the same BLR clouds responsible for the broad soft X-ray emission lines. Finally, the presence of a highly ionized outflow in the iron K band from both the 2002 and 2011 Chandra HETG observations appears to be confirmed, which has an outflow velocity of –15600 ± 2400 km s{sup –1}. However, a partial covering origin for the iron K absorption cannot be excluded, resulting from low ionization material with little or no outflow velocity.

High-Efficiency Quantum Interrogation Measurements via the Quantum Zeno Effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwiat, P. G.; White, A. G.; Mitchell, J. R.; Nairz, O.; Weihs, G.; Weinfurter, H.; Zeilinger, A.

1999-01-01

The phenomenon of quantum interrogation allows one to optically detect the presence of an absorbing object, without the measuring light interacting with it. In an application of the quantum Zeno effect, the object inhibits the otherwise coherent evolution of the light, such that the probability that an interrogating photon is absorbed can in principle be arbitrarily small. We have implemented this technique, achieving efficiencies of up to 73% , and consequently exceeding the 50% theoretical maximum of the original ''interaction-free'' measurement proposal. We have also predicted and experimentally verified a previously unsuspected dependence on loss. (c) 1999 The American Physical Society

Simulation of a Local Collision of SC Wall Using High Energy Absorbing Steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoo, H. K.; Chung, C. H.; Park, J.; Lee, J. W. [Dankook University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Kim, S. Y. [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2011-05-15

Local damage evaluations for nuclear power plant(NPP) design are performed against turbine impact, tornado impact, airplane engine impact, etc., where turbine is a internal source of impact, whereas tornado and airplane engine are external sources of impact. The thickness of NPP wall structure is determined at initial design stage not to be penetrated by local impacts. This study investigated the local damage of NPP substructure against internal turbine impact. Simulation of local collisions of SC wall in NPP structure, which consists of two models: one using general steel and the other using high energy absorbing steel, were performed. The performance of SC wall using ductile high energy absorbing steel can be greatly improved on local collisions when compared with that of general steel

Simulation of a Local Collision of SC Wall Using High Energy Absorbing Steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, H. K.; Chung, C. H.; Park, J.; Lee, J. W.; Kim, S. Y.

2011-01-01

Local damage evaluations for nuclear power plant(NPP) design are performed against turbine impact, tornado impact, airplane engine impact, etc., where turbine is a internal source of impact, whereas tornado and airplane engine are external sources of impact. The thickness of NPP wall structure is determined at initial design stage not to be penetrated by local impacts. This study investigated the local damage of NPP substructure against internal turbine impact. Simulation of local collisions of SC wall in NPP structure, which consists of two models: one using general steel and the other using high energy absorbing steel, were performed. The performance of SC wall using ductile high energy absorbing steel can be greatly improved on local collisions when compared with that of general steel

Spotting high-z molecular absorbers using neutral carbon. Results from a complete spectroscopic survey with the VLT

Science.gov (United States)

Noterdaeme, P.; Ledoux, C.; Zou, S.; Petitjean, P.; Srianand, R.; Balashev, S.; López, S.

2018-04-01

While molecular quasar absorption systems provide unique probes of the physical and chemical properties of the gas as well as original constraints on fundamental physics and cosmology, their detection remains challenging. Here we present the results from a complete survey for molecular gas in thirty-nine absorption systems selected solely upon the detection of neutral carbon lines in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectra, without any prior knowledge of the atomic or molecular gas content. H2 is found in all twelve systems (including seven new detections) where the corresponding lines are covered by the instrument setups and measured to have logN(H2) ≳ 18, indicating a self-shielded regime. We also report seven CO detections (7/39) down to logN(CO) 13.5, including a new one, and put stringent constraints on N(CO) for the remaining 32 systems. N(CO) and N(C I) are found to be strongly correlated with N(CO)/N(C I) 1/10. This suggests that the C I-selected absorber population is probing gas deeper than the H I–H2 transition in which a substantial fraction of the total hydrogen in the cloud is in the form of H2. We conclude that targeting C I-bearing absorbers is a very efficient way to find high-metallicity molecular absorbers. However, probing the molecular content in lower-metallicity regimes as well as high-column-density neutral gas remains to be undertaken to unravel the processes of gas conversion in normal high-z galaxies. Based on observations and archival data from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) prog. IDs 060.A-9024, 072.A-0346, 278.A-5062, 080.A-0482, 080.A-0795, 081.A-0242, 081.A-0334, 082.A-0544, 082.A-0569, 083.A-0454, 084.A-0699, 086.A-0074 and 086.A-0643 using the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) and X-shooter at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), on Cerro Paranal, Chile.

Development of an innovative solar absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Goodchild, Gavin

Solar thermal systems have great potential to replace or reduce the dependence of conventional fossil fuel based heating technologies required for space and water heating. Specifically solar domestic hot water systems can contribute 50-75% of the annual thermal load. To date residential users have been slow to purchase and install systems, primarily due to the large monetary investment required to purchase and install a system. Recent innovations in materials design and manufacturing techniques, offer opportunities for the development of absorber plate designs that have the potential to reduce cost, increase efficiency and reduce payback periods. Consequently, this design study was conducted in conjunction with industrial partners to develop an improved absorber based on roll bond manufacturing that can be produced at reduced cost with comparable or greater thermal efficiency.

ZnS top layer for enhancement of the crystallinity of CZTS absorber during the annealing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cazzaniga, Andrea Carlo; Crovetto, Andrea; Ettlinger, Rebecca Bolt

2015-01-01

Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) of thin films of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) has not yet led to solar cells with high efficiency. The reason for the relative low efficiency is discussed and a way to overcome this issue is presented. The present thin film absorbers of CZTS suffer from loss of volatile Zn durin...

Full-flow absorbers. Every centimetre counts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berner, Joachim

2012-07-01

New absorbers with a maximised area for heat exchange with the thermal medium are significantly more efficient than the presently typical designs. Both the industry and researchers are working to revive an old idea. (orig.)

Analysis of absorbed energy and efficiency of a solar flat plate collector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anderson Miguel Lenz

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The highest percentage in home electricity demands in Brazil lies with the water heating systems, where the electric shower has a great contribution in consumption. The use of solar thermal panels is an alternative to minimize the strain on the electrical system by heating water. Current study evaluates a water heating system built with materials commonly used in home constructions. The tested collector is a 1 m² flat plate. Experiments were conducted at the State University of Western Paraná (UNIOESTE, campus Cascavel, Paraná State, Brazil. Temperature data were collected by PT100 sensors and solar radiation was measured with a pyranometer, coupled to a CR-1000 datalogger, with readings and collection every 5 minutes for 1 year. Data collection and analysis showed that the system presented monthly efficiency ranging between 33.7 and 53.54%, and energy absorbed between 30.79 and 75.29 kWh m-².month. Results show the system is a good option for use in residential or rural water heating due to decrease in the electric bill.

Study of optical absorbance in porous silicon nanowires for photovoltaic applications

KAUST Repository

Charrier, Joël

2013-10-01

Porous silicon nanowires (PSiNWs) layers fabrication was reported. Reflectance spectra were measured as a function of the nanowire length and were inferior to 0.1% and a strong photoluminescence (PL) signal was measured from samples. Models based on cone shape of nanowires located in circular and rectangular bases were used to calculate the reflectance using the transfer matrix formalism (TMF) of PSiNWs layer. The modeling of the reflectance permits to explain this value by taking account into the shape of the nanowires and its porosity. Optical absorbance and transmission were also theoretically studied. The absorbance was superior to that obtained with silicon nanowires and the ultimate efficiency was about equal to 25% for normal incidence angle. These results could be applied to the potential application in low-cost and high efficiency PSiNWs based solar cells. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Metal–insulator–metal light absorber: a continuous structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, M

2013-01-01

A type of light absorber made of continuous layers of metal and dielectric films is studied. The metal films can have thicknesses close to their skin depths in the wavelength range concerned, which allows for both light transmission and reflection. Resonances induced by multiple reflections in the structure, when combined with the inherent lossy nature of metals, result in strong absorption spectral features. An eigen-mode analysis is carried out for the plasmonic multilayer nanostructures which provides a generic understanding of the absorption features. Experimentally, the calculation is verified by a reflection measurement with a representative structure. Such an absorber is simple to fabricate. The highly efficient absorption characteristics can be potentially deployed for optical filter designs, sensors, accurate photothermal temperature control in a micro-environment and even for backscattering reduction of small particles, etc. (paper)

Analysis of solar water heater with parabolic dish concentrator and conical absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Rajamohan, G.; Kumar, P.; Anwar, M.; Mohanraj, T.

2017-06-01

This research focuses on developing novel technique for a solar water heating system. The novel solar system comprises a parabolic dish concentrator, conical absorber and water heater. In this system, the conical absorber tube directly absorbs solar radiation from the sun and the parabolic dish concentrator reflects the solar radiations towards the conical absorber tube from all directions, therefore both radiations would significantly improve the thermal collector efficiency. The working fluid water is stored at the bottom of the absorber tubes. The absorber tubes get heated and increases the temperature of the working fluid inside of the absorber tube and causes the working fluid to partially evaporate. The partially vaporized working fluid moves in the upward direction due to buoyancy effect and enters the heat exchanger. When fresh water passes through the heat exchanger, temperature of the vapour decreases through heat exchange. This leads to condensation of the vapour and forms liquid phase. The working fluid returns to the bottom of the collector absorber tube by gravity. Hence, this will continue as a cyclic process inside the system. The proposed investigation shows an improvement of collector efficiency, enhanced heat transfer and a quality water heating system.

Holography as a highly efficient renormalization group flow. I. Rephrasing gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Behr, Nicolas; Kuperstein, Stanislav; Mukhopadhyay, Ayan

2016-07-01

We investigate how the holographic correspondence can be reformulated as a generalization of Wilsonian renormalization group (RG) flow in a strongly interacting large-N quantum field theory. We first define a highly efficient RG flow as one in which the Ward identities related to local conservation of energy, momentum and charges preserve the same form at each scale. To achieve this, it is necessary to redefine the background metric and external sources at each scale as functionals of the effective single-trace operators. These redefinitions also absorb the contributions of the multitrace operators to these effective Ward identities. Thus, the background metric and external sources become effectively dynamical, reproducing the dual classical gravity equations in one higher dimension. Here, we focus on reconstructing the pure gravity sector as a highly efficient RG flow of the energy-momentum tensor operator, leaving the explicit constructive field theory approach for generating such RG flows to the second part of the work. We show that special symmetries of the highly efficient RG flows carry information through which we can decode the gauge fixing of bulk diffeomorphisms in the corresponding gravity equations. We also show that the highly efficient RG flow which reproduces a given classical gravity theory in a given gauge is unique provided the endpoint can be transformed to a nonrelativistic fixed point with a finite number of parameters under a universal rescaling. The results obtained here are used in the second part of this work, where we do an explicit field-theoretic construction of the RG flow and obtain the dual classical gravity theory.

Highly absorbing Cu-In-O thin films for photovoltaic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khemiri, N.; Chaffar Akkari, F.; Kanzari, M.; Rezig, B.

2008-01-01

We report in this paper on the preparation and characterization of improved quality Cu-In-O films for use as a high-efficiency solar cell absorber. Samples were prepared via sequential thermal vacuum deposition of Cu and In or In and Cu (at 10 -5 mbar) on glass substrates heated at 150 deg. C. After what, the obtained binary systems (Cu/In or In/Cu) were annealed in air at 400 deg. C for 3h. These films were characterized for their structural, electrical and optical properties by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), electrical resistivity and optical (transmittance and reflectance) measurement techniques. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed the presence of CuO and In 2 O 3 phases. The absorption coefficient of Cu-In-O thin films (4.10 5 cm -1 ) is larger than 10 5 cm -1 for the In/Cu case and in the range of 10 4 -10 5 cm -1 for the Cu/In case in the visible spectral range. Direct optical band gaps of 1.40 and 1.52eV were found for the In/Cu and Cu/In cases, respectively. The complex dielectric constants of the Cu-In-O films have been calculated. It was found that the refractive index dispersion data obeyed the Wemple-Di Domenico single oscillator model, from which the dispersion parameters and the high-frequency dielectric constant were determined. The electric free carrier susceptibility and the ratio of the carrier concentration to the effective mass were estimated according to the model of Spitzer and Fan. The electrical measurements show a conversion from a metallic phase to the semiconductor phase by a switching in the electrical resistivity values at an annealing temperature of 275 deg. C. In both cases the samples were highly compensated

High-efficient production of SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires for effective microwave absorption

KAUST Repository

Zhong, Bo; Sai, Tianqi; Xia, Long; Yu, Yuanlie; Wen, Guangwu

2017-01-01

In the current report, we have demonstrated that the high-efficient production of SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires can be achieved through the introduction of trace of water vapor during the chemical vapor deposition process. The yield of the SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires is dramatically improved due to the introduction of water vapor. The SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires exhibit an excellent microwave absorption property in the frequency range of 2.0–18.0GHz with a very low weight percentage of 0.50wt.% in the absorbers. A minimum reflection loss value of −32.72dB (>99.99% attenuation) at 13.84GHz has been observed with the absorber thickness of 3.0mm. Moreover, the SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires based absorber can reach an effective absorption bandwidth (<−10dB) of 5.32GHz with the absorber thickness of 3.5mm. Furthermore, a possible absorption mechanism is also proposed in detail for such effective attenuation of microwave which can be attributed to the dielectric loss and magnetic loss of SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires.

High-efficient production of SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires for effective microwave absorption

KAUST Repository

Zhong, Bo

2017-02-21

In the current report, we have demonstrated that the high-efficient production of SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires can be achieved through the introduction of trace of water vapor during the chemical vapor deposition process. The yield of the SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires is dramatically improved due to the introduction of water vapor. The SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires exhibit an excellent microwave absorption property in the frequency range of 2.0–18.0GHz with a very low weight percentage of 0.50wt.% in the absorbers. A minimum reflection loss value of −32.72dB (>99.99% attenuation) at 13.84GHz has been observed with the absorber thickness of 3.0mm. Moreover, the SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires based absorber can reach an effective absorption bandwidth (<−10dB) of 5.32GHz with the absorber thickness of 3.5mm. Furthermore, a possible absorption mechanism is also proposed in detail for such effective attenuation of microwave which can be attributed to the dielectric loss and magnetic loss of SiC/SiO2 core-shell nanowires.

Simulation design of P–I–N-type all-perovskite solar cells with high efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Hui-Jing; Wang Wei-Chao; Gu Yi-Fan

2017-01-01

According to the good charge transporting property of perovskite, we design and simulate a p–i–n-type all-perovskite solar cell by using one-dimensional device simulator. The perovskite charge transporting layers and the perovskite absorber constitute the all-perovskite cell. By modulating the cell parameters, such as layer thickness values, doping concentrations and energy bands of n-, i-, and p-type perovskite layers, the all-perovskite solar cell obtains a high power conversion efficiency of 25.84%. The band matched cell shows appreciably improved performance with widen absorption spectrum and lowered recombination rate, so weobtain a high J sc of 32.47 mA/cm 2 . The small series resistance of the all-perovskite solar cell also benefits the high J sc . The simulation provides a novel thought of designing perovskite solar cells with simple producing process, low production cost and high efficient structure to solve the energy problem. (paper)

A wideband absorber for television studios

Science.gov (United States)

Baird, M. D. M.

The acoustic treatment in BBC television has taken various forms to date, all of which have been relatively expensive, some of which provide inadequate absorption. An investigation has been conducted into the possibilities of producing a new type of wideband absorber which would be more economic, also taking installation time into account, than earlier designs. This Report describes the absorption coefficient measurements made on various combinations of materials, from which a wideband sound absorber has been developed. The absorber works efficiently between 50 Hz and 10 kHz, is simple and easy to construct using readily available materials, and is fire resistant. The design lends itself, if necessary, to on-site fine tuning, and savings in the region of 50 percent can be achieved in terms of cost and space with respect to previous designs.

Recent Advances in High Efficiency Solar Cells

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yoshio; Ohshita; Hidetoshi; Suzuki; Kenichi; Nishimura; Masafumi; Yamaguchi

2007-01-01

1 Results The conversion efficiency of sunlight to electricity is limited around 25%,when we use single junction solar cells. In the single junction cells,the major energy losses arise from the spectrum mismatching. When the photons excite carriers with energy well in excess of the bandgap,these excess energies were converted to heat by the rapid thermalization. On the other hand,the light with lower energy than that of the bandgap cannot be absorbed by the semiconductor,resulting in the losses. One way...

Low Cost High Performance Nanostructured Spectrally Selective Coating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jin, Sungho [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)

2017-04-05

Sunlight absorbing coating is a key enabling technology to achieve high-temperature high-efficiency concentrating solar power operation. A high-performance solar absorbing material must simultaneously meet all the following three stringent requirements: high thermal efficiency (usually measured by figure of merit), high-temperature durability, and oxidation resistance. The objective of this research is to employ a highly scalable process to fabricate and coat black oxide nanoparticles onto solar absorber surface to achieve ultra-high thermal efficiency. Black oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized using a facile process and coated onto absorber metal surface. The material composition, size distribution and morphology of the nanoparticle are guided by numeric modeling. Optical and thermal properties have been both modeled and measured. High temperature durability has been achieved by using nanocomposites and high temperature annealing. Mechanical durability on thermal cycling have also been investigated and optimized. This technology is promising for commercial applications in next-generation high-temperature concentration solar power (CSP) plants.

Correlations in the three-dimensional Lyman-alpha forest contaminated by high column density absorbers

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Keir K.; Bird, Simeon; Peiris, Hiranya V.; Pontzen, Andrew; Font-Ribera, Andreu; Leistedt, Boris

2018-05-01

Correlations measured in three dimensions in the Lyman-alpha forest are contaminated by the presence of the damping wings of high column density (HCD) absorbing systems of neutral hydrogen (H I; having column densities N(H I) > 1.6 × 10^{17} atoms cm^{-2}), which extend significantly beyond the redshift-space location of the absorber. We measure this effect as a function of the column density of the HCD absorbers and redshift by measuring three-dimensional (3D) flux power spectra in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations from the Illustris project. Survey pipelines exclude regions containing the largest damping wings. We find that, even after this procedure, there is a scale-dependent correction to the 3D Lyman-alpha forest flux power spectrum from residual contamination. We model this residual using a simple physical model of the HCD absorbers as linearly biased tracers of the matter density distribution, convolved with their Voigt profiles and integrated over the column density distribution function. We recommend the use of this model over existing models used in data analysis, which approximate the damping wings as top-hats and so miss shape information in the extended wings. The simple `linear Voigt model' is statistically consistent with our simulation results for a mock residual contamination up to small scales (|k| account for the effect of the highest column density absorbers on the smallest scales (e.g. |k| > 0.4 h Mpc^{-1} for small damped Lyman-alpha absorbers; HCD absorbers with N(H I) ˜ 10^{21} atoms cm^{-2}). However, these systems are in any case preferentially removed from survey data. Our model is appropriate for an accurate analysis of the baryon acoustic oscillations feature. It is additionally essential for reconstructing the full shape of the 3D flux power spectrum.

Using high haze (> 90%) light-trapping film to enhance the efficiency of a-Si:H solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Wei-Ping; Lin, Jian-Shian; Lin, Tien-Chai; Tsai, Yu-Sheng; Kuo, Chen-Wei; Chung, Ming-Hua; Hsieh, Tsung-Eong; Liu, Lung-Chang; Juang, Fuh-Shyang; Chen, Nien-Po

2012-07-01

The high haze light-trapping (LT) film offers enhanced scattering of light and is applied to a-Si:H solar cells. UV glue was spin coated on glass, and then the LT pattern was imprinted. Finally, a UV lamp was used to cure the UV glue on the glass. The LT film effectively increased the Haze ratio of glass and decreased the reflectance of a-Si:H solar cells. Therefore, the photon path length was increased to obtain maximum absorption by the absorber layer. High Haze LT film is able to enhance short circuit current density and efficiency of the device, as partial composite film generates broader scattering light, thereby causing shorter wave length light to be absorbed by the P layer so that the short circuit current density decreases. In case of lab-made a-Si:H thin film solar cells with v-shaped LT films, superior optoelectronic performances have been found (Voc = 0.74 V, Jsc = 15.62 mA/cm2, F.F. = 70%, and η = 8.09%). We observed ~ 35% enhancement of the short-circuit current density and ~ 31% enhancement of the conversion efficiency.

Energy Analysis of Solar Collector With perforated Absorber Plate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ammar A. Farhan

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The thermal performance of three solar collectors with 3, 6 mm and without perforation absorber plate was assessed experimentally. The experimental tests were implemented in Baghdad during the January and February 2017. Five values of airflow rates range between 0.01 – 0.1 m3/s were used through the test with a constant airflow rate during the test day. The variation of the following parameters air temperature difference, useful energy, absorber plate temperature, and collector efficiency was recorded every 15 minutes. The experimental data reports that the increases the number of absorber plate perforations with a small diameter is more efficient rather than increasing the hole diameter of the absorber plate with decreasing the perforation numbers. Maximum air temperature difference throughout the solar collector with 3, 6 mm perforations and without perforations are 17, 15, and 12 oC, respectively. Also, it can be concluded that the energy gained from the solar collector with 3 mm perforation absorber plate is 28.2 % more than the energy gained from solar collector without holes per day for 0.1 m3/s airflow rate. The maximum values of the thermal performance curves are 0.67, 0.64, and 0.56 for the solar collector with 3, 6 mm, and without perforations, respectively.

Estimation of Absorbed Dose in Occlusal Radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Young Ah; Choi, Karp Shick; Lee, Sang Han

1990-01-01

The purpose of this study was to estimate absorbed dose of each important anatomic site of phantom (RT-210 Head and Neck Section R, Humanoid Systems Co., U.S.A.) head in occlusal radiography. X-radiation dosimetry at 12 anatomic sites in maxillary anterior topography, maxillary posterior topography, mandibular anterior cross-section, mandibular posterior cross-section, mandibular anterior topographic, mandibular posterior topographic occlusal projection was performed with calcium sulfate thermoluminescent dosimeters under 70 Kvp and 15 mA, 1/4 second (8 inch cone ) and 1 second (16 inch cone) exposure time. The results obtained were as follows: Skin surface produced highest absorbed dose ranged between 3264 mrad and 4073 mrad but there was little difference between projections. In maxillary anterior topographic occlusal radiography, eyeballs, maxillary sinuses, and pituitary gland sites produced higher absorbed doses than those of other sites. In maxillary posterior topographic occlusal radiography, exposed eyeball site and exposed maxillary sinus site produced high absorbed doses. In mandibular anterior cross-sectional occlusal radiography, all sites were produced relatively low absorbed dose except eyeball sites. In Mandibular posterior cross-sectional occlusal radiography, exposed eyeball site and exposed maxillary sinus site were produced relatively higher absorbed doses than other sites. In mandibular anterior topographic occlusal radiography, maxillary sinuses, submandibular glands, and thyroid gland sites produced high absorbed doses than other sites. In mandibular posterior topographic occlusal radiography, submandibular gland site of the exposed side produced high absorbed dose than other sites and eyeball site of the opposite side produced relatively high absorbed dose.

High thermal efficiency, radiation-based advanced fusion reactors. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taussig, R.T.

1977-04-01

A new energy conversion scheme is explored in this study which has the potential of achieving thermal cycle efficiencies high enough (e.g., 60 to 70 percent) to make advanced fuel fusion reactors attractive net power producers. In this scheme, a radiation boiler admits a large fraction of the x-ray energy from the fusion plasma through a low-Z first wall into a high-Z working fluid where the energy is absorbed at temperatures of 2000 0 K to 3000 0 K. The hot working fluid expands in an energy exchanger against a cooler, light gas, transferring most of the work of expansion from one gas to the other. By operating the radiation/boiler/energy exchanger as a combined cycle, full advantage of the high temperatures can be taken to achieve high thermal efficiency. The existence of a mature combined cycle technology from the development of space power plants gives the advanced fuel fusion reactor application a firm engineering base from which it can grow rapidly, if need be. What is more important, the energy exchanger essentially removes the peak temperature limitations previously set by heat engine inlet conditions, so that much higher combined cycle efficiencies can be reached. This scheme is applied to the case of an advanced fuel proton-boron 11 fusion reactor using a single reheat topping and bottoming cycle. A wide variety of possible working fluid combinations are considered and particular cycle calculations for the thermal efficiency are presented. The operation of the radiation boiler and energy exchanger are both described. Material compatibility, x-ray absorption, thermal hydraulics, structural integrity, and other technical features of these components are analyzed to make a preliminary assessment of the feasibility of this concept

Maximum Efficiency of Thermoelectric Heat Conversion in High-Temperature Power Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. I. Khvesyuk

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Modern trends in development of aircraft engineering go with development of vehicles of the fifth generation. The features of aircrafts of the fifth generation are motivation to use new high-performance systems of onboard power supply. The operating temperature of the outer walls of engines is of 800–1000 K. This corresponds to radiation heat flux of 10 kW/m2 . The thermal energy including radiation of the engine wall may potentially be converted into electricity. The main objective of this paper is to analyze if it is possible to use a high efficiency thermoelectric conversion of heat into electricity. The paper considers issues such as working processes, choice of materials, and optimization of thermoelectric conversion. It presents the analysis results of operating conditions of thermoelectric generator (TEG used in advanced hightemperature power devices. A high-temperature heat source is a favorable factor for the thermoelectric conversion of heat. It is shown that for existing thermoelectric materials a theoretical conversion efficiency can reach the level of 15–20% at temperatures up to 1500 K and available values of Ioffe parameter being ZT = 2–3 (Z is figure of merit, T is temperature. To ensure temperature regime and high efficiency thermoelectric conversion simultaneously it is necessary to have a certain match between TEG power, temperature of hot and cold surfaces, and heat transfer coefficient of the cooling system. The paper discusses a concept of radiation absorber on the TEG hot surface. The analysis has demonstrated a number of potentialities for highly efficient conversion through using the TEG in high-temperature power devices. This work has been implemented under support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation; project No. 1145 (the programme “Organization of Research Engineering Activities”.

Dynamic tuning of optical absorbers for accelerated solar-thermal energy storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhongyong; Tong, Zhen; Ye, Qinxian; Hu, Hang; Nie, Xiao; Yan, Chen; Shang, Wen; Song, Chengyi; Wu, Jianbo; Wang, Jun; Bao, Hua; Tao, Peng; Deng, Tao

2017-11-14

Currently, solar-thermal energy storage within phase-change materials relies on adding high thermal-conductivity fillers to improve the thermal-diffusion-based charging rate, which often leads to limited enhancement of charging speed and sacrificed energy storage capacity. Here we report the exploration of a magnetically enhanced photon-transport-based charging approach, which enables the dynamic tuning of the distribution of optical absorbers dispersed within phase-change materials, to simultaneously achieve fast charging rates, large phase-change enthalpy, and high solar-thermal energy conversion efficiency. Compared with conventional thermal charging, the optical charging strategy improves the charging rate by more than 270% and triples the amount of overall stored thermal energy. This superior performance results from the distinct step-by-step photon-transport charging mechanism and the increased latent heat storage through magnetic manipulation of the dynamic distribution of optical absorbers.

Synthesis and characterizations of Cu2ZnSnS4 nanoparticles/carbon nanotube composite as an efficient absorber material for solar cell application

Science.gov (United States)

Das, S.; Sa, K.; Alam, I.; Mahakul, P. C.; Raiguru, J.; Subramanyam, B. V. R. S.; Mahanandia, P.

2018-05-01

In this energy crisis era, the urgent calls for clean energy converter realizes the importance of photovoltaic device, which offers the highest probability of delivering a sustainable way of harvesting solar energy. The active absorber layer has its significance towards the performance of photovoltaic device by absorbing solar light and creating electron-hole pair inside layer. Being a direct p-type semiconductor, Cu2ZnSnS4 generally referred as CZTS has emerged as potential absorber towards photovoltaics application in recent decades as it offers the advantage of tunable band gap near optimal region ˜1.45-1.65 eV favorably match the solar spectrum and a high absorption coefficient ˜104 cm-1. The further improvement in the performance of CZTS based photovoltaics has involved the use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Semiconductors hybridized with carbonaceous materials (CNTs) have been the center of attraction in the scientific community with beneficial contribution in enhancing optoelectronic properties. The incorporation of CNTs shows effectiveness in charge carrier transfer pathways which ultimately could enhance the photo conversion efficiency (PCE) of photovoltaic device cell (PVC). Here, a facile hydrothermal one-pot synthesis of CZTS nanoparticles and MWCNTs composite towards photovoltaics application is reported. The phase and structural analysis of CZTS nanoparticles as well as CZTS/MWCNTs composite is done by XRD. From FERSEM and TEM (LRTEM & HRTEM) analysis the CZTS nanoparticles decorated over the surface of MWCNTs is confirmed. The optical band gap of CZTS/MWCNTs composite is estimated to be 1.62 eV from UV-Visible spectra.

Testing and evaluation of absorbers for gaseous penetrative forms of radioiodine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabot, M.

1974-10-01

A significant fraction of airborne radioiodine, encountered at times in operational areas of Ontario Hydro nuclear power generating stations, was found to be penetrative inorganic and organic species. Theorectical evaluation of iodine chemistry is presented based on analysis of operational iodine concentrations in station systems, areas and effluents under actual operating conditions. The theoretical evaluation and the operational experiments show that hypoiodous acid and organic iodides are the basic forms of airborne iodine which occur in the field and in station effluents. A method was developed for laboratory generation of HOI and its identity confirmed by use of specific absorbers. Six of the commercially available (and recently developed) absorbers were tested for HOI removal efficiency in the laboratory under conditions similar to those found in the field. Experimental equipment, methods used for the absorber testing and experimental conditions are described. Results show that charcoals have generally better initial absorption efficiency for hypoiodous acid than silver impregnated inorganic absorbers. Both technical and economical aspects of the operational use of the tested absorbers are discussed. (auth)

One-step fabrication of highly stable, superhydrophobic composites from controllable and low-cost PMHS/TEOS sols for efficient oil cleanup.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Ping; Zhai, Shangru; Xiao, Zuoyi; An, Qingda

2015-05-15

Facing the issues of significant increase of industrial oily wastewater and frequent accident of oil spills, the developing of efficient and affordable absorbents for improving oil pollution is of practical significance. Herein, several superhydrophobic and superoleophilic materials, utilizing filter paper, filter cloth and polyester sponge as substrates, through facile coating of hybrid SiO2 colloid particles from controllable PMHS-TEOS sol system were presented. These methyl-modified particles not only provided hierarchical micro/nano-scale structure with distinct roughness, but also largely lowered the surface energy of the coated substances, leading to excellent superhydrophobic and superoleophilic surfaces. The modified filter cloths could be applied for oil/water separation owing to the flexible and foldable property; sponges could efficiently absorb oil or organic solvents in situ on account of its low density and high porosity, and meanwhile the absorbed oil could be easily recollected by simple squeezing. It is worth mentioning that both modified filter cloths and sponges exhibited excellent selectivity, high efficiency, outstanding rapidity and remarkable recyclability. More importantly, after treatment of 100 abrasion cycles with metal scalpel and strongly acidic and basic water droplets, the whole WCA values of resultant filter cloths still maintained superhydrophobic character (>150°), illuminating the charming mechanical and chemical stability of sol-gel processed coating with hierarchical roughness and covalently bonded methyl groups. Combining controllable fabrication process and cheap raw precursors, this method enables scalable manufacturing of stable and superhydrophobic substances, which are promising in practical applications involved in oil/water separation and oil sorption. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High Conduction Neutron Absorber to Simulate Fast Reactor Environment in an Existing Test Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guillen, Donna; Greenwood, Lawrence R.; Parry, James

2014-06-22

A need was determined for a thermal neutron absorbing material that could be cooled in a gas reactor environment without using large amounts of a coolant that would thermalize the neutron flux. A new neutron absorbing material was developed that provided high conduction so a small amount of water would be sufficient for cooling thereby thermalizing the flux as little as possible. An irradiation experiment was performed to assess the effects of radiation and the performance of a new neutron absorbing material. Neutron fluence monitors were placed inside specially fabricated holders within a set of drop-in capsules and irradiated for up to four cycles in the Advanced Test Reactor. Following irradiation, the neutron fluence monitor wires were analyzed by gamma and x-ray spectrometry to determine the activities of the activation products. The adjusted neutron fluences were calculated and grouped into three bins – thermal, epithermal and fast to evaluate the spectral shift created by the new material. Fluence monitors were evaluated after four different irradiation periods to evaluate the effects of burn-up in the absorbing material. Additionally, activities of the three highest activity isotopes present in the specimens are given.

Mechanical Design of a High Energy Beam Absorber for the Advanced Superconducting Test Accelerator (ASTA) at Fermilab

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baffes, C.; Church, M.; Leibfritz, J.; Oplt, S.; Rakhno, I.; /Fermilab

2012-05-10

A high energy beam absorber has been built for the Advanced Superconducting Test Accelerator (ASTA) at Fermilab. In the facility's initial configuration, an electron beam will be accelerated through 3 TTF-type or ILC-type SRF cryomodules to an energy of 750MeV. The electron beam will be directed to one of multiple downstream experimental and diagnostic beam lines and then deposited in one of two beam absorbers. The facility is designed to accommodate up to 6 cryomodules, which would produce a 75kW beam at 1.5GeV; this is the driving design condition for the beam absorbers. The beam absorbers consist of water-cooled graphite, aluminum and copper layers contained in a helium-filled enclosure. This paper describes the mechanical implementation of the beam absorbers, with a focus on thermal design and analysis. The potential for radiation-induced degradation of the graphite is discussed.

High-efficiency SO2 removal in utility FGD systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, J.L.; Gray, S.; Dekraker, D.

1995-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have contracted with Radian Corporation to conduct full-scale testing, process modeling, and economic evaluations of six existing utility flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems. The project objective is to evaluate low capital cost upgrades for achieving up to 98% sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) removal efficiency in a variety of FGD system types. The systems include dual-loop, packed absorbers at Tampa Electric Company's Big Bend Station; cocurrent, packed absorbers at Hoosier Energy's Merom Station; dual-loop absorbers with perforated-plate trays at Southwestern Electric Power Company's Pirkey Station; horizontal spray absorbers at PSI Energy's Gibson Station; venturi scrubbers at Duquesne Light's Elrama Station; and open stray absorbers at New york State Electric and Gas Corporations's (NYSEG's) Kintigh Station. All operate in an inhibited-oxidation mode except the system at Big Bend (forced oxidation), and all use limestone reagent except the Elrama system (Mg-lime). The program was conducted to demonstrate that upgrades such as performance additives and/or mechanical modifications can increase system SO 2 removal at low cost. The cost effectiveness of each upgrade has been evaluated on the basis of test results and/or process model predictions for upgraded performance and utility-specific operating and maintenance costs. Results from this upgraded performance and utility-specific operating and maintenance costs. Results from this program may lead some utilities to use SO 2 removal upgrades as an approach for compliance with phase 2 of Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990. This paper summarizes the results of testing, modeling, and economic evaluations that have been completed since July, 1994

The METAS absorbed dose to water calibration service for high energy photon and electron beam radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stucki, G.; Muench, W.; Quintel, H.

2002-01-01

Full text: The Swiss Federal Office of Metrology and Accreditation (METAS) provides an absorbed dose to water calibration service for reference dosimeters using 60 Co γ radiation, ten X-ray beam qualities between TPR 20,10 =0.639 and 0.802 and ten electron beam qualities between R 50 =1.75 gcm -2 and 8.54 gcm -2 . A 22 MeV microtron accelerator with a conventional treatment head is used as radiation source for the high energy photon and electron beams. The treatment head produces clinical beams. The METAS absorbed dose calibration service for high energy photons is based on a primary standard sealed water calorimeter of the Domen type, that is used to calibrate several METAS transfer standards of type NE2611A and NE2571A in terms of absorbed dose to water in the energy range from 60 Co to TPR 20,10 = 0.802. User reference dosimeters are compared with the transfer standards to give calibration factors in absorbed dose to water with an uncertainty of 1.0% for 60 Co γ radiation and 1.4% for higher energies (coverage factor k=2). The calibration service was launched in 1997. The calibration factors measured by METAS have been compared with those derived from the Code of Practice of the International Atomic Energy Agency using the calculated k Q factors listed in table 14. The comparison showed a maximum difference of 0.8% for the NE25611A and NE 2571A chambers. At 60 Co γ radiation the METAS primary standard of absorbed dose to water was bilaterally compared with the primary standards of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures BIPM (Sevres) as well as of the National Research Council NRC (Canada). In either case the standards were in agreement within the comparison uncertainties. The METAS absorbed dose calibration service for high energy electron beams is based on a primary standard chemical dosimeter. A monoenergetic electron beam of precisely known particle energy and beam charge is totally absorbed in Fricke solution (ferrous ammonium sulphate) of a given

Lightweight, Mesoporous, and Highly Absorptive All-Nanofiber Aerogel for Efficient Solar Steam Generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Feng; Liu, He; Li, Yiju; Kuang, Yudi; Xu, Xu; Chen, Chaoji; Huang, Hao; Jia, Chao; Zhao, Xinpeng; Hitz, Emily; Zhou, Yubing; Yang, Ronggui; Cui, Lifeng; Hu, Liangbing

2018-01-10

The global fresh water shortage has driven enormous endeavors in seawater desalination and wastewater purification; among these, solar steam generation is effective in extracting fresh water by efficient utilization of naturally abundant solar energy. For solar steam generation, the primary focus is to design new materials that are biodegradable, sustainable, of low cost, and have high solar steam generation efficiency. Here, we designed a bilayer aerogel structure employing naturally abundant cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) as basic building blocks to achieve sustainability and biodegradability as well as employing a carbon nanotube (CNT) layer for efficient solar utilization with over 97.5% of light absorbance from 300 to 1200 nm wavelength. The ultralow density (0.0096 g/cm 3 ) of the aerogel ensures that minimal material is required, reducing the production cost while at the same time satisfying the water transport and thermal-insulation requirements due to its highly porous structure (99.4% porosity). Owing to its rationally designed structure and thermal-regulation performance, the bilayer CNF-CNT aerogel exhibits a high solar-energy conversion efficiency of 76.3% and 1.11 kg m -2 h -1 at 1 kW m -2 (1 Sun) solar irradiation, comparable or even higher than most of the reported solar steam generation devices. Therefore, the all-nanofiber aerogel presents a new route for designing biodegradable, sustainable, and scalable solar steam generation devices with superb performance.

Perovskite Solar Cells for High-Efficiency Tandems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McGehee, Michael [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Buonassisi, Tonio [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

2017-09-30

The first monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem was made with a diffused silicon p-n junction, a tunnel junction made of n⁺⁺ hydrogenated amorphous silicon, a titania electron transport layer, a methylammonium lead iodide absorber, and a Spiro-OMeTAD hole transport layer (HTL). The power conversion efficiency (PCE) was only 13.7% due to excessive parasitic absorption of light in the HTL, limiting the matched current density to 11.5 mA/cm². Werner et al.¹⁵ raised the PCE to a record 21.2% by switching to a silicon heterojunction bottom cell and carefully tuning layer thicknesses to achieve lower optical loss and a higher current density of 15.9 mA/cm². It is clear from these reports that minimizing parasitic absorption in the window layers is crucial to achieving higher current densities and efficiencies in monolithic tandems. To this end, the window layers through which light first passes before entering the perovskite and silicon absorber materials must be highly transparent. The front electrode must also be conductive to carry current laterally across the top of the device. Indium tin oxide (ITO) is widely utilized as a transparent electrode in optoelectronic devices such as flat-panel displays, smart windows, organic light-emitting diodes, and solar cells due to its high conductivity and broadband transparency. ITO is typically deposited through magnetron sputtering; however, the high kinetic energy of sputtered particles can damage underlying layers. In perovskite solar cells, a sputter buffer layer is required to protect the perovskite and organic carrier extraction layers from damage during sputter deposition. The ideal buffer layer should also be energetically well aligned so as to act as a carrier-selective contact, have a wide bandgap to enable high optical transmission, and have no reaction with the halides in the perovskite. Additionally, this buffer layer should act as a diffusion barrier layer to prevent both

Efficiency calculations and optimization analysis of a solar reactor for the high temperature step of the zinc/zinc-oxide thermochemical redox cycle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haussener, S.

2007-03-15

A solar reactor for the first step of the zinc/zinc-oxide thermochemical redox cycle is analysed and dimensioned in terms of maximization of efficiency and reaction conversion. Zinc-oxide particles carried in an inert carrier gas, in our case argon, enter the reactor in absorber tubes and are heated by concentrated solar radiation mainly due to radiative heat transfer. The particles dissociate and, in case of complete conversion, a gas mixture of argon, zinc and oxygen leaves the reactor. The aim of this study is to find an optimal design of the reactor regarding efficiency, materials and economics. The number of absorber tubes and their dimensions, the cavity dimension and its material as well as the operating conditions should be determined. Therefore 2D and 3D simulations of an 8 kW reactor are implemented. The gases are modeled as ideal gases with temperature-dependent properties. Absorption and scattering of the particle gas mixture are calculated by Mie-theory. Radiative heat transfer is included in the simulation and implemented with the aid of the discrete ordinates (DO) method. The mixture is modeled as ideal mixture and the reaction with an Arrhenius-type ansatz. Temperature distribution, reaction efficiency (heat used for zinc-oxide reaction divided by input) and tube efficiency (heat going into absorber tubes divided by input) as well as reaction conversion are analyzed to find the most promising reactor design. The results show that the most significant factors for efficiencies, conversion and absorber fluid temperature are concentration of the solar incoming radiation, zinc-oxide mass flow, the number of tubes and their dimension. Higher concentration leads to solely positive effects. Zinc-oxide mass flow variations indicate the existence of an optimal flow rate for each reactor design which maximizes efficiencies and conversion. Higher zinc-oxide mass flow leads, on one hand, to higher tube efficiency but on the other hand to lower temperatures in

High performance and thermally stable tandem solar selective absorber coating for concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) application

Science.gov (United States)

Prasad, M. Shiva; Kumar, K. K. Phani; Atchuta, S. R.; Sobha, B.; Sakthivel, S.

2018-05-01

A novel tandem absorber system (Mn-Cu-Co-Ox-ZrO2/SiO2) developed on an austenitic stainless steel (SS-304) substrate to show an excellent optical performance (αsol: 0.96; ɛ: 0.23@500 °C). In order to achieve this durable tandem, we experimented with two antireflective layers such as ZrO2-SiO2 and nano SiO2 layer on top of Mn-Cu-Co-Ox-ZrO2 layer. We optimized the thickness of antireflective layers to get good tandem system in terms of solar absorptance and emittance. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV-Vis-NIR and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the developed coatings. Finally, the Mn-Cu-Co-Ox-ZrO2/SiO2 exhibits high temperature resistance up to 800 °C, thus allow an increase in the operating temperature of CSP which may lead to high efficiency. We successfully developed a high temperature resistant tandem layer with easy manufacturability at low cost which is an attractive candidate for concentrated solar power generation (CSP).

