Solar-hydrogen energy systems: an authoritative review of water-splitting systems by solar beam and solar heat : hydrogen production, storage, and utilisation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Ōta, Tokio

1979-01-01

... An Authoritative Review of Watersplitting Systems by Solar Beam and Solar Heat: Hydrogen Production, Storage and Utilisation edited by TOKIO OHTA Professor of Materials Science and Energy System Yoko...

GEWEX SRB Shortwave Release 4

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, S. J.; Stackhouse, P. W., Jr.; Mikovitz, J. C.; Zhang, T.

2017-12-01

The NASA/GEWEX Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) project produces shortwave and longwave surface and top of atmosphere radiative fluxes for the 1983-near present time period. Spatial resolution is 1 degree. The new Release 4 uses the newly processed ISCCP HXS product as its primary input for cloud and radiance data. The ninefold increase in pixel number compared to the previous ISCCP DX allows finer gradations in cloud fraction in each grid box. It will also allow higher spatial resolutions (0.5 degree) in future releases. In addition to the input data improvements, several important algorithm improvements have been made since Release 3. These include recalculated atmospheric transmissivities and reflectivities yielding a less transmissive atmosphere. The calculations also include variable aerosol composition, allowing for the use of a detailed aerosol history from the Max Planck Institut Aerosol Climatology (MAC). Ocean albedo and snow/ice albedo are also improved from Release 3. Total solar irradiance is now variable, averaging 1361 Wm-2. Water vapor is taken from ISCCP's nnHIRS product. Results from GSW Release 4 are presented and analyzed. Early comparison to surface measurements show improved agreement.

Beam tracking strategies for studies of kinetic scales in the solar wind with THOR-CSW

Science.gov (United States)

De Keyser, Johan; Lavraud, Benoit; Neefs, Eddy; Berkenbosch, Sophie; Anciaux, Michel; Maggiolo, Romain

2016-04-01

Modern plasma spectrometers for monitoring the solar wind attempt to intelligently track the energy and direction of the solar wind beam in order to obtain solar wind velocity distributions more efficiently. Such beam tracking strategies offer some benefits, but also have their limitations and drawbacks. Benefits include an improved resolution and/or a faster velocity distribution function acquisition time. Limitations are due to instrument characteristics that tend to be optimized for a particular range of particle energies and arrival directions. A drawback is the risk to miss an important part of the velocity distribution or to lose track of the beam altogether. A comparison is presented of different beam tracking strategies under consideration for the THOR-CSW instrument in order to highlight a number of design decisions and their impact on the acquired velocity distributions. The gain offered by beam tracking in terms of increased time resolution turns out to be essential for studies of solar wind physics at kinetic scales.

Multiyear Statistics of 2-D Shortwave Radiative Effects at Three ARM Sites

Science.gov (United States)

Varnai, Tamas

2010-01-01

This study examines the importance of horizontal photon transport effects, which are not considered in the 1-D calculations of solar radiative heating used by most atmospheric dynamical models. In particular, the paper analyzes the difference between 2-D and 1-D radiative calculations for 2-D vertical cross-sections of clouds that were observed at three sites over 2- to 3-year periods. The results show that 2-D effects increase multiyear 24-hour average total solar absorption by about 4.1 W/sq m, 1.2 W/sq m, and 0.3 W/sq m at a tropical, mid-latitude, and arctic site, respectively. However, 2-D effects are often much larger than these average values, especially for high sun and for convective clouds. The results also reveal a somewhat unexpected behavior, that horizontal photon transport often enhances solar heating even for oblique sun. These findings underscore the need for fast radiation calculation methods that can allow atmospheric dynamical simulations to consider the inherently multidimensional nature of shortwave radiative processes.

STRUCTURE FORMATION PRINCIPLES OF INTERFERENCE BEAM SPLITTERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. A. Gubanova

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The methodology of interference beam splitters construction, formed by symmetric cells of dielectric layers is considered. The methodology of short-wave and long-wave interference beam splitters formation is given. The impact analysis of symmetric cells number and their structure on output parameters is considered.

Impact of an improved shortwave radiation scheme in the MAECHAM5 General Circulation Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. J. Morcrette

2007-05-01

increased downward (upward circulation in the winter (summer hemisphere. In addition, the comparison of the two simulations performed with the general circulation model shows that the increase in the spectral resolution of the shortwave radiation and the associated changes in the cloud optical properties result in a warming (0.5–1 K and moistening (3%–12% of the upper tropical troposphere. By comparing these modeled differences with previous works, it appears that the reported changes in the solar radiation scheme contribute to improve the model mean temperature also in the troposphere.

Evaluation of beam tracking strategies for the THOR-CSW solar wind instrument

Science.gov (United States)

De Keyser, Johan; Lavraud, Benoit; Prech, Lubomir; Neefs, Eddy; Berkenbosch, Sophie; Beeckman, Bram; Maggiolo, Romain; Fedorov, Andrei; Baruah, Rituparna; Wong, King-Wah; Amoros, Carine; Mathon, Romain; Génot, Vincent

2017-04-01

We compare different beam tracking strategies for the Cold Solar Wind (CSW) plasma spectrometer on the ESA M4 THOR mission candidate. The goal is to intelligently select the energy and angular windows the instrument is sampling and to adapt these windows as the solar wind properties evolve, with the aim to maximize the velocity distribution acquisition rate while maintaining excellent energy and angular resolution. Using synthetic data constructed using high-cadence measurements by the Faraday cup instrument on the Spektr-R mission (30 ms resolution), we test the performance of energy beam tracking with or without angular beam tracking. The algorithm can be fed both by data acquired by the plasma spectrometer during the previous measurement cycle, or by data from another instrument, in casu the Faraday Cup (FAR) instrument foreseen on THOR. We verify how these beam tracking algorithms behave for different sizes of the energy and angular windows, and for different data integration times, in order to assess the limitations of the algorithm and to avoid situations in which the algorithm loses track of the beam.

Compact, semi-passive beam steering prism array for solar concentrators.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Cheng; Li, Qiyuan; Rosengarten, Gary; Hawkes, Evatt; Taylor, Robert A

2017-05-10

In order to maximize solar energy utilization in a limited space (e.g., rooftops), solar collectors should track the sun. As an alternative to rotational tracking systems, this paper presents a compact, semi-passive beam steering prism array which has been designed, analyzed, and tested for solar applications. The proposed prism array enables a linear concentrator system to remain stationary so that it can integrate with a variety of different solar concentrators, and which should be particularly useful for systems which require a low profile (namely rooftop-mounted systems). A case study of this prism array working within a specific rooftop solar collector demonstrates that it can boost the average daily optical efficiency of the collector by 32.7% and expand its effective working time from 6 h to 7.33 h. Overall, the proposed design provides an alternative way to "follow" the sun for a wide range of solar thermal and photovoltaic concentrator systems.

Solar Power Satellites: Creating the Market for Beamed Energy Propulsion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coopersmith, Jonathan

2010-01-01

Beamed energy advocates must investigate the potential of major markets like space based solar satellites and space-based nuclear waste disposal. For BEP to succeed, its proponents must work with these possible users to generate interest and resources needed to develop BEP.

Penetrating Shortwave Radiation and Sea Ice Algae feedbacks using the Community Earth System Model

Science.gov (United States)

Arntsen, A. E.; Perovich, D. K.; Bailey, D. A.; Holland, M. M.

2017-12-01

Transmittance of solar radiation through the sea ice cover determines energy transfer to the upper ocean in the form of heat as well as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) available for the growth of under ice phytoplankton and bottom ice algal communities. A thinning ice cover, increased pond coverage, and earlier melt onset has increased light availability to the upper ocean in contemporary Arctic ice-covered waters. To investigate seasonal and spatial variability of solar shortwave irradiance penetrating the ice cover in the Beaufort and Chukchi Sea regions, we use the fully coupled Community Earth System Model (CESM) in conjunction with a multistream radiative transfer model constrained and initiated by in situ observations. Results inform the importance of light attenuation by ice-based algal pigments within large scale global climate models. We demonstrate the presence of bio-optical feedbacks related to a younger ice cover and examine how these relationships are impacting the trajectory of under ice blooms and the energy budget of the ice-ocean system.

Collisionless effects on beam-return current systems in solar flares

Science.gov (United States)

Vlahos, L.; Rowland, H. L.

1985-01-01

A theoretical study of the beam-return current system (BRCS) in solar flares shows that the precipitating electrons modify the way in which the return current (RC) is carried by the background plasma. In particular it is found that the RC is not carried by the bulk of the electrons but by a small number of high-velocity electrons. For beam/plasma densities exceeding approximately 0.001, this can reduce the effects of collisions and heating by the RC. For higher-density beams, where the RC could be unstable to current-driven instabilities, the effects of strong turbulence anomalous resistivity prevent the appearance of such instabilities. The main conclusion is that the BRCS is interconnected, and that the beam-generated strong turbulence determines how the RC is carried.

Establishing BRDF calibration capabilities through shortwave infrared

Science.gov (United States)

Georgiev, Georgi T.; Butler, James J.; Thome, Kurt; Cooksey, Catherine; Ding, Leibo

2017-09-01

Satellite instruments operating in the reflective solar wavelength region require accurate and precise determination of the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Functions (BRDFs) of the laboratory and flight diffusers used in their pre-flight and on-orbit calibrations. This paper advances that initial work and presents a comparison of spectral Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and Directional Hemispherical Reflectance (DHR) of Spectralon*, a common material for laboratory and onorbit flight diffusers. A new measurement setup for BRDF measurements from 900 nm to 2500 nm located at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is described. The GSFC setup employs an extended indium gallium arsenide detector, bandpass filters, and a supercontinuum light source. Comparisons of the GSFC BRDF measurements in the shortwave infrared (SWIR) with those made by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Spectral Tri-function Automated Reference Reflectometer (STARR) are presented. The Spectralon sample used in this study was 2 inch diameter, 99% white pressed and sintered Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) target. The NASA/NIST BRDF comparison measurements were made at an incident angle of 0° and viewing angle of 45° . Additional BRDF data not compared to NIST were measured at additional incident and viewing angle geometries and are not presented here. The total combined uncertainty for the measurement of BRDF in the SWIR range made by the GSFC scatterometer is less than 1% (k = 1). This study is in support of the calibration of the Radiation Budget Instrument (RBI) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suit (VIIRS) instruments of the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and other current and future NASA remote sensing missions operating across the reflected solar wavelength region.

Interanual variability os solar radiation in Peninsula Iberica; Variabilidad interanual de la radiacion solar en la Peninsula Iberica

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pozo-Vazquez, D.; Tovar-Pescador, J.; Gamiz-Fortis, S.; Esteban-Parra, M.; Castro-Diez, Y.

2004-07-01

The NAO climatic phenomenon is the main responsible for the interanual cloud cover variability in Europe. We explore the relationship between the NAO and the solar radiation spatio-temporal variability in Europe during winter. Measured monthly sums of sunshine duration and short-wave downward solar flux reanalysis data have been used. Correlation analysis between the NAO index and the measured sunshine duration shows a maximum positive value (+0.75) over the Iberian Peninsula. Accordingly, solar radiation in this area undergoes an interanual variability that can reach up to 30%, with the derived consequences for a reliable solar energy resources evaluation. (Author)

Human projected area factors for detailed direct and diffuse solar radiation analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kubaha, K.; Fiala, D.; Toftum, Jørn

2004-01-01

Projected area factors for individual segments of the standing and sedentary human body were modelled for both direct and diffuse solar radiation using detailed 3D geometry and radiation models. The local projected area factors with respect to direct short-wave radiation are a function of the solar...

Near-term Forecasting of Solar Total and Direct Irradiance for Solar Energy Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Long, C. N.; Riihimaki, L. D.; Berg, L. K.

2012-12-01

Integration of solar renewable energy into the power grid, like wind energy, is hindered by the variable nature of the solar resource. One challenge of the integration problem for shorter time periods is the phenomenon of "ramping events" where the electrical output of the solar power system increases or decreases significantly and rapidly over periods of minutes or less. Advance warning, of even just a few minutes, allows power system operators to compensate for the ramping. However, the ability for short-term prediction on such local "point" scales is beyond the abilities of typical model-based weather forecasting. Use of surface-based solar radiation measurements has been recognized as a likely solution for providing input for near-term (5 to 30 minute) forecasts of solar energy availability and variability. However, it must be noted that while fixed-orientation photovoltaic panel systems use the total (global) downwelling solar radiation, tracking photovoltaic and solar concentrator systems use only the direct normal component of the solar radiation. Thus even accurate near-term forecasts of total solar radiation will under many circumstances include inherent inaccuracies with respect to tracking systems due to lack of information of the direct component of the solar radiation. We will present examples and statistical analyses of solar radiation partitioning showing the differences in the behavior of the total/direct radiation with respect to the near-term forecast issue. We will present an overview of the possibility of using a network of unique new commercially available total/diffuse radiometers in conjunction with a near-real-time adaptation of the Shortwave Radiative Flux Analysis methodology (Long and Ackerman, 2000; Long et al., 2006). The results are used, in conjunction with persistence and tendency forecast techniques, to provide more accurate near-term forecasts of cloudiness, and both total and direct normal solar irradiance availability and

Incoming Shortwave Fluxes at the Surface--A Comparison of GCM Results with Observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Garratt, J. R.

1994-01-01

Evidence is presented that the exam surface net radiation calculated in general circulation models at continental surfaces is mostly due to excess incoming shortwave fluxes. Based on long-term observations from 22 worldwide inland stations and results from four general circulation models the overestimate in models of 20% (11 W m2) in net radiation on an annual basis compares with 6% (9 W m2) for shortwave fluxes for the same 22 locations, or 9% (18 W m2) for a larger set of 93 stations (71 having shortwave fluxes only). For annual fluxes, these differences appear to be significant.

Ion beam analysis of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin film solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karydas, A.G. [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), IAEA Laboratories, Nuclear Science and Instrumentation Laboratory, A-2444 Seibersdorf (Austria); Institute of Nuclear and Particle Physics, NCSR “Demokritos”, 153 10 Aghia Paraskevi, Athens Greece (Greece); Streeck, C. [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Abbestr. 2-12, 10587 Berlin (Germany); Radovic, I. Bogdanovic [Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI), Zagreb (Croatia); Kaufmann, C.; Rissom, T. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH (HZB), Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin (Germany); Beckhoff, B. [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Abbestr. 2-12, 10587 Berlin (Germany); Jaksic, M. [Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI), Zagreb (Croatia); Barradas, N.P. [Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, E. N. 10, Apartado 21, 2686-953 Sacavém (Portugal)

2015-11-30

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Elemental depth profiles for various CIGS thin films were quantitatively determined. • Pure absorbers, complete cell and bilayer solar cells were prepared and analyzed. • Synergistic PIXE and RBS analysis of thin solar cells using alpha beam particles. • High energy alpha beam resolved completely the Indium depth profile. • Synchrotron based Reference Free GIXRF quantitative analysis validated IBA results. - Abstract: The present work investigates the potential of ion beam analysis (IBA) techniques such as the Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) using helium ions to provide quantitative in-depth elemental analysis of various types of Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} thin films. These films with a thickness of about 2 μm are used as absorber layers in photovoltaic devices with continuously increasing the performance of this technology. The preparation process generally aims to obtain an in-depth gradient of In and Ga concentrations that optimizes the optoelectronic and electrical properties of the solar cell. The measurements were performed at directly accessible single or double layered CIGS absorbers and at buried absorbers in completed thin film solar cells. The IBA data were analyzed simultaneously in order to derive best fitted profiles that match all experimental RBS and PIXE spectra. For some samples elemental profiles deduced form synchrotron based, reference free grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence analysis were compared with the IBA results and an overall good agreement was observed within quoted uncertainties.

Fiscal 1974 Sunshine Project result report. R and D on solar energy system (weather survey). Part 1. Bibliography on solar radiation; 1974 nendo taiyo hosha ni kansuru bunken mokuroku. 1. Taiyo energy system no kenkyu kaihatsu (kisho chosa)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1975-03-01

This report is the 1st one among 3 reports 'Bibliography on solar radiation', 'Guideline for using weather data' and 'Observation data on global solar radiation and sunshine duration'. This report is composed of the part 1 'Present state and view of researches on solar radiation' including (1) view of researches on short-wave radiation, (2) atmospheric radiation, (3) scattering of solar radiation, (4) global net radiation and (5) radiometer, and the part 2 including the bibliography and its commentary. (1) describes researches on incident short-wave radiation (solar radiation) and some current issues, (2) describes the basis for quantitative measurement of atmospheric radiation transfer, based on the premise that atmospheric radiation is infrared radiation between the ground surface and atmospheric system. (3) describes scattering of solar radiation in the air, and its effect. (4) describes that the global profile of net radiation of the air-earth system and its seasonal change can be observed directly from the weather satellite roughly, and research on global net radiation is approaching a new era. (NEDO)

Fiscal 1974 Sunshine Project result report. R and D on solar energy system (weather survey). Part 1. Bibliography on solar radiation; 1974 nendo taiyo hosha ni kansuru bunken mokuroku. 1. Taiyo energy system no kenkyu kaihatsu (kisho chosa)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1975-03-01

This report is the 1st one among 3 reports 'Bibliography on solar radiation', 'Guideline for using weather data' and 'Observation data on global solar radiation and sunshine duration'. This report is composed of the part 1 'Present state and view of researches on solar radiation' including (1) view of researches on short-wave radiation, (2) atmospheric radiation, (3) scattering of solar radiation, (4) global net radiation and (5) radiometer, and the part 2 including the bibliography and its commentary. (1) describes researches on incident short-wave radiation (solar radiation) and some current issues, (2) describes the basis for quantitative measurement of atmospheric radiation transfer, based on the premise that atmospheric radiation is infrared radiation between the ground surface and atmospheric system. (3) describes scattering of solar radiation in the air, and its effect. (4) describes that the global profile of net radiation of the air-earth system and its seasonal change can be observed directly from the weather satellite roughly, and research on global net radiation is approaching a new era. (NEDO)

Seasonal variation of solar radiation and underwater irradiance in the Seto inland sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Endo, T.; Matsuda, O.; Imabayashi, H.

1983-01-01

The recent rapid eutrophication of the coastal seas of Japan has had a remarkable effect on the turbidity and transparency of the sea water, hence on the attenuation of underwater irradiance, which in turn influences the phytoplankton communities and primary productivity of the area. The present study deals with the continuous three years observation of the total short-wave radiation, direct short-wave radiation, diffused short-wave radiation and photosynthetically active radiation of tlle Seto Inland Sea. Along with these observations, reflected short-wave radiation from the sea and transmitted short-wave radiation into the sea were determined. The availability of solar radiation for primary production, vertical distribution of spectral irradiance and attenuation coefficient were also discussed in relation to the optical water type of the region. 1. A typical seasonal variation in the monthly mean daily solar radiation (total short-wave radiation) was observed, with a maximal value of 17.0 MJ 2 in July and minimal values of 7.4 to 7.5 MJ 2 through November to January. 2. Seasonal variation of direct short-wave radiation was nearly identical to that of total short-wave radiation, with 9.3 MJ 2 at maximum and 4.1MJ 2 at minimum. Diffused short-wave radiation increased in June and decreased in January. The ratio of diffused short-wave radiation to total short-wave radiation ranged from 394000 62% with an average of 49%.0 3. Seasonal variation of photosynthetically active radiation was very similar to that of direct short-wave radiation, with values of 7.3 MJ 2 in July and of 3.3 MJ 2 in December 4. The albedo at the sea surface changed according to the incidence angle and surface conditions. Average daily values ranged from 2.9% on a fine summer day to 10% on an overcasted day in winter. 5. Underwater irradiance at a depth of 50cm varied widely according to such parameters as turbidity and the surface condition of the water. Observation revealed a remarkable decrease

Beam instability of the Z mode in the solar wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krauss-Varban, D.

1989-01-01

The growth rate of the z mode is calculated assuming a cold magnetized background plasma and a tenuous population of hot electrons. For a weak, but nonvanishing, magnetic field the growth rate is shown to coincide with that of the electrostatic Langmuir wave, i.e., the result when the influence of the ambient magnetic field is only retained for the energetic electrons. Considering the case of a beam of hot electrons, we numerically evaluate the expression for the growth rate for several cases of solar wind plasma conditions. Solution of the full 3 x 3 dispersion determinant allows the computation of the growth rate and real frequency shift for arbitrary beam densities and magnetic field strength. The influence of the background magnetic field is discussed, and the apparent polarization of the excited waves is calculated assuming a weak density gradient between source and observer. The effect of the beam density, direction of propagation, and magnetic field on the observable polarization is discussed. copyright American Geophysical Union 1989

Multi-Fresnel lenses pumping approach for improving high-power Nd:YAG solar laser beam quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Dawei; Almeida, Joana

2013-07-20

To significantly improve the present-day high-power solar laser beam quality, a three-stage multi-Fresnel lenses approach is proposed for side-pumping either a Nd:YAG single-crystal or a core-doped Sm(3+)Nd:YAG ceramic rod. Optimum pumping and laser beam parameters are found through ZEMAX and LASCAD numerical analysis. The proposed scheme offers a uniform absorption profile along the rod. 167 W laser power can be achieved, corresponding to 29.3 W/m(2) collection efficiency. High brightness figure of merit of 8.34 W is expected for the core-doped rod within a convex-concave resonator, which is 1300 times higher than that of the most-recent high-power solar laser.

Significant efficiency enhancement in thin film solar cells using laser beam-induced graphene transparent conductive electrodes

OpenAIRE

Thekkekara, L. V.; Cai, Bouyan

2018-01-01

Thin film solar cells have been attractive for decades in advanced green technology platforms due to its possibilities to be integrated with buildings and on-chip applications. However, the bottleneck issues involved to consider the current solar cells as a major electricity source includes the lower efficiencies and cost-effectiveness. We numerically demonstrate the concept of the absorption enhancement in thin-film amorphous silicon solar cells using the laser beam-induced graphene material...

Spatial variability of shortwave radiative fluxes in the context of snowmelt

Science.gov (United States)

Pinker, Rachel T.; Ma, Yingtao; Hinkelman, Laura; Lundquist, Jessica

2014-05-01

Snow-covered mountain ranges are a major source of water supply for run-off and groundwater recharge. Snowmelt supplies as much as 75% of surface water in basins of the western United States. Factors that affect the rate of snow melt include incoming shortwave and longwave radiation, surface albedo, snow emissivity, snow surface temperature, sensible and latent heat fluxes, ground heat flux, and energy transferred to the snowpack from deposited snow or rain. The net radiation generally makes up about 80% of the energy balance and is dominated by the shortwave radiation. Complex terrain poses a great challenge for obtaining the needed information on radiative fluxes from satellites due to elevation issues, spatially-variable cloud cover, rapidly changing surface conditions during snow fall and snow melt, lack of high quality ground truth for evaluation of the satellite based estimates, as well as scale issues between the ground observations and the satellite footprint. In this study we utilize observations of high spatial resolution (5-km) as available from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) to derive surface shortwave radiative fluxes in complex terrain, with attention to the impact of slopes on the amount of radiation received. The methodology developed has been applied to several water years (January to July during 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2009) over the western part of the United States, and the available information was used to derive metrics on spatial and temporal variability in the shortwave fluxes. It is planned to apply the findings from this study for testing improvements in Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) estimates.

Langmuir wave-packet generation from an electron beam propagating in the inhomogeneous solar wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaslavsky, A.; Maksimovic, M.; Volokitin, A. S.; Krasnoselskikh, V. V.; Bale, S. D.

2010-01-01

Recent in-situ observations by the TDS instrument equipping the STEREO spacecraft revealed that large amplitude spatially localized Langmuir waves are frequent in the solar wind, and correlated with the presence of suprathermal electron beams during type III events or close to the electron foreshock. We briefly present the new theoretical model used to perform the study of these localized electrostatic waves, and show first results of simulations of the destabilization of Langmuir waves by a beam propagating in the inhomogeneous solar wind. The main results are that the destabilized waves are mainly focalized near the minima of the density profiles, and that the nonlinear interaction of the waves with the resonant particles enhances this focalization compared to a situation in which the only propagation effects are taken into account.

Electrical properties and surface morphology of electron beam evaporated p-type silicon thin films on polyethylene terephthalate for solar cells applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ang, P. C.; Ibrahim, K.; Pakhuruddin, M. Z. [Nano-Optoelectronics Research and Technology Laboratory, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden 11800 Penang (Malaysia)

2015-04-24

One way to realize low-cost thin film silicon (Si) solar cells fabrication is by depositing the films with high-deposition rate and manufacturing-compatible electron beam (e-beam) evaporation onto inexpensive foreign substrates such as glass or plastic. Most of the ongoing research is reported on e-beam evaporation of Si films on glass substrates to make polycrystalline solar cells but works combining both e-beam evaporation and plastic substrates are still scarce in the literature. This paper studies electrical properties and surface morphology of 1 µm electron beam evaporated Al-doped p-type silicon thin films on textured polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate for application as an absorber layer in solar cells. In this work, Si thin films with different doping concentrations (including an undoped reference) are prepared by e-beam evaporation. Energy dispersion X-ray (EDX) showed that the Si films are uniformly doped by Al dopant atoms. With increased Al/Si ratio, doping concentration increased while both resistivity and carrier mobility of the films showed opposite relationships. Root mean square (RMS) surface roughness increased. Overall, the Al-doped Si film with Al/Si ratio of 2% (doping concentration = 1.57×10{sup 16} atoms/cm{sup 3}) has been found to provide the optimum properties of a p-type absorber layer for fabrication of thin film Si solar cells on PET substrate.

Electrical properties and surface morphology of electron beam evaporated p-type silicon thin films on polyethylene terephthalate for solar cells applications

Science.gov (United States)

Ang, P. C.; Ibrahim, K.; Pakhuruddin, M. Z.

2015-04-01

One way to realize low-cost thin film silicon (Si) solar cells fabrication is by depositing the films with high-deposition rate and manufacturing-compatible electron beam (e-beam) evaporation onto inexpensive foreign substrates such as glass or plastic. Most of the ongoing research is reported on e-beam evaporation of Si films on glass substrates to make polycrystalline solar cells but works combining both e-beam evaporation and plastic substrates are still scarce in the literature. This paper studies electrical properties and surface morphology of 1 µm electron beam evaporated Al-doped p-type silicon thin films on textured polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate for application as an absorber layer in solar cells. In this work, Si thin films with different doping concentrations (including an undoped reference) are prepared by e-beam evaporation. Energy dispersion X-ray (EDX) showed that the Si films are uniformly doped by Al dopant atoms. With increased Al/Si ratio, doping concentration increased while both resistivity and carrier mobility of the films showed opposite relationships. Root mean square (RMS) surface roughness increased. Overall, the Al-doped Si film with Al/Si ratio of 2% (doping concentration = 1.57×1016 atoms/cm3) has been found to provide the optimum properties of a p-type absorber layer for fabrication of thin film Si solar cells on PET substrate.

Shortwave Array Spectroradiometer–Zenith (SASZe) Instrument Handbook

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flynn, Connor J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-04-01

The Shortwave Array Spectroradiometer – Zenith (SASZe) provides measurements of zenith spectral shortwave radiance at 1Hz over a continuous spectral range from approximately 300 nm to 1700 nm. The SASZe design connects an optical collector located outdoors to a pair of spectrometers and data collections system located indoors within a climate-controlled building via an umbilical cable of fiber optic and electrical cables. The light collector incorporates a collimator yielding a 1-degree Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) field of view. The data-acquisition electronics and spectrometers include an in-line fiber optic shutter and two Avantes fiber-coupled grating spectroradiometers within a temperature-controlled container. The Avantes Avaspec ULS 2048 charge-coupled device (CCD) spectrometer covers the wavelength range from about 300-1100 nm with a pixel spacing of less than 0.6 nm and a spectral resolution of about 2.4 nm FWHM. The Avantes Avaspec NIR256-1.7 spectrometer covers the wavelength range from about 950 nm to 1700 nm with a pixel spacing of less than 4 nm and a spectral resolution of about 6 nm FWHM.

Effect of surface albedo, water vapour, and atmospheric aerosols on the cloud-free shortwave radiative budget in the Arctic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Di Biagio, C. [ENEA, Laboratory for Earth Observations and Analyses, Rome (Italy); University of Siena, Department of Earth Science, Siena (Italy); Di Sarra, A. [ENEA, Laboratory for Earth Observations and Analyses, Rome (Italy); Eriksen, P. [Danish Climate Centre, DMI, Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen (Denmark); Ascanius, S.E. [DMI, Danish Meteorological Institute, Qaanaaq (Greenland); Muscari, G. [INGV, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome (Italy); Holben, B. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States)

2012-08-15

This study is based on ground-based measurements of downward surface shortwave irradiance (SW), columnar water vapour (wv), and aerosol optical depth ({tau}) obtained at Thule Air Base (Greenland) in 2007-2010, together with MODIS observations of the surface shortwave albedo (A). Radiative transfer model calculations are used in combination with measurements to separate the radiative effect of A ({Delta}SW{sub A}), wv ({Delta}SW{sub wv}), and aerosols ({Delta}SW{sub {tau}}) in modulating SW in cloud-free conditions. The shortwave radiation at the surface is mainly affected by water vapour absorption, which produces a reduction of SW as low as -100 Wm{sup -2} (-18%). The seasonal change of A produces an increase of SW by up to +25 Wm{sup -2} (+4.5%). The annual mean radiative effect is estimated to be -(21-22) Wm{sup -2} for wv, and +(2-3) Wm{sup -2} for A. An increase by +0.065 cm in the annual mean wv, to which corresponds an absolute increase in {Delta}SW{sub wv} by 0.93 Wm{sup -2} (4.3%), has been observed to occur between 2007 and 2010. In the same period, the annual mean A has decreased by -0.027, with a corresponding decrease in {Delta}SW{sub A} by 0.41 Wm{sup -2} (-14.9%). Atmospheric aerosols produce a reduction of SW as low as -32 Wm{sup -2} (-6.7%). The instantaneous aerosol radiative forcing (RF{sub {tau}}) reaches values of -28 Wm{sup -2} and shows a strong dependency on surface albedo. The derived radiative forcing efficiency (FE{sub {tau}}) for solar zenith angles between 55 and 70 is estimated to be (-120.6 {+-} 4.3) for 0.1 < A < 0.2, and (-41.2 {+-} 1.6) Wm{sup -2} for 0.5 < A < 0.6. (orig.)

CLARREO shortwave observing system simulation experiments of the twenty-first century: Simulator design and implementation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feldman, D.R.; Algieri, C.A.; Ong, J.R.; Collins, W.D.

2011-04-01

Projected changes in the Earth system will likely be manifested in changes in reflected solar radiation. This paper introduces an operational Observational System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) to calculate the signals of future climate forcings and feedbacks in top-of-atmosphere reflectance spectra. The OSSE combines simulations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report for the NCAR Community Climate System Model (CCSM) with the MODTRAN radiative transfer code to calculate reflectance spectra for simulations of current and future climatic conditions over the 21st century. The OSSE produces narrowband reflectances and broadband fluxes, the latter of which have been extensively validated against archived CCSM results. The shortwave reflectance spectra contain atmospheric features including signals from water vapor, liquid and ice clouds, and aerosols. The spectra are also strongly influenced by the surface bidirectional reflectance properties of predicted snow and sea ice and the climatological seasonal cycles of vegetation. By comparing and contrasting simulated reflectance spectra based on emissions scenarios with increasing projected and fixed present-day greenhouse gas and aerosol concentrations, we find that prescribed forcings from increases in anthropogenic sulfate and carbonaceous aerosols are detectable and are spatially confined to lower latitudes. Also, changes in the intertropical convergence zone and poleward shifts in the subsidence zones and the storm tracks are all detectable along with large changes in snow cover and sea ice fraction. These findings suggest that the proposed NASA Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) mission to measure shortwave reflectance spectra may help elucidate climate forcings, responses, and feedbacks.

Short-wave infrared barriode detectors using InGaAsSb absorption material lattice matched to GaSb

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Craig, A. P.; Percy, B.; Marshall, A. R. J. [Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB (United Kingdom); Jain, M. [Amethyst Research Ltd., Kelvin Campus, West of Scotland Science Park, Glasgow G20 0SP (United Kingdom); Wicks, G.; Hossain, K. [Amethyst Research, Inc., 123 Case Circle, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73401 (United States); Golding, T. [Amethyst Research Ltd., Kelvin Campus, West of Scotland Science Park, Glasgow G20 0SP (United Kingdom); Amethyst Research, Inc., 123 Case Circle, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73401 (United States); McEwan, K.; Howle, C. [Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 0JQ (United Kingdom)

2015-05-18

Short-wave infrared barriode detectors were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. An absorption layer composition of In{sub 0.28}Ga{sub 0.72}As{sub 0.25}Sb{sub 0.75} allowed for lattice matching to GaSb and cut-off wavelengths of 2.9 μm at 250 K and 3.0 μm at room temperature. Arrhenius plots of the dark current density showed diffusion limited dark currents approaching those expected for optimized HgCdTe-based detectors. Specific detectivity figures of around 7×10{sup 10} Jones and 1×10{sup 10} Jones were calculated, for 240 K and room temperature, respectively. Significantly, these devices could support focal plane arrays working at higher operating temperatures.

Sweat Rate Prediction Equations for Outdoor Exercise with Transient Solar Radiation

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

AD] 15 Interchangeable variables gSL W/m2 Global solar load Direct weather station data; pyranometer values 25 Direct measurement from weather station... pyranometer (to measure short-wave radiation fluxes) and pyrgeometer (to measure long-wave radiation fluxes). Normally, the value of the solar load...as described below. During field operations, Rsol (W/m2) can be calculated from 0.835 ·ERF. If Rsol (in W/m2) is known by direct pyranometer mea

Electron Beam Evaporated TiO2 Layer for High Efficiency Planar Perovskite Solar Cells on Flexible Polyethylene Terephthalate Substrates

KAUST Repository

Qiu, Weiming; Paetzold, Ulrich W; Gehlhaar, Robert; Smirnov, Vladimir; Boyen, Hans-Gerd; Tait, Jeffrey Gerhart; Conings, Bert; Zhang, Weimin; Nielsen, Christian; McCulloch, Iain; Froyen, Ludo; Heremans, Paul; Cheyns, David

2015-01-01

The TiO2 layer made by electron beam (e-beam) induced evaporation is demonstrated as electron transport layer (ETL) in high efficiency planar junction perovskite solar cells. The temperature of the substrate and the thickness of the TiO2 layer can

ENSO surface shortwave radiation forcing over the tropical Pacific

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. G. Pavlakis

2008-09-01

Full Text Available We have studied the spatial and temporal variation of the downward shortwave radiation (DSR at the surface of the Earth during ENSO events for a 21-year period over the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean (40° S–40° N, 90° E–75° W. The fluxes were computed using a deterministic model for atmospheric radiation transfer, along with satellite data from the ISCCP-D2 database, reanalysis data from NCEP/NCAR for the key atmospheric and surface input parameters, and aerosol parameters from GADS (acronyms explained in main text. A clear anti-correlation was found between the downward shortwave radiation anomaly (DSR-A time-series, in the region 7° S–5° N 160° E–160° W located west of the Niño-3.4 region, and the Niño-3.4 index time-series. In this region where the highest in absolute value DSR anomalies are observed, the mean DSR anomaly values range from −45 Wm⁻² during El Niño episodes to +40 Wm⁻² during La Niña events. Within the Niño-3.4 region no significant DSR anomalies are observed during the cold ENSO phase in contrast to the warm ENSO phase. A high correlation was also found over the western Pacific (10° S–5° N, 120–140° E, where the mean DSR anomaly values range from +20 Wm⁻² to −20 Wm⁻² during El Niño and La Niña episodes, respectively. There is also convincing evidence that the time series of the mean downward shortwave radiation anomaly in the off-equatorial western Pacific region 7–15° N 150–170° E, precedes the Niño-3.4 index time-series by about 7 months and the pattern of this anomaly is indicative of ENSO operating through the mechanism of the western Pacific oscillator. Thus, the downward shortwave radiation anomaly is a complementary index to the SST anomaly for the study of ENSO events and can be used to assess whether or not El Niño or La Niña conditions prevail.

P-N junction solar cell grown by molecular beam epitaxy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hazrati Fard, M.

2001-01-01

Growth of GaAs epilayers by Molecular Beam Epitaxy was accomplished for the first time in Iran. The layers were grown on GaAs (001) substrates (p+ wafer) with Si impurity for p n junction solar cell fabrication at a rate of nearly one micron per hour and 0.25 micron per quarter. Crystalline quality of grown layers had been monitored during growth by Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction system. Doping profile and layer thickness was assessed by electrochemical C-V profiling method. Then Hall measurements were conducted on small samples both in room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature so giving average carrier concentration and compensation ratio. The results as like: V oc , I sc , F F, η were comparable with other laboratory reports. information for obtaining good and repeatable growths was collected. Therefore, the conditions of repeatable quality growth p n junction solar cells onto GaAs (001) substrates were determined

High efficiency thin film solar cells grown by molecular beam epitaxy (HEFTY)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mason, N.B.; Barnham, K.W.J.; Ballard, I.M.; Zhang, J. [Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)

2006-05-04

The project sought to show the UK as a world leader in the field of thin film crystalline solar cells. A premise was that the cell design be suitable for large-scale manufacturing and provide a basis for industrial exploitation. The study demonstrated (1) that silicon films grown at temperatures suitable for deposition on glass by Gas Phase Molecular Beam Epitaxy gives better PV cells than does Ultra Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition; (2) a conversion energy of 15 per cent was achieved - the project target was 18 per cent and (3) one of the highest reported conversion efficiencies for a 15 micrometre silicon film was achieved. The study was carried out by BP Solar Limited under contract to the DTI.

Hard X-ray bremsstrahlung production in solar flares by high-energy proton beams

Science.gov (United States)

Emslie, A. G.; Brown, J. C.

1985-01-01

The possibility that solar hard X-ray bremsstrahlung is produced by acceleration of stationary electrons by fast-moving protons, rather than vice versa, as commonly assumed, was investigated. It was found that a beam of protons which involves 1836 times fewer particles, each having an energy 1836 times greater than that of the electrons in the equivalent electron beam model, has exactly the same bremsstrahlung yield for a given target, i.e., the mechanism has an energetic efficiency equal to that of conventional bremsstrahlung models. Allowance for the different degrees of target ionization appropriate to the two models (for conventional flare geometries) makes the proton beam model more efficient than the electron beam model, by a factor of order three. The model places less stringent constraints than a conventional electron beam model on the flare energy release mechanism. It is also consistent with observed X-ray burst spectra, intensities, and directivities. The altitude distribution of hard X-rays predicted by the model agrees with observations only if nonvertical injection of the protons is assumed. The model is inconsistent with gamma-ray data in terms of conventional modeling.

Ion beam sputtered aluminum based multilayer mirrors for extreme ultraviolet solar imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ziani, A. [Laboratoire Charles Fabry, Institut d' Optique, CNRS, Univ Paris Sud, 2 Avenue Augustin Fresnel, 91127 Palaiseau cedex France (France); Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), 18 Avenue E. Belin, 31401 Toulouse (France); Delmotte, F., E-mail: Franck.Delmotte@InstitutOptique.fr [Laboratoire Charles Fabry, Institut d' Optique, CNRS, Univ Paris Sud, 2 Avenue Augustin Fresnel, 91127 Palaiseau cedex France (France); Le Paven-Thivet, C. [Institut d' Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes (IETR) UMR-CNRS 6164, Université de Rennes 1, UEB, IUT Saint Brieuc, 18 rue Henri Wallon, 22004 Saint Brieuc cedex France (France); Meltchakov, E.; Jérome, A. [Laboratoire Charles Fabry, Institut d' Optique, CNRS, Univ Paris Sud, 2 Avenue Augustin Fresnel, 91127 Palaiseau cedex France (France); Roulliay, M. [Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay UMR 8214, Univ Paris Sud, 91405 Orsay France (France); Bridou, F. [Laboratoire Charles Fabry, Institut d' Optique, CNRS, Univ Paris Sud, 2 Avenue Augustin Fresnel, 91127 Palaiseau cedex France (France); Gasc, K. [Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), 18 Avenue E. Belin, 31401 Toulouse (France)

2014-02-03

In this paper, we report on the design, synthesis and characterization of extreme ultraviolet interferential mirrors for solar imaging applications in the spectral range 17 nm–34 nm. This research is carried out in the context of the preparation of the European Space Agency Solar Orbiter mission. The purpose of this study consists in optimizing the deposition of Al-based multilayers by ion beam sputtering according to several parameters such as the ion beam current and the sputtering angle. After optimization of Al thin films, several kinds of Al-based multilayer mirrors have been compared. We have deposited and characterized bi-material and also tri-material periodic multilayers: aluminum/molybdenum [Al/Mo], aluminum/molybdenum/boron carbide [Al/Mo/B{sub 4}C] and aluminum/molybdenum/silicon carbide [Al/Mo/SiC]. Best experimental results have been obtained on Al/Mo/SiC samples: we have measured reflectivity up to 48% at 17.3 nm and 27.5% at 28.2 nm on a synchrotron radiation source. - Highlights: • Design and synthesis of extreme ultraviolet interferential mirrors. • Optimization of aluminum thin films by adjusting several deposition parameters. • Comparison of results obtained with different types of Al-based multilayer mirrors. • Reflectivity up to 48% at 17.3 nm on a synchrotron radiation source.

Ion beam sputtered aluminum based multilayer mirrors for extreme ultraviolet solar imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ziani, A.; Delmotte, F.; Le Paven-Thivet, C.; Meltchakov, E.; Jérome, A.; Roulliay, M.; Bridou, F.; Gasc, K.