On the high-temperature desulfurization of coal gas: The development of a regenerable absorbent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Yperen, Renee

1994-05-18

There is actually no solid absorbent based on bulk metal oxides available that meets the conditions for application in high-temperature desulfurization processes. This research was aimed to develop an absorbent that fulfills all the specifications for employment in hot-gas clean up. Chapter 2 deals with the development of amorphous aluminium phosphate as a support material. The influence of the preparation conditions onto the specific surface area, pore structure, thermal and chemical stability, and acidity of amorphous aluminium phosphate was investigated. The application of iron oxide onto amorphous aluminium phosphate by means of deposition-precipitation from a homogeneous solution is discussed in chapter 3. The influence of amorphous aluminium phosphate onto the stability, activity, and capacity of the iron oxide is described in detail. Chapter 4 surveys the activity and capacity of several active materials in the absorption of hydrogen sulphide. It is shown that the most promising active material is a mixture of iron oxide and molybdenum oxide. In chapter 5 the properties of iron-molybdenum mixed oxide absorbents are discussed. The effect of the iron to molybdenum ratio onto the formation of iron-(III)-sulphates and the stability of the molybdenum compound is examined. Chapter 6 deals with the preparation of iron-molybdenum mixed oxide absorbents by means of impregnation of modified pre-shaped alumina support bodies. In chapter 7 the effect of the hydrogen and carbon monoxide concentration and in chapter 8 the effect of the water concentration in the coal gas on the activity and the capacity of the iron-molybdenum mixed oxide absorbents is described. Regeneration of the loaded absorbents is an important part of the desulfurization process, dealt with in chapter 9. A number of regeneration procedures have been tested. (Abstract Truncated)

Organic MEMS/NEMS-based high-efficiency 3D ITO-less flexible photovoltaic cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kassegne, Sam; Moon, Kee; Martín-Ramos, Pablo; Majzoub, Mohammad; Őzturk, Gunay; Desai, Krishna; Parikh, Mihir; Nguyen, Bao; Khosla, Ajit; Chamorro-Posada, Pedro

2012-01-01

A novel approach based on three-dimensional (3D) architecture for polymeric photovoltaic cells made up of an array of sub-micron and nano-pillars which not only increase the area of the light absorbing surface, but also improve the carrier collection efficiency of bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells is presented. The approach also introduces coating of 3D anodes with a new solution-processable highly conductive transparent polymer (Orgacon™) that replaces expensive vacuum-deposited ITO (indium tin oxide) as well as the additional hole-collecting layer of conventional PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate)). In addition, the described procedure is well suited to roll-to-roll high-throughput manufacturing. The high aspect-ratio 3D pillars which form the basis for this new architecture are patterned through micro-electromechanical-system- and nano-electromechanical-system-based processes. For the particular case of P3HT (poly(3-hexylthiophene)) and PCBM (phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) active material, efficiencies in excess of 6% have been achieved for these photovoltaic cells of 3D architecture using ITO-less flexible PET (polyethylene terephthalate) substrates. This increase in efficiency turns out to be more than twice higher than those achieved for their 2D counterparts. (paper)

Reloading optimization of pressurized water reactor core with burnable absorber fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Xiuan; Liu Zhihong; Hu Yongming

2008-01-01

The reloading optimization problem of PWR with burnable absorber fuel is very difficult, and common optimization algorithms are inefficient and have bad global performance for it. Characteristic statistic algorithm (CSA) is very fit for the problem. In the past, the reloading optimization using CSA has shortcomings of separating the fuel assemblies' loading pattern (LP) optimization from burnable absorber's placement (BP) optimization. In this study, LP and BP were optimized simultaneously using CSA coupled with CYCLE2D, which is a core analysis code. The corresponding reloading coupling optimization software, CSALPBP, was developed. The 10th cycle reloading design of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant was optimized using CSALPBP. The results show that CSALPBP has high efficiency and excellent global performance. (authors)

An effective absorbing layer for the boundary condition in acoustic seismic wave simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Gang; da Silva, Nuno V.; Wu, Di

2018-04-01

Efficient numerical simulation of seismic wavefields generally involves truncating the Earth model in order to keep computing time and memory requirements down. Absorbing boundary conditions, therefore, are applied to remove the boundary reflections caused by this truncation, thereby allowing for accurate modeling of wavefields. In this paper, we derive an effective absorbing boundary condition for both acoustic and elastic wave simulation, through the simplification of the damping term of the split perfectly matched layer (SPML) boundary condition. This new boundary condition is accurate, cost-effective, and easily implemented, especially for high-performance computing. Stability analysis shows that this boundary condition is effectively as stable as normal (non-absorbing) wave equations for explicit time-stepping finite differences. We found that for full-waveform inversion (FWI), the strengths of the effective absorbing layer—a reduction of the computational and memory cost coupled with a simplistic implementation—significantly outweighs the limitation of incomplete absorption of outgoing waves relative to the SPML. More importantly, we demonstrate that this limitation can easily be overcome through the use of two strategies in FWI, namely variable cell size and model extension thereby fully compensating for the imperfectness of the proposed absorbing boundary condition.

Absorber and regenerator models for liquid desiccant air conditioning systems. Validation and comparison using experimental data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krause, M.; Heinzen, R.; Jordan, U.; Vajen, K. [Kassel Univ., Inst. of Thermal Engineering, Kassel (Germany); Saman, W.; Halawa, E. [Sustainable Energy Centre, Univ. of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Adelaide (Australia)

2008-07-01

Solar assisted air conditioning systems using liquid desiccants represent a promising option to decrease high summer energy demand caused by electrically driven vapor compression machines. The main components of liquid desiccant systems are absorbers for dehumidifying and cooling of supply air and regenerators for concentrating the desiccant. However, high efficient and validated reliable components are required and the design and operation have to be adjusted to each respective building design, location, and user demand. Simulation tools can help to optimize component and system design. The present paper presents new developed numerical models for absorbers and regenerators, as well as experimental data of a regenerator prototype. The models have been compared with a finite-difference method model as well as experimental data. The data are gained from the regenerator prototype presented and an absorber presented in the literature. (orig.)

Shock absorber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nemeth, J.D.

1981-01-01

A shock absorber for the support of piping and components in a nuclear power plant is described. It combines a high degree of stiffness under sudden shocks, e.g. seismic disturbances, with the ability to allow for thermal expansion without resistance when so required. (JIW)

Numerical Analysis of Novel Back Surface Field for High Efficiency Ultrathin CdTe Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. A. Matin

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper numerically explores the possibility of high efficiency, ultrathin, and stable CdTe cells with different back surface field (BSF using well accepted simulator AMPS-1D (analysis of microelectronics and photonic structures. A modified structure of CdTe based PV cell SnO2/Zn2SnO4/CdS/CdTe/BSF/BC has been proposed over reference structure SnO2/Zn2SnO4/CdS/CdTe/Cu. Both higher bandgap materials like ZnTe and Cu2Te and low bandgap materials like As2Te3 and Sb2Te3 have been used as BSF to reduce minority carrier recombination loss at the back contact in ultra-thin CdTe cells. In this analysis the highest conversion efficiency of CdTe based PV cell without BSF has been found to be around 17% using CdTe absorber thickness of 5 μm. However, the proposed structures with different BSF have shown acceptable efficiencies with an ultra-thin CdTe absorber of only 0.6 μm. The proposed structure with As2Te3 BSF showed the highest conversion efficiency of 20.8% ( V,  mA/cm2, and . Moreover, the proposed structures have shown improved stability in most extents, as it was found that the cells have relatively lower negative temperature coefficient. However, the cell with ZnTe BSF has shown better overall stability than other proposed cells with temperature coefficient (TC of −0.3%/°C.

Influence of absorbers on the reactivity of the reactor; Odredjivanje uticaja apsorbera na reaktivnost reaktora

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinc, R [Institute of Nuclear Sciences Boris Kidric, Vinca, Beograd (Serbia and Montenegro)

1961-12-15

Influence of absorbers on the reactivity of the reactor was calculated by two-group diffusion theory applying corrections for boundary conditions derived from the transport theory because diffusion theory in not applicable in the vicinity of boundary surfaces especially in case of strong absorbers. This report shows the calculations of central absorber efficiency in the core with and without reflector, and efficiency of the group of absorbers randomly placed in the core. Approximation method for determining the efficiency of the absorber is described as well as numerical verification of results. Effective absorber dimensions and the influence of gaps on the reactor dimensions are shown. [Serbo-Croat] Uticaj apsorbera na reaktivnost reaktora racunat je primenom difuzione dvogrupne teorije uz korekcije kod primene granicnih uslova koje daje transportna teorija za efektivne dimenzije apsorbera posto difuziona teorija ne moze da primeni u blizini granicnih povrsina posebno kod jakih apsorbera. U ovom izvestaju dati su proracuni efektivnosti centralnog apsorbera u reflektovanom u nereflektovanom reaktoru, efektivnosti grupe proizvoljno ubacenih apsorbera. Dat je i prikaz aproksimativne metode za odredjivanje efektivnosti apsorbera kao i numericka provera rezultata. Prikazane su efektivne dimenzije apsorbera kao i uticaj supljina na kriticne dimenzije reaktora.

Measurement of absorbed dose for high energy electron using CaSO4: Tm-PTFE TLD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Myeong Hwan; Kim, Do Sung

2000-01-01

In this study, the highly sensitive CaSO 4 : Tm-PTFE TLDs has been fabricated for the purpose of measurement of high energy electron. CaSO 4 : Tm phosphor powder was mixed with polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) powder and moulded in a disk type(diameter 8.5mm, thickness 90mg/cm 2 ) by cold pressing. The absorbed dose distribution and ranges for high energy electron were measured by using the CaSO 4 : Tm-PTFE TLDs. The ranges determined were R 100 =3D14.5mm, R 50 =3D24.1mm and R p =3D31.8mm, respectively and the beam flatness, the variation of relative dose in 80% of the field size, was 4.5%. The fabricated CaSO 4 : Tm-PTFE TLDs may be utilized in radiation dosimetry for personal, absorbed dose and environmental monitoring.=20

Foliage nitrogen turnover: differences among nitrogen absorbed at different times by Quercus serrata saplings

Science.gov (United States)

Ueda, Miki U.; Mizumachi, Eri; Tokuchi, Naoko

2011-01-01

Background and Aims Nitrogen turnover within plants has been intensively studied to better understand nitrogen use strategies. However, differences among the nitrogen absorbed at different times are not completely understood and the fate of nitrogen absorbed during winter is largely uncharacterized. In the present study, nitrogen absorbed at different times of the year (growing season, winter and previous growing season) was traced, and the within-leaf nitrogen turnover of a temperate deciduous oak Quercus serrata was investigated. Methods The contributions of nitrogen absorbed at the three different times to leaf construction, translocation during the growing season, and the leaf-level resorption efficiency during leaf senescence were compared using 15N. Key Results Winter- and previous growing season-absorbed nitrogen significantly contributed to leaf construction, although the contribution was smaller than that of growing season-absorbed nitrogen. On the other hand, the leaf-level resorption efficiency of winter- and previous growing season-absorbed nitrogen was higher than that of growing season-absorbed nitrogen, suggesting that older nitrogen is better retained in leaves than recently absorbed nitrogen. Conclusions The results demonstrate that nitrogen turnover in leaves varies with nitrogen absorption times. These findings are important for understanding plant nitrogen use strategies and nitrogen cycles in forest ecosystems. PMID:21515608

Achievement report for fiscal 1998 on development of environmentally friendly high-efficiency energy utilization system. 2. Research of technology of effectively utilizing high-efficiency energy / research of optimum system designing technology; 1998 nendo kankyo chowagata kokoritsu energy riyo system kaihatsu. 2. Kokoritsu energy yuko riyo gijutsu no kenkyu, saiteki system sekkei gijutsu no kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-05-01

This 2nd volume deals with the transportation and storage of energy in the above-named research. In search of technologies for transporting exhausted heat from the industrial area to the urban section for consumers to utilize the heat for driving their air-conditioners and hot water supply systems, the decomposition and composition reactions of methanol are utilized for a long-range transportation system. The subjects taken up in this connection include the research and development of a methanol energy system, non-equilibrium high-efficiency methanol decomposition technology, multifunctional catalysts, and highly active/selective catalysts capable of promoting reversible endoergic/exoergic reactions. Research and development is also conducted of a high-efficiency heat pump technology using hydrogen-absorbing alloys, and such a pump will realize an air-conditioning system not dependent on chlorofluorocarbon. In the research and development of a long-range heat transportation system using hydrogen-absorbing alloys, a study is made of technologies of heat/hydrogen recovery, transportation, and utilization. (NEDO)

On the absorbed dose determination method in high energy electrons beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarlat, F.; Scarisoreanu, A.; Oane, M.; Mitru, E.; Avadanei, C.

2008-01-01

The absorbed dose determination method in water for electron beams with energies in the range from 1 MeV to 50 MeV is presented herein. The dosimetry equipment for measurements is composed of an UNIDOS.PTW electrometer and different ionization chambers calibrated in air kerma in a Co 60 beam. Starting from the code of practice for high energy electron beams, this paper describes the method adopted by the secondary standard dosimetry laboratory (SSDL) in NILPRP - Bucharest

Development and mastering of production of dysprosium hafnate as absorbing material for control rods of promising thermal neutron reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zakharov, A.V.; Risovany, V.D.; Muraleva, E.M.; Sokolov, V.F.

2011-01-01

The main advantages of dysprosium hafnate as an absorbing material for LWR control rods are the following: -) unlimited radiation resistance; - two absorbing components, Dy and Hf, increasing physical efficiency of the material compared to Dy 2 O 3 -TiO 2 and alloy 80% Ag - 15% In - 5% Cd; -) variability of physical efficiency by changing a composition, but maintaining other performance characteristics of the material; -) high process-ability due to the absence of phase transients and single-phase structure (solid solution); -) production of high density pellets. Lab-scale mastering of dysprosium hafnate pellets production showed a possibility of material synthesis using a solid-phase method, as well as of dysprosium hafnate pellets production by cold pressing and subsequent sintering. Within a whole range of examined compositions (23 mol% - 75 mol% Dy 2 O 3 ), a single-phase material with a highly radiation resistant fluorite-like structure was produced. Experiments on cold pressing and sintering of pellets confirmed a possibility of producing high quality dysprosium hafnate pellets from synthesized powder. A pilot batch of dysprosium hafnate pellets with standard sizes was produced. The standard sizes corresponded to the absorbing elements of the WWER-1000 control rods and met the main requirements to the absorbing element columns. The pilot batch size was approximately 6 kg. Acceptance testing of the pilot batch of dysprosium hafnate pellets was conducted, fulfillment of the requirements of technical conditions was checked and preirradiation properties of the pellets were examined. High quality of the produced pellets was confirmed, thus, demonstrating a real possibility of producing large batches of the dysprosium hafnate pellets. The next step is the production of test absorbing elements and cluster assemblies for the WWER-1000 control rods with their further installation for pilot operation at one of the Russian nuclear power plants

Absorber performance of a water/lithium-bromide absorption chiller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Guozhen; Sheng Guogang; Bansal, Pradeep Kumar; Li, Guang

2008-01-01

An absorber is one of the most important components of a lithium-bromide absorption chiller (LBAC) as its absorbing characteristics directly influence the performance of the whole chiller. It has been indicated that the absorbing efficiency and cooling capacity could be improved by increasing the solution concentration. In this paper, based on the mechanism of falling film absorption on horizontal tubes, the theoretical models of falling film absorption on horizontal tubes have been established. A series of programs used for computing the theoretical mathematical models, including simulation of LBAC cycle and falling film absorption, have been programmed. The models have been validated reasonably by the experimental data. The results show that the cooling capacity of the LBAC varies in parabola shape of curve with the solution concentration from 52.5% to 58.5%, and that the best coefficient of performance (COP) occurs at concentration of 57%. The investigation proposes the absorbing process of sub-steady thermodynamic equilibrium for the duality solution under increase absorbing pressure

Magnetic graphene enabled tunable microwave absorber via thermal control

Science.gov (United States)

Quan, L.; Qin, F. X.; Li, Y. H.; Estevez, D.; Fu, G. J.; Wang, H.; Peng, H.-X.

2018-06-01

By synthesizing nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) via a facile thermal annealing method, a fine control of the amount and location of doped nitrogen as well as the oxygen-containing functional groups is achieved with varying annealing temperature. The favorable magnetic properties have been achieved for N-doped rGO samples obtained at two temperatures of all NG samples, i.e., 500 °C and 900 °C with saturation magnetization of 0.63 emu g‑1 and 0.67 emu g‑1 at 2 K, respectively. This is attributed to the optimized competition of the N-doping and reduction process at 500 °C and the dominated reduction process at 900 °C. NG obtained at 300 °C affords the best overall absorbing performance: when the absorber thickness is 3.0 mm, the maximum absorption was ‑24.6 dB at 8.51 GHz, and the absorption bandwidth was 4.89 GHz (7.55–12.44 GHz) below ‑10 dB. It owes its large absorbing intensity to the good impedance match and significant dielectric loss. The broad absorption bandwidth benefits from local fluctuations of dielectric responses contributed by competing mechanisms. Despite the significant contribution from materials loss to the absorption, the one quarter-wavelength model is found to be responsible for the reflection loss peak positions. Of particular significance is that an appropriate set of electromagnetic parameters associated with reasonable reduction is readily accessible by convenient control of annealing temperature to modulate the microwave absorbing features of graphene. Thus, NG prepared by thermal annealing promises to be a highly efficient microwave absorbent.

Manipulating surface wettability and oil absorbency of diatomite depending on processing and ambient conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Özen, İlhan; Şimşek, Süleyman; Okyay, Gamze

2015-03-01

In this study, a diatomite sample, which is a natural inorganic mineral with inherently high water and oil absorption capacity, was subjected to grinding before surface modification. Afterwards, the diatomite surface was modified via facile methods using a fluorocarbon (FC) chemical and stearic acid (SA) in addition to the sol-gel fluorosilanization (FS) process. The water and oil wettability, and oil absorbency properties of the unmodified and modified diatomites were investigated in addition to diatomite characterizations such as chemical content, surface area, particle size distribution, morphology, and modification efficiency. It was revealed that the wettability was changed completely depending on the surface modification agent and the media used, while the oil absorbency property surprisingly did not change. On the other hand, the oil absorbency was worsened by the grinding process, whereas the wettability was not affected.

The Influence of Distribution Nitrogen Fertilizer Management on Absorbed and Radiation Use Efficiency in Forage Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

alireza beheshti

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction Dry matter production is a function of photosynthesis active radiation absorption (APAR and radiation use efficiency. Sorghum genotypes are different in total dry matter, but the reason of these different is not clear. Producing dry matter is affected by nitrogen distributing method, but the way of this effectiveness on producing of dry matter in sorghum genotypes is not also specified. This paper focused on evaluation of receiving and absorbing PAR, which is affected by nitrogen usage method in forage sorghum genotypes, and reasons of the differences between these genotypes in production of dry matter. The variation in efficiency of APAR depends on two chemical and morphological characteristics of the vegetation, including canopy nitrogen content (NCANOPY and the canopy average for mass per unit of area (Merea. Material and Methods In order to investigate the cumulative photosynthetically active radiation (CPAR and radiation use efficiency (RUE under distributing of nitrogen side dressing and non-distributing conditions, an experiment was conducted at Khorasan Razavei Agriculture and Natural Resources , Research Center Mashhad , Iran. The statical method was according to spilt plots base on randomized complete block design with three replicates. The main plots were fifteen forage sorghum genotypes (Promising lines kfs1, kfs2, kfs3, kfs6, kfs7, kfs8, kfs9, kfs10, kfs11, kfs12, kfs13, kfs15, kfs16, kfs17, kfs18 and the subplots consisted of distributing of nitrogen side dressing and non-distributing. The samples were obtained 5 times during the growing season for determination of some characteristics including dry matter (TDM, leaf area index (LAI and Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR. Then total dry matter (TDM, cumulative Photosynthetically active radiation (CPAR and radiation use efficiency (RUE were calculated by these traits. Absorbed radiation measured by Sub Scan model SSI-UM-1.05 on five location of each plot on bottom

Enhancing Localized Evaporation through Separated Light Absorbing Centers and Scattering Centers

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Dengwu; Duan, Haoze; Yu, Shengtao; Zhang, Yao; He, Jiaqing; Quan, Xiaojun; Tao, Peng; Shang, Wen; Wu, Jianbo; Song, Chengyi; Deng, Tao

2015-01-01

This report investigates the enhancement of localized evaporation via separated light absorbing particles (plasmonic absorbers) and scattering particles (polystyrene nanoparticles). Evaporation has been considered as one of the most important phase-change processes in modern industries. To improve the efficiency of evaporation, one of the most feasible methods is to localize heat at the top water layer rather than heating the bulk water. In this work, the mixture of purely light absorptive plasmonic nanostructures such as gold nanoparticles and purely scattering particles (polystyrene nanoparticles) are employed to confine the incident light at the top of the solution and convert light to heat. Different concentrations of both the light absorbing centers and the light scattering centers were evaluated and the evaporation performance can be largely enhanced with the balance between absorbing centers and scattering centers. The findings in this study not only provide a new way to improve evaporation efficiency in plasmonic particle-based solution, but also shed lights on the design of new solar-driven localized evaporation systems. PMID:26606898

Performance of a new carbon dioxide absorbent, Yabashi lime® as compared to conventional carbon dioxide absorbent during sevoflurane anesthesia in dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Kondoh, Kei; Atiba, Ayman; Nagase, Kiyoshi; Ogawa, Shizuko; Miwa, Takashi; Katsumata, Teruya; Ueno, Hiroshi; Uzuka, Yuji

2015-08-01

In the present study, we compare a new carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbent, Yabashi lime(®) with a conventional CO2 absorbent, Sodasorb(®) as a control CO2 absorbent for Compound A (CA) and Carbon monoxide (CO) productions. Four dogs were anesthetized with sevoflurane. Each dog was anesthetized with four preparations, Yabashi lime(®) with high or low-flow rate of oxygen and control CO2 absorbent with high or low-flow rate. CA and CO concentrations in the anesthetic circuit, canister temperature and carbooxyhemoglobin (COHb) concentration in the blood were measured. Yabashi lime(®) did not produce CA. Control CO2 absorbent generated CA, and its concentration was significantly higher in low-flow rate than a high-flow rate. CO was generated only in low-flow rate groups, but there was no significance between Yabashi lime(®) groups and control CO2 absorbent groups. However, the CO concentration in the circuit could not be detected (≤5ppm), and no change was found in COHb level. Canister temperature was significantly higher in low-flow rate groups than high-flow rate groups. Furthermore, in low-flow rate groups, the lower layer of canister temperature in control CO2 absorbent group was significantly higher than Yabashi lime(®) group. CA and CO productions are thought to be related to the composition of CO2 absorbent, flow rate and canister temperature. Though CO concentration is equal, it might be safer to use Yabashi lime(®) with sevoflurane anesthesia in dogs than conventional CO2 absorbent at the point of CA production.

Estimation of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation and vegetation net production efficiency using satellite data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanan, N.P.; Prince, S.D.; Begue, A.

1995-01-01

The amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed by green vegetation is an important determinant of photosynthesis and growth. Methods for the estimation of fractional absorption of PAR (iff PAR ) for areas greater than 1 km 2 using satellite data are discussed, and are applied to sites in the Sahel that have a sparse herb layer and tree cover of less than 5%. Using harvest measurements of seasonal net production, net production efficiencies are calculated. Variation in estimates of seasonal PAR absorption (APAR) caused by the atmospheric correction method and relationship between surface reflectances and iff PAR is considered. The use of maximum value composites of satellite NDVI to reduce the effect of the atmosphere is shown to produce inaccurate APAR estimates. In this data set, however, atmospheric correction using average optical depths was found to give good approximations of the fully corrected data. A simulation of canopy radiative transfer using the SAIL model was used to derive a relationship between canopy NDVI and iff PAR . Seasonal APAR estimates assuming a 1:1 relationship between iff PAR and NDVI overestimated the SAIL modeled results by up to 260%. The use of a modified 1:1 relationship, where iff PAR was assumed to be linearly related to NDVI scaled between minimum (soil) and maximum (infinite canopy) values, underestimated the SAIL modeled results by up to 35%. Estimated net production efficiencies (ϵ n , dry matter per unit APAR) fell in the range 0.12–1.61 g MJ −1 for above ground production, and in the range 0.16–1.88 g MJ −1 for total production. Sites with lower rainfall had reduced efficiencies, probably caused by physiological constraints on photosynthesis during dry conditions. (author)

A Path to High-Efficiency Optical Coupling for HIRMES

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Timothy M.; Brown, Ari-David; Costen, Nicholas; Franz, David; Kutyrev, Alexander; Mikula, Vilem; Miller, Kevin H.; Moseley, S. Harvey; Oxborrow, Joseph; Rostem, Karwan; Wollack, Edward J.

2018-05-01

The high-resolution mid-infrared spectrometer (HIRMES) under development for Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy is an instrument operating in the 25-122 μm spectral range with a spectral resolution R = Δλ/λ 100,000 and has two absorber-coupled transition edge sensor bolometric detector focal planes. We have developed novel NbTiN low-stress absorber coatings which have the required optical impedance across the HIRMES operating band. The low intrinsic stress of these coatings allow for a peak-to-valley corrugation amplitude coupled bolometric detector applications, because it helps in controlling the optical loading from out-of-band radiation. We also discuss a novel method for integrating a wedged-reflective absorber termination to the detector array.

The preparation of zinc silicate/ZnO particles and their use as an efficient UV absorber

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Podbrscek, Peter [National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, SI 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Drazic, Goran [Department for Nanostructured Materials, Jozef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, SI 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Anzlovar, Alojz [National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, SI 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Center of Excellence for Polymer Materials and Technologies, Tehnoloski Park 24, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Orel, Zorica Crnjak, E-mail: zorica.crnjak.orel@ki.si [National Institute of Chemistry, Hajdrihova 19, SI 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia); Center of Excellence for Polymer Materials and Technologies, Tehnoloski Park 24, 1000 Ljubljana (Slovenia)

2011-11-15

Highlights: {yields} We used innovative gel-route in order to prepare zinc silicate/ZnO nano-particles. {yields} Continuous reactor was efficient for synthesizing ZnO and zinc silicate/ZnO precursors. {yields} Introduction of Si into reaction mixture influenced on particle size and their photoactivity. {yields} Prepared particles are appropriate for UV absorbers in polymers. -- Abstract: The formation of zinc silicate/ZnO particles synthesized by a two-step method and their incorporation into PMMA is presented. In the first step a segmented-flow tubular reactor was used for the continuous room-temperature preparation of a zinc silicate/Zn(OH){sub 2} gel that was thermally treated after rinsing and drying in the second step. The same preparation procedure was also employed for the synthesis of pure ZnO and pure zinc silicate particles. It was found that the presence of the zinc silicate phase significantly influenced the final particle size, decreased the degree of crystallization and reduced the particles' UV absorption capabilities. The reduced photocatalytic activity of the zinc silicate/ZnO particles indicated that the majority of ZnO crystallites were formed inside the zinc silicate matrix. The nanocomposite prepared from zinc silicate/ZnO particles (0.04 wt.%) and PMMA showed high UV shielding and at the same time sufficient transmittance in the visible-light region.

The preparation of zinc silicate/ZnO particles and their use as an efficient UV absorber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Podbrscek, Peter; Drazic, Goran; Anzlovar, Alojz; Orel, Zorica Crnjak

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We used innovative gel-route in order to prepare zinc silicate/ZnO nano-particles. → Continuous reactor was efficient for synthesizing ZnO and zinc silicate/ZnO precursors. → Introduction of Si into reaction mixture influenced on particle size and their photoactivity. → Prepared particles are appropriate for UV absorbers in polymers. -- Abstract: The formation of zinc silicate/ZnO particles synthesized by a two-step method and their incorporation into PMMA is presented. In the first step a segmented-flow tubular reactor was used for the continuous room-temperature preparation of a zinc silicate/Zn(OH) 2 gel that was thermally treated after rinsing and drying in the second step. The same preparation procedure was also employed for the synthesis of pure ZnO and pure zinc silicate particles. It was found that the presence of the zinc silicate phase significantly influenced the final particle size, decreased the degree of crystallization and reduced the particles' UV absorption capabilities. The reduced photocatalytic activity of the zinc silicate/ZnO particles indicated that the majority of ZnO crystallites were formed inside the zinc silicate matrix. The nanocomposite prepared from zinc silicate/ZnO particles (0.04 wt.%) and PMMA showed high UV shielding and at the same time sufficient transmittance in the visible-light region.

Burnable neutron absorbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radford, K.C.; Carlson, W.G.

1983-01-01

A neutron-absorber body for use in burnable poison rods in a nuclear reactor. The body is composed of a matrix of Al 2 O 3 containing B 4 C, the neutron absorber. Areas of high density polycrystalline Al 2 O 3 particles are predominantly encircled by pores in some of which there are B 4 C particles. This body is produced by initially spray drying a slurry of A1 2 O 3 powder to which a binder has been added. The powder of agglomerated spheres of the A1 2 O 3 with the binder are dry mixed with B 4 C powder. The mixed powder is formed into a green body by isostatic pressure and the green body is sintered. The sintered body is processed to form the neutron-absorber body. In this case the B 4 C particles are separate from the spheres resulting from the spray drying instead of being embedded in the sphere

Combinatorial development of Cu2SnS3 as an earth abundant photovoltaic absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Baranowski, Lauryn L.

The development of high efficiency, earth abundant photovoltaic absorbers is critical if photovoltaics are to be implemented on the TW scale. Although traditional thin films absorbers such as Cu(In,Ga)Se2 and CdTe have achieved over 20% device efficiencies, the ultimately scalability of these devices may be limited by elemental scarcity and toxicity issues. To date, the most successful earth abundant thin film absorber is Cu2ZnSn(S,Se) 4, which has achieved 12.6% efficiency as of 2014. However, chemical complexity and disorder issues with this material have made the path to higher efficiency CZTSSe devices unclear. As a result, many researchers are now exploring alternative earth abundant absorber materials. In this thesis, we apply our "rapid development" methodology to the exploration of alternative photovoltaic absorbers. The rapid development (RD) methodology, consisting of exploration, research, and development stages, uses complementary theory and experiment to assess candidate materials and down-select in each stage. The overall result is that, in the time span of ~2-3 years, we are able to rapidly go from tens of possible absorber materials to 1-2 working PV device prototypes. Here, we demonstrate the RD approach as applied to the Cu-Sn-S system. We begin our investigation of the Cu-Sn-S system by evaluating the thermodynamic stability, electrical transport, electronic structure, and optical and defect properties of candidate materials using complementary theory and experiment. We find that Cu2SnS3 is the most promising absorber candidate because of its strong optical absorption, tunable doping, and wide stability range. Our other candidate compounds suffer from serious flaws that preclude them from being successful photovoltaic absorbers, including too high experimental conductivity (Cu4SnS4), or poor hole transport and low absorption coefficient (Cu4Sn7S16). Next, we investigate the doping and defect physics of Cu2SnS 3. We identify the origins of the

Shock absorber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Housman, J.J.

1978-01-01

A shock absorber is described for use in a hostile environment at the end of a blind passage for absorbing impact loads. The shock absorber includes at least one element which occupies the passage and which is comprised of a porous brittle material which is substantially non-degradable in the hostile environment. A void volume is provided in the element to enable the element to absorb a predetermined level of energy upon being crushed due to impact loading

Design and Implementation of a High-Voltage Generator with Output Voltage Control for Vehicle ER Shock-Absorber Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-Lung Shen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A self-oscillating high-voltage generator is proposed to supply voltage for a suspension system in order to control the damping force of an electrorheological (ER fluid shock absorber. By controlling the output voltage level of the generator, the damping force in the ER fluid shock absorber can be adjusted immediately. The shock absorber is part of the suspension system. The high-voltage generator drives a power transistor based on self-excited oscillation, which converts dc to ac. A high-frequency transformer with high turns ratio is used to increase the voltage. In addition, the system uses the car battery as dc power supply. By regulating the duty cycle of the main switch in the buck converter, the output voltage of the buck converter can be linearly adjusted so as to obtain a specific high voltage for ER. The driving system is self-excited; that is, no additional external driving circuit is required. Thus, it reduces cost and simplifies system structure. A prototype version of the actual product is studied to measure and evaluate the key waveforms. The feasibility of the proposed system is verified based on experimental results.

The estimation of the control rods absorber burn-up during the VVER-1000 operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolshagin, Sergey N.; Gorodkov, Sergey S.; Sukhino-Khomenko, Evgeniya A. [National Research Centre ' Kurchatov Institute' , Moscow (Russian Federation)

2013-09-15

The isotopic composition of the control rods absorber changes under the neutron flux influence, so the control rods efficiency can decrease. In the VVER-1000 control rods boron carbide and dysprosium titanate are used as absorbing materials. In boric part the efficiency decreases due to the {sup 10}B isotope burn-up. Dysprosium isotopes turn into other absorbing isotopes, so the absorbing properties of dysprosium part decrease to a lesser degree. Also the control rod's shells may be deformed as a consequence of boron carbide radiation swelling. This fact should be considered in substantiation of control rods durability. For the estimation of the control rods absorber burn-up two models are developed: VVER-1000 3-D fuel assembly with control rods partially immersed (imitation of the control rods operation in the working group) and VVER-1000 3-D fuel assembly with control rods, located at the upper limit switch (imitation of the control rods operation in groups of the emergency shutdown system). (orig.)

High Strength Concrete Columns under Axial Compression Load: Hybrid Confinement Efficiency of High Strength Transverse Reinforcement and Steel Fibers

Science.gov (United States)

Perceka, Wisena; Liao, Wen-Cheng; Wang, Yo-de

2016-01-01

Addition of steel fibers to high strength concrete (HSC) improves its post-peak behavior and energy absorbing capability, which can be described well in term of toughness. This paper attempts to obtain both analytically and experimentally the efficiency of steel fibers in HSC columns with hybrid confinement of transverse reinforcement and steel fibers. Toughness ratio (TR) to quantify the confinement efficiency of HSC columns with hybrid confinement is proposed through a regression analysis by involving sixty-nine TRs of HSC without steel fibers and twenty-seven TRs of HSC with hybrid of transverse reinforcement and steel fibers. The proposed TR equation was further verified by compression tests of seventeen HSC columns conducted in this study, where twelve specimens were reinforced by high strength rebars in longitudinal and transverse directions. The results show that the efficiency of steel fibers in concrete depends on transverse reinforcement spacing, where the steel fibers are more effective if the spacing transverse reinforcement becomes larger in the range of 0.25–1 effective depth of the section column. Furthermore, the axial load–strain curves were developed by employing finite element software (OpenSees) for simulating the response of the structural system. Comparisons between numerical and experimental axial load–strain curves were carried out. PMID:28773391

Dielectric-based subwavelength metallic meanders for wide-angle band absorbers.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Su; Qiao, Wen; Ye, Yan; Zhou, Yun; Chen, Linsen

2015-01-26

We propose nano-meanders that can achieve wide-angle band absorption in visible regime. The nano-meander consists of a subwavelength dielectric grating covered by continuous ultra-thin Aluminum film (less than one tenth of the incident wavelength). The excited photonic resonant modes, such as cavity mode, surface plasmonic mode and Rayleigh-Wood anomaly, are discussed in detail. Nearly total resonant absorption due to funneling mechanism in the air nano-groove is almost invariant with large incident angle in transverse magnetic polarization. From both the structural geometry and the nanofabrication point of view, the light absorber has a very simple geometrical structure and it is easy to be integrated into complex photonic devices. The highly efficient angle-robust light absorber can be potential candidate for a range of passive and active photonic applications, including solar-energy harvesting as well as producing artificial colors on a large scale substrate.

High-efficiency SO{sub 2} removal in utility FGD systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phillips, J.L.; Gray, S.; Dekraker, D. [Radian Corporation, Austin, TX (United States)] [and others

1995-11-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have contracted with Radian Corporation to conduct full-scale testing, process modeling, and economic evaluations of six existing utility flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems. The project objective is to evaluate low capital cost upgrades for achieving up to 98% sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) removal efficiency in a variety of FGD system types. The systems include dual-loop, packed absorbers at Tampa Electric Company`s Big Bend Station; cocurrent, packed absorbers at Hoosier Energy`s Merom Station; dual-loop absorbers with perforated-plate trays at Southwestern Electric Power Company`s Pirkey Station; horizontal spray absorbers at PSI Energy`s Gibson Station; venturi scrubbers at Duquesne Light`s Elrama Station; and open stray absorbers at New york State Electric and Gas Corporations`s (NYSEG`s) Kintigh Station. All operate in an inhibited-oxidation mode except the system at Big Bend (forced oxidation), and all use limestone reagent except the Elrama system (Mg-lime). The program was conducted to demonstrate that upgrades such as performance additives and/or mechanical modifications can increase system SO{sub 2} removal at low cost. The cost effectiveness of each upgrade has been evaluated on the basis of test results and/or process model predictions for upgraded performance and utility-specific operating and maintenance costs. Results from this upgraded performance and utility-specific operating and maintenance costs. Results from this program may lead some utilities to use SO{sub 2} removal upgrades as an approach for compliance with phase 2 of Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990. This paper summarizes the results of testing, modeling, and economic evaluations that have been completed since July, 1994.

Shock absorbing structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kojima, Naoki; Matsushita, Kazuo.

1992-01-01

Small pieces of shock absorbers are filled in a space of a shock absorbing vessel which is divided into a plurality of sections by partitioning members. These sections function to prevent excess deformation or replacement of the fillers upon occurrence of falling accident. Since the shock absorbing small pieces in the shock absorbing vessel are filled irregularly, shock absorbing characteristics such as compression strength is not varied depending on the direction, but they exhibit excellent shock absorbing performance. They surely absorb shocks exerted on a transportation vessel upon falling or the like. If existing artificial fillers such as pole rings made of metal or ceramic and cut pieces such as alumium extrusion molding products are used as the shock absorbing pieces, they have excellent fire-proofness and cold resistance since the small pieces are inflammable and do not contain water. (T.M.)

A figure of merit for selective absorbers in flat plate solar water heaters

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Roberts, DE

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We derive from first principles an analytical expression for a figure of merit (FM) for a selective solar absorber in a single glazed flat plate water heater. We first show that the efficiency of a collector with an absorber with absorptance α...

Neutron Absorbing Ability Variation in Neutron Absorbing Material Caused by the Neutron Irradiation in Spent Fuel Storage Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sohn, Hee Dong; Han, Seul Gi; Lee, Sang Dong; Kim, Ki Hong; Ryu, Eag Hyang; Park, Hwa Gyu [Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, Changwon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

In spent fuel storage facility like high density spent fuel storage racks and dry storage casks, spent fuels are stored with neutron absorbing materials installed as a part of those facilities, and they are used for absorbing neutrons emitted from spent fuels. Usually structural material with neutron absorbing material of racks and casks are located around spent fuels, so it is irradiated by neutrons for long time. Neutron absorbing ability could be changed by the variation of nuclide composition in neutron absorbing material caused by the irradiation of neutrons. So, neutron absorbing materials are continuously faced with spent fuels with boric acid solution or inert gas environment. Major nuclides in neutron absorbing material are Al{sup 27}, C{sup 12}, B{sup 11}, B{sup 10} and they are changed to numerous other ones as radioactive decay or neutron absorption reaction. The B{sup 10} content in neutron absorbing material dominates the neutron absorbing ability, so, the variation of nuclide composition including the decrease of B{sup 10} content is the critical factor on neutron absorbing ability. In this study, neutron flux in spent fuel, the activation of neutron absorbing material and the variation of nuclide composition are calculated. And, the minimum neutron flux causing the decrease of B{sup 10} content is calculated in spent fuel storage facility. Finally, the variation of neutron multiplication factor is identified according to the one of B{sup 10} content in neutron absorbing material. The minimum neutron flux to impact the neutron absorbing ability is 10{sup 10} order, however, usual neutron flux from spent fuel is 10{sup 8} order. Therefore, even though neutron absorbing material is irradiated for over 40 years, B{sup 10} content is little decreased, so, initial neutron absorbing ability could be kept continuously.

High-flux solar concentration with imaging designs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feuermann, D. [Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel). Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research; Gordon, J.M. [Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel). Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering; Ries, H. [Ries and Partners, Munich (Germany)

1999-02-01

Most large solar concentrators designed for high flux concentration at high collection efficiency are based on imaging primary mirrors and nonimaging secondary concentrators. In this paper, we offer an alternative purely imaging two-stage solar concentrator that can attain high flux concentration at high collection efficiency. Possible practical virtues include: (1) an inherent large gap between absorber and secondary mirror; (2) a restricted angular range on the absorber; and (3) an upward-facing receiver where collected energy can be extracted via the (shaded) apex of the parabola. We use efficiency-concentration plots to characterize the solar concentrators considered, and to evaluate the potential improvements with secondary concentrators. (author)

Effectiveness of KNIFC-PAN Resin in Absorbing Radiocesium in Seawater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nurrul Assyikeen Mohd Jaffary; Abdul Kadir Ishak; Zal Uyun Wan Mahmood; Wo, Y.M.; Norfaizal Mohamed; Mohd Tarmizi Ishak

2016-01-01

The effectiveness of KNiFC-PAN absorber, potassium-nickel hexacyanoferrate (II) (KNiFC) bound into modified polyacrylonitrile (PAN) have been tested for capability in absorbing radiocesium in seawater samples. The efficiency of the KNiFC-PAN were measured by the different activity of the radiocesium measured using Hyper Pure Germanium Detector (HPGe) in initial spiked seawater and eluent seawater after passed through 5 ml of KNiFC absorber. Study showed 87 % effectiveness of the KNiFC-PAN in absorbing radiocesium. Further study conducted to illustrate relation between spiked seawater and activity measured for 5 ml of KniFC passed through spiked seawater in packed column. This study suggested this relative 15L cubitainer method can be used to monitor the radiocesium in emergency situation for the fast and reliable result. (author)

EFFICIENCY OF THE CAPACITY-TYPE SOLAR WATER HEATER WITH THE FLEXIBLE POLYMER ABSORBER.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ermuratschii V.V.

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Energetic indexes of solar capacity-type water heaters with flexible polymer absorbers and different constructions of enclosures using the refined method of calculus were obtained.

Compact high order schemes with gradient-direction derivatives for absorbing boundary conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Dan; Gordon, Rachel; Turkel, Eli

2015-09-01

We consider several compact high order absorbing boundary conditions (ABCs) for the Helmholtz equation in three dimensions. A technique called "the gradient method" (GM) for ABCs is also introduced and combined with the high order ABCs. GM is based on the principle of using directional derivatives in the direction of the wavefront propagation. The new ABCs are used together with the recently introduced compact sixth order finite difference scheme for variable wave numbers. Experiments on problems with known analytic solutions produced very accurate results, demonstrating the efficacy of the high order schemes, particularly when combined with GM. The new ABCs are then applied to the SEG/EAGE Salt model, showing the advantages of the new schemes.

Electronic bandstructure of the ZnTe absorber material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fritsch, Daniel [Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research IFW Dresden (Germany); Schmidt, Heidemarie [Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany)

2009-07-01

Due to its large absorption coefficient, zinc telluride proved to be useful for the production of high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells. Nowadays ZnTe with a mixture of zincblende and wurtzite phases is fabricated by thin film growth techniques. The optical properties of both phases have been extensively studied by ab initio density functional methods. Here we focus on the question whether the effective electron and hole mass in ZnTe are small enough to meet the high-efficiency expectation of the ZnTe absorber material in solar cells and present direction dependent effective mass and Luttinger and Luttinger-like parameters of cubic and wurtzite ZnTe, respectively. Making use of the transferability of ionic model potential parameters and the experimentally known transition energies of different II-VI compounds ZnX (X=O,S,Se,Te), we obtained one single set of cationic model parameters for the Zn atom. The calculations have been performed by means of the empirical pseudopotential method using a simple empty core model potential.

Performance analysis of solar air heater with jet impingement on corrugated absorber plate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alsanossi M. Aboghrara

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the experimental investigation outlet temperature and efficiency, of Solar Air heater (SAH. The experimental test set up designed and fabricated to study the effect of jet impingement on the corrugated absorber plate, through circular jets in a duct flow of solar air heater, and compared with conventional solar air heater on flat plat absorber. Under effect of mass flow rate (ṁ of air and solar radiation on outlet air temperature, and efficiency, are analyzed. Results show the flow jet impingement on corrugated plat absorber is a strong function of heat transfer enhancement. The present investigation concludes that the mass flow rate of air substantially influences the heat transfer on solar air heaters. And the thermal efficiency of proposed design duct is observed almost 14% more as compare to the smooth duct. At solar radiation 500–1000 (W/M2, 308 K ambient temperature and 0.01–0.03 (Kg/S mass flow rate

White LED with High Package Extraction Efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi Zheng; Stough, Matthew

2008-01-01

The goal of this project is to develop a high efficiency phosphor converting (white) Light Emitting Diode (pcLED) 1-Watt package through an increase in package extraction efficiency. A transparent/translucent monolithic phosphor is proposed to replace the powdered phosphor to reduce the scattering caused by phosphor particles. Additionally, a multi-layer thin film selectively reflecting filter is proposed between blue LED die and phosphor layer to recover inward yellow emission. At the end of the project we expect to recycle approximately 50% of the unrecovered backward light in current package construction, and develop a pcLED device with 80 lm/W e using our technology improvements and commercially available chip/package source. The success of the project will benefit luminous efficacy of white LEDs by increasing package extraction efficiency. In most phosphor-converting white LEDs, the white color is obtained by combining a blue LED die (or chip) with a powdered phosphor layer. The phosphor partially absorbs the blue light from the LED die and converts it into a broad green-yellow emission. The mixture of the transmitted blue light and green-yellow light emerging gives white light. There are two major drawbacks for current pcLEDs in terms of package extraction efficiency. The first is light scattering caused by phosphor particles. When the blue photons from the chip strike the phosphor particles, some blue light will be scattered by phosphor particles. Converted yellow emission photons are also scattered. A portion of scattered light is in the backward direction toward the die. The amount of this backward light varies and depends in part on the particle size of phosphors. The other drawback is that yellow emission from phosphor powders is isotropic. Although some backward light can be recovered by the reflector in current LED packages, there is still a portion of backward light that will be absorbed inside the package and further converted to heat. Heat generated

Burnable neutron absorbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radford, K.C.; Carlson, W.G.

1985-01-01

This patent deals with the fabrication of pellets for neutron absorber rods. Such a pellet includes a matrix of a refractory material which may be aluminum or zirconium oxide, and a burnable poison distributed throughout the matrix. The neutron absorber material may consist of one or more elements or compounds of the metals boron, gadolinium, samarium, cadmium, europium, hafnium, dysprosium and indium. The method of fabricating pellets of these materials outlined in this patent is designed to produce pores or voids in the pellets that can be used to take up the expansion of the burnable poison and to absorb the helium gas generated. In the practice of this invention a slurry of Al 2 O 3 is produced. A hard binder is added and the slurry and binder are spray dried. This powder is mixed with dry B 4 C powder, forming a homogeneous mixture. This mixture is pressed into green tubes which are then sintered. During sintering the binder volatilizes leaving a ceramic with nearly spherical high-density regions of

Preparation and characterization of water-absorbing composite ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The present work introduces a novel method for the formation of water absorbing composite membrane. The prepared composite is based on chitosan, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and Montmorillonite. Prepared composite membrane exhibits high water absorbing and holding capacity with increasing clay content.

Preparation and characterization of water-absorbing composite ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ABCO

2012-08-16

Aug 16, 2012 ... The present work introduces a novel method for the formation of water absorbing composite membrane. The prepared composite is based on chitosan, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and. Montmorillonite. Prepared composite membrane exhibits high water absorbing and holding capacity with increasing ...

Absorbing Property of Multi-layered Short Carbon Fiber Absorbing Coating

OpenAIRE

Liu, Zhaohui; Tao, Rui; Ban, Guodong; Luo, Ping

2018-01-01

The radar absorbing coating was prepared with short carbon fiber asabsorbent and waterborne polyurethane (WPU) as matrix resin. The coating’s absorbing property was tested with vectornetwork analyzer, using aramid honeycomb as air layer which was matched withcarbon fiber coating. The results demonstrate that the single-layered carbonfiber absorbing coating presented relatively poor absorbing property when thelayer was thin, and the performance was slightly improved after the matched airlayer ...

Excimer laser forward transfer of mammalian cells using a novel triazene absorbing layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doraiswamy, A.; Narayan, R.J.; Lippert, T.; Urech, L.; Wokaun, A.; Nagel, M.; Hopp, B.; Dinescu, M.; Modi, R.; Auyeung, R.C.Y.; Chrisey, D.B.

2006-01-01

We present a novel laser-based approach for developing tissue engineered constructs and other cell-based assembly's. We have deposited mesoscopic patterns of viable B35 neuroblasts using a soft direct approach of the matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation direct write (MAPLE DW) process. As a development of the conventional direct write process, an intermediate layer of absorbing triazene polymer is used to provide gentler and efficient transfers. Transferred cells were examined for viability and proliferation and compared with that of as-seeded cells to determine the efficacy of the process. Results suggest that successful transfers can be achieved at lower fluences than usual by the incorporation of the intermediate absorbing layer thus avoiding any damage to cells and other delicate materials. MAPLE DW offers rapid computer-controlled deposition of mesoscopic voxels at high spatial resolutions, with extreme versatility in depositing combinations of natural/synthetic, living/non-living, organic/inorganic and hard/soft materials. Our approach offers a gentle and efficient transfer of viable cells which when combined with a variety of matrix materials allows development of constructs and bioactive systems in bioengineering

Black phosphorus saturable absorber for a diode-pumped passively Q-switched Er:CaF2 mid-infrared laser

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chun; Liu, Jie; Guo, Zhinan; Zhang, Han; Ma, Weiwei; Wang, Jingya; Xu, Xiaodong; Su, Liangbi

2018-01-01

A multilayer black phosphorus, as a novel two dimensional saturable absorber, has superb saturable absorption properties for a Er:CaF2 solid-state pulse laser. The pulse laser is realized at mid-infrared region with the passively Q-switched technology by a diode-pumping. The high-quality black phosphorus saturable absorber is fabricated by liquid phase exfoliation method. The pulse laser generates the pulses operation with the pulse duration of 954.8 ns, the repetition rate of 41.93 kHz, the pulse energy of 4.25 μJ and the peak power of 4.45 W. Our work demonstrates that black phosphorus could be used as a kind of efficient mid-infrared region optical absorber for ultrafast photonics.

Development of low-cost technology for the next generation of high efficiency solar cells composed of earth abundant elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agrawal, Rakesh [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)

2014-09-28

The development of renewable, affordable, and environmentally conscious means of generating energy on a global scale represents a grand challenge of our time. Due to the “permanence” of radiation from the sun, solar energy promises to remain a viable and sustainable power source far into the future. Established single-junction photovoltaic technologies achieve high power conversion efficiencies (pce) near 20% but require complicated manufacturing processes that prohibit the marriage of large-scale throughput (e.g. on the GW scale), profitability, and quality control. Our approach to this problem begins with the synthesis of nanocrystals of semiconductor materials comprising earth abundant elements and characterized by material and optoelectronic properties ideal for photovoltaic applications, namely Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe). Once synthesized, such nanocrystals are formulated into an ink, coated onto substrates, and processed into completed solar cells in such a way that enables scale-up to high throughput, roll-to-roll manufacturing processes. This project aimed to address the major limitation to CZTSSe solar cell pce’s – the low open-circuit voltage (Voc) reported throughout literature for devices comprised of this material. Throughout the project significant advancements have been made in fundamental understanding of the CZTSSe material and device limitations associated with this material system. Additionally, notable improvements have been made to our nanocrystal based processing technique to alleviate performance limitations due to the identified device limitations. Notably, (1) significant improvements have been made in reducing intra- and inter-nanoparticle heterogeneity, (2) improvements in device performance have been realized with novel cation substitution in Ge-alloyed CZTGeSSe absorbers, (3) systematic analysis of absorber sintering has been conducted to optimize the selenization process for large grain CZTSSe absorbers, (4) novel electrical

Low Absorbance Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, T. D.; Williams, A. M.

1983-10-01

The application of low absorption measurements to dilute solute determination requires specific instrumental characteristics. The use of laser intracavity absorption and thermal lens calorimetry to measure concentration is shown. The specific operating parameters that determine sensitivity are delineated along with the limits different measurement strategies impose. Finally areas of improvement in components that would result in improve sensitivity, accuracy, and reliability are discussed. During the past decade, a large number of methods have been developed for measuring the light absorbed by transparent materials. These include measurements on gases, liquids, and solids. The activity has been prompted by a variety of applications and a similar variety of disciplines. In Table 1 some representative examples of these methods is shown along with their published detection limits.1 It is clear that extraordinarily small absorbances can be measured. Most of the methods can be conveniently divided into two groups. These groups are those that measure the transmission of the sample and those that measure the light absorbed by the sample. The light absorbed methods are calorimetric in character. The advantages and disadvantages of each method varies depending on the principal application for which they were developed. The most prevalent motivation has been to characterize the bulk optical properties of transparent materials. Two examples are the development of extremely transparent glasses for use as fiber optic materials and the development of substrates for high power laser operation.

Semiconductor saturable absorbers for ultrafast THz signals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmann, Matthias C.; Turchinovich, Dmitry

We demonstrate saturable absorber behavior of n-type semiconductors in the THz frequency range using nonlinear THz spectroscopy. Further, we observe THz pulse shortening and increase of the group refractive index at high field strengths.......We demonstrate saturable absorber behavior of n-type semiconductors in the THz frequency range using nonlinear THz spectroscopy. Further, we observe THz pulse shortening and increase of the group refractive index at high field strengths....

Simultaneous determination of some ultraviolet-absorbing chemicals in sunscreen cosmetics using a high-performance liquid chromatography method.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, T; Wu, D

2011-10-01

A method of gradient elution high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for simultaneous determination of 11 different ultraviolet-absorbing chemicals of phenylbenzlmldazole sulphonic acid, 4-aminobenzoic acid, benzophenone-4, benzophenone-3, isoamyl p-methoxycinnamate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor, octocrylene, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, homosalate, ethylhexyl salicylate, methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethylbutyl phenol was developed for the application to sunscreen cosmetic products. In this study, an Agilent SB-C18 analytical column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) was utilized and methanol, tetrahydrofuran and perchloric acid aqueous solution (0.2 mL HClO(4) + 300 mL H(2)O) were used for gradient elution at a total flow rate of 1.0 mL min(-1). The optimum conditions for 11 different ultraviolet-absorbing chemicals analyses were investigated. All calibration curves showed good linear regression with UV detection (311 nm) within test ranges. The correlation coefficients were better than 0.999 in all cases. The assay was simple, selective, convenient and reproducible and is suitable for the determination of ultraviolet-absorbing chemicals in commercial sunscreen cosmetic products. The use frequency of 11 different ultraviolet absorbents in 100 sunscreen cosmetics was investigated and statistically analysed. The ultraviolet absorbent of maximum use frequency was ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate. © 2011 The Authors. ICS © 2011 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Société Française de Cosmétologie.

Nitrile-functionalized tertiary amines as highly efficient and reversible SO2 absorbents.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Sung Yun; Kim, Heehwan; Kim, Young Jin; Jeong, Junkyo; Cheong, Minserk; Lee, Hyunjoo; Kim, Hoon Sik; Lee, Je Seung

2014-01-15

Three different types of nitrile-functionalized amines, including 3-(N,N-diethylamino)propionitrile (DEAPN), 3-(N,N-dibutylamino)propionitrile (DBAPN), and N-methyl-N,N-dipropionitrile amine (MADPN) were synthesized, and their SO2 absorption performances were evaluated and compared with those of hydroxy-functionalized amines such as N,N-diethyl-N-ethanol amine (DEEA), N,N-dibutyl-N-ethanol amine (DBEA), and N-methyl-N,N-diethanol amine (MDEA). Absorption-desorption cycle experiments clearly demonstrate that the nitrile-functionalized amines are more efficient than the hydroxy-functionalized amines in terms of absorption rate and regenerability. Computational calculations with DBEA and DBAPN revealed that DBEA bearing a hydroxyethyl group chemically interacts with SO2 through oxygen atom, forming an ionic compound with a covalently bound OSO2(-) group. On the contrary, DBAPN bearing a nitrile group physically interacts with SO2 through the nitrogen and the hydrogen atoms of the two methylene groups adjacent to the amino and nitrile functionalities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reducing the efficiency–stability–cost gap of organic photovoltaics with highly efficient and stable small molecule acceptor ternary solar cells

KAUST Repository

Baran, Derya

2016-11-21

Technological deployment of organic photovoltaic modules requires improvements in device light-conversion efficiency and stability while keeping material costs low. Here we demonstrate highly efficient and stable solar cells using a ternary approach, wherein two non-fullerene acceptors are combined with both a scalable and affordable donor polymer, poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), and a high-efficiency, low-bandgap polymer in a single-layer bulk-heterojunction device. The addition of a strongly absorbing small molecule acceptor into a P3HT-based non-fullerene blend increases the device efficiency up to 7.7 ± 0.1% without any solvent additives. The improvement is assigned to changes in microstructure that reduce charge recombination and increase the photovoltage, and to improved light harvesting across the visible region. The stability of P3HT-based devices in ambient conditions is also significantly improved relative to polymer:fullerene devices. Combined with a low-bandgap donor polymer (PBDTTT-EFT, also known as PCE10), the two mixed acceptors also lead to solar cells with 11.0 ± 0.4% efficiency and a high open-circuit voltage of 1.03 ± 0.01 V.

Reducing the efficiency–stability–cost gap of organic photovoltaics with highly efficient and stable small molecule acceptor ternary solar cells

KAUST Repository

Baran, Derya; Ashraf, Raja; Hanifi, David A.; Abdelsamie, Maged; Gasparini, Nicola; Rö hr, Jason A.; Holliday, Sarah; Wadsworth, Andrew; Lockett, Sarah; Neophytou, Marios; Emmott, Christopher J. M.; Nelson, Jenny; Brabec, Christoph J.; Amassian, Aram; Salleo, Alberto; Kirchartz, Thomas; Durrant, James R.; McCulloch, Iain

2016-01-01

Technological deployment of organic photovoltaic modules requires improvements in device light-conversion efficiency and stability while keeping material costs low. Here we demonstrate highly efficient and stable solar cells using a ternary approach, wherein two non-fullerene acceptors are combined with both a scalable and affordable donor polymer, poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), and a high-efficiency, low-bandgap polymer in a single-layer bulk-heterojunction device. The addition of a strongly absorbing small molecule acceptor into a P3HT-based non-fullerene blend increases the device efficiency up to 7.7 ± 0.1% without any solvent additives. The improvement is assigned to changes in microstructure that reduce charge recombination and increase the photovoltage, and to improved light harvesting across the visible region. The stability of P3HT-based devices in ambient conditions is also significantly improved relative to polymer:fullerene devices. Combined with a low-bandgap donor polymer (PBDTTT-EFT, also known as PCE10), the two mixed acceptors also lead to solar cells with 11.0 ± 0.4% efficiency and a high open-circuit voltage of 1.03 ± 0.01 V.

Improving Efficiency of Evaporated Cu2ZnSnS4 Thin Film Solar Cells by a Thin Ag Intermediate Layer between Absorber and Back Contact

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongtao Cui

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A 20 nm Ag coating on Mo back contact was adopted to improve the back contact of evaporated Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS solar cells. The Ag layer helped reduce the thickness of MoS2 which improves fill factor (FF significantly; additionally, it reduced secondary phases ZnS and SnS2−x, which may help carrier transport; it was also involved in the doping of the absorber layer, which compensated the intrinsic p-type doping and therefore drags down the doping level. The doping involvement may enlarge the depletion region and improve lifetime of the absorber, which led to enhancing open circuit voltage (VOC, short circuit current density (JSC, and efficiency significantly. However, it degrades the crystallinity of the material slightly.

Method of absorbing UF6 from gaseous mixtures in alkamine absorbents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lafferty, R.H.; Smiley, S.H.; Radimer, K.J.

1976-01-01

A method is described for recovering UF 6 from gaseous mixtures by absorption in a liquid. The liquid absorbent must have a relatively low viscosity and at least one component of the absorbent is an alkamine having less than 3 carbon atoms bonded to the amino nitrogen, less than 2 of the carbon atoms other than those bonded to the amino nitrogen are free of the hydroxy radical and precipitate the absorbed uranium from the absorbent. At least one component of the absorbent is chosen from the group consisting of ethanolamine, diethanolamine, and 3-methyl-3-amino-propane-diol-1,2

Overview of Ecological Agriculture with High Efficiency

OpenAIRE

Huang, Guo-qin; Zhao, Qi-guo; Gong, Shao-lin; Shi, Qing-hua

2012-01-01

From the presentation, connotation, characteristics, principles, pattern, and technologies of ecological agriculture with high efficiency, we conduct comprehensive and systematic analysis and discussion of the theoretical and practical progress of ecological agriculture with high efficiency. (i) Ecological agriculture with high efficiency was first advanced in China in 1991. (ii) Ecological agriculture with high efficiency highlights "high efficiency", "ecology", and "combination". (iii) Ecol...

Frequency domain finite-element and spectral-element acoustic wave modeling using absorbing boundaries and perfectly matched layer

Science.gov (United States)

Rahimi Dalkhani, Amin; Javaherian, Abdolrahim; Mahdavi Basir, Hadi

2018-04-01

Wave propagation modeling as a vital tool in seismology can be done via several different numerical methods among them are finite-difference, finite-element, and spectral-element methods (FDM, FEM and SEM). Some advanced applications in seismic exploration benefit the frequency domain modeling. Regarding flexibility in complex geological models and dealing with the free surface boundary condition, we studied the frequency domain acoustic wave equation using FEM and SEM. The results demonstrated that the frequency domain FEM and SEM have a good accuracy and numerical efficiency with the second order interpolation polynomials. Furthermore, we developed the second order Clayton and Engquist absorbing boundary condition (CE-ABC2) and compared it with the perfectly matched layer (PML) for the frequency domain FEM and SEM. In spite of PML method, CE-ABC2 does not add any additional computational cost to the modeling except assembling boundary matrices. As a result, considering CE-ABC2 is more efficient than PML for the frequency domain acoustic wave propagation modeling especially when computational cost is high and high-level absorbing performance is unnecessary.

Semiconductor saturable absorbers for ultrafast terahertz signals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmann, Matthias C.; Turchinovich, Dmitry

2010-01-01

states, due to conduction band onparabolicity and scattering into satellite valleys in strong THz fields. Saturable absorber parameters, such as linear and nonsaturable transmission, and saturation fluence, are extracted by fits to a classic saturable absorber model. Further, we observe THz pulse......We demonstrate saturable absorber behavior of n-type semiconductors GaAs, GaP, and Ge in the terahertz THz frequency range at room temperature using nonlinear THz spectroscopy. The saturation mechanism is based on a decrease in electron conductivity of semiconductors at high electron momentum...

Parametric study of two-body floating-point wave absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Amiri, Atena; Panahi, Roozbeh; Radfar, Soheil

2016-03-01

In this paper, we present a comprehensive numerical simulation of a point wave absorber in deep water. Analyses are performed in both the frequency and time domains. The converter is a two-body floating-point absorber (FPA) with one degree of freedom in the heave direction. Its two parts are connected by a linear mass-spring-damper system. The commercial ANSYS-AQWA software used in this study performs well in considering validations. The velocity potential is obtained by assuming incompressible and irrotational flow. As such, we investigated the effects of wave characteristics on energy conversion and device efficiency, including wave height and wave period, as well as the device diameter, draft, geometry, and damping coefficient. To validate the model, we compared our numerical results with those from similar experiments. Our study results can clearly help to maximize the converter's efficiency when considering specific conditions.

Design of broadband absorber using 2-D materials for thermo-photovoltaic cell application

Science.gov (United States)

Agarwal, Sajal; Prajapati, Y. K.

2018-04-01

Present study is done to analyze a nano absorber for thermo-photovoltaic cell application. Optical absorbance of two-dimensional materials is exploited to achieve high absorbance. It is found that few alternating layers of graphene/transition metal dichalcogenide provide high absorbance of electromagnetic wave in visible as well as near infrared region. Four transition metal dichalcogenides are considered and found that most of these provide perfect absorbance for almost full considered wavelength range i.e. 200-1000 nm. Demonstrated results confirm the extended operating region and improved absorbance of the proposed absorber in comparison to the existing absorbers made of different materials. Further, absorber performance is improved by using thin layers of gold and chromium. Simple geometry of the proposed absorber also ensures easy fabrication.

Efficient ASE management in disk laser amplifiers with variable absorbing clads

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Slezák, Ondřej; Lucianetti, Antonio; Mocek, Tomáš

2014-01-01

Roč. 50, č. 12 (2014), s. 1052-1060 ISSN 0018-9197 R&D Projects: GA MŠk ED2.1.00/01.0027; GA MŠk EE2.3.20.0143 Grant - others:HILASE(XE) CZ.1.05/2.1.00/01.0027; OP VK 6(XE) CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0143 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : amplifiers * laser * absorbing * Yb:YAG * multi slab Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.887, year: 2014

Wild Band Edges: The Role of Bandgap Grading and Band-Edge Fluctuations in High-Efficiency Chalcogenide Devices: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Repins, Ingrid; Mansfield, Lorelle; Kanevce, Ana; Jensen, Soren A.; Kuciauskas, Darius; Glynn, Stephen; Barnes, Teresa; Metzger, Wyatt; Burst, James; Jiang, Chun-Sheng; Dippo, Patricia; Harvey, Steve; Teeter, Glenn; Perkins, Craig; Egaas, Brian; Zakutayev, Andriy; Alsmeier, J.-H.; Lussky, T.; Korte, L.; Wilks, R. G.; Bar, M.; Yan, Y.; Lany, Stephan; Zawadzki, Pawel; Park, Ji-Sang; Wei, Suhuai

2016-06-16

Band-edge effects -- including grading, electrostatic fluctuations, bandgap fluctuations, and band tails -- affect chalcogenide device efficiency. These effects now require more careful consideration as efficiencies increase beyond 20%. Several aspects of the relationships between band-edge phenomena and device performance for NREL absorbers are examined. For Cu(In,Ga)Se2 devices, recent increases in diffusion length imply changes to optimum bandgap profile. The origin, impact, and modification of electrostatic and bandgap fluctuations are also discussed. The application of the same principles to devices based on CdTe, kesterites, and emerging absorbers (Cu2SnS3, CuSbS2), considering differences in materials properties and defect formation energies, is examined.

Preparation of highly absorbing polymeric hydrogels by radiation processing: mechanical and physical properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dragusin, M.

1994-01-01

Some highly absorbing polymeric hydrogels such as acrylic polymers were produced by radiation processing with gamma sources Co-60 of 10,000 Ci, 3 kGy/h and an electron beam accelerator of 3 - 6 MeV, 0.3 - 3 kGy/s. For practical purposes, such as different applications in agriculture, etc, we studied the physical properties of residual monomers by refractometric and polarographic methods and the mechanical properties (gel strength) with devices made in our laboratory. (Author)

Final Report: Rational Design of Wide Band Gap Buffer Layers for High-Efficiency Thin-Film Photovoltaics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lordi, Vincenzo [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2016-09-30

The main objective of this project is to enable rational design of wide band gap buffer layer materials for CIGS thin-film PV by building understanding of the correlation of atomic-scale defects in the buffer layer and at the buffer/absorber interface with device electrical properties. Optimized wide band gap buffers are needed to reduce efficiency loss from parasitic absorption in the buffer. The approach uses first-principles materials simulations coupled with nanoscale analytical electron microscopy as well as device electrical characterization. Materials and devices are produced by an industrial partner in a manufacturing line to maximize relevance, with the goal of enabling R&D of new buffer layer compositions or deposition processes to push device efficiencies above 21%. Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is the reference material for analysis, as the prototypical high-performing buffer material.

Ni-Al Alloys as Alternative EUV Mask Absorber

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vu Luong

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Extreme ultraviolet (EUV lithography is being industrialized as the next candidate printing technique for high-volume manufacturing of scaled down integrated circuits. At mask level, the combination of EUV light at oblique incidence, absorber thickness, and non-uniform mirror reflectance through incidence angle, creates photomask-induced imaging aberrations, known as mask 3D (M3D effects. A possible mitigation for the M3D effects in the EUV binary intensity mask (BIM, is to use mask absorber materials with high extinction coefficient κ and refractive coefficient n close to unity. We propose nickel aluminide alloys as a candidate BIM absorber material, and characterize them versus a set of specifications that a novel EUV mask absorber must meet. The nickel aluminide samples have reduced crystallinity as compared to metallic nickel, and form a passivating surface oxide layer in neutral solutions. Composition and density profile are investigated to estimate the optical constants, which are then validated with EUV reflectometry. An oxidation-induced Al L2 absorption edge shift is observed, which significantly impacts the value of n at 13.5 nm wavelength and moves it closer to unity. The measured optical constants are incorporated in an accurate mask model for rigorous simulations. The M3D imaging impact of the nickel aluminide alloy mask absorbers, which predict significant M3D reduction in comparison to reference absorber materials. In this paper, we present an extensive experimental methodology flow to evaluate candidate mask absorber materials.

Application of polystyrene - water calorimeter in determination of absorbed dose. Vol. 4.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soliman, F A [Nuclear Materials Authority, Maadi, Cairo (Egypt); Ashry, H A; El-Behay, A Z; Abdou, S [National Center, for Radiation Research and Technology, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

1996-03-01

The polystyrene-water calorimeter was investigated as a modification of the water calorimeter, where the polystyrene has a low specific heat and negligible known heat defect. This calorimeter was designed, constructed and calibrated for measurement of radiation absorbed dose. The system utilizes a thermistor to detect the radiation-induced temperature rise in the polystyrene absorber at certain point from the radiation source. A temperature stability of as low as 0.0018 degree C/min in a 42.0 degree C environment, and a gamma-radiation sensitivity of as high as 1.9720 ohm/Gy were obtained. Comparisons of the results obtained by using the polystyrene-water calorimeter with those obtained by applying other types of calorimeters i.e., water and graphite calorimeters were also done to aid in the possible realization of an accurate and efficient instrument for use under widely different irradiation conditions. 4 figs., 1 tab.

Full solar spectrum light driven thermocatalysis with extremely high efficiency on nanostructured Ce ion substituted OMS-2 catalyst for VOCs purification

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Jingtao; Li, Yuanzhi; Mao, Mingyang; Yue, Yuanzheng; Greaves, G. Neville; Zhao, Xiujian

2015-01-01

The nanostructured Ce ion substituted cryptomelane-type octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2) catalyst exhibits strong absorption in the entire solar spectrum region. The Ce ion substituted OMS-2 catalyst can efficiently transform the absorbed solar energy to thermal energy, resulting in a considerable increase of temperature. By combining the efficient photothermal conversion and thermocatalytic activity of the Ce ion substituted OMS-2 catalyst, we carried out full solar spectrum, visible-infrared, and infrared light driven catalysis with extremely high efficiency. Under the irradiation of full solar spectrum, visible-infrared, and infrared light, the Ce ion substituted OMS-2 catalyst exhibits extremely high catalytic activity and excellent durability for the oxidation of volatile organic pollutants such as benzene, toluene, and acetone. Based on the experimental evidence, we propose a novel mechanism of solar light driven thermocatalysis for the Ce ion substituted OMS-2 catalyst. The reason why the Ce ion substituted OMS-2 catalyst exhibits much higher catalytic activity than pure OMS-2 and CeO2/OMS-2 nano composite under the full solar spectrum irradiation is discussed.The nanostructured Ce ion substituted cryptomelane-type octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2) catalyst exhibits strong absorption in the entire solar spectrum region. The Ce ion substituted OMS-2 catalyst can efficiently transform the absorbed solar energy to thermal energy, resulting in a considerable increase of temperature. By combining the efficient photothermal conversion and thermocatalytic activity of the Ce ion substituted OMS-2 catalyst, we carried out full solar spectrum, visible-infrared, and infrared light driven catalysis with extremely high efficiency. Under the irradiation of full solar spectrum, visible-infrared, and infrared light, the Ce ion substituted OMS-2 catalyst exhibits extremely high catalytic activity and excellent durability for the oxidation of volatile organic pollutants

An FFT-accelerated fdtd scheme with exact absorbing conditions for characterizing axially symmetric resonant structures

KAUST Repository

Sirenko, Kostyantyn

2011-01-01

An accurate and efficient finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method for characterizing transient waves interactions on axially symmetric structures is presented. The method achieves its accuracy and efficiency by employing localized and/or fast Fourier transform (FFT) accelerated exact absorbing conditions (EACs). The paper details the derivation of the EACs, discusses their implementation and discretization in an FDTD method, and proposes utilization of a blocked-FFT based algorithm for accelerating the computation of temporal convolutions present in nonlocal EACs. The proposed method allows transient analyses to be carried for long time intervals without any loss of accuracy and provides reliable numerical data pertinent to physical processes under resonant conditions. This renders the method highly useful in characterization of high-Q microwave radiators and energy compressors. Numerical results that demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the method are presented.

Absorbed-dose beam quality conversion factors for cylindrical chambers in high energy photon beams.

Science.gov (United States)

Seuntjens, J P; Ross, C K; Shortt, K R; Rogers, D W

2000-12-01

Recent working groups of the AAPM [Almond et al., Med. Phys. 26, 1847 (1999)] and the IAEA (Andreo et al., Draft V.7 of "An International Code of Practice for Dosimetry based on Standards of Absorbed Dose to Water," IAEA, 2000) have described guidelines to base reference dosimetry of high energy photon beams on absorbed dose to water standards. In these protocols use is made of the absorbed-dose beam quality conversion factor, kQ which scales an absorbed-dose calibration factor at the reference quality 60Co to a quality Q, and which is calculated based on state-of-the-art ion chamber theory and data. In this paper we present the measurement and analysis of beam quality conversion factors kQ for cylindrical chambers in high-energy photon beams. At least three chambers of six different types were calibrated against the Canadian primary standard for absorbed dose based on a sealed water calorimeter at 60Co [TPR10(20)=0.572, %dd(10)x=58.4], 10 MV [TPR10(20)=0.682, %dd(10)x=69.6), 20 MV (TPR10(20)=0.758, %dd(10)x= 80.5] and 30 MV [TPR10(20) = 0.794, %dd(10)x= 88.4]. The uncertainty on the calorimetric determination of kQ for a single chamber is typically 0.36% and the overall 1sigma uncertainty on a set of chambers of the same type is typically 0.45%. The maximum deviation between a measured kQ and the TG-51 protocol value is 0.8%. The overall rms deviation between measurement and the TG-51 values, based on 20 chambers at the three energies, is 0.41%. When the effect of a 1 mm PMMA waterproofing sleeve is taken into account in the calculations, the maximum deviation is 1.1% and the overall rms deviation between measurement and calculation 0.48%. When the beam is specified using TPR10(20), and measurements are compared with kQ values calculated using the version of TG-21 with corrected formalism and data, differences are up to 1.6% when no sleeve corrections are taken into account. For the NE2571 and the NE2611A chamber types, for which the most literature data are

Modelling the performance parameters of a horizontal falling film absorber with aqueous (lithium, potassium, sodium) nitrate solution using artificial neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Álvarez, María E.; Hernández, José A.; Bourouis, Mahmoud

2016-01-01

An ANN (artificial neural network) model was developed to determine the efficiency parameters of a horizontal falling film absorber at operating conditions of interest for absorption cooling systems. The aqueous nitrate solution LiNO_3 + KNO_3 + NaNO_3 with salt mass percentages of 53%, 28% and 19%, respectively, was used as a working fluid. The authors created the ANN from the database they had compiled with the results of experiments that they had performed in a set-up designed and built for this purpose. The ANN structure consisted of 6 input variables: inlet solution and cooling water temperatures, cooling water and solution mass flow rates, absorber pressure and inlet solution concentration; 4 output variables which facilitated the assessment of the performance of the absorber: heat and mass transfer coefficients, absorption mass flux and the degree of subcooling of the solution leaving the absorber. The hidden layer contained 9 neurons which were determined by training and test procedures. The results showed that the deviation between the experimental data and the estimated values was well adjusted. This indicated that the ANN model was an effective tool for predicting the efficiency parameters of the absorber. The solution flow rate was also observed to be the most significant operating variable which affected the performance of the absorber. - Highlights: • An ANN was developed to predict the efficiency parameters of a falling film absorber. • The ANN was created using a database corresponding to a triple-effect absorption chiller. • The ANN predicts the efficiency parameters of falling film absorbers with r"2 > 0.95. • The solution flow rate is the variable that most affects the performance of the absorber.

Optimizing analysis of W-AlN cermet solar absorbing coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Qichu

2001-01-01

The layer thickness and tungsten metal volume fraction of W-AlN cermet solar selective absorbing coatings on a W, Cu or Al infrared reflector with a surface aluminium oxynitride (AlON) or Al 2 O 3 ceramic anti-reflector layer were optimized using physical modelling calculations. Due to limited published data for the refractive index of AlN, and likely oxygen contamination during reactive sputtering of AlN ceramic materials, AlON was used as the ceramic component and the published value of its refractive index was employed. The dielectric function and then the complex refractive index of W-AlON cermet materials were calculated using the Ping Sheng approximation. The downhill simplex method in multi-dimensions was used in the numerical calculation to achieve maximum photo-thermal conversion efficiency at 350 0 C under a concentration factor of 30 for a solar collector tube. Optimization calculation results show that the initial graded (ten-step layers) cermet films all converge to something close to a three-layer film structure, which consists of a low metal volume fraction cermet layer on a high metal volume fraction cermet layer on a metallic infrared reflector with a surface ceramic anti-reflection layer. The optimized three-layer solar coatings have a high solar absorptance of 0.95 for AlON and 0.96 for the Al 2 O 3 anti-reflection layer, and a low hemispherical emittance of 0.073 at 350 deg. C. For the optimized three-layer films the solar radiation is efficiently absorbed internally and by phase interference. Thermal loss is very low for optimized three-layer films due to high reflectance values in the thermal infrared wavelength range and a very sharp edge between low solar reflectance and high thermal infrared reflectance. The high metal volume fraction cermet layer has a metal-like optical behaviour in the thermal infrared wavelength range and makes the largest contribution to the increase of emittance compared with that of the metal infrared reflector

Optimizing analysis of W-AlN cermet solar absorbing coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang Qichu [School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW (Australia)

2001-11-07

The layer thickness and tungsten metal volume fraction of W-AlN cermet solar selective absorbing coatings on a W, Cu or Al infrared reflector with a surface aluminium oxynitride (AlON) or Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} ceramic anti-reflector layer were optimized using physical modelling calculations. Due to limited published data for the refractive index of AlN, and likely oxygen contamination during reactive sputtering of AlN ceramic materials, AlON was used as the ceramic component and the published value of its refractive index was employed. The dielectric function and then the complex refractive index of W-AlON cermet materials were calculated using the Ping Sheng approximation. The downhill simplex method in multi-dimensions was used in the numerical calculation to achieve maximum photo-thermal conversion efficiency at 350{sup 0}C under a concentration factor of 30 for a solar collector tube. Optimization calculation results show that the initial graded (ten-step layers) cermet films all converge to something close to a three-layer film structure, which consists of a low metal volume fraction cermet layer on a high metal volume fraction cermet layer on a metallic infrared reflector with a surface ceramic anti-reflection layer. The optimized three-layer solar coatings have a high solar absorptance of 0.95 for AlON and 0.96 for the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} anti-reflection layer, and a low hemispherical emittance of 0.073 at 350 deg. C. For the optimized three-layer films the solar radiation is efficiently absorbed internally and by phase interference. Thermal loss is very low for optimized three-layer films due to high reflectance values in the thermal infrared wavelength range and a very sharp edge between low solar reflectance and high thermal infrared reflectance. The high metal volume fraction cermet layer has a metal-like optical behaviour in the thermal infrared wavelength range and makes the largest contribution to the increase of emittance compared with that of the metal

Optimizing analysis of W-AlN cermet solar absorbing coatings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qi-Chu Zhang [University of Sydney, NSW (Australia). School of Physics

2001-11-07

The layer thickness and tungsten metal volume fraction of W-AlN cermet solar selective absorbing coatings on a W, Cu or Al infrared reflector with a surface aluminium oxynitride (AlON) or Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} ceramic anti-reflector layer were optimized using physical modelling calculations. Due to limited published data for the refractive index of AlN, and likely oxygen contamination during reactive sputtering of AlN ceramic materials, AlON was used as the ceramic component and the published value of its refractive index was employed. The dielectric function and then the complex refractive index of W-AlON cermet materials were calculated using the Ping Sheng approximation. The downhill simplex method in multi-dimensions was used in the numerical calculation to achieve maximum photo-thermal conversion efficiency at 350{sup o}C under a concentration factor of 30 for a solar collector tube. Optimization calculation results show that the initial graded (ten-step layers) cermet films all converge to something close to a three-layer film structure, which consists of a low metal volume fraction cermet layer on a high metal volume fraction cermet layer on a metallic infrared reflector with a surface ceramic anti-reflection layer. The optimized three-layer solar coatings have a high solar absorptance of 0.95 for AlON and 0.96 for the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} anti-reflection layer, and a low hemispherical emittance of 0.073 at 350{sup o}C. For the optimized three-layer films the solar radiation is efficiently absorbed internally and by phase interference. Thermal loss is very low for optimized three-layer films due to high reflectance values in the thermal infrared wavelength range and a very sharp edge between low solar reflectance and high thermal infrared reflectance. The high metal volume fraction cermet layer has a metal-like optical behaviour in the thermal infrared wavelength range and makes the largest contribution to the increase of emittance compared with that of the metal

Why muscle is an efficient shock absorber.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael A Ferenczi

Full Text Available Skeletal muscles power body movement by converting free energy of ATP hydrolysis into mechanical work. During the landing phase of running or jumping some activated skeletal muscles are subjected to stretch. Upon stretch they absorb body energy quickly and effectively thus protecting joints and bones from impact damage. This is achieved because during lengthening, skeletal muscle bears higher force and has higher instantaneous stiffness than during isometric contraction, and yet consumes very little ATP. We wish to understand how the actomyosin molecules change their structure and interaction to implement these physiologically useful mechanical and thermodynamical properties. We monitored changes in the low angle x-ray diffraction pattern of rabbit skeletal muscle fibers during ramp stretch compared to those during isometric contraction at physiological temperature using synchrotron radiation. The intensities of the off-meridional layer lines and fine interference structure of the meridional M3 myosin x-ray reflection were resolved. Mechanical and structural data show that upon stretch the fraction of actin-bound myosin heads is higher than during isometric contraction. On the other hand, the intensities of the actin layer lines are lower than during isometric contraction. Taken together, these results suggest that during stretch, a significant fraction of actin-bound heads is bound non-stereo-specifically, i.e. they are disordered azimuthally although stiff axially. As the strong or stereo-specific myosin binding to actin is necessary for actin activation of the myosin ATPase, this finding explains the low metabolic cost of energy absorption by muscle during the landing phase of locomotion.

Efficiencies and improvement potential of building integrated photovoltaic thermal (BIPVT) system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibrahim, Adnan; Fudholi, Ahmad; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman; Othman, Mohd Yusof; Ruslan, Mohd Hafidz

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Performances analysis of BIPVT solar collector based on energy and exergy analyses. • A new absorber design of BIPVT solar collector is presented. • BIPVT solar collector is produced primary-energy saving efficiency from about 73% to 81%. • PVT energy efficiency varies between 55% and 62% where as the variation in the PVT exergy efficiency is from 12% to 14%. • The improvement potential is between 98 and 404 W. - Abstract: Building integrated photovoltaic thermal (BIPVT) system has been designed to produce both electricity and hot water and later integrated to building. The hot water is produced at the useful temperatures for the applications in Malaysia such as building integrated heating system and domestic hot water system as well as many industrial including agricultural and commercial applications. The photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system comprises of a high efficiency multicrystal photovoltaic (PV) module and spiral flow absorber for BIPVT application, have been performed and investigated. In this study, it was assumed that the absorber was attached underneath the flat plate single glazing sheet of polycrystalline silicon PV module and water has been used as a heat transfer medium in absorber. Performances analysis of BIPVT system based on energy and exergy analyses. It was based on efficiencies including energy and exergy, and exergetic improvement potential (IP) based on the metrological condition of Malaysia has been carried out. Results show that the hourly variation for BIPVT system, the PVT energy efficiency of 55–62% is higher than the PVT exergy efficiency of 12–14%. The improvement potential increases with increasing solar radiation, it is between 98 and 404 W. On the other hand, BIPVT system was produced primary-energy saving efficiency from about 73% to 81%

Facile and Scalable Fabrication of Highly Efficient Lead Iodide Perovskite Thin-Film Solar Cells in Air Using Gas Pump Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Bin; Gao, Lili; Liang, Lusheng; Chu, Qianqian; Song, Xiaoxuan; Li, Yan; Yang, Guanjun; Fan, Bin; Wang, Mingkui; Li, Chengxin; Li, Changjiu

2016-08-10

Control of the perovskite film formation process to produce high-quality organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite thin films with uniform morphology, high surface coverage, and minimum pinholes is of great importance to highly efficient solar cells. Herein, we report on large-area light-absorbing perovskite films fabrication with a new facile and scalable gas pump method. By decreasing the total pressure in the evaporation environment, the gas pump method can significantly enhance the solvent evaporation rate by 8 times faster and thereby produce an extremely dense, uniform, and full-coverage perovskite thin film. The resulting planar perovskite solar cells can achieve an impressive power conversion efficiency up to 19.00% with an average efficiency of 17.38 ± 0.70% for 32 devices with an area of 5 × 2 mm, 13.91% for devices with a large area up to 1.13 cm(2). The perovskite films can be easily fabricated in air conditions with a relative humidity of 45-55%, which definitely has a promising prospect in industrial application of large-area perovskite solar panels.

Non-Toxic Buffer Layers in Flexible Cu(In,GaSe2 Photovoltaic Cell Applications with Optimized Absorber Thickness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Asaduzzaman

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Absorber layer thickness gradient in Cu(In1−xGaxSe2 (CIGS based solar cells and several substitutes for typical cadmium sulfide (CdS buffer layers, such as ZnS, ZnO, ZnS(O,OH, Zn1−xSnxOy (ZTO, ZnSe, and In2S3, have been analyzed by a device emulation program and tool (ADEPT 2.1 to determine optimum efficiency. As a reference type, the CIGS cell with CdS buffer provides a theoretical efficiency of 23.23% when the optimum absorber layer thickness was determined as 1.6 μm. It is also observed that this highly efficient CIGS cell would have an absorber layer thickness between 1 μm and 2 μm whereas the optimum buffer layer thickness would be within the range of 0.04–0.06 μm. Among all the cells with various buffer layers, the best energy conversion efficiency of 24.62% has been achieved for the ZnO buffer layer based cell. The simulation results with ZnS and ZnO based buffer layer materials instead of using CdS indicate that the cell performance would be better than that of the CdS buffer layer based cell. Although the cells with ZnS(O,OH, ZTO, ZnSe, and In2S3 buffer layers provide slightly lower efficiencies than that of the CdS buffer based cell, the use of these materials would not be deleterious for the environment because of their non-carcinogenic and non-toxic nature.

Absorption Efficiency of Receiving Antennas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jørgen Bach; Frandsen, Aksel

2005-01-01

A receiving antenna with a matched load will always scatter some power. This paper sets an upper and a lower bound on the absorption efficiency (absorbed power over sum of absorbed and scattered powers), which lies between 0 and 100% depending on the directivities of the antenna and scatter...... patterns. It can approach 100% as closely as desired, although in practice this may not be an attractive solution. An example with a small endfire array of dipoles shows an efficiency of 93%. Several examples of small conical horn antennas are also given, and they all have absorption efficiencies less than...

Kinetic energy absorbing pad

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bricmont, R.J.; Hamilton, P.A.; Ming Long Ting, R.

1981-01-01

Reactors, fuel processing plants etc incorporate pipes and conduits for fluids under high pressure. Fractures, particularly adjacent to conduit elbows, produce a jet of liquid which whips the broken conduit at an extremely high velocity. An enormous impact load would be applied to any stationary object in the conduit's path. The design of cellular, corrugated metal impact pads to absorb the kinetic energy of the high velocity conduits is given. (U.K.)

High-Temperature Tolerance in Multi-Scale Cermet Solar-Selective Absorbing Coatings Prepared by Laser Cladding.