2014-01-01

In this paper, we report on the design, synthesis and characterization of extreme ultraviolet interferential mirrors for solar imaging applications in the spectral range 17 nm–34 nm. This research is carried out in the context of the preparation of the European Space Agency Solar Orbiter mission. The purpose of this study consists in optimizing the deposition of Al-based multilayers by ion beam sputtering according to several parameters such as the ion beam current and the sputtering angle. After optimization of Al thin films, several kinds of Al-based multilayer mirrors have been compared. We have deposited and characterized bi-material and also tri-material periodic multilayers: aluminum/molybdenum [Al/Mo], aluminum/molybdenum/boron carbide [Al/Mo/B 4 C] and aluminum/molybdenum/silicon carbide [Al/Mo/SiC]. Best experimental results have been obtained on Al/Mo/SiC samples: we have measured reflectivity up to 48% at 17.3 nm and 27.5% at 28.2 nm on a synchrotron radiation source. - Highlights: • Design and synthesis of extreme ultraviolet interferential mirrors. • Optimization of aluminum thin films by adjusting several deposition parameters. • Comparison of results obtained with different types of Al-based multilayer mirrors. • Reflectivity up to 48% at 17.3 nm on a synchrotron radiation source

Concept of the solar-pumped laser-photovoltaics combined system and its application to laser beam power feeding to electric vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Motohiro, Tomoyoshi; Takeda, Yasuhiko; Ito, Hiroshi; Hasegawa, Kazuo; Ikesue, Akio; Ichikawa, Tadashi; Higuchi, Kazuo; Ichiki, Akihisa; Mizuno, Shintaro; Ito, Tadashi; Yamada, Noboru; Nath Luitel, Hom; Kajino, Tsutomu; Terazawa, Hidetaka; Takimoto, Satoshi; Watanabe, Kemmei

2017-08-01

We have developed a compact solar-pumped laser (µSPL) employing an off-axis parabolic mirror with an aperture of 76.2 mm diameter and an yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) ceramic rod of φ1 mm × 10 mm doped with 1% Nd and 0.1% Cr as a laser medium. The laser oscillation wavelength of 1.06 µm, just below the optical absorption edge of Si cells, is suitable for photoelectric conversion with minimal thermal loss. The concept of laser beam power feeding to an electric vehicle equipped with a photovoltaic panel on the roof was proposed by Ueda in 2010, in which the electricity generated by solar panels over the road is utilized to drive a semiconductor laser located on each traffic signal along the road. By substituting this solar-electricity-driven semiconductor laser with a solar-pumped laser, the energy loss of over 50% in converting the solar electricity to a laser beam can be eliminated. The overall feasibility of this system in an urban area such as Tokyo was investigated.

Comparison of the Al back contact deposited by sputtering, e-beam, or thermal evaporation for inverted perovskite solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Wahl, Tina; Hanisch, Jonas; Ahlswede, Erik

2018-04-01

In this work, we present inverted perovskite solar cells with Al top electrodes, which were deposited by three different methods. Besides the widely used thermal evaporation of Al, we also used the industrially important high deposition rate processes sputtering and electron beam evaporation for aluminium electrodes and examined the influence of the deposition method on the solar cell performance. The current-voltage characteristics of as grown solar cells with sputtered and e-beam Al electrode show an s-shape due to damage done to the organic electronic transport layers (ETL) during Al deposition. It can be cured by a short annealing step at a moderate temperature so that fill factors  >60% and power conversion efficiencies of almost 12% with negligible hysteresis can be achieved. While solar cells with thermally evaporated Al electrode do not show an s-shape, they also exhibit a clear improvement after a short annealing step. In addition, we varied the thickness of the ETL consisting of a double layer ([6,6]-Phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester and bathocuproine) and investigated the influence on the solar cell parameters for the three different Al deposition methods, which showed distinct dependencies on ETL thickness.

Bias-dependent high saturation solar LBIC scanning of solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vorster, F.J.; van Dyk, E.E. [Department of Physics, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa)

2007-06-15

A light beam-induced current measurement system that uses concentrated solar radiation as a beam probe to map spatially distributed defects on a solar cell has been developed and tested [F.J. Vorster, E.E. van Dyk, Rev. Sci. Instrum., submitted for review]. The induced current response from a flat plate EFG Si solar cell was mapped as a function of surface position and cell bias by using a solar light beam induced current (S-LBIC) mapping system while at the same time dynamically biasing the whole cell with an external voltage. This paper examines the issues relating to transient capacitive effects as well as the electrical behaviour of typical solar cell defect mechanisms under spot illumination. By examining the bias dependence of the S-LBIC maps, various defect mechanisms of photovoltaic (PV) cells under concentrated solar irradiance may be identified. The techniques employed to interpret the spatially distributed IV curves as well as initial results are discussed. (author)

Optimizing laser beam profiles using micro-lens arrays for efficient material processing: applications to solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Hauschild, Dirk; Homburg, Oliver; Mitra, Thomas; Ivanenko, Mikhail; Jarczynski, Manfred; Meinschien, Jens; Bayer, Andreas; Lissotschenko, Vitalij

2009-02-01

High power laser sources are used in various production tools for microelectronic products and solar cells, including the applications annealing, lithography, edge isolation as well as dicing and patterning. Besides the right choice of the laser source suitable high performance optics for generating the appropriate beam profile and intensity distribution are of high importance for the right processing speed, quality and yield. For industrial applications equally important is an adequate understanding of the physics of the light-matter interaction behind the process. In advance simulations of the tool performance can minimize technical and financial risk as well as lead times for prototyping and introduction into series production. LIMO has developed its own software founded on the Maxwell equations taking into account all important physical aspects of the laser based process: the light source, the beam shaping optical system and the light-matter interaction. Based on this knowledge together with a unique free-form micro-lens array production technology and patented micro-optics beam shaping designs a number of novel solar cell production tool sub-systems have been built. The basic functionalities, design principles and performance results are presented with a special emphasis on resilience, cost reduction and process reliability.

The Atmospheric Response to High Nonthermal Electron Beam Fluxes in Solar Flares. I. Modeling the Brightest NUV Footpoints in the X1 Solar Flare of 2014 March 29

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kowalski, Adam F. [Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, 2000 Colorado Ave, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States); Allred, Joel C.; Daw, Adrian [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 671, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Cauzzi, Gianna [INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, I-50125 Firenze (Italy); Carlsson, Mats, E-mail: Adam.Kowalski@lasp.colorado.edu [Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, NO-0315 Oslo (Norway)

2017-02-10

The 2014 March 29 X1 solar flare (SOL20140329T17:48) produced bright continuum emission in the far- and near-ultraviolet (NUV) and highly asymmetric chromospheric emission lines, providing long-sought constraints on the heating mechanisms of the lower atmosphere in solar flares. We analyze the continuum and emission line data from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) of the brightest flaring magnetic footpoints in this flare. We compare the NUV spectra of the brightest pixels to new radiative-hydrodynamic predictions calculated with the RADYN code using constraints on a nonthermal electron beam inferred from the collisional thick-target modeling of hard X-ray data from Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager . We show that the atmospheric response to a high beam flux density satisfactorily achieves the observed continuum brightness in the NUV. The NUV continuum emission in this flare is consistent with hydrogen (Balmer) recombination radiation that originates from low optical depth in a dense chromospheric condensation and from the stationary beam-heated layers just below the condensation. A model producing two flaring regions (a condensation and stationary layers) in the lower atmosphere is also consistent with the asymmetric Fe ii chromospheric emission line profiles observed in the impulsive phase.

TAO/TRITON, RAMA, and PIRATA Buoys, Daily, 1991-present, Downgoing Shortwave Radiation

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset has daily Downgoing Shortwave Radiation data from the TAO/TRITON (Pacific Ocean, https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/gtmba/ ), RAMA (Indian Ocean,...

TAO/TRITON, RAMA, and PIRATA Buoys, Monthly, 1991-present, Net Shortwave Radiation

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset has monthly Net Shortwave Radiation data from the TAO/TRITON (Pacific Ocean, https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/gtmba/ ), RAMA (Indian Ocean,...

Sensitivity of MENA Tropical Rainbelt to Dust Shortwave Absorption: A High Resolution AGCM Experiment

KAUST Repository

Bangalath, Hamza Kunhu; Stenchikov, Georgiy L.

2016-01-01

Shortwave absorption is one of the most important, but the most uncertain, components of direct radiative effect by mineral dust. It has a broad range of estimates from different observational and modeling studies and there is no consensus on the strength of absorption. To elucidate the sensitivity of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) tropical summer rainbelt to a plausible range of uncertainty in dust shortwave absorption, AMIP-style global high resolution (25 km) simulations are conducted with and without dust, using the High-Resolution Atmospheric Model (HiRAM). Simulations with dust comprise three different cases by assuming dust as a very efficient, standard and inefficient absorber. Inter-comparison of these simulations shows that the response of the MENA tropical rainbelt is extremely sensitive to the strength of shortwave absorption. Further analyses reveal that the sensitivity of the rainbelt stems from the sensitivity of the multi-scale circulations that define the rainbelt. The maximum response and sensitivity are predicted over the northern edge of the rainbelt, geographically over Sahel. The sensitivity of the responses over the Sahel, especially that of precipitation, is comparable to the mean state. Locally, the response in precipitation reaches up to 50% of the mean, while dust is assumed to be a very efficient absorber. Taking into account that Sahel has a very high climate variability and is extremely vulnerable to changes in precipitation, the present study suggests the importance of reducing uncertainty in dust shortwave absorption for a better simulation and interpretation of the Sahel climate.

Sensitivity of MENA Tropical Rainbelt to Dust Shortwave Absorption: A High Resolution AGCM Experiment

KAUST Repository

Bangalath, Hamza Kunhu

2016-06-13

Shortwave absorption is one of the most important, but the most uncertain, components of direct radiative effect by mineral dust. It has a broad range of estimates from different observational and modeling studies and there is no consensus on the strength of absorption. To elucidate the sensitivity of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) tropical summer rainbelt to a plausible range of uncertainty in dust shortwave absorption, AMIP-style global high resolution (25 km) simulations are conducted with and without dust, using the High-Resolution Atmospheric Model (HiRAM). Simulations with dust comprise three different cases by assuming dust as a very efficient, standard and inefficient absorber. Inter-comparison of these simulations shows that the response of the MENA tropical rainbelt is extremely sensitive to the strength of shortwave absorption. Further analyses reveal that the sensitivity of the rainbelt stems from the sensitivity of the multi-scale circulations that define the rainbelt. The maximum response and sensitivity are predicted over the northern edge of the rainbelt, geographically over Sahel. The sensitivity of the responses over the Sahel, especially that of precipitation, is comparable to the mean state. Locally, the response in precipitation reaches up to 50% of the mean, while dust is assumed to be a very efficient absorber. Taking into account that Sahel has a very high climate variability and is extremely vulnerable to changes in precipitation, the present study suggests the importance of reducing uncertainty in dust shortwave absorption for a better simulation and interpretation of the Sahel climate.

Shortwave radiative forcing and efficiency of key aerosol types using AERONET data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. E. García

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The shortwave radiative forcing (ΔF and the radiative forcing efficiency (ΔF^eff of natural and anthropogenic aerosols have been analyzed using estimates of radiation both at the Top (TOA and at the Bottom Of Atmosphere (BOA modeled based on AERONET aerosol retrievals. Six main types of atmospheric aerosols have been compared (desert mineral dust, biomass burning, urban-industrial, continental background, oceanic and free troposphere in similar observational conditions (i.e., for solar zenith angles between 55° and 65° in order to compare the nearly same solar geometry. The instantaneous ΔF averages obtained vary from −122 ± 37 Wm⁻² (aerosol optical depth, AOD, at 0.55 μm, 0.85 ± 0.45 at the BOA for the mixture of desert mineral dust and biomass burning aerosols in West Africa and −42 ± 22 Wm⁻² (AOD = 0.9 ± 0.5 at the TOA for the pure mineral dust also in this region up to −6 ± 3 Wm⁻² and −4 ± 2 Wm⁻² (AOD = 0.03 ± 0.02 at the BOA and the TOA, respectively, for free troposphere conditions. This last result may be taken as reference on a global scale. Furthermore, we observe that the more absorbing aerosols are overall more efficient at the BOA in contrast to at the TOA, where they backscatter less solar energy into the space. The analysis of the radiative balance at the TOA shows that, together with the amount of aerosols and their absorptive capacity, it is essential to consider the surface albedo of the region on which they are. Thus, we document that in regions with high surface reflectivity (deserts and snow conditions atmospheric aerosols lead to a warming of the Earth-atmosphere system.

Some observations on stray magnetic fields and power outputs from short-wave diathermy equipment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lau, R.W.M.; Dunscombe, P.B.

1984-04-01

Recent years have seen increasing interest in the possible hazards arising from the use of nonionizing electromagnetic radiation. Relatively large and potentially hazardous fields are to be found in the vicinity of short-wave and microwave equipment used in physiotherapy departments to produce therapeutic temperature rises. This note reports the results of measurements of the stray magnetic field and power output of a conventional short-wave diathermy unit when applied to tissue-equivalent phantoms. The dependence of these quantities on the variables, i.e. power setting of the unit, capacitor plate size, phantom size and phantom-capacitor plate separation, are discussed.

Validation of solar radiation surfaces from MODIS and reanalysis data over topographically complex terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Todd A. Schroeder; Robbie Hember; Nicholas C. Coops; Shunlin Liang

2009-01-01

The magnitude and distribution of incoming shortwave solar radiation (SW) has significant influence on the productive capacity of forest vegetation. Models that estimate forest productivity require accurate and spatially explicit radiation surfaces that resolve both long- and short-term temporal climatic patterns and that account for topographic variability of the land...

Photocarrier radiometry for predicting the degradation of electrical parameters of monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell irradiated by 100 KeV proton beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, P.; Liu, J.Y.; Yuan, H.M.; Oliullah, Md.; Wang, F.; Wang, Y.

2016-01-01

In this study, the monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell irradiated by 100 KeV proton beams at various fluences is investigated. A one-dimensional two-layer carrier density wave model has been developed to estimate the minority carrier lifetime of n-region and p-region of the non-irradiated c-Si solar cell by best fitting with the experimental photocarrier radiometry (PCR) signal (the amplitude and the phase). Furthermore, the lifetime is used to determine the initial defect density of the quasi-neutral region (QNR) of the solar cell to predict its I–V characteristics. The theoretically predicted short-circuit current density (J_s_c), and open-circuit voltage (V_o_c) of the non-irradiated samples are in good agreement with experiment. Then a three-region defect distribution model for the c-Si solar cell irradiated by proton beams is carried out to describe the defect density distribution according to Monte Carlo simulation results and the initial defect density of the non-irradiated sample. Finally, we find that the electrical measurements of J_s_c and V_o_c of the solar cells irradiated at different fluences using 100 KeV proton beams are consistent with the PCR predicting results.

Photocarrier radiometry for predicting the degradation of electrical parameters of monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell irradiated by 100 KeV proton beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, P. [School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Liu, J.Y., E-mail: ljywlj@hit.edu.cn [School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System (HIT), Harbin 150001 (China); Yuan, H.M.; Oliullah, Md.; Wang, F. [School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Wang, Y., E-mail: songpengkevin@126.com [School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System (HIT), Harbin 150001 (China)

2016-09-15

In this study, the monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell irradiated by 100 KeV proton beams at various fluences is investigated. A one-dimensional two-layer carrier density wave model has been developed to estimate the minority carrier lifetime of n-region and p-region of the non-irradiated c-Si solar cell by best fitting with the experimental photocarrier radiometry (PCR) signal (the amplitude and the phase). Furthermore, the lifetime is used to determine the initial defect density of the quasi-neutral region (QNR) of the solar cell to predict its I–V characteristics. The theoretically predicted short-circuit current density (J{sub sc}), and open-circuit voltage (V{sub oc}) of the non-irradiated samples are in good agreement with experiment. Then a three-region defect distribution model for the c-Si solar cell irradiated by proton beams is carried out to describe the defect density distribution according to Monte Carlo simulation results and the initial defect density of the non-irradiated sample. Finally, we find that the electrical measurements of J{sub sc} and V{sub oc} of the solar cells irradiated at different fluences using 100 KeV proton beams are consistent with the PCR predicting results.

Electron Beam Evaporated TiO2 Layer for High Efficiency Planar Perovskite Solar Cells on Flexible Polyethylene Terephthalate Substrates

KAUST Repository

Qiu, Weiming

2015-09-30

The TiO2 layer made by electron beam (e-beam) induced evaporation is demonstrated as electron transport layer (ETL) in high efficiency planar junction perovskite solar cells. The temperature of the substrate and the thickness of the TiO2 layer can be easily controlled with this e-beam induced evaporation method, which enables the usage of different types of substrates. Here, Perovskite solar cells based on CH3NH3PbI3-xClx achieve power conversion efficiencies of 14.6% on glass and 13.5% on flexible plastic substrates. The relationship between the TiO2 layer thickness and the perovskite morphology is studied with scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Our results indicate that pinholes in thin TiO2 layer lead to pinholes in the perovskite layer. By optimizing the TiO2 thickness, perovskite layers with substantially increased surface coverage and reduced pinhole areas are fabricated, increasing overall device performance.

Electrical performance of the InGaP solar cell irradiated with low energy electron beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okuno, Yasuki; Okuda, Shuichi; Kojima, Takeo; Oka, Takashi [Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Naka-ku, Sakai City, Osaka (Japan); Kawakita, Shirou; Imaizumi, Mitsuru; Kusawake, Hiroaki [Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 2-1-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan)

2015-06-15

The investigation of the radiation degradation characteristics of InGaP space solar cells is important. In order to understand the mechanism of the degradation by radiation the samples of the InGaP solar cell were irradiated in vacuum and at ambient temperature with electron beams from a Cockcroft-Walton type accelerator at Osaka Prefecture University. The threshold energies for recoil were obtained by theoretical calculation. The energies and the fluences of the electron beams were from 60 to 400 keV and from 3 x 10{sup 14} to 3 x 10{sup 16} cm{sup -2}, respectively. The light-current-voltage measurements were performed. The degradation of Isc caused by the defects related to the phosphorus atoms was observed and the degradation was suppressed by irradiation at an energy higher than the threshold energy for recoiling Indium atoms. At an energy of 60 keV, where the recoil does not occur, the V{sub oc} was degraded. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Solar forcing for CMIP6 (v3.2)

Science.gov (United States)

Matthes, Katja; Funke, Bernd; Andersson, Monika E.; Barnard, Luke; Beer, Jürg; Charbonneau, Paul; Clilverd, Mark A.; Dudok de Wit, Thierry; Haberreiter, Margit; Hendry, Aaron; Jackman, Charles H.; Kretzschmar, Matthieu; Kruschke, Tim; Kunze, Markus; Langematz, Ulrike; Marsh, Daniel R.; Maycock, Amanda C.; Misios, Stergios; Rodger, Craig J.; Scaife, Adam A.; Seppälä, Annika; Shangguan, Ming; Sinnhuber, Miriam; Tourpali, Kleareti; Usoskin, Ilya; van de Kamp, Max; Verronen, Pekka T.; Versick, Stefan

2017-06-01

5 predecessor by using time-slice experiments of two chemistry-climate models and a reference radiative transfer model. The differences in the long-term mean SSI in the CMIP6 dataset, compared to CMIP5, impact on climatological stratospheric conditions (lower shortwave heating rates of -0.35 K day-1 at the stratopause), cooler stratospheric temperatures (-1.5 K in the upper stratosphere), lower ozone abundances in the lower stratosphere (-3 %), and higher ozone abundances (+1.5 % in the upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere). Between the maximum and minimum phases of the 11-year solar cycle, there is an increase in shortwave heating rates (+0.2 K day-1 at the stratopause), temperatures ( ˜ 1 K at the stratopause), and ozone (+2.5 % in the upper stratosphere) in the tropical upper stratosphere using the CMIP6 forcing dataset. This solar-cycle response is slightly larger, but not statistically significantly different from that for the CMIP5 forcing dataset.CMIP6 models with a well-resolved shortwave radiation scheme are encouraged to prescribe SSI changes and include solar-induced stratospheric ozone variations, in order to better represent solar climate variability compared to models that only prescribe TSI and/or exclude the solar-ozone response. We show that monthly-mean solar-induced ozone variations are implicitly included in the SPARC/CCMI CMIP6 Ozone Database for historical simulations, which is derived from transient chemistry-climate model simulations and has been developed for climate models that do not calculate ozone interactively. CMIP6 models without chemistry that perform a preindustrial control simulation with time-varying solar forcing will need to use a modified version of the SPARC/CCMI Ozone Database that includes solar variability. CMIP6 models with interactive chemistry are also encouraged to use the particle forcing datasets, which will allow the potential long-term effects of particles to be addressed for the first time. The consideration of

Solar forcing for CMIP6 (v3.2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Matthes

2017-06-01

the CMIP6 solar forcing dataset to its CMIP5 predecessor by using time-slice experiments of two chemistry–climate models and a reference radiative transfer model. The differences in the long-term mean SSI in the CMIP6 dataset, compared to CMIP5, impact on climatological stratospheric conditions (lower shortwave heating rates of −0.35 K day−1 at the stratopause, cooler stratospheric temperatures (−1.5 K in the upper stratosphere, lower ozone abundances in the lower stratosphere (−3 %, and higher ozone abundances (+1.5 % in the upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere. Between the maximum and minimum phases of the 11-year solar cycle, there is an increase in shortwave heating rates (+0.2 K day−1 at the stratopause, temperatures ( ∼  1 K at the stratopause, and ozone (+2.5 % in the upper stratosphere in the tropical upper stratosphere using the CMIP6 forcing dataset. This solar-cycle response is slightly larger, but not statistically significantly different from that for the CMIP5 forcing dataset.CMIP6 models with a well-resolved shortwave radiation scheme are encouraged to prescribe SSI changes and include solar-induced stratospheric ozone variations, in order to better represent solar climate variability compared to models that only prescribe TSI and/or exclude the solar-ozone response. We show that monthly-mean solar-induced ozone variations are implicitly included in the SPARC/CCMI CMIP6 Ozone Database for historical simulations, which is derived from transient chemistry–climate model simulations and has been developed for climate models that do not calculate ozone interactively. CMIP6 models without chemistry that perform a preindustrial control simulation with time-varying solar forcing will need to use a modified version of the SPARC/CCMI Ozone Database that includes solar variability. CMIP6 models with interactive chemistry are also encouraged to use the particle forcing datasets, which will allow the potential long

SUNWARD PROPAGATING ALFVÉN WAVES IN ASSOCIATION WITH SUNWARD DRIFTING PROTON BEAMS IN THE SOLAR WIND

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Jiansen; Pei, Zhongtian; Wang, Linghua; Tu, Chuanyi; Zhang, Lei [School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 (China); Marsch, Eckart [Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, D-24118 Kiel (Germany); Salem, Chadi, E-mail: jshept@gmail.com [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2015-06-01

Using measurements from the WIND spacecraft, here we report the observation of sunward propagating Alfvén waves (AWs) in solar wind that is magnetically disconnected from the Earth's bow shock. In the sunward magnetic field sector, we find a period lasting for more than three days in which there existed (during most time intervals) a negative correlation between the flow velocity and magnetic field fluctuations, thus indicating that the related AWs are mainly propagating sunward. Simultaneous observations of counter-streaming suprathermal electrons suggest that these sunward AWs may not simply be due to the deflection of an open magnetic field line. Moreover, no interplanetary coronal mass ejection appears to be associated with the counter-streaming suprathermal electrons. As the scale goes from the magnetohydrodynamic down to the ion kinetic regime, the wave vector of magnetic fluctuations usually becomes more orthogonal to the mean magnetic field direction, and the fluctuations become increasingly compressible, which are both features consistent with quasi-perpendicular kinetic AWs. However, in the case studied here, we find clear signatures of quasi-parallel sunward propagating ion-cyclotron waves. Concurrently, the solar wind proton velocity distribution reveals a sunward field-aligned beam that drifts at about the local Alfvén speed. This beam is found to run in the opposite direction of the normally observed (anti-sunward) proton beam, and is apparently associated with sunward propagating Alfvén/ion-cyclotron waves. The results and conclusions of this study enrich our knowledge of solar wind turbulence and foster our understanding of proton heating and acceleration within a complex magnetic field geometry.

Daytime relapse of the mean radiant temperature based on the six-directional method under unobstructed solar radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kántor, Noémi; Lin, Tzu-Ping; Matzarakis, Andreas

2014-09-01

This study contributes to the knowledge about the capabilities of the popular "six-directional method" describing the radiation fields outdoors. In Taiwan, measurements were carried out with three orthogonally placed net radiometers to determine the mean radiant temperature (T(mrt)). The short- and long-wave radiation flux densities from the six perpendicular directions were recorded in the daylight hours of 12 days. During unobstructed direct irradiation, a specific daytime relapse was found in the temporal course of the T(mrt) values referring to the reference shapes of a standing man and also of a sphere. This relapse can be related to the short-wave fluxes reaching the body from the lateral directions. Through deeper analysis, an instrumental shortcoming of the six-directional technique was discovered. The pyranometer pairs of the same net radiometer have a 10-15-min long "blind spot" when the sun beams are nearly perpendicular to them. The blind-spot period is supposed to be shorter with steeper solar azimuth curve on the daylight period. This means that the locations with lower geographical latitude, and the summertime measurements, are affected less by this instrumental problem. A methodological shortcoming of the six-directional technique was also demonstrated. Namely, the sum of the short-wave flux densities from the lateral directions is sensitive to the orientation of the radiometers, and therefore by deviating from the original directions, the T(mrt) decrease on clear sunny days will occur in different times and will be different in extent.

Electron-beam induced current characterization of back-surface field solar cells using a chopped scanning electron microscope beam

Science.gov (United States)

Luke, K. L.; Cheng, L.-J.

1984-01-01

A chopped electron beam induced current (EBIC) technique for the chacterization of back-surface field (BSF) solar cells is presented. It is shown that the effective recombination velocity of the low-high junction forming the back-surface field of BSF cells, in addition to the diffusion length and the surface recombination velocity of the surface perpendicular to both the p-n and low-high junctions, can be determined from the data provided by a single EBIC scan. The method for doing so is described and illustrated. Certain experimental considerations taken to enhance the quality of the EBIC data are also discussed.

A Novel Method for Estimating Shortwave Direct Radiative Effect of Above-Cloud Aerosols Using CALIOP and MODIS Data

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Z.; Meyer, K.; Platnick, S.; Oreopoulos, L.; Lee, D.; Yu, H.

2014-01-01

This paper describes an efficient and unique method for computing the shortwave direct radiative effect (DRE) of aerosol residing above low-level liquid-phase clouds using CALIOP and MODIS data. It accounts for the overlapping of aerosol and cloud rigorously by utilizing the joint histogram of cloud optical depth and cloud top pressure. Effects of sub-grid scale cloud and aerosol variations on DRE are accounted for. It is computationally efficient through using grid-level cloud and aerosol statistics, instead of pixel-level products, and a pre-computed look-up table in radiative transfer calculations. We verified that for smoke over the southeast Atlantic Ocean the method yields a seasonal mean instantaneous shortwave DRE that generally agrees with more rigorous pixel-level computation within 4. We have also computed the annual mean instantaneous shortwave DRE of light-absorbing aerosols (i.e., smoke and polluted dust) over global ocean based on 4 yr of CALIOP and MODIS data. We found that the variability of the annual mean shortwave DRE of above-cloud light-absorbing aerosol is mainly driven by the optical depth of the underlying clouds.

Net Surface Shortwave Radiation from GOES Imagery—Product Evaluation Using Ground-Based Measurements from SURFRAD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anand K. Inamdar

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The Earth’s surface net radiation controls the energy and water exchanges between the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere, and can be derived from satellite observations. The ability to monitor the net surface radiation over large areas at high spatial and temporal resolution is essential for many applications, such as weather forecasting, short-term climate prediction or water resources management. The objective of this paper is to derive the net surface radiation in the shortwave domain at high temporal (half-hourly and spatial resolution (~1 km using visible imagery from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES. The retrieval algorithm represents an adaptation to GOES data of a standard algorithm initially developed for the NASA-operated Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES scanner. The methodology relies on: (1 the estimation of top of atmosphere shortwave radiation from GOES spectral measurements; and (2 the calculation of net surface shortwave (SW radiation accounting for atmospheric effects. Comparison of GOES-retrieved net surface shortwave radiation with ground-measurements at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA Surface Radiation (SURFRAD stations yields very good agreement with average bias lower than 5 W·m−2 and root mean square difference around 70 W·m−2. The algorithm performance is usually higher over areas characterized by low spatial variability in term of land cover type and surface biophysical properties. The technique does not involve retrieval and assessment of cloud properties and can be easily adapted to other meteorological satellites around the globe.

High resolution laser beam induced current images under trichromatic laser radiation: approximation to the solar irradiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Navas, F J; Alcántara, R; Fernández-Lorenzo, C; Martín-Calleja, J

2010-03-01

A laser beam induced current (LBIC) map of a photoactive surface is a very useful tool when it is necessary to study the spatial variability of properties such as photoconverter efficiency or factors connected with the recombination of carriers. Obtaining high spatial resolution LBIC maps involves irradiating the photoactive surface with a photonic beam with Gaussian power distribution and with a low dispersion coefficient. Laser emission fulfils these characteristics, but against it is the fact that it is highly monochromatic and therefore has a spectral distribution different to solar emissions. This work presents an instrumental system and procedure to obtain high spatial resolution LBIC maps in conditions approximating solar irradiation. The methodology developed consists of a trichromatic irradiation system based on three sources of laser excitation with emission in the red, green, and blue zones of the electromagnetic spectrum. The relative irradiation powers are determined by either solar spectrum distribution or Planck's emission formula which provides information approximate to the behavior of the system if it were under solar irradiation. In turn, an algorithm and a procedure have been developed to be able to form images based on the scans performed by the three lasers, providing information about the photoconverter efficiency of photovoltaic devices under the irradiation conditions used. This system has been checked with three photosensitive devices based on three different technologies: a commercial silicon photodiode, a commercial photoresistor, and a dye-sensitized solar cell. These devices make it possible to check how the superficial quantum efficiency has areas dependent upon the excitation wavelength while it has been possible to measure global incident photon-to-current efficiency values approximating those that would be obtained under irradiation conditions with sunlight.

Study of Shortwave Spectra in Fully 3D Environment: Synergy Between Scanning Radars and Spectral Radiation Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Wiscombe, Warren J.

2012-01-01

The main theme for our research is the understanding and closure of the surface spectral shortwave radiation problem in fully 3D cloud situations by combining the new ARM scanning radars, shortwave spectrometers, and microwave radiometers with the arsenal of radiative transfer tools developed by our group. In particular, we define first a large number of cloudy test cases spanning all 3D possibilities not just the customary uniform-overcast ones. Second, for each case, we define a "Best Estimate of Clouds That Affect Shortwave Radiation" using all relevant ARM instruments, notably the new scanning radars, and contribute this to the ARM Archive. Third, we test the ASR-signature radiative transfer model RRTMG_SW for those cases, focusing on the near-IR because of long-standing problems in this spectral region, and work with the developers to improve RRTMG_SW in order to increase its penetration into the modeling community.

Sensitivity of glaciation in the arid subtropical Andes to changes in temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Vargo, L. J.; Galewsky, J.; Rupper, S.; Ward, D. J.

2018-04-01

The subtropical Andes (18.5-27 °S) have been glaciated in the past, but are presently glacier-free. We use idealized model experiments to quantify glacier sensitivity to changes in climate in order to investigate the climatic drivers of past glaciations. We quantify the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) sensitivity (the change in ELA per change in climate) to temperature, precipitation, and shortwave radiation for three distinct climatic regions in the subtropical Andes. We find that in the western cordillera, where conditions are hyper-arid with the highest solar radiation on Earth, ELA sensitivity is as high as 34 m per % increase in precipitation, and 70 m per % decrease in shortwave radiation. This is compared with the eastern cordillera, where precipitation is the highest of the three regions, and ELA sensitivity is only 10 m per % increase in precipitation, and 25 m per % decrease in shortwave radiation. The high ELA sensitivity to shortwave radiation highlights the influence of radiation on mass balance of high elevation and low-latitude glaciers. We also consider these quantified ELA sensitivities in context of previously dated glacial deposits from the regions. Our results suggest that glaciation of the humid eastern cordillera was driven primarily by lower temperatures, while glaciations of the arid Altiplano and western cordillera were also influenced by increases in precipitation and decreases in shortwave radiation. Using paleoclimate records from the timing of glaciation, we find that glaciation of the hyper-arid western cordillera can be explained by precipitation increases of 90-160% (1.9-2.6× higher than modern), in conjunction with associated decreases in shortwave radiation of 7-12% and in temperature of 3.5 °C.

Diffuse solar radiation and associated meteorological parameters in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. B. Bhattacharya

Full Text Available Solar diffuse radiation data including global radiation, shortwave and longwave balances, net radiation and sunshine hours have been extensively analyzed to study the variation of diffuse radiation with turbidity and cloud discharges appearing in the form of atmospherics over the tropics. Results of surface radiation measurements at Calcutta, Poona, Delhi and Madras are presented together with some meteorological parameters. The monthly values of diffuse radiation and the monthly ratios of diffuse to global solar radiation have been examined, with a special emphasis in relation to the noise level of atmospherics at Calcutta in the very low frequency band. The results exhibit some definite seasonal changes which appear to be in close agreement with one another.

Sensitivity of tropical rainbelt over Africa and Middle East to dust shortwave absorption: Experiments using a high resolution AGCM

KAUST Repository

Bangalath, Hamza Kunhu; Stenchikov, Georgiy L.

2015-01-01

Response of the rainbelt over Africa to dust direct radiative forcing has been an area of lively debate and is a subject of ongoing research. Previous modeling studies have contrasting results producing different amplitudes or even signs of responses. Uncertainties in the dust radiative forcing are thought to be the major cause of discrepancies in the simulated responses among various studies. The imaginary part of mineral dust shortwave refractive index, which defines the dust absorptivity, has a wide range of values estimated from various observational and modeling studies, as it depends on dust chemical composition and mineralogy. Balkanski et al. (2007) estimated dust shortwave refractive indices by assuming 3 different hematite contents, 0.9%, 1.5% and 2.7% by volume, which corresponds to inefficient, standard, and very efficient dust shortwave absorption, respectively. To investigate the sensitivity of the position and intensity of the tropical rainbelt over Africa and its extension to the Arabian Peninsula to dust shortwave absorption, we have conducted ensembles of numerical simulations for each of the three dust absorptivity scenarios using a high resolution Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM), GFDL's High Resolution Atmospheric Model (HiRAM), at a spatial resolution of 25 km. We found that the strength and the latitudinal extent of the rainbelt are very sensitive to dust shortwave absorption, as well as circulations at various spatiotemporal scales that drive the climate of the region. Reference: Balkanski, Y., M. Schulz, T. Claquin, and S. Guibert (2007), Reevaluation of mineral aerosol radiative forcings suggests a better agreement with satellite and AERONET data, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 81 - 95.

Prospects of e-beam evaporated molybdenum oxide as a hole transport layer for perovskite solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, F.; Khoshsirat, N.; Duffin, J. L.; Wang, H.; Ostrikov, K.; Bell, J. M.; Tesfamichael, T.

2017-09-01

Perovskite solar cells have emerged as one of the most efficient and low cost technologies for delivering of solar electricity due to their exceptional optical and electrical properties. Commercialization of the perovskite solar cells is, however, limited because of the higher cost and environmentally sensitive organic hole transport materials such as spiro-OMETAD and PEDOT:PSS. In this study, an empirical simulation was performed using the Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator software to explore the MoOx thin film as an alternative hole transport material for perovskite solar cells. In the simulation, properties of MoOx thin films deposited by the electron beam evaporation technique from high purity (99.99%) MoO3 pellets at different substrate temperatures (room temperature, 100 °C and 200 °C) were used as input parameters. The films were highly transparent (>80%) and have low surface roughness (≤2 nm) with bandgap energy ranging between 3.75 eV and 3.45 eV. Device simulation has shown that the MoOx deposited at room temperature can work in both the regular and inverted structures of the perovskite solar cell with a promising efficiency of 18.25%. Manufacturing of the full device is planned in order to utilize the MoOx as an alternative hole transport material for improved performance, good stability, and low cost of the perovskite solar cell.

Extended wavelength InGaAs on GaAs using InAlAs buffer for back-side-illuminated short-wave infrared detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmermann, Lars; John, Joachim; Degroote, Stefan; Borghs, Gustaaf; Hoof, Chris van; Nemeth, Stefan

2003-01-01

We conducted an experimental study of back-side-illuminated InGaAs photodiodes grown on GaAs and sensitive in the short-wave infrared up to 2.4 μm. Standard metamorphic InGaAs or IR-transparent InAlAs buffers were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. We studied dark current and photocurrent as a function of buffer thickness, buffer material, and temperature. A saturation of the dark current with buffer thickness was not observed. The maximum resistance area product was ∼10 Ω cm2 at 295 K. The dark current above 200 K was dominated by generation-recombination current. A pronounced dependence of the photocurrent on the buffer thickness was observed. The peak external quantum efficiency was 46% (at 1.6 μm) without antireflective coating

Coherent-phase or random-phase acceleration of electron beams in solar flares

Science.gov (United States)

Aschwanden, Markus J.; Benz, Arnold O.; Montello, Maria L.

1994-01-01

Time structures of electron beam signatures at radio wavelengths are investigated to probe correlated versus random behavior in solar flares. In particular we address the issue whether acceleration and injection of electron beams is coherently modulated by a single source, or whether the injection is driven by a stochastic (possibly spatially fragmented) process. We analyze a total of approximately = 6000 type III bursts observed by Ikarus (Zurich) in the frequency range of 100-500 MHz, during 359 solar flares with simultaneous greater than or = 25 keV hard X-ray emission, in the years 1890-1983. In 155 flares we find a total of 260 continuous type III groups, with an average number of 13 +/- 9 bursts per group, a mean duration of D = 12 +/- 14 s, a mean period of P = 2.0 +/- 1.2 s, with the highest burst rate at a frequency of nu = 310 +/- 120 MHz. Pulse periods have been measured between 0.5 and 10 s, and can be described by an exponential distribution, i.e., N(P) varies as e (exp -P/1.0s). The period shows a frequency dependence of P(nu)=46(exp-0.6)(sub MHz)s for different flares, but is invariant during a particular flare. We measure the mean period P and its standard deviation sigma (sub p) in each type III group, and quantify the degree of periodicity (or phase-coherence) by the dimensionless parameter sigma (sub p)P. The representative sample of 260 type III burst groups shows a mean periodicity of sigma (sub p/P) = 0.37 +/- 0.12, while Monte Carlo simulations of an equivalent set of truly random time series show a distinctly different value of sigma (sub p)P = 0.93 +/- 0.26. This result indicates that the injection of electron beams is coherently modulated by a particle acceleration source which is either compact or has a global organization on a timescale of seconds, in contrast to an incoherent acceleration source, which is stochastic either in time or space. We discuss the constraints on the size of the acceleration region resulting from electron beam

Estimating net short-wave radiation with the Bellani pyranometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernier, Y.; Plamondon, A.P.

1983-01-01

Two methods were developed by which daily net short-wave radiation (K∗) can be evaluated from Bellani pyranometer readings. The first method involves a simple regression equation. The second method uses a physical approach taking into account the effect of the Bellani's geometry on its response to direct and diffuse radiation throughout the day. Both methods, when tested on experimental data, tended to underestimate the measured K∗, the regression approach exhibiting a higher variance of the error [fr

Tracing Fast Electron Beams Emanating from the Magnetic Reconnection Site in a Solar Jet

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, B.; Yu, S.; Battaglia, M.; Krucker, S.

2017-12-01

Fast electron beams propagating in the solar corona can emit radio waves commonly known as type III radio bursts. At decimetric wavelengths, these bursts are emitted from the low corona where flare energy release is thought to take place. As such, decimetric type III radio bursts can serve as an excellent tool to directly trace fast electron beams in the vicinity of the flare energy release site. Here we report observations of decimetric type III bursts during a jet event using the Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in 1-2 GHz. Taking advantage of VLA's highly sensitive spectral imaging capability with an ultra-high cadence of 50 ms, we derive detailed trajectories of fast electron beams (with a bulk speed of at least 0.3-0.5c, or several tens of keV) and place them in the context of extreme ultraviolet and X-ray images obtained by SDO/AIA and RHESSI. Our results show that the electron beams originated in a region just below the jet and above the lower-lying small-scale flare loops, presumably where the magnetic energy release took place. We show that the electron beams appear in groups, each with a duration of only a few seconds. Each group, consisting of beams propagating along magnetic field lines at different angles, is seen to emanate from a single site trailing the jet, interpreted as the magnetic reconnection null point. Our results suggest, at least for the present case, that the fast electron beams were energized directly at the magnetic reconnection site which was highly inhomogeneous and fragmentary possibly down to kilometer scales.

Spectralon BRDF and DHR Measurements in Support of Satellite Instruments Operating Through Shortwave Infrared

Science.gov (United States)

Georgiev, Georgi T.; Butler, James J.; Thome, Kurt; Cooksey, Catherine; Ding, Leibo

2016-01-01

Satellite instruments operating in the reflective solar wavelength region require accurate and precise determination of the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Functions (BRDFs) of the laboratory and flight diffusers used in their pre-flight and on-orbit calibrations. This paper advances that initial work and presents a comparison of spectral Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and Directional Hemispherical Reflectance (DHR) of Spectralon*, a common material for laboratory and onorbit flight diffusers. A new measurement setup for BRDF measurements from 900 nm to 2500 nm located at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is described. The GSFC setup employs an extended indium gallium arsenide detector, bandpass filters, and a supercontinuum light source. Comparisons of the GSFC BRDF measurements in the ShortWave InfraRed (SWIR) with those made by the NIST Spectral Trifunction Automated Reference Reflectometer (STARR) are presented. The Spectralon sample used in this study was 2 inch diameter, 99% white pressed and sintered Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) target. The NASA/NIST BRDF comparison measurements were made at an incident angle of 0 deg and viewing angle of 45 deg. Additional BRDF data not compared to NIST were measured at additional incident and viewing angle geometries and are not presented here The total combined uncertainty for the measurement of BRDF in the SWIR range made by the GSFC scatterometer is less than 1% (k=1). This study is in support of the calibration of the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Radiation Budget Instrument (RBI) and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) of and other current and future NASA remote sensing missions operating across the reflected solar wavelength region.