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Xuming; Wei, Qian; Zhou, Jianxin; Ma, Huiyang

2018-06-19

In order to achieve cermet-based solar absorber coatings with long-term thermal stability at high temperatures, a novel single-layer, multi-scale TiC-Ni/Mo cermet coating was first prepared using laser cladding technology in atmosphere. The results show that the optical properties of the cermet coatings using laser cladding were much better than the preplaced coating. In addition, the thermal stability of the optical properties for the laser cladding coating were excellent after annealing at 650 °C for 200 h. The solar absorptance and thermal emittance of multi-scale cermet coating were 85% and 4.7% at 650 °C. The results show that multi-scale cermet materials are more suitable for solar-selective absorbing coating. In addition, laser cladding is a new technology that can be used for the preparation of spectrally-selective coatings.

High-Temperature Tolerance in Multi-Scale Cermet Solar-Selective Absorbing Coatings Prepared by Laser Cladding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuming Pang

2018-06-01

Full Text Available In order to achieve cermet-based solar absorber coatings with long-term thermal stability at high temperatures, a novel single-layer, multi-scale TiC-Ni/Mo cermet coating was first prepared using laser cladding technology in atmosphere. The results show that the optical properties of the cermet coatings using laser cladding were much better than the preplaced coating. In addition, the thermal stability of the optical properties for the laser cladding coating were excellent after annealing at 650 °C for 200 h. The solar absorptance and thermal emittance of multi-scale cermet coating were 85% and 4.7% at 650 °C. The results show that multi-scale cermet materials are more suitable for solar-selective absorbing coating. In addition, laser cladding is a new technology that can be used for the preparation of spectrally-selective coatings.

Aperiodic-metamaterial-based absorber

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Quanlong Yang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The periodic-metamaterial-based perfect absorber has been studied broadly. Conversely, if the unit cell in the metamaterial-based absorber is arranged aperiodically (aperiodic-metamaterial-based absorber, how does it perform? Inspired by this, here we present a systematic study of the aperiodic-metamaterial-based absorber. By investigating the response of metamaterial absorbers based on periodic, Fibonacci, Thue-Morse, and quasicrystal lattices, we found that aperiodic-metamaterial-based absorbers could display similar absorption behaviors as the periodic one in one hand. However, their absorption behaviors show different tendency depending on the thicknesses of the spacer. Further studies on the angle and polarization dependence of the absorption behavior are also presented.

Progress of OLED devices with high efficiency at high luminance

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Carmen; Ingram, Grayson; Lu, Zhenghong

2014-03-01

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have progressed significantly over the last two decades. For years, OLEDs have been promoted as the next generation technology for flat panel displays and solid-state lighting due to their potential for high energy efficiency and dynamic range of colors. Although high efficiency can readily be obtained at low brightness levels, a significant decline at high brightness is commonly observed. In this report, we will review various strategies for achieving highly efficient phosphorescent OLED devices at high luminance. Specifically, we will provide details regarding the performance and general working principles behind each strategy. We will conclude by looking at how some of these strategies can be combined to produce high efficiency white OLEDs at high brightness.

Efficient SO2 capture by amine functionalized PEG.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Dezhong; Hou, Minqiang; Ning, Hui; Zhang, Jianling; Ma, Jun; Han, Buxing

2013-11-07

Polyethylene glycols (PEGs) are a class of non-toxic, non-volatile, biocompatible, and widely available polymers. In this work, we synthesized N-ethyl-N-(2-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl)-2-aminoethanol (EE3AE) that combines the properties of PEG and amines, and N-decyl-N-ethyl-2-aminoethanol (DEAE). Their performances to capture SO2 were studied at different temperatures, pressures, and absorption times. The interaction between the absorbents and SO2 were characterized by NMR and FTIR techniques. It was demonstrated that both EE3AE and DEAE could absorb SO2 efficiently, and there existed chemical and physical interactions between the absorbents and SO2. In particular, the absorption capacity of EE3AE could be as high as 1.09 g SO2 per g EE3AE at 1 atm. The absorption capacity of EE3AE was much larger than that of DEAE because the ether group in the EE3AE interacted with SO2 more strongly than the alkyl group in the DEAE. The SO2 absorbed by EE3AE could be stripped out by bubbling N2 or by applying a vacuum and the EE3AE could be reused. Moreover, both absorbents exhibited a high SO2-CO2 selectivity.

High-power, high-efficiency FELs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sessler, A.M.

1989-04-01

High power, high efficiency FELs require tapering, as the particles loose energy, so as to maintain resonance between the electromagnetic wave and the particles. They also require focusing of the particles (usually done with curved pole faces) and focusing of the electromagnetic wave (i.e. optical guiding). In addition, one must avoid transverse beam instabilities (primarily resistive wall) and longitudinal instabilities (i.e sidebands). 18 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs

Efficiency of ocular UV protection by clear lenses.

Science.gov (United States)

Rifai, Katharina; Hornauer, Matthias; Buechinger, Ramona; Schoen, Roland; Barraza-Bernal, Maria; Habtegiorgis, Selam; Glasenapp, Carsten; Wahl, Siegfried; Mappes, Timo

2018-04-01

Ocular UV doses accumulate all-day, not only during periods of direct sun exposure. The UV protection efficiency of three clear lenses was evaluated experimentally, validated by simulation, and compared to non-UV protection: a first spectacle lens with a tailored UV absorber, a second spectacle lens, minimizing UV back reflections, as well as a third spectacle lens, combining both. A tailored UV-absorber efficiently reduced overall UV irradiance to 7 %, whereas reduction of back-reflections still left UV irradiance at 42 %. Thus, clear lenses with a tailored UV absorber efficiently protect the eye from UV, supplementing sun glasses wear to an all-day protection scenario.

Neutron physical investigations on the shutdown effect of small boronated absorbing spheres for pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sgouridis, S.; Schurrer, F.; Muller, H.; Ninaus, W.; Oswald, K.; Neef, R.D.; Schaal, H.

1987-01-01

An emergency shutdown system for high-temperature gas-cooled pebble-bed reactors is proposed in addition to the common absorber rod shutdown system. This system is based on the strongly absorbing effect of small boronated graphite spheres (called KLAK), which trickle in case of emergency by gravity from the top reflector into the reactor core. The inner reflector of the Siemens-Argonaut reactor was substituted by an assembly of spherical Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor fuel elements, and the shutdown effect was examined by installing well-defined KLAK nests inside this assembly. The purpose was to develop and prove a calculational procedure for determining criticality values for assemblies of large fuel spheres and small absorbing spheres

High absorption coefficients of the CuSb(Se,Te2 and CuBi(S,Se2 alloys enable high-efficient 100 nm thin-film photovoltaics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Rongzhen

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We demonstrate that the band-gap energies Eg of CuSb(Se,Te2 and CuBi(S,Se2 can be optimized for high energy conversion in very thin photovoltaic devices, and that the alloys then exhibit excellent optical properties, especially for tellurium rich CuSb(Se1−xTex2. This is explained by multi-valley band structure with flat energy dispersions, mainly due to the localized character of the Sb/Bi p-like conduction band states. Still the effective electron mass is reasonable small: mc ≈ 0.25m0 for CuSbTe2. The absorption coefficient α(ω for CuSb(Se1−xTex2 is at ħω = Eg + 1 eV as much as 5–7 times larger than α(ω for traditional thin-film absorber materials. Auger recombination does limit the efficiency if the carrier concentration becomes too high, and this effect needs to be suppressed. However with high absorptivity, the alloys can be utilized for extremely thin inorganic solar cells with the maximum efficiency ηmax ≈ 25% even for film thicknesses d ≈ 50 − 150 nm, and the efficiency increases to ∼30% if the Auger effect is diminished.

High absorption coefficients of the CuSb(Se,Te)2 and CuBi(S,Se)2 alloys enable high-efficient 100 nm thin-film photovoltaics

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Rongzhen; Persson, Clas

2017-06-01

We demonstrate that the band-gap energies Eg of CuSb(Se,Te)2 and CuBi(S,Se)2 can be optimized for high energy conversion in very thin photovoltaic devices, and that the alloys then exhibit excellent optical properties, especially for tellurium rich CuSb(Se1-xTex)2. This is explained by multi-valley band structure with flat energy dispersions, mainly due to the localized character of the Sb/Bi p-like conduction band states. Still the effective electron mass is reasonable small: mc ≈ 0.25m0 for CuSbTe2. The absorption coefficient α(ω) for CuSb(Se1-xTex)2 is at ħω = Eg + 1 eV as much as 5-7 times larger than α(ω) for traditional thin-film absorber materials. Auger recombination does limit the efficiency if the carrier concentration becomes too high, and this effect needs to be suppressed. However with high absorptivity, the alloys can be utilized for extremely thin inorganic solar cells with the maximum efficiency ηmax ≈ 25% even for film thicknesses d ≈ 50 - 150 nm, and the efficiency increases to ˜30% if the Auger effect is diminished.

Materials and Light Management for High-Efficiency Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

OpenAIRE

Tan, H.

2015-01-01

Direct conversion of sunlight into electricity is one of the most promising approaches to provide sufficient renewable energy for humankind. Solar cells are such devices which can efficiently generate electricity from sunlight through the photovoltaic effect. Thin-film silicon solar cells, a type of photovoltaic (PV) devices which deploy the chemical-vapor-deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) and their alloys as the absorber layers and doped ...

Absorber Alignment Measurement Tool for Solar Parabolic Trough Collectors: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stynes, J. K.; Ihas, B.

2012-04-01

As we pursue efforts to lower the capital and installation costs of parabolic trough solar collectors, it is essential to maintain high optical performance. While there are many optical tools available to measure the reflector slope errors of parabolic trough solar collectors, there are few tools to measure the absorber alignment. A new method is presented here to measure the absorber alignment in two dimensions to within 0.5 cm. The absorber alignment is measured using a digital camera and four photogrammetric targets. Physical contact with the receiver absorber or glass is not necessary. The alignment of the absorber is measured along its full length so that sagging of the absorber can be quantified with this technique. The resulting absorber alignment measurement provides critical information required to accurately determine the intercept factor of a collector.

Effect of an inefficient electron scavenger on infrared- and visible-absorbing electrons in an ethanol matrix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noda, S.; Yoshida, K.; Ogasawara, M.; Yoshida, H.

1980-01-01

In order to obtain a deeper insight into the initial localization and the subsequent stabilization of electrons and to unravel the detailed mechanism of the electron scavenging reaction in a glassy ethanol matrix, spectrophotometric studies have been made on this matrix with toluene, an inefficient electron scavenger, γ irradiated at 4.2 0 K. Inhomogeneous depletion of the trapped electron spectrum by toluene indicates that IR-absorbing (lambda/sub max/ = 1500 nm) and visible-absorbing (lambda/sub max/ = 640 nm) electrons are initially generated, but that the former are unstable at higher temperature. Toluene scavenges the IR-absorbing electrons more efficiently by a factor of 10 than the visible-absorbing electrons. This selectivity is much higher than that of an efficient scavenger, such as benzyl chloride, as previously reported. The electron scavenging reaction results in the formation of the transient radical anion of toluene, which is readily protonated to yield the methylcyclohexadienyl radical at 77 0 K. 3 figures

Process intensification characteristics of a microreactor absorber for enhanced CO_2 capture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganapathy, Harish; Steinmayer, Sascha; Shooshtari, Amir; Dessiatoun, Serguei; Ohadi, Michael M.; Alshehhi, Mohamed

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Enhanced gas separation/CO_2 capture using aqueous DEA in micro-structured absorber. • 15 straight parallel channels with hydraulic diameter of 456 μm. • Achieved close to 100% absorption efficiency under certain operating conditions. • Mass transfer coefficients 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than conventional absorbers. • Substantial intensification of absorption process achievable using microreactors. - Abstract: Gas separation processes, including post-combustion carbon capture (PCCC) by chemical absorption using liquid solvents can be substantially enhanced using high performance micro-structured surfaces to enhance the surface area available for reaction. The present paper studies the hydrodynamics and mass transfer performance of gas–liquid absorption of CO_2 into aqueous diethanolamine in a micro-structured reactor. The system was designed to comprise 15 straight parallel channels in a cross flow inlet configuration. The hydraulic diameter of each channel was 456 μm. The performance of the reactor was studied with respect to the absorption efficiency, mass transfer coefficient, acid gas loading ratio, and pressure drop. A flow pattern map was developed using available regime transition criteria. Parametric studies varying the gas and liquid flow rates, as well as their respective concentrations at the reactor inlet, were conducted. The two-phase pressure drop was compared against the predictions of a piecewise model and a reasonably good agreement was obtained. Absorption efficiencies close to 100% were observed under certain operating conditions. The presently achieved values of liquid-side volumetric mass transfer coefficients were between 1–3 orders of magnitude higher than those reported for most conventional gas–liquid absorption systems, which can be attributed to the inherent high specific interfacial area provided through micro-structured surfaces. The results reported here indicate the substantial levels of process

Design and performance simulation of a segmented-absorber based muon detection system for high energy heavy ion collision experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, S.; Bhaduri, P.P.; Jahan, H.; Senger, A.; Adak, R.; Samanta, S.; Prakash, A.; Dey, K.; Lebedev, A.; Kryshen, E.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Senger, P.; Bhattacharjee, B.; Ghosh, S.K.; Raha, S.; Irfan, M.; Ahmad, N.; Farooq, M.; Singh, B.

2015-01-01

A muon detection system (MUCH) based on a novel concept using a segmented and instrumented absorber has been designed for high-energy heavy-ion collision experiments. The system consists of 6 hadron absorber blocks and 6 tracking detector triplets. Behind each absorber block a detector triplet is located which measures the tracks of charged particles traversing the absorber. The performance of such a system has been simulated for the CBM experiment at FAIR (Germany) that is scheduled to start taking data in heavy ion collisions in the beam energy range of 6–45 A GeV from 2019. The muon detection system is mounted downstream to a Silicon Tracking System (STS) that is located in a large aperture dipole magnet which provides momentum information of the charged particle tracks. The reconstructed tracks from the STS are to be matched to the hits measured by the muon detector triplets behind the absorber segments. This method allows the identification of muon tracks over a broad range of momenta including tracks of soft muons which do not pass through all the absorber layers. Pairs of oppositely charged muons identified by MUCH could therefore be combined to measure the invariant masses in a wide range starting from low mass vector mesons (LMVM) up to charmonia. The properties of the absorber (material, thickness, position) and of the tracking chambers (granularity, geometry) have been varied in simulations of heavy-ion collision events generated with the UrQMD generator and propagated through the setup using the GEANT3, the particle transport code. The tracks are reconstructed by a Cellular Automaton algorithm followed by a Kalman Filter. The simulations demonstrate that low mass vector mesons and charmonia can be clearly identified in central Au+Au collisions at beam energies provided by the international Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR)

Computational screening of new inorganic materials for highly efficient solar energy conversion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhar, Korina

2017-01-01

in solar cells convert solar energy into electricity, and PC uses harvested energy to conduct chemical reactions, such as splitting water into oxygen and, more importantly, hydrogen, also known as the fuel of the future. Further progress in both PV and PC fields is mostly limited by the flaws in materials...... materials. In this work a high-throughput computational search for suitable absorbers for PV and PC applications is presented. A set of descriptors has been developed, such that each descriptor targets an important property or issue of a good solar energy conversion material. The screening study...... that we have access to. Despite the vast amounts of energy at our disposal, we are not able to harvest this solar energy efficiently. Currently, there are a few ways of converting solar power into usable energy, such as photovoltaics (PV) or photoelectrochemical generation of fuels (PC). PV processes...

Panchromatic response composed of hybrid visible-light absorbing polymers and near-IR absorbing dyes for nanocrystalline TiO{sub 2}-based solid-state solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Hyo Joong; Graetzel, Michael; Nazeeruddin, Md. Khaja [Laboratory for Photonics and Interfaces, Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, School of Basic Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland); Leventis, Henry C.; Haque, Saif A. [Department of Chemistry, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, London SW72AZ (United Kingdom); Torres, Tomas [Departamento de Quimica Organica, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM), 28049 Madrid (Spain)

2011-01-01

In pursuit of panchromatic sensitizers for mesoporous TiO{sub 2}-based solid-state solar cells, a near-IR absorbing zinc phthalocyanine dye (coded TT1) was firstly adsorbed over relatively thin ({proportional_to}1 {mu}m) TiO{sub 2} mesoporous films and then a visible-light absorbing polymer [regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene), P3HT] was incorporated into the mesopores as both a second sensitizer and a solid hole conductor. After optimizing some experimental parameters, these hybrid solid-state cells exhibited a clear panchromatic response, and an overall conversion efficiency of around 1% at full sun intensity. (author)

ABSORBENCY CHARACTERISTICS OF PESHTAMALS: TRADITIONAL TURKISH WOVEN CLOTHES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KESKIN Reyhan

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Absorbency of textiles is defined as the ability of taking in a fluid in the manner of a sponge. Absorbency is required for comfort properties in so me clothes such as sportswear and underwear clothing, for drying properties in napkins, towels and bathrobes, for health concerns in some medical textiles such as bandages, gauze and absorbent cotton, and for cleaning properties in washclothes and mops. In this study five different fabric samples (three woven 100% cotton fabrics A, B and P respectively at plain, twill, and peshtamal weaving patterns and two 100% cotton terry towels T1 and T2 were tested. The absorbency properties of the samples were evaluated according to the droplet test, sinking time test and wicking height tests (pottasium chromate test. Peshtamal samples showed better absorbency results than plain and twill weaves and lower but close results to towel samples according to the droplet test, sinking time test and wicking height tests. The absorbency properties of peshtamals showed results close to towel samples. The void content of peshtamals is higher than plain and twill samples but closer and lower than towel samples. The good absorbency results of peshtamals might be due to the void content of peshtamals which is higher than plain and twill samples but closer and lower than towel samples. Peshtamals which are good in absorbency and light in weight might be used widespreadly in daily life for their high absorbency, and on travel for weight saving purposes.

An FDTD method with FFT-accelerated exact absorbing boundary conditions

KAUST Repository

Sirenko, Kostyantyn

2011-07-01

An accurate and efficient finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method for analyzing axially symmetric structures is presented. The method achieves its accuracy and efficiency using exact absorbing conditions (EACs) for terminating the computation domain and a blocked-FFT based scheme for accelerating the computation of the temporal convolutions present in non-local EACs. The method is shown to be especially useful in characterization of long-duration resonant wave interactions. © 2011 IEEE.

A checkerboard selective absorber with excellent spectral selectivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Liu, E-mail: optyang@zju.edu.cn [Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); School of Electrical, Computer, and Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 (United States); Mo, Lei; Chen, Tuo [Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Forsberg, Erik [Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); He, Sailing [Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058 (China); Department of Electromagnetic Engineering, JORCEP, Roy Institute of Technology (KTH), S-100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)

2015-11-14

A selective absorber with excellent spectral selectivity is proposed and analyzed. The absorber is based on a germanium (Ge) checkerboard on top of a tantalum (Ta) substrate. At wavelengths shorter than the 1.2 μm cutoff, a very high absorption is achieved due to strong cavity resonances in the Ge nanosquares, and their interactions with adjacent nanocavities and the bottom Ta substrate. At longer wavelengths, absorption is greatly suppressed due to destructive interference between the transparent checkerboard layer and the highly reflective Ta substrate. To better describe the superior selectivity of our configuration, a new figure of merit (FOM) is introduced. We observe a FOM value of 0.88 compared to 0.69 for its planar counterpart. We also conduct a thermal analysis to verify the excellent selectivity of our absorber. A high temperature can be achieved and maintained, promising good potential for applications in solar thermophotovoltaic systems.

Performance Study of Photovoltaic-Thermal (Pv/T) Solar Collector with ·-Grooved Absorber Plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Yusof Othman; Hafidz Ruslan; Kamaruzzaman Sopian; Jin, G.L.

2009-01-01

A hybrid photovoltaic-thermal solar collector has been designed, built and its performance has been studied. The advantage of the collector is that it can generate electricity and heat simultaneously. Photovoltaic module SHARP NE-80E2EA with maximum output power of 80 W was used to generate electricity. The module also acts as heat absorber of the collector. Single pass ·-groove collector made of aluminium sheet with 0.7 mm thickness has been used to collect heat generated. Study was conducted under a designed halogen lamps solar simulator with intensities set at 386 ± 8 Wm -2 and 817 ± 8 Wm -2 . The speed of air passing through the collector was set between (69.6 ± 2.2) x 10 -4 kg/s to (695.8 ± 2.2) x 10 -4 kg/s. The objective of the study is to compare the performance of PV/T collector with and without ·-groove absorber. The study found that the PV/T collector with ·-groove absorber plate has higher efficiency than the PV/T without ·-groove absorber. The electrical and thermal efficiencies are also increased when radiation intensity and speed of air increase. (author)

Effect of the bio-absorbent on the microwave absorption property of the flaky CIPs/rubber absorbers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, Yang; Xu, Yonggang, E-mail: xuyonggang221@163.com; Cai, Jun; Yuan, Liming; Zhang, Deyuan

2015-09-01

Microwave absorbing composites filled with flaky carbonyl iron particles (CIPs) and the bio-absorbent were prepared by using a two-roll mixer and a vulcanizing machine. The electromagnetic (EM) parameters were measured by a vector network analyzer and the reflection loss (RL) was measured by the arch method in the frequency range of 1–4 GHz. The uniform dispersion of the absorbents was verified by comparing the calculated RL with the measured one. The results confirm that as the bio-absorbent was added, the permittivity was increased due to the volume content of absorbents, and the permeability was enlarged owing to the volume content of CIPs and interactions between the two absorbents. The composite filled with bio-absorbents achieved an excellent absorption property at a thickness of 1 mm (minimum RL reaches −7.8 dB), and as the RL was less than −10 dB the absorption band was widest (2.1–3.8 GHz) at a thickness of 2 mm. Therefore, the bio-absorbent is a promising additive candidate on fabricating microwave absorbing composites with a thinner thickness and wider absorption band. - Graphical abstract: Morphology of composites filled with flaky CIPs and the bio-absorbent. The enhancement of bio-absorbent on the electromagnetic absorption property of composites filled with flaky carbonyl iron particles (CIPs) is attributed to the interaction of the two absorbents. The volume content of the FCMPs with the larger shape CIPs play an important role in this effects, the composites filled with irons and bio-absorbents can achieve wider-band and thinner-thickness absorbing materials. - Highlights: • Absorbers filled with bio-absorbents and CIPs was fabricated. • Bio-absorbents enhanced the permittivity and permeability of the composites. • The absorbent interactions play a key role in the enhancement mechanism. • Bio-absorbents enhanced the composite RL in 1–4 GHz.

The MuCool/MICE LH2 Absorber Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cummings, Mary Anne

2004-01-01

Hydrogen absorber R and D for the MuCool Collaboration is actively pushing ahead on two parallel and complementary fronts. The continuing LH2 engineering and technical developments by the MuCool group, conducted by ICAR institutions (NIU, IIT and UIUC), the University of Mississippi and Oxford University in cooperation with Fermilab, are summarized here, including plans for the first tests of an absorber prototype from Osaka University and KEK cooled by internal convection at the newly constructed FNAL MuCool Test Area (MTA). Designs for the high-power test of another absorber prototype (employing external heat exchange) are complete and the system will be installed by summer 2004. A convection-cooled absorber design is being developed for the approved MICE cooling demonstration at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

[Study on absorbing volatile oil with mesoporous carbon].

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Hong-mei; Jia, Xiao-bin; Zhang, Zhen-hai; Sun, E; Yang Nan

2014-11-01

Clove oil and turmeric oil were absorbed by mesoporous carbon. The absorption ratio of mesoporous carbon to volatile oil was optimized with the eugenol yield and curcumol yield as criteria Curing powder was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorietry (DSC). The effects of mesoporous carbon on dissolution in vitro and thermal stability of active components were studied. They reached high adsorption rate when the absorption ratio of mesoporous carbon to volatile oil was 1:1. When volatile oil was absorbed, dissolution rate of active components had a little improvement and their thermal stability improved after volatile oil was absorbed by the loss rate decreasing more than 50%. Absorbing herbal volatile oil with mesoporous carbon deserves further studying.

Improving solar radiation absorbance of high refractory sintered ceramics by fs Ti:sapphire laser surface treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cappelli, E.; Orlando, S.; Sciti, D.; Bellucci, A.; Lettino, A.; Trucchi, D.M.

2014-01-01

Samples of high refractory pressure-less sintered carbide ceramics (HfC based), polished by mechanical grinding to a surface roughness R a ∼ 40 nm, have been surface treated, in vacuum, by fs Ti:sapphire laser, operating at 800 nm wavelength, 1000 Hz repetition rate and 100 fs pulse duration, at fluence varying in the range (∼6–25 J/cm 2 ), to optimize their solar radiation absorbance, in such a way that they could operate as absorber material in an innovative conversion module of solar radiation into electrical energy. To this aim, an area of approximately 9.6 cm 2 was treated by the fs laser beam. The beam strikes perpendicular to the sample, placed on a stage set in motion in the x, y, z-directions, thus generating a scanning pattern of parallel lines. The experimental conditions of laser treatment (energy fluence, speed of transition, overlapping and lateral step distance) were varied in order to optimize the radiation absorption properties of the patterned surface. In laser treated samples the absorption value is increased by about 15%, compared to the original untreated surface, up to a value of final absorbance of about 95%, all over the range of solar radiation spectrum (from UV to IR). The morphological and chemical effects of the treatment have been evaluated by SEM–EDS analysis. At very high fluence, we obtained the characteristic ablation craters and local material decomposition, while at lower fluence (in any case above the threshold) typical periodic nano-structures have been obtained, exploitable for their modified optical properties.

High-efficiency airfoil rudders applied to submarines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHOU Yimei

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Modern submarine design puts forward higher and higher requirements for control surfaces, and this creates a requirement for designers to constantly innovate new types of rudder so as to improve the efficiency of control surfaces. Adopting the high-efficiency airfoil rudder is one of the most effective measures for improving the efficiency of control surfaces. In this paper, we put forward an optimization method for a high-efficiency airfoil rudder on the basis of a comparative analysis of the various strengths and weaknesses of the airfoil, and the numerical calculation method is adopted to analyze the influence rule of the hydrodynamic characteristics and wake field by using the high-efficiency airfoil rudder and the conventional NACA rudder comparatively; at the same time, a model load test in a towing tank was carried out, and the test results and simulation calculation obtained good consistency:the error between them was less than 10%. The experimental results show that the steerage of a high-efficiency airfoil rudder is increased by more than 40% when compared with the conventional rudder, but the total resistance is close:the error is no more than 4%. Adopting a high-efficiency airfoil rudder brings much greater lifting efficiency than the total resistance of the boat. The results show that high-efficiency airfoil rudder has obvious advantages for improving the efficiency of control, giving it good application prospects.

Thermodynamic and achievable efficiencies for solar-driven electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to transportation fuels

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Meenesh R.; Clark, Ezra L.; Bell, Alexis T.

2015-11-01

Thermodynamic, achievable, and realistic efficiency limits of solar-driven electrochemical conversion of water and carbon dioxide to fuels are investigated as functions of light-absorber composition and configuration, and catalyst composition. The maximum thermodynamic efficiency at 1-sun illumination for adiabatic electrochemical synthesis of various solar fuels is in the range of 32-42%. Single-, double-, and triple-junction light absorbers are found to be optimal for electrochemical load ranges of 0-0.9 V, 0.9-1.95 V, and 1.95-3.5 V, respectively. Achievable solar-to-fuel (STF) efficiencies are determined using ideal double- and triple-junction light absorbers and the electrochemical load curves for CO2 reduction on silver and copper cathodes, and water oxidation kinetics over iridium oxide. The maximum achievable STF efficiencies for synthesis gas (H2 and CO) and Hythane (H2 and CH4) are 18.4% and 20.3%, respectively. Whereas the realistic STF efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) can be as low as 0.8%, tandem PECs and photovoltaic (PV)-electrolyzers can operate at 7.2% under identical operating conditions. We show that the composition and energy content of solar fuels can also be adjusted by tuning the band-gaps of triple-junction light absorbers and/or the ratio of catalyst-to-PV area, and that the synthesis of liquid products and C2H4 have high profitability indices.

Thermodynamic and achievable efficiencies for solar-driven electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to transportation fuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Meenesh R; Clark, Ezra L; Bell, Alexis T

2015-11-10

Thermodynamic, achievable, and realistic efficiency limits of solar-driven electrochemical conversion of water and carbon dioxide to fuels are investigated as functions of light-absorber composition and configuration, and catalyst composition. The maximum thermodynamic efficiency at 1-sun illumination for adiabatic electrochemical synthesis of various solar fuels is in the range of 32-42%. Single-, double-, and triple-junction light absorbers are found to be optimal for electrochemical load ranges of 0-0.9 V, 0.9-1.95 V, and 1.95-3.5 V, respectively. Achievable solar-to-fuel (STF) efficiencies are determined using ideal double- and triple-junction light absorbers and the electrochemical load curves for CO2 reduction on silver and copper cathodes, and water oxidation kinetics over iridium oxide. The maximum achievable STF efficiencies for synthesis gas (H2 and CO) and Hythane (H2 and CH4) are 18.4% and 20.3%, respectively. Whereas the realistic STF efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) can be as low as 0.8%, tandem PECs and photovoltaic (PV)-electrolyzers can operate at 7.2% under identical operating conditions. We show that the composition and energy content of solar fuels can also be adjusted by tuning the band-gaps of triple-junction light absorbers and/or the ratio of catalyst-to-PV area, and that the synthesis of liquid products and C2H4 have high profitability indices.

FLOW DISTRIBUTION IN A SOLAR COLLECTOR PANEL WITH HORIZONTAL ABSORBER STRIPS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fan, Jianhua; Shah, Louise Jivan; Furbo, Simon

2007-01-01

The objective of this work is to theoretically and experimentally investigate the flow and temperature distribution in a solar collector panel with an absorber consisting of horizontal strips. Fluid flow and heat transfer in the collector panel are studied by means of computational fluid dynamics...... (CFD) calculations. Further, experimental investigations of a 12.5 m² solar collector panel with 16 parallel connected horizontal fins are carried out. The flow distribution through the absorber is evaluated by means of temperature measurements on the backside of the absorber tubes. The measured...... collector fluid, and by increased collector tilt and inlet temperature, the flow distribution gets worse resulting in a decreased collector efficiency and an increased risk of boiling in the upper part of the collector panel. Keywords: Solar collector; Flow distribution; Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD...

Combining linear polarization spectroscopy and the Representative Layer Theory to measure the Beer-Lambert law absorbance of highly scattering materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Gobrecht, Alexia; Bendoula, Ryad; Roger, Jean-Michel; Bellon-Maurel, Véronique

2015-01-01

Visible and Near Infrared (Vis-NIR) Spectroscopy is a powerful non destructive analytical method used to analyze major compounds in bulk materials and products and requiring no sample preparation. It is widely used in routine analysis and also in-line in industries, in-vivo with biomedical applications or in-field for agricultural and environmental applications. However, highly scattering samples subvert Beer-Lambert law's linear relationship between spectral absorbance and the concentrations. Instead of spectral pre-processing, which is commonly used by Vis-NIR spectroscopists to mitigate the scattering effect, we put forward an optical method, based on Polarized Light Spectroscopy to improve the absorbance signal measurement on highly scattering samples. This method selects part of the signal which is less impacted by scattering. The resulted signal is combined in the Absorption/Remission function defined in Dahm's Representative Layer Theory to compute an absorbance signal fulfilling Beer-Lambert's law, i.e. being linearly related to concentration of the chemicals composing the sample. The underpinning theories have been experimentally evaluated on scattering samples in liquid form and in powdered form. The method produced more accurate spectra and the Pearson's coefficient assessing the linearity between the absorbance spectra and the concentration of the added dye improved from 0.94 to 0.99 for liquid samples and 0.84-0.97 for powdered samples. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Absorbant materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quetier, Monique.

1978-11-01

Absorbants play a very important part in the nuclear industry. They serve for the control, shut-down and neutron shielding of reactors and increase the capacity of spent fuel storage pools and of special transport containers. This paper surveys the usual absorbant materials, means of obtainment, their essential characteristics relating to their use and their behaviour under neutron irradiation [fr

Design and measuring of a tunable hybrid metamaterial absorber for terahertz frequencies

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Min; Liu, Shui Jie; Xu, Bang Li; Wang, Jie; Huang, Hua Qing

2018-04-01

A tunable hybrid metamaterial absorber is designed and experimentally produced in THz band. The hybrid metamaterial absorber contains two dielectric layers: SU-8 and VO2 layers. An absorption peak reaching to 83.5% is achieved at 1.04 THz. The hybrid metamaterial absorber exhibits high absorption when the incident angle reaches to 45°. Measured results indicate that the absorption amplitude and peak frequency of the hybrid metamaterial absorber is tunable in experiments. It is due to the insulator-to-metal phase transition is achieved when the measured temperature reaches to 68 °C. Moreover, the hybrid metamaterial absorber reveals high figure of merit (FOM) value when the measured temperature reaches to 68 °C.

Recent developments of smart electromagnetic absorbers based polymer-composites at gigahertz frequencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Idris, Fadzidah Mohd.; Hashim, Mansor; Abbas, Zulkifly; Ismail, Ismayadi; Nazlan, Rodziah; Ibrahim, Idza Riati

2016-01-01

The rapid increase in electromagnetic interference has received a serious attention from researchers who responded by producing a variety of radar absorbing materials especially at high gigahertz frequencies. Ongoing investigation is being carried out in order to find the best absorbing materials which can fulfill the requirements for smart absorbing materials which are lightweight, broad bandwidth absorption, stronger absorption etc. Thus, to improve the absorbing capability, several important parameters need to be taken into consideration such as filler type, loading level, type of polymer matrix, physical thickness, grain sizes, layers and bandwidth. Therefore, this article introduces the electromagnetic wave absorption mechanisms and then reveals and reviews those parameters that enhance the absorption performance. - Highlights: • Development variety of radar absorbing materials especially at high gigahertz frequencies. • Best absorbing materials which can fulfill the requirements for smart absorbing materials which are lightweight, broad bandwidth absorption, stronger absorption etc. • Important parameters need to be taken into consideration to obtain stronger absorption and better performances.

Serendipitous discovery of warm absorbers in the Seyfert 2 galaxy IRAS 18325-5926

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Shuinai; Gu Qiusheng; Peng Zhixin; Ji Li

2011-01-01

Warm absorption is a common phenomenon in Seyfert 1s and quasars, but is rare in Seyfert 2s. We report the detection of warm absorbers with high energy resolution in the Seyfert 2 galaxy IRAS 18325-5926 for the first time with Chandra HETGS spectra. An intrinsic absorbing line system with an outflow velocity ∼ 400 km s -1 was found, which is contributed by two warm absorbers with FWHM of 570 km s -1 and 1360 km s -1 , respectively. The two absorbers were adjacent, and moving transversely across our line of sight. We constrained the distance between the center and the absorbers to be a small value, suggesting that the absorbers may originate from the highly ionized accretion disk wind ejected five years ago. The perspective of this type 2 Seyfert provides the best situation in which to investigate the vertical part of the funnel-like outflows. Another weak absorbing line system with zero redshift was also detected, which could be due to Galactic absorption with very high temperature or an intrinsic outflow with a very high velocity ∼ 6000 km s -1 . (research papers)

[Characteristics of phosphorus uptake and use efficiency of rice with high yield and high phosphorus use efficiency].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Li; Zhang, Xi-Zhou; Li, Tinx-Xuan; Yu, Hai-Ying; Ji, Lin; Chen, Guang-Deng

2014-07-01

A total of twenty seven middle maturing rice varieties as parent materials were divided into four types based on P use efficiency for grain yield in 2011 by field experiment with normal phosphorus (P) application. The rice variety with high yield and high P efficiency was identified by pot experiment with normal and low P applications, and the contribution rates of various P efficiencies to yield were investigated in 2012. There were significant genotype differences in yield and P efficiency of the test materials. GRLu17/AiTTP//Lu17_2 (QR20) was identified as a variety with high yield and high P efficiency, and its yields at the low and normal rates of P application were 1.96 and 1.92 times of that of Yuxiang B, respectively. The contribution rate of P accumulation to yield was greater than that of P grain production efficiency and P harvest index across field and pot experiments. The contribution rates of P accumulation and P grain production efficiency to yield were not significantly different under the normal P condition, whereas obvious differences were observed under the low P condition (66.5% and 26.6%). The minimal contribution to yield was P harvest index (11.8%). Under the normal P condition, the contribution rates of P accumulation to yield and P harvest index were the highest at the jointing-heading stage, which were 93.4% and 85.7%, respectively. In addition, the contribution rate of P accumulation to grain production efficiency was 41.8%. Under the low P condition, the maximal contribution rates of P accumulation to yield and grain production efficiency were observed at the tillering-jointing stage, which were 56.9% and 20.1% respectively. Furthermore, the contribution rate of P accumulation to P harvest index was 16.0%. The yield, P accumulation, and P harvest index of QR20 significantly increased under the normal P condition by 20.6%, 18.1% and 18.2% respectively compared with that in the low P condition. The rank of the contribution rates of P

Absorber for terahertz radiation management

Science.gov (United States)

Biallas, George Herman; Apeldoorn, Cornelis; Williams, Gwyn P.; Benson, Stephen V.; Shinn, Michelle D.; Heckman, John D.

2015-12-08

A method and apparatus for minimizing the degradation of power in a free electron laser (FEL) generating terahertz (THz) radiation. The method includes inserting an absorber ring in the FEL beam path for absorbing any irregular THz radiation and thus minimizes the degradation of downstream optics and the resulting degradation of the FEL output power. The absorber ring includes an upstream side, a downstream side, and a plurality of wedges spaced radially around the absorber ring. The wedges form a scallop-like feature on the innermost edges of the absorber ring that acts as an apodizer, stopping diffractive focusing of the THz radiation that is not intercepted by the absorber. Spacing between the scallop-like features and the shape of the features approximates the Bartlett apodization function. The absorber ring provides a smooth intensity distribution, rather than one that is peaked on-center, thereby eliminating minor distortion downstream of the absorber.

Absorbing aerosols at high relative humidity: linking hygroscopic growth to optical properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Michel Flores

2012-06-01

Full Text Available One of the major uncertainties in the understanding of Earth's climate system is the interaction between solar radiation and aerosols in the atmosphere. Aerosols exposed to high humidity will change their chemical, physical, and optical properties due to their increased water content. To model hydrated aerosols, atmospheric chemistry and climate models often use the volume weighted mixing rule to predict the complex refractive index (RI of aerosols when they interact with high relative humidity, and, in general, assume homogeneous mixing. This study explores the validity of these assumptions. A humidified cavity ring down aerosol spectrometer (CRD-AS and a tandem hygroscopic DMA (differential mobility analyzer are used to measure the extinction coefficient and hygroscopic growth factors of humidified aerosols, respectively. The measurements are performed at 80% and 90%RH at wavelengths of 532 nm and 355 nm using size-selected aerosols with different degrees of absorption; from purely scattering to highly absorbing particles. The ratio of the humidified to the dry extinction coefficients (fRH_ext(%RH, Dry is measured and compared to theoretical calculations based on Mie theory. Using the measured hygroscopic growth factors and assuming homogeneous mixing, the expected RIs using the volume weighted mixing rule are compared to the RIs derived from the extinction measurements.

We found a weak linear dependence or no dependence of fRH(%RH, Dry with size for hydrated absorbing aerosols in contrast to the non-monotonically decreasing behavior with size for purely scattering aerosols. No discernible difference could be made between the two wavelengths used. Less than 7% differences were found between the real parts of the complex refractive indices derived and those calculated using the volume weighted mixing rule, and the imaginary parts had up to a 20% difference. However, for substances with growth factor less than 1

High strength semi-active energy absorbers using shear- and mixedmode operation at high shear rates

Science.gov (United States)

Becnel, Andrew C.

This body of research expands the design space of semi-active energy absorbers for shock isolation and crash safety by investigating and characterizing magnetorheological fluids (MRFs) at high shear rates ( > 25,000 1/s) under shear and mixed-mode operation. Magnetorheological energy absorbers (MREAs) work well as adaptive isolators due to their ability to quickly and controllably adjust to changes in system mass or impact speed while providing fail-safe operation. However, typical linear stroking MREAs using pressure-driven flows have been shown to exhibit reduced controllability as impact speed (shear rate) increases. The objective of this work is to develop MREAs that improve controllability at high shear rates by using pure shear and mixed shear-squeeze modes of operation, and to present the fundamental theory and models of MR fluids under these conditions. A proof of concept instrument verified that the MR effect persists in shear mode devices at shear rates corresponding to low speed impacts. This instrument, a concentric cylinder Searle cell magnetorheometer, was then used to characterize three commercially available MRFs across a wide range of shear rates, applied magnetic fields, and temperatures. Characterization results are presented both as flow curves according to established practice, and as an alternate nondimensionalized analysis based on Mason number. The Mason number plots show that, with appropriate correction coefficients for operating temperature, the varied flow curve data can be collapsed to a single master curve. This work represents the first shear mode characterization of MRFs at shear rates over 10 times greater than available with commercial rheometers, as well as the first validation of Mason number analysis to high shear rate flows in MRFs. Using the results from the magnetorheometer, a full scale rotary vane MREA was developed as part of the Lightweight Magnetorheological Energy Absorber System (LMEAS) for an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter

Series-Tuned High Efficiency RF-Power Amplifiers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vidkjær, Jens

2008-01-01

An approach to high efficiency RF-power amplifier design is presented. It addresses simultaneously efficiency optimization and peak voltage limitations when transistors are pushed towards their power limits.......An approach to high efficiency RF-power amplifier design is presented. It addresses simultaneously efficiency optimization and peak voltage limitations when transistors are pushed towards their power limits....

Influence of an absorbers GEMPEHD thermal properties on the propagation of heat in a solar sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nassim Baba Ahmed

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an experimental study to measure some physic-chemical properties of a high-density polyethylene geomembane (GEMPEHD in a temperature range from 300 K to 400 K. The results will yield a dependency between temperature and its properties in order to study an energy and process the thermal aging GEMPEHD on the solar collector. In the energy study, we solve the nonlinear equation of unsteady heat with as main non linearity influence of different properties GEMPEHD on the solar collector and one notes that the GEMPEHD presented a maximum exchange Thermal characterized by high absorption and low reflection. Thus, increasing the power absorbed by the GEMPEHD increases its temperature and the useful power received by the air and then the air temperature. Overall losses increase with the increase of the temperature difference between the GEMPEHD and windows and this increases the efficiency of the solar collector and minimize the entropy of the system. Then the study of thermal aging is dedicated to the interpretation of various analyses on GEMPEHD before and after its use in the solar collector. The thermal aging GEMPEHD in the air is a physical loss and chemical consumption immediately followed by a brutal oxidation of the polymer. The losses would be governed primarily by the chemical consumption of antioxidants. After various tests, we conclude that the value of using the GEMPEHD as absorber in the solar collector is doubly beneficial. First, given its very attractive cost compared to other as efficient absorbers (such as metals gives good thermal performance of the solar collector even reaching 72%. While the life of the GEMPEHD is rather long (several years.

Broadband polarization-independent and low-profile optically transparent metamaterial absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Long; Xi, Rui; Liu, Haixia; Lv, Zhiyong

2018-05-01

A transparent metamaterial absorber with simultaneously high optical transparency and broadband microwave absorption is presented in this paper. Consisting of a two-layer soda-lime glass substrate and three-layer patch-shaped indium tin oxide (ITO) films, the proposed absorber has advantages of broadband absorption with an absorptivity higher than 85% in the range from 6.1 to 22.1 GHz, good polarization insensitiveness, a high transparency, a low profile, and wide-incident-angle stability. A prototype of the proposed absorber is fabricated and experimentally measured to demonstrate its excellent performance. The measured results agree well with the theoretical design and numerical simulations.

Interfacial Engineering and Charge Carrier Dynamics in Extremely Thin Absorber Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Edley, Michael

. With these techniques, the extension of the depletion layer from CdSe into ZnO was determined to be vital to suppression of interfacial recombination. However, depletion of the ZnO also restricted the effective diffusion core for electrons and slowed their transport. Thus, materials and geometries should be chosen to allow for a depletion layer that suppresses interfacial recombination without impeding electron transport to the point that it is detrimental to cell performance. Thin film solar cells are another promising technology that can reduce costs by relaxing material processing requirements. CuInxGa (1-x)Se (CIGS) is a well studied thin film solar cell material that has achieved good efficiencies of 22.6%. However, use of rare elements raise concerns over the use of CIGS for global power production. CuSbS2 shares chemistry with CuInSe2 and also presents desirable properties for thin film absorbers such as optimal band gap (1.5 eV), high absorption coefficient, and Earth-abundant and non-toxic elements. Despite the promise of CuSbS2, direct characterization of the material for solar cell application is scarce in the literature. CuSbS2 nanoplates were synthesized by a colloidal hot-injection method at 220 °C in oleylamine. The CuSbS2 platelets synthesized for 30 minutes had dimensions of 300 nm by 400 nm with a thickness of 50 nm and were capped with the insulating oleylamine synthesis ligand. The oleylamine synthesis ligand provides control over nanocrystal growth but is detrimental to intercrystal charge transport that is necessary for optoelectronic device applications. Solid-state and solution phase ligand exchange of oleylamine with S2- were used to fabricate mesoporous films of CuSbS2 nanoplates for application in solar cells. Exchange of the synthesis ligand with S2- resulted in a two order of magnitude increase in 4-point probe conductivity. Photoexcited carrier lifetimes of 1.4 ns were measured by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy, indicating potential

Enhancement of absorption and color contrast in ultra-thin highly absorbing optical coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Kats, Mikhail A.; Byrnes, Steven J.; Blanchard, Romain; Kolle, Mathias; Genevet, Patrice; Aizenberg, Joanna; Capasso, Federico

2013-09-01

Recently a new class of optical interference coatings was introduced which comprises ultra-thin, highly absorbing dielectric layers on metal substrates. We show that these lossy coatings can be augmented by an additional transparent subwavelength layer. We fabricated a sample comprising a gold substrate, an ultra-thin film of germanium with a thickness gradient, and several alumina films. The experimental reflectivity spectra showed that the additional alumina layer increases the color range that can be obtained, in agreement with calculations. More generally, this transparent layer can be used to enhance optical absorption, protect against erosion, or as a transparent electrode for optoelectronic devices.

High efficiency, long life terrestrial solar panel

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, T.; Khemthong, S.; Ling, R.; Olah, S.

1977-01-01

The design of a high efficiency, long life terrestrial module was completed. It utilized 256 rectangular, high efficiency solar cells to achieve high packing density and electrical output. Tooling for the fabrication of solar cells was in house and evaluation of the cell performance was begun. Based on the power output analysis, the goal of a 13% efficiency module was achievable.

Highly efficient perovskite solar cells based on a nanostructured WO3-TiO2 core-shell electron transporting material

KAUST Repository

Mahmood, Khalid; Swain, Bhabani Sankar; Kirmani, Ahmad R.; Amassian, Aram

2015-01-01

Until recently, only mesoporous TiO2 and ZnO were successfully demonstrated as electron transport layers (ETL) alongside the reports of ZrO2 and Al2O3 as scaffold materials in organometal halide perovskite solar cells, largely owing to ease of processing and to high power conversion efficiency. In this article, we explore tungsten trioxide (WO3)-based nanostructured and porous ETL materials directly grown hydrothermally with different morphologies such as nanoparticles, nanorods and nanosheet arrays. The nanostructure morphology strongly influences the photocurrent and efficiency in organometal halide perovskite solar cells. We find that the perovskite solar cells based on WO3 nanosheet arrays yield significantly enhanced photovoltaic performance as compared to nanoparticles and nanorod arrays due to good perovskite absorber infiltration in the porous scaffold and more rapid carrier transport. We further demonstrate that treating the WO3 nanostructures with an aqueous solution of TiCl4 reduces charge recombination at the perovskite/WO3 interface, resulting in the highest power conversion efficiency of 11.24% for devices based on WO3 nanosheet arrays. The successful demonstration of alternative ETL materials and nanostructures based on WO3 will open up new opportunities in the development of highly efficient perovskite solar cells. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.

From photoluminescence to thermal emission: Thermally-enhanced PL (TEPL) for efficient PV (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Manor, Assaf; Kruger, Nimrod; Martin, Leopoldo L.; Rotschild, Carmel

2016-09-01

The Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit of 40% for single-junction photovoltaic (PV) cells is mainly caused by the heat dissipation accompanying the process of electro-chemical potential generation. Concepts such as solar thermo-photovoltaics (STPV) aim to harvest this heat loss by the use of a primary absorber which acts as a mediator between the sun and the PV, spectrally shaping the light impinging on the cell. However, this approach is challenging to realize due to the high operating temperatures of above 2000K required in order to generate high thermal emission fluxes. After over thirty years of STPV research, the record conversion efficiency for STPV device stands at 3.2% for 1285K operating temperature. In contrast, we recently demonstrated how thermally-enhanced photoluminescence (TEPL) is an optical heat-pump, in which photoluminescence is thermally blue-shifted upon heating while the number of emitted photons is conserved. This process generates energetic photon-rates which are comparable to thermal emission in significantly reduced temperatures, opening the way for a TEPL based energy converter. In such a device, a photoluminescent low bandgap absorber replaces the STPV thermal absorber. The thermalization heat induces a temperature rise and a blue-shifted emission, which is efficiently harvested by a higher bandgap PV. We show that such an approach can yield ideal efficiencies of 70% at 1140K, and realistic efficiencies of almost 50% at moderate concentration levels. As an experimental proof-of-concept, we demonstrate 1.4% efficient TEPL energy conversion of an Nd3+ system coupled to a GaAs cell, at 600K.

Porphyrin Based Near Infrared-Absorbing Materials for Organic Photovoltaics

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Qiwen

photosynthesis. Photosynthesis uses light from the sun to drive a series of chemical reactions. Most natural photosynthetic systems utilize chlorophylls to absorb light energy and carry out photochemical charge separation that stores energy in the form of chemical bonds. The sun produces a broad spectrum of light output that ranges from gamma rays to radio waves. The entire visible range of light (400-700 nm) and some wavelengths in the NIR (700-1000 nm), are highly active in driving photosynthesis. Although the most familiar chlorophyll-containing organisms, such as plants, algae and cyanobacteria, cannot use light longer than 700 nm, anoxygenic bacterium containing bacteriochlorophylls can use the NIR part of the solar spectrum. No organism is known to utilize light of wavelength longer than about 1000 nm for photosynthesis. NIR light has a very low-energy content in each photon, so that large numbers of these low-energy photons would have to be used to drive the chemical reactions of photosynthesis. This is thermodynamically possible but would require a fundamentally different molecular mechanism that is more akin to a heat engine than to photochemistry. Early work on developing light absorbing materials for OPVs was inspired by photosynthesis in which light is absorbed by chlorophyll. Structurally related to chlorophyll is the porphyrin family, which has accordingly drawn much interest as the potential light absorbing component in OPV applications. In this dissertation, the design and detail studies of several porphyrin-based NIR absorbing materials, including pi--extended perylenyl porphryins and pyrazole-containing carbaporphyrins, as well as porphyrin modified single-walled carbon nanotube hybrids, will be presented, dedicating efforts to develop novel and application-oriented materials for efficient utilization of sustainable solar energy.

Absorber design for a Scheffler-Type Solar Concentrator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruelas, José; Palomares, Juan; Pando, Gabriel

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Receiver and absorber design methodology based in a solar image in the focal surface. • Stirling absorber dimensions based in a solar image in the focal surface of a STSC. • Comparative study of a solar image in the focal surface from different optical model. • A Monte-Carlo ray-tracing method was used to set STSC cavity receiver aperture. - Abstract: Ray tracing software, digital close range photogrammetry and the Monte-Carlo ray-tracing method have proven to be precise and efficient measurement techniques for the assessment of the shape accuracies of solar concentrators and their components. This paper presents a new method and results for the geometric aspect of a focal image for a Scheffler-Type Solar Concentrator (STSC) using ray tracing, digital close range photogrammetry and the Monte-Carlo ray-tracing method to establish parameters that allow for the design of the most suitable absorber and receiver geometry for coupling the STSC to a Stirling engine. The results of the ray tracing software, digital close range photogrammetry and Monte-Carlo ray tracing technique in STSC are associated with a Stirling receiver. When using the method to perform simulations, we found that the most suitable solar image geometry has an elliptical shape and area of 0.0065 m 2 on average. Although this result is appropriate, the geometry of the receiver is modified to fit an absorber and cavity receiver to improve the heat transfer by radiation

High Efficiency, Illumination Quality OLEDs for Lighting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joseph Shiang; James Cella; Kelly Chichak; Anil Duggal; Kevin Janora; Chris Heller; Gautam Parthasarathy; Jeffery Youmans; Joseph Shiang

2008-03-31

. In 2003, a large area, OLED based illumination source was demonstrated that could provide light with a quality, quantity, and efficiency on par with what can be achieved with traditional light sources. The demonstration source was made by tiling together 16 separate 6-inch x 6-inch blue-emitting OLEDs. The efficiency, total lumen output, and lifetime of the OLED based illumination source were the same as what would be achieved with an 80 watt incandescent bulb. The devices had an average efficacy of 15 LPW and used solution-processed OLEDs. The individual 6-inch x 6-inch devices incorporated three technology strategies developed specifically for OLED lighting -- downconversion for white light generation, scattering for outcoupling efficiency enhancement, and a scalable monolithic series architecture to enable large area devices. The downconversion approach consists of optically coupling a blue-emitting OLED to a set of luminescent layers. The layers are chosen to absorb the blue OLED emission and then luminescence with high efficiency at longer wavelengths. The composition and number of layers are chosen so that the unabsorbed blue emission and the longer wavelength re-emission combine to make white light. A downconversion approach has the advantage of allowing a wide variety of colors to be made from a limited set of blue emitters. In addition, one does not have to carefully tune the emission wavelength of the individual electro-luminescent species within the OLED device in order to achieve white light. The downconversion architecture used to develop the 15LPW large area light source consisted of a polymer-based blue-emitting OLED and three downconversion layers. Two of the layers utilized perylene based dyes from BASF AG of Germany with high quantum efficiency (>98%) and one of the layers consisted of inorganic phosphor particles (Y(Gd)AG:Ce) with a quantum efficiency of {approx}85%. By independently varying the optical density of the downconversion layers, the

Nanosecond laser-induced back side wet etching of fused silica with a copper-based absorber liquid

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenz, Pierre; Zehnder, Sarah; Ehrhardt, Martin; Frost, Frank; Zimmer, Klaus; Schwaller, Patrick

2014-03-01

Cost-efficient machining of dielectric surfaces with high-precision and low-roughness for industrial applications is still challenging if using laser-patterning processes. Laser induced back side wet etching (LIBWE) using UV laser pulses with liquid heavy metals or aromatic hydrocarbons as absorber allows the fabrication of well-defined, nm precise, free-form surfaces with low surface roughness, e.g., needed for optical applications. The copper-sulphatebased absorber CuSO4/K-Na-Tartrate/NaOH/formaldehyde in water is used for laser-induced deposition of copper. If this absorber can also be used as precursor for laser-induced ablation, promising industrial applications combining surface structuring and deposition within the same setup could be possible. The etching results applying a KrF excimer (248 nm, 25 ns) and a Nd:YAG (1064 nm, 20 ns) laser are compared. The topography of the etched surfaces were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), white light interferometry (WLI) as well as laser scanning microscopy (LSM). The chemical composition of the irradiated surface was studied by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). For the discussion of the etching mechanism the laser-induced heating was simulated with finite element method (FEM). The results indicate that the UV and IR radiation allows micro structuring of fused silica with the copper-based absorber where the etching process can be explained by the laser-induced formation of a copper-based absorber layer.

Impact of speciation on CO{sub 2} capture performance using blended absorbent containing ammonia, triethanolamine and 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Hao-Yang; Jeon, Soo-Bin; Jang, Se-Yong; Oh, Kwang-Joong [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Sang-Sup [Chungbuk National University, Cheongju (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Seong-Kuy [BK Environmental Construction, Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-07-15

In our previous study, a high CO{sub 2} absorption rate was achieved using a blended absorbent containing AMP, NH{sub 3}, and TEA. The species of the blended absorbent was determined in this study using {sup 13}C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and a modified Kent-Eisenberg model. The carbamate formation constant was also regressed using the model. Bicarbonate and carbonate ions decrease the absorption efficiency and have a positive effect on CO{sub 2} stripping. Carbamate has a negative effect on regeneration; a regeneration temperature of 373 K minimized the energy needed. In conclusion, the prediction equation and NMR analysis provide an easy way of determining carbonate group species and carbamate species concentrations, and this method will be helpful in optimizing CO{sub 2} capture with blended absorbents.

Selection and characterization of new absorbents for carbon dioxide capture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma' mun, Sholeh

2005-09-01

Removal of acidic gases, in particular CO2, is an important industrial operation. Carbon dioxide is produced in large quantities by fossil-fuel-fired power plants, steel production, the production of petrochemicals, cement production, and natural gas purification. The global climate change, where CO2 is found to be a major contributor, is one of the most important and challenging environmental issues facing the world community. This has motivated intensive research on CO2 capture and storage. Carbon dioxide capture by an absorption process is one of the most common industrial technologies today. Recent economic studies indicate that the process will also remain competitive in the future. One of the key improvements under development is new, faster and more energy-efficient absorbents. A chemical to be used as a commercial absorbent must have high net cyclic capacity, high absorption rate for CO2 and good chemical stability. Alkanolamines are the most commonly used chemical absorbents for the removal of acidic gases today. In the first part of this thesis, an experimental screening of new absorbents for CO2 capture was performed by absorption of CO2 into both single absorbents and absorbent mixtures for amine-based and non-amine-based systems at 40 deg. Celsius From testing of approx. 30 systems, it was found that an aqueous 30 mass % AEEA (2-(2-aminoethyl-amino)ethanol) solution seems to be a potentially good absorbent for capturing CO2 from atmospheric flue gases. It offers high absorption rate combined with high absorption capacity. In addition toAEEA, MMEA (2-(methylamino)ethanol) also needs to be considered. It could have a good potential when used in contactors where the two phases are separated, like in membrane contactors, whereas indications from the study showed foaming tendencies that will make it difficult to use in ordinary towers. AEEA as the selected absorbent obtained from the screening tests was further investigated to determine its vapor

Acoustic characterization of a nonlinear vibroacoustic absorber at low frequencies and high sound levels

Science.gov (United States)

Chauvin, A.; Monteil, M.; Bellizzi, S.; Côte, R.; Herzog, Ph.; Pachebat, M.

2018-03-01

A nonlinear vibroacoustic absorber (Nonlinear Energy Sink: NES), involving a clamped thin membrane made in Latex, is assessed in the acoustic domain. This NES is here considered as an one-port acoustic system, analyzed at low frequencies and for increasing excitation levels. This dynamic and frequency range requires a suitable experimental technique, which is presented first. It involves a specific impedance tube able to deal with samples of sufficient size, and reaching high sound levels with a guaranteed linear response thank's to a specific acoustic source. The identification method presented here requires a single pressure measurement, and is calibrated from a set of known acoustic loads. The NES reflection coefficient is then estimated at increasing source levels, showing its strong level dependency. This is presented as a mean to understand energy dissipation. The results of the experimental tests are first compared to a nonlinear viscoelastic model of the membrane absorber. In a second step, a family of one degree of freedom models, treated as equivalent Helmholtz resonators is identified from the measurements, allowing a parametric description of the NES behavior over a wide range of levels.

New advances in wet scrubbing improvement efficiencies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keen, A.R. [Altech Group, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2000-07-01

Wet scrubbing systems are the most versatile and cost efficient of all air pollution abatement technologies. This paper presented System REITHER{sup TM} which is a new generation of venturi scrubber. The advantages of this design are that it is simple and compact, has high removal efficiencies for sub-micron dusts or aerosols and it is flexible to handle any mass flow rate. It also provides high and constant reliability, is easy to control and has the potential to absorb gaseous pollutants. Another advantage is that it can handle corrosive streams through corrosion resistant materials. Innovations in wet scrubbing have made it possible to provide reliable and efficient separation of fine particles, corrosive aerosols and gases. New technology provides industrial engineers with a cost effective option when control air emissions is required. 1 fig.

Performance Study of Solar Air Heater Having Absorber Plate with Half-Perforated Baffles

OpenAIRE

Maheshwari, B. K.; Karwa, Rajendra; Gharai, S. K.

2011-01-01

The paper presents a detailed mathematical model for performance prediction of a smooth duct solar air heater validated against the experimental results. Experimental study on a solar air heater having absorber plate with half-perforated baffles on the air flow side shows thermal efficiency enhancement of 28%–45% over that of the smooth duct solar air heater, which is attributed to the heat transfer enhancement (of the order of 180%–235%) due to the perforated baffles attached to the absorber...

Thermodynamic and achievable efficiencies for solar-driven electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to transportation fuels

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Meenesh R.; Clark, Ezra L.; Bell, Alexis T.

2015-01-01

Thermodynamic, achievable, and realistic efficiency limits of solar-driven electrochemical conversion of water and carbon dioxide to fuels are investigated as functions of light-absorber composition and configuration, and catalyst composition. The maximum thermodynamic efficiency at 1-sun illumination for adiabatic electrochemical synthesis of various solar fuels is in the range of 32–42%. Single-, double-, and triple-junction light absorbers are found to be optimal for electrochemical load ranges of 0–0.9 V, 0.9–1.95 V, and 1.95–3.5 V, respectively. Achievable solar-to-fuel (STF) efficiencies are determined using ideal double- and triple-junction light absorbers and the electrochemical load curves for CO2 reduction on silver and copper cathodes, and water oxidation kinetics over iridium oxide. The maximum achievable STF efficiencies for synthesis gas (H2 and CO) and Hythane (H2 and CH4) are 18.4% and 20.3%, respectively. Whereas the realistic STF efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) can be as low as 0.8%, tandem PECs and photovoltaic (PV)-electrolyzers can operate at 7.2% under identical operating conditions. We show that the composition and energy content of solar fuels can also be adjusted by tuning the band-gaps of triple-junction light absorbers and/or the ratio of catalyst-to-PV area, and that the synthesis of liquid products and C2H4 have high profitability indices. PMID:26504215

Treatability study of absorbent polymer waste form for mixed waste treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrmann, S. D.; Lehto, M. A.; Stewart, N. A.; Croft, A. D.; Kern, P. W.

2000-01-01

A treatability study was performed to develop and characterize an absorbent polymer waste form for application to low level (LLW) and mixed low level (MLLW) aqueous wastes at Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-W). In this study absorbent polymers proved effective at immobilizing aqueous liquid wastes in order to meet Land Disposal Restrictions for subsurface waste disposal. Treatment of aqueous waste with absorbent polymers provides an alternative to liquid waste solidification via high-shear mixing with clays and cements. Significant advantages of absorbent polymer use over clays and cements include ease of operations and waste volume minimization. Absorbent polymers do not require high-shear mixing as do clays and cements. Granulated absorbent polymer is poured into aqueous solutions and forms a gel which passes the paint filter test as a non-liquid. Pouring versus mixing of a solidification agent not only eliminates the need for a mixing station, but also lessens exposure to personnel and the potential for spread of contamination from treatment of radioactive wastes. Waste minimization is achieved as significantly less mass addition and volume increase is required of and results from absorbent polymer use than that of clays and cements. Operational ease and waste minimization translate into overall cost savings for LLW and MLLW treatment

New highly efficient piezoceramic materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dantsiger, A.Ya.; Razumovskaya, O.N.; Reznichenko, L.A.; Grineva, L.D.; Devlikanova, R.U.; Dudkina, S.I.; Gavrilyachenko, S.V.; Dergunova, N.V.

1993-01-01

New high efficient piezoceramic materials with various combination of parameters inclusing high Curie point for high-temperature transducers using in atomic power engineering are worked. They can be used in systems for heated matters nondestructive testing, controllers for varied industrial power plants and other high-temperature equipment

Highly efficient photocatalytic conversion of solar energy to hydrogen by WO3/BiVO4 core-shell heterojunction nanorods

Science.gov (United States)

Kosar, Sonya; Pihosh, Yuriy; Bekarevich, Raman; Mitsuishi, Kazutaka; Mawatari, Kazuma; Kazoe, Yutaka; Kitamori, Takehiko; Tosa, Masahiro; Tarasov, Alexey B.; Goodilin, Eugene A.; Struk, Yaroslav M.; Kondo, Michio; Turkevych, Ivan

2018-04-01

Photocatalytic splitting of water under solar light has proved itself to be a promising approach toward the utilization of solar energy and the generation of environmentally friendly fuel in a form of hydrogen. In this work, we demonstrate highly efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of 7.7% by photovoltaic-photoelectrochemical (PV-PEC) device based on hybrid MAPbI3 perovskite PV cell and WO3/BiVO4 core-shell nanorods PEC cell tandem that utilizes spectral splitting approach. Although BiVO4 is characterized by intrinsically high recombination rate of photogenerated carriers, this is not an issue for WO3/BiVO4 core-shell nanorods, where highly conductive WO3 cores are combined with extremely thin absorber BiVO4 shell layer. Since the BiVO4 layer is thinner than the characteristic carrier diffusion length, the photogenerated charge carriers are separated at the WO3/BiVO4 heterojunction before their recombination. Also, such architecture provides sufficient optical thickness even for extremely thin BiVO4 layer due to efficient light trapping in the core-shell WO3/BiVO4 nanorods with high aspect ratio. We also demonstrate that the concept of fill factor can be used to compare I-V characteristics of different photoanodes regarding their optimization for PV/PEC tandem devices.

Shock absorber system for nuclear reactor ice condenser compartment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meier, J.F.; Rudd, G.E.; Pradhan, A.V.; George, J.A.; Lippincott, H.W.; Sutherland, J.D.

1979-01-01

A shock absorber system was designed to absorb the energy imparted to doors in a nuclear reactor ice condenser compartment as they swing rapidly to an open position. Each shock absorber which is installed on a wall adjacent to each door is large and must absorb up to about 40,000 foot pounds of energy. The basic shock absorber component comprises foam enclosed in a synthetic fabric bag having a volume about twice the foam volume. A stainless steel knitted mesh bag of the same volume as the fabric bag, contains the fabric bag and its enclosed foam. To protect the foam and bags during construction activities at the reactor site and from the shearing action of the doors, a protective sheet metal cover is installed over the shock absorber ends and the surface to be contacted by the moving door. With the above shock absorber mounted on a wall behind each door, as the door is forcibly opened by steam pressure and air resulting from a pipe break in the reactor compartment, it swings at a high velocity into contact with the shock absorber, crushes the foam and forces it into the fabric bag excess material thus containing the foam fragmented particles, and minimizes build-up of pressure in the bag as a result of the applied compressive force

Photocatalytic oxidation of organic compounds in a hybrid system composed of a molecular catalyst and visible light-absorbing semiconductor.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xu; Li, Fei; Li, Xiaona; Li, Hua; Wang, Yong; Sun, Licheng

2015-01-14

Photocatalytic oxidation of organic compounds proceeded efficiently in a hybrid system with ruthenium aqua complexes as catalysts, BiVO4 as a light absorber, [Co(NH3)5Cl](2+) as a sacrificial electron acceptor and water as an oxygen source. The photogenerated holes in the semiconductor are used to oxidize molecular catalysts into the high-valent Ru(IV)=O intermediates for 2e(-) oxidation.

High-efficient light absorption of monolayer graphene via cylindrical dielectric arrays and the sensing application

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Peng; Zheng, Gaige

2018-04-01

The efficiency of graphene-based optoelectronic devices is typically limited by the poor absolute absorption of light. A hybrid structure of monolayer graphene with cylindrical titanium dioxide (TiO2) array and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) spacer layer on aluminum (Al) substrate has been proposed to enhance the absorption for two-dimensional (2D) materials. By combining dielectric array with metal substrate, the structure achieves multiple absorption peaks with near unity absorbance at near-infrared wavelengths due to the resonant effect of dielectric array. Completed monolayer graphene is utilized in the design without any demand of manufacture process to form the periodic patterns. Further analysis indicates that the near-field enhancement induced by surface modes gives rise to the high absorption. This favorable field enhancement and tunability of absorption not only open up new approaches to accelerate the light-graphene interaction, but also show great potential for practical applications in high-performance optoelectronic devices, such as modulators and sensors.

Control of base-excited dynamical systems through piezoelectric energy harvesting absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Abdelmoula, H.; Dai, H. L.; Abdelkefi, A.; Wang, L.

2017-09-01

The spring-mass absorber usually offers a good control to dynamical systems under direct base excitations for a specific value of the excitation frequency. As the vibrational energy of a primary dynamical system is transferred to the absorber, it gets dissipated. In this study, this energy is no longer dissipated but converted to available electrical power by designing efficient energy harvesters. A novel design of a piezoelectric beam installed inside an elastically-mounted dynamical system undergoing base excitations is considered. A design is carried out in order to determine the properties and dimensions of the energy harvester with the constraint of simultaneously decreasing the oscillating amplitudes of the primary dynamical system and increasing the harvested power of the energy harvesting absorber. An analytical model for the coupled system is constructed using Euler-Lagrange principle and Galerkin discretization. Different strategies for controlling the primary structure displacement and enhancing the harvested power as functions of the electrical load resistance and thickness of the beam substrate are performed. The linear polynomial approximation of the system’s key parameters as a function of the beam’s substrate thickness is first carried out. Then, the gradient method is applied to determine the adequate values of the electrical load resistance and thickness of the substrate under the constraints of minimizing the amplitudes of the primary structure or maximizing the levels of the harvested power. After that, an iterative strategy is considered in order to simultaneously minimize the amplitudes of the primary structure and maximize the levels of the harvested power as functions of the thickness of the substrate and electrical load resistance. In addition to harmonic excitations, the coupled system subjected to a white noise is explored. Through this analysis, the load resistance and thickness of the substrate of the piezoelectric energy harvester

Efficient direct solar-to-hydrogen conversion by in situ interface transformation of a tandem structure

Science.gov (United States)

May, Matthias M.; Lewerenz, Hans-Joachim; Lackner, David; Dimroth, Frank; Hannappel, Thomas

2015-09-01

Photosynthesis is nature's route to convert intermittent solar irradiation into storable energy, while its use for an industrial energy supply is impaired by low efficiency. Artificial photosynthesis provides a promising alternative for efficient robust carbon-neutral renewable energy generation. The approach of direct hydrogen generation by photoelectrochemical water splitting utilizes customized tandem absorber structures to mimic the Z-scheme of natural photosynthesis. Here a combined chemical surface transformation of a tandem structure and catalyst deposition at ambient temperature yields photocurrents approaching the theoretical limit of the absorber and results in a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 14%. The potentiostatically assisted photoelectrode efficiency is 17%. Present benchmarks for integrated systems are clearly exceeded. Details of the in situ interface transformation, the electronic improvement and chemical passivation are presented. The surface functionalization procedure is widely applicable and can be precisely controlled, allowing further developments of high-efficiency robust hydrogen generators.

Hydraulic shock absorbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thatcher, G.; Davidson, D. F.

1984-01-01

A hydraulic shock absorber of the dash pot kind for use with electrically conducting liquid such as sodium, has magnet means for electro magnetically braking a stream of liquid discharged from the cylinder. The shock absorber finds use in a liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor for arresting control rods

Clinical dosimetry with plastic scintillators - Almost energy independent, direct absorbed dose reading with high resolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quast, U; Fluehs, D [Department of Radiotherapy, Essen (Germany). Div. of Clinical Radiation Physics; Fluehs, D; Kolanoski, H [Dortmund Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Physik

1996-08-01

Clinical dosimetry is still far behind the goal to measure any spatial or temporal distribution of absorbed dose fast and precise without disturbing the physical situation by the dosimetry procedure. NE 102A plastic scintillators overcome this border. These tissue substituting dosemeter probes open a wide range of new clinical applications of dosimetry. This versatile new dosimetry system enables fast measurement of the absorbed dose to water in water also in regions with a steep dose gradient, close to interfaces, or in partly shielded regions. It allows direct reading dosimetry in the energy range of all clinically used external photon and electron beams, or around all branchytherapy sources. Thin detector arrays permit fast and high resolution measurements in quality assurance, such as in-vivo dosimetry or even afterloading dose monitoring. A main field of application is the dosimetric treatment planning, the individual optimization of brachytherapy applicators. Thus, plastic scintillator dosemeters cover optimally all difficult fields of clinical dosimetry. An overview about its characteristics and applications is given here. 20 refs, 1 fig.

Reliable wet-chemical cleaning of natively oxidized high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cell absorbers

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmann, Jascha; Lehmann, Sebastian; Lauermann, Iver; Rissom, Thorsten; Kaufmann, Christian A.; Lux-Steiner, Martha Ch.; Bär, Marcus; Sadewasser, Sascha

2014-12-01

Currently, Cu-containing chalcopyrite-based solar cells provide the highest conversion efficiencies among all thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technologies. They have reached efficiency values above 20%, the same performance level as multi-crystalline silicon-wafer technology that dominates the commercial PV market. Chalcopyrite thin-film heterostructures consist of a layer stack with a variety of interfaces between different materials. It is the chalcopyrite/buffer region (forming the p-n junction), which is of crucial importance and therefore frequently investigated using surface and interface science tools, such as photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning probe microscopy. To ensure comparability and validity of the results, a general preparation guide for "realistic" surfaces of polycrystalline chalcopyrite thin films is highly desirable. We present results on wet-chemical cleaning procedures of polycrystalline Cu(In1-xGax)Se2 thin films with an average x = [Ga]/([In] + [Ga]) = 0.29, which were exposed to ambient conditions for different times. The hence natively oxidized sample surfaces were etched in KCN- or NH3-based aqueous solutions. By x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the KCN treatment results in a chemical surface structure which is - apart from a slight change in surface composition - identical to a pristine as-received sample surface. Additionally, we discover a different oxidation behavior of In and Ga, in agreement with thermodynamic reference data, and we find indications for the segregation and removal of copper selenide surface phases from the polycrystalline material.

Efficient coupling of high intensity short laser pulses into snow clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Palchan, T.; Pecker, S.; Henis, Z.; Eisenmann, S.; Zigler, A.

2007-01-01

Measurements of energy absorption of high intensity laser pulses in snow clusters are reported. Targets consisting of sapphire coated with snow nanoparticles were found to absorb more than 95% of the incident light compared to 50% absorption in flat sapphire targets.

Highly efficient energy transfer from a carbonyl carotenoid to chlorophyll a in the main light harvesting complex of Chromera velia.

Science.gov (United States)

Durchan, Milan; Keşan, Gürkan; Slouf, Václav; Fuciman, Marcel; Staleva, Hristina; Tichý, Josef; Litvín, Radek; Bína, David; Vácha, František; Polívka, Tomáš

2014-10-01

We report on energy transfer pathways in the main light-harvesting complex of photosynthetic relative of apicomplexan parasites, Chromera velia. This complex, denoted CLH, belongs to the family of FCP proteins and contains chlorophyll (Chl) a, violaxanthin, and the so far unidentified carbonyl carotenoid related to isofucoxanthin. The overall carotenoid-to-Chl-a energy transfer exhibits efficiency over 90% which is the largest among the FCP-like proteins studied so far. Three spectroscopically different isofucoxanthin-like molecules were identified in CLH, each having slightly different energy transfer efficiency that increases from isofucoxanthin-like molecules absorbing in the blue part of the spectrum to those absorbing in the reddest part of spectrum. Part of the energy transfer from carotenoids proceeds via the ultrafast S2 channel of both the violaxanthin and isofucoxanthin-like carotenoid, but major energy transfer pathway proceeds via the S1/ICT state of the isofucoxanthin-like carotenoid. Two S1/ICT-mediated channels characterized by time constants of ~0.5 and ~4ps were found. For the isofucoxanthin-like carotenoid excited at 480nm the slower channel dominates, while those excited at 540nm employs predominantly the fast 0.5ps channel. Comparing these data with the excited-state properties of the isofucoxanthin-like carotenoid in solution we conclude that, contrary to other members of the FCP family employing carbonyl carotenoids, CLH complex suppresses the charge transfer character of the S1/ICT state of the isofucoxanthin-like carotenoid to achieve the high carotenoid-to-Chl-a energy transfer efficiency. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High-efficiency cavity-dumped micro-chip Yb:YAG laser

Science.gov (United States)

Nishio, M.; Maruko, A.; Inoue, M.; Takama, M.; Matsubara, S.; Okunishi, H.; Kato, K.; Kyomoto, K.; Yoshida, T.; Shimabayashi, K.; Morioka, M.; Inayoshi, S.; Yamagata, S.; Kawato, S.

2014-09-01

High-efficiency cavity-dumped ytterbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Yb:YAG) laser was developed. Although the high quantum efficiency of ytterbium-doped laser materials is appropriate for high-efficiency laser oscillation, the efficiency is decreased by their quasi-three/four laser natures. High gain operation by high intensity pumping is suitable for high efficiency oscillation on the quasi-three/four lasers without extremely low temperature cooling. In our group, highest efficiency oscillations for continuous wave, nanosecond to picosecond pulse lasers were achieved at room temperature by the high gain operation in which pump intensities were beyond 100 kW/cm2.

Reflection measurements of microwave absorbers

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Dirk E.; van der Neut, Cornelis A.

1988-12-01

A swept-frequency interferometer is described for making rapid, real-time assessments of localized inhomogeneities in planar microwave absorber panels. An aperture-matched exponential horn is used to reduce residual reflections in the system to about -37 dB. This residual reflection is adequate for making comparative measurements on planar absorber panels whose reflectivities usually fall in the -15 to -25 dB range. Reflectivity measurements on a variety of planar absorber panels show that multilayer Jaumann absorbers have the greatest inhomogeneity, while honeycomb absorbers generally have excellent homogeneity within a sheet and from sheet to sheet. The test setup is also used to measure the center frequencies of resonant absorbers. With directional couplers and aperture-matched exponential horns, the technique can be easily applied in the standard 2 to 40 GHz waveguide bands.

Neutron absorbers, and the production method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kayano, Hideo; Yajima, Seishi; Oono, Hironori.

1979-01-01

Purpose: To integrally sinter a metal powder and a metal network material thereby to obtain a material having a high neutron absorbing function, an excellent corrosion resistance and an excellent oxidation resistance. Method: An element having a high neutron absorbing function, such as Gd, or a compound thereof and a powder of a metal having excellent corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance and ductility, such as Fe, Cr or the like are uniformly mixed with each other. In a case where a substance having a neutron absorbing function is a hydroxide an organic complex or the like, it is formed into a gel-like substance and mixed uniformly with the metal powder, the gel-like substance being pasted, and covered on the surface of the metal powder and dried. Then, the mixture or the dry coated material is extended and the metal network material having excellent corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance and ductility is covered or interposed or between at least one layer of upper, intermediate or lower layers of said laminated material, and thereafter is subjected to cold or hot rolling, and then sintered and furthermore rolled, if necessary, the thus treated material being burned in vacuum or a non-oxidizing atmosphere. (Kamimura, M.)

Ground-plane-less bidirectional terahertz absorber based on omega resonators

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Balmakou, Alexei; Podalov, Maxim; Khakhomov, Sergei; Stavenga, Doekele; Semchenko, Igor

2015-01-01

We present a new ultrathin metamaterial that acts as a frequency-selective absorber of terahertz radiation. The absorber is a square array of pairs of omega-shaped micro-resonators made of high-ohmic-loss metal. The metamaterial provides significant suppression of transmitted and reflected radiation

Controlled Crystal Grain Growth in Mixed Cation-Halide Perovskite by Evaporated Solvent Vapor Recycling Method for High Efficiency Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Numata, Youhei; Kogo, Atsushi; Udagawa, Yosuke; Kunugita, Hideyuki; Ema, Kazuhiro; Sanehira, Yoshitaka; Miyasaka, Tsutomu

2017-06-07

We developed a new and simple solvent vapor-assisted thermal annealing (VA) procedure which can reduce grain boundaries in a perovskite film for fabricating highly efficient perovskite solar cells (PSCs). By recycling of solvent molecules evaporated from an as-prepared perovskite film as a VA vapor source, named the pot-roast VA (PR-VA) method, finely controlled and reproducible device fabrication was achieved for formamidinium (FA) and methylammonium (MA) mixed cation-halide perovskite (FAPbI 3 ) 0.85 (MAPbBr 3 ) 0.15 . The mixed perovskite was crystallized on a low-temperature prepared brookite TiO 2 mesoporous scaffold. When exposed to very dilute solvent vapor, small grains in the perovskite film gradually unified into large grains, resulting in grain boundaries which were highly reduced and improvement of photovoltaic performance in PSC. PR-VA-treated large grain perovskite absorbers exhibited stable photocurrent-voltage performance with high fill factor and suppressed hysteresis, achieving the best conversion efficiency of 18.5% for a 5 × 5 mm 2 device and 15.2% for a 1.0 × 1.0 cm 2 device.

New Technology in Hydrogen Absorbers for Muon Cooling Channels

CERN Document Server

Cummings, M A C

2005-01-01

Ionization cooling is the only technique fast enough to cool and focus muons for neutrino factories and muon colliders, and hydrogen is the optimal material for maximum cooling and minimal multiple scattering. Liquid hydrogen absorber R&D for the Muon Collaboration has proceeded on parallel and complementary fronts. The continuing LH2 absorber engineering and technical developments by the MuCool group conducted by ICAR* institutions (NIU, IIT and UIUC), the University of Mississippi and Oxford University, in cooperation with Fermilab, will be summarized, including results from the first hydrogen absorber tests at the newly constructed FNAL Mucool Test Area (MTA). The program includes designs for the high-powered test of an absorber prototype (external heat exchange) at the MTA which are nearing completion to be installed by summer 2005, an alternative absorber design (internal heat exchange) being finalized for the approved cooling experiment (MICE) at Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, and a novel idea for ...

Corrosion resistant neutron absorbing coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jor-Shan [El Cerrito, CA; Farmer, Joseph C [Tracy, CA; Lee, Chuck K [Hayward, CA; Walker, Jeffrey [Gaithersburg, MD; Russell, Paige [Las Vegas, NV; Kirkwood, Jon [Saint Leonard, MD; Yang, Nancy [Lafayette, CA; Champagne, Victor [Oxford, PA

2012-05-29

A method of forming a corrosion resistant neutron absorbing coating comprising the steps of spray or deposition or sputtering or welding processing to form a composite material made of a spray or deposition or sputtering or welding material, and a neutron absorbing material. Also a corrosion resistant neutron absorbing coating comprising a composite material made of a spray or deposition or sputtering or welding material, and a neutron absorbing material.

Optimized reflectors for non-tracking solar collectors with tubular absorbers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muschaweck, Julius [Optics and Energy Consulting, Munich (Germany); Spirkl, Wolfgang [Ludwig-Maximilians Univ., Sektion Physik, Munich (Germany); Timinger, Andreas [Optics and Energy Consulting, Munich (Germany); ZAE Bayern, Solar Thermal and Biomass Dept., Munich (Germany); Benz, Nikolaus; Doerfler, Michael; Gut, Martin [ZAE Bayern, Solar Thermal and Biomass Dept., Munich (Germany); Kose, Erwin [microtherm Energietecjnik GmbH, Lods, 25 (France)

2000-07-01

We present an approach to find optimal reflector shapes for non-tracking solar collectors under practical constraints. We focus on cylindrical absorbers and reflectors with translational symmetry. Under idealised circumstances, edge ray reflectors are well known to be optimal. However, it is not clear how optimal reflectors should be shaped in order to obtain maximum utilisable energy for given operating temperatures under practical constraints like reflectivity less than unity, real radiation data, size limits, and gaps between the reflector and the absorber. For a prototype collector with a symmetric edge ray reflector and a tubular absorber, we derive from calorimetric measurements under outdoor conditions the optical efficiency as a function of the incidence angle. Using numerical optimisation and raytracing, we compare truncated symmetric edge ray reflectors, truncated asymmetric edge ray reflectors and free forms parametrized by Bezier splines. We find that asymmetric edge ray reflectors are optimal. For reasonable operating conditions, truncated asymmetric edge ray reflectors allow much better land use and easily adapt to a large range of roof tilt angles with marginal changes in collector construction. Except near the equator, they should increase the yearly utilisable energy per absorber tube by several percent as compared to the prototype collector with symmetric reflectors. (Author)

Highly efficient high temperature electrolysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hauch, Anne; Ebbesen, Sune; Jensen, Søren Højgaard

2008-01-01

High temperature electrolysis of water and steam may provide an efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly production of H-2 Using electricity produced from sustainable, non-fossil energy sources. To achieve cost competitive electrolysis cells that are both high performing i.e. minimum...... internal resistance of the cell, and long-term stable, it is critical to develop electrode materials that are optimal for steam electrolysis. In this article electrolysis cells for electrolysis of water or steam at temperatures above 200 degrees C for production of H-2 are reviewed. High temperature...... electrolysis is favourable from a thermodynamic point of view, because a part of the required energy can be supplied as thermal heat, and the activation barrier is lowered increasing the H-2 production rate. Only two types of cells operating at high temperature (above 200 degrees C) have been described...

Absorbed dose determination in external beam radiotherapy. An international code of practice for dosimetry based on standards of absorbed dose to water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency published in 1987 an International Code of Practice entitled 'Absorbed Dose Determination in Photon and Electron Beams' (IAEA Technical Reports Series No. 277 (TRS-277)), recommending procedures to obtain the absorbed dose in water from measurements made with an ionization chamber in external beam radiotherapy. A second edition of TRS-277 was published in 1997 updating the dosimetry of photon beams, mainly kilovoltage X rays. Another International Code of Practice for radiotherapy dosimetry entitled 'The Use of Plane-Parallel Ionization Chambers in High Energy Electron and Photon Beams' (IAEA Technical Reports Series No. 381 (TRS-381)) was published in 1997 to further update TRS-277 and complement it with respect to the area of parallel-plate ionization chambers. Both codes have proven extremely valuable for users involved in the dosimetry of the radiation beams used in radiotherapy. In TRS-277 the calibration of the ionization chambers was based on primary standards of air kerma; this procedure was also used in TRS-381, but the new trend of calibrating ionization chambers directly in a water phantom in terms of absorbed dose to water was introduced. The development of primary standards of absorbed dose to water for high energy photon and electron beams, and improvements in radiation dosimetry concepts, offer the possibility of reducing the uncertainty in the dosimetry of radiotherapy beams. The dosimetry of kilovoltage X rays, as well as that of proton and heavy ion beams, interest in which has grown considerably in recent years, can also be based on these standards. Thus a coherent dosimetry system based on standards of absorbed dose to water is possible for practically all radiotherapy beams. Many Primary Standard Dosimetry Laboratories (PSDLs) already provide calibrations in terms of absorbed dose to water at the radiation quality of 60 Co gamma rays. Some laboratories have extended calibrations to high energy photon and

Absorbed dose estimates to structures of the brain and head using a high-resolution voxel-based head phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, Jeffrey F.; Blue, Thomas E.; Gupta, Nilendu

2001-01-01

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the viability of using a high-resolution 3-D head phantom in Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) structure dosimetry. This work describes a high-resolution voxel-based model of a human head and its use for calculating absorbed doses to the structures of the brain. The Zubal head phantom is a 3-D model of a human head that can be displayed and manipulated on a computer. Several changes were made to the original head phantom which now contains over 29 critical structures of the brain and head. The modified phantom is a 85x109x120 lattice of voxels, where each voxel is 2.2x2.2x1.4 mm 3 . This model was translated into MCNP lattice format. As a proof of principle study, two MCNP absorbed dose calculations were made (left and right lateral irradiations) using a uniformly distributed neutron disk source with an 1/E energy spectrum. Additionally, the results of these two calculations were combined to estimate the absorbed doses from a bilateral irradiation. Radiobiologically equivalent (RBE) doses were calculated for all structures and were normalized to 12.8 Gy-Eq. For a left lateral irradiation, the left motor cortex receives the limiting RBE dose. For a bilateral irradiation, the insula cortices receive the limiting dose. Among the nonencephalic structures, the parotid glands receive RBE doses that were within 15% of the limiting dose

Design considerations for application of metallic honeycomb as an energy absorber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, W.H.; Roemer, R.E.