Sensitivity of tropical rainbelt over Africa and Middle East to dust shortwave absorption: Experiments using a high resolution AGCM

KAUST Repository

Bangalath, Hamza Kunhu

2015-04-01

Response of the rainbelt over Africa to dust direct radiative forcing has been an area of lively debate and is a subject of ongoing research. Previous modeling studies have contrasting results producing different amplitudes or even signs of responses. Uncertainties in the dust radiative forcing are thought to be the major cause of discrepancies in the simulated responses among various studies. The imaginary part of mineral dust shortwave refractive index, which defines the dust absorptivity, has a wide range of values estimated from various observational and modeling studies, as it depends on dust chemical composition and mineralogy. Balkanski et al. (2007) estimated dust shortwave refractive indices by assuming 3 different hematite contents, 0.9%, 1.5% and 2.7% by volume, which corresponds to inefficient, standard, and very efficient dust shortwave absorption, respectively. To investigate the sensitivity of the position and intensity of the tropical rainbelt over Africa and its extension to the Arabian Peninsula to dust shortwave absorption, we have conducted ensembles of numerical simulations for each of the three dust absorptivity scenarios using a high resolution Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM), GFDL\\'s High Resolution Atmospheric Model (HiRAM), at a spatial resolution of 25 km. We found that the strength and the latitudinal extent of the rainbelt are very sensitive to dust shortwave absorption, as well as circulations at various spatiotemporal scales that drive the climate of the region. Reference: Balkanski, Y., M. Schulz, T. Claquin, and S. Guibert (2007), Reevaluation of mineral aerosol radiative forcings suggests a better agreement with satellite and AERONET data, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 81 - 95.

FEL options for power beaming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, K.J.; Zholents, A.A.; Zolotorev, M.S.; Vinokurov, N.A.

1997-10-01

The demand for the output power of communication satellites has been increasing exponentially. The satellite power is generated from solar panels which collect the sunlight and convert it to electrical power. The power per satellite is limited due to the limit in the practical size of the solar panel. One way to meet the power demand is to employ multiple satellites (up to 10) per the internationally agreed-upon ''slot'' in the geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO). However, this approach is very expensive due to the high cost of sending a satellite into a GEO orbit. An alternative approach is power beaming, i.e., to illuminate the solar panels with high power, highly-directed laser beams from earth. The power beaming generates more power per satellite for the same area of the solar panel. The minimum optical beam power, interesting for power beaming application, is P L = 200kW. The wavelength is chosen to be λ 0.84 microm, so that it is within one of the transmission windows of the air, and at the same time near the peak of the photo-voltaic conversion efficiency of Si, which is the commonly used material for the solar panels. Free electron lasers (FELs) are well suited for the power beaming application because they can provide high power with coherent wavefront, but without high energy density in media. In this article the authors discuss some principal issues, such as the choice of accelerator and electron gun, the choice of beam parameters, radiation hazards, technological availability, and overall efficiency and reliability of the installation. They also attempt to highlight the compromise between the cost of the primary installation, the operation cost, and the choice of technology, and its maturity. They then present several schemes for the accelerator-FEL systems based on RF accelerators. The initial electron beam accelerator up to the energy of a few MeV is more or less common for all these schemes

A Novel Method for Estimating Shortwave Direct Radiative Effect of Above-cloud Aerosols over Ocean Using CALIOP and MODIS Data

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Z.; Meyer, K.; Platnick, S.; Oreopoulos, L.; Lee, D.; Yu, H.

2013-01-01

This paper describes an efficient and unique method for computing the shortwave direct radiative effect (DRE) of aerosol residing above low-level liquid-phase clouds using CALIOP and MODIS data. It accounts for the overlapping of aerosol and cloud rigorously by utilizing the joint histogram of cloud optical depth and cloud top pressure. Effects of sub-grid scale cloud and aerosol variations on DRE are accounted for. It is computationally efficient through using grid-level cloud and aerosol statistics, instead of pixel-level products, and a pre-computed look-up table in radiative transfer calculations. We verified that for smoke over the southeast Atlantic Ocean the method yields a seasonal mean instantaneous shortwave DRE that generally agrees with more rigorous pixel-level computation within 4%. We have also computed the annual mean instantaneous shortwave DRE of light-absorbing aerosols (i.e., smoke and polluted dust) over global ocean based on 4 yr of CALIOP and MODIS data. We found that the variability of the annual mean shortwave DRE of above-cloud light-absorbing aerosol is mainly driven by the optical depth of the underlying clouds.

Characterizing the information content of cloud thermodynamic phase retrievals from the notional PACE OCI shortwave reflectance measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Coddington, O. M.; Vukicevic, T.; Schmidt, K. S.; Platnick, S.

2017-08-01

We rigorously quantify the probability of liquid or ice thermodynamic phase using only shortwave spectral channels specific to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite, and the notional future Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem imager. The results show that two shortwave-infrared channels (2135 and 2250 nm) provide more information on cloud thermodynamic phase than either channel alone; in one case, the probability of ice phase retrieval increases from 65 to 82% by combining 2135 and 2250 nm channels. The analysis is performed with a nonlinear statistical estimation approach, the GEneralized Nonlinear Retrieval Analysis (GENRA). The GENRA technique has previously been used to quantify the retrieval of cloud optical properties from passive shortwave observations, for an assumed thermodynamic phase. Here we present the methodology needed to extend the utility of GENRA to a binary thermodynamic phase space (i.e., liquid or ice). We apply formal information content metrics to quantify our results; two of these (mutual and conditional information) have not previously been used in the field of cloud studies.

Laser-beam-induced current mapping evaluation of porous silicon-based passivation in polycrystalline silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rabha, M. Ben; Bessais, B. [Laboratoire de Nanomateriaux et des Systemes pour l' Energie, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l' Energie - Technopole de Borj-Cedria BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia); Dimassi, W.; Bouaicha, M.; Ezzaouia, H. [Laboratoire de photovoltaique, des semiconducteurs et des nanostructures, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l' Energie - Technopole de Borj-Cedria BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia)

2009-05-15

In the present work, we report on the effect of introducing a superficial porous silicon (PS) layer on the performance of polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) solar cells. Laser-beam-induced current (LBIC) mapping shows that the PS treatment on the emitter of pc-Si solar cells improves their quantum response and reduce the grain boundaries (GBs) activity. After the porous silicon treatment, mapping investigation shows an enhancement of the LBIC and the internal quantum efficiency (IQE), due to an improvement of the minority carrier diffusion length and the passivation of recombination centers at the GBs as compared to the reference substrate. It was quantitatively shown that porous silicon treatment can passivate both the grains and GBs. (author)

Background estimation in short-wave region during determination of total sample composition by x-ray fluorescence method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simakov, V.A.; Kordyukov, S.V.; Petrov, E.N.

1988-01-01

Method of background estimation in short-wave spectral region during determination of total sample composition by X-ray fluorescence method is described. 13 types of different rocks with considerable variations of base composition and Zr, Nb, Th, U content below 7x10 -3 % are investigated. The suggested method of background accounting provides for a less statistical error of the background estimation than direct isolated measurement and reliability of its determination in a short-wave region independent on the sample base. Possibilities of suggested method for artificial mixtures conforming by the content of main component to technological concemtrates - niobium, zirconium, tantalum are estimated

Parameterization models for solar radiation and solar technology applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khalil, Samy A. [National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Solar and Space Department, Marsed Street, Helwan, 11421 Cairo (Egypt)

2008-08-15

Solar radiation is very important for the evaluation and wide use of solar renewable energy systems. The development of calibration procedures for broadband solar radiation photometric instrumentation and the improvement of broadband solar radiation measurement accuracy have been done. An improved diffuse sky reference and photometric calibration and characterization software for outdoor pyranometer calibrations are outlined. Parameterizations for direct beam, total hemispherical and diffuse sky radiation and solar radiation technology are briefly reviewed. The uncertainties for various broadband solar radiations of solar energy and atmospheric effects are discussed. The varying responsivities of solar radiation with meteorological, statistical and climatological parameters and possibility atmospheric conditions was examined. (author)

Parameterization models for solar radiation and solar technology applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalil, Samy A.

2008-01-01

Solar radiation is very important for the evaluation and wide use of solar renewable energy systems. The development of calibration procedures for broadband solar radiation photometric instrumentation and the improvement of broadband solar radiation measurement accuracy have been done. An improved diffuse sky reference and photometric calibration and characterization software for outdoor pyranometer calibrations are outlined. Parameterizations for direct beam, total hemispherical and diffuse sky radiation and solar radiation technology are briefly reviewed. The uncertainties for various broadband solar radiations of solar energy and atmospheric effects are discussed. The varying responsivities of solar radiation with meteorological, statistical and climatological parameters and possibility atmospheric conditions was examined

Shortwave and longwave radiative contributions to global warming under increasing CO2

Science.gov (United States)

Donohoe, Aaron; Armour, Kyle C.; Pendergrass, Angeline G.; Battisti, David S.

2014-01-01

In response to increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2, high-end general circulation models (GCMs) simulate an accumulation of energy at the top of the atmosphere not through a reduction in outgoing longwave radiation (OLR)—as one might expect from greenhouse gas forcing—but through an enhancement of net absorbed solar radiation (ASR). A simple linear radiative feedback framework is used to explain this counterintuitive behavior. It is found that the timescale over which OLR returns to its initial value after a CO2 perturbation depends sensitively on the magnitude of shortwave (SW) feedbacks. If SW feedbacks are sufficiently positive, OLR recovers within merely several decades, and any subsequent global energy accumulation is because of enhanced ASR only. In the GCM mean, this OLR recovery timescale is only 20 y because of robust SW water vapor and surface albedo feedbacks. However, a large spread in the net SW feedback across models (because of clouds) produces a range of OLR responses; in those few models with a weak SW feedback, OLR takes centuries to recover, and energy accumulation is dominated by reduced OLR. Observational constraints of radiative feedbacks—from satellite radiation and surface temperature data—suggest an OLR recovery timescale of decades or less, consistent with the majority of GCMs. Altogether, these results suggest that, although greenhouse gas forcing predominantly acts to reduce OLR, the resulting global warming is likely caused by enhanced ASR. PMID:25385628

Shortwave and longwave radiative contributions to global warming under increasing CO2.

Science.gov (United States)

Donohoe, Aaron; Armour, Kyle C; Pendergrass, Angeline G; Battisti, David S

2014-11-25

In response to increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2, high-end general circulation models (GCMs) simulate an accumulation of energy at the top of the atmosphere not through a reduction in outgoing longwave radiation (OLR)—as one might expect from greenhouse gas forcing—but through an enhancement of net absorbed solar radiation (ASR). A simple linear radiative feedback framework is used to explain this counterintuitive behavior. It is found that the timescale over which OLR returns to its initial value after a CO2 perturbation depends sensitively on the magnitude of shortwave (SW) feedbacks. If SW feedbacks are sufficiently positive, OLR recovers within merely several decades, and any subsequent global energy accumulation is because of enhanced ASR only. In the GCM mean, this OLR recovery timescale is only 20 y because of robust SW water vapor and surface albedo feedbacks. However, a large spread in the net SW feedback across models (because of clouds) produces a range of OLR responses; in those few models with a weak SW feedback, OLR takes centuries to recover, and energy accumulation is dominated by reduced OLR. Observational constraints of radiative feedbacks—from satellite radiation and surface temperature data—suggest an OLR recovery timescale of decades or less, consistent with the majority of GCMs. Altogether, these results suggest that, although greenhouse gas forcing predominantly acts to reduce OLR, the resulting global warming is likely caused by enhanced ASR.

Single interval shortwave radiation scheme with parameterized optical saturation and spectral overlaps

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Mašek, Jan; Geleyn, J.- F.; Brožková, Radmila; Giot, O.; Achom, H. O.; Kuma, P.

2016-01-01

Roč. 142, č. 659 (2016), s. 304-326 ISSN 0035-9009 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0073 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : shortwave radiative transfer * delta-two stream system * broadband approach * Malkmus band model * optical saturation * idealized optical paths * spectral overlap Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 3.444, year: 2016

ITO/InP solar cells: A comparison of devices fabricated by ion beam and RF sputtering of the ITO

Science.gov (United States)

Coutts, T. J.

1987-01-01

This work was performed with the view of elucidating the behavior of indium tin oxide/indium phosphide (ITO/InP) solar cells prepared by RF and ion beam sputtering. It was found that using RF sputter deposition of the ITO always leads to more efficient devices than ion beam sputter deposition. An important aspect of the former technique is the exposure of the single crystal p-InP substrates to a very low plasma power prior to deposition. Substrates treated in this manner have also been used for ion beam deposition of ITO. In this case the cells behave very similarly to the RF deposited cells, thus suggesting that the lower power plasma exposure (LPPE) is the crucial process step.

Radiation resistance of solar cells for space application, 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitsui, Hiroshi; Tanaka, Ryuichi; Sunaga, Hiromi

1989-07-01

A 50-μm thick ultrathin silicon solar cell and a 280-μm thick high performance AlGaAs/GaAs solar cell with high radiation resistance have been recently developed by National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). In order to study the radiation resistance of these cells, a joint research was carried out between Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and NASDA from 1984 through 1987. In this research, the irradiation method of electron beams, the effects of the irradiation conditions on the deterioration of solar cells by electron beams, and the annealing effects of the radiation damage in solar cells were investigated. This paper is the first one of a series of reports of the joint research. In this paper, the space radiation environment which artificial satellites will encounter, the solar cells used, and the experimental methods are described. In addition to these, the results of the study on the irradiation procedure of electron beams are reported. In the study of the irradiation method of electron beams, three methods, that is, the fixed irradiation method, the moving irradiation method, and the spot irradiation method were examined. In the fixed irradiation method and moving one, stationary solar cells and solar cells moving by conveyer were irradiated by scanning electron beams, respectively. On the other hand, in the spot irradiation method, stationary solar cells were irradiated by non-scanning steady electron beams. It was concluded that the fixed irradiation method was the most proper method. In addition to this, in this study, some pieces of information were obtained with respect to the changes in the electrical characteristics of solar cells caused by the irradiation of electron beams. (author) 52 refs

Solar Simulator

Science.gov (United States)

1981-01-01

Oriel Corporation's simulators have a high pressure xenon lamp whose reflected light is processed by an optical system to produce a uniform solar beam. Because of many different types of applications, the simulators must be adjustable to replicate many different areas of the solar radiation spectrum. Simulators are laboratory tools for such purposes as testing and calibrating solar cells, or other solar energy systems, testing dyes, paints and pigments, pharmaceuticals and cosmetic preparations, plant and animal studies, food and agriculture studies and oceanographic research.

Projected beam irradiation at low latitudes using Meteonorm database

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hatwaambo, Sylvester; Perers, Bengt; Karlsson, Björn

2009-01-01

by a collector provided the projection angle lies within the acceptance angle. The Meteonorm method of calculating solar radiation on any arbitrary oriented surface uses the globally simulated meteorological databases. Meteonorm has become a valuable too for estimating solar radiation where measured solar...... radiation data is missing or irregular. In this paper we present the projected beam solar radiation at low latitudes based on the standard Meteonorm calculations. The conclusion is that there is potential in using solar concentrators at these latitudes since the projected beam radiation is more during...

Generation of electrical defects in ion beam assisted deposition of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zachmann, H.; Puttnins, S.; Daume, F.; Rahm, A.; Otte, K.

2011-01-01

Thin films of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) absorber layers for thin film solar cells have been manufactured on polyimide foil in a low temperature, ion beam assisted co-evaporation process. In the present work a set of CIGS thin films was produced with varying selenium ion energy. Solar cell devices have been manufactured from the films and characterized via admittance spectroscopy and capacitance-voltage profiling to determine the influence of the selenium ion energy on the electric parameters of the solar cells. It is shown that the impact of energetic selenium ions in the CIGS deposition process leads to a change in the activation energy and defect density and also in the spatial distribution of electrically active defects. For the interpretation of the results two defect models are taken into account.

Sub-grid-scale effects on short-wave instability in magnetized hall-MHD plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miura, H.; Nakajima, N.

2010-11-01

Aiming to clarify effects of short-wave modes on nonlinear evolution/saturation of the ballooning instability in the Large Helical Device, fully three-dimensional simulations of the single-fluid MHD and the Hall MHD equations are carried out. A moderate parallel heat conductivity plays an important role both in the two kinds of simulations. In the single-fluid MHD simulations, the parallel heat conduction effectively suppresses short-wave ballooning modes but it turns out that the suppression is insufficient in comparison to an experimental result. In the Hall MHD simulations, the parallel heat conduction triggers a rapid growth of the parallel flow and enhance nonlinear couplings. A comparison between single-fluid and the Hall MHD simulations reveals that the Hall MHD model does not necessarily improve the saturated pressure profile, and that we may need a further extension of the model. We also find by a comparison between two Hall MHD simulations with different numerical resolutions that sub-grid-scales of the Hall term should be modeled to mimic an inverse energy transfer in the wave number space. (author)

Molecular beam and pulsed laser deposition of ZnS:Cr for intermediate band solar cells

OpenAIRE

Nematollahi, Mohammadreza; Yang, Xiaodong; Aas, Lars Martin Sandvik; Ghadyani, Zahra; Kildemo, Morten; Gibson, Ursula; Reenaas, Turid Worren

2015-01-01

We have investigated the structural and optical properties of Cr-doped ZnS (ZnS:Cr) thin films (0–7.5 at.% Cr) for use in intermediate band solar cells. The films were grown on Si(100) in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) equipments. Introducing Cr into ZnS resulted in Cr related subbandgap absorption, but also reduced the grain size. The sub-bandgap absorption increased with increasing Cr content, and with increasing growth temperature, but did not depend on the ...

THERMAL RESPONSE OF A SOLAR-LIKE ATMOSPHERE TO AN ELECTRON BEAM FROM A HOT JUPITER: A NUMERICAL EXPERIMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu, P.-G.; Suzuki, Takeru K.

2009-01-01

We investigate the thermal response of the atmosphere of a solar-type star to an electron beam injected from a hot Jupiter by performing a one-dimensional MHD numerical experiment with nonlinear wave dissipation, radiative cooling, and thermal conduction. In our experiment, the stellar atmosphere is non-rotating and is modeled as a one-dimensional open flux tube expanding super-radially from the stellar photosphere to the planet. An electron beam is assumed to be generated from the reconnection site of the planet's magnetosphere. The effects of the electron beam are then implemented in our simulation as dissipation of the beam momentum and energy at the base of the corona where the Coulomb collisions become effective. When the sufficient energy is supplied by the electron beam, a warm region forms in the chromosphere. This warm region greatly enhances the radiative fluxes corresponding to the temperature of the chromosphere and transition region. The warm region can also intermittently contribute to the radiative flux associated with the coronal temperature due to the thermal instability. However, owing to the small area of the heating spot, the total luminosity of the beam-induced chromospheric radiation is several orders of magnitude smaller than the observed Ca II emissions from HD 179949.

Temperature profiles induced by a stationary CW laser beam in a multi-layer structure: application to solar cell interconnect welding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oh, J.E.; Ianno, N.J.; Ahmed, A.U.

1985-01-01

A three-dimensional heat transfer model for heating of a multilayer structure by a stationary Gaussian CW CO/sub 2/ laser beam is developed and applied to solar cell interconnect welding. This model takes into account the temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity and diffusivity as well as free carrier absorption of the incident beam in the silicon where appropriate. Finally, the theoretical temperature profiles are used to determine the weld spot size and these values are compared to results obtained from a simple welding experiment, where excellent agreement is obtained. 18 references, 13 figures.

Solar radiation on Mars: Update 1991

Science.gov (United States)

Appelbaum, Joseph; Landis, Geoffrey A.

1991-01-01

Detailed information on solar radiation characteristics on Mars are necessary for effective design of future planned solar energy systems operating on the surface of Mars. A procedure and solar radiation related data are presented from which the daily variation of the global, direct beam and diffuse insolation on Mars are calculated. Given the optical depth of the Mars atmosphere, the global radiation is calculated from the normalized net flux function based on multiple wavelength and multiple scattering of the solar radiation. The direct beam was derived from the optical depth using Beer's law, and the diffuse component was obtained from the difference of the global and the direct beam radiation. The optical depths of the Mars atmosphere were derived from images taken of the Sun with a special diode on the cameras used on the two Viking Landers.

High throughput solar cell ablation system

Science.gov (United States)

Harley, Gabriel; Pass, Thomas; Cousins, Peter John; Viatella, John

2012-09-11

A solar cell is formed using a solar cell ablation system. The ablation system includes a single laser source and several laser scanners. The laser scanners include a master laser scanner, with the rest of the laser scanners being slaved to the master laser scanner. A laser beam from the laser source is split into several laser beams, with the laser beams being scanned onto corresponding wafers using the laser scanners in accordance with one or more patterns. The laser beams may be scanned on the wafers using the same or different power levels of the laser source.

Self-similar Lagrangian hydrodynamics of beam-heated solar flare atmospheres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, J.C.; Emslie, A.G.

1989-01-01

The one-dimensional hydrodynamic problem in Lagrangian coordinates (Y, t) is considered for which the specific energy input Q has a power-law dependence on both Y and t, and the initial density distribution is rho(0) which is directly proportional to Y exp gamma. In regimes where the contributions of radiation, conduction, quiescent heating, and gravitational terms in the energy equation are negligible compared to those arising from Q, the problem has a self-similar solution, with the hydrodynamic variables depending only on a single independent variable which is a combination of Y, t, and the dimensional constants of the problem. It is then shown that the problem of solar flare chromospheric heating due to collisional interaction of a beam of electrons (or protons) with a power-law energy spectrum can be approximated by such forms of Q(Y, t) and rho(0)(Y), and that other terms are negligible compared to Q over a restricted regime early in the flare. 29 refs

Forcings and feedbacks in the GeoMIP ensemble for a reduction in solar irradiance and increase in CO2

Science.gov (United States)

Huneeus, Nicolas; Boucher, Olivier; Alterskjær, Kari; Cole, Jason N. S.; Curry, Charles L.; Ji, Duoying; Jones, Andy; Kravitz, Ben; Kristjánsson, Jón Egill; Moore, John C.; Muri, Helene; Niemeier, Ulrike; Rasch, Phil; Robock, Alan; Singh, Balwinder; Schmidt, Hauke; Schulz, Michael; Tilmes, Simone; Watanabe, Shingo; Yoon, Jin-Ho

2014-05-01

The effective radiative forcings (including rapid adjustments) and feedbacks associated with an instantaneous quadrupling of the preindustrial CO2 concentration and a counterbalancing reduction of the solar constant are investigated in the context of the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP). The forcing and feedback parameters of the net energy flux, as well as its different components at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) and surface, were examined in 10 Earth System Models to better understand the impact of solar radiation management on the energy budget. In spite of their very different nature, the feedback parameter and its components at the TOA and surface are almost identical for the two forcing mechanisms, not only in the global mean but also in their geographical distributions. This conclusion holds for each of the individual models despite intermodel differences in how feedbacks affect the energy budget. This indicates that the climate sensitivity parameter is independent of the forcing (when measured as an effective radiative forcing). We also show the existence of a large contribution of the cloudy-sky component to the shortwave effective radiative forcing at the TOA suggesting rapid cloud adjustments to a change in solar irradiance. In addition, the models present significant diversity in the spatial distribution of the shortwave feedback parameter in cloudy regions, indicating persistent uncertainties in cloud feedback mechanisms.

Coordinated weather balloon solar radiation measurements during a solar eclipse.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, R G; Marlton, G J; Williams, P D; Nicoll, K A

2016-09-28

Solar eclipses provide a rapidly changing solar radiation environment. These changes can be studied using simple photodiode sensors, if the radiation reaching the sensors is unaffected by cloud. Transporting the sensors aloft using standard meteorological instrument packages modified to carry extra sensors, provides one promising but hitherto unexploited possibility for making solar eclipse radiation measurements. For the 20 March 2015 solar eclipse, a coordinated campaign of balloon-carried solar radiation measurements was undertaken from Reading (51.44°N, 0.94°W), Lerwick (60.15°N, 1.13°W) and Reykjavik (64.13°N, 21.90°W), straddling the path of the eclipse. The balloons reached sufficient altitude at the eclipse time for eclipse-induced variations in solar radiation and solar limb darkening to be measured above cloud. Because the sensor platforms were free to swing, techniques have been evaluated to correct the measurements for their changing orientation. In the swing-averaged technique, the mean value across a set of swings was used to approximate the radiation falling on a horizontal surface; in the swing-maximum technique, the direct beam was estimated by assuming that the maximum solar radiation during a swing occurs when the photodiode sensing surface becomes normal to the direction of the solar beam. Both approaches, essentially independent, give values that agree with theoretical expectations for the eclipse-induced radiation changes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse'. © 2016 The Authors.

Estimating net surface shortwave radiation from Chinese geostationary meteorological satellite FengYun-2D (FY-2D) data under clear sky.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoyu; Li, Lingling

2016-03-21

Net surface shortwave radiation (NSSR) significantly affects regional and global climate change, and is an important aspect of research on surface radiation budget balance. Many previous studies have proposed methods for estimating NSSR. This study proposes a method to calculate NSSR using FY-2D short-wave channel data. Firstly, a linear regression model is established between the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) broadband albedo (r) and the narrowband reflectivity (ρ1), based on data simulated with MODTRAN 4.2. Secondly, the relationship between surface absorption coefficient (as) and broadband albedo (r) is determined by dividing the surface type into land, sea, or snow&ice, and NSSR can then be calculated. Thirdly, sensitivity analysis is performed for errors associated with sensor noise, vertically integrated atmospheric water content, view zenith angle and solar zenith angle. Finally, validation using ground measurements is performed. Results show that the root mean square error (RMSE) between the estimated and actual r is less than 0.011 for all conditions, and the RMSEs between estimated and real NSSR are 26.60 W/m2, 9.99 W/m2, and 23.40 W/m2, using simulated data for land, sea, and snow&ice surfaces, respectively. This indicates that the proposed method can be used to adequately estimate NSSR. Additionally, we compare field measurements from TaiYuan and ChangWu ecological stations with estimates using corresponding FY-2D data acquired from January to April 2012, on cloud-free days. Results show that the RMSE between the estimated and actual NSSR is 48.56W/m2, with a mean error of -2.23W/m2. Causes of errors also include measurement accuracy and estimations of atmospheric water vertical contents. This method is only suitable for cloudless conditions.

Model and trajectory optimization for an ideal laser-enhanced solar sail

OpenAIRE

Carzana (student TUDelft), Livio; Dachwald, Bernd; Noomen, R.

2017-01-01

A laser-enhanced solar sail is a solar sail that is not solely propelled by solar radiation but additionally by a laser beam that illuminates the sail. This way, the propulsive acceleration of the sail results from the combined action of the solar and the laser radiation pressure onto the sail. The potential source of the laser beam is a laser satellite that coverts solar power (in the inner solar system) or nuclear power (in the outer solar system) into laser power. Such a laser satellite (o...

CIMEX: a prototype Instrument to observe from space the amazon forest In the near and shortwave infrared

Science.gov (United States)

Guerin, François; Dantes, Didier; Savaria, Eric; Selingardi, Mario Luis; Montes, Amauri Silva

2018-04-01

This paper, "CIMEX: a prototype Instrument to observe from space the amazon forest In the near and shortwave infrared," was presented as part of International Conference on Space Optics—ICSO 1997, held in Toulouse, France.

Integrable discretizations for the short-wave model of the Camassa-Holm equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Baofeng; Maruno, Ken-ichi; Ohta, Yasuhiro

2010-01-01

The link between the short-wave model of the Camassa-Holm equation (SCHE) and bilinear equations of the two-dimensional Toda lattice equation is clarified. The parametric form of the N-cuspon solution of the SCHE in Casorati determinant is then given. Based on the above finding, integrable semi-discrete and full-discrete analogues of the SCHE are constructed. The determinant solutions of both semi-discrete and fully discrete analogues of the SCHE are also presented.

Analysis of solar irradiation measurements at Beer Sheva, Israel from 1985 through 2013

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evseev, Efim G.; Kudish, Avraham I.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • In depth analysis of long-term solar irradiation at Beer Sheva, Israel. • Construction of a typical meteorological year for global and beam irradiation. • Statistical analysis of the global and beam irradiation. • Analysis of long-term trends regarding global and beam irradiation. - Abstract: An in-depth analysis of the solar horizontal global, normal incidence beam and solar global incident on a south-facing surface tilted at 40° irradiation monitored at Beer Sheva from 1985 through 2013 has been performed. The horizontal beam irradiation, daily clearness index, daily beam index and beam fraction of the horizontal global irradiation were determined from the measured parameters. A statistical analysis, which included average, median, standard deviation, maximum and minimum values and the coefficient of variation, was performed on the parameters under investigation. The monthly frequency distribution types were determined for the solar global, normal incidence beam and solar global incident on a south-facing surface tilted at 40° irradiation based upon their corresponding skewness and kurtosis values. In addition, typical meteorological years were developed for the solar horizontal global and normal incidence beam irradiation. Beer Sheva is characterized as a site with a high incidence of clear days with global irradiation consisting of a relatively high beam fraction. A relatively steep minimum in the annual average daily normal incidence beam irradiation is observed from 1991 to 1993 and has been attributed to the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, Philippines during June 1991. A time series analysis of the both individual monthly and annual average daily global and normal incidence irradiation indicated a slight trend of solar brightening for this region during the time interval 1985 through 2013, but in most cases they were not statistically significant based upon their p values

HYDRO2GEN: Non-thermal hydrogen Balmer and Paschen emission in solar flares generated by electron beams

Science.gov (United States)

Druett, M. K.; Zharkova, V. V.

2018-03-01

Aim. Sharp rises of hard X-ray (HXR) emission accompanied by Hα line profiles with strong red-shifts up to 4 Å from the central wavelength, often observed at the onset of flares with the Specola Solare Ticinese Telescope (STT) and the Swedish Solar Telescope (SST), are not fully explained by existing radiative models. Moreover, observations of white light (WL) and Balmer continuum emission with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRISH) reveal strong co-temporal enhancements and are often nearly co-spatial with HXR emission. These effects indicate a fast effective source of excitation and ionisation of hydrogen atoms in flaring atmospheres associated with HXR emission. In this paper, we investigate electron beams as the agents accounting for the observed hydrogen line and continuum emission. Methods: Flaring atmospheres are considered to be produced by a 1D hydrodynamic response to the injection of an electron beam defining their kinetic temperatures, densities, and macro velocities. We simulated a radiative response in these atmospheres using a fully non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) approach for a 5-level plus continuum hydrogen atom model, considering its excitation and ionisation by spontaneous, external, and internal diffusive radiation and by inelastic collisions with thermal and beam electrons. Simultaneous steady-state and integral radiative transfer equations in all optically thick transitions (Lyman and Balmer series) were solved iteratively for all the transitions to define their source functions with the relative accuracy of 10-5. The solutions of the radiative transfer equations were found using the L2 approximation. Resulting intensities of hydrogen line and continuum emission were also calculated for Balmer and Paschen series. Results: We find that inelastic collisions with beam electrons strongly increase excitation and ionisation of hydrogen atoms from the chromosphere to photosphere. This leads to an increase in Lyman continuum

Advanced solar energy conversion. [solar pumped gas lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, J. H.

1981-01-01

An atomic iodine laser, a candidate for the direct solar pumped lasers, was successfully excited with a 4 kW beam from a xenon arc solar simulator, thus proving the feasibility of the concept. The experimental set up and the laser output as functions of operating conditions are presented. The preliminary results of the iodine laser amplifier pumped with the HCP array to which a Q switch for giant pulse production was coupled are included. Two invention disclosures - a laser driven magnetohydrodynamic generator for conversion of laser energy to electricity and solar pumped gas lasers - are also included.

The solar power satellite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Combes, P.F.

1982-01-01

The construction, launch, components, and operations of satellite solar power systems (SSPS) for direct beaming of solar energy converted to electricity to earth stations are outlined. The reference designs of either Si or concentrator GaAs solar cell assemblies large enough to project 5 GW of power are described. The beam will be furnished by klystrons or amplitrons for reception by rectennas on earth. Conforming to the law of amplitude and the equiphase law will permit high efficiencies, pointing accuracy, and low power deposition/sq cm, thus avoiding environmental problems, although some telecommunications systems may suffer interference. The construction of the dipole rectenna grid is sketched, noting that one receiver would be an ellipse sized at 10 x 13 km. Various forms of pollution which could result from the construction of an SSPS are examined.

Optical Interference Coatings Design Contest 2013: angle-independent color mirror and shortwave infrared/midwave infrared dichroic beam splitter.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrix, Karen; Kruschwitz, Jennifer D T; Keck, Jason

2014-02-01

An angle-independent color mirror and an infrared dichroic beam splitter were the subjects of a design contest held in conjunction with the 2013 Optical Interference Coatings topical meeting of the Optical Society of America. A total of 17 designers submitted 63 designs, 22 for Problem A and 41 for Problem B. The submissions were created through a wide spectrum of design approaches and optimization strategies. Michael Trubetskov and Weidong Shen won the first contest by submitting color mirror designs with a zero color difference (ΔE00) between normal incidence and all other incidence angles up to 60° as well as the thinnest design. Michael Trubetskov also won the second contest by submitting beam-splitter designs that met the required transmission while having the lowest mechanical coating stress and thinnest design. Fabien Lemarchand received the second-place finish for the beam-splitter design. The submitted designs are described and evaluated.

Analytic Approximations for Soliton Solutions of Short-Wave Models for Camassa-Holm and Degasperis-Procesi Equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Pei; Li Zhibin; Chen Yong

2010-01-01

In this paper, the short-wave model equations are investigated, which are associated with the Camassa-Holm (CH) and Degasperis-Procesi (DP) shallow-water wave equations. Firstly, by means of the transformation of the independent variables and the travelling wave transformation, the partial differential equation is reduced to an ordinary differential equation. Secondly, the equation is solved by homotopy analysis method. Lastly, by the transformations back to the original independent variables, the solution of the original partial differential equation is obtained. The two types of solutions of the short-wave models are obtained in parametric form, one is one-cusp soliton for the CH equation while the other one is one-loop soliton for the DP equation. The approximate analytic solutions expressed by a series of exponential functions agree well with the exact solutions. It demonstrates the validity and great potential of homotopy analysis method for complicated nonlinear solitary wave problems. (general)

Variety identification of brown sugar using short-wave near infrared spectroscopy and multivariate calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Haiqing; Wu, Di; He, Yong

2007-11-01

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) with the characteristics of high speed, non-destructiveness, high precision and reliable detection data, etc. is a pollution-free, rapid, quantitative and qualitative analysis method. A new approach for variety discrimination of brown sugars using short-wave NIR spectroscopy (800-1050nm) was developed in this work. The relationship between the absorbance spectra and brown sugar varieties was established. The spectral data were compressed by the principal component analysis (PCA). The resulting features can be visualized in principal component (PC) space, which can lead to discovery of structures correlative with the different class of spectral samples. It appears to provide a reasonable variety clustering of brown sugars. The 2-D PCs plot obtained using the first two PCs can be used for the pattern recognition. Least-squares support vector machines (LS-SVM) was applied to solve the multivariate calibration problems in a relatively fast way. The work has shown that short-wave NIR spectroscopy technique is available for the brand identification of brown sugar, and LS-SVM has the better identification ability than PLS when the calibration set is small.

Numerical simulation of nonlinear beam-plasma interaction for the application to solar radio burst

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takakura, T.

1981-01-01

By the use of semi-analytical method the numerical simulations for the nonlinear scattering of axially symmetric plasma waves into plasma waves and radio waves have been made. The initial electron beam has a finite length and one-dimensional velocity distribution of power law. Induced back-scattering of plasma waves by thermal ions is strong even for a solar electron stream of rather low flux, say 2x10 11 cm -2 above 5 keV at fsub(p) of 40 MHz, which is enough to emit the observed type III bursts as the second harmonic. The ratio between the energy densities of plasma waves and thermal electrons (nkT) is of the order of 10 -6 , which may be a few orders lower than the threshold value for a caviton collapse of the plasma waves to occur. The second harmonic radio emission as attributed to the coalescence of two plasma waves, i.e. one excited by electron beam and one back-scattered by ions, is several orders higher than the fundamental radio emission caused by the scattering of plasma waves by thermal ions. (Auth.)

Skylab and solar exploration. [chromosphere-corona structure, energy production and heat transport processes

Science.gov (United States)

Von Puttkamer, J.

1973-01-01

Review of some of the findings concerning solar structure, energy production, and heat transport obtained with the aid of the manned Skylab space station observatory launched on May 14, 1973. Among the topics discussed are the observation of thermonuclear fusion processes which cannot be simulated on earth, the observation of short-wave solar radiation not visible to observers on earth, and the investigation of energy-transport processes occurring in the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona. An apparent paradox is noted in that the cooler chromosphere is heating the hotter corona, seemingly in defiance of the second law of thermodynamics, thus suggesting that a nonthermal mechanism underlies the energy transport. Understanding of this nonthermal mechanism is regarded as an indispensable prerequisite for future development of plasma systems for terrestrial applications.

Satellite observed impacts of wildfires on regional atmosphere composition and shortwave radiative forcing: multiple cases study

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Y.; Li, R.; Huang, J.; Bergeron, Y.; Fu, Y.

2017-12-01

Emissions of aerosols and trace gases from wildfires and the direct shortwave radiative forcing were studied using multi-satellite/sensor observations from Aqua Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Aqua Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and Aqua Cloud's and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES). The selected cases occurred in Northeast of China (NEC), Siberia of Russia, California of America have dominant fuel types of cropland, mixed forest and needleleaf forest, respectively. The Fire radiative power (FRP) based emission coefficients (Ce) of aerosol, NOx (NO2+NO), formaldehyde (HCHO), and carbon monoxide (CO) showed significant differences from case to case. 1) the FRP of the cropland case in NEC is strongest, however, the Ce of aerosol is the lowest (20.51 ± 2.55 g MJ-1). The highest Ce of aerosol is 71.34 ± 13.24 g MJ-1 in the needleleaf fire case in California. 2) For NOx, the highest Ce existed in the cropland case in NEC (2.76 ± 0.25 g MJ-1), which is more than three times of those in the forest fires in Siberia and California. 3) The Ce of CO is 70.21±10.97 and 88.38±46.16 g MJ-1 in the forest fires in Western Siberia and California, which are about four times of that in cropland fire. 4) The variation of Ce of HCHO are relatively small among cases. Strong spatial correlations are found among aerosol optical depth (AOD), NOx, HCHO, and CO. The ratios of NOx to AOD, HCHO, and CO in the cropland case in NEC show much higher values than those in other cases. Although huge differences of emissions and composition ratios exist among cases, the direct shortwave (SW) radiative forcing efficiency (SWARFE) of smoke at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) are in good agreement, with the shortwave radiative forcing efficiencies values of 20.09 to 22.93 per unit AOD. Results in this study reveal noteworthy variations of the FRP-based emissions coefficient and relative chemical composition in the smoke

On the co-alignment of solar telescopes. A new approach to solar pointing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Staiger, J

2013-01-01

Helioseismological measurements require long observing times and thus may be adversely affected by lateral image drifts as caused by pointing instabilities. At the Vacuum Tower Telescope VTT, Tenerife we have recorded drift values of up to 5'' per hour under unstable thermal conditions (dome opening, strong day-to-day thermal gradients). Typically drifts of 0.5'' – 1.0'' per hour may be encountered under more favorable conditions. Past experience has shown that most high-resolution solar telescopes may be affected by this problem to some degree. This inherent shortcoming of solar pointing is caused by the fact that the guiding loop can be closed only within the guiding beam but not within the telescope's main beam. We have developed a new approach to this problem. We correlate continuum brightness patterns observed from within the telescope main beam with patterns originating from a full disk telescope. We show that brightness patterns of sufficient size are unique with respect to solar location at any instant of time and may serve as a location identifier. We make use of the fact that averaged location information of solar structures is invariant with respect to telescope resolution. We have carried out tests at the VTT together with SDO. We have used SDO as a full disk reference. We were able to reduce lateral image drifts by an order of magnitude.

Mapping of the seasonal dynamic properties of building walls in actual periodic conditions and effects produced by solar radiation incident on the outer and inner surfaces of the wall

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazzeo, D.; Oliveti, G.; Arcuri, N.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Dynamic thermal behaviour of building walls subjected to actual periodic loadings. • Dynamic parameters of wall in terms of energy and of heat flux are defined. • Different solar absorption coefficients and orientations of wall are considered. • On the internal surface is present or absent a shortwave radiant field. • Seasonal thermal characteristics for different plant operating regime are provided. - Abstract: In this work, the dynamic characteristics of the external walls of air-conditioned buildings subject to the joint action of periodic non-sinusoidal external and internal loadings are determined. The dynamic parameters used are the energy decrement factor, which is evaluated by means of the fluctuating heat flux in a semi-period exiting and entering the wall, the decrement factor of the maximum peak and minimum peak of the heat flux in a period and the relative time lags. The fluctuating heat flux in the wall in steady periodic regime conditions is determined with an analytical model obtained by resolving the equivalent electrical circuit. The preceding parameters are used for a study of the influence of solar radiation on the dynamic characteristics of the walls in summer and winter air-conditioning. Solar radiation is considered as operating on the external surface and on the internal surface due to the presence in the indoor environments of a shortwave radiant field. The absorbed solar heat flux by the external surface varies, modifying the solar absorption coefficient and wall orientation. Indoors, we considered a continuous operating regime of the plant and a regime with nocturnal attenuation. The results obtained, relating to 1152 different boundary conditions, were used for the construction of maps of dynamic characteristics, different on variation of the plant functioning regime and of the shortwave radiant load on the internal surface. The maps show the dependence of the decrement factors and of the time lags on variation of

Feasibility of solar-pumped dye lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ja H.; Kim, Kyung C.; Kim, Kyong H.

1987-01-01

Dye laser gains were measured at various pump-beam irradiances on a dye cell in order to evaluate the feasibility of solar pumping. Rhodamine 6G dye was considered as a candidate for the solar-pumped laser because of its high utilization of the solar spectrum and high quantum efficiency. Measurements show that a solar concentration of 20,000 is required to reach the threshold of the dye.

TESIS experiment on study of solar corona in EUV spectral range (CORONAS-PHOTON project)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzin, S.V.; Zhitnik, I.A.; Ignat'ev, A.P.; Mitrofanov, A.V.; Pertsov, A.A.; Bugaenko, O.I.