1980-01-01

Design for postulated accidents in nuclear power plants often requires mitigation of impact to safety-related structures. Plastically designed, energy absorbing mechanisms are often used in the design of such mitigating structures. Metallic honeycomb is the most efficient, practical, energy-absorbing material currently in use. Recent tests indicate that its use in this application, however, presents some unique design and fabrication problems. The paper presents the results of static and dynamic crush tests concerned with the effect of impact velocity, material properties, cell density, loading configuration, and overall pad geometry. Specific design recommendations are made in each area, and suggestions are provided to improve fabrication techniques and minimize subsequent problems

Sugar microanalysis by HPLC with benzoylation: improvement via introduction of a C-8 cartridge and a high efficiency ODS column.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyagi, Michiko; Yokoyama, Hirokazu; Hibi, Toshifumi

2007-07-01

An HPLC protocol for sugar microanalysis based on the formation of ultraviolet-absorbing benzoyl chloride derivatives was improved. Here, samples were prepared with a C-8 cartridge and analyzed with a high efficiency ODS column, in which porous spherical silica particles 3 microm in diameter were packed. These devices allowed us to simultaneously quantify multiple sugars and sugar alcohols up to 10 ng/ml and to provide satisfactory separations of some sugars, such as fructose and myo-inositol and sorbitol and mannitol. This protocol, which does not require special apparatuses, should become a powerful tool in sugar research.

Accessing the band alignment in high efficiency Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 (CIGSSe) solar cells with an InxSy:Na buffer based on temperature dependent measurements and simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Schoneberg, Johannes; Ohland, Jörg; Eraerds, Patrick; Dalibor, Thomas; Parisi, Jürgen; Richter, Michael

2018-04-01

We present a one-dimensional simulation model for high efficiency Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 solar cells with a novel band alignment at the hetero-junction. The simulation study is based on new findings about the doping concentration of the InxSy:Na buffer and i-ZnO layers as well as comprehensive solar cell characterization by means of capacitance, current voltage, and external quantum efficiency measurements. The simulation results show good agreement with the experimental data over a broad temperature range, suggesting the simulation model with an interface-near region (INR) of approximately 100 nm around the buffer/absorber interface that is of great importance for the solar cell performance. The INR exhibits an inhomogeneous doping and defect density profile as well as interface traps at the i-layer/buffer and buffer/absorber interfaces. These crucial parameters could be accessed via their opposing behavior on the simulative reconstruction of different measurement characteristics. In this work, we emphasize the necessity to reconstruct the results of a set of experimental methods by means of simulation to find the most appropriate model for the solar cell. Lowly doped buffer and intrinsic window layers in combination with a high space charge at the front of the absorber lead to a novel band alignment in the simulated band structure of the solar cell. The presented insights may guide the strategy of further solar cell optimization including (alkali-) post deposition treatments.

Feynman Integrals with Absorbing Boundaries

OpenAIRE

Marchewka, A.; Schuss, Z.

1997-01-01

We propose a formulation of an absorbing boundary for a quantum particle. The formulation is based on a Feynman-type integral over trajectories that are confined to the non-absorbing region. Trajectories that reach the absorbing wall are discounted from the population of the surviving trajectories with a certain weighting factor. Under the assumption that absorbed trajectories do not interfere with the surviving trajectories, we obtain a time dependent absorption law. Two examples are worked ...

Photoacoustic contrast imaging of biological tissues with nanodiamonds fabricated for high near-infrared absorbance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ti; Cui, Huizhong; Fang, Chia-Yi; Su, Long-Jyun; Ren, Shenqiang; Chang, Huan-Cheng; Yang, Xinmai; Forrest, M Laird

2013-02-01

Radiation-damaged nanodiamonds (DNDs) are potentially ideal optical contrast agents for photoacoustic (PA) imaging in biological tissues due to their low toxicity and high optical absorbance. PA imaging contrast agents have been limited to quantum dots and gold particles, since most existing carbon-based nanoparticles, including fluorescent nanodiamonds, do not have sufficient optical absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) range. A new DND by He+ ion beam irradiation with very high NIR absorption was synthesized. These DNDs produced a 71-fold higher PA signal on a molar basis than similarly dimensioned gold nanorods, and 7.1 fmol of DNDs injected into rodents could be clearly imaged 3 mm below the skin surface with PA signal enhancement of 567% using an 820-nm laser wavelength.

Inferring absorbing organic carbon content from AERONET data

Science.gov (United States)

Arola, A.; Schuster, G.; Myhre, G.; Kazadzis, S.; Dey, S.; Tripathi, S. N.

2011-01-01

Black carbon, light-absorbing organic carbon (often called "brown carbon") and mineral dust are the major light-absorbing aerosols. Currently the sources and formation of brown carbon aerosol in particular are not well understood. In this study we estimated the amount of light-absorbing organic carbon and black carbon from AERONET measurements. We find that the columnar absorbing organic carbon (brown carbon) levels in biomass burning regions of South America and Africa are relatively high (about 15-20 mg m-2 during biomass burning season), while the concentrations are significantly lower in urban areas in US and Europe. However, we estimated significant absorbing organic carbon amounts from the data of megacities of newly industrialized countries, particularly in India and China, showing also clear seasonality with peak values up to 30-35 mg m-2 during the coldest season, likely caused by the coal and biofuel burning used for heating. We also compared our retrievals with the modeled organic carbon by the global Oslo CTM for several sites. Model values are higher in biomass burning regions than AERONET-based retrievals, while the opposite is true in urban areas in India and China.

Energy and Exergy Analysis of Dual Channel Solar Air Collector with Different Absorber Plates Geometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Najim A. Jassim

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Flat-plate collector considers most common types of collectors, for ease of manufacturing and low price compared with other collectors. The main aim of the present work is to increase the efficiency of the collector, which can be achieved by improving the heat transfer and minimize heat loss experimentally. Five types of solar air collectors have been tested, which conventional channel with a smooth absorber plate (model I, dual channel with a smooth absorber plate (model II, dual channel with perforating “V” corrugated absorber plate (model III, dual channel with internal attached wire mesh (model Ⅳ, and dual channel with absorber sheet of transparent honeycomb, (model Ⅴ. The dual channel collector used for increasing heat transfer area and heat removal factor to improve thermal performance. The outdoor test was conducted during the period December (2016 to February (2017 at different mass flow rates 0.0217 kg/s, 0.0271 kg/s and 0.0325 kg/s. The experiments were carried out from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM for clear days. Experimental results show that the average thermal efficiency was (72.2 % for model (III, (40.2 % for model (I, (51.6 % for model (II, (65.1 % for model (Ⅳ and (59.7 % for model (Ⅴ. At the last part of the study, the exergy analyses were derived for both collectors. The results of this part showed that the conventional channel model (I is having largest irreversibility, and the dual channel collector model (III is having a greatest exergetic efficiency.

Rubidium distribution at atomic scale in high efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Vilalta-Clemente, Arantxa; Raghuwanshi, Mohit; Duguay, Sébastien; Castro, Celia; Cadel, Emmanuel; Pareige, Philippe; Jackson, Philip; Wuerz, Roland; Hariskos, Dimitrios; Witte, Wolfram

2018-03-01

The introduction of a rubidium fluoride post deposition treatment (RbF-PDT) for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) absorber layers has led to a record efficiency up to 22.6% for thin-film solar cell technology. In the present work, high efficiency CIGS samples with RbF-PDT have been investigated by atom probe tomography (APT) to reveal the atomic distribution of all alkali elements present in CIGS layers and compared with non-treated samples. A Scanning Electron Microscopy Dual beam station (Focused Ion Beam-Gas Injection System) as well as Transmission Kikuchi diffraction is used for atom probe sample preparation and localization of the grain boundaries (GBs) in the area of interest. The analysis of the 3D atomic scale APT reconstructions of CIGS samples with RbF-PDT shows that inside grains, Rb is under the detection limit, but the Na concentration is enhanced as compared to the reference sample without Rb. At the GBs, a high concentration of Rb reaching 1.5 at. % was found, and Na and K (diffusing from the glass substrate) are also segregated at GBs but at lower concentrations as compared to Rb. The intentional introduction of Rb leads to significant changes in the chemical composition of CIGS matrix and at GBs, which might contribute to improve device efficiency.

Calculation of isotope burn-up and change in efficiency of absorbing elements of WWER-1000 control and protection system during burn-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timofeeva, O.A.; Kurakin, K.U.

2006-01-01

The report deals with fast and thermal neutron flows distribution in structural elements of WWER-1000 fuel assembly and absorbing rods, determination of absorbing isotope burn-up and worth variation in WWER reactor control and protection system rods. Simulation of absorber rod burn-up is provided using code package SAPPHIRE 9 5 end RC W WER allowing detailed description of the core segment spatial model. Maximum burn-up of absorbing rods and respective worth variation of control and protection system rods is determined on the basis of a number of calculations considering known characteristics of fuel cycles (Authors)

High Efficiency Power Converter for Low Voltage High Power Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nymand, Morten

The topic of this thesis is the design of high efficiency power electronic dc-to-dc converters for high-power, low-input-voltage to high-output-voltage applications. These converters are increasingly required for emerging sustainable energy systems such as fuel cell, battery or photo voltaic based......, and remote power generation for light towers, camper vans, boats, beacons, and buoys etc. A review of current state-of-the-art is presented. The best performing converters achieve moderately high peak efficiencies at high input voltage and medium power level. However, system dimensioning and cost are often...

Visible light broadband perfect absorbers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jia, X. L.; Meng, Q. X.; Yuan, C. X.; Zhou, Z. X.; Wang, X. O., E-mail: wxo@hit.edu.cn [School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2016-03-15

The visible light broadband perfect absorbers based on the silver (Ag) nano elliptical disks and holes array are studied using finite difference time domain simulations. The semiconducting indium silicon dioxide thin film is introduced as the space layer in this sandwiched structure. Utilizing the asymmetrical geometry of the structures, polarization sensitivity for transverse electric wave (TE)/transverse magnetic wave (TM) and left circular polarization wave (LCP)/right circular polarization wave (RCP) of the broadband absorption are gained. The absorbers with Ag nano disks and holes array show several peaks absorbance of 100% by numerical simulation. These simple and flexible perfect absorbers are particularly desirable for various potential applications including the solar energy absorber.

Interactions of Particles with Momenta of 1–10 GeV in a Highly Granular Hadronic Calorimeter with Tungsten Absorbers

CERN Document Server

Lam, Ching Bon; van Eijk, Bob

Linear electron-positron colliders are proposed to complement and extend the physics programme of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. In order to satisfy the physics goal requirements at linear colliders, detector concepts based on the Particle Flow approach are developed. Central to this approach are a high resolution tracker and a highly granular calorimeter which provide excellent jet energy resolution and background separation. The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is an electron-positron collider under study, aiming at centre-of-mass energies up to 3TeV. For the barrel hadronic calorimeter of experiments at CLIC, a detector with tungsten absorber plates is considered, as it is able to contain shower jets while keeping the diameter of the surrounding solenoid magnet limited. A highly granular analogue hadron calorimeter with tungsten absorbers was built by the CALICE collaboration. This thesis presents the analysis of the low-momentum data (1 GeV $\\leq$ p $\\leq$ 10 GeV) recorded in 2010 at the CERN Proton Syn...

Thermodynamic and achievable efficiencies for solar-driven electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to transportation fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Meenesh R. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, Material Science Division; Clark, Ezra L. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, Material Science Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering; Bell, Alexis T. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, Material Science Division; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

2015-10-26

Thermodynamic, achievable, and realistic efficiency limits of solar-driven electrochemical conversion of water and carbon dioxide to fuels are investigated as functions of light-absorber composition and configuration, and catalyst composition. The maximum thermodynamic efficiency at 1-sun illumination for adiabatic electrochemical synthesis of various solar fuels is in the range of 32–42%. Single-, double-, and triple-junction light absorbers are found to be optimal for electrochemical load ranges of 0–0.9 V, 0.9–1.95 V, and 1.95–3.5 V, respectively. Achievable solar-to-fuel (STF) efficiencies are determined using ideal double- and triple-junction light absorbers and the electrochemical load curves for CO₂ reduction on silver and copper cathodes, and water oxidation kinetics over iridium oxide. The maximum achievable STF efficiencies for synthesis gas (H₂ and CO) and Hythane (H₂ and CH₄) are 18.4% and 20.3%, respectively. Whereas the realistic STF efficiency of photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) can be as low as 0.8%, tandem PECs and photovoltaic (PV)-electrolyzers can operate at 7.2% under identical operating conditions. Finally, we show that the composition and energy content of solar fuels can also be adjusted by tuning the band-gaps of triple-junction light absorbers and/or the ratio of catalyst-to-PV area, and that the synthesis of liquid products and C₂H₄ have high profitability indices.

Efficient planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells employing graphene oxide as hole conductor.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Zhongwei; Bai, Sai; Xiang, Jian; Yuan, Zhongcheng; Yang, Yingguo; Cui, Wei; Gao, Xingyu; Liu, Zhuang; Jin, Yizheng; Sun, Baoquan

2014-09-21

Graphene oxide (GO) is employed as a hole conductor in inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells, and the devices with CH₃NH₃PbI₃-xClx as absorber achieve an efficiency of over 12%. The perovskite film grown on GO exhibits enhanced crystallization, high surface coverage ratio as well as preferred in-plane orientation of the (110) plane. Efficient hole extraction from the perovskite to GO is demonstrated.

Metal-organic frameworks as potential shock absorbers: the case of the highly flexible MIL-53(Al).

Science.gov (United States)

Yot, Pascal G; Boudene, Zoubeyr; Macia, Jasmine; Granier, Dominique; Vanduyfhuys, Louis; Verstraelen, Toon; Van Speybroeck, Veronique; Devic, Thomas; Serre, Christian; Férey, Gérard; Stock, Norbert; Maurin, Guillaume

2014-08-28

The mechanical energy absorption ability of the highly flexible MIL-53(Al) MOF material was explored using a combination of experiments and molecular simulations. A pressure-induced transition between the large pore and the closed pore forms of this solid was revealed to be irreversible and associated with a relatively large energy absorption capacity. Both features make MIL-53(Al) the first potential MOF candidate for further use as a shock absorber.

Metamaterial-based integrated plasmonic absorber/emitter for solar thermo-photovoltaic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Chihhui; Neuner III, Burton; Shvets, Gennady; John, Jeremy; Milder, Andrew; Zollars, Byron; Savoy, Steve

2012-01-01

We present the concept of a solar thermo-photovoltaic (STPV) collection system based on a large-area, nanoimprint-patterned film of plasmonic structures acting as an integrated solar absorber/narrow-band thermal emitter (SANTE). The SANTE film concept is based on integrating broad-band solar radiation absorption with selective narrow-band thermal IR radiation which can be efficiently coupled to a photovoltaic (PV) cell for power generation. By employing a low reflectivity refractory metal (e.g., tungsten) as a plasmonic material, we demonstrate that the absorption spectrum of the SANTE film can be designed to be broad-band in the visible range and narrow-band in the infrared range. A detailed balance calculation demonstrates that the total STPV system efficiency exceeds the Shockley–Queisser limit for emitter temperatures above T e = 1200 K, and achieves an efficiency as high as 41% for T e = 2300 K. Emitter temperatures in this range are shown to be achievable under modest sun concentrations (less than 1000 suns) due to the thermal insulation provided by the SANTE film. An experimental demonstration of the wide-angle, frequency-selective absorptivity is presented

Facile Synthesis of Flexible Methylsilsesquioxane Aerogels with Surface Modifications for Sound- Absorbance, Fast Dye Adsorption and Oil/Water Separation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xingzhong Guo

2018-04-01

Full Text Available New flexible methylsilsesquioxane (MSQ aerogels have been facilely prepared by a sol–gel process with methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS and dimethyldimethoxysilane (DMDMS as co-precursors, followed by surface modification and ambient pressure drying. The microstructure, mechanical properties and hydrophobicity of these MSQ aerogels after surface modifications of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO and/or hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS were investigated in detail, and the applications of surface-modified MSQ aerogels in sound-absorbance, fast dye adsorption and oil/water separation were evaluated, respectively. The MSQ aerogels surface-modified by HMDS possess flexibility, elasticity and superhydrophobicity, and demonstrate good performance in the mentioned applications. The resultant MSQ aerogel used in sound-absorbance has high frequency (about 6 kHz acoustic absorptivity of up to 80%, benefiting from its macroporous structure and porosity of 94%, and it also possesses intermediate frequency acoustic absorptivity (about 1 kHz up to 80% owing to its elasticity. This MSQ aerogel can selectively separate oil from oil/water mixtures with high efficiency due to its superhydrophobicity and superlipophilicity, resulting from a lot of methyl groups, density as low as 0.12 cm3·g−1 and a water contact angle as high as 157°. This MSQ aerogel can be assembled to be a monolithic column applied for fast dye adsorption, and shows selective adsorption for anionic dyes and removal efficiency of methyl orange of up to 95%.

A review on the performance of conventional and energy-absorbing rockbolts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charlie C. Li

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This is a review paper on the performances of both conventional and energy-absorbing rockbolts manifested in laboratory tests. Characteristic parameters such as ultimate load, displacement and energy absorption are reported, in addition to load–displacement graphs for every type of rockbolt. Conventional rockbolts refer to mechanical rockbolts, fully-grouted rebars and frictional rockbolts. According to the test results, under static pull loading a mechanical rockbolt usually fails at the plate; a fully-grouted rebar bolt fails in the bolt shank at an ultimate load equal to the strength of the steel after a small amount of displacement; and a frictional rockbolt is subjected to large displacement at a low yield load. Under shear loading, all types of bolts fail in the shank. Energy-absorbing rockbolts are developed aiming to combat instability problems in burst-prone and squeezing rock conditions. They absorb deformation energy either through ploughing/slippage at predefined load levels or through stretching of the steel bolt. An energy-absorbing rockbolt can carry a high load and also accommodate significant rock displacement, and thus its energy-absorbing capacity is high. The test results show that the energy absorption of the energy-absorbing bolts is much larger than that of all conventional bolts. The dynamic load capacity is smaller than the static load capacity for the energy-absorbing bolts displacing based on ploughing/slippage while they are approximately the same for the D-Bolt that displaces based on steel stretching.

Correction in the efficiency of uranium purification process by solvent extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franca Junior, J.M.

1981-01-01

An uranium solvent extraction, of high purification, with full advantage of absorbed uranium in the begining of process, is described. Including a pulsed column, called correction column, the efficiency of whole process is increased, dispensing the recycling of uranium losses from leaching column. With the correction column the uranium losses go in continuity, for reextraction column, increasing the efficiency of process. The purified uranium is removed in the reextraction column in aqueous phase. The correction process can be carried out with full efficiency using pulsed columns or chemical mixer-settlers. (M.C.K.) [pt

High Efficiency Room Air Conditioner

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bansal, Pradeep [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2015-01-01

This project was undertaken as a CRADA project between UT-Battelle and Geberal Electric Company and was funded by Department of Energy to design and develop of a high efficiency room air conditioner. A number of novel elements were investigated to improve the energy efficiency of a state-of-the-art WAC with base capacity of 10,000 BTU/h. One of the major modifications was made by downgrading its capacity from 10,000 BTU/hr to 8,000 BTU/hr by replacing the original compressor with a lower capacity (8,000 BTU/hr) but high efficiency compressor having an EER of 9.7 as compared with 9.3 of the original compressor. However, all heat exchangers from the original unit were retained to provide higher EER. The other subsequent major modifications included- (i) the AC fan motor was replaced by a brushless high efficiency ECM motor along with its fan housing, (ii) the capillary tube was replaced with a needle valve to better control the refrigerant flow and refrigerant set points, and (iii) the unit was tested with a drop-in environmentally friendly binary mixture of R32 (90% molar concentration)/R125 (10% molar concentration). The WAC was tested in the environmental chambers at ORNL as per the design rating conditions of AHAM/ASHRAE (Outdoor- 95F and 40%RH, Indoor- 80F, 51.5%RH). All these modifications resulted in enhancing the EER of the WAC by up to 25%.

Optimization of sound absorbing performance for gradient multi-layer-assembled sintered fibrous absorbers

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Bo; Zhang, Weiyong; Zhu, Jian

2012-04-01

The transfer matrix method, based on plane wave theory, of multi-layer equivalent fluid is employed to evaluate the sound absorbing properties of two-layer-assembled and three-layer-assembled sintered fibrous sheets (generally regarded as a kind of compound absorber or structures). Two objective functions which are more suitable for the optimization of sound absorption properties of multi-layer absorbers within the wider frequency ranges are developed and the optimized results of using two objective functions are also compared with each other. It is found that using the two objective functions, especially the second one, may be more helpful to exert the sound absorbing properties of absorbers at lower frequencies to the best of their abilities. Then the calculation and optimization of sound absorption properties of multi-layer-assembled structures are performed by developing a simulated annealing genetic arithmetic program and using above-mentioned objective functions. Finally, based on the optimization in this work the thoughts of the gradient design over the acoustic parameters- the porosity, the tortuosity, the viscous and thermal characteristic lengths and the thickness of each samples- of porous metals are put forth and thereby some useful design criteria upon the acoustic parameters of each layer of porous fibrous metals are given while applying the multi-layer-assembled compound absorbers in noise control engineering.

Influence of nanoscale temperature rises on photoacoustic generation: Discrimination between optical absorbers based on thermal nonlinearity at high frequency.

Science.gov (United States)

Simandoux, Olivier; Prost, Amaury; Gateau, Jérôme; Bossy, Emmanuel

2015-03-01

In this work, we experimentally investigate thermal-based nonlinear photoacoustic generation as a mean to discriminate between different types of absorbing particles. The photoacoustic generation from solutions of dye molecules and gold nanospheres (same optical densities) was detected using a high frequency ultrasound transducer (20 MHz). Photoacoustic emission was observed with gold nanospheres at low fluence for an equilibrium temperature around 4 °C, where the linear photoacoustic effect in water vanishes, highlighting the nonlinear emission from the solution of nanospheres. The photoacoustic amplitude was also studied as a function of the equilibrium temperature from 2 °C to 20 °C. While the photoacoustic amplitude from the dye molecules vanished around 4 °C, the photoacoustic amplitude from the gold nanospheres remained significant over the whole temperature range. Our preliminary results suggest that in the context of high frequency photoacoustic imaging, nanoparticles may be discriminated from molecular absorbers based on nanoscale temperature rises.

Applying an overstress principle in accelerated testing of absorbing mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Tsyss, V. G.; Sergaeva, M. Yu; Sergaev, A. A.

2018-04-01

The relevance of using overstress test as a forced one to determine the pneumatic absorber lifespan was studied. The obtained results demonstrated that at low load overstress the relative error for the absorber lifespan evaluation is no more than 3%. This means that the test results spread has almost no effect on the lifespan evaluation, and this effect is several times less than that at high load overstress tests. Accelerated testing of absorbers with low load overstress is more acceptable since the relative error for the lifespan evaluation is negligible.

Quantum walk with one variable absorbing boundary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Feiran; Zhang, Pei; Wang, Yunlong; Liu, Ruifeng; Gao, Hong; Li, Fuli

2017-01-01

Quantum walks constitute a promising ingredient in the research on quantum algorithms; consequently, exploring different types of quantum walks is of great significance for quantum information and quantum computation. In this study, we investigate the progress of quantum walks with a variable absorbing boundary and provide an analytical solution for the escape probability (the probability of a walker that is not absorbed by the boundary). We simulate the behavior of escape probability under different conditions, including the reflection coefficient, boundary location, and initial state. Moreover, it is also meaningful to extend our research to the situation of continuous-time and high-dimensional quantum walks. - Highlights: • A novel scheme about quantum walk with variable boundary is proposed. • The analytical results of the survival probability from the absorbing boundary. • The behavior of survival probability under different boundary conditions. • The influence of different initial coin states on the survival probability.

Acoustic behavior of a fibrous bulk material. [Kevlar 29 sound absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Hersh, A. S.; Walker, B.

1979-01-01

A semiempirical model is presented describing the acoustic behavior of Kevlar 29, a bulk absorbing material. The model is based on an approximate solution to the one-dimensional equations representing conservation of fluctuating mass, momentum and energy. By treating the material as a momentum sink, theoretical expressions of the material complex propagation constants and characteristic impedance were derived in terms of a single constant. Evaluating the constant at a single frequency for a particular specimen, excellent agreement between prediction and measurement was achieved for a large range of sound frequencies and material porosities and thicknesses. Results show that Kevlar 29 absorbs sound efficiently even at low frequencies. This is explained in terms of a frequency dependent material phase speed.

Fabrication of Cu{sub 2}ZnSn(S,Se){sub 4} (CZTSSe) absorber films based on solid-phase synthesis and blade coating processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Ruixin, E-mail: mrx_601@126.com [School of Metallurgy and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Beijing Key Laboratory of Special Melting and Preparation of High-end Metal Materials, Beijing 100083 (China); Yang, Fan; Li, Shina; Zhang, Xiaoyong; Li, Xiang; Cheng, Shiyao; Liu, Zilin [School of Metallurgy and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China)

2016-04-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Pure CZTS nano-crystalline have been prepared based on solid-phase synthesis. • A simple and modified doctor blade process followed by a selenization technique was utilized to fabricate CZTSSe absorber films. • Comparative studies on the properties of CZTS and CZTSSe absorber films have been investigated. • The band gap of CZTSSe absorber films was determined to be 1.26 eV. - Abstract: CZTSSe is an important earth abundant collection of materials for the development of low cost and high efficiency thin film solar cells. This work developed a simple non-vacuum-based route to fabricate CZTSSe absorber films. This was demonstrated by first synthesizing Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} (CZTS) nano-crystalline based on solid-phase synthesis. Then a stable colloidal ink composed of CZTS nano-crystalline was blade coated on Mo-coated substrates followed by an annealing process under Ar atmosphere. After CZTS films formation, the films were sintered into CZTSSe absorber films by exposing them under Selenium vapor. The formation of a kesterite type CZTS was confirmed using X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements. The band gap of CZTSSe absorber films was determined to be 1.26 eV, which was appropriate for use as an absorber layer in thin film solar cells. The CZTSSe absorber films showed a good photovoltatic performance, demonstrating this simple approach had great potential for CZTSSe solar cell production.

Robust optimization of a tandem grating solar thermal absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jongin; Kim, Mingeon; Kang, Kyeonghwan; Lee, Ikjin; Lee, Bong Jae

2018-04-01

Ideal solar thermal absorbers need to have a high value of the spectral absorptance in the broad solar spectrum to utilize the solar radiation effectively. Majority of recent studies about solar thermal absorbers focus on achieving nearly perfect absorption using nanostructures, whose characteristic dimension is smaller than the wavelength of sunlight. However, precise fabrication of such nanostructures is not easy in reality; that is, unavoidable errors always occur to some extent in the dimension of fabricated nanostructures, causing an undesirable deviation of the absorption performance between the designed structure and the actually fabricated one. In order to minimize the variation in the solar absorptance due to the fabrication error, the robust optimization can be performed during the design process. However, the optimization of solar thermal absorber considering all design variables often requires tremendous computational costs to find an optimum combination of design variables with the robustness as well as the high performance. To achieve this goal, we apply the robust optimization using the Kriging method and the genetic algorithm for designing a tandem grating solar absorber. By constructing a surrogate model through the Kriging method, computational cost can be substantially reduced because exact calculation of the performance for every combination of variables is not necessary. Using the surrogate model and the genetic algorithm, we successfully design an effective solar thermal absorber exhibiting a low-level of performance degradation due to the fabrication uncertainty of design variables.

Power maximization of a point absorber wave energy converter using improved model predictive control

Science.gov (United States)

Milani, Farideh; Moghaddam, Reihaneh Kardehi

2017-08-01

This paper considers controlling and maximizing the absorbed power of wave energy converters for irregular waves. With respect to physical constraints of the system, a model predictive control is applied. Irregular waves' behavior is predicted by Kalman filter method. Owing to the great influence of controller parameters on the absorbed power, these parameters are optimized by imperialist competitive algorithm. The results illustrate the method's efficiency in maximizing the extracted power in the presence of unknown excitation force which should be predicted by Kalman filter.

High-Efficiency Nitride-Based Solid-State Lighting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paul T. Fini; Shuji Nakamura

2005-07-30

In this final technical progress report we summarize research accomplished during Department of Energy contract DE-FC26-01NT41203, entitled ''High-Efficiency Nitride-Based Solid-State Lighting''. Two teams, from the University of California at Santa Barbara (Principle Investigator: Dr. Shuji Nakamura) and the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (led by Dr. N. Narendran), pursued the goals of this contract from thin film growth, characterization, and packaging/luminaire design standpoints. The UCSB team initially pursued the development of blue gallium nitride (GaN)-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, as well as ultraviolet GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs). In Year 2, the emphasis shifted to resonant-cavity light emitting diodes, also known as micro-cavity LEDs when extremely thin device cavities are fabricated. These devices have very directional emission and higher light extraction efficiency than conventional LEDs. Via the optimization of thin-film growth and refinement of device processing, we decreased the total cavity thickness to less than 1 {micro}m, such that micro-cavity effects were clearly observed and a light extraction efficiency of over 10% was reached. We also began the development of photonic crystals for increased light extraction, in particular for so-called ''guided modes'' which would otherwise propagate laterally in the device and be re-absorbed. Finally, we pursued the growth of smooth, high-quality nonpolar a-plane and m-plane GaN films, as well as blue light emitting diodes on these novel films. Initial nonpolar LEDs showed the expected behavior of negligible peak wavelength shift with increasing drive current. M-plane LEDs in particular show promise, as unpackaged devices had unsaturated optical output power of {approx} 3 mW at 200 mA drive current. The LRC's tasks were aimed at developing the subcomponents necessary for packaging UCSB's light

Inferring absorbing organic carbon content from AERONET data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Arola

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Black carbon, light-absorbing organic carbon (often called "brown carbon" and mineral dust are the major light-absorbing aerosols. Currently the sources and formation of brown carbon aerosol in particular are not well understood. In this study we estimated the amount of light–absorbing organic carbon and black carbon from AERONET measurements. We find that the columnar absorbing organic carbon (brown carbon levels in biomass burning regions of South America and Africa are relatively high (about 15–20 mg m⁻² during biomass burning season, while the concentrations are significantly lower in urban areas in US and Europe. However, we estimated significant absorbing organic carbon amounts from the data of megacities of newly industrialized countries, particularly in India and China, showing also clear seasonality with peak values up to 30–35 mg m⁻² during the coldest season, likely caused by the coal and biofuel burning used for heating. We also compared our retrievals with the modeled organic carbon by the global Oslo CTM for several sites. Model values are higher in biomass burning regions than AERONET-based retrievals, while the opposite is true in urban areas in India and China.

Microwave Metamaterial Absorber for Non-Destructive Sensing Applications of Grain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yin Zhang

2018-06-01

Full Text Available In this work, we propose a metamaterial absorber at microwave frequencies with significant sensitivity and non-destructive sensing capability for grain samples. This absorber is composed of cross-resonators periodically arranged on an ultrathin substrate, a sensing layer filled with grain samples, and a metal ground. The cross-resonator array is fabricated using the printed circuit board process on an FR-4 board. The performance of the proposed metamaterial is demonstrated with both full-wave simulation and measurement results, and the working mechanism is revealed through multi-reflection interference theory. It can serve as a non-contact sensor for food quality control such as adulteration, variety, etc. by detecting shifts in the resonant frequencies. As a direct application, it is shown that the resonant frequency displays a significant blue shift from 7.11 GHz to 7.52 GHz when the mass fraction of stale rice in the mixture of fresh and stale rice is changed from 0% to 100%. In addition, the absorber shows a distinct difference in the resonant absorption frequency for different varieties of grain, which also makes it a candidate for a grain classification sensor. The presented scheme could open up opportunities for microwave metamaterial absorbers to be applied as efficient sensors in the non-destructive evaluation of agricultural and food product quality.

Growth, photosynthesis and UV-B absorbing compounds of Portuguese Barbela wheat exposed to ultraviolet-B radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Correia, C.M.; Torres-Pereira, M.S.; Torres-Pereira, J.M.G.

1999-01-01

Wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L.) were exposed to two levels of UV-B radiation (ambient UV-B and high UV-B, simulating a 20% reduction in the ozone layer) under mediterranean field-growth conditions. After 4 months of UV-B treatment, total plant biomass of high UV-B plants was 18% lower compared to control plants. The decrease of biomass appears to be the result of changes in morphological and physiological processes. High UV-B treatment induces decreases in leaf area, net photosynthesis rate, transpiration rate and water use efficiency. Pigment analysis of leaf extracts showed increases in chlorophyll content and no effect on accumulation of UV-B absorbing pigments. The underlying mechanisms for these results are discussed. (author)

Sound Absorbers

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchs, H. V.; Möser, M.

Sound absorption indicates the transformation of sound energy into heat. It is, for instance, employed to design the acoustics in rooms. The noise emitted by machinery and plants shall be reduced before arriving at a workplace; auditoria such as lecture rooms or concert halls require a certain reverberation time. Such design goals are realised by installing absorbing components at the walls with well-defined absorption characteristics, which are adjusted for corresponding demands. Sound absorbers also play an important role in acoustic capsules, ducts and screens to avoid sound immission from noise intensive environments into the neighbourhood.

Neutron absorbing article

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naum, R.G.; Owens, D.P.; Dooher, G.I.

1979-01-01

A neutron absorbing article, in flat plate form and suitable for use in a storage rack for spent fuel, includes boron carbide particles, diluent particles and a solid, irreversibly cured phenolic polymer cured to a continuous matrix binding the boron carbide and diluent particles. The total conent of boron carbide and diluent particles is a major proportion of the article and the content of cured phenolic polymer present is a minor proportion. By regulation of the ratio of boron carbide particles to diluent particles, normally within the range of 1:9 and 9:1 and preferably within the range of 1:5 to 5:1, the neutron absorbing activity of the product may be controlled, which facilitates the manufacture of articles of particular absorbing activities best suitable for specific applications

Ultrathin triple-band polarization-insensitive wide-angle compact metamaterial absorber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shang, Shuai; Yang, Shizhong; Tao, Lu; Yang, Lisheng; Cao, Hailin

2016-01-01

In this study, the design, realization, and characterization of an ultrathin triple-band polarization-insensitive wide-angle metamaterial absorber are reported. The metamaterial absorber comprises a periodic array of modified six-fold symmetric snowflake-shaped resonators with strip spiral line load, which is printed on a dielectric substrate backed by a metal ground plane. It is shown that the absorber exhibits three distinct near-unity absorption peaks, which are distributed across C, X, Ku bands, respectively. Owing to the six-fold symmetry, the absorber is insensitive to the polarization of the incident radiation. In addition, the absorber shows excellent absorption performance over wide oblique incident angles for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarizations. Simulated surface current and field distributions at the three absorption peaks are demonstrated to understand the absorption mechanism. Particularly, the absorption modes come from the fundamental and high-order dipole resonances. Furthermore, the experimental verification of the designed absorber is conducted, and the measured results are in reasonable agreement with the simulated ones. The proposed ultrathin (∼0.018λ 0 , λ 0 corresponding to the lowest peak absorption frequency) compact (0.168λ 0 ×0.168λ 0 corresponding to the area of a unit cell) absorber enables potential applications such as stealth technology, electromagnetic interference and spectrum identification.

Study on manufacturing technique of synthetic shock-absorbers for underground disposal of high-level radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwasaki, Takashi; Onodera, Yoshio; Hayashi, Hiromichi; Ebina, Takeo; Nagase, Takako; Torii, Kazuo

1997-01-01

On the cse of underground disposal of high level radioactive wastes, natural bentonite is planned to be used for artificial barrier shock-absorber. This is due to expectation of sealing water or adsorbing nuclear materials using swelling and ion-exchanging capacities of smectite, which is a main component of bentonite. In this study, some swelling laminar compounds with various compositions and structures are synthesized to investigate their water sealing and nuclear adsorbing properties. And, according to their results, an optimum material is selected to develop its economic manufacturing method and investigate its alternative possibility for natural bentonite. From such reason, following two titled studies have been executed; 1) Synthesis of the swelling laminar compounds, and 2) Development of manufacturing technique of artificial shock-absorber. In 1995 FY, 1) Detail investigation on synthetic condition of double octahedral type smectite and 2) modeling of the smectite and stability of same type displacement for base of inducing the computer simulation for estimating creation process of optimum materials, were conducted. (G.K.)

A new approach to implement absorbing boundary condition in biomolecular electrostatics.

Science.gov (United States)

Goni, Md Osman

2013-01-01

This paper discusses a novel approach to employ the absorbing boundary condition in conjunction with the finite-element method (FEM) in biomolecular electrostatics. The introduction of Bayliss-Turkel absorbing boundary operators in electromagnetic scattering problem has been incorporated by few researchers. However, in the area of biomolecular electrostatics, this boundary condition has not been investigated yet. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, to solve nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation using Newton's method and second, to find an efficient and acceptable solution with minimum number of unknowns. In this work, a Galerkin finite-element formulation is used along with a Bayliss-Turkel absorbing boundary operator that explicitly accounts for the open field problem by mapping the Sommerfeld radiation condition from the far field to near field. While the Bayliss-Turkel condition works well when the artificial boundary is far from the scatterer, an acceptable tolerance of error can be achieved with the second order operator. Numerical results on test case with simple sphere show that the treatment is able to reach the same level of accuracy achieved by the analytical method while using a lower grid density. Bayliss-Turkel absorbing boundary condition (BTABC) combined with the FEM converges to the exact solution of scattering problems to within discretization error.

40 CFR 761.71 - High efficiency boilers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false High efficiency boilers. 761.71... PROHIBITIONS Storage and Disposal § 761.71 High efficiency boilers. (a) To burn mineral oil dielectric fluid containing a PCB concentration of ≥50 ppm, but boiler shall comply with the following...

Unconventional, High-Efficiency Propulsors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Poul

1996-01-01

The development of ship propellers has generally been characterized by search for propellers with as high efficiency as possible and at the same time low noise and vibration levels and little or no cavitation. This search has lead to unconventional propulsors, like vane-wheel propulsors, contra-r...

Characterization of rich in calcium materials using X-ray selective absorbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guereca, G.; Ruvalcaba, J.L.

2004-01-01

For Particle Induced X-ray Emission Spectroscopy (PIXE) and X-ray Fluorescence Technique (FRX), the analysis of materials rich in one or two elements may present some difficulties due to high counting rates and saturation effects in X-ray detectors. In this case, it is possible to use selective absorbers in order to reduce the intensity of the major elements with low attenuation for the X-rays of other elements of the material. Using selective absorbers, the detection limits and the sensitivity are increased. For rich Ca materials (shells, bone, teeth and stucco, for instance), the high intensity of Ca X-rays interferes with the detection of lighter and heavier elements. Cl, Ar and Ag compounds are good candidates for Ca selective absorbers, but only Ag and Ar may have a practical absorber thickness. A selective absorber for Ca X-rays using a combination of thin Ag films and a flux of Ar and He was tested at the external beam setup of the Tandem Pelletron Accelerator for PIXE measurements. The improvement on elements detection on bone and colored stucco is shown. (Author) 8 refs., 2 tabs., 8 figs

Research & Implementation of AC - DC Converter with High Power Factor & High Efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsiou-Hsian Nien

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we design and develop a high power factor, high efficiency two-stage AC - DC power converter. This paper proposes a two-stage AC - DC power converter. The first stage is boost active power factor correction circuit. The latter stage is near constant frequency LLC resonant converter. In addition to traditional LLC high efficiency advantages, light-load conversion efficiency of this power converter can be improved. And it possesses high power factor and near constant frequency operating characteristics, can significantly reduce the electromagnetic interference. This paper first discusses the main structure and control manner of power factor correction circuit. And then by the LLC resonant converter equivalent model proceed to circuit analysis to determine the important parameters of the converter circuit elements. Then design a variable frequency resonant tank. The resonant frequency can change automatically on the basis of the load to reach near constant frequency operation and a purpose of high efficiency. Finally, actually design and produce an AC – DC power converter with output of 190W to verify the characteristics and feasibility of this converter. The experimental results show that in a very light load (9.5 W the efficiency is as high as 81%, the highest efficiency of 88% (90 W. Full load efficiency is 87%. At 19 W ~ 190 W power changes, the operating frequency change is only 0.4 kHz (AC 110 V and 0.3 kHz (AC 220 V.

Efficiency of poly-generating high temperature fuel cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Margalef, Pere; Brown, Tim; Brouwer, Jacob; Samuelsen, Scott [National Fuel Cell Research Center (NFCRC), University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-3550 (United States)

2011-02-15

High temperature fuel cells can be designed and operated to poly-generate electricity, heat, and useful chemicals (e.g., hydrogen) in a variety of configurations. The highly integrated and synergistic nature of poly-generating high temperature fuel cells, however, precludes a simple definition of efficiency for analysis and comparison of performance to traditional methods. There is a need to develop and define a methodology to calculate each of the co-product efficiencies that is useful for comparative analyses. Methodologies for calculating poly-generation efficiencies are defined and discussed. The methodologies are applied to analysis of a Hydrogen Energy Station (H{sub 2}ES) showing that high conversion efficiency can be achieved for poly-generation of electricity and hydrogen. (author)

Development of bonded semiconductor device for high counting rate high efficiency photon detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanno, Ikuo

2008-01-01

We are trying to decrease dose exposure in medical diagnosis by way of measuring the energy of X-rays. For this purpose, radiation detectors for X-ray energy measurement with high counting rate should be developed. Direct bonding of Si wafers was carried out to make a radiation detector, which had separated X-ray absorber and detector. The resistivity of bonding interface was estimated with the results of four-probe measurements and model calculations. Direct bonding of high resistivity p and n-Si wafers was also performed. The resistance of the pn bonded diode was 0.7 MΩ. The resistance should be increased in the future. (author)

Review of Plasmonic Nanocomposite Metamaterial Absorber

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehdi Keshavarz Hedayati

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Plasmonic metamaterials are artificial materials typically composed of noble metals in which the features of photonics and electronics are linked by coupling photons to conduction electrons of metal (known as surface plasmon. These rationally designed structures have spurred interest noticeably since they demonstrate some fascinating properties which are unattainable with naturally occurring materials. Complete absorption of light is one of the recent exotic properties of plasmonic metamaterials which has broadened its application area considerably. This is realized by designing a medium whose impedance matches that of free space while being opaque. If such a medium is filled with some lossy medium, the resulting structure can absorb light totally in a sharp or broad frequency range. Although several types of metamaterials perfect absorber have been demonstrated so far, in the current paper we overview (and focus on perfect absorbers based on nanocomposites where the total thickness is a few tens of nanometer and the absorption band is broad, tunable and insensitive to the angle of incidence. The nanocomposites consist of metal nanoparticles embedded in a dielectric matrix with a high filling factor close to the percolation threshold. The filling factor can be tailored by the vapor phase co-deposition of the metallic and dielectric components. In addition, novel wet chemical approaches are discussed which are bio-inspired or involve synthesis within levitating Leidenfrost drops, for instance. Moreover, theoretical considerations, optical properties, and potential application of perfect absorbers will be presented.

High efficiency, variable geometry, centrifugal cryogenic pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forsha, M.D.; Nichols, K.E.; Beale, C.A.

1994-01-01

A centrifugal cryogenic pump has been developed which has a basic design that is rugged and reliable with variable speed and variable geometry features that achieve high pump efficiency over a wide range of head-flow conditions. The pump uses a sealless design and rolling element bearings to achieve high reliability and the ruggedness to withstand liquid-vapor slugging. The pump can meet a wide range of variable head, off-design flow requirements and maintain design point efficiency by adjusting the pump speed. The pump also has features that allow the impeller and diffuser blade heights to be adjusted. The adjustable height blades were intended to enhance the pump efficiency when it is operating at constant head, off-design flow rates. For small pumps, the adjustable height blades are not recommended. For larger pumps, they could provide off-design efficiency improvements. This pump was developed for supercritical helium service, but the design is well suited to any cryogenic application where high efficiency is required over a wide range of head-flow conditions

Photophoretic trampoline—Interaction of single airborne absorbing droplets with light

Science.gov (United States)

Esseling, Michael; Rose, Patrick; Alpmann, Christina; Denz, Cornelia

2012-09-01

We present the light-induced manipulation of absorbing liquid droplets in air. Ink droplets from a printer cartridge are used to demonstrate that absorbing liquids—just like their solid counterparts—can interact with regions of high light intensity due to the photophoretic force. It is shown that droplets follow a quasi-ballistic trajectory after bouncing off a high intensity light sheet. We estimate the intensities necessary for this rebound of airborne droplets and change the droplet trajectories through a variation of the manipulating light field.

Multi-target determination of organic ultraviolet absorbents in organism tissues by ultrasonic assisted extraction and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Xianzhi; Jin, Jiabin; Wang, Chunwei; Ou, Weihui; Tang, Caiming

2015-03-06

A sensitive and reliable method was developed for multi-target determination of 13 most widely used organic ultraviolet (UV) absorbents (including UV filters and UV stabilizers) in aquatic organism tissues. The organic UV absorbents were extracted using ultrasonic-assisted extraction, purified via gel permeation chromatography coupled with silica gel column chromatography, and determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Recoveries of the UV absorbents from organism tissues mostly ranged from 70% to 120% from fish filet with satisfactory reproducibility. Method quantification limits were 0.003-1.0ngg(-1) dry weight (dw) except for 2-ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate. This method has been applied to analysis of the UV absorbents in wild and farmed aquatic organisms collected from the Pearl River Estuary, South China. 2-Hydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone and UV-P were frequently detected in both wild and farmed marine organisms at low ngg(-1)dw. 3-(4-Methylbenzylidene)camphor and most of the benzotriazole UV stabilizers were also frequently detected in maricultured fish. Octocrylene and 2-ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate were not detected in any sample. This work lays basis for in-depth study about bioaccumulation and biomagnification of the UV absorbents in marine environment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Metamaterial Absorber for Electromagnetic Waves in Periodic Water Droplets.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Young Joon; Ju, Sanghyun; Park, Sang Yoon; Ju Kim, Young; Bong, Jihye; Lim, Taekyung; Kim, Ki Won; Rhee, Joo Yull; Lee, YoungPak

2015-09-10

Perfect metamaterial absorber (PMA) can intercept electromagnetic wave harmful for body in Wi-Fi, cell phones and home appliances that we are daily using and provide stealth function that military fighter, tank and warship can avoid radar detection. We reported new concept of water droplet-based PMA absorbing perfectly electromagnetic wave with water, an eco-friendly material which is very plentiful on the earth. If arranging water droplets with particular height and diameter on material surface through the wettability of material surface, meta-properties absorbing electromagnetic wave perfectly in GHz wide-band were shown. It was possible to control absorption ratio and absorption wavelength band of electromagnetic wave according to the shape of water droplet-height and diameter- and apply to various flexible and/or transparent substrates such as plastic, glass and paper. In addition, this research examined how electromagnetic wave can be well absorbed in water droplets with low electrical conductivity unlike metal-based metamaterials inquiring highly electrical conductivity. Those results are judged to lead broad applications to variously civilian and military products in the future by providing perfect absorber of broadband in all products including transparent and bendable materials.

Investigation of Fluoride Removal Efficiency from Aqueous Solution by Pistachio and Almonds Crust

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Khodadadi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Fluoride and its compounds are widely used in industries and then through effluent are released into the environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Efficiency of low cost adsorbents (pistachios coal in the removal of fluoride from aqueous solutions.  Methods: For the preparation of adsorbent, crust of pistachios deride, then washed with distilled water, then powder in the furnace for burning for 2 hours at temperatures of 500, 600, and 700 °C. The effect of changing pH, burning temperature of adsorbent, stirring speed, initial concentration of fluoride, retention time and adsorbent dose was studied. Concentration of fluoride measured according to standard method using spectrophotometer the data were analyzed using Excel software. Results: The results of these experiments showed that the burning adsorbent, temperature 500 ° C, PH of solution in the neutral range (pH = 7, adsorbent dose of 2 g/L for absorbing almonds and adsorbent dose of 3 g pistachio, contact time of 40 minutes for both adsorbent, initial fluoride concentration (5ppm for both absorbent without mixing, the optimal conditions for the efficiency of the absorber is as much as 90-80 percent. Discussion: According to the results, pistachio coal can be used with high efficiency for fluoride removal. 

Preview control of vehicle suspension system featuring MR shock absorber

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seong, M S; Choi, S B [Smart Structures and Systems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, M W [Precision Manufacturing and Inspection Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon 402-751 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, H G [Department of Automotive Engineering, Daeduk College, Daejeon, 305-715 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: seungbok@inha.ac.kr

2009-02-01

This paper presents control performance evaluation of optimal preview control algorithm for vehicle suspension featuring MR shock absorber. The optimal preview control algorithm has several advantages such as high control performance over that which is best for a non-preview system. In order to achieve this goal, a commercial MR shock absorber, Delphi MganerideTM, which is applicable to high class passenger vehicle, is adopted and its field-dependent damping force and dynamic responses are experimentally evaluated. Then the governing equation of motion for the full-vehicle model is established and integrated with the MR shock absorber. Subsequently, optimal controller with preview control algorithm is formulated and implemented for vibration suppression of the car body. Control performance of the preview controller is evaluated for the full-vehicle model under random road condition. In addition, the control performances depending on preview distances are evaluated.

Preview control of vehicle suspension system featuring MR shock absorber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seong, M S; Choi, S B; Cho, M W; Lee, H G

2009-01-01

This paper presents control performance evaluation of optimal preview control algorithm for vehicle suspension featuring MR shock absorber. The optimal preview control algorithm has several advantages such as high control performance over that which is best for a non-preview system. In order to achieve this goal, a commercial MR shock absorber, Delphi MganerideTM, which is applicable to high class passenger vehicle, is adopted and its field-dependent damping force and dynamic responses are experimentally evaluated. Then the governing equation of motion for the full-vehicle model is established and integrated with the MR shock absorber. Subsequently, optimal controller with preview control algorithm is formulated and implemented for vibration suppression of the car body. Control performance of the preview controller is evaluated for the full-vehicle model under random road condition. In addition, the control performances depending on preview distances are evaluated.

Research on ration selection of mixed absorbent solution for membrane air-conditioning system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Xiu-Wei; Zhang, Xiao-Song; Wang, Fang; Zhao, Xiao; Zhang, Zhuo

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We derive models of the membrane air-conditioning system with mixed absorbents. • We make analysis on system COP, cost-effectiveness and economy. • The paper provides a new method for ideal absorbent selection. • The solutes concentration of 50% achieves the best cost-effectiveness and the economy. - Abstract: Absorption air-conditioning system is a good alternative to vapor compression system for developing low carbon society. To improve the performance of the traditional absorption system, the membrane air-conditioning system is configured and its COP can reach as high as 6. Mixed absorbents are potential for cost reduction of the membrane system while maintaining a high COP. On the purpose of finding ideal mixed absorbent groups, this paper makes analysis on COP, cost-effectiveness and economy of the membrane system with mixed LiBr–CaCl 2 absorbent solution. The models of the system have been developed for the analysis. The results show the COP is higher for the absorbent groups with lower concentration of the total solute and higher concentration ratio of LiBr. It also reveals when the total solutes concentration is about 50%, it achieves the best cost-effectiveness and the economy. The process of the analysis provides a useful method for mixed absorbents selection

Thermal expansion absorbing structure for pipeline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagata, Takashi; Yamashita, Takuya.

1995-01-01

A thermal expansion absorbing structure for a pipeline is disposed to the end of pipelines to form a U-shaped cross section connecting a semi-circular torus shell and a short double-walled cylindrical tube. The U-shaped longitudinal cross-section is deformed in accordance with the shrinking deformation of the pipeline and absorbs thermal expansion. Namely, since the central lines of the outer and inner tubes of the double-walled cylindrical tube deform so as to incline, when the pipeline is deformed by thermal expansion, thermal expansion can be absorbed by a simple configuration thereby enabling to contribute to ensure the safety. Then, the entire length of the pipeline can greatly be shortened by applying it to the pipeline disposed in a high temperature state compared with a method of laying around a pipeline using only elbows, which has been conducted so far. Especially, when it is applied to a pipeline for an FBR-type reactor, the cost for the construction of a facility of a primary systems can greater be reduced. In addition, it can be applied to a pipeline for usual chemical plants and any other structures requiring absorption of deformation. (N.H.)

Radiation sterilization of absorbent cotton and of absorbent gauze

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosobuchi, Kazunari; Oka, Mitsuru; Kaneko, Akira; Ishiwata, Hiroshi.

1986-01-01

The bioburden of absorbent cotton and of absorbent gauze and their physical and chemical characteristics after irradiation are investigated. The survey conducted on contaminants of 1890 cotton samples from 53 lots and 805 gauze samples from 56 lots showed maximum numbers of microbes per g of the cotton and gauze were 859 (an average of 21.4) and 777 (an average of 42.2), respectively. Isolation and microbiological and biochemical tests of representative microbes indicated that all of them, except one, were bacilli. The sterilization dose at 10 -6 of sterlity assurance level was found to be 2.0 Mrad when irradiated the spores loaded on paper strips and examined populations having graded D values from 0.10 to 0.28 Mrad. The sterilization dose would be about 1.5 Mrad if subjected the average numbers of contaminants observed in this study to irradiation. No significant differences were found between the irradiated samples and control up to 2 Mrad in tensile strength, change of color, absorbency, sedimentation rate, soluble substances, and pH of solutions used for immersion and other tests conventionally used. These results indicate that these products can be sterilized by irradiation. (author)

Enhanced drug delivery capabilities from stents coated with absorbable polymer and crystalline drug.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlyle, Wenda C; McClain, James B; Tzafriri, Abraham R; Bailey, Lynn; Zani, Brett G; Markham, Peter M; Stanley, James R L; Edelman, Elazer R

2012-09-28

Current drug eluting stent (DES) technology is not optimized with regard to the pharmacokinetics of drug delivery. A novel, absorbable-coating sirolimus-eluting stent (AC-SES) was evaluated for its capacity to deliver drug more evenly within the intimal area rather than concentrating drug around the stent struts and for its ability to match coating erosion with drug release. The coating consisted of absorbable poly-lactide-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and crystalline sirolimus deposited by a dry-powder electrostatic process. The AC-SES demonstrated enhanced drug stability under simulated use conditions and consistent drug delivery balanced with coating erosion in a porcine coronary implant model. The initial drug burst was eliminated and drug release was sustained after implantation. The coating was absorbed within 90 days. Following implantation into porcine coronary arteries the AC-SES coating is distributed in the surrounding intimal tissue over the course of several weeks. Computational modeling of drug delivery characteristics demonstrates how distributed coating optimizes the load of drug immediately around each stent strut and extends drug delivery between stent struts. The result was a highly efficient arterial uptake of drug with superior performance to a clinical bare metal stent (BMS). Neointimal thickness (0.17±0.07 mm vs. 0.28±0.11 mm) and area percent stenosis (22±9% vs. 35±12%) were significantly reduced (pstent implantation in an overlap configuration in porcine coronary arteries. Inflammation was significantly reduced in the AC-SES compared to the BMS at both 30 and 90 days after implantation. Biocompatible, rapidly absorbable stent coatings enable the matching of drug release with coating erosion and provide for the controlled migration of coating material into tissue to reduce vicissitudes in drug tissue levels, optimizing efficacy and reducing potential toxicity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

HIGH EFFICIENCY TURBINE

OpenAIRE

VARMA, VIJAYA KRUSHNA

2012-01-01

Varma designed ultra modern and high efficiency turbines which can use gas, steam or fuels as feed to produce electricity or mechanical work for wide range of usages and applications in industries or at work sites. Varma turbine engines can be used in all types of vehicles. These turbines can also be used in aircraft, ships, battle tanks, dredgers, mining equipment, earth moving machines etc, Salient features of Varma Turbines. 1. Varma turbines are simple in design, easy to manufac...

Study on Ballistic Absorbing Energy Character of High Performance Polyethylene Needle Felt

Science.gov (United States)

Kailiang, Zhu; Jianqiao, Fu

2017-11-01

The ballistic performance of polyethylene needle felt is tested and the failure morphology after test is also observed. The results showed that when the non-dimensionally non-stressed fibers in polyethylene needles are subjected to high-speed projectile, secondary movement such as stretching and twisting occurs first. This secondary movement is very full, it is the main way of ballistic absorbing energy of the polyethylene needle felt which can avoid the polyethylene fiber short-term rapid heating-up and destroyed. Analysis results show that under normal temperature and humidity conditions, the V50 of 6-layer forded polyethylene needle felt sample is 250m/s. At (450 ± 50) m/s speed range of the target missile, the mean value of the penetrative specific energy absorption for 3-layer forded polyethylene needle felt anti-1.1g simulated projectiles (tapered column) reaches 24.1J·m2/kg.

Summary of the CERN Workshop on Materials for Collimators and Beam Absorbers

CERN Document Server

Schmidt, R; Bertarelli, A; Ferrari, A; Weterings, W; Mokhov, N V

2008-01-01

The main focus of the workshop was on collimators and beam absorbers for (mainly) High Energy Hadron Accelerators, with the energy stored in the beams far above damage limit. The objective was to better understand the technological limits imposed by mechanisms related to beam impact on materials. The idea to organise this workshop came up during the High Intensity High Brightness Hadron Beams, ICFA-HB2006 in Japan [1]. The workshop was organised 3-5 September 2007 at CERN, with about 60 participants, including 20 from outside CERN. About 30 presentations were given [2]. The event was driven by the LHC challenge, with more than 360 MJoule stored in each proton beam. The entire beam or its fraction will interact with LHC collimators and beam absorbers, and with the LHC beam dump blocks. Collimators and beam absorbers are also of the interest for other labs and accelerators: - CERN: for the CNGS target, for SPS beam absorbers (extraction protection) and collimators for protecting the transfer line between SPS an...

Preparation of Active Absorbent for Flue Gas Desulfurization From Coal Bottom Ash: Effect of Absorbent Preparation Variables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang Chin Li, Lee Keat Teong, Subhash Bhatia and Abdul Rahman Mohamed

2012-08-01

Full Text Available An active absorbent for flue gas desulfurization was prepared from coal bottom ash, calcium oxide (CaO and calcium sulfate by hydro-thermal process. The absorbent was examined for its micro-structural properties. The experiments conducted were based on Design Of Experiments (DOE according to 23 factorial design. The effect of various absorbent preparation variables such as ratio of CaO to bottom ash (A, hydration temperature (B and hydration period (C towards the BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller specific surface area of the absorbent were studied. At a CaO to bottom ash ratio = 2, hydration temperature = 200 ?C and hydration period = 10 hrs, absorbent with a surface area of 90.1 m2/g was obtained. Based on the analysis of the factorial design, it was concluded that factor A and C as well as the interaction of factors ABC and BC are the significant factors that effect the BET surface area of the absorbent. A linear mathematical model that describes the relation between the independent variables and interaction between variables towards the BET specific surface area of the absorbent was also developed. Analysis of variance (ANOVA showed that the model was significant at 1% level.Key Words: Absorbent, Bottom Ash, Design Of Experiments, Desulfurization, Surface Area.

Gamma-ray spectrometer system with high efficiency and high resolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moss, C.E.; Bernard, W.; Dowdy, E.J.; Garcia, C.; Lucas, M.C.; Pratt, J.C.

1983-01-01

Our gamma-ray spectrometer system, designed for field use, offers high efficiency and high resolution for safeguards applications. The system consists of three 40% high-purity germanium detectors and a LeCroy 3500 data acquisition system that calculates a composite spectrum for the three detectors. The LeCroy 3500 mainframe can be operated remotely from the detector array with control exercised through modems and the telephone system. System performance with a mixed source of 125 Sb, 154 Eu, and 155 Eu confirms the expected efficiency of 120% with the overall resolution showing little degradation over that of the worst detector

Reliable wet-chemical cleaning of natively oxidized high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin-film solar cell absorbers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lehmann, Jascha [Renewable Energies, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), 14473 Potsdam (Germany); Lehmann, Sebastian, E-mail: sebastian.lehmann@ftf.lth.se [Renewable Energies, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Solid State Physics, Lund University, Box 118, S-22100 Lund (Sweden); Lauermann, Iver; Rissom, Thorsten; Kaufmann, Christian A.; Lux-Steiner, Martha Ch. [Renewable Energies, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Bär, Marcus, E-mail: marcus.baer@helmholtz-berlin.de [Renewable Energies, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Institut für Physik und Chemie, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg, Platz der Deutschen Einheit 1, 03046 Cottbus (Germany); Sadewasser, Sascha, E-mail: sascha.sadewasser@inl.int [Renewable Energies, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Av. Mestre José Veiga s/n, 4715-330 Braga (Portugal)

2014-12-21

Currently, Cu-containing chalcopyrite-based solar cells provide the highest conversion efficiencies among all thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technologies. They have reached efficiency values above 20%, the same performance level as multi-crystalline silicon-wafer technology that dominates the commercial PV market. Chalcopyrite thin-film heterostructures consist of a layer stack with a variety of interfaces between different materials. It is the chalcopyrite/buffer region (forming the p-n junction), which is of crucial importance and therefore frequently investigated using surface and interface science tools, such as photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning probe microscopy. To ensure comparability and validity of the results, a general preparation guide for “realistic” surfaces of polycrystalline chalcopyrite thin films is highly desirable. We present results on wet-chemical cleaning procedures of polycrystalline Cu(In{sub 1-x}Ga{sub x})Se{sub 2} thin films with an average x = [Ga]/([In] + [Ga]) = 0.29, which were exposed to ambient conditions for different times. The hence natively oxidized sample surfaces were etched in KCN- or NH{sub 3}-based aqueous solutions. By x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the KCN treatment results in a chemical surface structure which is – apart from a slight change in surface composition – identical to a pristine as-received sample surface. Additionally, we discover a different oxidation behavior of In and Ga, in agreement with thermodynamic reference data, and we find indications for the segregation and removal of copper selenide surface phases from the polycrystalline material.

High voltage generator circuit with low power and high efficiency applied in EEPROM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Yan; Zhang Shilin; Zhao Yiqiang

2012-01-01

This paper presents a low power and high efficiency high voltage generator circuit embedded in electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). The low power is minimized by a capacitance divider circuit and a regulator circuit using the controlling clock switch technique. The high efficiency is dependent on the zero threshold voltage (V th ) MOSFET and the charge transfer switch (CTS) charge pump. The proposed high voltage generator circuit has been implemented in a 0.35 μm EEPROM CMOS process. Measured results show that the proposed high voltage generator circuit has a low power consumption of about 150.48 μW and a higher pumping efficiency (83.3%) than previously reported circuits. This high voltage generator circuit can also be widely used in low-power flash devices due to its high efficiency and low power dissipation. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Dual-band absorber for multispectral plasmon-enhanced infrared photodetection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Peng; Ashalley, Eric; Wang, Zhiming; Wu, Jiang; Govorov, Alexander

2016-01-01

For most of the reported metamaterial absorbers, the peak absorption only occurs at one single wavelength. Here, we investigated a dual-band absorber which is based on simple gold nano-rings. Two absorption peaks can be readily achieved in 3–5 µ m and 8–14 µ m via tuning the width and radius of gold nano-rings and dielectric constant. The average maximum absorption of two bands can be as high as 95.1% (−0.22 dB). Based on the simulation results, the perfect absorber with nano-rings demonstrates great flexibility to create dual-band or triple-band absorption, and thus holds potential for further applications in thermophotovoltaics, multicolor infrared focal plane arrays, optical filters, and biological sensing applications. (paper)

High-damage-resistant tungsten disulfide saturable absorber mirror for passively Q-switched fiber laser.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hao; Chen, YuShan; Yin, Jinde; Zhang, Xuejun; Guo, Tuan; Yan, Peiguang

2016-07-25

In this paper, we demonstrate a high-damage-resistant tungsten disulfide saturable absorber mirror (WS2-SAM) fabricated by magnetron sputtering technique. The WS2-SAM has an all-fiber-integrated configuration and high-damage-resistant merit because the WS2 layer is protected by gold film so as to avoid being oxidized and destroyed at high pump power. Employing the WS2-SAM in an Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) with linear cavity, the stable Q-switching operation is achieved at central wavelength of 1560 nm, with the repetition rates ranging from 29.5 kHz to 367.8 kHz and the pulse duration ranging from 1.269 μs to 154.9 ns. For the condition of the maximum pump power of 600 mW, the WS2-SAM still works stably with an output power of 25.2 mW, pulse energy of 68.5 nJ, and signal-noise-ratio of 42 dB. The proposed WS2-SAM configuration provides a promising solution for advanced pulsed fiber lasers with the characteristics of high damage resistance, high output energy, and wide tunable frequency.

Integrated sound absorption in thermally activated concrete ceilings - acoustic and thermal effectiveness of sound-absorber strips spaced at intervals; Integrierte Schallabsorption in thermisch aktivierten Betondecken - akustische und thermische Wirksamkeit periodischer Schallabsorberstreifen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drotleff, Horst; Wack, Roman; Leistner, Philip; Holm, Andreas; Ziegler, Matthias; Sedlbauer, Klaus [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Bauphysik IBP, Stuttgart (Germany)

2011-10-15

From the perspectives of energy as well as indoor climate, thermally activated concrete ceilings make sense. Used in office buildings, however, their drawback becomes apparent: they are acoustically reflective. The conventional approaches use sound-absorbing suspended sails and absorber baffles or heat-conducting sound absorbers embedded in large areas of the concrete. In this paper, an alternative approach is presented and is evaluated acoustically and thermally. A few strips of sound absorber, arranged at intervals, are mounted flush into the concrete ceiling. To calculate the sound-absorption spectrum, an already widely publicised model (the Rayleigh approach) is used. It predicts the sound-absorption spectrum for normal sound incidence very well. For diffuse sound incidence, the difference to reverberation chamber measurements is greater, presumably because of the edge effect. The sound- absorption coefficient of the design can be tuned by skilful choice of the strip geometry, and it is significantly higher than the expected average value for the surface. On the one hand, the thermal efficiency of the components is determined by comparing the heat fluxes in the ceilings with absorber strips to an untreated reference ceiling. On the other hand, the indoor climate is investigated using a room model for office rooms of both solid and lightweight constructions. The influence of the strips (proportion of absorber area 20 %) on the thermal efficiency and indoor climate is low. Two absorber materials are examined in the strip approach: open-cell foam glass and a micro-perforated metallic absorber. While the metallic absorber displays thermal advantages, its sound absorption spectrum - even at high surface-coverage proportions - exhibits a much lower absorption coefficient than, for example, open-cell foam glass strips with only 20 % ceiling coverage. A demonstration in situ shows the potential of the absorber strips spaced at intervals. However, the method chosen in

Modeling the efficiency of Förster resonant energy transfer from energy relay dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells

KAUST Repository

Hoke, Eric T.; Hardin, Brian E.; McGehee, Michael D.

2010-01-01

Förster resonant energy transfer can improve the spectral breadth, absorption and energy conversion efficiency of dye sensitized solar cells. In this design, unattached relay dyes absorb the high energy photons and transfer the excitation

Eliminating the non-Gaussian spectral response of X-ray absorbers for transition-edge sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Daikang; Divan, Ralu; Gades, Lisa M.; Kenesei, Peter; Madden, Timothy J.; Miceli, Antonino; Park, Jun-Sang; Patel, Umeshkumar M.; Quaranta, Orlando; Sharma, Hemant; Bennett, Douglas A.; Doriese, William B.; Fowler, Joseph W.; Gard, Johnathon D.; Hays-Wehle, James P.; Morgan, Kelsey M.; Schmidt, Daniel R.; Swetz, Daniel S.; Ullom, Joel N.

2017-11-01

Transition-edge sensors (TESs) as microcalorimeters for high-energy-resolution X-ray spectroscopy are often fabricated with an absorber made of materials with high Z (for X-ray stopping power) and low heat capacity (for high resolving power). Bismuth represents one of the most compelling options. TESs with evaporated bismuth absorbers have shown spectra with undesirable and unexplained low-energy tails. We have developed TESs with electroplated bismuth absorbers over a gold layer that are not afflicted by this problem and that retain the other positive aspects of this material. To better understand these phenomena, we have studied a series of TESs with gold, gold/evaporated bismuth, and gold/electroplated bismuth absorbers, fabricated on the same die with identical thermal coupling. We show that the bismuth morphology is linked to the spectral response of X-ray TES microcalorimeters.

Development of optical tools for the characterization of selective solar absorber at elevated temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Giraud, Philemon; Braillon, Julien; Delord, Christine; Raccurt, Olivier

2016-05-01

Durability of solar components for CSP (Concentrated Solar Power Plant) technologies is a key point to lower cost and ensure their large deployment. These technologies concentrated the solar radiation by means of mirrors on a receiver tube where it is collected as thermal energy. The absorbers are submitted to strong environmental constraints and the degradation of their optical properties (emittance and solar absorbance) have a direct impact on performance. The objective is to develop new optical equipment for characterization of this solar absorber in condition of use that is to say in air and at elevated temperature. In this paper we present two new optical test benches developed for optical characterization of solar absorbers in condition of use up to 800°C. The first equipment is an integrated sphere with heated sample holder which measures the hemispherical reflectance between 280 and 2500 nm to calculate the solar absorbance at high temperature. The second optical test bench measures the emittance of samples up to 1000°C in the range of 1.25 to 28.57 µm. Results of high temperature measurements on a series of metallic absorbers with selective coating and refractory material for high thermal receiver are presented.

Development and characterization of high-efficiency, high-specific impulse xenon Hall thrusters

Science.gov (United States)

Hofer, Richard Robert

This dissertation presents research aimed at extending the efficient operation of 1600 s specific impulse Hall thruster technology to the 2000--3000 s range. While recent studies of commercially developed Hall thrusters demonstrated greater than 4000 s specific impulse, maximum efficiency occurred at less than 3000 s. It was hypothesized that the efficiency maximum resulted as a consequence of modern magnetic field designs, optimized for 1600 s, which were unsuitable at high-specific impulse. Motivated by the industry efforts and mission studies, the aim of this research was to develop and characterize xenon Hall thrusters capable of both high-specific impulse and high-efficiency operation. The research divided into development and characterization phases. During the development phase, the laboratory-model NASA-173M Hall thrusters were designed with plasma lens magnetic field topographies and their performance and plasma characteristics were evaluated. Experiments with the NASA-173M version 1 (v1) validated the plasma lens design by showing how changing the magnetic field topography at high-specific impulse improved efficiency. Experiments with the NASA-173M version 2 (v2) showed there was a minimum current density and optimum magnetic field topography at which efficiency monotonically increased with voltage. Between 300--1000 V, total specific impulse and total efficiency of the NASA-173Mv2 operating at 10 mg/s ranged from 1600--3400 s and 51--61%, respectively. Comparison of the thrusters showed that efficiency can be optimized for specific impulse by varying the plasma lens design. During the characterization phase, additional plasma properties of the NASA-173Mv2 were measured and a performance model was derived accounting for a multiply-charged, partially-ionized plasma. Results from the model based on experimental data showed how efficient operation at high-specific impulse was enabled through regulation of the electron current with the magnetic field. The

Efficacy and Safety of the Absorb Everolimus-Eluting Bioresorbable Scaffold for Treatment of Patients With Diabetes Mellitus: Results of the Absorb Diabetic Substudy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kereiakes, Dean J; Ellis, Stephen G; Kimura, Takeshi; Abizaid, Alexandre; Zhao, Weiying; Veldhof, Susan; Vu, Minh-Thien; Zhang, Zhen; Onuma, Yoshinobu; Chevalier, Bernard; Serruys, Patrick W; Stone, Gregg W

2017-01-09

The study sought to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the Absorb everolimus-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) (Abbott Vascular, Abbott Park, Illinois) in patients with diabetes mellitus. Randomized, controlled trials have demonstrated comparable clinical outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention with either Absorb BVS or metallic Xience everolimus-eluting stent. However, these trials lack power required to provide reliable treatment effect estimates in this high-risk population. In a pre-specified, powered analysis, patients with diabetes who received ≥1 Absorb were pooled from the ABSORB II, III, and JAPAN randomized trials and from the single arm ABSORB EXTEND registry. The study composite primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF) at 1 year following Absorb BVS compared with a performance goal of 12.7%. Among 754 diabetic patients included in analysis (27.3% insulin treated), the 1-year TLF rate was 8.3% (upper 1-sided 95% confidence limit: 10.1%; p = 0.0001 vs. performance goal). Scaffold thrombosis (definite or probable) was observed in 2.3% of patients. Multivariable regression identified older age, insulin treatment, and smaller pre-procedure reference vessel diameter as significant independent predictors of 1-year TLF. The Absorb diabetic substudy suggests efficacy and safety of the Absorb BVS for treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus. Copyright © 2017 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neutron absorbers and methods of forming at least a portion of a neutron absorber

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guillen, Donna P; Porter, Douglas L; Swank, W David; Erickson, Arnold W

2014-12-02

Methods of forming at least a portion of a neutron absorber include combining a first material and a second material to form a compound, reducing the compound into a plurality of particles, mixing the plurality of particles with a third material, and pressing the mixture of the plurality of particles and the third material. One or more components of neutron absorbers may be formed by such methods. Neutron absorbers may include a composite material including an intermetallic compound comprising hafnium aluminide and a matrix material comprising pure aluminum.

Experimental demonstration of ultrasensitive sensing with terahertz metamaterial absorbers: A comparison with the metasurfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cong, Longqing; Singh, Ranjan, E-mail: ranjans@ntu.edu.sg [Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371 (Singapore); Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371 (Singapore); Tan, Siyu [School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 87074 (United States); Key Lab of All Optical Network and Advanced Telecommunication Network of EMC, Institute of Lightwave Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); Yahiaoui, Riad [XLIM, Limoges University, CNRS, UMR 7252, 7 rue Jules Vallès, F-19100 Brive (France); Yan, Fengping [Key Lab of All Optical Network and Advanced Telecommunication Network of EMC, Institute of Lightwave Technology, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); Zhang, Weili [School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 87074 (United States)

2015-01-19

Planar metasurfaces and plasmonic resonators have shown great promise for sensing applications across the electromagnetic domain ranging from the microwaves to the optical frequencies. However, these sensors suffer from lower figure of merit and sensitivity due to the radiative and the non-radiative loss channels in the plasmonic metamaterial systems. We demonstrate a metamaterial absorber based ultrasensitive sensing scheme at the terahertz frequencies with significantly enhanced sensitivity and an order of magnitude higher figure of merit compared to planar metasurfaces. Magnetic and electric resonant field enhancement in the impedance matched absorber cavity enables stronger interaction with the dielectric analyte. This finding opens up opportunities for perfect metamaterial absorbers to be applied as efficient sensors in the finger print region of the electromagnetic spectrum with several organic, explosive, and bio-molecules that have unique spectral signature at the terahertz frequencies.

High-efficiency white OLEDs based on small molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Hatwar, Tukaram K.; Spindler, Jeffrey P.; Ricks, M. L.; Young, Ralph H.; Hamada, Yuuhiko; Saito, N.; Mameno, Kazunobu; Nishikawa, Ryuji; Takahashi, Hisakazu; Rajeswaran, G.

2004-02-01

Eastman Kodak Company and SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. recently demonstrated a 15" full-color, organic light-emitting diode display (OLED) using a high-efficiency white emitter combined with a color-filter array. Although useful for display applications, white emission from organic structures is also under consideration for other applications, such as solid-state lighting, where high efficiency and good color rendition are important. By incorporating adjacent blue and orange emitting layers in a multi-layer structure, highly efficient, stable white emission has been attained. With suitable host and dopant combinations, a luminance yield of 20 cd/A and efficiency of 8 lm/W have been achieved at a drive voltage of less than 8 volts and luminance level of 1000 cd/m2. The estimated external efficiency of this device is 6.3% and a high level of operational stability is observed. To our knowledge, this is the highest performance reported so far for white organic electroluminescent devices. We will review white OLED technology and discuss the fabrication and operating characteristics of these devices.

Evaluation of the absorbed doses in conditions of external and internal contamination with radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milivojevic, K.; Stojanovic, D.; Markovic, P.

1981-01-01

In experimental conditions of contamination with radionuclides of the skin and skin injuries, an evaluation of the degree of local irradiation in decontamined region and doses absorbed in organs of selective accumulating was carried out by use of mathematical models and tissue-equivalent thermoluminescent dosemeters. The evaluation of the absorbed doses based on conception, that in adequate analyses of decontamination effect, as a most efficient medico-prophilactic measure from local and total irradiation, should be taken into account the total body burden of the penetrated radionuclide, selective accumulating in critical organs or tissues, as well as the residual radioactivity in decontaminated region. (author)

Calibration procedure for thermoluminescent dosemeters in water absorbed doses for Iridium-192 high dose rate sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reyes Cac, Franky Eduardo

2004-10-01

Thermoluminescent dosimeters are used in brachytherapy services quality assurance programs, with the aim of guaranteeing the correct radiation dose supplied to cancer patients, as well as with the purpose of evaluating new clinical procedures. This work describes a methodology for thermoluminescent dosimeters calibration in terms of absorbed dose to water for 192 Ir high dose rate sources. The reference dose used is measured with an ionization chamber previously calibrated for 192 Ir energy quality, applying the methodology proposed by Toelli. This methodology aims to standardizing the procedure, in a similar form to that used for external radiotherapy. The work evolves the adaptation of the TRS-277 Code of the International Atomic Energy Agency, for small and big cavities, through the introduction for non-uniform experimental factor, for the absorbed dose in the neighborhood of small brachytherapy sources. In order to simulate a water medium around the source during the experimental work, an acrylic phantom was used. It guarantees the reproducibility of the ionization chamber and the thermoluminescent dosimeter's location in relation to the radiation source. The values obtained with the ionization chamber and the thermoluminescent dosimeters, exposed to a 192 Ir high dose rate source, were compared and correction factors for different source-detector distances were determined for the thermoluminescent dosimeters. A numeric function was generated relating the correction factors and the source-detector distance. These correction factors are in fact the thermoluminescent dosimeter calibration factors for the 192 Ir source considered. As a possible application of this calibration methodology for thermoluminescent dosimeters, a practical range of source-detector distances is proposed for quality control of 192 Ir high dose rate sources. (author)

Short-length and high-density TiO2 nanorod arrays for the efficient charge separation interface in perovskite solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, Guannan; Shi, Chengwu; Zhang, Zhengguo; Li, Nannan; Li, Long

2017-01-01

The TiO 2 nanorod arrays with the length of 70 nm, the diameter of 20 nm, and the areal density of 1000 µm −2 were firstly prepared by the hydrothermal method using the aqueous grown solution of 38 mM titanium isopropoxide and 6 M hydrochloric acid at 170 °C for 60 min. Over-500 nm-thickness CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3−x Br x absorber layers were successfully obtained by sequential deposition routes using 1.7 M PbI 2 ·DMSO complex precursor solution and 0.465 M isopropanol solution of the methylammonium halide mixture with the molar ratio of CH 3 NH 3 I/CH 3 NH 3 Br=85/15. The perovskite solar cells based on the TiO 2 nanorod array and 560 nm-thickness CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3−x Br x absorber layer exhibited the best photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.93%, while the corresponding planar perovskite solar cells without the TiO 2 nanorod array and with 530 nm-thickness CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3−x Br x absorber layer gave the best PCE of 12.82% at the relative humidity of 50–54%. - Graphical abstract: The TiO 2 nanorod arrays with the length of 70 nm, the diameter of 20 nm, and the areal density of 1000 µm −2 were prepared by the hydrothermal method using the aqueous grown solution of 38 mM titanium isopropoxide and 6 M hydrochloric acid at 170 °C for 60 min. The optimal annealing temperature of TiO 2 nanorod arrays was 450 °C. The perovskite solar cells based on the TiO 2 nanorod array and 560 nm-thickness CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3−x Br x absorber layer exhibited the best photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.93% and the average PCE of 13.41±2.52%, while the corresponding planar perovskite solar cells without the TiO 2 nanorod array and with 530 nm-thickness CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3−x Br x absorber layer gave the best PCE of 12.82% and the average PCE of 10.54±2.28% at the relative humidity of 50–54%. - Highlights: • Preparation of TiO 2 nanorod array with length of 70 nm and density of 1000 µm −2 . • Influence of annealing temperatures on the -OH content of Ti

Approaches to achieve high grain yield and high resource use efficiency in rice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianchang YANG

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This article discusses approaches to simultaneously increase grain yield and resource use efficiency in rice. Breeding nitrogen efficient cultivars without sacrificing rice yield potential, improving grain fill in later-flowering inferior spikelets and enhancing harvest index are three important approaches to achieving the dual goal of high grain yield and high resource use efficiency. Deeper root distribution and higher leaf photosynthetic N use efficiency at lower N rates could be used as selection criteria to develop N-efficient cultivars. Enhancing sink activity through increasing sugar-spikelet ratio at the heading time and enhancing the conversion efficiency from sucrose to starch though increasing the ratio of abscisic acid to ethylene in grains during grain fill could effectively improve grain fill in inferior spikelets. Several practices, such as post-anthesis controlled soil drying, an alternate wetting and moderate soil drying regime during the whole growing season, and non-flooded straw mulching cultivation, could substantially increase grain yield and water use efficiency, mainly via enhanced remobilization of stored carbon from vegetative tissues to grains and improved harvest index. Further research is needed to understand synergistic interaction between water and N on crop and soil and the mechanism underlying high resource use efficiency in high-yielding rice.

Tungsten based anisotropic metamaterial as an ultra-broadband absorber

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lin, Yinyue; Cui, Yanxia; Ding, Fei

2017-01-01

: We show theoretically that an array of tungsten/germanium anisotropic nano-cones placed on top of a reflective substrate can absorb light at the wavelength range from 0.3 μm to 9 μm with an average absorption efficiency approaching 98%. It is found that the excitation of multiple orders of slow...... of the nano-cones and the interaction between neighboring nano-cones is quite weak. Our proposal has some potential applications in the areas of solar energy harvesting and thermal emitters....

Radioactive iodine absorbing properties of tetrathiafulvalene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ito, Tomiyasu; Nakamura, Asao (Ajinomoto Co. Inc., Kawasaki, Kanagawa (Japan). Central Research Labs.); Nogawa, Norio; Oohashi, Kunio; Morikawa, Naotake

1989-05-01

For the purpose of searching some effective absorbents of gaseous radioactive iodine, 16 substances considered as having an affinity for iodine were investigated with regular iodine and /sup 125/I. In a preliminary survey, only tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) was found to have satisfactory absorbing properties comparable to activated charcoal. A further detailed comparison of the properties between TTF and activated charcoal led us to the conclusion that the former has more preferable properties as absorbent of radioactive iodine than the latter in all points studied. The results are summarized as follows: (1) The absorption of iodine on TTF in atmosphere was about twice as much as that on activated charcoal. Desorption of iodine from saturatedly absorbed iodine on TTF was practically negligible except trace amount of initial desorption, while that on activated charcoal was considerable (3%/50h) even in the air at room temperature. (2) Absorbed amount of iodine on activated charcoal decreased with increasing gaseous iodine concentration, air flow rate, on humidity of flowing-air. On the other hand, those factors scarcely affected that on TTF. Under an air flow rate of 1m/s, activated charcoal absorbs only 80% of iodine, while TTF absorbs more than 99%. (3) In flowing-air saturated with water vapor, iodine absorbed on activated charcoal was gradually liberated although by small amount (0.08%/100h), while that on TTF was much more stable for a long period (0.004%/100h). As a conclusion, TTF is considered to be useful as a quite effective radioactive iodine absorbent, especially in the case where protection from radioactive iodine should be serious, though it is expensive now. (author).

Radioactive iodine absorbing properties of tetrathiafulvalene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Tomiyasu; Nakamura, Asao; Nogawa, Norio; Oohashi, Kunio; Morikawa, Naotake.

1989-01-01

For the purpose of searching some effective absorbents of gaseous radioactive iodine, 16 substances considered as having an affinity for iodine were investigated with regular iodine and 125 I. In a preliminary survey, only tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) was found to have satisfactory absorbing properties comparable to activated charcoal. A further detailed comparison of the properties between TTF and activated charcoal led us to the conclusion that the former has more preferable properties as absorbent of radioactive iodine than the latter in all points studied. The results are summarized as follows: (1) The absorption of iodine on TTF in atmosphere was about twice as much as that on activated charcoal. Desorption of iodine from saturatedly absorbed iodine on TTF was practically negligible except trace amount of initial desorption, while that on activated charcoal was considerable (3%/50h) even in the air at room temperature. (2) Absorbed amount of iodine on activated charcoal decreased with increasing gaseous iodine concentration, air flow rate, on humidity of flowing-air. On the other hand, those factors scarcely affected that on TTF. Under an air flow rate of 1m/s, activated charcoal absorbs only 80% of iodine, while TTF absorbs more than 99%. (3) In flowing-air saturated with water vapor, iodine absorbed on activated charcoal was gradually liberated although by small amount (0.08%/100h), while that on TTF was much more stable for a long period (0.004%/100h). As a conclusion, TTF is considered to be useful as a quite effective radioactive iodine absorbent, especially in the case where protection from radioactive iodine should be serious, though it is expensive now. (author)

Neutron absorbing article

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naum, R.G.; Owens, D.P.; Dooker, G.I.

1981-01-01

A neutron-absorbing article suitable for use in spent fuel racks is described. It comprises boron carbide particles, diluent particles, and a phenolic polymer cured to a continuous matrix. The diluent may be silicon carbide, graphite, amorphous carbon, alumina, or silica. The combined boron carbide-diluent phase contains no more than 2 percent B 2 O 3 , and the neutron-absorbing article contains from 20 to 40 percent phenol resin. The ratio of boron carbide to diluent particles is in the range 1:9 to 9:1

Mechanical shock absorber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vrillon, Bernard.

1973-01-01

The mechanical shock absorber described is made of a constant thickness plate pierced with circular holes regularly distributed in such a manner that for all the directions along which the strain is applied during the shock, the same section of the substance forming the plate is achieved. The shock absorber is made in a metal standing up to extensive deformation before breaking, selected from a group comprising mild steels and austenitic stainless steels. This apparatus is used for handling pots of fast neutron reactor fuel elements [fr

Modeling of alpha mass-efficiency curve

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Semkow, T.M.; Jeter, H.W.; Parsa, B.; Parekh, P.P.; Haines, D.K.; Bari, A.

2005-01-01

We present a model for efficiency of a detector counting gross α radioactivity from both thin and thick samples, corresponding to low and high sample masses in the counting planchette. The model includes self-absorption of α particles in the sample, energy loss in the absorber, range straggling, as well as detector edge effects. The surface roughness of the sample is treated in terms of fractal geometry. The model reveals a linear dependence of the detector efficiency on the sample mass, for low masses, as well as a power-law dependence for high masses. It is, therefore, named the linear-power-law (LPL) model. In addition, we consider an empirical power-law (EPL) curve, and an exponential (EXP) curve. A comparison is made of the LPL, EPL, and EXP fits to the experimental α mass-efficiency data from gas-proportional detectors for selected radionuclides: 238 U, 230 Th, 239 Pu, 241 Am, and 244 Cm. Based on this comparison, we recommend working equations for fitting mass-efficiency data. Measurement of α radioactivity from a thick sample can determine the fractal dimension of its surface

Can a Satellite-Derived Estimate of the Fraction of PAR Absorbed by Chlorophyll (FAPAR(sub chl)) Improve Predictions of Light-Use Efficiency and Ecosystem Photosynthesis for a Boreal Aspen Forest?