2005-01-01

A new orbital station, namely: the CORONAS-PHOTON one (to be launched in 2006) equipped with systems to explore Sun at the intensification period of the solar activity 24-th cycle and at its peak is being designed within the framework of the CORONAS National Sun Space Exploration Program. The station equipment consists of systems to observe Sun within the spectral soft X-ray and vacuum ultraviolet bands. Paper lists and describes the TESIS experiment tools designed for the CORONAS-PHOTON Project to ensure the Sun atmospheric research within short-wave band [ru

Application of LBIC measurements for characterisation of triple junction solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwarikunda, N., E-mail: Nicholas.kwarikunda@live.nmmu.ac.za [Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P.O. BOX 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031 (South Africa); Makerere University, P.O. BOX 7062, Kampala (Uganda); Dyk, E.E. van; Vorster, F.J. [Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P.O. BOX 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031 (South Africa); Okullo, W. [Makerere University, P.O. BOX 7062, Kampala (Uganda); Munji, M.K. [Kenyatta University, P.O. BOX 43844-00100, Nairobi (Kenya)

2014-04-15

In this study the Light Beam Induced Current (LBIC) imaging technique was used to characterise InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple junction solar cells. The study focused on the use of monochromatic and solar light as beam probes to obtain photocurrent response maps from which the presence of any current reducing features on the solar cell were identified. Point illuminated current voltage (I–V) curves were obtained simultaneously while LBIC scanning measurements were being made. Curve fitting using an interval division algorithm based on the single diode model was performed to extract basic point device and performance parameters to give a rough indication of the functioning of the triple junction device. Using red and blue lasers as beam probes, reverse voltage breakdown was observed on the I–V curves which could be attributed to the Ge bottom subcell not being fully activated. The extracted parameters obtained when using monochromatic and solar light beam probes showed a large variation, indicating the dependence of I–V parameters on the spectral content of the beam probe.

Application of LBIC measurements for characterisation of triple junction solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwarikunda, N.; Dyk, E.E. van; Vorster, F.J.; Okullo, W.; Munji, M.K.

2014-01-01

In this study the Light Beam Induced Current (LBIC) imaging technique was used to characterise InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple junction solar cells. The study focused on the use of monochromatic and solar light as beam probes to obtain photocurrent response maps from which the presence of any current reducing features on the solar cell were identified. Point illuminated current voltage (I–V) curves were obtained simultaneously while LBIC scanning measurements were being made. Curve fitting using an interval division algorithm based on the single diode model was performed to extract basic point device and performance parameters to give a rough indication of the functioning of the triple junction device. Using red and blue lasers as beam probes, reverse voltage breakdown was observed on the I–V curves which could be attributed to the Ge bottom subcell not being fully activated. The extracted parameters obtained when using monochromatic and solar light beam probes showed a large variation, indicating the dependence of I–V parameters on the spectral content of the beam probe.

Ratioing methods for in-flight response calibration of space-based spectro-radiometers, operating in the solar spectral region

Science.gov (United States)

Lobb, Dan

2017-11-01

One of the most significant problems for space-based spectro-radiometer systems, observing Earth from space in the solar spectral band (UV through short-wave IR), is in achievement of the required absolute radiometric accuracy. Classical methods, for example using one or more sun-illuminated diffusers as reflectance standards, do not generally provide methods for monitoring degradation of the in-flight reference after pre-flight characterisation. Ratioing methods have been proposed that provide monitoring of degradation of solar attenuators in flight, thus in principle allowing much higher confidence in absolute response calibration. Two example methods are described. It is shown that systems can be designed for relatively low size and without significant additions to the complexity of flight hardware.

The multispectral reflectance of shortwave radiation by agricultural crops in relation with their morphological and optical properties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bunnik, N.J.J.

1978-01-01

Relations between morphological properties of uniform canopies. optical properties of the leaves and reflection of shortwave radiation, in the visible light region and the near infrared, by crops are the subject of this thesis.

The aim of the study was a further investigation of

Solar-Pumped TEM₀₀ Mode Nd:YAG laser.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Dawei; Almeida, Joana

2013-10-21

Here we show a significant advance in solar-pumped laser beam brightness by utilizing a 1.0 m diameter Fresnel lens and a 3 mm diameter Nd:YAG single-crystal rod. The incoming solar radiation is firstly focused by the Fresnel lens on a solar tracker. A large aspheric lens and a 2D-CPC concentrator are then combined to further compress the concentrated solar radiation along the thin laser rod within a V-shaped pumping cavity. 2.3 W cw TEM₀₀ (M² ≤ 1.1) solar laser power is finally produced, attaining 1.9 W laser beam brightness figure of merit, which is 6.6 times higher than the previous record. For multimode operation, 8.1 W cw laser power is produced, corresponding to 143% enhancement in collection efficiency.

Towards a better representation of the solar cycle in general circulation models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. M. Nissen

2007-10-01

Full Text Available We introduce the improved Freie Universität Berlin (FUB high-resolution radiation scheme FUBRad and compare it to the 4-band standard ECHAM5 SW radiation scheme of Fouquart and Bonnel (FB. Both schemes are validated against the detailed radiative transfer model libRadtran. FUBRad produces realistic heating rate variations during the solar cycle. The SW heating rate response with the FB scheme is about 20 times smaller than with FUBRad and cannot produce the observed temperature signal. A reduction of the spectral resolution to 6 bands for solar irradiance and ozone absorption cross sections leads to a degradation (reduction of the solar SW heating rate signal by about 20%.

The simulated temperature response agrees qualitatively well with observations in the summer upper stratosphere and mesosphere where irradiance variations dominate the signal.

Comparison of the total short-wave heating rates under solar minimum conditions shows good agreement between FUBRad, FB and libRadtran up to the middle mesosphere (60–70 km indicating that both parameterizations are well suited for climate integrations that do not take solar variability into account.

The FUBRad scheme has been implemented as a sub-submodel of the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy.

Stationary spectra of short-wave convective and magnetostatic fluctuations in a finite-pressure plasma and anomalous heat conductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vakulenko, M.O.

1992-01-01

Within the general renormalized statistical approach, the low-frequency short-wave stationary spectra of potential and magnetic perturbations in a finite-pressure plasma, are obtained. Anomalous heat conductivity considerably enhances due to non-linear interaction between magnetic excitations. 11 refs. (author)

Top-down and bottom-up aerosol-cloud closure: towards understanding sources of uncertainty in deriving cloud shortwave radiative flux

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, Kevin J.; Roberts, Gregory C.; Calmer, Radiance; Nicoll, Keri; Hashimshoni, Eyal; Rosenfeld, Daniel; Ovadnevaite, Jurgita; Preissler, Jana; Ceburnis, Darius; O'Dowd, Colin; Russell, Lynn M.

2017-08-01

Top-down and bottom-up aerosol-cloud shortwave radiative flux closures were conducted at the Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station in Galway, Ireland, in August 2015. This study is part of the BACCHUS (Impact of Biogenic versus Anthropogenic emissions on Clouds and Climate: towards a Holistic UnderStanding) European collaborative project, with the goal of understanding key processes affecting aerosol-cloud shortwave radiative flux closures to improve future climate predictions and develop sustainable policies for Europe. Instrument platforms include ground-based unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)1 and satellite measurements of aerosols, clouds and meteorological variables. The ground-based and airborne measurements of aerosol size distributions and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration were used to initiate a 1-D microphysical aerosol-cloud parcel model (ACPM). UAVs were equipped for a specific science mission, with an optical particle counter for aerosol distribution profiles, a cloud sensor to measure cloud extinction or a five-hole probe for 3-D wind vectors. UAV cloud measurements are rare and have only become possible in recent years through the miniaturization of instrumentation. These are the first UAV measurements at Mace Head. ACPM simulations are compared to in situ cloud extinction measurements from UAVs to quantify closure in terms of cloud shortwave radiative flux. Two out of seven cases exhibit sub-adiabatic vertical temperature profiles within the cloud, which suggests that entrainment processes affect cloud microphysical properties and lead to an overestimate of simulated cloud shortwave radiative flux. Including an entrainment parameterization and explicitly calculating the entrainment fraction in the ACPM simulations both improved cloud-top radiative closure. Entrainment reduced the difference between simulated and observation-derived cloud-top shortwave radiative flux (δRF) by between 25 and 60 W m-2. After accounting for entrainment

Proposal for electron beam induced remote sensing x-ray fluorescence investigation of minor bodies in the solar system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hrehuss, G.; Gombosi, T.I.; Naday, I.; Pogany, L.; Szegoe, K.

1983-11-01

The composition of the surface material of minor bodies in the solar system can be measured using a semiconductor soft x-ray spectrometer mounted on the space probe. The characteristic x-rays are excited by a 20 kV low current electron beam of a space-born electron gun. After the description of the main features of the technique, estimations on its sensitivity, supported by a model experiment, are given. The minimum fly-by distance to apply this method can be estimated as a few kilometers. (author)

Solar radiation modeling and measurements for renewable energy applications: data and model quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, Daryl R.

2005-01-01

Measurement and modeling of broadband and spectral terrestrial solar radiation is important for the evaluation and deployment of solar renewable energy systems. We discuss recent developments in the calibration of broadband solar radiometric instrumentation and improving broadband solar radiation measurement accuracy. An improved diffuse sky reference and radiometer calibration and characterization software for outdoor pyranometer calibrations are outlined. Several broadband solar radiation model approaches, including some developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, for estimating direct beam, total hemispherical and diffuse sky radiation are briefly reviewed. The latter include the Bird clear sky model for global, direct beam, and diffuse terrestrial solar radiation; the Direct Insolation Simulation Code (DISC) for estimating direct beam radiation from global measurements; and the METSTAT (Meteorological and Statistical) and Climatological Solar Radiation (CSR) models that estimate solar radiation from meteorological data. We conclude that currently the best model uncertainties are representative of the uncertainty in measured data

Solar radiation modeling and measurements for renewable energy applications: data and model quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Myers, D.R. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)

2005-07-01

Measurement and modeling of broadband and spectral terrestrial solar radiation is important for the evaluation and deployment of solar renewable energy systems. We discuss recent developments in the calibration of broadband solar radiometric instrumentation and improving broadband solar radiation measurement accuracy. An improved diffuse sky reference and radiometer calibration and characterization software for outdoor pyranometer calibrations are outlined. Several broadband solar radiation model approaches, including some developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, for estimating direct beam, total hemispherical and diffuse sky radiation are briefly reviewed. The latter include the Bird clear sky model for global, direct beam, and diffuse terrestrial solar radiation; the Direct Insolation Simulation Code (DISC) for estimating direct beam radiation from global measurements; and the METSTAT (Meteorological and Statistical) and Climatological Solar Radiation (CSR) models that estimate solar radiation from meteorological data. We conclude that currently the best model uncertainties are representative of the uncertainty in measured data. (author)

Enhanced thermal stability of a polymer solar cell blend induced by electron beam irradiation in the transmission electron microscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Bäcke, Olof; Lindqvist, Camilla; de Zerio Mendaza, Amaia Diaz; Gustafsson, Stefan; Wang, Ergang; Andersson, Mats R; Müller, Christian; Kristiansen, Per Magnus; Olsson, Eva

2017-05-01

We show by in situ microscopy that the effects of electron beam irradiation during transmission electron microscopy can be used to lock microstructural features and enhance the structural thermal stability of a nanostructured polymer:fullerene blend. Polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunction thin films show great promise for use as active layers in organic solar cells but their low thermal stability is a hindrance. Lack of thermal stability complicates manufacturing and influences the lifetime of devices. To investigate how electron irradiation affects the thermal stability of polymer:fullerene films, a model bulk-heterojunction film based on a thiophene-quinoxaline copolymer and a fullerene derivative was heat-treated in-situ in a transmission electron microscope. In areas of the film that exposed to the electron beam the nanostructure of the film remained stable, while the nanostructure in areas not exposed to the electron beam underwent large phase separation and nucleation of fullerene crystals. UV-vis spectroscopy shows that the polymer:fullerene films are stable for electron doses up to 2000kGy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contrails and their impact on shortwave radiation and photovoltaic power production – a regional model study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Gruber

2018-05-01

Full Text Available A high-resolution regional-scale numerical model was extended by a parameterization that allows for both the generation and the life cycle of contrails and contrail cirrus to be calculated. The life cycle of contrails and contrail cirrus is described by a two-moment cloud microphysical scheme that was extended by a separate contrail ice class for a better representation of the high concentration of small ice crystals that occur in contrails. The basic input data set contains the spatially and temporally highly resolved flight trajectories over Central Europe derived from real-time data. The parameterization provides aircraft-dependent source terms for contrail ice mass and number. A case study was performed to investigate the influence of contrails and contrail cirrus on the shortwave radiative fluxes at the earth's surface. Accounting for contrails produced by aircraft enabled the model to simulate high clouds that were otherwise missing on this day. The effect of these extra clouds was to reduce the incoming shortwave radiation at the surface as well as the production of photovoltaic power by up to 10 %.

Spatial and Temporal Variabilities of Solar and Longwave Radiation Fluxes below a Coniferous Forest in the French Alps

Science.gov (United States)

Sicart, J. E.; Ramseyer, V.; Lejeune, Y.; Essery, R.; Webster, C.; Rutter, N.

2017-12-01

At high altitudes and latitudes, snow has a large influence on hydrological processes. Large fractions of these regions are covered by forests, which have a strong influence on snow accumulation and melting processes. Trees absorb a large part of the incoming shortwave radiation and this heat load is mostly dissipated as longwave radiation. Trees shelter the snow surface from wind, so sub-canopy snowmelt depends mainly on the radiative fluxes: vegetation attenuates the transmission of shortwave radiation but enhances longwave irradiance to the surface. An array of 13 pyranometers and 11 pyrgeometers was deployed on the snow surface below a coniferous forest at the CEN-MeteoFrance Col de Porte station in the French Alps (1325 m asl) during the 2017 winter in order to investigate spatial and temporal variabilities of solar and infrared irradiances in different meteorological conditions. Sky view factors measured with hemispherical photographs at each radiometer location were in a narrow range from 0.2 to 0.3. The temperature of the vegetation was measured with IR thermocouples and an IR camera. In clear sky conditions, the attenuation of solar radiation by the canopy reached 96% and its spatial variability exceeded 100 W m-2. Longwave irradiance varied by 30 W m-2 from dense canopy to gap areas. In overcast conditions, the spatial variabilities of solar and infrared irradiances were reduced and remained closely related to the sky view factor. A simple radiative model taking into account the penetration through the canopy of the direct and diffuse solar radiation, and isotropic infrared emission of the vegetation as a blackbody emitter, accurately reproduced the dynamics of the radiation fluxes at the snow surface. Model results show that solar transmissivity of the canopy in overcast conditions is an excellent proxy of the sky view factor and the emitting temperature of the vegetation remained close to the air temperature in this typically dense Alpine forest.

Effect of the environmental stimuli upon the human body in winter outdoor thermal environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sakoi, Tomonori; Kondo, Emi; Ishii, Jin

2013-01-01

the psychological thermal responses of the human body and winter outdoor thermal environment variables. Subjective experiments were conducted in the winter outdoor environment. Environmental factors and human psychological responses were measured. The relationship between the psychological thermal responses...... of the human body and the outdoor thermal environment index ETFe (enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature) in winter was shown. The variables which influence the thermal sensation vote of the human body are air temperature, long-wave thermal radiation and short-wave solar radiation....... The variables that influence the thermal comfort vote of the human body are air temperature, humidity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, and heat conduction. Short-wave solar radiation, and heat conduction are among the winter outdoor thermal environment variables that affect...

Solar energy emplacement developer

Science.gov (United States)

Mortensen, Michael; Sauls, Bob

1991-01-01

A preliminary design was developed for a Lunar Power System (LPS) composed of photovoltaic arrays and microwave reflectors fabricated from lunar materials. The LPS will collect solar energy on the surface of the Moon, transform it into microwave energy, and beam it back to Earth where it will be converted into usable energy. The Solar Energy Emplacement Developer (SEED) proposed will use a similar sort of solar energy collection and dispersement to power the systems that will construct the LPS.

Full PIC simulations of solar radio emission

Science.gov (United States)

Sgattoni, A.; Henri, P.; Briand, C.; Amiranoff, F.; Riconda, C.

2017-12-01

Solar radio emissions are electromagnetic (EM) waves emitted in the solar wind plasma as a consequence of electron beams accelerated during solar flares or interplanetary shocks such as ICMEs. To describe their origin, a multi-stage model has been proposed in the 60s which considers a succession of non-linear three-wave interaction processes. A good understanding of the process would allow to infer the kinetic energy transfered from the electron beam to EM waves, so that the radio waves recorded by spacecraft can be used as a diagnostic for the electron beam.Even if the electrostatic problem has been extensively studied, full electromagnetic simulations were attempted only recently. Our large scale 2D-3V electromagnetic PIC simulations allow to identify the generation of both electrostatic and EM waves originated by the succession of plasma instabilities. We tested several configurations varying the electron beam density and velocity considering a background plasma of uniform density. For all the tested configurations approximately 105 of the electron-beam kinetic energy is transfered into EM waves emitted in all direction nearly isotropically. With this work we aim to design experiments of laboratory astrophysics to reproduce the electromagnetic emission process and test its efficiency.

Decadal changes in shortwave irradiance at the surface in the period from 1960 to 2000 estimated from Global Energy Balance Archive Data

Science.gov (United States)

Gilgen, H.; Roesch, A.; Wild, M.; Ohmura, A.

2009-05-01

Decadal changes in shortwave irradiance at the Earth's surface are estimated for the period from approximately 1960 through to 2000 from pyranometer records stored in the Global Energy Balance Archive. For this observational period, estimates could be calculated for a total of 140 cells of the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project grid (an equal area 2.5° × 2.5° grid at the equator) using regression models allowing for station effects. In large regions worldwide, shortwave irradiance decreases in the first half of the observational period, recovers from the decrease in the 1980s, and thereafter increases, in line with previous reports. Years of trend reversals are determined for the grid cells which are best described with a second-order polynomial model. This reversal of the trend is observed in the majority of the grid cells in the interior of Europe and in Japan. In China, shortwave irradiance recovers during the 1990s in the majority of the grid cells in the southeast and northeast from the decrease observed in the period from 1960 through to 1990. A reversal of the trend in the 1980s or early 1990s is also observed for two grid cells in North America, and for the grid cells containing the Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Singapore, Casablanca (Morocco), Valparaiso (Chile) sites, and, noticeably, the remote South Pole and American Samoa sites. Negative trends persist, i.e., shortwave radiation decreases, for the observational period 1960 through to 2000 at the European coasts, in central and northwest China, and for three grid cells in India and two in Africa.

Does shortwave absorption by methane influence its effectiveness?

Science.gov (United States)

Modak, Angshuman; Bala, Govindasamy; Caldeira, Ken; Cao, Long

2018-01-01

In this study, using idealized step-forcing simulations, we examine the effective radiative forcing of CH4 relative to that of CO2 and compare the effects of CH4 and CO2 forcing on the climate system. A tenfold increase in CH4 concentration in the NCAR CAM5 climate model produces similar long term global mean surface warming ( 1.7 K) as a one-third increase in CO2 concentration. However, the radiative forcing estimated for CO2 using the prescribed-SST method is 81% that of CH4, indicating that the efficacy of CH4 forcing is 0.81. This estimate is nearly unchanged when the CO2 physiological effect is included in our simulations. Further, for the same long-term global mean surface warming, we simulate a smaller precipitation increase in the CH4 case compared to the CO2 case. This is because of the fast adjustment processes—precipitation reduction in the CH4 case is larger than that of the CO2 case. This is associated with a relatively more stable atmosphere and larger atmospheric radiative forcing in the CH4 case which occurs because of near-infrared absorption by CH4 in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. Within a month after an increase in CH4, this shortwave heating results in a temperature increase of 0.8 K in the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere. In contrast, within a month after a CO2 increase, longwave cooling results in a temperature decrease of 3 K in the stratosphere and a small change in the upper troposphere. These fast adjustments in the lower stratospheric and upper tropospheric temperature, along with the adjustments in clouds in the troposphere, influence the effective radiative forcing and the fast precipitation response. These differences in fast climate adjustments also produce differences in the climate states from which the slow response begins to evolve and hence they are likely associated with differing feedbacks. We also find that the tropics and subtropics are relatively warmer in the CH4 case for the same global mean

Enhanced solar global irradiance during cloudy sky conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schade, N.H.; Sandmann, H.; Stick, C. [Kiel Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Medizinische Klimatologie; Macke, A. [Kiel Univ. (DE). Leibniz Inst. fuer Meereswissenschaften (IFM-GEOMAR)

2007-06-15

The impact of cloudiness on the shortwave downwelling radiation (SDR) at the surface is investigated by means of collocated pyranometer radiation measurements and all-sky imager observations. The measurements have been performed in Westerland, a seaside resort on the North Sea island of Sylt, Germany, during summer 2004 and 2005. A main improvement to previous studies on this subject resulted from the very high temporal resolution of cloud images and radiation measurements and, therefore, a more robust statistical analysis of the occurrence of this effect. It was possible to observe an excess of solar irradiation compared to clear sky irradiation by more than 500 W/m{sup 2}, the largest observed excess irradiation to our knowledge so far. Camera images reveal that largest excess radiation is reached close to overcast situations with altocumulus clouds partly obscuring the solar disk, and preferably with cumulus clouds in lower levels. The maximum duration of the enhancements depends on its strength and ranges from 20 seconds (enhancements > 400 W/m{sup 2}) up to 140 seconds (enhancements > 200 W/m{sup 2}). (orig.)

MESSENGER Spacecraft Phase Scintillation due to Plasma ductting effect on RF beam propagation at Superior Solar Conjunction

Science.gov (United States)

Mosavi, N.; Sequeira, H.; Copeland, D.; Menyuk, C.

2017-12-01

We investigate the evolution of a radio frequency (RF) X-band signal as it propagates through the solar corona turbulence in superior solar conjunction at low Sun-Earth-Probe (SEP) angles.Data that was obtained during several MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENivornment, GEochmeisty, and Ranging) conjunctions reveal a short-term and long-term effect. Amplitude scintillation is evident on a short time scale. Phase scintillations are stronger, but occur over a longer time scale. We examine different possible phenomena in the solar plasma that could be the source of the different time scales of the amplitude and phase scintillations. We propose a theoretical model in which the amplitude scintillations are due to local fluctuations of the index of refraction that scatter the RF signal. These rapidly varying fluctuations randomly attenuate the signal without affecting its phase. By contrast, we propose a model in which phase fluctuations are due to long ducts in the solar plasma, streaming from the sun, that trap some parts of the RF signal. These ducts act as waveguides, changing the phase velocity of the RF beam as it travels a zigzag path inside a duct. When the radiated wave exits from a duct, its phase is changed with respect to the signal that did not pass through the duct, which can lead to destructive interference and carrier suppression. The trapping of the wave is random in nature and can be either a fast or slow process. The predictions of this model are consistent with observations.

Applications of power beaming from space-based nuclear power stations. [Laser beaming to airplanes; microwave beaming to ground

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Powell, J.R.; Botts, T.E.; Hertzberg, A.

1981-01-01

Power beaming from space-based reactor systems is examined using an advanced compact, lightweight Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR). Closed Brayton power conversion efficiencies in the range of 30 to 40% can be achieved with turbines, with reactor exit temperatures on the order of 2000/sup 0/K and a liquid drop radiator to reject heat at temperatures of approx. 500/sup 0/K. Higher RBR coolant temperatures (up to approx. 3000/sup 0/K) are possible, but gains in power conversion efficiency are minimal, due to lower expander efficiency (e.g., a MHD generator). Two power beaming applications are examined - laser beaming to airplanes and microwave beaming to fixed ground receivers. Use of the RBR greatly reduces system weight and cost, as compared to solar power sources. Payback times are a few years at present prices for power and airplane fuel.

Space satellite power system. [conversion of solar energy by photovoltaic solar cell arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Glaser, P. E.

1974-01-01

The concept of a satellite solar power station was studied. It is shown that it offers the potential to meet a significant portion of future energy needs, is pollution free, and is sparing of irreplaceable earth resources. Solar energy is converted by photovoltaic solar cell arrays to dc energy which in turn is converted into microwave energy in a large active phased array. The microwave energy is beamed to earth with little attenuation and is converted back to dc energy on the earth. Economic factors are considered.

Top-down and bottom-up aerosol–cloud closure: towards understanding sources of uncertainty in deriving cloud shortwave radiative flux

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. J. Sanchez

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Top-down and bottom-up aerosol–cloud shortwave radiative flux closures were conducted at the Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station in Galway, Ireland, in August 2015. This study is part of the BACCHUS (Impact of Biogenic versus Anthropogenic emissions on Clouds and Climate: towards a Holistic UnderStanding European collaborative project, with the goal of understanding key processes affecting aerosol–cloud shortwave radiative flux closures to improve future climate predictions and develop sustainable policies for Europe. Instrument platforms include ground-based unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs1 and satellite measurements of aerosols, clouds and meteorological variables. The ground-based and airborne measurements of aerosol size distributions and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN concentration were used to initiate a 1-D microphysical aerosol–cloud parcel model (ACPM. UAVs were equipped for a specific science mission, with an optical particle counter for aerosol distribution profiles, a cloud sensor to measure cloud extinction or a five-hole probe for 3-D wind vectors. UAV cloud measurements are rare and have only become possible in recent years through the miniaturization of instrumentation. These are the first UAV measurements at Mace Head. ACPM simulations are compared to in situ cloud extinction measurements from UAVs to quantify closure in terms of cloud shortwave radiative flux. Two out of seven cases exhibit sub-adiabatic vertical temperature profiles within the cloud, which suggests that entrainment processes affect cloud microphysical properties and lead to an overestimate of simulated cloud shortwave radiative flux. Including an entrainment parameterization and explicitly calculating the entrainment fraction in the ACPM simulations both improved cloud-top radiative closure. Entrainment reduced the difference between simulated and observation-derived cloud-top shortwave radiative flux (δRF by between 25 and 60 W m−2. After

Solar chulha

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jadhao, P. H. [Department of Physics J.D. Institute of Engg. & Tech. Yavatmal (India); Patrikar, S. R. [Department of Physics VNIT, Nagpur (India)

2016-05-06

The main goal of the proposed system is to transfer energy from sun to the cooking load that is located in the kitchen. The energy is first collected by the solar collector lens system and two curve bars of same radius of curvature are mounted parallel and adjacent to each other at different height the solar collector is clamed on this two bars such that solar collector is exactly perpendicular to sunlight. The topology includes an additional feature which is window in the wall through which the beam is collimated is directed in the of kitchen. The solar energy that is collected is directed by the mirror system into the kitchen, where it is redirected to cooking platform located in the kitchen. The special feature in this system full Indian meal can be made since cooking platform is indoors.

Solar observations with a low frequency radio telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Myserlis, I.; Seiradakis, J.; Dogramatzidis, M.

2012-01-01

We have set up a low frequency radio monitoring station for solar bursts at the Observatory of the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki. The station consists of a dual dipole phased array, a radio receiver and a dedicated computer with the necessary software installed. The constructed radio receiver is based on NASA's Radio Jove project. It operates continuously, since July 2010, at 20.1 MHz (close to the long-wavelength ionospheric cut-off of the radio window) with a narrow bandwidth (~5 kHz). The system is properly calibrated, so that the recorded data are expressed in antenna temperature. Despite the high interference level of an urban region like Thessaloniki (strong broadcasting shortwave radio stations, periodic experimental signals, CBs, etc), we have detected several low frequency solar radio bursts and correlated them with solar flares, X-ray events and other low frequency solar observations. The received signal is monitored in ordinary ASCII format and as audio signal, in order to investigate and exclude man-made radio interference. In order to exclude narrow band interference and calculate the spectral indices of the observed events, a second monitoring station, working at 36 MHz, is under construction at the village of Nikiforos near the town of Drama, about 130 km away of Thessaloniki. Finally, we plan to construct a third monitoring station at 58 MHz, in Thessaloniki. This frequency was revealed to be relatively free of interference, after a thorough investigation of the region.

A radiative transfer module for calculating photolysis rates and solar heating in climate models: Solar-J v7.5

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Juno; Prather, Michael J.; Cameron-Smith, Philip; Veidenbaum, Alex; Nicolau, Alex

2017-07-01

Solar-J is a comprehensive radiative transfer model for the solar spectrum that addresses the needs of both solar heating and photochemistry in Earth system models. Solar-J is a spectral extension of Cloud-J, a standard in many chemical models that calculates photolysis rates in the 0.18-0.8 µm region. The Cloud-J core consists of an eight-stream scattering, plane-parallel radiative transfer solver with corrections for sphericity. Cloud-J uses cloud quadrature to accurately average over correlated cloud layers. It uses the scattering phase function of aerosols and clouds expanded to eighth order and thus avoids isotropic-equivalent approximations prevalent in most solar heating codes. The spectral extension from 0.8 to 12 µm enables calculation of both scattered and absorbed sunlight and thus aerosol direct radiative effects and heating rates throughout the Earth's atmosphere.The Solar-J extension adopts the correlated-k gas absorption bins, primarily water vapor, from the shortwave Rapid Radiative Transfer Model for general circulation model (GCM) applications (RRTMG-SW). Solar-J successfully matches RRTMG-SW's tropospheric heating profile in a clear-sky, aerosol-free, tropical atmosphere. We compare both codes in cloudy atmospheres with a liquid-water stratus cloud and an ice-crystal cirrus cloud. For the stratus cloud, both models use the same physical properties, and we find a systematic low bias of about 3 % in planetary albedo across all solar zenith angles caused by RRTMG-SW's two-stream scattering. Discrepancies with the cirrus cloud using any of RRTMG-SW's three different parameterizations are as large as about 20-40 % depending on the solar zenith angles and occur throughout the atmosphere.Effectively, Solar-J has combined the best components of RRTMG-SW and Cloud-J to build a high-fidelity module for the scattering and absorption of sunlight in the Earth's atmosphere, for which the three major components - wavelength integration, scattering, and

SiO2 Antireflection Coatings Fabricated by Electron-Beam Evaporation for Black Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minghua Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this work we prepared double-layer antireflection coatings (DARC by using the SiO2/SiNx:H heterostructure design. SiO2 thin films were deposited by electron-beam evaporation on the conventional solar cell with SiNx:H single-layer antireflection coatings (SARC, while to avoid the coverage of SiO2 on the front side busbars, a steel mask was utilized as the shelter. The thickness of the SiNx:H as bottom layer was fixed at 80 nm, and the varied thicknesses of the SiO2 as top layer were 105 nm and 122 nm. The results show that the SiO2/SiNx:H DARC have a much lower reflectance and higher external quantum efficiency (EQE in short wavelengths compared with the SiNx:H SARC. A higher energy conversion efficiency of 17.80% was obtained for solar cells with SiO2 (105 nm/SiNx:H (80 nm DARC, an absolute conversion efficiency increase of 0.32% compared with the conventional single SiNx:H-coated cells.

Spatiotemporal variation of surface shortwave forcing from fire-induced albedo change in interior Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Shengli; Dahal, Devendra; Liu, Heping; Jin, Suming; Young, Claudia J.; Liu, Shuang; Liu, Shu-Guang

2015-01-01

The albedo change caused by both fires and subsequent succession is spatially heterogeneous, leading to the need to assess the spatiotemporal variation of surface shortwave forcing (SSF) as a component to quantify the climate impacts of high-latitude fires. We used an image reconstruction approach to compare postfire albedo with the albedo assuming fires had not occurred. Combining the fire-caused albedo change from the 2001-2010 fires in interior Alaska and the monthly surface incoming solar radiation, we examined the spatiotemporal variation of SSF in the early successional stage of around 10 years. Our results showed that while postfire albedo generally increased in fall, winter, and spring, some burned areas could show an albedo decrease during these seasons. In summer, the albedo increased for several years and then declined again. The spring SSF distribution did not show a latitudinal decrease from south to north as previously reported. The results also indicated that although the SSF is usually largely negative in the early successional years, it may not be significant during the first postfire year. The annual 2005-2010 SSF for the 2004 fire scars was -1.30, -4.40, -3.31, -4.00, -3.42, and -2.47 Wm-2. The integrated annual SSF map showed significant spatial variation with a mean of -3.15 Wm-2 and a standard deviation of 3.26 Wm-2, 16% of burned areas having positive SSF. Our results suggest that boreal deciduous fires would be less positive for climate change than boreal evergreen fires. Future research is needed to comprehensively investigate the spatiotemporal radiative and non-radiative forcings to determine the effect of boreal fires on climate.

Direct shortwave forcing of climate by anthropogenic sulfate aerosol: Sensitivity to particle size, composition, and relative humidity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nemesure, S.; Wagener, R.; Schwartz, S.E. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, New York (United States)

1996-04-01

Recent estimates of global or hemispheric average forcing of climate by anthropogenic sulfate aerosol due to scattering of shortwave radiation are uncertain by more than a factor of 2. This paper examines the sensitivity of forcing to these microphysical properties for the purposes of obtaining a better understanding of the properties required to reduce the uncertainty in the forcing.

Molecular beam epitaxy of InP single junction and InP/In0.53Ga0.47As monolithically integrated tandem solar cells using solid phosphorous source material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delaney, A.; Chin, K.; Street, S.; Newman, F.; Aguilar, L.; Ignatiev, A.; Monier, C.; Velela, M.; Freundlich, A.

1998-01-01

This work reports the first InP solar cells, InP/In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As tandem solar cells and InP tunnel junctions to be grown using a solid phosphorous source cracker cell in a molecular beam epitaxy system. High p-type doping achieved with this system allowed for the development of InP tunnel junctions. These junctions which allow for improved current matching in subsequent monolithically integrated tandem devices also do not absorb photons which can be utilized in the InGaAs structure. Photocurrent spectral responses compared favorably to devices previously grown in a chemical beam epitaxy system. High resolution x-ray scans demonstrated good lattice matching between constituent parts of the tandem cell. AM0 efficiencies of both InP and InP/InGaAs tandem cells are reported

Conversion of concentrated solar thermal energy into chemical energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamaura, Yutaka

2012-01-01

When a concentrated solar beam is irradiated to the ceramics such as Ni-ferrite, the high-energy flux in the range of 1500-2500 kW/m(2) is absorbed by an excess Frenkel defect formation. This non-equilibrium state defect is generated not by heating at a low heating-rate (30 K/min), but by irradiating high flux energy of concentrated solar beam rapidly at a high heating rate (200 K/min). The defect can be spontaneously converted to chemical energy of a cation-excess spinel structure (reduced-oxide form) at the temperature around 1773 K. Thus, the O(2) releasing reaction (α-O(2) releasing reaction) proceeds in two-steps; (1) high flux energy of concentrated solar beam absorption by formation of the non-equilibrium Frenkel defect and (2) the O(2) gas formation from the O(2-) in the Frenkel defect even in air atmosphere. The 2nd step proceeds without the solar radiation. We may say that the 1st step is light reaction, and 2nd step, dark reaction, just like in photosynthesis process.

A practical approach to compute short-wave irradiance interacting with subgrid-scale buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sievers, Uwe; Frueh, Barbara [Deutscher Wetterdienst, Offenbach am Main (Germany)

2012-08-15

A numerical approach for the calculation of short-wave irradiances at the ground as well as the walls and roofs of buildings in an environment with unresolved built-up is presented. In this radiative parameterization scheme the properties of the unresolved built-up are assigned to settlement types which are characterized by mean values of the volume density of the buildings and their wall area density. Therefore it is named wall area approach. In the vertical direction the range of building heights may be subdivided into several layers. In the case of non-uniform building heights the shadowing of the lower roofs by the taller buildings is taken into account. The method includes the approximate calculation of sky view and sun view factors. For an idealized building arrangement it is shown that the obtained approximate factors are in good agreement with exact calculations just as for the comparison of the calculated and measured effective albedo values. For arrangements with isolated single buildings the presented wall area approach yields a better agreement with the observations than similar methods where the unresolved built-up is characterized by the aspect ratio of a representative street canyon (aspect ratio approach). In the limiting case where the built-up is well represented by an ensemble of idealized street canyons both approaches become equivalent. The presented short-wave radiation scheme is part of the microscale atmospheric model MUKLIMO 3 where it contributes to the calculation of surface temperatures on the basis of energy-flux equilibrium conditions. (orig.)

Effect of the Environmental Stimuli upon the Human Body in Winter Outdoor Thermal Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshihito Kurazumi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In order to manage the outdoor thermal environment with regard to human health and the environmental impact of waste heat, quantitative evaluations are indispensable. It is necessary to use a thermal environment evaluation index. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and winter outdoor thermal environment variables. Subjective experiments were conducted in the winter outdoor environment. Environmental factors and human psychological responses were measured. The relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and the outdoor thermal environment index ETFe (enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature in winter was shown. The variables which influence the thermal sensation vote of the human body are air temperature, long-wave thermal radiation and short-wave solar radiation. The variables that influence the thermal comfort vote of the human body are air temperature, humidity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, and heat conduction. Short-wave solar radiation, and heat conduction are among the winter outdoor thermal environment variables that affect psychological responses to heat. The use of thermal environment evaluation indices that comprise short-wave solar radiation and heat conduction in winter outdoor spaces is a valid approach.

Effect of the Environmental Stimuli upon the Human Body in Winter Outdoor Thermal Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kurazumi, Yoshihito; Kondo, Emi; Ishii, Jin; Sakoi, Tomonori; Fukagawa, Kenta; Bolashikov, Zhecho Dimitrov; Tsuchikawa, Tadahiro; Matsubara, Naoki; Horikoshi, Tetsumi

2013-01-01

In order to manage the outdoor thermal environment with regard to human health and the environmental impact of waste heat, quantitative evaluations are indispensable. It is necessary to use a thermal environment evaluation index. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and winter outdoor thermal environment variables. Subjective experiments were conducted in the winter outdoor environment. Environmental factors and human psychological responses were measured. The relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and the outdoor thermal environment index ETFe (enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature) in winter was shown. The variables which influence the thermal sensation vote of the human body are air temperature, long-wave thermal radiation and short-wave solar radiation. The variables that influence the thermal comfort vote of the human body are air temperature, humidity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, and heat conduction. Short-wave solar radiation, and heat conduction are among the winter outdoor thermal environment variables that affect psychological responses to heat. The use of thermal environment evaluation indices that comprise short-wave solar radiation and heat conduction in winter outdoor spaces is a valid approach. PMID:23861691

Design and optical analyses of an arrayed microfluidic tunable prism panel for enhancing solar energy collection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narasimhan, Vinayak; Jiang, Dongyue; Park, Sung-Yong

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We present an arrayed tunable prism panel enabling wide tracking and high solar concentration. • A microfluidic technology allows a low-cost, lightweight and precise solar tracking system. • Our prism panel enables high solar concentration up to 2032× factor. • Various liquid prism configurations (stacked prism arrays) and optical materials are considered. • Their impacts on solar beam steering, reflection losses and beam concentration are studied. - Abstract: We present the design and optical analyses of an arrayed microfluidic tunable prism panel that enables wide solar tracking and high solar concentration while minimizing energy loss. Each of the liquid prism modules is implemented by a microfluidic (i.e. non-mechanical) technology based on electrowetting for adaptive solar beam steering. Therefore the proposed platform offers a low-cost, lightweight and precise solar tracking system while obviating the need for bulky and heavy mechanical moving parts essentially required for a conventional motor-driven solar tracker. In this paper, various liquid prism configurations in terms of design (single, double, triple and quad-stacked prism arrays) as well as optical materials are considered and their impact on optical performance aspects such as solar beam steering, reflection losses and beam concentration is studied. Our system is able to achieve a wide solar tracking covering the whole-day movement of the Sun and a reflection loss below 4.4% with a Rayleigh’s film for a quad-stacked prism configuration. Furthermore, an arrayed prism panel is proposed to increase the aperture area and thus allows for the collection of large amounts of sunlight. Our simulation study based on the optical design software, ZEMAX, indicates that the prism panel is capable of high solar concentration up to 2032× factor even without conventional solar tracking devices. We also deal with dispersion characteristics of the materials and their corresponding effect on

A model for radio emission from solar coronal shocks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, G. Q.; Chen, L.; Wu, D. J., E-mail: djwu@pmo.ac.cn [Purple Mountain Observatory, CAS, Nanjing 210008 (China)

2014-05-01

Solar coronal shocks are very common phenomena in the solar atmosphere and are believed to be the drivers of solar type II radio bursts. However, the microphysical nature of these emissions is still an open question. This paper proposes that electron cyclotron maser (ECM) emission is responsible for the generation of radiation from the coronal shocks. In the present model, an energetic ion beam accelerated by the shock first excites the Alfvén wave (AW), then the excited AW leads to the formation of a density-depleted duct along the foreshock boundary of the shock. In this density-depleted duct, the energetic electron beam produced via the shock acceleration can effectively excite radio emission by ECM instability. Our results show that this model may potentially be applied to solar type II radio bursts.

A model for radio emission from solar coronal shocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, G. Q.; Chen, L.; Wu, D. J.

2014-01-01

Solar coronal shocks are very common phenomena in the solar atmosphere and are believed to be the drivers of solar type II radio bursts. However, the microphysical nature of these emissions is still an open question. This paper proposes that electron cyclotron maser (ECM) emission is responsible for the generation of radiation from the coronal shocks. In the present model, an energetic ion beam accelerated by the shock first excites the Alfvén wave (AW), then the excited AW leads to the formation of a density-depleted duct along the foreshock boundary of the shock. In this density-depleted duct, the energetic electron beam produced via the shock acceleration can effectively excite radio emission by ECM instability. Our results show that this model may potentially be applied to solar type II radio bursts.

Work Station For Inverting Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Feder, H.; Frasch, W.

1982-01-01

Final work station along walking-beam conveyor of solar-array assembly line turns each pretabbed solar cell over, depositing it back-side-up onto landing pad, which centers cell without engaging collector surface. Solar cell arrives at inverting work station collector-side-up with two interconnect tabs attached to collector side. Cells are inverted so that second soldering operation takes place in plain view of operator. Inversion protects collector from damage when handled at later stages of assembly.

Manhattan Solar Cannon

Science.gov (United States)

Treffers, Richard R.; Loisos, George; Ubbelohde, Susan; Douglas, Susanna; Pintos, Eduardo; Mulherin, James; Pasley, David

2015-01-01

We describe a 2.4 m hexagonal solar collector atop a Manhattan office building used for a solar / arts project. The collector uses an afocal design to concentrate the sunlight into a 0.6 m diameter beam which is directed by mirrors into a 80 m long fiber optic sculpture which descends an interior stairwell. The collector is fully steerable and follows the sun each day robotically. The control system and the optical design of the collector as well as the fiber optic sculpture will be discussed.

Effect of Annealing Temperature on CuInSe2/ZnS Thin-Film Solar Cells Fabricated by Using Electron Beam Evaporation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Abdullah

2013-01-01

Full Text Available CuInSe2 (CIS thin films are successfully prepared by electron beam evaporation. Pure Cu, In, and Se powders were mixed and ground in a grinder and made into a pellet. The pallets were deposited via electron beam evaporation on FTO substrates and were varied by varying the annealing temperatures, at room temperature, 250°C, 300°C, and 350°C. Samples were analysed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD for crystallinity and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM for grain size and thickness. I-V measurements were used to measure the efficiency of the CuInSe2/ZnS solar cells. XRD results show that the crystallinity of the films improved as the temperature was increased. The temperature dependence of crystallinity indicates polycrystalline behaviour in the CuInSe2 films with (1 1 1, (2 2 0/(2 0 4, and (3 1 2/(1 1 6 planes at 27°, 45°, and 53°, respectively. FESEM images show the homogeneity of the CuInSe2 formed. I-V measurements indicated that higher annealing temperatures increase the efficiency of CuInSe2 solar cells from approximately 0.99% for the as-deposited films to 1.12% for the annealed films. Hence, we can conclude that the overall cell performance is strongly dependent on the annealing temperature.

The Validation of the GEWEX SRB Surface Shortwave Flux Data Products Using BSRN Measurements: A Systematic Quality Control, Production and Application Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Taiping; Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Gupta, Shashi K.; Cox, Stephen J.; Mikovitz, J. Colleen; Hinkelman, Laura M.

2013-01-01

The NASA/GEWEX Surface Radiation Budget (SRB) project has produced a 24.5-year continuous record of global shortwave and longwave radiation fluxes at TOA and the Earth's surface from satellite measurements. The time span of the data is from July 1983 to December 2007, and the spatial resolution is 11 latitude11 longitude. The inputs of the latest version (Release 3.0) include the GEOS Version 4.0.3 meteorological information and cloud properties derived from ISCCP DX data. The SRB products are available on 3-hourly, 3-hourly-monthly, daily and monthly time scales. To assess the quality of the product, we extensively validated the SRB data against 5969 site-months of groundbased measurements from 52 Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) stations. This paper describes first the characteristics of the BSRN data and the GEWEX SRB data, the methodology for quality control and processing of the shortwave BSRN data, and then the systematic SRB-BSRN comparisons. It is found that, except for occasional extreme outliers as seen in scatter plots, the satellite-based surface radiation data generally agree very well with BSRN measurements. Specifically, the bias/RMS for the daily and monthly mean shortwave fluxes are, respectively, -3.6/35.5 and -5.2/23.3W1 m2 under all-sky conditions.

POWER BEAMING LEAKAGE RADIATION AS A SETI OBSERVABLE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benford, James N. [Microwave Sciences, 1041 Los Arabis Lane, Lafayette, CA 94549 (United States); Benford, Dominic J., E-mail: jimbenford@gmail.com [NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Observational Cosmology Laboratory, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2016-07-10

The most observable leakage radiation from an advanced civilization may well be from the use of power beaming to transfer energy and accelerate spacecraft. Applications suggested for power beaming involve launching spacecraft to orbit, raising satellites to a higher orbit, and interplanetary concepts involving space-to-space transfers of cargo or passengers. We also quantify beam-driven launch to the outer solar system, interstellar precursors, and ultimately starships. We estimate the principal observable parameters of power beaming leakage. Extraterrestrial civilizations would know their power beams could be observed, and so could put a message on the power beam and broadcast it for our receipt at little additional energy or cost. By observing leakage from power beams we may find a message embedded on the beam. Recent observations of the anomalous star KIC 8462852 by the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) set some limits on extraterrestrial power beaming in that system. We show that most power beaming applications commensurate with those suggested for our solar system would be detectable if using the frequency range monitored by the ATA, and so the lack of detection is a meaningful, if modest, constraint on extraterrestrial power beaming in that system. Until more extensive observations are made, the limited observation time and frequency coverage are not sufficiently broad in frequency and duration to produce firm conclusions. Such beams would be visible over large interstellar distances. This implies a new approach to the SETI search: instead of focusing on narrowband beacon transmissions generated by another civilization, look for more powerful beams with much wider bandwidth. This requires a new approach for their discovery by telescopes on Earth. Further studies of power beaming applications should be performed, potentially broadening the parameter space of the observable features that we have discussed here.

Novel Space-based Solar Power Technologies and Architectures for Earth and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Howell, Joe T.; Fikes, John C.; O'Neill, Mark J.

2005-01-01

Research, development and studies of novel space-based solar power systems, technologies and architectures for Earth and beyond are needed to reduce the cost of clean electrical power for terrestrial use and to provide a stepping stone for providing an abundance of power in space, i.e., manufacturing facilities, tourist facilities, delivery of power between objects in space, and between space and surface sites. The architectures, technologies and systems needed for space to Earth applications may also be used for in-space applications. Advances in key technologies, i.e., power generation, power management and distribution, power beaming and conversion of beamed power are needed to achieve the objectives of both terrestrial and extraterrestrial applications. Power beaming or wireless power transmission (WPT) can involve lasers or microwaves along with the associated power interfaces. Microwave and laser transmission techniques have been studied with several promising approaches to safe and efficient WPT identified. These investigations have included microwave phased array transmitters, as well as laser transmission and associated optics. There is a need to produce "proof-of-concept" validation of critical WPT technologies for both the near-term, as well as far-term applications. Investments may be harvested in near-term beam safe demonstrations of commercial WPT applications. Receiving sites (users) include ground-based stations for terrestrial electrical power, orbital sites to provide power for satellites and other platforms, future space elevator systems, space vehicle propulsion, and space to surface sites. This paper briefly discusses achieving a promising approach to the solar power generation and beamed power conversion. The approach is based on a unique high-power solar concentrator array called Stretched Lens Array (SLA) for both solar power generation and beamed power conversion. Since both versions (solar and laser) of SLA use many identical components

Theoretical studies of solar pumped lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Harries, Wynford L.

1990-01-01

One concept for collecting solar energy is to use large solar collectors and then use lasers as energy converters whose output beams act as transmission lines to deliver the energy to a destination. The efficiency of the process would be improved if the conversion could be done directly using solar pumped lasers, and the possibility of making such lasers is studied. There are many applications for such lasers, and these are examined. By including the applications first, the requirements for the lasers will be more evident. They are especially applicable to the Space program, and include cases where no other methods of delivering power seem possible. Using the lasers for conveying information and surveillance is also discussed. Many difficulties confront the designer of an efficient system for power conversion. These involve the nature of the solar spectrum, the method of absorbing the energy, the transfer of power into laser beams, and finally, the far field patterns of the beams. The requirements of the lasers are discussed. Specific laser configurations are discussed. The thrust is into gas laser systems, because for space applications, the laser could be large, and also the medium would be uniform and not subject to thermal stresses. Dye and solid lasers are treated briefly. For gas lasers, a chart of the various possibilities is shown, and the various families of gas lasers divided according to the mechanisms of absorbing solar radiation and of lasing. Several specific models are analyzed and evaluated. Overall conclusions for the program are summarized, and the performances of the lasers related to the requirements of various applications.

Model and trajectory optimization for an ideal laser-enhanced solar sail

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carzana (student TUDelft), Livio; Dachwald, Bernd; Noomen, R.

2017-01-01

A laser-enhanced solar sail is a solar sail that is not solely propelled by solar radiation but additionally by a laser beam that illuminates the sail. This way, the propulsive acceleration of the sail results from the combined action of the solar and the laser radiation pressure onto the sail. The

Candidate solar cell materials for photovoltaic conversion in a solar power satellite /SPS/

Science.gov (United States)

Glaser, P. E.; Almgren, D. W.

1978-01-01

In recognition of the obstacles to solar-generated baseload power on earth, proposals have been made to locate solar power satellites in geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO), where solar energy would be available 24 hours a day during most of the time of the year. In an SPS, the electricity produced by solar energy conversion will be fed to microwave generators forming part of a planar phase-array transmitting antenna. The antenna is designed to precisely direct a microwave beam of very low intensity to one or more receiving antennas at desired locations on earth. At the receiving antenna, the microwave energy will be safely and efficiently reconverted to electricity and then be transmitted to consumers. An SPS system will include a number of satellites in GEO. Attention is given to the photovoltaic option for solar energy conversion in GEO, solar cell requirements, the availability of materials, the implication of large production volumes, requirements for high-volume manufacture of solar cell arrays, and the effects of concentration ratio on solar cell array area.

Solar radiation for Mars power systems

Science.gov (United States)

Appelbaum, Joseph; Landis, Geoffrey A.

1991-01-01

Detailed information about the solar radiation characteristics on Mars are necessary for effective design of future planned solar energy systems operating on the surface of Mars. A procedure and solar radiation related data from which the diurnally and daily variation of the global, direct (or beam), and diffuse insolation on Mars are calculated, are presented. The radiation data are based on measured optical depth of the Martian atmosphere derived from images taken of the Sun with a special diode on the Viking Lander cameras; and computation based on multiple wavelength and multiple scattering of the solar radiation.

Calibration of NOAA-7 AVHRR, GOES-5 and GOES-6 VISSR/VAS solar channels

Science.gov (United States)

Frouin, R.; Gautier, C.

1986-01-01

The NOAA-7, GOES-5 and GOES-6 Visible Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer/Vertical Atmospheric Sounder (VISSR/VAS) solar channels were calibrated. The White Sands Monument area in New Mexico, whose reflectance properties are well known, and space are used as calibration targets. The shortwave reflected terrestrial irradiance that is measured at satellite altitude is computed using a fairly accurate radiative transfer model which accounts for multiple scattering and bidirectional effects. The ground target reflectance and relevant characteristics of the overlying atmosphere are estimated from climatological data and observation at the nearest meteorological sites. The approach is believed to produce accuracies of 8 to 13% depending on the channel considered.

A radiative transfer module for calculating photolysis rates and solar heating in climate models: Solar-J v7.5

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Hsu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Solar-J is a comprehensive radiative transfer model for the solar spectrum that addresses the needs of both solar heating and photochemistry in Earth system models. Solar-J is a spectral extension of Cloud-J, a standard in many chemical models that calculates photolysis rates in the 0.18–0.8 µm region. The Cloud-J core consists of an eight-stream scattering, plane-parallel radiative transfer solver with corrections for sphericity. Cloud-J uses cloud quadrature to accurately average over correlated cloud layers. It uses the scattering phase function of aerosols and clouds expanded to eighth order and thus avoids isotropic-equivalent approximations prevalent in most solar heating codes. The spectral extension from 0.8 to 12 µm enables calculation of both scattered and absorbed sunlight and thus aerosol direct radiative effects and heating rates throughout the Earth's atmosphere.The Solar-J extension adopts the correlated-k gas absorption bins, primarily water vapor, from the shortwave Rapid Radiative Transfer Model for general circulation model (GCM applications (RRTMG-SW. Solar-J successfully matches RRTMG-SW's tropospheric heating profile in a clear-sky, aerosol-free, tropical atmosphere. We compare both codes in cloudy atmospheres with a liquid-water stratus cloud and an ice-crystal cirrus cloud. For the stratus cloud, both models use the same physical properties, and we find a systematic low bias of about 3 % in planetary albedo across all solar zenith angles caused by RRTMG-SW's two-stream scattering. Discrepancies with the cirrus cloud using any of RRTMG-SW's three different parameterizations are as large as about 20–40 % depending on the solar zenith angles and occur throughout the atmosphere.Effectively, Solar-J has combined the best components of RRTMG-SW and Cloud-J to build a high-fidelity module for the scattering and absorption of sunlight in the Earth's atmosphere, for which the three major components – wavelength

Solar radiative heating of fiber-optic cables used to monitor temperatures in water

Science.gov (United States)

Neilson, Bethany T.; Hatch, Christine E.; Ban, Heng; Tyler, Scott W.

2010-08-01

In recent years, applications of distributed temperature sensing (DTS) have increased in number and diversity. Because fiber-optic cables used for DTS are typically sheathed in dark UV-resistant materials, the question arises as to how shortwave solar radiation penetrating a water column influences the accuracy of absolute DTS-derived temperatures in aquatic applications. To quantify these effects, we completed a modeling effort that accounts for the effects of radiation and convection on a submersed cable to predict when solar heating may be important. Results indicate that for cables installed at shallow depths in clear, low-velocity water bodies, measurable heating of the cable is likely during peak solar radiation. However, at higher velocities, increased turbidity and/or greater depths, the effects of solar heating are immeasurable. A field study illustrated the effects of solar radiation by installing two types of fiber-optic cable at multiple water depths (from 0.05 to 0.8 m) in the center and along the sidewall of a trapezoidal canal. Thermistors were installed at similar depths and shielded from solar radiation to record absolute water temperatures. During peak radiation, thermistor data showed small temperature differences (˜0.003°C-0.04°C) between depths suggesting minor thermal stratification in the canal center. DTS data from cables at these same depths show differences of 0.01°C-0.17°C. The DTS differences cannot be explained by stratification alone and are likely evidence of additional heating from solar radiation. Sidewall thermistor strings also recorded stratification. However, corresponding DTS data suggested that bed conduction overwhelmed the effects of solar radiation.

Application of lightweight materials in structure concept design of large-scale solar energy unmanned aerial vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wei; Lv, Shengli; Guan, XiQi

2017-09-01

Carbon fiber composites and film materials can be effectively used in light aircraft structures, especially for solar unmanned aerial vehicles. The use of light materials can reduce the weight of the aircraft, but also can effectively improve the aircraft's strength and stiffness. The structure of the large aspect ratio solar energy UAV was analyzed in detail, taking Solar-impulse solar aircraft as an example. The solar energy UAV has a wing aspect ratio greater than 20, and the detailed digital model of the wing structure including beam, ribs and skin was built, also the Finite Element Method was applied to analyze the static and dynamic performance of the structure. The upper skin of the wing is covered with silicon solar cells, while the lower skin is light and transparent film. The single beam truss form of carbon fiber lightweight material is used in the wing structure. The wing beam is a box beam with rectangular cross sections. The box beam connected the front parts and after parts of the ribs together. The fuselage of the aircraft was built by space truss structure. According to the static and dynamic analysis with Finite Element method, it was found that the aircraft has a small wingtip deflection relative to the wingspan in the level flight state. The first natural frequency of the wing structure is pretty low, which is closed to the gust load.

Solar maximum observatory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rust, D.M.

1984-01-01

The successful retrieval and repair of the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite by Shuttle astronauts in April 1984 permitted continuance of solar flare observations that began in 1980. The SMM carries a soft X ray polychromator, gamma ray, UV and hard X ray imaging spectrometers, a coronagraph/polarimeter and particle counters. The data gathered thus far indicated that electrical potentials of 25 MeV develop in flares within 2 sec of onset. X ray data show that flares are composed of compressed magnetic loops that have come too close together. Other data have been taken on mass ejection, impacts of electron beams and conduction fronts with the chromosphere and changes in the solar radiant flux due to sunspots. 13 references

Electron Beam Propagation in a Plasma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyoung W. Min

1988-06-01

Full Text Available Electron beam propagation in a fully ionized plasma has been studied using a one-dimensional particle simulation model. We compare the results of electrostatic simulations to those of electromagnetic simulations. The electrostatic results show the essential features of beam-plasma instability which accelerates ambient plasmas. The results also show the heating of ambient plasmas and the trapping of plasmas due to the locally generated electric field. The level of the radiation generated by the same non-relativistic beam is slightly higher than the noise level. We discuss the results in context of the heating of coronal plasma during solar flares.

The solar ultraviolet B radiation protection provided by shading devices with regard to its diffuse component.

Science.gov (United States)

Kudish, Avraham I; Harari, Marco; Evseev, Efim G

2011-10-01

The composition of the incident solar global ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation with regard to its beam and diffuse radiation fractions is highly relevant with regard to outdoor sun protection. This is especially true with respect to sun protection during leisure-time outdoor sun exposure at the shore and pools, where people tend to escape the sun under shade trees or different types of shading devices, e.g., umbrellas, overhangs, etc., believing they offer protection from the erythemal solar radiation. The degree of sun protection offered by such devices is directly related to the composition of the solar global UVB radiation, i.e., its beam and diffuse fractions. The composition of the incident solar global UVB radiation can be determined by measuring the global UVB (using Solar Light Co. Inc., Model 501A UV-Biometer) and either of its components. The beam component of the UVB radiation was determined by measuring the normal incidence beam radiation using a prototype, tracking instrument consisting of a Solar Light Co. Inc. Model 501A UV-Biometer mounted on an Eppley Solar Tracker Model St-1. The horizontal beam component of the global UVB radiation was calculated from the measured normal incidence using a simple geometric correlation and the diffuse component is determined as the difference between global and horizontal beam radiations. Horizontal and vertical surfaces positioned under a horizontal overhang/sunshade or an umbrella are not fully protected from exposure to solar global UVB radiation. They can receive a significant fraction of the UVB radiation, depending on their location beneath the shading device, the umbrella radius and the albedo (reflectance) of the surrounding ground surface in the case of a vertical surface. Shading devices such as an umbrella or horizontal overhang/shade provide relief from the solar global radiation and do block the solar global UVB radiation to some extent; nevertheless, a significant fraction of the solar global UVB

Hydrogen passivation of silicon sheet solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuo, Y.S.; Milstein, J.B.

1984-01-01

Significant improvements in the efficiencies of dendritic web and edge-supported-pulling silicon sheet solar cells have been obtained after hydrogen ion beam passivation for a period of ten minutes or less. We have studied the effects of the hydrogen ion beam treatment with respect to silicon material damage, silicon sputter rate, introduction of impurities, and changes in reflectance. The silicon sputter rate for constant ion beam flux of 0.60 +- 0.05 mA/cm 2 exhibits a maximum at approximately 1400-eV ion beam energy

The influence of the solar radiation model on the calcutated solar radiation from a horizontal surface to a tilted surface

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Elsa; Lund, Hans; Furbo, Simon

2004-01-01

Measured solar radiation data are most commonly available as total solar radiation on a horizontal surface. When using solar radiation measured on horizontal to calculate the solar radiation on tilted surfaces and thereby the thermal performance of different applications such as buildings and solar...... heating systems, different solar radiation models can be used. The calculation of beam radiation from a horizontal surface to a tilted surface can be done exactly whereas different solar radiation models can calculate the sky diffuse radiation. The sky diffuse radiation can either be assumed evenly...... in the calculation. The weather data are measured at the solar radiation measurement station, SMS at the Department of Civil Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark. In this study the weather data are combined with solar collector calculations based on solar collector test carried out at Solar Energy...

Space solar power - An energy alternative

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, R. W.

1978-01-01

The space solar power concept is concerned with the use of a Space Power Satellite (SPS) which orbits the earth at geostationary altitude. Two large symmetrical solar collectors convert solar energy directly to electricity using photovoltaic cells woven into blankets. The dc electricity is directed to microwave generators incorporated in a transmitting antenna located between the solar collectors. The antenna directs the microwave beam to a receiving antenna on earth where the microwave energy is efficiently converted back to dc electricity. The SPS design promises 30-year and beyond lifetimes. The SPS is relatively pollution free as it promises earth-equivalence of 80-85% efficient ground-based thermal power plant.

Solar satellites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poher, C.

1982-01-01

A reference system design, projected costs, and the functional concepts of a satellite solar power system (SSPS) for converting sunlight falling on solar panels of a satellite in GEO to a multi-GW beam which could be received by a rectenna on earth are outlined. Electricity transmission by microwaves has been demonstrated, and a reference design system for supplying 5 GW dc to earth was devised. The system will use either monocrystalline Si or concentrator GaAs solar cells for energy collection in GEO. Development is still needed to improve the lifespan of the cells. Currently, the cell performance degrades 50 percent in efficiency after 7-8 yr in space. Each SSPS satellite would weigh either 34,000 tons (Si) or 51,000 tons (GaAs), thereby requiring the fabrication of a heavy lift launch vehicle or a single-stage-to-orbit transport in order to minimize launch costs. Costs for the solar panels have been estimated at $500/kW using the GaAs technology, with transport costs for materials to GEO being $40/kg.

Solar satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Poher, C.

A reference system design, projected costs, and the functional concepts of a satellite solar power system (SSPS) for converting sunlight falling on solar panels of a satellite in GEO to a multi-GW beam which could be received by a rectenna on earth are outlined. Electricity transmission by microwaves has been demonstrated, and a reference design system for supplying 5 GW dc to earth was devised. The system will use either monocrystalline Si or concentrator GaAs solar cells for energy collection in GEO. Development is still needed to improve the lifespan of the cells. Currently, the cell performance degrades 50 percent in efficiency after 7-8 yr in space. Each SSPS satellite would weigh either 34,000 tons (Si) or 51,000 tons (GaAs), thereby requiring the fabrication of a heavy lift launch vehicle or a single-stage-to-orbit transport in order to minimize launch costs. Costs for the solar panels have been estimated at $500/kW using the GaAs technology, with transport costs for materials to GEO being $40/kg.

Enhanced thermal stability of a polymer solar cell blend induced by electron beam irradiation in the transmission electron microscope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bäcke, Olof, E-mail: obacke@chalmers.se [Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg (Sweden); Lindqvist, Camilla; Diaz de Zerio Mendaza, Amaia [Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg (Sweden); Gustafsson, Stefan [Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg (Sweden); Wang, Ergang; Andersson, Mats R.; Müller, Christian [Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg (Sweden); Kristiansen, Per Magnus [Institute of Polymer Nanotechnology (INKA), FHNW University of Applied Science and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 5210 Windisch (Switzerland); Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen (Switzerland); Olsson, Eva, E-mail: eva.olsson@chalmers.se [Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg (Sweden)

2017-05-15

We show by in situ microscopy that the effects of electron beam irradiation during transmission electron microscopy can be used to lock microstructural features and enhance the structural thermal stability of a nanostructured polymer:fullerene blend. Polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunction thin films show great promise for use as active layers in organic solar cells but their low thermal stability is a hindrance. Lack of thermal stability complicates manufacturing and influences the lifetime of devices. To investigate how electron irradiation affects the thermal stability of polymer:fullerene films, a model bulk-heterojunction film based on a thiophene-quinoxaline copolymer and a fullerene derivative was heat-treated in-situ in a transmission electron microscope. In areas of the film that exposed to the electron beam the nanostructure of the film remained stable, while the nanostructure in areas not exposed to the electron beam underwent large phase separation and nucleation of fullerene crystals. UV–vis spectroscopy shows that the polymer:fullerene films are stable for electron doses up to 2000 kGy. - Highlights: • Thermal stability of a polymer: fullerne blend is increased using electron irradiation. • Using in-situ transmission electron microscopy the nanostructure is studied. • Electron irradiation stops phase separation between the polymer and fullerene. • Electron irradiation quenches the formation and nucleation of fullerene crystals.

Atlas of albedo and absorbed solar radiation derived from Nimbus 7 earth radiation budget data set, November 1985 to October 1987

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, G. Louis; Rutan, David; Bess, T. Dale

1992-01-01

An atlas of monthly mean global contour maps of albedo and absorbed solar radiation is presented for 21 months from Nov. 1985 to Oct. 1987. These data were retrieved from measurements made by the shortwave wide-field-of-view radiometer of the Earth Radiation Budget (ERB) instrument aboard the Nimbus 7 spacecraft. Profiles of zonal mean albedos and absorbed solar radiation were tabulated. These geographical distributions are provided as a resource for researchers studying the radiation budget of the Earth. The El Nino/Southern Oscillation event of 1986-1987 is included in this data set. This atlas of albedo and absorbed solar radiation extends to 12 years the period covered by two similar atlases: NASA RP-1230 (Jul. 1975 - Oct. 1978) and NASA RP-1231 (Nov. 1978 - Oct. 1985). These three compilations complement the atlases of outgoing longwave radiation by Bess and Smith in NASA RP-1185, RP-1186, and RP-1261, which were also based on the Nimbus 6 and 7 ERB data.

Power Beamed Photon Sails: New Capabilities Resulting From Recent Maturation Of Key Solar Sail And High Power Laser Technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montgomery, Edward E. IV

2010-01-01

This paper revisits some content in the First International Symposium on Beamed Energy Propulsion in 2002 related to the concept of propellantless in-space propulsion utilizing an external high energy laser to provide momentum to an ultralightweight (gossamer) spacecraft. The design and construction of the NanoSail-D solar sail demonstration spacecraft has demonstrated in space flight hardware the concept of small, very light--yet capable--spacecraft. The results of the Joint High Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) have also increased the effectiveness and reduced the cost of an entry level laser source. This paper identifies the impact from improved system parameters on current mission applications.

Response of the dynamic and thermodynamic structure of the stratosphere to the solar cycle in the boreal winter

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Chunhua; Gao, Yannan; Cai, Juan; Guo, Dong; Lu, Yan

2018-04-01

The response of the dynamic and thermodynamic structure of the stratosphere to the solar cycle in the boreal winter is investigated based on measurements of the solar cycle by the Spectral Irradiance Monitor onboard the SORCE satellite, monthly ERA-Interim Reanalysis data from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the radiative transfer scheme of the Beijing Climate Center (BCC-RAD) and a multiple linear regression model. The results show that during periods of strong solar activity, the solar shortwave heating anomaly from the climatology in the tropical upper stratosphere triggers a local warm anomaly and strong westerly winds in mid-latitudes, which strengthens the upward propagation of planetary wave 1 but prevents that of wave 2. The enhanced westerly jet makes a slight adjustment to the propagation path of wave 1, but prevents wave 2 from propagating upward, decreases the dissipation of wave 2 in the extratropical upper stratosphere and hence weakens the Brewer-Dobson circulation. The adiabatic heating term in relation to the Brewer-Dobson circulation shows anomalous warming in the tropical lower stratosphere and anomalous cooling in the mid-latitude upper stratosphere.

CIGS thin films, solar cells, and submodules fabricated using a rf-plasma cracked Se-radical beam source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishizuka, Shogo; Yamada, Akimasa; Shibata, Hajime; Fons, Paul; Niki, Shigeru

2011-01-01

Coevaporated Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) film growth using a rf-plasma cracked Se-radical beam (R-Se) source leads to a significant reduction in the amount of raw Se source material wasted during growth and exhibits unique film properties such as highly dense, smooth surfaces and large grain size. R-Se grown CIGS solar cells also show concomitant unique properties different from conventional evaporative Se (E-Se) source grown CIGS cells. In the present work, the impact of modified surfaces, interfaces, and bulk crystal properties of R-Se grown CIGS films on the solar cell performance was studied. When a R-Se source was used, Na diffusion into CIGS layers was enhanced while a remarkable diffusion of elemental Ga and Se into Mo back contact layers was observed. Improvements in the bulk crystal quality as manifested by large grain size and increased Na concentration with the use of a R-Se source is expected to be effective to improve photovoltaic performance. Using a R-Se source for the growth of CIGS absorber layers at a relatively low growth temperature, we have successfully demonstrated a monolithically integrated submodule efficiency of 15.0% (17 cells, aperture area of 76.5 cm 2 ) on 0.25-mm thick soda-lime glass substrates.

Electromagnetic radiation from beam-plasma instabilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stenzel, R.L.; Whelan, D.A.

1982-01-01

This chapter investigates the mechanism by which unstable electrostatic waves of an electron-beam plasma system are converted into observed electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic radiation arises from both natural beam-plasma systems (e.g., type III solar bursts and kilometric radiation), and from man-made electron beams injected from rockets and spacecraft. A pulsed magnetized discharge plasma is produced with a 1 m diam. oxide-coated cathode and the discussed experiment is performed in the quiescent afterglow. The primary beam-plasma instability involves the excitation of electrostatic plasma waves. Electromagnetic radiation from the beam-plasma system is observed with microwave antennas outside the plasma (all probes removed) or with coax-fed dipoles which can be inserted radially and axially into the plasma. The physical process of mode coupling by which electromagnetic radiation is generated in an electrostatic beam-plasma instability is identified. The results are relevant to beam injection experiments from rockets or satellites into space plasmas. The limited penetration of the beam current into the plasma due to instabilities is demonstrated

Robot Towed Shortwave Infrared Camera for Specific Surface Area Retrieval of Surface Snow

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, J.; Lines, A.; Ray, L.; Albert, M. R.

2017-12-01

Optical grain size and specific surface area are key parameters for measuring the atmospheric interactions of snow, as well as tracking metamorphosis and allowing for the ground truthing of remote sensing data. We describe a device using a shortwave infrared camera with changeable optical bandpass filters (centered at 1300 nm and 1550 nm) that can be used to quickly measure the average SSA over an area of 0.25 m^2. The device and method are compared with calculations made from measurements taken with a field spectral radiometer. The instrument is designed to be towed by a small autonomous ground vehicle, and therefore rides above the snow surface on ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW) skis.

A solar simulator-pumped gas laser for the direct conversion of solar energy

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, W. R.; Lee, J. H.

1981-01-01

Most proposed space power systems are comprised of three general stages, including the collection of the solar radiation, the conversion to a useful form, and the transmission to a receiver. The solar-pumped laser, however, effectively eliminates the middle stage and offers direct photon-to-photon conversion. The laser is especially suited for space-to-space power transmission and communication because of minimal beam spread, low power loss over large distances, and extreme energy densities. A description is presented of the first gas laser pumped by a solar simulator that is scalable to high power levels. The lasant is an iodide C3F7I that as a laser-fusion driver has produced terawatt peak power levels.

Cladding of Ni superalloy powders on AISI 4140 steel with concentrated solar energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernandez, B.J.; Lopez, V.; Vazquez, A.J. [Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Metalurgicas, CENIM-CSIC, Madrid (Spain); Martinez, D. [Plataforma Solar de Almeria, Tabernas Almeria (Spain)

1998-05-12

The present work deals with Ni alloy cladding on AISI 4140 steel samples made with high power density concentrated solar beams. The quality of the cladding is high concerning the adherence, low dilution and high hardness of the coating. Some considerations are presented concerning the future of high power density beams related to SUrface Modification of Metallic mAterials with SOLar Energy (SUMMA cum SOLE)

Accelerator beam application in science and industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagiwara, M.

1996-01-01

Various accelerator beams are being used widely in science and industry. The area of their applications is so wide and rapidly expanding. This paper focuses on recent efforts made in the field of radiation chemistry, especially in materials development using electron and ion beams. Concerning the applications of electron beams, synthesis of SiC fibers, improvement of radiation resistance of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and preparation of an adsorbent for uranium recovery from sea water were described. In the synthesis of SiC, the electron beams were used effectively to cross-link precursor fibers to prevent their deformation upon heating for their pyrolysis to SiC fibers. The improvement of radiation resistance of PTFE was resulted successfully by its crosslinking. As to the preparation of the adsorbent for uranium recovery, chelating resins containing amidoxime groups were shown to work as a good adsorbent of uranium from sea water. The Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment of JAERI completed the accelerator facility named TIARA for R and D of ion beam applications three years ago. Some results were presented on the studies about radiation effects on solar cells and LSIs for space use and synthesis of functional materials. Radiation resistance of solar cells was tested with both electron and proton beams using a beam scanning technique for the irradiation to a wide area, and ultra-fast transient current induced by heavy ion microbeam was measured for studies on mechanisms of single event upset (SEU) in LSIs. In the synthesis of organic functional materials, a temperature responsive particle track membrane was developed. Techniques for RBS and NRA using heavy ion beams were established for analyzing structures of multi-layered materials. Single crystalline thin film of diamond was successfully formed on Si substrate under the deposition of mass separated C-12 ions of 100 eV. (author)

Ion Beam Propulsion Study

Science.gov (United States)

2008-01-01

The Ion Beam Propulsion Study was a joint high-level study between the Applied Physics Laboratory operated by NASA and ASRC Aerospace at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and Berkeley Scientific, Berkeley, California. The results were promising and suggested that work should continue if future funding becomes available. The application of ion thrusters for spacecraft propulsion is limited to quite modest ion sources with similarly modest ion beam parameters because of the mass penalty associated with the ion source and its power supply system. Also, the ion source technology has not been able to provide very high-power ion beams. Small ion beam propulsion systems were used with considerable success. Ion propulsion systems brought into practice use an onboard ion source to form an energetic ion beam, typically Xe+ ions, as the propellant. Such systems were used for steering and correction of telecommunication satellites and as the main thruster for the Deep Space 1 demonstration mission. In recent years, "giant" ion sources were developed for the controlled-fusion research effort worldwide, with beam parameters many orders of magnitude greater than the tiny ones of conventional space thruster application. The advent of such huge ion beam sources and the need for advanced propulsion systems for exploration of the solar system suggest a fresh look at ion beam propulsion, now with the giant fusion sources in mind.

Soft X-ray beam induced current technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watts, B; Ade, H [Department of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Queen, D; Hellman, F [Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Kilcoyne, A L D; Tyliszczak, T, E-mail: benjamin.watts@gmail.co [Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley Nat. Lab., Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2009-09-01

Direct mapping of the charge transport efficiency of polymer solar cell devices using a soft X-ray beam induced current (SoXBIC) method is described. By fabricating a polymer solar cell on an x-ray transparent substrate, we demonstrate the ability to map polymer composition and nanoscale structure within an operating solar cell device and to simultaneously measure the local charge transport efficiency via the short-circuit current. A simple model is calculated and compared to experimental SoXBIC data of a PFB:F8BT bulk-heterojunction device in order to gain greater insight into the device operation and physics.

Solar power from space: the worldwide grid of the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2000-01-01

Recent interest in the feasibility and prospects for generating large amounts of electricity from space-based solar power systems is reviewed. The interest is generated by reports which suggest that sun-surfacing solar arrays in stationary earth orbit at an altitude 22,300 miles would not only be unaffected by the Earth's day-night cycle, cloud cover and atmospheric dust, but would also receive some eight times as much sunlight as solar collectors at the Earth's surface. The prediction is that relevant technology will be perfected to the point where by the middle of the 21. century a large share of the world's demand for electricity will be met by a series of very large space-based solar photovoltaic arrays. Several billion watts of power could be beamed to the Earth at microwave radio frequencies for collection by wide area rectifying ground antennas for conversion to electricity via transmitters connected to the photovoltaic arrays. A chronological account of development of this concept of beaming solar power from space shows that the idea has been around since the 1880s, gaining more and more credibility with each advance in space science . The moon, too, has been suggested as an ideal site for developing large-scale solar power systems that beam microwave energy to Earth. The lunar soil could supply silicon to build solar arrays, and metals such as iron and aluminum, for support structures and electric wiring. NASA is actively pursuing this line of inquiry, especially since all the problems involved with solar energy generation on earth, are absent on the moon.While a breakthrough is not imminent, the significant progress achieved to date in demonstrating the feasibility of wireless power transmission from space provides good reason for continuing to pursue this line of investigation

Computation of thermal comfort inside a passenger car compartment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mezrhab, A.; Bouzidi, M.

2006-01-01

This paper describes a numerical model to study the behaviour of thermal comfort inside the passenger car compartment according to climatic conditions and materials that compose the vehicle. The specifically developed numerical model is based on the nodal method and the finite difference method. Its specificities are: (i) the transient mode, (ii) the taking into account of the combined convection, conduction and radiation heat transfer, (iii) the coupling of two spectral bands (short-wave and long-wave radiation) and two solar fluxes (beam and diffuse). The compartment is subdivided in several solid nodes (materials constituting the compartment) and fluid nodes (volumes of air inside the compartment). The establishment of the heat balance for each node gives the evolution of its temperature. Effects of solar radiation, types of glazing, car colour and radiative properties of materials constituting the compartment are investigated

Design of ultrahigh brightness solar-pumped disk laser.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Dawei; Almeida, Joana

2012-09-10

To significantly improve the solar-pumped laser beam brightness, a multi-Fresnel lens scheme is proposed for side-pumping either a single-crystal Nd:YAG or a core-doped ceramic Sm(3+) Nd:YAG disk. Optimum laser system parameters are found through ZEMAX and LASCAD numerical analysis. An ultrahigh laser beam figure of merit B of 53 W is numerically calculated, corresponding to a significant enhancement of more than 180 times over the previous record. 17.7 W/m(2) collection efficiency is also numerically attained. The strong thermal effects that have hampered present-day rod-type solar-pumped lasers can also be largely alleviated.

The influence of scrotonin on survival of Candida guillermondii, irradiated by short-wave ultraviolet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strakhovskaya, M.G.; Frajkin, G.Ya.; Goncharenko, E.N.

1982-01-01

A study was made on the influence of serotonin on survival of Candida quilliermondu yeast irradiated by 254 nm short-wave ultraviolet. It was established that incubation with serotonin, leading to its penetration inside cells causes two opposite effects - protection from ultraviolet inactivation in preliminary incubation and intensification of cells death in postradiation incubation. Serotonin action is similar to the effects induced in C. guillermondii yeast by 334 nm long-wave ultraviolet light, that is serotonin possesses photomimetic effect. The data obtained are considered as conformaition of participation of serotonin photoinduced synthesis in manifestation of effects of long-wave ultraviolet light action on yeast

Comparison of ultramicrotomy and focused-ion-beam for the preparation of TEM and STEM cross section of organic solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corazza, Michael, E-mail: michael.corazza@gmail.com [Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Simonsen, Søren B. [Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Gnaegi, Helmut [Diatome Ltd., Biel-Bienne (Switzerland); Thydén, Karl T.S.; Krebs, Frederik C.; Gevorgyan, Suren A. [Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000 Roskilde (Denmark)

2016-12-15

Highlights: • Comparison of flexible solar cell sections prepared by ultramicrotomy and by FIB. • Energy filtered TEM analysis of phase separation in the P3HT:PCBM active layer. • Imaging of aging effects on solar cell cross section prepared by ultramicrotomy. • Ultramicrotomy provides great details while FIB better preserves the structure. - Abstract: The challenge of preparing cross sections of organic photovoltaics (OPV) suitable for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning TEM (STEM) is addressed. The samples were polymer solar cells fabricated using roll-to-roll (R2R) processing methods on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Focused ion beam (FIB) and ultramicrotomy were used to prepare the cross sections. The differences between the samples prepared by ultramicrotomy and FIB are addressed, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of each technique. The sample prepared by ultramicrotomy yielded good resolution, enabling further studies of phase separation of P3HT:PCBM by means of energy filtered TEM (EFTEM). The sample prepared by FIB shows good structure preservation, but reduced resolution due to non-optimal thicknesses achieved after treatment. Degradation studies of samples prepared by ultramicrotomy are further discussed, which reveal particular effects of the ISOS-L-3 aging test (85 °C, 50% R.H., 0.7 Sun) onto the sample, especially pronounced in the silver layer.

Electron beam interaction with space plasmas.

Science.gov (United States)

Krafft, C.; Bolokitin, A. S.

1999-12-01

Active space experiments involving the controlled injection of electron beams and the formation of artificially generated currents can provide in many cases a calibration of natural phenomena connected with the dynamic interaction of charged particles with fields. They have a long history beginning from the launches of small rockets with electron guns in order to map magnetic fields lines in the Earth's magnetosphere or to excite artificial auroras. Moreover, natural beams of charged particles exist in many space and astrophysical plasmas and were identified in situ by several satellites; a few examples are beams connected with solar bursts, planetary foreshocks or suprathermal fluxes traveling in planetary magnetospheres. Many experimental and theoretical works have been performed in order to interpret or plan space experiments involving beam injection as well as to understand the physics of wave-particle interaction, as wave radiation, beam dynamics and background plasma modification.

Evaluation of the shortwave cloud radiative effect over the ocean by use of ship and satellite observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Hanschmann

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In this study the shortwave cloud radiative effect (SWCRE over ocean calculated by the ECHAM 5 climate model is evaluated for the cloud property input derived from ship based measurements and satellite based estimates and compared to ship based radiation measurements. The ship observations yield cloud fraction, liquid water path from a microwave radiometer, cloud bottom height as well as temperature and humidity profiles from radiosonde ascents. Level-2 products of the Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM~SAF from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI have been used to characterize clouds. Within a closure study six different experiments have been defined to find the optimal set of measurements to calculate downward shortwave radiation (DSR and the SWCRE from the model, and their results have been evaluated under seven different synoptic situations. Four of these experiments are defined to investigate the advantage of including the satellite-based cloud droplet effective radius as additional cloud property. The modeled SWCRE based on satellite retrieved cloud properties has a comparable accuracy to the modeled SWCRE based on ship data. For several cases, an improvement through introducing the satellite-based estimate of effective radius as additional information to the ship based data was found. Due to their different measuring characteristics, however, each dataset shows best results for different atmospheric conditions.

Design of a temperature control system using incremental PID algorithm for a special homemade shortwave infrared spatial remote sensor based on FPGA

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zhipeng; Wei, Jun; Li, Jianwei; Zhou, Qianting

2010-11-01

An image spectrometer of a spatial remote sensing satellite requires shortwave band range from 2.1μm to 3μm which is one of the most important bands in remote sensing. We designed an infrared sub-system of the image spectrometer using a homemade 640x1 InGaAs shortwave infrared sensor working on FPA system which requires high uniformity and low level of dark current. The working temperature should be -15+/-0.2 Degree Celsius. This paper studies the model of noise for focal plane array (FPA) system, investigated the relationship with temperature and dark current noise, and adopts Incremental PID algorithm to generate PWM wave in order to control the temperature of the sensor. There are four modules compose of the FPGA module design. All of the modules are coded by VHDL and implemented in FPGA device APA300. Experiment shows the intelligent temperature control system succeeds in controlling the temperature of the sensor.

Spectral composition of shortwave radiation reflected and deep penetrating into snow near the Barentsburg settlement (Svalbard

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. N. Svyashchennikov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Data on spectral composition of shortwave radiation that is reflected from snow and penetrates deep into the snow cover obtained near the Barentsburg settlement (Svalbard are discussed in the paper. Measurements were made by the use of the spectral radiometer TriOS Ramses within the wavelength range of 280–950 nm. The results will allow more proper taking account of the anthropogenic pollution effects on the radiative properties of snow cover under conditions of industrial activity related to the coal extraction and burning in Barentsburg.