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qingyuan; Middleton, Elizabeth M.; Margolis, Hank A.; Drolet, Guillaume G.; Barr, Alan A.; Black, T. Andrew

2009-01-01

Gross primary production (GPP) is a key terrestrial ecophysiological process that links atmospheric composition and vegetation processes. Study of GPP is important to global carbon cycles and global warming. One of the most important of these processes, plant photosynthesis, requires solar radiation in the 0.4-0.7 micron range (also known as photosynthetically active radiation or PAR), water, carbon dioxide (CO2), and nutrients. A vegetation canopy is composed primarily of photosynthetically active vegetation (PAV) and non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV; e.g., senescent foliage, branches and stems). A green leaf is composed of chlorophyll and various proportions of nonphotosynthetic components (e.g., other pigments in the leaf, primary/secondary/tertiary veins, and cell walls). The fraction of PAR absorbed by whole vegetation canopy (FAPAR(sub canopy)) has been widely used in satellite-based Production Efficiency Models to estimate GPP (as a product of FAPAR(sub canopy)x PAR x LUE(sub canopy), where LUE(sub canopy) is light use efficiency at canopy level). However, only the PAR absorbed by chlorophyll (a product of FAPAR(sub chl) x PAR) is used for photosynthesis. Therefore, remote sensing driven biogeochemical models that use FAPAR(sub chl) in estimating GPP (as a product of FAPAR(sub chl x PAR x LUE(sub chl) are more likely to be consistent with plant photosynthesis processes.

Efficiency and Loading Evaluation of High Efficiency Mist Eliminators (HEME) - 12003

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giffin, Paxton K.; Parsons, Michael S.; Waggoner, Charles A. [Institute for Clean Energy Technology, Mississippi State University, 205 Research Blvd Starkville, MS 39759 (United States)

2012-07-01

High efficiency mist eliminators (HEME) are filters primarily used to remove moisture and/or liquid aerosols from an air stream. HEME elements are designed to reduce aerosol and particulate load on primary High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters and to have a liquid particle removal efficiency of approximately 99.5% for aerosols down to sub-micron size particulates. The investigation presented here evaluates the loading capacity of the element in the absence of a water spray cleaning system. The theory is that without the cleaning system, the HEME element will suffer rapid buildup of solid aerosols, greatly reducing the particle loading capacity. Evaluation consists of challenging the element with a waste surrogate dry aerosol and di-octyl phthalate (DOP) at varying intervals of differential pressure to examine the filtering efficiency of three different element designs at three different media velocities. Also, the elements are challenged with a liquid waste surrogate using Laskin nozzles and large dispersion nozzles. These tests allow the loading capacity of the unit to be determined and the effectiveness of washing down the interior of the elements to be evaluated. (authors)

FY 2000 report on the results of development of technology for commercializing high-efficiency fuel cell systems. Development of technology for commercializing high-efficiency fuel cell systems (Development of technology for effective utilization of power produced by polymer electrolyte fuel cell systems); 2000 nendo kokoritsu nenryo denchi system jitsuyoka gijutsu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Kotai kobunshigata nenryo denchi no shutsuryoku yuko riyo gijutsu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

This project is aimed at development of technologies for effective utilization of power produced by polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) systems and waste heat, to spread cogeneration systems incorporating PEFC systems for residential purposes. Described herein are the FY 2000 results. The program for high-efficiency peripherals for residential PFEC systems attempts use of GaN-FET as the semiconductor device of wide band gap and high breakdown voltage to realize conversion efficiency over 90% by improving inverter efficiency. Two types of the prototype heat recovery systems are developed for the PEFC, one incorporating a latent heat cooling system and the other a water cooling system, to improve heat recovery efficiency and increase heat recovery temperature. The program for technology to fit PEFC output to energy demand develops hot water supply systems provided with a hot water storage function for stable supply of hot water irrespective of the heat recovery conditions, and also with a back-up function with burners. The program also develops the PEFC system of fine load following characteristics, for which pure hydrogen is used as the fuel to allow the system to instantaneously follow fluctuating loads. The program for high-efficiency partial load operation technology studies a 1kW-class residential PEFC cogeneration system incorporating a power storage device for high-efficiency operation at partial loads, where the former operates in a high output mode while the latter absorbs fluctuating loads. (NEDO)

Performance evaluation of METAMIC neutron absorber in spent fuel storage rack

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiyoung Kim

2018-06-01

Full Text Available High-density spent fuel (SF storage racks have been installed to increase SF pool capacity. In these SF racks, neutron absorber materials were placed between fuel assemblies allowing the storage of fuel assemblies in close proximity to one another. The purpose of the neutron absorber materials is to preclude neutronic coupling between adjacent fuel assemblies and to maintain the fuel in a subcritical storage condition. METAMIC neutron absorber has been used in high-density storage racks. But, neutron absorber materials can be subject to severe conditions including long-term exposure to gamma radiation and neutron radiation. Recently, some of them have experienced degradation, such as white spots on the surface. Under these conditions, the material must continue to serve its intended function of absorbing neutrons. For the first time in Korea, this article uses a neutron attenuation test to examine the performance of METAMIC surveillance coupons. Also, scanning electron microscope analysis was carried out to verify the white spots that were detected on the surface of METAMIC. In the neutron attenuation test, there was no significant sign of boron loss in most of the METAMIC coupons, but the coupon with white spots had relatively less B-10 content than the others. In the scanning electron microscope analysis, corrosion material was detected in all METAMIC coupons. Especially, it was confirmed that the coupon with white spots contains much more corrosion material than the others. Keywords: Blister, Criticality, METAMIC, Neutron Absorber, Neutron Attenuation Test, Scanning Electron Microscope

Critical study of high efficiency deep grinding

OpenAIRE

Johnstone, lain

2002-01-01

The recent years, the aerospace industry in particular has embraced and actively pursued the development of stronger high performance materials, namely nickel based superalloys and hardwearing steels. This has resulted in a need for a more efficient method of machining, and this need was answered with the advent of High Efficiency Deep Grinding (HEDG). This relatively new process using Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) electroplated grinding wheels has been investigated through experim...

Combustion phasing for maximum efficiency for conventional and high efficiency engines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caton, Jerald A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Combustion phasing for max efficiency is a function of engine parameters. • Combustion phasing is most affected by heat transfer, compression ratio, burn duration. • Combustion phasing is less affected by speed, load, equivalence ratio and EGR. • Combustion phasing for a high efficiency engine was more advanced. • Exergy destruction during combustion as functions of combustion phasing is reported. - Abstract: The importance of the phasing of the combustion event for internal-combustion engines is well appreciated, but quantitative details are sparse. The objective of the current work was to examine the optimum combustion phasing (based on maximum bmep) as functions of engine design and operating variables. A thermodynamic, engine cycle simulation was used to complete this assessment. As metrics for the combustion phasing, both the crank angle for 50% fuel mass burned (CA 50 ) and the crank angle for peak pressure (CA pp ) are reported as functions of the engine variables. In contrast to common statements in the literature, the optimum CA 50 and CA pp vary depending on the design and operating variables. Optimum, as used in this paper, refers to the combustion timing that provides the maximum bmep and brake thermal efficiency (MBT timing). For this work, the variables with the greatest influence on the optimum CA 50 and CA pp were the heat transfer level, the burn duration and the compression ratio. Other variables such as equivalence ratio, EGR level, engine speed and engine load had a much smaller impact on the optimum CA 50 and CA pp . For the conventional engine, for the conditions examined, the optimum CA 50 varied between about 5 and 11°aTDC, and the optimum CA pp varied between about 9 and 16°aTDC. For a high efficiency engine (high dilution, high compression ratio), the optimum CA 50 was 2.5°aTDC, and the optimum CA pp was 7.8°aTDC. These more advanced values for the optimum CA 50 and CA pp for the high efficiency engine were

Optimization by simulation of the nature of the buffer, the gap profile of the absorber and the thickness of the various layers in CZTSSe solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Chadel, Meriem; Chadel, Asma; Moustafa Bouzaki, Mohammed; Aillerie, Michel; Benyoucef, Boumediene; Charles, Jean-Pierre

2017-11-01

Performances of ZnO/ZnS/CZTSSe polycrystalline thin film solar cells (Copper Zinc Tin Sulphur Selenium-solar cell) were simulated for different thicknesses of the absorber and ZnS buffer layers. Simulations were performed with SCAPS (Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator) software, starting with actual parameters available from industrial data for commercial cells processing. The influences of the thickness of the various layers in the structure of the solar cell and the gap profile of the CZTSSe absorber layer on the performance of the solar cell were studied in detail. Through considerations of recent works, we discuss possible routes to enhance the performance of CZTSSe solar cells towards a higher efficiency level. Thus, we found that for one specific thickness of the absorber layer, the efficiency of the CZTSSe solar cell can be increased when a ZnS layer replaces the usual CdS buffer layer. On the other hand, the efficiency of the solar cell can be also improved when the absorber layer presents a grad-gap. In this case, the maximum efficiency for the CZTSSe cell was found equal to 13.73%.

Hydrogen-absorbing alloys for the nickel-metal hydride battery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mingming Geng; Jianwen Han; Feng Feng [University of Windsor, Ontario (Canada). Mechanical and Materials Engineering; Northwood, D.O. [University of Windsor, Ontario (Canada). Mechanical and Materials Engineering]|[Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto (Canada)

1998-12-31

In recent years, owing to the rapid development of portable electronic and electrical appliances, the market for rechargeable batteries has increased at a high rate. The nickel-metal hydride battery (Ni/MH) is one of the more promising types, because of its high capacity, high-rate charge/discharge capability and non-polluting nature. This type of battery uses a hydrogen storage alloy as its negative electrode. The characteristics of the Ni/MH battery, including discharge voltage, high-rate discharge capability and charge/discharge cycle lifetime are mainly determined by the construction of the negative electrode and the composition of the hydrogen-absorbing alloy. The negative electrode of the Ni/MH battery described in this paper was made from a mixture of hydrogen-absorbing alloy, nickel powder and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). A multicomponent MmNi{sub 5}-based alloy (Mm{sub 0.95}Ti{sub 0.05}Ni{sub 3.85} Co{sub 0.45}Mn{sub 0.35}Al{sub 0.35}) was used as the hydrogen-absorbing alloy. The discharge characteristics of the negative electrode, including discharge capacity, cycle lifetime, and polarization overpotential, were studied by means of electrochemical experiments and analysis. The decay of the discharge capacity for the Ni/MH battery (AA size, 1 Ah) was about 1% after 100 charge/discharge cycles and 10% after 500 charge/discharge cycles. (author)

Shock absorber in Ignalina NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulavas, A.; Muralis, J.

1996-09-01

Theoretical calculation and experimental analysis of models of shock absorber in Ignalina NPP is presented. The results obtained from the investigation with model of shock absorber coincide with the theoretical calculation. (author). 2 figs., 3 refs

High temperature refrigerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steyert, W.A. Jr.

1978-01-01

A high temperature magnetic refrigerator is described which uses a Stirling-like cycle in which rotating magnetic working material is heated in zero field and adiabatically magnetized, cooled in high field, then adiabatically demagnetized. During this cycle the working material is in heat exchange with a pumped fluid which absorbs heat from a low temperature heat source and deposits heat in a high temperature reservoir. The magnetic refrigeration cycle operates at an efficiency 70% of Carnot

Highly efficient red electrophosphorescent devices at high current densities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Youzhi; Zhu Wenqing; Zheng Xinyou; Sun, Runguang; Jiang Xueyin; Zhang Zhilin; Xu Shaohong

2007-01-01

Efficiency decrease at high current densities in red electrophosphorescent devices is drastically restrained compared with that from conventional electrophosphorescent devices by using bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinato)4-phenylphenolate aluminum (BAlq) as a hole and exciton blocker. Ir complex, bis(2-(2'-benzo[4,5-α]thienyl) pyridinato-N,C 3' ) iridium (acetyl-acetonate) is used as an emitter, maximum external quantum efficiency (QE) of 7.0% and luminance of 10000cd/m 2 are obtained. The QE is still as high as 4.1% at higher current density J=100mA/cm 2 . CIE-1931 co-ordinates are 0.672, 0.321. A carrier trapping mechanism is revealed to dominate in the process of electroluminescence

Liquid metal reactor absorber technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitner, A.L.

1990-10-01

The selection of boron carbide as the reference liquid metal reactor absorber material is supported by results presented for irradiation performance, reactivity worth compatibility, and benign failure consequences. Scram response requirements are met easily with current control rod configurations. The trend in absorber design development is toward larger sized pins with fewer pins per bundle, providing economic savings and improved hydraulic characteristics. Very long-life absorber designs appear to be attainable with the application of vented pin and sodium-bonded concepts. 3 refs., 3 figs

On the definition of absorbed dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grusell, Erik

2015-01-01

Purpose: The quantity absorbed dose is used extensively in all areas concerning the interaction of ionizing radiation with biological organisms, as well as with matter in general. The most recent and authoritative definition of absorbed dose is given by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) in ICRU Report 85. However, that definition is incomplete. The purpose of the present work is to give a rigorous definition of absorbed dose. Methods: Absorbed dose is defined in terms of the random variable specific energy imparted. A random variable is a mathematical function, and it cannot be defined without specifying its domain of definition which is a probability space. This is not done in report 85 by the ICRU, mentioned above. Results: In the present work a definition of a suitable probability space is given, so that a rigorous definition of absorbed dose is possible. This necessarily includes the specification of the experiment which the probability space describes. In this case this is an irradiation, which is specified by the initial particles released and by the material objects which can interact with the radiation. Some consequences are discussed. Specific energy imparted is defined for a volume, and the definition of absorbed dose as a point function involves the specific energy imparted for a small mass contained in a volume surrounding the point. A possible more precise definition of this volume is suggested and discussed. Conclusions: The importance of absorbed dose motivates a proper definition, and one is given in the present work. No rigorous definition has been presented before. - Highlights: • A stringent definition of absorbed dose is given. • This requires the definition of an irradiation and a suitable probability space. • A stringent definition is important for an understanding of the concept absorbed dose

Parametric characteristics of a solar thermophotovoltaic system at the maximum efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Tianjun; Chen, Xiaohang; Yang, Zhimin; Lin, Bihong; Chen, Jincan

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: A model of the far-field TPVC driven by solar energy, which consists of an optical concentrator, an absorber, an emitter, and a PV cell and is simply referred as to the far-field STPVS. - Highlights: • A model of the far-field solar thermophotovoltaic system (STPVS) is established. • External and internal irreversible losses are considered. • The maximum efficiency of the STPVS is calculated. • Optimal values of key parameters at the maximum efficiency are determined. • Effects of the concentrator factor on the performance of the system are discussed. - Abstract: A model of the solar thermophotovoltaic system (STPVS) consisting of an optical concentrator, a thermal absorber, an emitter, and a photovoltaic (PV) cell is proposed, where the far-field thermal emission between the emitter and the PV cell, the radiation losses from the absorber and emitter to the environment, the reflected loss from the absorber, and the finite-rate heat exchange between the PV cell and the environment are taken into account. Analytical expressions for the power output of and overall efficiency of the STPVS are derived. By solving thermal equilibrium equations, the operating temperatures of the emitter and PV cell are determined and the maximum efficiency of the system is calculated numerically for given values of the output voltage of the PV cell and the ratio of the front surface area of the absorber to that of the emitter. For different bandgaps, the maximum efficiencies of the system are calculated and the corresponding optimum values of several operating parameters are obtained. The effects of the concentrator factor on the optimum performance of the system are also discussed.

Development of the electrochemically regenerable carbon dioxide absorber for portable life support system application

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, R. R.; Heppner, D. B.; Marshall, R. D.; Quattrone, P. D.

1979-01-01

As the length of manned space missions increase, more ambitious extravehicular activities (EVAs) are required. For the projected longer mission the use of expendables in the portable life support system (PLSS) will become prohibited due to high launch weight and volume requirements. Therefore, the development of a regenerable CO2 absorber for the PLSS application is highly desirable. The paper discusses the concept, regeneration mechanism, performance, system design, and absorption/regeneration cycle testing of a most promising concept known as ERCA (Electrochemically Regenerable CO2 Absorber). This concept is based on absorbing CO2 into an alkaline absorbent similar to LiOH. The absorbent is an aqueous solution supported in a porous matrix which can be electrochemically regenerated on board the primary space vehicle. With the metabolic CO2 recovery the ERCA concept results in a totally regenerable CO2 scrubber. The ERCA test hardware has passed 200 absorption/regeneration cycles without performance degradation.

Photovoltaic characterization of Copper-Indium-Gallium Sulfide (CIGS2) solar cells for lower absorber thicknesses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasekar, Parag S., E-mail: psvasekar@yahoo.co [Florida Solar Energy Center, 1679 Clearlake Rd., Cocoa FL, 32922 (United States); Jahagirdar, Anant H.; Dhere, Neelkanth G. [Florida Solar Energy Center, 1679 Clearlake Rd., Cocoa FL, 32922 (United States)

2010-01-31

Chalcopyrites are important contenders among thin-film solar cells due to their direct band gap and higher absorption coefficient. Copper-Indium-Gallium Sulfide (CIGS2) is a chalcopyrite material with a near-optimum band gap of {approx} 1.5 eV. Record efficiency of 11.99% has been achieved on a 2.7 {mu}m CIGS2 film prepared by sulfurization at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) PV Materials Lab. In this work, photovoltaic performance analysis has been carried out for a 1.5 {mu}m absorber prepared under similar conditions as that of a 2.7 {mu}m thick absorber sample. It was observed that there is an increase in diode factor and reverse saturation current density when the absorber thickness was decreased. The diode factor increased from 1.69 to 2.18 and reverse saturation current density increased from 1.04 x 10{sup -10} mA/cm{sup 2} to 1.78 x 10{sup -8} mA/cm{sup 2}. This can be attributed to a decrease in the grain size when the absorber thickness is decreased. It was also observed that there is an improvement in the shunt resistance. Improvement in shunt resistance can be attributed to optimized value of i:ZnO for lower absorber thickness and less shunting paths due to a smoother absorber.

Photovoltaic characterization of Copper-Indium-Gallium Sulfide (CIGS2) solar cells for lower absorber thicknesses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasekar, Parag S.; Jahagirdar, Anant H.; Dhere, Neelkanth G.

2010-01-01

Chalcopyrites are important contenders among thin-film solar cells due to their direct band gap and higher absorption coefficient. Copper-Indium-Gallium Sulfide (CIGS2) is a chalcopyrite material with a near-optimum band gap of ∼ 1.5 eV. Record efficiency of 11.99% has been achieved on a 2.7 μm CIGS2 film prepared by sulfurization at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) PV Materials Lab. In this work, photovoltaic performance analysis has been carried out for a 1.5 μm absorber prepared under similar conditions as that of a 2.7 μm thick absorber sample. It was observed that there is an increase in diode factor and reverse saturation current density when the absorber thickness was decreased. The diode factor increased from 1.69 to 2.18 and reverse saturation current density increased from 1.04 x 10 -10 mA/cm 2 to 1.78 x 10 -8 mA/cm 2 . This can be attributed to a decrease in the grain size when the absorber thickness is decreased. It was also observed that there is an improvement in the shunt resistance. Improvement in shunt resistance can be attributed to optimized value of i:ZnO for lower absorber thickness and less shunting paths due to a smoother absorber.

High Efficiency, Low Emission Refrigeration System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fricke, Brian A [ORNL; Sharma, Vishaldeep [ORNL

2016-08-01

Supermarket refrigeration systems account for approximately 50% of supermarket energy use, placing this class of equipment among the highest energy consumers in the commercial building domain. In addition, the commonly used refrigeration system in supermarket applications is the multiplex direct expansion (DX) system, which is prone to refrigerant leaks due to its long lengths of refrigerant piping. This leakage reduces the efficiency of the system and increases the impact of the system on the environment. The high Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants commonly used in these systems, coupled with the large refrigerant charge and the high refrigerant leakage rates leads to significant direct emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Methods for reducing refrigerant leakage and energy consumption are available, but underutilized. Further work needs to be done to reduce costs of advanced system designs to improve market utilization. In addition, refrigeration system retrofits that result in reduced energy consumption are needed since the majority of applications address retrofits rather than new stores. The retrofit market is also of most concern since it involves large-volume refrigerant systems with high leak rates. Finally, alternative refrigerants for new and retrofit applications are needed to reduce emissions and reduce the impact on the environment. The objective of this Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Hill Phoenix is to develop a supermarket refrigeration system that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and has 25 to 30 percent lower energy consumption than existing systems. The outcomes of this project will include the design of a low emission, high efficiency commercial refrigeration system suitable for use in current U.S. supermarkets. In addition, a prototype low emission, high efficiency supermarket refrigeration system will be produced for

High quality ceramic coatings sprayed by high efficiency hypersonic plasma spraying gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Sheng; Xu Binshi; Yao JiuKun

2005-01-01

This paper introduced the structure of the high efficiency hypersonic plasma spraying gun and the effects of hypersonic plasma jet on the sprayed particles. The optimised spraying process parameters for several ceramic powders such as Al 2 O 3 , Cr 2 O 3 , ZrO 2 , Cr 3 C 2 and Co-WC were listed. The properties and microstructure of the sprayed ceramic coatings were investigated. Nano Al 2 O 3 -TiO 2 ceramic coating sprayed by using the high efficiency hypersonic plasma spraying was also studied. Compared with the conventional air plasma spraying, high efficiency hypersonic plasma spraying improves greatly the ceramic coatings quality but at low cost. (orig.)

Experimental studies on absorbed dose in radiation sterilization of pharmaceutical preparation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohnishi, Tokuhiro; Okamoto, Shinichi; Kimura, Syojiro; Taimatsu, Meiko.

1991-01-01

For radiation sterilization, it is necessary to decide the irradiation conditions considering a balance between sterilization efficiency and chemical changes of samples by irradiation. These effects may be estimated by the product of two factors (D 10 and G value) and absorbed dose. In this work, it has been found experimentally by using Fricke dosimeter that the absorbed doses of the samples in vessels different in size, material, volume, etc. are not equal under the same gamma-ray irradiation condition. The correction factor from exposure to absorbed dose was estimated to be 6-7% for organic vessels (a polyethylene bag and a polystyrene vial) and a 20-ml glass vial, 9% for a 10-ml glass vial, and 10% for the 5-ml glass vial. These values of the correction factor were confirmed by using the changes of enzymic activity of saccharated powder pepsin preparation. In the cases of using organic vessels and the 10-ml glass vial, G-values for the change of the enzymic activity were calculated to show similar values in the range from 0.79 to 0.82. However, in the case of a small glass vial (5-ml), the value was 0.93. (author)

Attosecond control of electron beams at dielectric and absorbing membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Morimoto, Yuya; Baum, Peter

2018-03-01

Ultrashort electron pulses are crucial for time-resolved electron diffraction and microscopy of the fundamental light-matter interaction. In this work, we study experimentally and theoretically the generation and characterization of attosecond electron pulses by optical-field-driven compression and streaking at dielectric or absorbing interaction elements. The achievable acceleration and deflection gradient depends on the laser-electron angle, the laser's electric and magnetic field directions, and the foil orientation. Electric and magnetic fields have similar contributions to the final effect and both need to be considered. Experiments and theory agree well and reveal the optimum conditions for highly efficient, velocity-matched electron-field interactions in the longitudinal or transverse direction. We find that metallic membranes are optimum for light-electron control at mid-infrared or terahertz wavelengths, but dielectric membranes are excellent in the visible and near-infrared regimes and are therefore ideal for the formation of attosecond electron pulses.

Simple Motor Control Concept Results High Efficiency at High Velocities

Science.gov (United States)

Starin, Scott; Engel, Chris

2013-09-01

The need for high velocity motors in space applications for reaction wheels and detectors has stressed the limits of Brushless Permanent Magnet Motors (BPMM). Due to inherent hysteresis core losses, conventional BPMMs try to balance the need for torque verses hysteresis losses. Cong-less motors have significantly less hysteresis losses but suffer from lower efficiencies. Additionally, the inherent low inductance in cog-less motors result in high ripple currents or high switching frequencies, which lowers overall efficiency and increases performance demands on the control electronics.However, using a somewhat forgotten but fully qualified technology of Isotropic Magnet Motors (IMM), extremely high velocities may be achieved at low power input using conventional drive electronics. This paper will discuss the trade study efforts and empirical test data on a 34,000 RPM IMM.

High efficiency nebulization for helium inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jorabchi, Kaveh; McCormick, Ryan; Levine, Jonathan A.; Liu Huiying; Nam, S.-H.; Montaser, Akbar

2006-01-01

A pneumatically-driven, high efficiency nebulizer is explored for helium inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The aerosol characteristics and analyte transport efficiencies of the high efficiency nebulizer for nebulization with helium are measured and compared to the results obtained with argon. Analytical performance indices of the helium inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry are evaluated in terms of detection limits and precision. The helium inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry detection limits obtained with the high efficiency nebulizer at 200 μL/min are higher than those achieved with the ultrasonic nebulizer consuming 2 mL/min solution, however, precision is generally better with high efficiency nebulizer (1-4% vs. 3-8% with ultrasonic nebulizer). Detection limits with the high efficiency nebulizer at 200 μL/min solution uptake rate approach those using ultrasonic nebulizer upon efficient desolvation with a heated spray chamber followed by a Peltier-cooled multipass condenser

Colored ultra-thin hybrid photovoltaics with high quantum efficiency for decorative PV applications (Presentation Recording)

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, L. Jay

2015-10-01

This talk will describe an approach to create architecturally compatible and decorative thin-film-based hybrid photovoltaics [1]. Most current solar panels are fabricated via complex processes using expensive semiconductor materials, and they are rigid and heavy with a dull, black appearance. As a result of their non-aesthetic appearance and weight, they are primarily installed on rooftops to minimize their negative impact on building appearance. Recently we introduced dual-function solar cells based on ultra-thin dopant-free amorphous silicon embedded in an optical cavity that not only efficiently extract the photogenerated carriers but also display distinctive colors with the desired angle-insensitive appearances [1,2]. The angle-insensitive behavior is the result of an interesting phase cancellation effect in the optical cavity with respect to angle of light propagation [3]. In order to produce the desired optical effect, the semiconductor layer should be ultra-thin and the traditional doped layers need to be eliminated. We adopted the approach of employing charge transport/blocking layers used in organic solar cells to meet this demand. We showed that the ultra-thin (6 to 31 nm) undoped amorphous silicon/organic hybrid solar cell can transmit desired wavelength of light and that most of the absorbed photons in the undoped a-Si layer contributed to the extracted electric charges. This is because the a-Si layer thickness is smaller than the charge diffusion length, therefore the electron-hole recombination is strongly suppressed in such ultra-thin layer. Reflective colored PVs can be made in a similar fashion. Light-energy-harvesting colored signage was demonstrated. Furthermore, a cascaded photovoltaics scheme based on tunable spectrum splitting can be employed to increase power efficiency by absorbing a broader band of light energy. Our work provides a guideline for optimizing a photoactive layer thickness in high efficiency hybrid PV design, which can be

High Efficiency Power Converter for Low Voltage High Power Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nymand, Morten

The topic of this thesis is the design of high efficiency power electronic dc-to-dc converters for high-power, low-input-voltage to high-output-voltage applications. These converters are increasingly required for emerging sustainable energy systems such as fuel cell, battery or photo voltaic based...

Hydrogenated TiO2 Thin Film for Accelerating Electron Transport in Highly Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Xin; Liang, Junhui; Li, Yuelong; Luo, Jingshan; Shi, Biao; Wei, Changchun; Zhang, Dekun; Li, Baozhang; Ding, Yi; Zhao, Ying; Zhang, Xiaodan

2017-10-01

Intensive studies on low-temperature deposited electron transport materials have been performed to improve the efficiency of n-i-p type planar perovskite solar cells to extend their application on plastic and multijunction device architectures. Here, a TiO 2 film with enhanced conductivity and tailored band edge is prepared by magnetron sputtering at room temperature by hydrogen doping (HTO), which accelerates the electron extraction from perovskite photoabsorber and reduces charge transfer resistance, resulting in an improved short circuit current density and fill factor. The HTO film with upward shifted Fermi level guarantees a smaller loss on V OC and facilitates the growth of high-quality absorber with much larger grains and more uniform size, leading to devices with negligible hysteresis. In comparison with the pristine TiO 2 prepared without hydrogen doping, the HTO-based device exhibits a substantial performance enhancement leading to an efficiency of 19.30% and more stabilized photovoltaic performance maintaining 93% of its initial value after 300 min continuous illumination in the glove box. These properties permit the room-temperature magnetron sputtered HTO film as a promising electron transport material for flexible and tandem perovskite solar cell in the future.

Absorbed dose thresholds and absorbed dose rate limitations for studies of electron radiation effects on polyetherimides

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Edward R., Jr.; Long, Sheila Ann T.; Gray, Stephanie L.; Collins, William D.

1989-01-01

The threshold values of total absorbed dose for causing changes in tensile properties of a polyetherimide film and the limitations of the absorbed dose rate for accelerated-exposure evaluation of the effects of electron radiation in geosynchronous orbit were studied. Total absorbed doses from 1 kGy to 100 MGy and absorbed dose rates from 0.01 MGy/hr to 100 MGy/hr were investigated, where 1 Gy equals 100 rads. Total doses less than 2.5 MGy did not significantly change the tensile properties of the film whereas doses higher than 2.5 MGy significantly reduced elongation-to-failure. There was no measurable effect of the dose rate on the tensile properties for accelerated electron exposures.

High Current Planar Transformer for Very High Efficiency Isolated Boost DC-DC Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pittini, Riccardo; Zhang, Zhe; Andersen, Michael A. E.

2014-01-01

This paper presents a design and optimization of a high current planar transformer for very high efficiency dc-dc isolated boost converters. The analysis considers different winding arrangements, including very high copper thickness windings. The analysis is focused on the winding ac-resistance a......This paper presents a design and optimization of a high current planar transformer for very high efficiency dc-dc isolated boost converters. The analysis considers different winding arrangements, including very high copper thickness windings. The analysis is focused on the winding ac......-resistance and transformer leakage inductance. Design and optimization procedures are validated based on an experimental prototype of a 6 kW dcdc isolated full bridge boost converter developed on fully planar magnetics. The prototype is rated at 30-80 V 0-80 A on the low voltage side and 700-800 V on the high voltage side...... with a peak efficiency of 97.8% at 80 V 3.5 kW. Results highlights that thick copper windings can provide good performance at low switching frequencies due to the high transformer filling factor. PCB windings can also provide very high efficiency if stacked in parallel utilizing the transformer winding window...

Preparation and characterization of porous carbon–titania nanocomposite films as solar selective absorbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, B.; Wang, K.K.; Wang, K.P.; Li, M.; Jiang, W.; Cong, B.J.; Song, C.L.; Jia, S.H.; Han, G.R.; Liu, Y.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The nanocomposites porous C/TiO 2 film were fabricated via PIPS method. • The HRTEM reveals the size of carbon nanoparticles is about 1.1 nm. • The PVP advantages residual carbon content but suppresses its crystallization. • The film exhibits high α (0.928–0.959) with low ε (0.074–0.105) for single layer. - Abstract: Newly proposed selective solar absorbers of porous carbon–titania nanocomposite films with a well-defined interconnected macropores structure were prepared via a polymer-assisted photopolymerization-induced phase-separation method. The microstructure and optical properties of as-deposited nanocomposite films were characterized and discussed in detail. The results show that non-ionic water-soluble polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone works as a sol modifier advantaging the mean size of the interconnected macropores, residual carbon content, and films thickness, but suppresses the order degree of the carbon remained in the films. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that a small amount of graphite particles with size of around 1.1 nm embedded in the cavity of the porous while the wall of the porous consists of amorphous carbon and titania composites. The single layer of as-prepared porous C/TiO 2 nanocomposite films exhibits high solar absorptance (α = 0.928–0.959) with low thermal emittance (ε = 0.074–0.105), yielding an optimized photothermal conversion efficiency η = α − ε of 0.864 corresponding to a film thickness of around 338 nm, indication of such film is fair enough to serve as an excellent solar absorber

High-efficiency silicon solar cells for low-illumination applications

OpenAIRE

Glunz, S.W.; Dicker, J.; Esterle, M.; Hermle, M.; Isenberg, J.; Kamerewerd, F.; Knobloch, J.; Kray, D.; Leimenstoll, A.; Lutz, F.; Oßwald, D.; Preu, R.; Rein, S.; Schäffer, E.; Schetter, C.

2002-01-01

At Fraunhofer ISE the fabrication of high-efficiency solar cells was extended from a laboratory scale to a small pilot-line production. Primarily, the fabricated cells are used in small high-efficiency modules integrated in prototypes of solar-powered portable electronic devices such as cellular phones, handheld computers etc. Compared to other applications of high-efficiency cells such as solar cars and planes, the illumination densities found in these mainly indoor applications are signific...

Safety implications of anomalous effects of neutron absorbers on criticality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clayton, E.D.

1987-04-01

A number of ''anomalies'' in nuclear criticality have been disclosed in recent years, and as new data have become available additional anomalies have come to light. Application of existing data, without familiarity with the anomalies could lead to diminished criticality control, or more costly less efficient control. As neutron absobers are frequently used for criticality control, this paper briefly presents and discusses six apparent anomalies pertaining to the effect of neutron absorbers on the criticality of fissionable material

High-performace cladding-pumped erbium-doped fibre laser and amplifier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotov, L V; Likhachev, M E; Bubnov, M M; Medvedkov, O I; Lipatov, D S; Vechkanov, N N; Guryanov, Aleksei N

2012-01-01

We report cladding-pumped erbium-doped fibre laser and amplifier configurations. Through fibre design optimisation, we have achieved a record-high laser slope efficiency, 40 % with respect to absorbed pump power (λ = 976 nm), and an output power of 7.5 W. The erbium-doped fibre amplifier efficiency reaches 32 %.

Dual band metamaterial perfect absorber based on Mie resonances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Xiaoming; Lan, Chuwen; Li, Bo; Zhou, Ji, E-mail: zhouji@tsinghua.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Bi, Ke [School of Science, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876 (China); Zhao, Qian [State Key Lab of Tribology, Department of Precision Instruments and Mechanology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2016-08-08

We numerically and experimentally demonstrated a polarization insensitive dual-band metamaterial perfect absorber working in wide incident angles based on the two magnetic Mie resonances of a single dielectric “atom” with simple structure. Two absorption bands with simulated absorptivity of 99% and 96%, experimental absorptivity of 97% and 94% at 8.45 and 11.97 GHz were achieved due to the simultaneous magnetic and electric resonances in dielectric “atom” and copper plate. Mie resonances of dielectric “atom” provide a simple way to design metamaterial perfect absorbers with high symmetry.

High Efficiency Colloidal Quantum Dot Phosphors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kahen, Keith

2013-12-31

The project showed that non-Cd containing, InP-based nanocrystals (semiconductor materials with dimensions of ~6 nm) have high potential for enabling next-generation, nanocrystal-based, on chip phosphors for solid state lighting. Typical nanocrystals fall short of the requirements for on chip phosphors due to their loss of quantum efficiency under the operating conditions of LEDs, such as, high temperature (up to 150 °C) and high optical flux (up to 200 W/cm2). The InP-based nanocrystals invented during this project maintain high quantum efficiency (>80%) in polymer-based films under these operating conditions for emission wavelengths ranging from ~530 to 620 nm. These nanocrystals also show other desirable attributes, such as, lack of blinking (a common problem with nanocrystals which limits their performance) and no increase in the emission spectral width from room to 150 °C (emitters with narrower spectral widths enable higher efficiency LEDs). Prior to these nanocrystals, no nanocrystal system (regardless of nanocrystal type) showed this collection of properties; in fact, other nanocrystal systems are typically limited to showing only one desirable trait (such as high temperature stability) but being deficient in other properties (such as high flux stability). The project showed that one can reproducibly obtain these properties by generating a novel compositional structure inside of the nanomaterials; in addition, the project formulated an initial theoretical framework linking the compositional structure to the list of high performance optical properties. Over the course of the project, the synthetic methodology for producing the novel composition was evolved to enable the synthesis of these nanomaterials at a cost approximately equal to that required for forming typical conventional nanocrystals. Given the above results, the last major remaining step prior to scale up of the nanomaterials is to limit the oxidation of these materials during the tens of

Advances in absorbed dose measurement standards at the australian radiation laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boas, J.F.; Hargrave, N.J.; Huntley, R.B.; Kotler, L.H.; Webb, D.V.; Wise, K.N.

1996-01-01

The applications of ionising radiation in the medical and industrial fields require both an accurate knowledge of the amount of ionising radiation absorbed by the medium in question and the capability of relating this to National and International standards. The most useful measure of the amount of radiation is the absorbed dose which is defined as the energy absorbed per unit mass. For radiotherapy, the reference medium is water, even though the measurement of the absorbed dose to water is not straightforward. Two methods are commonly used to provide calibrations in absorbed dose to water. The first is the calibration of the chamber in terms of exposure in a Cobalt-60 beam, followed by the conversion by a protocol into dose to water in this and higher energy beams. The other route is via the use of a graphite calorimeter as a primary standard device, where the conversion from absorbed dose to graphite to absorbed dose in water is performed either by theoretical means making use of cavity ionisation theory, or by experiment where the graphite calorimeter and secondary standard ionisation chamber are placed at scaled distances from the source of the radiation beam (known as the Dose-Ratio method). Extensive measurements have been made at Cobalt-60 at ARL using both the exposure and absorbed dose to graphite routes. Agreement between the ARL measurements and those based on standards maintained by ANSTO and NPL is within ± 0.3%. Absorbed dose measurements have also been performed at ARL with photon beams of nominal energy 16 and 19 MeV obtained from the ARL linac. The validity of the protocols at high photon energies, the validity of the methods used to convert from absorbed dose in graphite to absorbed dose in water and the validity of the indices used to specify the beams are discussed. Brief mention will also be made of the establishment of a calibration facility for neutron monitors at ARL and of progress in the development of ERP dosimetry

Advances in absorbed dose measurement standards at the australian radiation laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boas, J.F.; Hargrave, N.J.; Huntley, R.B.; Kotler, L.H.; Webb, D.V.; Wise, K.N. [Australian Radiation Laboratory, Yallambie, VIC (Australia)

1996-12-31

The applications of ionising radiation in the medical and industrial fields require both an accurate knowledge of the amount of ionising radiation absorbed by the medium in question and the capability of relating this to National and International standards. The most useful measure of the amount of radiation is the absorbed dose which is defined as the energy absorbed per unit mass. For radiotherapy, the reference medium is water, even though the measurement of the absorbed dose to water is not straightforward. Two methods are commonly used to provide calibrations in absorbed dose to water. The first is the calibration of the chamber in terms of exposure in a Cobalt-60 beam, followed by the conversion by a protocol into dose to water in this and higher energy beams. The other route is via the use of a graphite calorimeter as a primary standard device, where the conversion from absorbed dose to graphite to absorbed dose in water is performed either by theoretical means making use of cavity ionisation theory, or by experiment where the graphite calorimeter and secondary standard ionisation chamber are placed at scaled distances from the source of the radiation beam (known as the Dose-Ratio method). Extensive measurements have been made at Cobalt-60 at ARL using both the exposure and absorbed dose to graphite routes. Agreement between the ARL measurements and those based on standards maintained by ANSTO and NPL is within {+-} 0.3%. Absorbed dose measurements have also been performed at ARL with photon beams of nominal energy 16 and 19 MeV obtained from the ARL linac. The validity of the protocols at high photon energies, the validity of the methods used to convert from absorbed dose in graphite to absorbed dose in water and the validity of the indices used to specify the beams are discussed. Brief mention will also be made of the establishment of a calibration facility for neutron monitors at ARL and of progress in the development of ERP dosimetry.

ADAPTIVE OPTICS IMAGING OF A MASSIVE GALAXY ASSOCIATED WITH A METAL-RICH ABSORBER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chun, Mark R.; Kulkarni, Varsha P.; Gharanfoli, Soheila; Takamiya, Marianne

2010-01-01

The damped and sub-damped Lyα absorption (DLA and sub-DLA) line systems in quasar spectra are believed to be produced by intervening galaxies. However, the connection of quasar absorbers to galaxies is not well-understood, since attempts to image the absorbing galaxies have often failed. While most DLAs appear to be metal poor, a population of metal-rich absorbers, mostly sub-DLAs, has been discovered in recent studies. Here we report high-resolution K-band imaging with the Keck laser guide star adaptive optics (LGSAO) system of the field of quasar SDSSJ1323-0021 in search of the galaxy producing the z = 0.72 sub-DLA absorber. With a metallicity of 2-4 times the solar level, this absorber is one of the most metal-rich systems found to date. Our data show a large bright galaxy with an angular separation of only 1.''25 from the quasar, well-resolved from the quasar at the high resolution of our data. The galaxy has a magnitude of K = 17.6-17.9, which corresponds to a luminosity of ∼3-6 L*. Morphologically, the galaxy is fitted with a model with an effective radius, enclosing half of the total light, of R e = 4 kpc and a bulge-to-total ratio of 0.4-1.0, indicating a substantial bulge stellar population. Based on the mass-metallicity relation of nearby galaxies, the absorber galaxy appears to have a stellar mass of ∼>10 11 M sun . Given the small impact parameter (9.0 kpc at the absorber redshift), this massive galaxy appears to be responsible for the metal-rich sub-DLA. The absorber galaxy is consistent with the metallicity-luminosity relation observed for nearby galaxies, but is near the upper end of metallicity. Our study marks the first application of LGSAO for the study of the structure of galaxies producing distant quasar absorbers. Finally, this study offers the first example of a massive galaxy with a substantial bulge producing a metal-rich absorber.

The Spatial and Temporal Distributions of Absorbing Aerosols over East Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Litai Kang

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Absorbing aerosols can strongly absorb solar radiation and have a profound impact on the global and regional climate. Black carbon (BC, organic carbon (OC and dust are three major types of absorbing aerosols. In order to deepen the overall understanding of absorbing aerosols over East Asia and provide a basis for further investigation of its role in enhanced warming in drylands, the spatial-temporal distribution of absorbing aerosols over East Asia for the period of 2005–2016 was investigated based on the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI satellite retrievals. Overall, high values of Aerosol Absorption Optical Depth (AAOD mainly distribute near dust sources as well as BC and OC sources. AAOD reaches its maximum during spring over East Asia as a result of dust activity and biomass burning. Single-scattering albedo (SSA is comparatively high (>0.96 in the most part of East Asia in the summer, indicating the dominance of aerosol scattering. Hyper-arid regions have the highest Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD and AAOD among the five climatic regions, with springtime values up to 0.72 and 0.04, respectively. Humid and sub-humid regions have relatively high AOD and AAOD during the spring and winter and the highest SSA during the summer. AAOD in some areas shows significant upward trends, which is likely due to the increase of BC and OC emission. SSA shows overall downward trends, indicating the enhancement of the aerosol absorption. Analysis of emission inventory and dust index data shows that BC and OC emissions mainly come from the humid regions, while dust sources mainly distribute in drylands.

Study of absorbed dose distribution to high energy electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cecatti, E.R.

1983-01-01

The depth absorbed dose distribution by electron beams was studied. The influence of the beam energy, the energy spread, field size and design characteristics of the accelerator was relieved. Three accelerators with different scattering and collimation systems were studied leading todifferent depth dose distributions. A theoretical model was constructed in order to explain the increase in the depth dose in the build-up region with the increase of the energy. The model utilizes a three-dimensional formalism based on the Fermi-Eyges multiple scattering theory, with the introduction of modifications that takes into account the criation of secondary electrons. (Author) [pt

Dynamic testing of airplane shock-absorbing struts