Space Solar Power Technology Demonstration for Lunar Polar Applications: Laser-Photovoltaic Wireless Power Transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Henley, M. W.; Fikes, J. C.; Howell, J.; Mankins, J. C.; Howell, Joe T. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Space Solar Power technology offers unique benefits for near-term NASA space science missions, which can mature this technology for other future applications. "Laser-Photo-Voltaic Wireless Power Transmission" (Laser-PV WPT) is a technology that uses a laser to beam power to a photovoltaic receiver, which converts the laser's light into electricity. Future Laser-PV WPT systems may beam power from Earth to satellites or large Space Solar Power satellites may beam power to Earth, perhaps supplementing terrestrial solar photo-voltaic receivers. In a near-term scientific mission to the moon, Laser-PV WPT can enable robotic operations in permanently shadowed lunar polar craters, which may contain ice. Ground-based technology demonstrations are proceeding, to mature the technology for this initial application, in the moon's polar regions.

Efficiency limit of solar cells with index-near-zero photon management layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirk, A.P.

2017-05-15

As single-junction solar cells saturate in efficiency, the topic of photon management has generated interest in the long running quest to exceed the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit. While a mirror applied to the backside of a solar cell has proven its benefit as a photon management layer in record setting devices that fall within the Shockley-Queisser limit, it has been proposed that a new type of photon management layer – a transparent index-near-zero (INZ) material – applied to the top surface of a solar cell will allow it to finally exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit. INZ layers – and their influence on solar cell current density, open circuit voltage, and power conversion efficiency – are analyzed. By considering the principle of detailed balance, Snell's law, and the role that entropy plays, it is shown that INZ layers do not allow a solar cell to exceed the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit. At best, a solar cell with an INZ layer would have the same Shockley-Queisser limiting efficiency as a conventional solar cell tracked under a direct solar spectrum (direct beam radiation only), yet would suffer diminished efficiency under a global solar spectrum (direct beam plus diffuse light) due to the presence of an external critical acceptance angle.

Efficiency limit of solar cells with index-near-zero photon management layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirk, A.P.

2017-01-01

As single-junction solar cells saturate in efficiency, the topic of photon management has generated interest in the long running quest to exceed the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit. While a mirror applied to the backside of a solar cell has proven its benefit as a photon management layer in record setting devices that fall within the Shockley-Queisser limit, it has been proposed that a new type of photon management layer – a transparent index-near-zero (INZ) material – applied to the top surface of a solar cell will allow it to finally exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit. INZ layers – and their influence on solar cell current density, open circuit voltage, and power conversion efficiency – are analyzed. By considering the principle of detailed balance, Snell's law, and the role that entropy plays, it is shown that INZ layers do not allow a solar cell to exceed the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit. At best, a solar cell with an INZ layer would have the same Shockley-Queisser limiting efficiency as a conventional solar cell tracked under a direct solar spectrum (direct beam radiation only), yet would suffer diminished efficiency under a global solar spectrum (direct beam plus diffuse light) due to the presence of an external critical acceptance angle.

Efficiency limit of solar cells with index-near-zero photon management layers

Science.gov (United States)

Kirk, A. P.

2017-05-01

As single-junction solar cells saturate in efficiency, the topic of photon management has generated interest in the long running quest to exceed the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit. While a mirror applied to the backside of a solar cell has proven its benefit as a photon management layer in record setting devices that fall within the Shockley-Queisser limit, it has been proposed that a new type of photon management layer - a transparent index-near-zero (INZ) material - applied to the top surface of a solar cell will allow it to finally exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit. INZ layers - and their influence on solar cell current density, open circuit voltage, and power conversion efficiency - are analyzed. By considering the principle of detailed balance, Snell's law, and the role that entropy plays, it is shown that INZ layers do not allow a solar cell to exceed the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit. At best, a solar cell with an INZ layer would have the same Shockley-Queisser limiting efficiency as a conventional solar cell tracked under a direct solar spectrum (direct beam radiation only), yet would suffer diminished efficiency under a global solar spectrum (direct beam plus diffuse light) due to the presence of an external critical acceptance angle.

Estimating Hourly Beam and Diffuse Solar Radiation in an Alpine Valley: A Critical Assessment of Decomposition Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lavinia Laiti

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Accurate solar radiation estimates in Alpine areas represent a challenging task, because of the strong variability arising from orographic effects and mountain weather phenomena. These factors, together with the scarcity of observations in elevated areas, often cause large modelling uncertainties. In the present paper, estimates of hourly mean diffuse fraction values from global radiation data, provided by a number (13 of decomposition models (chosen among the most widely tested in the literature, are evaluated and compared with observations collected near the city of Bolzano, in the Adige Valley (Italian Alps. In addition, the physical factors influencing diffuse fraction values in such a complex orographic context are explored. The average accuracy of the models were found to be around 27% and 14% for diffuse and beam radiation respectively, the largest errors being observed under clear sky and partly cloudy conditions, respectively. The best performances were provided by the more complex models, i.e., those including a predictor specifically explaining the radiation components’ variability associated with scattered clouds. Yet, these models return non-negligible biases. In contrast, the local calibration of a single-equation logistical model with five predictors allows perfectly unbiased estimates, as accurate as those of the best-performing models (20% and 12% for diffuse and beam radiation, respectively, but at much smaller computational costs.

Energy and carbon balances in cheatgrass, an essay in autecology. [Shortwave radiation, radiowave radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hinds, W.T.

1975-01-01

An experiment to determine the fates of energy and carbon in cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) was carried out on steep (40/sup 0/) north- and south-facing slopes on a small earth mound, using many small lysimeters to emulate swards of cheatgrass. Meteorological conditions and energy fluxes that were measured included air and soil temperatures, relative humidity, wind speed, incoming shortwave radiation, net all-wave radiation, heat flux to the soil, and evaporation and transpiration separately. The fate of photosynthetically fixed carbon during spring growth was determined by analysis of the plant tissues into mineral nutrients, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) for roots, shoots, and seeds separately. (auth)

Developments of sausages in a z-pinch with short-wave perturbation of a boundary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vikhrev, V.V.; Ivanov, V.V.; Rozanova, G.A.

1989-01-01

A numeric simulation of sausage evolution in z-pinch during short-wave excitation of the boundary of plasma column pinch is carried out. The simulation has shown that due to nonlinear development of sausages in a pinch plasma colomn the cavities filled with a magnetic field in a rarefied pinch plasma are formed. Simultaneously compact column of tense plasma whose temperature is much higher than the average temperature of pinch plasma column are formed on the pinch axis. In the region of inlet in the cavity plasma is radially directed due to ponderomotoric force 1/2 x jB up to velocities greatly increasing the thermal velocity of ions in a plasma column

Solar concentrator with integrated tracking and light delivery system with collimation

Science.gov (United States)

Maxey, Lonnie Curt

2015-06-09

A solar light distribution system includes a solar light concentrator that is affixed externally to a light transfer tube. Solar light waves are processed by the concentrator into a collimated beam of light, which is then transferred through a light receiving port and into the light transfer tube. A reflector directs the collimated beam of light through the tube to a light distribution port. The interior surface of the light transfer tube is highly reflective so that the light transfers through the tube with minimal losses. An interchangeable luminaire is attached to the light distribution port and distributes light inside of a structure. A sun tracking device rotates the concentrator and the light transfer tube to optimize the receiving of solar light by the concentrator throughout the day. The system provides interior lighting, uses only renewable energy sources, and releases no carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

Solar concentrator with integrated tracking and light delivery system with summation

Science.gov (United States)

Maxey, Lonnie Curt

2015-05-05

A solar light distribution system includes a solar light concentrator that is affixed externally to a light transfer tube. Solar light waves are processed by the concentrator into a collimated beam of light, which is then transferred through a light receiving port and into the light transfer tube. A reflector redirects the collimated beam of light through the tube to a light distribution port. The interior surface of the light transfer tube is highly reflective so that the light transfers through the tube with minimal losses. An interchangeable luminaire is attached to the light distribution port and provides light inside of a structure. A sun tracking device rotates the concentrator and the light transfer tube to optimize the receiving of solar light by the concentrator throughout the day. The system provides interior lighting that uses only renewable energy sources, and releases no carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

Emission from Crystals Irradiated with a Beam of Runaway Electrons

Science.gov (United States)

Buranchenko, A. G.; Tarasenko, V. F.; Beloplotov, D. V.; Baksht, E. Kh.

2018-01-01

An investigation of the spectral and amplitude-temporal characteristics of emission from different crystals, promising in terms of their application as detectors of runaway electrons, is performed. This emission is excited by subnanosecond electron beams generated in a gas diode. It is found out that at the electron energies of tens-hundreds of kiloelectronvolts, the main contribution into the emission from CsI, ZnS, type IIa artificial and natural diamonds, sapphire, CaF2, ZrO2, Ga2O3, CaCO3, CdS, and ZnSe crystals comes from the cathodoluminescence; the radiation pulse duration depends on the crystal used and sufficiently exceeds the Cherenkov radiation pulse duration. It is demonstrated that the latter radiation exhibits low intensity and can be detected in the short-wave region of the spectrum in the cases where a monochromator and a high-sensitivity photomultiplier tube (PMT) are used.

Overview of Small and Large-Scale Space Solar Power Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, Seth; Henley, Mark; Howell, Joe; Carrington, Connie; Fikes, John

2006-01-01

An overview of space solar power studies performed at the Boeing Company under contract with NASA will be presented. The major concepts to be presented are: 1. Power Plug in Orbit: this is a spacecraft that collects solar energy and distributes it to users in space using directed radio frequency or optical energy. Our concept uses solar arrays having the same dimensions as ISS arrays, but are assumed to be more efficient. If radiofrequency wavelengths are used, it will necessitate that the receiving satellite be equipped with a rectifying antenna (rectenna). For optical wavelengths, the solar arrays on the receiving satellite will collect the power. 2. Mars Clipper I Power Explorer: this is a solar electric Mars transfer vehicle to support human missions. A near-term precursor could be a high-power radar mapping spacecraft with self-transport capability. Advanced solar electric power systems and electric propulsion technology constitute viable elements for conducting human Mars missions that are roughly comparable in performance to similar missions utilizing alternative high thrust systems, with the one exception being their inability to achieve short Earth-Mars trip times. 3. Alternative Architectures: this task involves investigating alternatives to the traditional solar power satellite (SPS) to supply commercial power from space for use on Earth. Four concepts were studied: two using photovoltaic power generation, and two using solar dynamic power generation, with microwave and laser power transmission alternatives considered for each. All four architectures use geostationary orbit. 4. Cryogenic Propellant Depot in Earth Orbit: this concept uses large solar arrays (producing perhaps 600 kW) to electrolyze water launched from Earth, liquefy the resulting hydrogen and oxygen gases, and store them until needed by spacecraft. 5. Beam-Powered Lunar Polar Rover: a lunar rover powered by a microwave or laser beam can explore permanently shadowed craters near the lunar

History and status of beamed power technology and applications at 2.45 Gigahertz

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, William C.

1989-01-01

Various applications of beamed power technology are discussed. An experimental microwave powered helicopter, rectenna technology, the use of the Solar Power Satellite to beam energy to Earth via microwaves, the use of cyclotron resonance devices, microwave powered airships, and electric propulsion are discussed.

Solar Pumped Solid State Lasers for Space Solar Power: Experimental Path

Science.gov (United States)

Fork, Richard L.; Carrington, Connie K.; Walker, Wesley W.; Cole, Spencer T.; Green, Jason J. A.; Laycock, Rustin L.

2003-01-01

We outline an experimentally based strategy designed to lead to solar pumped solid state laser oscillators useful for space solar power. Our method involves solar pumping a novel solid state gain element specifically designed to provide efficient conversion of sunlight in space to coherent laser light. Kilowatt and higher average power is sought from each gain element. Multiple such modular gain elements can be used to accumulate total average power of interest for power beaming in space, e.g., 100 kilowatts and more. Where desirable the high average power can also be produced as a train of pulses having high peak power (e.g., greater than 10(exp 10 watts). The modular nature of the basic gain element supports an experimental strategy in which the core technology can be validated by experiments on a single gain element. We propose to do this experimental validation both in terrestrial locations and also on a smaller scale in space. We describe a terrestrial experiment that includes diagnostics and the option of locating the laser beam path in vacuum environment. We describe a space based experiment designed to be compatible with the Japanese Experimental Module (JEM) on the International Space Station (ISS). We anticipate the gain elements will be based on low temperature (approx. 100 degrees Kelvin) operation of high thermal conductivity (k approx. 100 W/cm-K) diamond and sapphire (k approx. 4 W/cm-K). The basic gain element will be formed by sequences of thin alternating layers of diamond and Ti:sapphire with special attention given to the material interfaces. We anticipate this strategy will lead to a particularly simple, robust, and easily maintained low mass modelocked multi-element laser oscillator useful for space solar power.

Charge carrier transport in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar-cells studied by electron beam induced current and temperature and illumination dependent current voltage analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nichterwitz, Melanie

2012-01-01

This work contributes to the understanding of generation dependent charge-carrier transport properties in Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGSe)/ CdS/ ZnO solar cells and a consistent model for the electronic band diagram of the heterojunction region of the device is developed. Cross section electron-beam induced current (EBIC) and temperature and illumination dependent current voltage (IV) measurements are performed on CIGSe solar cells with varying absorber layer compositions and CdS thickness. For a better understanding of possibilities and limitations of EBIC measurements applied on CIGSe solar cells, detailed numerical simulations of cross section EBIC profiles for varying electron beam and solar cell parameters are performed and compared to profiles obtained from an analytical description. Especially the effects of high injection conditions are considered. Even though the collection function of the solar cell is not independent of the generation function of the electron beam, the local electron diffusion length in CIGSe can still be extracted. Grain specific values ranging from (480±70) nm to (2.3±0.2) μm are determined for a CuInSe 2 absorber layer and a value of (2.8±0.3) μm for CIGSe with a Ga-content of 0.3. There are several models discussed in literature to explain generation dependent charge carrier transport, all assuming a high acceptor density either located in the CIGSe layer close to the CIGSe/CdS interface (p + layer), within the CdS layer or at the CdS/ZnO interface. In all models, a change in charge carrier collection properties is caused by a generation dependent occupation probability of the acceptor type defect state and the resulting potential distribution throughout the device. Numerical simulations of EBIC and IV data are performed with parameters according to these models. The model that explains the experimental data best is that of a p + layer at the CIGSe/CdS interface and acceptor type defect states at the CdS/ZnO interface. The p + layer leads

A solar simulator-pumped atomic iodine laser

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, J. H.; Weaver, W. R.

1981-01-01

An atomic iodine laser, a candidate for the direct solar-pumped gas laser, was excited with a 4-kW beam from a xenon arc solar simulator. Continuous lasing at 1.315 micron for over 10 ms was obtained for static filling of n-C3F7I vapor. By momentarily flowing the lasant, a 30-Hz pulsed output was obtained for about 200 ms. The peak laser power observed was 4 W for which the system efficiency reached 0.1%. These results indicate that direct solar pumping of a gas laser for power conversion in space is indeed feasible.

Thermodynamic limit for coherence-limited solar power conversion

Science.gov (United States)

Mashaal, Heylal; Gordon, Jeffrey M.

2014-09-01

The spatial coherence of solar beam radiation is a key constraint in solar rectenna conversion. Here, we present a derivation of the thermodynamic limit for coherence-limited solar power conversion - an expansion of Landsberg's elegant basic bound, originally limited to incoherent converters at maximum flux concentration. First, we generalize Landsberg's work to arbitrary concentration and angular confinement. Then we derive how the values are further lowered for coherence-limited converters. The results do not depend on a particular conversion strategy. As such, they pertain to systems that span geometric to physical optics, as well as classical to quantum physics. Our findings indicate promising potential for solar rectenna conversion.

Nonlinear effects in the propagation of shortwave transverse sound in pure superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gal'perin, Y.

1982-01-01

Various mechanisms are analyzed which lead to nonlinear phenomena (e.g., the dependence of the absorption coefficient and of the velocity of sound on its intensity) in the propagation of transverse shortwave sound in pure superconductors (the wavelength of the sound being much less than the mean free path of the quasiparticles). It is shown that the basic mechanism, over a wide range of superconductor parameters and of the sound intensity, is the so-called momentum nonlinearity. The latter is due to the distortion (induced by the sound wave) of the quasimomentum distribution of resonant electrons interacting with the wave. The dependences of the absorption coefficient and of the sound velocity on its intensity and on the temperature are analyzed in the vicinity of the superconducting transition point. The feasibility of an experimental study of nonlinear acoustic phenomena in the case of transverse sound is considered

Beam Line and Associated Work: Operational Phase 1985-1987

Science.gov (United States)

1988-08-26

ENEA FEL experiment. F. Cicci, E. Fiorentino. A. Ranieri, E. Sabie. Centro Ricerche Energia Frascati (Italy?. ....................... 169 582.25...C) knife-edge pinhole bracket (cf. Fig. 14); (D) beam stop; (E) calorimeter with an attached Si solar cell detector; (F) paddle with tilted platforms...used for T real-time signal pickup behind the slit was a standard Si solar cell, epoxied to the calorimeter case (detail . in Fig. 5). The experimental

Development of solar concentrators for high-power solar-pumped lasers.

Science.gov (United States)

Dinh, T H; Ohkubo, T; Yabe, T

2014-04-20

We have developed unique solar concentrators for solar-pumped solid-state lasers to improve both efficiency and laser output power. Natural sunlight is collected by a primary concentrator which is a 2  m×2  m Fresnel lens, and confined by a cone-shaped hybrid concentrator. Such solar power is coupled to a laser rod by a cylinder with coolant surrounding it that is called a liquid light-guide lens (LLGL). Performance of the cylindrical LLGL has been characterized analytically and experimentally. Since a 14 mm diameter LLGL generates efficient and uniform pumping along a Nd:YAG rod that is 6 mm in diameter and 100 mm in length, 120 W cw laser output is achieved with beam quality factor M2 of 137 and overall slope efficiency of 4.3%. The collection efficiency is 30.0  W/m2, which is 1.5 times larger than the previous record. The overall conversion efficiency is more than 3.2%, which can be comparable to a commercial lamp-pumped solid-state laser. The concept of the light-guide lens can be applied for concentrator photovoltaics or other solar energy optics.

Flexible organic solar cells including efficiency enhancing grating structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oliveira Hansen, Roana Melina de; Liu, Yinghui; Madsen, Morten

2013-01-01

, such as photolithography and electron-beam lithography, besides the steps required for the bulk-heterojunction organic solar cell fabrication. After the production steps, the solar cells on polyimide are peeled off the silicon support substrates, resulting in flexible devices containing nanostructures for light absorption......In this work, a new method for the fabrication of organic solar cells containing functional light-trapping nanostructures on flexible substrates is presented. Polyimide is spin-coated on silicon support substrates, enabling standard micro- and nanotechnology fabrication techniques...

Renewable energy worldwide outlooks: solar energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darnell, J.R.

1994-01-01

Solar energy yield is weak because it is very diffuse. The solar energy depends on the weather. The collectors need the beam radiation. Wavelength is important for some applications that include not only the visible spectrum but also infrared and ultraviolet radiation. The areas of the greatest future population growth are high on solar energy resources. We have different types of conversion systems where energy can be converted from solar to electric or thermal energy. Photovoltaic cells are made of silicone or gallium arsenide, this latter for the space use. For the solar energy applications there is a storage problem: electric batteries or superconducting magnets. Today, the highest use of solar energy is in the low temperature thermal category with over 90% of the world contribution from this energy. The penetration of solar energy will be higher in rural areas than in urban regions. But there are technical, institutional, economic constraints. In spite of that the use of solar energy would be increasing and will go on to increase thereafter. The decreasing costs over time are a real phenomenon and there is a broad public support for increased use of that energy. 15 figs

Solar concentrator panel and gore testing in the JPL 25-foot space simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Dennison, E. W.; Argoud, M. J.

1981-01-01

The optical imaging characteristics of parabolic solar concentrator panels (or gores) have been measured using the optical beam of the JPL 25-foot space simulator. The simulator optical beam has been characterized, and the virtual source position and size have been determined. These data were used to define the optical test geometry. The point source image size and focal length have been determined for several panels. A flux distribution of a typical solar concentrator has been estimated from these data. Aperture photographs of the panels were used to determine the magnitude and characteristics of the reflecting surface errors. This measurement technique has proven to be highly successful at determining the optical characteristics of solar concentrator panels.

Clear sky solar insolation data for Islamabad

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhter, P.; Baig, A.; Mufti, A.

1990-09-01

Monthly average values of both integrated and instantaneous clear sky solar radiation components for Islamabad territory have been presented and discussed. The components include total, direct normal, direct horizontal, global and diffuse radiations, sun hours, number of clear days and temperature for solar energy applications. Beam irradiance values are used to get clear sky (maximum) sun hours by ab-initio. The need for replacing the conventional sunshine recorder is discussed. (author). 8 refs, 1 fig, 2 tabs

Solar cooker effect test and temperature field simulation of radio telescope subreflector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Deshen; Wang, Huajie; Qian, Hongliang; Zhang, Gang; Shen, Shizhao

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Solar cooker effect test of a telescope subreflector is conducted for the first time. • The cause and temperature distribution regularities are analyzed contrastively. • Simulation methods are proposed using light beam segmentation and tracking methods. • The validity of simulation methods is evaluated using the test results. - Abstract: The solar cooker effect can cause a local high temperature of the subreflector and can directly affect the working performance of the radio telescope. To study the daily temperature field and solar cooker effect of a subreflector, experimental studies are carried out with a 3-m-diameter radio telescope model for the first time. Initially, the solar temperature distribution rules, especially the solar cooker effect, are summarized according to the field test results under the most unfavorable conditions. Then, a numerical simulation for the solar temperature field of the subreflector is studied by light beam segmentation and tracking methods. Finally, the validity of the simulation methods is evaluated using the test results. The experimental studies prove that the solar cooker effect really exists and should not be overlooked. In addition, simulation methods for the subreflector temperature field proposed in this paper are effective. The research methods and conclusions can provide valuable references for thermal design, monitoring and control of similar high-precision radio telescopes.

Methods For Improving Polymeric Materials For Use In Solar Cell Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hanoka, Jack I.

2003-07-01

A method of manufacturing a solar cell module includes the use of low cost polymeric materials with improved mechanical properties. A transparent encapsulant layer is placed adjacent a rear surface of a front support layer. Interconnected solar cells are positioned adjacent a rear surface of the transparent encapsulant layer to form a solar cell assembly. A backskin layer is placed adjacent a rear surface of the solar cell assembly. At least one of the transparent encapsulant layer and the backskin layer are predisposed to electron beam radiation.

Increased nuclear safety and reliability through power beaming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coomes, E.P.; Widrig, R.D.

1989-01-01

Space satellites and platforms currently include self-contained power systems to supply the energy necessary to accomplish mission objectives. With power beaming, the power system is separate from the satellite and the two are connected by an energy beam. This approach is analogous to earth-based central station power generation and distribution over transmission lines to various customers. In space, power is produced by power satellites (central power generating stations) and transmitted via energy beams to individual users. Power beaming has the ability to provide an order of magnitude increase in power availability over solar-based power systems with less mass on orbit. The technologies needed for power beaming are being developed today under existing programs directed by the Strategic Defense Initiative Office, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the US Department of Energy. A space power architecture based on power beaming would greatly increase the safety and reliability of employing nuclear power in space

Solar hybrid cooling system for high-tech offices in subtropical climate - Radiant cooling by absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fong, K.F.; Chow, T.T.; Lee, C.K.; Lin, Z.; Chan, L.S.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → A solar hybrid cooling system is proposed for high-tech offices in subtropical climate. → An integration of radiant cooling, absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification. → Year-round cooling and energy performances were evaluated through dynamic simulation. → Its annual primary energy consumption was lower than conventional system up to 36.5%. → The passive chilled beams were more energy-efficient than the active chilled beams. - Abstract: A solar hybrid cooling design is proposed for high cooling load demand in hot and humid climate. For the typical building cooling load, the system can handle the zone cooling load (mainly sensible) by radiant cooling with the chilled water from absorption refrigeration, while the ventilation load (largely latent) by desiccant dehumidification. This hybrid system utilizes solar energy for driving the absorption chiller and regenerating the desiccant wheel. Since a high chilled water temperature generated from the absorption chiller is not effective to handle the required latent load, desiccant dehumidification is therefore involved. It is an integration of radiant cooling, absorption refrigeration and desiccant dehumidification, which are powered up by solar energy. In this study, the application potential of the solar hybrid cooling system was evaluated for the high-tech offices in the subtropical climate through dynamic simulation. The high-tech offices are featured with relatively high internal sensible heat gains due to the intensive office electric equipment. The key performance indicators included the solar fraction and the primary energy consumption. Comparative study was also carried out for the solar hybrid cooling system using two common types of chilled ceilings, the passive chilled beams and active chilled beams. It was found that the solar hybrid cooling system was technically feasible for the applications of relatively higher cooling load demand. The annual primary energy

Estimating the daily solar irradiation on building roofs and facades using Blender Cycles path tracing algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilba Mateusz

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the development of an daily solar irradiation algorithm with application of the free software Blender. Considerable attention was paid to the possibilities of simulation of reflections of direct and diffuse solar radiation. For this purpose, the rendering algorithm “Cycles” was used, based on the principle of bi-directional path tracing – tracing random paths of light beams. The value of global radiation in this study is the sum of four components: direct beam radiation, reflected beam radiation, diffuse radiation and reflected diffuse radiation. The developed algorithm allows calculation of solar irradiation for all elements of the 3D model created in Blender, or imported from an external source. One minute is the highest possible time resolution of the analysis, while the accuracy is dependent on the resolution of textures defined for each element of a 3D object. The analysed data is stored in the form of textures that in the algorithm are converted to the value of solar radiance. The result of the analysis is visualization, which shows the distribution of daily solar irradiation on all defined elements of the 3D model.

High throughput parallel backside contacting and periodic texturing for high-efficiency solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel, Claus; Blue, Craig A.; Ott, Ronald D.

2014-08-19

Disclosed are configurations of long-range ordered features of solar cell materials, and methods for forming same. Some features include electrical access openings through a backing layer to a photovoltaic material in the solar cell. Some features include textured features disposed adjacent a surface of a solar cell material. Typically the long-range ordered features are formed by ablating the solar cell material with a laser interference pattern from at least two laser beams.

Measuring solar reflectance - Part I: Defining a metric that accurately predicts solar heat gain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levinson, Ronnen; Akbari, Hashem; Berdahl, Paul [Heat Island Group, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2010-09-15

Solar reflectance can vary with the spectral and angular distributions of incident sunlight, which in turn depend on surface orientation, solar position and atmospheric conditions. A widely used solar reflectance metric based on the ASTM Standard E891 beam-normal solar spectral irradiance underestimates the solar heat gain of a spectrally selective ''cool colored'' surface because this irradiance contains a greater fraction of near-infrared light than typically found in ordinary (unconcentrated) global sunlight. At mainland US latitudes, this metric R{sub E891BN} can underestimate the annual peak solar heat gain of a typical roof or pavement (slope {<=} 5:12 [23 ]) by as much as 89 W m{sup -2}, and underestimate its peak surface temperature by up to 5 K. Using R{sub E891BN} to characterize roofs in a building energy simulation can exaggerate the economic value N of annual cool roof net energy savings by as much as 23%. We define clear sky air mass one global horizontal (''AM1GH'') solar reflectance R{sub g,0}, a simple and easily measured property that more accurately predicts solar heat gain. R{sub g,0} predicts the annual peak solar heat gain of a roof or pavement to within 2 W m{sup -2}, and overestimates N by no more than 3%. R{sub g,0} is well suited to rating the solar reflectances of roofs, pavements and walls. We show in Part II that R{sub g,0} can be easily and accurately measured with a pyranometer, a solar spectrophotometer or version 6 of the Solar Spectrum Reflectometer. (author)

Measuring solar reflectance Part I: Defining a metric that accurately predicts solar heat gain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Levinson, Ronnen; Akbari, Hashem; Berdahl, Paul

2010-05-14

Solar reflectance can vary with the spectral and angular distributions of incident sunlight, which in turn depend on surface orientation, solar position and atmospheric conditions. A widely used solar reflectance metric based on the ASTM Standard E891 beam-normal solar spectral irradiance underestimates the solar heat gain of a spectrally selective 'cool colored' surface because this irradiance contains a greater fraction of near-infrared light than typically found in ordinary (unconcentrated) global sunlight. At mainland U.S. latitudes, this metric RE891BN can underestimate the annual peak solar heat gain of a typical roof or pavement (slope {le} 5:12 [23{sup o}]) by as much as 89 W m{sup -2}, and underestimate its peak surface temperature by up to 5 K. Using R{sub E891BN} to characterize roofs in a building energy simulation can exaggerate the economic value N of annual cool-roof net energy savings by as much as 23%. We define clear-sky air mass one global horizontal ('AM1GH') solar reflectance R{sub g,0}, a simple and easily measured property that more accurately predicts solar heat gain. R{sub g,0} predicts the annual peak solar heat gain of a roof or pavement to within 2 W m{sup -2}, and overestimates N by no more than 3%. R{sub g,0} is well suited to rating the solar reflectances of roofs, pavements and walls. We show in Part II that R{sub g,0} can be easily and accurately measured with a pyranometer, a solar spectrophotometer or version 6 of the Solar Spectrum Reflectometer.

Laser scanning of experimental solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Plunkett, B. C.; Lasswell, P. G.

1980-01-01

A description is presented of a laser scanning instrument which makes it possible to display and measure the spatial response of a solar cell. Examples are presented to illustrate the use of generated micrographs in the isolation of flaws and features of the cell. The laser scanner system uses a 4 mW, CW helium-neon laser, operating a wavelength of 0.633 micrometers. The beam is deflected by two mirror galvanometers arranged to scan in orthogonal directions. After being focused on the solar cell by the beam focusing lens, the moving light spot raster scans the specimen. The current output of the photovoltaic device under test, as a function of the scan dot position, can be displayed in several modes. The laser scanner has proved to be a very useful diagnostic tool in optimizing the process design of transparent metal film photovoltaic devices on Zn3P2, a relatively new photovoltaic material.

Correcting surface solar radiation of two data assimilation systems against FLUXNET observations in North America

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Lei; Lee, Xuhui; Liu, Shoudong

2013-09-01

Solar radiation at the Earth's surface is an important driver of meteorological and ecological processes. The objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the reanalysis solar radiation produced by NARR (North American Regional Reanalysis) and MERRA (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications) against the FLUXNET measurements in North America. We found that both assimilation systems systematically overestimated the surface solar radiation flux on the monthly and annual scale, with an average bias error of +37.2 Wm-2 for NARR and of +20.2 Wm-2 for MERRA. The bias errors were larger under cloudy skies than under clear skies. A postreanalysis algorithm consisting of empirical relationships between model bias, a clearness index, and site elevation was proposed to correct the model errors. Results show that the algorithm can remove the systematic bias errors for both FLUXNET calibration sites (sites used to establish the algorithm) and independent validation sites. After correction, the average annual mean bias errors were reduced to +1.3 Wm-2 for NARR and +2.7 Wm-2 for MERRA. Applying the correction algorithm to the global domain of MERRA brought the global mean surface incoming shortwave radiation down by 17.3 W m-2 to 175.5 W m-2. Under the constraint of the energy balance, other radiation and energy balance terms at the Earth's surface, estimated from independent global data products, also support the need for a downward adjustment of the MERRA surface solar radiation.

Solar irradiance forecasting at one-minute intervals for different sky conditions using sky camera images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alonso-Montesinos, J.; Batlles, F.J.; Portillo, C.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The solar resource has been predicted for three hours at 1-min intervals. • Digital image levels and cloud motion vectors are joint for irradiance forecasting. • The three radiation components have been predicted under different sky conditions. • Diffuse and global radiation has an nRMSE value around 10% in all sky conditions. • Beam irradiance is predicted with an nRMSE value of about 15% in overcast skies. - Abstract: In the search for new techniques to predict atmospheric features that might be useful to solar power plant operators, we have carried out solar irradiance forecasting using emerging sky camera technology. Digital image levels are converted into irradiances and then the maximum cross-correlation method is applied to obtain future predictions. This methodology is a step forward in the study of the solar resource, essential to solar plant operators in adapting a plant’s operating procedures to atmospheric conditions and to improve electricity generation. The results are set out using different statistical parameters, in which beam, diffuse and global irradiances give a constant normalized root-mean-square error value over the time interval for all sky conditions. The average measure is 25.44% for beam irradiance; 11.60% for diffuse irradiance and 11.17% for global irradiance.

Quantifying uncertainties of climate signals related to the 11-year solar cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Kruschke, T.; Kunze, M.; Matthes, K. B.; Langematz, U.; Wahl, S.

2017-12-01

Although state-of-the-art reconstructions based on proxies and (semi-)empirical models converge in terms of total solar irradiance, they still significantly differ in terms of spectral solar irradiance (SSI) with respect to the mean spectral distribution of energy input and temporal variability. This study aims at quantifying uncertainties for the Earth's climate related to the 11-year solar cycle by forcing two chemistry-climate models (CCMs) - CESM1(WACCM) and EMAC - with five different SSI reconstructions (NRLSSI1, NRLSSI2, SATIRE-T, SATIRE-S, CMIP6-SSI) and the reference spectrum RSSV1-ATLAS3, derived from observations. We conduct a unique set of timeslice experiments. External forcings and boundary conditions are fixed and identical for all experiments, except for the solar forcing. The set of analyzed simulations consists of one solar minimum simulation, employing RSSV1-ATLAS3 and five solar maximum experiments. The latter are a result of adding the amplitude of solar cycle 22 according to the five reconstructions to RSSV1-ATLAS3. Our results show that the climate response to the 11y solar cycle is generally robust across CCMs and SSI forcings. However, analyzing the variance of the solar maximum ensemble by means of ANOVA-statistics reveals additional information on the uncertainties of the mean climate signals. The annual mean response agrees very well between the two CCMs for most parts of the lower and middle atmosphere. Only the upper mesosphere is subject to significant differences related to the choice of the model. However, the different SSI forcings lead to significant differences in ozone concentrations, shortwave heating rates, and temperature throughout large parts of the mesosphere and upper stratosphere. Regarding the seasonal evolution of the climate signals, our findings for short wave heating rates, and temperature are similar to the annual means with respect to the relative importance of the choice of the model or the SSI forcing for the

Stable TEM00-mode Nd:YAG solar laser operation by a twisted fused silica light-guide

Science.gov (United States)

Bouadjemine, R.; Liang, D.; Almeida, J.; Mehellou, S.; Vistas, C. R.; Kellou, A.; Guillot, E.

2017-12-01

To improve the output beam stability of a TEM00-mode solar-pumped laser, a twisted fused silica light-guide was used to achieve uniform pumping along a 3 mm diameter and 50 mm length Nd:YAG rod. The concentrated solar power at the focal spot of a primary parabolic mirror with 1.18 m2 effective collection area was efficiently coupled to the entrance aperture of a 2D-CPC/2V-shaped pump cavity, within which the thin laser rod was pumped. Optimum solar laser design parameters were found through ZEMAX© non-sequential ray-tracing and LASCAD© laser cavity analysis codes. 2.3 W continuous-wave TEM00-mode 1064 nm laser power was measured, corresponding to 1.96 W/m2 collection efficiency and 2.2 W laser beam brightness figure of merit. Excellent TEM00-mode laser beam profile at M2 ≤ 1.05 and very good output power stability of less than 1.6% were achieved. Heliostat orientation error dependent laser power variation was considerably less than previous solar laser pumping schemes.

Earth to Orbit Beamed Energy Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Les; Montgomery, Edward E.

2017-01-01

As a means of primary propulsion, beamed energy propulsion offers the benefit of offloading much of the propulsion system mass from the vehicle, increasing its potential performance and freeing it from the constraints of the rocket equation. For interstellar missions, beamed energy propulsion is arguably the most viable in the near- to mid-term. A near-term demonstration showing the feasibility of beamed energy propulsion is necessary and, fortunately, feasible using existing technologies. Key enabling technologies are large area, low mass spacecraft and efficient and safe high power laser systems capable of long distance propagation. NASA is currently developing the spacecraft technology through the Near Earth Asteroid Scout solar sail mission and has signed agreements with the Planetary Society to study the feasibility of precursor laser propulsion experiments using their LightSail-2 solar sail spacecraft. The capabilities of Space Situational Awareness assets and the advanced analytical tools available for fine resolution orbit determination now make it possible to investigate the practicalities of an Earth-to-orbit Beamed Energy eXperiment (EBEX) - a demonstration at delivered power levels that only illuminate a spacecraft without causing damage to it. The degree to which this can be expected to produce a measurable change in the orbit of a low ballistic coefficient spacecraft is investigated. Key system characteristics and estimated performance are derived for a near term mission opportunity involving the LightSail-2 spacecraft and laser power levels modest in comparison to those proposed previously. While the technology demonstrated by such an experiment is not sufficient to enable an interstellar precursor mission, if approved, then it would be the next step toward that goal.

Return currents in solar flares - Collisionless effects

Science.gov (United States)

Rowland, H. L.; Vlahos, L.

1985-01-01

If the primary, precipitating electrons in a solar flare are unstable to beam plasma interactions, it is shown that strong Langmuir turbulence can seriously modify the way in which a return current is carried by the background plasma. In particular, the return (or reverse) current will not be carried by the bulk of the electrons, but by a small number of high velocity electrons. For beam/plasma densities greater than 0.01, this can reduce the effects of collisions on the return current. For higher density beams where the return current could be unstable to current driven instabilities, the effects of strong turbulence anomalous resistivity is shown to prevent the appearance of such instabilities. Again in this regime, how the return current is carried is determined by the beam generated strong turbulence.

Long-term global distribution of earth's shortwave radiation budget at the top of atmosphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Hatzianastassiou

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The mean monthly shortwave (SW radiation budget at the top of atmosphere (TOA was computed on 2.5° longitude-latitude resolution for the 14-year period from 1984 to 1997, using a radiative transfer model with long-term climatological data from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP-D2 supplemented by data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction – National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP-NCAR Global Reanalysis project, and other global data bases such as TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS and Global Aerosol Data Set (GADS. The model radiative fluxes at TOA were validated against Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE S4 scanner satellite data (1985–1989. The model is able to predict the seasonal and geographical variation of SW TOA fluxes. On a mean annual and global basis, the model is in very good agreement with ERBE, overestimating the outgoing SW radiation at TOA (OSR by 0.93 Wm-2 (or by 0.92%, within the ERBE uncertainties. At pixel level, the OSR differences between model and ERBE are mostly within ±10 Wm-2, with ±5 Wm-2 over extended regions, while there exist some geographic areas with differences of up to 40 Wm-2, associated with uncertainties in cloud properties and surface albedo. The 14-year average model results give a planetary albedo equal to 29.6% and a TOA OSR flux of 101.2 Wm-2. A significant linearly decreasing trend in OSR and planetary albedo was found, equal to 2.3 Wm-2 and 0.6% (in absolute values, respectively, over the 14-year period (from January 1984 to December 1997, indicating an increasing solar planetary warming. This planetary SW radiative heating occurs in the tropical and sub-tropical areas (20° S–20° N, with clouds being the most likely cause. The computed global mean OSR anomaly ranges within ±4 Wm-2, with signals from El Niño and La Niña events or Pinatubo eruption, whereas significant negative OSR anomalies, starting from year 1992, are also

Assessment of four shadow band correction models using beam normal irradiance data from the United Kingdom and Israel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez, G.; Muneer, T.; Claywell, R.

2004-01-01

Diffuse irradiance is a fundamental factor for all solar resource considerations. Diffuse irradiance is accurately determined by calculation from global and beam normal (direct) measurements. However, beam solar measurements and related support can be very expensive, and therefore, shadow bands are often used, along with pyranometers, to block the solar disk. The errors that result from the use of shadow bands are well known and have been studied by many authors. The thrust of this article is to examine four recognized techniques for correcting shadow band based, diffuse irradiance and statistically evaluate their individual performance using data culled from two contrasting sites within the United Kingdom and Israel

Analysis of solar radiation transfer: A method to estimate the porosity of a plastic shading net

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdel-Ghany, A.M.; Al-Helal, I.M.

2011-01-01

Plastic nets with opaque threads are frequently used for shading agricultural structures under high solar radiation conditions. A parameter that is often used to define a net is the net porosity (Π). Value of Π is usually estimated by one of three methods: image processing, direct beam transmittance, or solar radiation balance (hereafter radiation balance). Image processing is a rather slow process because it requires scanning the net sample at high resolution. The direct beam transmittance and radiation balance methods greatly overestimate Π because some of the solar radiation incident on the thread surfaces is forward scattered and add a considerable amount of radiation to that transmitted from the net pores directly. In this study, the radiation balance method was modified to estimate Π precisely. The amount of solar radiation scattered forward on the thread surfaces was estimated separately. Thus, the un-scattered solar radiation transmitted from the net pores directly, which describes the net porosity, Π could be estimated. This method, in addition to the image processing and the direct beam transmittance methods were used to estimate Π for different types of nets that are commonly used for shading structures in summer. Values of Π estimated by using the proposed method were in good accordance with those measured by the image processing method at a resolution of 4800 dpi. The direct beam transmittance and the radiation balance methods resulted in overestimation errors in the values of Π. This error strongly depends on the color of the net. The estimated errors were +14% for a green net and +37% for a white net when using the radiation balance method, and were +16% and +38%, respectively, when using the direct beam transmittance method. In the image processing method, a resolution of 2400 dpi is sufficient to estimate Π precisely and the higher resolutions showed no significant effect on the value of Π.

Highly efficient solar-pumped Nd:YAG laser.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Dawei; Almeida, Joana

2011-12-19

The recent progress in solar-pumped laser with Fresnel lens and Cr:Nd:YAG ceramic medium has revitalized solar laser researches, revealing a promising future for renewable reduction of magnesium from magnesium oxide. Here we show a big advance in solar laser collection efficiency by utilizing an economical Fresnel lens and a most widely used Nd:YAG single-crystal rod. The incoming solar radiation from the sun is focused by a 0.9 m diameter Fresnel lens. A dielectric totally internally reflecting secondary concentrator is employed to couple the concentrated solar radiation from the focal zone to a 4 mm diameter Nd:YAG rod within a conical pumping cavity. 12.3 W cw laser power is produced, corresponding to 19.3 W/m(2) collection efficiency, which is 2.9 times larger than the previous results with Nd:YAG single-crystal medium. Record-high slope efficiency of 3.9% is also registered. Laser beam quality is considerably improved by pumping a 3 mm diameter Nd:YAG rod.

Ion acoustic waves and related plasma observations in the solar wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurnett, D.A.; Marsch, E.; Pilipp, W.; Schwenn, R.; Rosenbauer, H.

1979-01-01

This paper presents an investigation of solar wind ion acoustic waves and their relationship to the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the solar wind plasma. Comparisons with the overall solar wind corotational structure show that the most intense ion acoustic waves usually occur in the low-velocity regions ahead of high-speed solar wind streams. Of the detailed plasma parameters investigated, the ion acoustic wave intensities are found to be most closely correlated with the electron to proton temperature ratio T/sub e//T/sub p/ and with the electron heat flux. Investigations of the detailed electron and proton distribution functions also show that the ion acoustic waves usually occur in regions with highly non-Maxwellian distributions characteristic of double-proton streams. The distribution functions for the double-proton streams are usually not resolved into two clearly defined peaks, but rather they appear as a broad shoulder on the main proton distribution. Two main mechanisms, an electron heat flux instability and a double-ion beam instability, are considered for generating the ion-acoustic-like waves observed in the solar wind. Both mechanisms have favorable and unfavorable features. The electron heat flux mechanism can account for the observed waves at moderate to large ratios of T/sub e//T/sub p/ but has problems when T/sub e//T/sub p/ is small, as sometimes occurs. The ion beam instability appears to provide more flexibility on the T/sub e//T/sub p/ ratio; however detailed comparisons using observed distribution functions indicate that the ion beam mode is usually stable. Possible resolutions of these difficulties are discussed

Observations of Surfzone Albedo

Science.gov (United States)

Sinnett, G.; Feddersen, F.

2014-12-01

The surfzone environment (where waves break) contains several unique and previously unconsidered processes that affect the heat budget. Entering short-wave radiation is a dominant term in both shelf and surfzone heat budgets. In contrast to the shelf, however, depth limited wave breaking in the surfzone generates spray, whitewater and suspended sediments, elevating the surface albedo (ratio of reflected to incident short-wave radiation). Elevated albedo reduces the level of solar short-wave radiation entering the water, potentially resulting in less heating. Additionally, surfzone water quality is often impacted by fecal bacteria contamination. As bacteria mortality is related to short-wave solar radiation, elevated surfzone albedo could reduce pathogen mortality, impacting human health. Albedo in the open ocean has been frequently studied and parameterizations often consider solar zenith angle, wind speed and ocean chlorophyll concentration, producing albedo values typically near 0.06. However, surfzone albedo observations have been extremely sparse, yet show depth limited wave breaking may increase the albedo by nearly a factor of 10 up to 0.5. Here, we present findings from a field study at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography pier to observe the affect of waves on surfzone albedo. Concurrent measurements were taken with a four-way radiometer (to measure both downwelling and upwelling short-wave and long wave radiation) mounted above the surfzone. A co-located GoPro camera was used to relate visual aspects of the surfzone to measured reflectance, and wave height and period were observed with a bottom mounted pressure sensor in 5 m water depth just outside the surfzone. Wind speed and direction were observed on the pier 10 m above the water surface. Here, we will examine the surfzone albedo dependence on surfzone parameters, such as wave height.

Solar Pumped Lasers and Their Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ja H.

1991-01-01

Since 1980, NASA has been pursuing high power solar lasers as part of the space power beaming program. Materials in liquid, solid, and gas phases have been evaluated against the requirements for solar pumping. Two basic characteristics of solar insolation, namely its diffuse irradiance and 5800 K blackbody-like spectrum, impose rather stringent requirements for laser excitation. However, meeting these requirements is not insurmountable as solar thermal energy technology has progressed today, and taking advantage of solar pumping lasers is becoming increasingly attractive. The high density photons of concentrated solar energy have been used for mainly electric power generation and thermal processing of materials by the DOE Solar Thermal Technologies Program. However, the photons can interact with materials through many other direct kinetic paths, and applications of the concentrated photons could be extended to processes requiring photolysis, photosynthesis, and photoexcitation. The use of solar pumped lasers on Earth seems constrained by economics and sociopolitics. Therefore, prospective applications may be limited to those that require use of quantum effects and coherency of the laser in order to generate extremely high value products and services when conventional and inexpensive means are ineffective or impossible. The new applications already proposed for concentrated solar photons, such as destruction of hazardous waste, production of renewable fuel, production of fertilizer, and air/water pollution controls, may benefit from the use of inexpensive solar pumped laser matched with the photochemical kinetics of these processes.

Climate responses to SATIRE and SIM-based spectral solar forcing in a 3D atmosphere-ocean coupled GCM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen Guoyong

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We apply two reconstructed spectral solar forcing scenarios, one SIM (Spectral Irradiance Monitor based, the other the SATIRE (Spectral And Total Irradiance REconstruction modeled, as inputs to the GISS (Goddard Institute for Space Studies GCMAM (Global Climate Middle Atmosphere Model to examine climate responses on decadal to centennial time scales, focusing on quantifying the difference of climate response between the two solar forcing scenarios. We run the GCMAM for about 400 years with present day trace gas and aerosol for the two solar forcing inputs. We find that the SIM-based solar forcing induces much larger long-term response and 11-year variation in global averaged stratospheric temperature and column ozone. We find significant decreasing trends of planetary albedo for both forcing scenarios in the 400-year model runs. However the mechanisms for the decrease are very different. For SATIRE solar forcing, the decreasing trend of planetary albedo is associated with changes in cloud cover. For SIM-based solar forcing, without significant change in cloud cover on centennial and longer time scales, the apparent decreasing trend of planetary albedo is mainly due to out-of-phase variation in shortwave radiative forcing proxy (downwelling flux for wavelength >330 nm and total solar irradiance (TSI. From the Maunder Minimum to present, global averaged annual mean surface air temperature has a response of ~0.1 °C to SATIRE solar forcing compared to ~0.04 °C to SIM-based solar forcing. For 11-year solar cycle, the global surface air temperature response has 3-year lagged response to either forcing scenario. The global surface air 11-year temperature response to SATIRE forcing is about 0.12 °C, similar to recent multi-model estimates, and comparable to the observational-based evidence. However, the global surface air temperature response to 11-year SIM-based solar forcing is insignificant and inconsistent with observation-based evidence.

Source of proton anisotrophy in the high-speed solar wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwartz, S.J.; Feldman, W.C.; Gary, S.P.

1981-01-01

Two factors which can contribute to proton anisotropy in the high-speed solar wind are investigated. We present evidence that observed proton Tperpendicular< Tparallel anisotropies are maintained locally by plasma instabilities driven by proton and helium beams. The transfer of beam energy to T/sub perpendicular/ by means of these instabilities is shown to be sufficient to account for the aforementioned proton temperature anisotropy

Solar Hybrid Hydrogen Production in Sunbelt and Shipping to Japan as a Liquid fuel of Methanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamaura, Y.; Hasegawa, N.; Kaneko, H.; Utamura, M.; Katayama, Y.; Onozaki, M.; Hasuike, H.

2006-01-01

Solar hybrid methanol (SH-methanol) production (6000 t/day) from natural gas and coal using H 2 and O 2 gases, which are produced by electrolysis with solar thermal power (Tokyo Tech Beam-down concentration solar power generation with molten salt heat-storage system) at Sunbelt in Australia was studied from the economical view point. This system is the combined system of O 2 -burning coal gasification (C+1/2O 2 =CO), natural gas reforming by O 2 -partial oxidation (CH 4 + 1/2O 2 = CO + 2H 2 ), and water decomposition by electrolysis with solar thermal power (H 2 O = H 2 + 1/2O 2 ). In this production system, the SH-methanol is produced with zero CO 2 emission, shipped to Japan by oil tanker, and can be used as solar hybrid hydrogen in Japan for fuel cell. The solar hybrid methanol production cost of 24 yen/kg (58 US dollars bbl crude oil equivalent, April, 2006) is obtained with the solar power cost of the Tokyo Tech Beam-down solar concentration solar power generation with molten salt heat-storage. This cost is lower than the crude oil (67 US dollars bbl crude oil equivalent, April, 2006) and LPG (72 US dollars/ bbl crude oil equivalent, January, 2006). (authors)

Fabricating solar cells with silicon nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Loscutoff, Paul; Molesa, Steve; Kim, Taeseok

2014-09-02

A laser contact process is employed to form contact holes to emitters of a solar cell. Doped silicon nanoparticles are formed over a substrate of the solar cell. The surface of individual or clusters of silicon nanoparticles is coated with a nanoparticle passivation film. Contact holes to emitters of the solar cell are formed by impinging a laser beam on the passivated silicon nanoparticles. For example, the laser contact process may be a laser ablation process. In that case, the emitters may be formed by diffusing dopants from the silicon nanoparticles prior to forming the contact holes to the emitters. As another example, the laser contact process may be a laser melting process whereby portions of the silicon nanoparticles are melted to form the emitters and contact holes to the emitters.

Direct solar-pumped iodine laser amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Kwang S.

1987-01-01

This semiannual progress report covers the period from March 1, 1987 to September 30, 1987 under NASA grant NAG1-441 entitled 'Direct solar-pumped iodine laser amplifier'. During this period Nd:YAG and Nd:Cr:GSGG crystals have been tested for the solar-simulator pumped cw laser, and loss mechanisms of the laser output power in a flashlamp-pumped iodine laser also have been identified theoretically. It was observed that the threshold pump-beam intensities for both Nd:YAG and Nd:Cr:GSGG crystals were about 1000 solar constants, and the cw laser operation of the Nd:Cr:GSGG crystal was more difficult than that of the Nd:YAG crystal under the solar-simulator pumping. The possibility of the Nd:Cr:GSGG laser operation with a fast continuously chopped pumping was also observed. In addition, good agreement between the theoretical calculations and the experimental data on the loss mechanisms of a flashlamp-pumped iodine laser at various fill pressures and various lasants was achieved.

Analysis of the ozone profile specifications in the WRF-ARW model and their impact on the simulation of direct solar radiation

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A. Montornès

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Although ozone is an atmospheric gas with high spatial and temporal variability, mesoscale numerical weather prediction (NWP models simplify the specification of ozone concentrations used in their shortwave schemes by using a few ozone profiles. In this paper, a two-part study is presented: (i an evaluation of the quality of the ozone profiles provided for use with the shortwave schemes in the Advanced Research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF-ARW model and (ii an assessment of the impact of deficiencies in those profiles on the performance of model simulations of direct solar radiation. The first part compares simplified data sets used to specify the total ozone column in six schemes (i.e., Goddard, New Goddard, RRTMG, CAM, GFDL and Fu–Liou–Gu with the Multi-Sensor Reanalysis data set during the period 1979–2008 examining the latitudinal, longitudinal and seasonal limitations in the ozone profile specifications of each parameterization. The results indicate that the maximum deviations are over the poles and show prominent longitudinal patterns in the departures due to the lack of representation of the patterns associated with the Brewer–Dobson circulation and the quasi-stationary features forced by the land–sea distribution, respectively. In the second part, the bias in the simulated direct solar radiation due to these deviations from the simplified spatial and temporal representation of the ozone distribution is analyzed for the New Goddard and CAM schemes using the Beer–Lambert–Bouguer law and for the GFDL using empirical equations. For radiative applications those simplifications introduce spatial and temporal biases with near-zero departures over the tropics throughout the year and increasing poleward with a maximum in the high middle latitudes during the winter of each hemisphere.

Design of a high-power, high-brightness Nd:YAG solar laser.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Dawei; Almeida, Joana; Garcia, Dário

2014-03-20

A simple high-power, high-brightness Nd:YAG solar laser pumping approach is presented in this paper. The incoming solar radiation is both collected and concentrated by four Fresnel lenses and redirected toward a Nd:YAG laser head by four plane-folding mirrors. A fused-silica secondary concentrator is used to compress the highly concentrated solar radiation to a laser rod. Optimum pumping conditions and laser resonator parameters are found through ZEMAX and LASCAD numerical analysis. Solar laser power of 96 W is numerically calculated, corresponding to the collection efficiency of 24  W/m². A record-high solar laser beam brightness figure of merit of 9.6 W is numerically achieved.

Comparison of electroluminescence intensity and photocurrent of polymer based solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoyer, Ulrich; Swonke, Thomas; Auer, Richard [Bayerisches Zentrum fuer Angewandte Energieforschung e.V., Erlangen (Germany); Pinna, Luigi; Brabec, Christoph J. [Bayerisches Zentrum fuer Angewandte Energieforschung e.V., Erlangen (Germany); I-MEET, University Erlangen (Germany); Stubhan, Tobias; Li, Ning [I-MEET, University Erlangen (Germany)

2011-11-15

The reciprocity theorem for solar cell predicts a linear relation between electroluminescence emission and photovoltaic quantum efficiency and an exponential dependence of the electroluminescence signal on the applied voltage. Both dependencies are experimentally verified for polymer based solar cells in this paper. Furthermore it is shown, that electroluminescence imaging of organic solar cells has the potential to visualize the photocurrent distribution significantly faster than standard laser beam induced current mapping (LBIC) techniques. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

InGaP solar cell on Ge-on-Si virtual substrate for novel solar power conversion

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, T. W.; Albert, B. R.; Kimerling, L. C.; Michel, J.

2018-02-01

InGaP single-junction solar cells are grown on lattice-matched Ge-on-Si virtual substrates using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Optoelectronic simulation results indicate that the optimal collection length for InGaP single-junction solar cells with a carrier lifetime range of 2-5 ns is wider than approximately 1 μm. Electron beam-induced current measurements reveal that the threading dislocation density (TDD) of InGaP solar cells fabricated on Ge and Ge-on-Si substrates is in the range of 104-3 × 107 cm-2. We demonstrate that the open circuit voltage (Voc) of InGaP solar cells is not significantly influenced by TDDs less than 2 × 106 cm-2. Fabricated InGaP solar cells grown on a Ge-on-Si virtual substrate and a Ge substrate exhibit Voc in the range of 0.96 to 1.43 V under an equivalent illumination in the range of ˜0.5 Sun. The estimated efficiency of the InGaP solar cell fabricated on the Ge-on-Si virtual substrate (Ge substrate) at room temperature for the limited incident spectrum spanning the photon energy range of 1.9-2.4 eV varies from 16.6% to 34.3%.

VIIRS Reflective Solar Band Radiometric and Stability Evaluation Using Deep Convective Clouds

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Tiejun; Xiong, Xiaoxiong; Mu, Qiaozhen

2016-01-01

This work takes advantage of the stable distribution of deep convective cloud (DCC) reflectance measurements to assess the calibration stability and detector difference in Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) reflective bands. VIIRS Sensor Data Records (SDRs) from February 2012 to June 2015 are utilized to analyze the long-term trending, detector difference, and half angle mirror (HAM) side difference. VIIRS has two thermal emissive bands with coverage crossing 11 microns for DCC pixel identification. The comparison of the results of these two processing bands is one of the indicators of analysis reliability. The long-term stability analysis shows downward trends (up to approximately 0.4 per year) for the visible and near-infrared bands and upward trends (up to 0.5per year) for the short- and mid-wave infrared bands. The detector difference for each band is calculated as the difference relative to the average reflectance overall detectors. Except for the slightly greater than 1 difference in the two bands at 1610 nm, the detector difference is less than1 for other solar reflective bands. The detector differences show increasing trends for some short-wave bands with center wavelengths from 400 to 600 nm and remain unchanged for the bands with longer center wavelengths. The HAM side difference is insignificant and stable. Those short-wave bands from 400 to 600 nm also have relatively larger HAM side difference, up to 0.25.Comparing the striped images from SDR and the smooth images after the correction validates the analyses of detector difference and HAM side difference. These analyses are very helpful for VIIRS calibration improvement and thus enhance product quality

Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility Development and Status

CERN Document Server

Tatum, Alan

2005-01-01

The Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) is a national user facility dedicated to nuclear structure, reactions, and nuclear astrophysics research with radioactive ion beams (RIBs) using the isotope separator on-line (ISOL) technique. An integrated strategic plan for physics, experimental systems, and RIB production facilities have been developed and implementation of the plan is under way. Specific research objectives are defined for studying the nature of nucleonic matter, the origin of elements, solar physics, and synthesis of heavy elements. Experimental systems upgrade plans include new detector arrays and beam lines, and expansion and upgrade of existing devices. A multifaceted facility expansion plan includes a $4.75M High Power Target Laboratory (HPTL), presently under construction, to provide a facility for testing new target materials, target geometries, ion sources, and beam preparation techniques. Additional planned upgrades include a second RIB production system (IRIS2), an external axi...

Solar Radiation and Cloud Radiative Forcing in the Pacific Warm Pool Estimated Using TOGA COARE Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, Ming-Dah; Chou, Shu-Hsien; Zhao, Wenzhong

1999-01-01

The energy budget of the tropical western Pacific (TWP) is particularly important because this is one of the most energetic convection regions on the Earth. Nearly half of the solar radiation incident at the top of atmosphere is absorbed at the surface and only about 22% absorbed in the atmosphere. A large portion of the excess heat absorbed at the surface is transferred to the atmosphere through evaporation, which provides energy and water for convection and precipitation. The western equatorial Pacific is characterized by the highest sea surface temperature (SST) and heaviest rainfall in the world ocean. A small variation of SST associated with the eastward shift of the warm pool during El-Nino/Souther Oscillation changes the atmospheric circulation pattern and affects the global climate. In a study of the TWP surface heat and momentum fluxes during the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) Intensive observing period (IOP) from November 1992 to February have found that the solar radiation is the most important component of the surface energy budget, which undergoes significant temporal and spatial variation. The variations are influenced by the two 40-50 days Madden Julian Oscillations (MJOs) which propagated eastward from the Indian Ocean to the Central Pacific during the IOP. The TWP surface solar radiation during the COARE IOP was investigated by a number of studies. In addition, the effects of clouds on the solar heating of the atmosphere in the TWP was studied using energy budget analysis. In this study, we present some results of the TWP surface solar shortwave or SW radiation budget and the effect of clouds on the atmospheric solar heating using the surface radiation measurements and Japan's Geostationary Meteorological Satellite 4 radiance measurements during COARE IOP.

Impact of Aerosols on Shortwave and Photosynthetically Active Radiation Balance over Sub-tropical Region in South Asia: Observational and Modeling Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Subba, T.; Pathak, B.

2016-12-01

The North-East Indian Region (NER) (22-30ºN, 89-98ºE) in south Asia sandwiched between two global biodiversity hotspots namely, Himalaya and Indo-Burma, assumes significance owing to its unique topography with mountains in the north, east and south and densely populated Indo Gangetic plains (IGP) towards the west resulting in complex aerosol system. Multi-year (2010-2014) concurrent measurements of aerosol properties and the shortwave radiation budget are examined over four geographically distinct stations of NER operational under Indian Space Research organization's ARFINET (Aerosol Radiative Forcing over India NETwork). An attempt has been made to lessen the ambiguity of forcing estimation by validating the radiative transfer modelled ARF with the CNR4 net radiometer measured values (r2 0.98). The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and its dependence on the extinction of the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) due to aerosol are assessed. The spring time enhancement of aerosols in the column has shown significant surface cooling (ARF = -48 ± 5 Wm-2) over the region, while the very high Black Carbon (BC) mass concentrations near the surface (SSA > 0.8) leads to significant atmospheric warming (ARF = +41 ± 7 Wm-2) in the shortwave range. Radiative forcing estimates reveal that the atmospheric forcing by BC could be as high as +30Wm-2 over the western part, which are significantly higher than the eastern part with a consequent heating rate of 1.5 K day-1 revealing an east-west asymmetry over NER. The impact of BC aerosols on the photosynthetic rate varies among different locations ranging from -5±2 Wm-2 to -25±3 Wm-2. Almost 70% of the total atmospheric shortwave radiative absorption is attributed to just 10% contribution of Black Carbon (BC) to total mass concentration and causes a reduction of more than 30% of PAR reaching the surface over Brahmaputra valley due to direct radiative effect. Comparison of previous and the present study shows highest

Electron beam interaction with space plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krafft, C.; Volokitin, A.S.

1999-01-01

Active space experiments involving the controlled injection of electron beams and the formation of artificially generated currents can provide in many cases a calibration of natural phenomena connected with the dynamic interaction of charged particles with fields. They have a long history beginning from the launches of small rockets with electron guns in order to map magnetic fields lines in the Earth's magnetosphere or to excite artificial auroras. Moreover, natural beams of charged particles exist in many space and astrophysical plasmas and were identified in situ by several satellites; a few examples are beams connected with solar bursts, planetary foreshocks or suprathermal fluxes traveling in planetary magnetospheres. Many experimental and theoretical works have been performed in order to interpret or plan space experiments involving beam injection as well as to understand the physics of wave-particle interaction, as wave radiation, beam dynamics and background plasma modification. Recently, theoretical studies of the nonlinear evolution of a thin monoenergetic electron beam injected in a magnetized plasma and interacting with a whistler wave packet have led to new results. The influence of an effective dissipation process connected with whistler wave field leakage out of the beam volume to infinity (that is, effective radiation outside the beam) on the nonlinear evolution of beam electrons distribution in phase space has been studied under conditions relevant to active space experiments and related laboratory modelling. The beam-waves system's evolution reveals the formation of stable nonlinear structures continuously decelerated due to the effective friction imposed by the strongly dissipated waves. The nonlinear interaction between the electron bunches and the wave packet are discussed in terms of dynamic energy exchange, particle trapping, slowing down of the beam, wave dissipation and quasi-linear diffusion. (author)

Electromagnetic ion beam instability upstream of the earth's bow shock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gary, S.P.; Gosling, J.T.; Forslund, D.W.

1981-01-01

The linear theory of the electromagnetic ion beam instability for arbitrary angles of propagation has been studied. The parameters considered in the theory are typical of the solar wind upstream of the earth's bow shock when a 'reflected' proton beam is present. Maximum growth occurs for propagation parallel to the ambient field B, but this instability also displays significant growth at wave-vectors oblique to B, Oblique, unstable modes seem to be the likely source of the compressive magnetic fluctuations recently observed in conjunction with 'diffuse' ion population. An energetic ion beam does not directly give rise to linear growth of either ion acoustic or whistler mode instabilities

The design and development of a solar tracking unit

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, I. W.; Miller, J. B.

1984-01-01

The solar tracking unit was developed to support the Laser Heterodyne Spectrometer (LHS) airborne instrument, but has application to a general class of airborne solar occultation research instruments. The unit consists of a mirror mounted on two gimbals, one of which is hollow. The mirror reflects a 7.6 cm (3.0 in.) diameter beam of sunlight through the hollow gimbal into the research instrument optical axis. A portion of the reflected sunlight is directed into a tracking telescope which uses a four quadrant silicon detector to produce the servo error signals. The colinearity of the tracker output beam and the research instrument optical axis is maintained to better than + or - 1 arc-minute. The unit is microcomputer controlled and is capable of stand alone operation, including automatic Sun acquisition or operation under the control of the research instrument.

Studi Kinerja Solar Water Heater Dengan Aliran Zig-zag Beralur Balok

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Rizki Ikhsan

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Solar energy can be used for water heating by using solar water heater application. Therefore, its still needs some modification due to its low efficiency. This modification can be done by replacing the conventional plate of solar collectors into a double plate with a zig-zag pattern. The results shown that along with the decreasing of water flow rates could significantly increase the useful energy (Qu. Initial temperature of water inlet could affect the generated maximum temperature. The highest mean efficiencies of double plate solar water heater with a zig-zag grooved beams pattern of 49.11% was gained in the flow rate of 700 mL / min.

Electron Beam Return-Current Losses in Solar Flares: Initial Comparison of Analytical and Numerical Results

Science.gov (United States)

Holman, Gordon

2010-01-01

Accelerated electrons play an important role in the energetics of solar flares. Understanding the process or processes that accelerate these electrons to high, nonthermal energies also depends on understanding the evolution of these electrons between the acceleration region and the region where they are observed through their hard X-ray or radio emission. Energy losses in the co-spatial electric field that drives the current-neutralizing return current can flatten the electron distribution toward low energies. This in turn flattens the corresponding bremsstrahlung hard X-ray spectrum toward low energies. The lost electron beam energy also enhances heating in the coronal part of the flare loop. Extending earlier work by Knight & Sturrock (1977), Emslie (1980), Diakonov & Somov (1988), and Litvinenko & Somov (1991), I have derived analytical and semi-analytical results for the nonthermal electron distribution function and the self-consistent electric field strength in the presence of a steady-state return-current. I review these results, presented previously at the 2009 SPD Meeting in Boulder, CO, and compare them and computed X-ray spectra with numerical results obtained by Zharkova & Gordovskii (2005, 2006). The phYSical significance of similarities and differences in the results will be emphasized. This work is supported by NASA's Heliophysics Guest Investigator Program and the RHESSI Project.

Spectral Dependent Degradation of the Solar Diffuser on Suomi-NPP VIIRS Due to Surface Roughness-Induced Rayleigh Scattering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xi Shao

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS onboard Suomi National Polar Orbiting Partnership (SNPP uses a solar diffuser (SD as its radiometric calibrator for the reflective solar band calibration. The SD is made of Spectralon™ (one type of fluoropolymer and was chosen because of its controlled reflectance in the Visible/Near-Infrared/Shortwave-Infrared region and its near-Lambertian reflectance property. On-orbit changes in VIIRS SD reflectance as monitored by the Solar Diffuser Stability Monitor showed faster degradation of SD reflectance for 0.4 to 0.6 µm channels than the longer wavelength channels. Analysis of VIIRS SD reflectance data show that the spectral dependent degradation of SD reflectance in short wavelength can be explained with a SD Surface Roughness (length scale << wavelength based Rayleigh Scattering (SRRS model due to exposure to solar UV radiation and energetic particles. The characteristic length parameter of the SD surface roughness is derived from the long term reflectance data of the VIIRS SD and it changes at approximately the tens of nanometers level over the operational period of VIIRS. This estimated roughness length scale is consistent with the experimental result from radiation exposure of a fluoropolymer sample and validates the applicability of the Rayleigh scattering-based model. The model is also applicable to explaining the spectral dependent degradation of the SDs on other satellites. This novel approach allows us to better understand the physical processes of the SD degradation, and is complementary to previous mathematics based models.

Lower atmosphere of solar flares; Proceedings of the Solar Maximum Mission Symposium, Sunspot, NM, Aug. 20-24, 1985

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neidig, D.F.

1986-01-01

The topics discussed by the present conference encompass the chromospheric flare phenomenon, white light flares, UV emission and the flare transition region, the flare corona and high energy emissions, stellar flares, and flare energy release and transport. Attention is given to radiative shocks and condensation in flares, impulsive brightening of H-alpha flare points, the structure and response of the chromosphere to radiation backwarming during solar flares, the interpretation of continuum emissions in white light flares, and the radiation properties of solar plasmas. Also discussed are EUV images of a solar flare and C III intensity, an active region survey in H-alpha and X-rays, dynamic thermal plasma conditions in large flares, the evolution of the flare mechanism in dwarf stars, the evidence concerning electron beams in solar flares, the energetics of the nonlinear tearing mode, macroscopic electric fields during two-ribbon flares, and the low temperature signatures of energetic particles

AlGaAs top solar cell for mechanical attachment in a multi-junction tandem concentrator solar cell stack

Science.gov (United States)

Dinetta, L. C.; Hannon, M. H.; Cummings, J. R.; Mcneeley, J. B.; Barnett, Allen M.

1990-01-01

Free-standing, transparent, tunable bandgap AlxGa1-xAs top solar cells have been fabricated for mechanical attachment in a four terminal tandem stack solar cell. Evaluation of the device results has demonstrated 1.80 eV top solar cells with efficiencies of 18 percent (100 X, and AM0) which would yield stack efficiencies of 31 percent (100 X, AM0) with a silicon bottom cell. When fully developed, the AlxGa1-xAs/Si mechanically-stacked two-junction solar cell concentrator system can provide efficiencies of 36 percent (AM0, 100 X). AlxGa1-xAs top solar cells with bandgaps from 1.66 eV to 2.08 eV have been fabricated. Liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) growth techniques have been used and LPE has been found to yield superior AlxGa1-xAs material when compared to molecular beam epitaxy and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. It is projected that stack assembly technology will be readily applicable to any mechanically stacked multijunction (MSMJ) system. Development of a wide bandgap top solar cell is the only feasible method for obtaining stack efficiencies greater than 40 percent at AM0. System efficiencies of greater than 40 percent can be realized when the AlGaAs top solar cell is used in a three solar cell mechanical stack.

On the acceleration of alpha particles in the fast solar wind

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomberoff, L.; Hernandez, R.

1992-01-01

Recently, Gomberoff and Elgueta (1991) showed that in a plasma composed of anisotropic protons and alpha particles drifting along an external magnetic field with a small velocity relative to the protons, strong left-hand polarized electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves can be generated. These waves can accelerate the alpha particles to velocities well in excess of the proton bulk velocity. Here the authors assume a more realistic model of the solar wind by considering a double-humped proton distribution. It is shown that the secondary proton beam has no important effects on the ion cyclotron waves for beam densities of the order of those observed in fast solar wind conditions. The fact that the alpha proton drift velocity is modulated by the Alfven velocity remains unexplained

Microscopic optoelectronic defectoscopy of solar cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dallaeva D.

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Scanning probe microscopes are powerful tool for micro- or nanoscale diagnostics of defects in crystalline silicon solar cells. Solar cell is a large p-n junction semiconductor device. Its quality is strongly damaged by the presence of defects. If the cell works under low reverse-biased voltage, defects emit a light in visible range. The suggested method combines three different measurements: electric noise measurement, local topography and near-field optical beam induced current and thus provides more complex information. To prove its feasibility, we have selected one defect (truncated pyramid in the sample, which emitted light under low reverse-biased voltage.

Imaging spectroscopy of type U and J solar radio bursts with LOFAR

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Hamish A. S.; Kontar, Eduard P.

2017-10-01

Context. Radio U-bursts and J-bursts are signatures of electron beams propagating along magnetic loops confined to the corona. The more commonly observed type III radio bursts are signatures of electron beams propagating along magnetic loops that extend into interplanetary space. Given the prevalence of solar magnetic flux to be closed in the corona, why type III bursts are more frequently observed than U-bursts or J-bursts is an outstanding question. Aims: We use Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) imaging spectroscopy between 30-80 MHz of low-frequency U-bursts and J-bursts, for the first time, to understand why electron beams travelling along coronal loops produce radio emission less often. Radio burst observations provide information not only about the exciting electron beams but also about the structure of large coronal loops with densities that are too low for standard extreme ultraviolet (EUV) or X-ray analysis. Methods: We analysed LOFAR images of a sequence of two J-bursts and one U-burst. The different radio source positions were used to model the spatial structure of the guiding magnetic flux tube and then deduce the energy range of the exciting electron beams without the assumption of a standard density model. We also estimated the electron density along the magnetic flux rope and compared it to coronal models. Results: The radio sources infer a magnetic loop that is 1 solar radius in altitude with the highest frequency sources starting around 0.6 solar radii. Electron velocities were found between 0.13 c and 0.24 c with the front of the electron beam travelling faster than the back of the electron beam. The velocities correspond to energy ranges within the beam from 0.7-11 keV to 0.7-43 keV. The density along the loop is higher than typical coronal density models and the density gradient is smaller. Conclusions: We found that a more restrictive range of accelerated beam and background plasma parameters can result in U-bursts or J-bursts, causing type III

A fast radiative transfer model for visible through shortwave infrared spectral reflectances in clear and cloudy atmospheres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Chenxi; Yang, Ping; Nasiri, Shaima L.; Platnick, Steven; Baum, Bryan A.; Heidinger, Andrew K.; Liu, Xu

2013-01-01

A computationally efficient radiative transfer model (RTM) for calculating visible (VIS) through shortwave infrared (SWIR) reflectances is developed for use in satellite and airborne cloud property retrievals. The full radiative transfer equation (RTE) for combinations of cloud, aerosol, and molecular layers is solved approximately by using six independent RTEs that assume the plane-parallel approximation along with a single-scattering approximation for Rayleigh scattering. Each of the six RTEs can be solved analytically if the bidirectional reflectance/transmittance distribution functions (BRDF/BTDF) of the cloud/aerosol layers are known. The adding/doubling (AD) algorithm is employed to account for overlapped cloud/aerosol layers and non-Lambertian surfaces. Two approaches are used to mitigate the significant computational burden of the AD algorithm. First, the BRDF and BTDF of single cloud/aerosol layers are pre-computed using the discrete ordinates radiative transfer program (DISORT) implemented with 128 streams, and second, the required integral in the AD algorithm is numerically implemented on a twisted icosahedral mesh. A concise surface BRDF simulator associated with the MODIS land surface product (MCD43) is merged into a fast RTM to accurately account for non-isotropic surface reflectance. The resulting fast RTM is evaluated with respect to its computational accuracy and efficiency. The simulation bias between DISORT and the fast RTM is large (e.g., relative error >5%) only when both the solar zenith angle (SZA) and the viewing zenith angle (VZA) are large (i.e., SZA>45° and VZA>70°). For general situations, i.e., cloud/aerosol layers above a non-Lambertian surface, the fast RTM calculation rate is faster than that of the 128-stream DISORT by approximately two orders of magnitude. -- Highlights: ► An efficient radiative transfer model is developed for cloud remote sensing. ► Multi-layered clouds and a non-Lambertian surface can be fully considered. �

Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds Sunshine Pyranometer (SPN1) Field Campaign Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reynolds, R. Michael [Remote Measurements & Research Company, Seattle, WA (United States); Long, Charles N. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). Earth System Research Lab.

2016-01-10

From the SPN1 manual, the SPN1 Sunshine Pyranometer is one sensor with three output channels: 1) total (global) solar radiation, 2) diffuse radiation, and 3) sunshine status. The SPN1 measures short-wave radiation between 400nm and 2700nm in W.m-2. The Direct beam component of solar radiation can be calculated from the Total minus the Diffuse component. The Sunshine status output indicates whether the energy in the direct beam exceeds the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standard threshold value of 120 W.m-2, using an algorithm based on the Total radiation, and the ratio of Total to Diffuse radiation. The radiation outputs have a cosine-corrected response. The advantages of the SPN1 are 1) It matches the WMO ‘Good Quality’ pyranometer classification. 2) It requires no shadow band or solar tracker. 3) There are no moving parts. 4) It does not need to be adjusted or repositioned to track the sun—a distinct advantage over shade rings or mechanical trackers. 5) It does not need to be oriented towards north. It will work accurately in any orientation as long as it is mounted horizontally. 6) It does not require knowledge of the latitude or longitude, and can be used at any latitude or longitude. 7) It measures sunshine hours as well as Total and Diffuse radiation. 8) The built-in heater allows use in wet or icy conditions.

Upconversion imaging using short-wave infrared picosecond pulses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mathez, Morgan David; Rodrigo, Peter John; Tidemand-Lichtenberg, Peter

2017-01-01

beam diameter to upconvert a wider range of signal spatial frequencies in the crystal. The 1877 nm signal is converted into 849 nm—enabling an image to be acquired by a silicon CCD camera. The measured size of the smallest resolvable element of this imaging system is consistent with the value predicted...... repetition rate of 21.7 MHz. Due to synchronization of high peak-power pulses, efficient upconversion is achieved in a single-pass setup that employs a bulk lithium niobate crystal. Optimizing the temporal overlap of the pulses for high upconversion efficiency enables us to exploit a relatively large pump...... by an improved model that considers the combined image blurring effect due to finite pump beam size, thick nonlinear crystal, and polychromatic infrared illumination....

Impacts of solar-absorbing aerosol layers on the transition of stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Zhou

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The effects of an initially overlying layer of solar-absorbing aerosol on the transition of stratocumulus to trade cumulus clouds are examined using large-eddy simulations. For lightly drizzling cloud the transition is generally hastened, resulting mainly from increased cloud droplet number concentration (Nc induced by entrained aerosol. The increased Nc slows sedimentation of cloud droplets and shortens their relaxation time for diffusional growth, both of which accelerate entrainment of overlying air and thereby stratocumulus breakup. However, the decrease in albedo from cloud breakup is more than offset by redistributing cloud water over a greater number of droplets, such that the diurnal-average shortwave forcing at the top of the atmosphere is negative. The negative radiative forcing is enhanced by sizable longwave contributions, which result from the greater cloud breakup and a reduced boundary layer height associated with aerosol heating. A perturbation of moisture instead of aerosol aloft leads to a greater liquid water path and a more gradual transition. Adding absorbing aerosol to that atmosphere results in substantial reductions in liquid water path (LWP and cloud cover that lead to positive shortwave and negative longwave forcings on average canceling each other. Only for heavily drizzling clouds is the breakup delayed, as inhibition of precipitation overcomes cloud water loss from enhanced entrainment. Considering these simulations as an imperfect proxy for biomass burning plumes influencing Namibian stratocumulus, we expect regional indirect plus semi-direct forcings to be substantially negative to negligible at the top of the atmosphere, with its magnitude sensitive to background and perturbation properties.

A path to practical Solar Pumped Lasers via Radiative Energy Transfer.

Science.gov (United States)

Reusswig, Philip D; Nechayev, Sergey; Scherer, Jennifer M; Hwang, Gyu Weon; Bawendi, Moungi G; Baldo, Marc A; Rotschild, Carmel

2015-10-05

The optical conversion of incoherent solar radiation into a bright, coherent laser beam enables the application of nonlinear optics to solar energy conversion and storage. Here, we present an architecture for solar pumped lasers that uses a luminescent solar concentrator to decouple the conventional trade-off between solar absorption efficiency and the mode volume of the optical gain material. We report a 750-μm-thick Nd(3+)-doped YAG planar waveguide sensitized by a luminescent CdSe/CdZnS (core/shell) colloidal nanocrystal, yielding a peak cascade energy transfer of 14%, a broad spectral response in the visible portion of the solar spectrum, and an equivalent quasi-CW solar lasing threshold of 23 W-cm(-2), or approximately 230 suns. The efficient coupling of incoherent, spectrally broad sunlight in small gain volumes should allow the generation of coherent laser light from intensities of less than 100 suns.

[Bare Soil Moisture Inversion Model Based on Visible-Shortwave Infrared Reflectance].

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Xiao-po; Sun, Yue-jun; Qin, Qi-ming; Ren, Hua-zhong; Gao, Zhong-ling; Wu, Ling; Meng, Qing-ye; Wang, Jin-liang; Wang, Jian-hua

2015-08-01

Soil is the loose solum of land surface that can support plants. It consists of minerals, organics, atmosphere, moisture, microbes, et al. Among its complex compositions, soil moisture varies greatly. Therefore, the fast and accurate inversion of soil moisture by using remote sensing is very crucial. In order to reduce the influence of soil type on the retrieval of soil moisture, this paper proposed a normalized spectral slope and absorption index named NSSAI to estimate soil moisture. The modeling of the new index contains several key steps: Firstly, soil samples with different moisture level were artificially prepared, and soil reflectance spectra was consequently measured using spectroradiometer produced by ASD Company. Secondly, the moisture absorption spectral feature located at shortwave wavelengths and the spectral slope of visible wavelengths were calculated after analyzing the regular spectral feature change patterns of different soil at different moisture conditions. Then advantages of the two features at reducing soil types' effects was synthesized to build the NSSAI. Thirdly, a linear relationship between NSSAI and soil moisture was established. The result showed that NSSAI worked better (correlation coefficient is 0.93) than most of other traditional methods in soil moisture extraction. It can weaken the influences caused by soil types at different moisture levels and improve the bare soil moisture inversion accuracy.

Short-Wave Near-Infrared Spectrometer for Alcohol Determination and Temperature Correction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qingbo Fu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A multichannel short-wave near-infrared (SW-NIR spectrometer module based on charge-coupled device (CCD detection was designed. The design relied on a tungsten lamp enhanced by light emitting diodes, a fixed grating monochromator and a linear CCD array. The main advantages were high optical resolution and an optimized signal-to-noise ratio (0.24 nm and 500, resp. in the whole wavelength range of 650 to 1100 nm. An application to alcohol determination using partial least squares calibration and the temperature correction was presented. It was found that the direct transfer method had significant systematic prediction errors due to temperature effect. Generalized least squares weighting (GLSW method was utilized for temperature correction. After recalibration, the RMSEP found for the 25°C model was 0.53% v/v and errors of the same order of magnitude were obtained at other temperatures (15, 35 and 40°C. And an 2 better than 0.99 was achieved for each validation set. The possibility and accuracy of using the miniature SW-NIR spectrometer and GLSW transfer calibration method for alcohol determination at different temperatures were proven. And the analysis procedure was simple and fast, allowing a strict control of alcohol content in the wine industry.

The use of a sky camera for solar radiation estimation based on digital image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alonso-Montesinos, J.; Batlles, F.J.

2015-01-01

The necessary search for a more sustainable global future means using renewable energy sources to generate pollutant-free electricity. CSP (Concentrated solar power) and PV (photovoltaic) plants are the systems most in demand for electricity production using solar radiation as the energy source. The main factors affecting final electricity generation in these plants are, among others, atmospheric conditions; therefore, knowing whether there will be any change in the solar radiation hitting the plant's solar field is of fundamental importance to CSP and PV plant operators in adapting the plant's operation mode to these fluctuations. Consequently, the most useful technology must involve the study of atmospheric conditions. This is the case for sky cameras, an emerging technology that allows one to gather sky information with optimal spatial and temporal resolution. Hence, in this work, a solar radiation estimation using sky camera images is presented for all sky conditions, where beam, diffuse and global solar radiation components are estimated in real-time as a novel way to evaluate the solar resource from a terrestrial viewpoint. - Highlights: • Using a sky camera, the solar resource has been estimated for one minute periods. • The sky images have been processed to estimate the solar radiation at pixel level. • The three radiation components have been estimated under all sky conditions. • Results have been presented for cloudless, partially-cloudy and overcast conditions. • For beam and global radiation, the nRMSE value is of about 11% under overcast skies.

Quasi-Static Evolution, Catastrophe, and Failed Eruption of Solar Flux Ropes

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-30

Ropes James Chen Beam Physics Branch Plasma Physics Division December 30, 2016 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. i REPORT...pressure gradient force combine to balance the major radial hoop force. The macroscopic forces on the flux ropes and onset conditions are quantified...Solar physics theory 67-4989-07 Quasi-Static Evolution, Catastrophe, and “Failed” Eruption of Solar Flux Ropes James Chen1 Plasma Physics Division

ESTABLISHING BRDF CALIBRATION CAPABILITIES THROUGH SHORTWAVE INFRARED

OpenAIRE

Georgiev, Georgi T.; Butler, James J.; Thome, Kurt; Cooksey, Catherine; Ding, Leibo

2017-01-01

Satellite instruments operating in the reflective solar wavelength region require accurate and precise determination of the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Functions (BRDFs) of the laboratory and flight diffusers used in their pre-flight and on-orbit calibrations. This paper advances that initial work and presents a comparison of spectral Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and Directional Hemispherical Reflectance (DHR) of Spectralon*, a common material for laborato...

PLASMA EMISSION BY COUNTER-STREAMING ELECTRON BEAMS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ziebell, L. F.; Petruzzellis, L. T.; Gaelzer, R. [Instituto de Física, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Yoon, P. H. [Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Pavan, J., E-mail: luiz.ziebell@ufrgs.br, E-mail: yoonp@umd.edu, E-mail: joel.pavan@ufpel.edu.br [Instituto de Física e Matemática, UFPel, Pelotas, RS (Brazil)

2016-02-10

The radiation emission mechanism responsible for both type-II and type-III solar radio bursts is commonly accepted as plasma emission. Recently Ganse et al. suggested that type-II radio bursts may be enhanced when the electron foreshock geometry of a coronal mass ejection contains a double hump structure. They reasoned that the counter-streaming electron beams that exist between the double shocks may enhance the nonlinear coalescence interaction, thereby giving rise to more efficient generation of radiation. Ganse et al. employed a particle-in-cell simulation to study such a scenario. The present paper revisits the same problem with EM weak turbulence theory, and show that the fundamental (F) emission is not greatly affected by the presence of counter-streaming beams, but the harmonic (H) emission becomes somewhat more effective when the two beams are present. The present finding is thus complementary to the work by Ganse et al.

Electromagnetic radiation of protons in edge fields of synchrotron dipole magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smolyakov, N.V.

1986-01-01

Effect of the edge shape of magnetic field of a dipole on the short-wave part of electromagnetic radiation spectrum of a proton beam is investigated. In some cases short-wave photons are shown to be shaped in the ranges of largest edge curvature of the magnetic field. Universality of edge radiation spectrum is proved. Spectral characteristics of proton edge radiation in a superconducting magnetic dipole of the storage-accelerator complex are obtained

Improved Correction of IR Loss in Diffuse Shortwave Measurements: An ARM Value-Added Product

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Younkin, K; Long, CN

2003-11-01

Simple single black detector pyranometers, such as the Eppley Precision Spectral Pyranometer (PSP) used by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program, are known to lose energy via infrared (IR) emission to the sky. This is especially a problem when making clear-sky diffuse shortwave (SW) measurements, which are inherently of low magnitude and suffer the greatest IR loss. Dutton et al. (2001) proposed a technique using information from collocated pyrgeometers to help compensate for this IR loss. The technique uses an empirically derived relationship between the pyrgeometer detector data (and alternatively the detector data plus the difference between the pyrgeometer case and dome temperatures) and the nighttime pyranometer IR loss data. This relationship is then used to apply a correction to the diffuse SW data during daylight hours. We developed an ARM value-added product (VAP) called the SW DIFF CORR 1DUTT VAP to apply the Dutton et al. correction technique to ARM PSP diffuse SW measurements.

Solar radio emissions: 2D full PIC simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Pierre, H.; Sgattoni, A.; Briand, C.; Amiranoff, F.; Riconda, C.

2016-12-01

Solar radio emissions are electromagnetic waves observed at the local plasma frequency and/or at twice the plasma frequency. To describe their origin a multi-stage model has been proposed by Ginzburg & Zhelezniakov (1958) and further developed by several authors, which consider a succession of non-linear three-wave interaction processes. Electron beams accelerated by solar flares travel in the interplanetary plasma and provide the free energy for the development of plasma instabilities. The model describes how part of the free energy of these beams can be transformed in a succession of plasma waves and eventually into electromagnetic waves. Following the work of Thurgood & Tsiklauri (2015) we performed several 2D Particle In Cell simulations. The simulations follow the entire set of processes from the electron beam propagation in the background plasma to the generation of the electromagnetic waves in particular the 2ωp emission, including the excitation of the low frequency waves. As suggested by Thurgood & Tsiklauri (2015) it is possible to identify regimes where the radiation emission can be directly linked to the electron beams. Our attention was devoted to estimate the conversion efficiency from electron kinetic energy to the em energy, and the growth rate of the several processes which can be identified. We studied the emission angles of the 2ωpradiation and compared them with the theoretical predictions of Willes et. al. (1995). We also show the role played by some numerical parameters i.e. the size and shape of the simulation box. This work is the first step to prepare laser-plasma experiments. V. L. Ginzburg, V. V. Zhelezniakov On the Possible Mechanisms of Sporadic Solar Radio Emission (Radiation in an Isotropic Plasma) Soviet Astronomy, Vol. 2, p.653 (1958) J. O. Thurgood and D. Tsiklauri Self-consistent particle-in-cell simulations of funda- mental and harmonic plasma radio emission mechanisms. Astronomy & Astrophysics 584, A83 (2015). A. Willes, P

Impacts of spectral nudging on the simulated surface air temperature in summer compared with the selection of shortwave radiation and land surface model physics parameterization in a high-resolution regional atmospheric model

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jun; Hwang, Seung-On

2017-11-01

The impact of a spectral nudging technique for the dynamical downscaling of the summer surface air temperature in a high-resolution regional atmospheric model is assessed. The performance of this technique is measured by comparing 16 analysis-driven simulation sets of physical parameterization combinations of two shortwave radiation and four land surface model schemes of the model, which are known to be crucial for the simulation of the surface air temperature. It is found that the application of spectral nudging to the outermost domain has a greater impact on the regional climate than any combination of shortwave radiation and land surface model physics schemes. The optimal choice of two model physics parameterizations is helpful for obtaining more realistic spatiotemporal distributions of land surface variables such as the surface air temperature, precipitation, and surface fluxes. However, employing spectral nudging adds more value to the results; the improvement is greater than using sophisticated shortwave radiation and land surface model physical parameterizations. This result indicates that spectral nudging applied to the outermost domain provides a more accurate lateral boundary condition to the innermost domain when forced by analysis data by securing the consistency with large-scale forcing over a regional domain. This consequently indirectly helps two physical parameterizations to produce small-scale features closer to the observed values, leading to a better representation of the surface air temperature in a high-resolution downscaled climate.

Propagation of energetic electrons in the solar corona observed with LOFAR

Science.gov (United States)

Breitling, F.

2017-06-01

This work reports about new high-resolution imaging and spectroscopic observations of solar type III radio bursts at low radio frequencies in the range from 30 to 80 MHz. Solar type III radio bursts are understood as result of the beam-plasma interaction of electron beams in the corona. The Sun provides a unique opportunity to study these plasma processes of an active star. Its activity appears in eruptive events like flares, coronal mass ejections and radio bursts which are all accompanied by enhanced radio emission. Therefore solar radio emission carries important information about plasma processes associated with the Sun's activity. Moreover, the Sun's atmosphere is a unique plasma laboratory with plasma processes under conditions not found in terrestrial laboratories. Because of the Sun's proximity to Earth, it can be studied in greater detail than any other star but new knowledge about the Sun can be transfer to them. This "solar stellar connection" is important for the understanding of processes on other stars. The novel radio interferometer LOFAR provides imaging and spectroscopic capabilities to study these processes at low frequencies. Here it was used for solar observations. LOFAR, the characteristics of its solar data and the processing and analysis of the latter with the Solar Imaging Pipeline and Solar Data Center are described. The Solar Imaging Pipeline is the central software that allows using LOFAR for solar observations. So its development was necessary for the analysis of solar LOFAR data and realized here. Moreover a new density model with heat conduction and Alfvén waves was developed that provides the distance of radio bursts to the Sun from dynamic radio spectra. Its application to the dynamic spectrum of a type III burst observed on March 16, 2016 by LOFAR shows a nonuniform radial propagation velocity of the radio emission. The analysis of an imaging observation of type III bursts on June 23, 2012 resolves a burst as bright, compact region

Thermal and optical study of parabolic trough collectors of Shiraz solar power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mokhtari, A.; Yaghoubi, M.; Vadiee, A.; Hessami, R. [Shiraz Univ, Shiraz (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Kanan, P. [Renewable Energy Organization of Iran, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2007-07-01

The construction of the first 250 KW solar power plant in Shiraz, Iran was discussed. The power plant is comprised of a steam and oil cycle which includes 48 parabolic trough collectors (PTCs). Solar thermal power plants based on PTCs are currently the most successful solar technologies for electricity generation. These power plants are basically composed of a solar collector field and a power block. The solar collector field is designed to collect heat from the sun which it is continuously tracking. The reflecting surface concentrates direct solar radiation in the optical focal line of the collector where the heat collecting element (HCE) is located. The HCE absorbs the reflected energy and transmits it to the heat transfer fluid which is pumped to the conventional power block where electricity is generated. There is potential to significantly increase the performance and reduce the cost of PTC solar thermal electric technologies. However, it is necessary to characterize the optical performance and determine the optical losses of PTCs in order to improve the optical efficiency of these systems and to ensure the desired power quality. In this study, thermocouple sensors were used to record the collector oil inlet and outlet temperature along with the ambient temperature in the PTCs. In addition to measuring the wind speed, the solar beam radiation intensity was measured along with the oil's mass flow rate. All parameters were measured as a function of time. Based on these measurements, the intercept factor value and collector's incidence angle was determined and compared with other large size constructed commercial parabolic collectors. The maximum beam radiation during the experimental period was 735 2mW. The useful heat gain and the collector's instantaneous efficiency as a whole was evaluated on an hourly basis. All these parameters were strongly influenced by the incident beam radiation and found to follow each other. The optical and thermal

Direct solar radiation on various slopes from 0 to 60 degrees north latitude.

Science.gov (United States)

John Buffo; Leo J. Fritschen; James L. Murphy

1972-01-01

Direct beam solar radiation is presented in graphical and tabular form for hourly, daily, and yearly values for seven slopes on each of 16 aspects from the Equator to 60 degrees north in 10-degree increments. Theoretical equations necessary for the calculations are given. Solar altitude and azimuth during the day and year are also presented for the same latitude.

A path to practical Solar Pumped Lasers via Radiative Energy Transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Reusswig, Philip D.; Nechayev, Sergey; Scherer, Jennifer M.; Hwang, Gyu Weon; Bawendi, Moungi G.; Baldo, Marc. A.; Rotschild, Carmel

2015-01-01

The optical conversion of incoherent solar radiation into a bright, coherent laser beam enables the application of nonlinear optics to solar energy conversion and storage. Here, we present an architecture for solar pumped lasers that uses a luminescent solar concentrator to decouple the conventional trade-off between solar absorption efficiency and the mode volume of the optical gain material. We report a 750-μm-thick Nd3+-doped YAG planar waveguide sensitized by a luminescent CdSe/CdZnS (core/shell) colloidal nanocrystal, yielding a peak cascade energy transfer of 14%, a broad spectral response in the visible portion of the solar spectrum, and an equivalent quasi-CW solar lasing threshold of 23 W-cm−2, or approximately 230 suns. The efficient coupling of incoherent, spectrally broad sunlight in small gain volumes should allow the generation of coherent laser light from intensities of less than 100 suns. PMID:26434400

Innovative laser based solar cell scribing

Science.gov (United States)

Frei, Bruno; Schneeberger, Stefan; Witte, Reiner

2011-03-01

The solar photovoltaic market is continuously growing utilizing boths crystalline silicon (c-Si) as well as thin film technologies. This growth is directly dependant on the manufacturing costs for solar cells. Factors for cost reduction are innovative ideas for an optimization of precision and throughput. Lasers are excellent tools to provide highly efficient processes with impressive accuracy. They need to be used in combination with fast and precise motion systems for a maximum gain in the manufacturing process, yielding best cost of ownership. In this article such an innovative solution is presented for laser scribing in thin film Si modules. A combination of a new glass substrate holding system combined with a fast and precise motion system is the foundation for a cost effective scribing machine. In addition, the advantages of fiber lasers in beam delivery and beam quality guarantee not only shorter setup and down times but also high resolution and reproducibility for the scribing processes P1, P2 and P3. The precision of the whole system allows to reduce the dead zone to a minimum and therefore to improve the efficiency of the modules.

Applications of power beaming from space-based nuclear power stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, J.R.; Botts, T.E.; Hertzberg, A.

1981-01-01

Power beaming from space-based reactor systems is examined using an advanced compact, lightweight Rotating Bed Reactor (RBR). Closed Brayton power conversion efficiencies in the range of 30 to 40% can be achieved with turbines, with reactor exit temperatures on the order of 2000 0 K and a liquid drop radiator to reject heat at temperatures of approx. 500 0 K. Higher RBR coolant temperatures (up to approx. 3000 0 K) are possible, but gains in power conversion efficiency are minimal, due to lower expander efficiency (e.g., a MHD generator). Two power beaming applications are examined - laser beaming to airplanes and microwave beaming to fixed ground receivers. Use of the RBR greatly reduces system weight and cost, as compared to solar power sources. Payback times are a few years at present prices for power and airplane fuel

Spatial and temporal variations of albedo and absorbed solar radiation during 2009 - 2016 from IKOR-M satellite program

Science.gov (United States)

Cherviakov, Maksim; Bogdanov, Mikhail; Spiryakhina, Anastasia; Shishkina, Elena; Surkova, Yana; Kulkova, Eugenia

2017-04-01

This report describes Earth's radiation budget IKOR-M satellite program which has been started in Russia. The first satellite "Meteor-M» No 1 of this project was put into orbit in September, 2009. The IKOR-M radiometer is a satellite instrument that measures reflected shortwave radiation (0.3-4.0 µm). It was created in Saratov State University and installed on Russian hydrometeorological satellites "Meteor-M" No 1 and No 2. Radiometer IKOR-M designed for satellite monitoring of the outgoing reflected short-wave radiation, which is one of the components of Earth's radiation budget. Such measurements can be used to derive Earth's surface albedo and absorbed solar radiation. This information also can be used in different models of long-term weather forecasts and in researches of climate change trends (Sklyarov et al., 2016). Satellite "Meteor-M" No 1 and No 2 are heliosynchronous that allows observing from North to South Poles. The basic products of data processing are given in the form of global maps of distribution outgoing short-wave radiation (OSR), albedo and absorbed solar radiation (ASR). Such maps were made for each month during observation period. The IKOR-M product archive is available online at all times. A searchable catalogue of data products is continually updated and users may search and download data products via the Earth radiation balance components research laboratory website (http://www.sgu.ru/structure/geographic/metclim/balans) as soon as they become available. Two series of measurements from two different IKOR-M are available. The first radiometer had worked from October, 2009 to August, 2014 and second - from August, 2014 to the present. Therefore, there is a period when both radiometers work at the same time. Top-of-atmosphere fluxes deduced from the "Meteor-M" No 1 measurements in August, 2014 show very good agreement with the fluxes determined from "Meteor-M" No 2 (Bogdanov et al., 2016). The effect of aging is investigated for first IKOR

Printed metal back electrodes for R2R fabricated polymer solar cells studied using the LBIC technique

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krebs, Frederik C; Søndergaard, Roar; Jørgensen, Mikkel

2011-01-01

The performance of printable metal back electrodes for polymer solar cells were investigated using light beam induced current (LBIC) mapping of the final solar cell device after preparation to identify the causes of poor performance. Three different types of silver based printable metal inks were...

A novel method for surface defect inspection of optic cable with short-wave infrared illuminance

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiaohong; Liu, Ning; You, Bo; Xiao, Bin

2016-07-01

Intelligent on-line detection of cable quality is a crucial issue in optic cable factory, and defects on the surface of optic cable can dramatically depress cable grade. Manual inspection in optic cable quality cannot catch up with the development of optic cable industry due to its low detection efficiency and huge human cost. Therefore, real-time is highly demanded by industry in order to replace the subjective and repetitive process of manual inspection. For this reason, automatic cable defect inspection has been a trend. In this paper, a novel method for surface defect inspection of optic cable with short-wave infrared illuminance is presented. The special condition of short-wave infrared cannot only provide illumination compensation for the weak illumination environment, but also can avoid the problem of exposure when using visible light illuminance, which affects the accuracy of inspection algorithm. A series of image processing algorithms are set up to analyze cable image for the verification of real-time and veracity of the detection method. Unlike some existing detection algorithms which concentrate on the characteristics of defects with an active search way, the proposed method removes the non-defective areas of the image passively at the same time of image processing, which reduces a large amount of computation. OTSU algorithm is used to convert the gray image to the binary image. Furthermore, a threshold window is designed to eliminate the fake defects, and the threshold represents the considered minimum size of defects ε . Besides, a new regional suppression method is proposed to deal with the edge burrs of the cable, which shows the superior performance compared with that of Open-Close operation of mathematical morphological in the boundary processing. Experimental results of 10,000 samples show that the rates of miss detection and false detection are 2.35% and 0.78% respectively when ε equals to 0.5 mm, and the average processing period of one frame

Long-time evolution of a low-density ion beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zachary, A.L.; Cohen, B.I.; Max, C.E.; Arons, J.

1989-01-01

With a new, orbit-averaged hybrid computer simulation code, we study a cold, fast low-density ion beam which propagates along the ambient magnetic field as it interacts with a much denser fluid background. We examine the character of the interactions as we vary the ion beam density relative to the background density over the range 1 x 10/sup -5/ to 3 x 10/sup -3/. The low beam density simulations may not be directly observable upstream of the Earth's bow shock, but they are included to help develop an understanding of the results seen in the simulations with high-beam density. However, our highest density simulation falls within the range of solar wind data. All the simulations, regardless of the relative beam density, show three distinct phases: (1) an early or ''linear'' phase; (2) an intermediate or ''trapping'' phase; and (3) a late or ''decorrelation'' phase. In the early phase, the beam excites a nearly monochromatic Alfven wave whose amplitude grows exponentially at a rate given by linear perturbation theory. The wave amplitude saturates when the linear growth rate is of the order of the trapping frequency

A possible interpretation of the zebra pattern in solar radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fomichev, V. V.; Fainshtein, S. M.; Chernov, G. P.

2009-01-01

The nature of the zebra pattern in continual type-IV solar radio bursts is discussed. It is shown that, when a weakly relativistic monoenergetic proton beam propagates in a highly nonisothermal plasma, the energy of the slow beam mode can be negative and explosive instability can develop due to the interaction of the slow and fast beam modes with ion sound. Due to weak spatial dispersion, ion sound generation is accompanied by cascade merging, which leads to stabilization of explosive instability. The zebra pattern forms due to the scattering of fast protons by ion sound harmonics. The efficiency of the new mechanism is compared with that of previously discussed mechanisms.

Simulation of Solar Radiation Incident on Horizontal and Inclined Surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MA Basunia

2012-12-01

Full Text Available A computer model was developed to simulate the hourly, daily and monthly average of daily solar radiation on horizontal and inclined surfaces. The measured hourly and daily solar radiation was compared with simulated radiation, and favourable agreement was observed for the measured and predicted values on clear days. The measured and simulated monthly averages of total (diffuse and beam daily solar radiation were compared and a reasonable agreement was observed for a number of stations in Japan. The simulation showed that during the rice harvesting season, September to October, there is a daily average of 14.7 MJ/m2 of solar irradiation on a horizontal surface in Matsuyama, Japan. There is a similar amount of solar radiation on a horizontal surface during the major rice harvesting season, November to December, in Bangladesh. This radiation can be effectively utilized for drying rough rice and other farm crops.

25  W/m2 collection efficiency solar-pumped Nd:YAG laser by a heliostat-parabolic mirror system.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, D; Almeida, J; Vistas, C R

2016-09-20

A large aspheric fused silica lens was used to couple efficiently the concentrated solar radiation from the focal zone of a 1.5-m-diameter primary concentrator into a 4-mm-diameter, 35-mm-long Nd:YAG single-crystal rod within a conical pump cavity. Continuous-wave laser power of 29.3 W was measured, attaining 25.0  W/m2 solar laser collection efficiency, corresponding to a 19% increase over the previous record. Its laser beam figure of merit-the ratio between laser power and the product of Mx2, My2 beam quality factors-of 0.01 W is 1.6 times higher than that of a direct tracking solar laser with 30  W/m2 collection efficiency. A strong dependency of solar laser power on laser resonator cavity length was found.

Beam-Beam Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herr, W; Pieloni, T

2014-01-01

One of the most severe limitations in high-intensity particle colliders is the beam-beam interaction, i.e. the perturbation of the beams as they cross the opposing beams. This introduction to beam-beam effects concentrates on a description of the phenomena that are present in modern colliding beam facilities

Resonators for magnetohydrodynamic waves in the solar corona: radioemission modulation effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zajtsev, V.V.; Stepanov, A.V.

1982-01-01

Data on type 2 solar radio bursts are analyzed in the framework of a model of radio emission production by shock waves. Type 2 solar radio bursts data are shown to suggest the existence of Alfven velocity minimum at a height of the one solar radius in the corona. The domain of a low Alfven velocity is a resonator for the fast magnetosonic waves. The eigenmodes of the resonator are determined. The main mode period is about a few minutes. Fast modes in the resonator can be amplified by energetic ion beams at the Cherenkov resonance. The modulation of meter solar radio emission with a period of about a few minutes can be explained by radiowave propagation through the MHD-resonator

Evaluation of reproductive function of female rats exposed to radiofrequency fields (27. 12 MHz) near a shortwave diathermy device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown-Woodman, P.D.; Hadley, J.A.; Richardson, L.; Bright, D.; Porter, D.

1989-04-01

In recent years, there has been increased concern regarding effects of operator exposure to the electromagnetic (EM) field associated with shortwave diathermy devices. The present study was designed to investigate the effects, on rats, of repeated exposure to such an EM field. Following repeated exposure for 5 wk, a reduction in fertility occurred as indicated by a reduced number of matings in exposed rats compared to sham-irradiated rats and a reduction in the number of rats that conceived after mating. The data suggest that female operators could experience reduced fertility, if they remained close to the console for prolonged periods. This has particular significant for the physiotherapy profession.

Electron Beam-Plasma Interaction and the Return-Current Formation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Karlický, Marian

2009-01-01

Roč. 690, č. 1 (2009), s. 189-197 ISSN 0004-637X R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA300030701; GA MŠk(CZ) LC06014 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : plasma instabilities * electron beams * solar flares Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 7.364, year: 2009

Lidar and in situ observations of aerosols, radiation fluxes, and meteorological parameters during the 20 March 2015 solar eclipse over southern Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Perrone, M. R.; Burlizzi, P.; Romano, S.

2017-10-01

The effects of the 20 March 2015 partial solar eclipse on irradiance measurements, Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) height, meteorological and turbulence parameters, and near surface particle properties have been investigated at Lecce (40.3°N, 18.1°E, 30 m a.s.l.), southeastern Italy. Each solar eclipse represents always a unique event, since it is characterized by a particular time of the day, season, location, and synoptic conditions, and allows investigating the atmospheric processes driven by a fast decrease of the solar radiation. According to the astronomic data, the eclipse started at the study site at about 08:30 UTC and ended at 10:47 UTC, reaching the maximum obscuration of the solar disk (43.6%) at about 09:37 UTC. Short-wave irradiance measurements revealed that the eclipse direct radiative forcing at the surface was equal to -307 W m-2 at the maximum obscuration of the solar disk. A lidar system operating at the study site within the European Aerosol LIdar NETwork (EARLINET) was used to investigate both the atmospheric turbulence weakening driven by the eclipse cooling effect and the PBL height time evolution. It has been found that the PBL height that was equal to 300 +/- 30 m before the eclipse onset decreased up to 210 +/- 20 m after the eclipse full phase. Measurements from a micrometeorological station have instead been used to investigate the atmospheric turbulence weakening at the ground level by the changes of turbulent kinetic energy. Integrating nephelometer measurements revealed that the solar eclipse was also responsible for the increase of the near surface particle scattering coefficient, mainly because of the increase of the fine-mode particle concentration.

How calibration and reference spectra affect the accuracy of absolute soft X-ray solar irradiance measured by the SDO/EVE/ESP during high solar activity

Science.gov (United States)

Didkovsky, Leonid; Wieman, Seth; Woods, Thomas

2016-10-01

The Extreme ultraviolet Spectrophotometer (ESP), one of the channels of SDO's Extreme ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE), measures solar irradiance in several EUV and soft x-ray (SXR) bands isolated using thin-film filters and a transmission diffraction grating, and includes a quad-diode detector positioned at the grating zeroth-order to observe in a wavelength band from about 0.1 to 7.0 nm. The quad diode signal also includes some contribution from shorter wavelength in the grating's first-order and the ratio of zeroth-order to first-order signal depends on both source geometry, and spectral distribution. For example, radiometric calibration of the ESP zeroth-order at the NIST SURF BL-2 with a near-parallel beam provides a different zeroth-to-first-order ratio than modeled for solar observations. The relative influence of "uncalibrated" first-order irradiance during solar observations is a function of the solar spectral irradiance and the locations of large Active Regions or solar flares. We discuss how the "uncalibrated" first-order "solar" component and the use of variable solar reference spectra affect determination of absolute SXR irradiance which currently may be significantly overestimated during high solar activity.

Measuring Earth's Radiation Budget from the Vicinity of the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Swartz, W. H.; Lorentz, S. R.; Erlandson, R. E.; Cahalan, R. F.; Huang, P. M.

2018-02-01

We propose to measure Earth's radiation budget (integrated total and solar-reflected shortwave) using broadband radiometers and other technology demonstrated in space. The instrument is compact, autonomous, and has modest resource requirements.

A Deeper Understanding of Stability in the Solar Wind: Applying Nyquist's Instability Criterion to Wind Faraday Cup Data

Science.gov (United States)

Alterman, B. L.; Klein, K. G.; Verscharen, D.; Stevens, M. L.; Kasper, J. C.

2017-12-01

Long duration, in situ data sets enable large-scale statistical analysis of free-energy-driven instabilities in the solar wind. The plasma beta and temperature anisotropy plane provides a well-defined parameter space in which a single-fluid plasma's stability can be represented. Because this reduced parameter space can only represent instability thresholds due to the free energy of one ion species - typically the bulk protons - the true impact of instabilities on the solar wind is under estimated. Nyquist's instability criterion allows us to systematically account for other sources of free energy including beams, drifts, and additional temperature anisotropies. Utilizing over 20 years of Wind Faraday cup and magnetic field observations, we have resolved the bulk parameters for three ion populations: the bulk protons, beam protons, and alpha particles. Applying Nyquist's criterion, we calculate the number of linearly growing modes supported by each spectrum and provide a more nuanced consideration of solar wind stability. Using collisional age measurements, we predict the stability of the solar wind close to the sun. Accounting for the free-energy from the three most common ion populations in the solar wind, our approach provides a more complete characterization of solar wind stability.

[Determination of fat, protein and DM in raw milk by portable short-wave near infrared spectrometer].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiao-yun; Wang, Jia-hua; Huang, Ya-wei; Han, Dong-hai

2011-03-01

Near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy calibrations of fat, protein and DM in raw milk were studied with partial least-squares (PLS) regression using portable short-wave near infrared spectrometer. The results indicated that good calibrations of fat and DM were found, the correlation coefficients were all 0.98, the RMSEC were 0.187 and 0.217, RMSEP were 0.187 and 0.296, the RPDs were 5.02 and 3.20 respectively; the calibration of protein needed to be improved but can be used for practice, the correlation coefficient was 0.95, RMSEC was 0.105, RMSEP was 0.120, and RPD was 2.60. Furthermore, the measuring accuracy was improved by analyzing the correction relation of fat and DM in raw milk This study will probably provide a new on-site method for nondestructive and rapid measurement of milk.

Relation between seasonally detrended shortwave infrared reflectance data and land surface moisture in semi-arid Sahel

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Jørgen Lundegaard; Ceccato, Pietro; Proud, Simon Richard

2013-01-01

in vegetation moisture status, and is compared to detrended time series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). It was found that when plant available water is low, the SIWSI anomalies increase over time, while the NDVI anomalies decrease over time, but less systematically. Therefore SIWSI may......In the Sudano-Sahelian areas of Africa droughts can have serious impacts on natural resources, and therefore land surface moisture is an important factor. Insufficient conventional sites for monitoring land surface moisture make the use of Earth Observation data for this purpose a key issue...... Second Generation (MSG) satellite. We focused on responses in surface reflectance to soil- and surface moisture for bare soil and early to mid- growing season. A method for implementing detrended time series of the Shortwave Infrared Water Stress Index (SIWSI) is examined for detecting variations...

Wireless Power Transmission Options for Space Solar Power

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, Seth; Davis, Dean; Born, Martin; Bayer, Martin; Howell, Joe; Mankins, John

2008-01-01

Space Solar Power (SSP), combined with Wireless Power Transmission (WPT), offers the far-term potential to solve major energy problems on Earth. In the long term, we aspire to beam energy to Earth from geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), or even further distances in space. In the near term, we can beam power over more moderate distances, but still stretch the limits of today s technology. In recent studies, a 100 kWe-class "Power Plug" Satellite and a 10 kWe-class Lunar Polar Solar Power outpost have been considered as the first steps in using these WPT options for SSP. Our current assessments include consideration of orbits, wavelengths, and structural designs to meet commercial, civilian government, and military needs. Notional transmitter and receiver sizes are considered for use in supplying 5 to 40 MW of power. In the longer term, lunar or asteroidal material can be used. By using SSP and WPT technology for near-term missions, we gain experience needed for sound decisions in designing and developing larger systems to send power from space to Earth.

Three-dimensional simulation of diamagnetic cavity formation by a finite-sized plasma beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, V.A.

1989-01-01

The problem of collisionless coupling between a plasma beam and a background plasma is examined using a three-dimensional hybrid code. The beam is assumed to be moving parallel to an ambient magnetic field at a speed greater than the local Alfven speed. In addition, the beam has a finite spatial extent in the directions perpendicular to the magnetic field and is uniform and infinite in the direction parallel to the ambient magnetic field. Such a system is susceptible to coupling of the beam ions with the background ions via an electromagnetic ion beam instability. This instability isotropizes the beam and energizes the background plasma. A large-amplitude Alfven wave traveling radially away from the interaction region is associated with the energized background plasma. The process described here is one which may be responsible for the formation of diamagnetic cavities observed in the solar wind. copyright American Geophysical Union 1989

Importance of beam-beam tune spread to collective beam-beam instability in hadron colliders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin Lihui; Shi Jicong

2004-01-01

In hadron colliders, electron-beam compensation of beam-beam tune spread has been explored for a reduction of beam-beam effects. In this paper, effects of the tune-spread compensation on beam-beam instabilities were studied with a self-consistent beam-beam simulation in model lattices of Tevatron and Large Hodron Collider. It was found that the reduction of the tune spread with the electron-beam compensation could induce a coherent beam-beam instability. The merit of the compensation with different degrees of tune-spread reduction was evaluated based on beam-size growth. When two beams have a same betatron tune, the compensation could do more harm than good to the beams when only beam-beam effects are considered. If a tune split between two beams is large enough, the compensation with a small reduction of the tune spread could benefit beams as Landau damping suppresses the coherent beam-beam instability. The result indicates that nonlinear (nonintegrable) beam-beam effects could dominate beam dynamics and a reduction of beam-beam tune spread by introducing additional beam-beam interactions and reducing Landau damping may not improve the stability of beams

200W Deep Space CubeSat Composite Beam Roll-Up Solar Array (COBRA), Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Solar arrays that have very high specific power (W/kg) and compact stowed volume (W/m3), while still providing shielding to the solar cell, are an enabling...

200W Deep Space CubeSat Composite Beam Roll-Up Solar Array (COBRA), Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Solar arrays that have very high specific power (W/kg) and compact stowed volume (W/m3), while still providing shielding to the solar cell, are an enabling...

Microwave energy transmission system for solar power station

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsumoto, Hiroshi

1988-05-05

This paper deals with a microwave wireless energy transmission system which will be required for a solar power station under investigation, particularly, it describes its foundation and future investigation. It is supposed that for realization of microwave wireless transmission techniques, it is most important to investigate the effect of strong microwave beams on a plasma environment, establish control techniques for microwave beams in which a retro-directive system is combined with a computer control system, and develop a semiconductor transmission module. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (Japan) made an experiment on the effect of microwaves on ionospheric plasma by using an observatory rocket. The institute has planned to make an experiment on a microwave energy transmission system which is to be mounted to a small-scale space flyer unit in order to examine the control of microwave beams and 10 KW power transmission, in addition to investigation on the interaction of microwave energy beams with a plasma environment. (4 figs, 3 tabs, 20 refs)

Two new methods used to simulate the circumferential solar flux density concentrated on the absorber of a parabolic trough solar collector

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Minghuan; Wang, Zhifeng; Sun, Feihu

2016-05-01

The optical efficiencies of a solar trough concentrator are important to the whole thermal performance of the solar collector, and the outer surface of the tube absorber is a key interface of energy flux. So it is necessary to simulate and analyze the concentrated solar flux density distributions on the tube absorber of a parabolic trough solar collector for various sun beam incident angles, with main optical errors considered. Since the solar trough concentrators are linear focusing, it is much of interest to investigate the solar flux density distribution on the cross-section profile of the tube absorber, rather than the flux density distribution along the focal line direction. Although a few integral approaches based on the "solar cone" concept were developed to compute the concentrated flux density for some simple trough concentrator geometries, all those integral approaches needed special integration routines, meanwhile, the optical parameters and geometrical properties of collectors also couldn't be changed conveniently. Flexible Monte Carlo ray trace (MCRT) methods are widely used to simulate the more accurate concentrated flux density distribution for compound parabolic solar trough concentrators, while generally they are quite time consuming. In this paper, we first mainly introduce a new backward ray tracing (BRT) method combined with the lumped effective solar cone, to simulate the cross-section flux density on the region of interest of the tube absorber. For BRT, bundles of rays are launched at absorber-surface points of interest, directly go through the glass cover of the absorber, strike on the uniformly sampled mirror segment centers in the close-related surface region of the parabolic reflector, and then direct to the effective solar cone around the incident sun beam direction after the virtual backward reflection. All the optical errors are convoluted into the effective solar cone. The brightness distribution of the effective solar cone is supposed

Physics Potential of Very Intense Conventional Neutrino Beams

CERN Document Server

Gómez-Cadenas, J J; Burguet-Castell, J; Casper, David William; DOnega, M; Gilardoni, S S; Hernández, Pilar; Mezzetto, Mauro

2001-01-01

The physics potential of high intensity conventional beams is explored. We consider a low energy super beam which could be produced by a proposed new accelerator at CERN, the Super Proton Linac. Water Cherenkov and liquid oil scintillator detectors are studied as possible candidates for a neutrino oscillation experiment which could improve our current knowledge of the atmospheric parameters and measure or severely constrain the parameter connecting the atmospheric and solar realms. It is also shown that a very large water detector could eventually observe leptonic CP violation. The reach of such an experiment to the neutrino mixing parameters would lie in-between the next generation of neutrino experiments (MINOS, OPERA, etc) and a future neutrino factory.

Performance enhancement using power beaming for electric propulsion earth orbital transporters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dagle, J.E.

1991-01-01

An electric propulsion Earth orbital transport vehicle (EOTV) can effectively deliver large payloads using much less propellant than chemical transfer methods. By using an EOTV instead of a chemical upper stage, either a smaller launch vehicle can be used for the same satellite mass or a larger satellite can be deployed using the same launch vehicle. However, the propellant mass savings from using the higher specific impulse of electric propulsion may not be enough to overcome the disadvantage of the added mass and cost of the electric propulsion power source. Power system limitations have been a major factor delaying the acceptance and use of electric propulsion. This paper outlines the power requirements of electric propulsion technology being developed today, including arcjets, magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters, and ion engines. Power supply characteristics are discussed for nuclear, solar, and power-beaming systems. Operational characteristics are given for each, as are the impacts of the power supply alternative on the overall craft performance. Because of its modular nature, the power-beaming approach is able to meet the power requirements of all three electric propulsion types. Also, commonality of approach allows different electric propulsion approaches to be powered by a single power supply approach. Power beaming exhibits better flexibility and performance than on-board nuclear or solar power systems

Flow tube used to cool solar-pumped laser

Science.gov (United States)

1968-01-01

A flow tube has been designed and constructed to provide two major functions in the application of a laser beam for transmission of both sound and video. It maintains the YAG laser at the proper operating temperature of 300 degrees K under solar pumping conditions, and it serves as a pump cavity for the laser crystal.

Performance potential of low-defect density silicon thin-film solar cells obtained by electron beam evaporation and laser crystallisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim K. H.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A few microns thick silicon films on glass coated with a dielectric intermediate layer can be crystallised by a single pass of a line-focused diode laser beam. Under favorable process conditions relatively large linear grains with low defect density are formed. Most grain boundaries are defect-free low-energy twin-boundaries. Boron-doped laser crystallised films are processed into solar cells by diffusing an emitter from a phosphorous spin-on-dopant source, measuring up to 539 mV open-circuit voltage prior to metallisation. After applying a point-contact metallisation the best cell achieves 7.8% energy conversion efficiency, open-circuit voltage of 526 mV and short-circuit current of 26 mA/cm2. The efficiency is significantly limited by a low fill-factor of 56% due to the simplified metallisation approach. The internal quantum efficiency of laser crystallised cells is consistent with low front surface recombination. By improving cell metallisation and enhancing light-trapping the efficiencies of above 13% can be achieved.

Construction of the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Rimmele, T. R.; Keil, S.; McMullin, J.; Knölker, M.; Kuhn, J. R.; Goode, P. R.; Rosner, R.; Casini, R.; Lin, H.; Tritschler, A.; Wöger, F.; ATST Team

2012-12-01

The 4m Advance Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) will be the most powerful solar telescope and the world's leading ground-based resource for studying solar magnetism that controls the solar wind, flares, coronal mass ejections and variability in the Sun's output. The project has entered its construction phase. Major subsystems have been contracted. As its highest priority science driver ATST shall provide high resolution and high sensitivity observations of the dynamic solar magnetic fields throughout the solar atmosphere, including the corona at infrared wavelengths. With its 4m aperture, ATST will resolve features at 0.″03 at visible wavelengths and obtain 0.″1 resolution at the magnetically highly sensitive near infrared wavelengths. A high order adaptive optics system delivers a corrected beam to the initial set of state-of-the-art, facility class instrumentation located in the Coudé laboratory facility. The initial set of first generation instruments consists of five facility class instruments, including imagers and spectro-polarimeters. The high polarimetric sensitivity and accuracy required for measurements of the illusive solar magnetic fields place strong constraints on the polarization analysis and calibration. Development and construction of a four-meter solar telescope presents many technical challenges, including thermal control of the enclosure, telescope structure and optics and wavefront control. A brief overview of the science goals and observational requirements of the ATST will be given, followed by a summary of the design status of the telescope and its instrumentation, including design status of major subsystems, such as the telescope mount assembly, enclosure, mirror assemblies, and wavefront correction

Characterization of polymer solar cells by TOF-SIMS depth profiling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bulle-Lieuwma, C.W.T.; Gennip, van W.J.H.; Duren, van J.K.J.; Jonkheijm, P.; Janssen, R.A.J.; Niemantsverdriet, J.W.

2003-01-01

Solar cells consisting of polymer layers sandwiched between a transparent electrode on glass and a metal top electrode are studied using dynamic time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) in dual-beam mode. Because depth profiling of polymers and polymer-metal stacks is a relatively

Flexible organic solar cells including efficiency enhancing grating structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Oliveira Hansen, Roana Melina; Liu Yinghui; Madsen, Morten; Rubahn, Horst-Günter

2013-01-01

In this work, a new method for the fabrication of organic solar cells containing functional light-trapping nanostructures on flexible substrates is presented. Polyimide is spin-coated on silicon support substrates, enabling standard micro- and nanotechnology fabrication techniques, such as photolithography and electron-beam lithography, besides the steps required for the bulk-heterojunction organic solar cell fabrication. After the production steps, the solar cells on polyimide are peeled off the silicon support substrates, resulting in flexible devices containing nanostructures for light absorption enhancement. Since the solar cells avoid using brittle electrodes, the performance of the flexible devices is not affected by the peeling process. We have investigated three different nanostructured grating designs and conclude that gratings with a 500 nm pitch distance have the highest light-trapping efficiency for the selected active layer material (P3HT:PCBM), resulting in an enhancement of about 34% on the solar cell efficiency. The presented method can be applied to a large variety of flexible nanostructured devices in future applications. (paper)

Depletion region surface effects in electron beam induced current measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haney, Paul M.; Zhitenev, Nikolai B. [Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); Yoon, Heayoung P. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 (United States); Gaury, Benoit [Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States); Maryland NanoCenter, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 (United States)

2016-09-07

Electron beam induced current (EBIC) is a powerful characterization technique which offers the high spatial resolution needed to study polycrystalline solar cells. Current models of EBIC assume that excitations in the p-n junction depletion region result in perfect charge collection efficiency. However, we find that in CdTe and Si samples prepared by focused ion beam (FIB) milling, there is a reduced and nonuniform EBIC lineshape for excitations in the depletion region. Motivated by this, we present a model of the EBIC response for excitations in the depletion region which includes the effects of surface recombination from both charge-neutral and charged surfaces. For neutral surfaces, we present a simple analytical formula which describes the numerical data well, while the charged surface response depends qualitatively on the location of the surface Fermi level relative to the bulk Fermi level. We find that the experimental data on FIB-prepared Si solar cells are most consistent with a charged surface and discuss the implications for EBIC experiments on polycrystalline materials.

Thermal effects on cavity stability of chromium- and neodymium-doped gadolinium scandium gallium garnet laser under solar-simulator pumping

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kyong H.; Venable, Demetrius D.; Brown, Lamarr A.; Lee, Ja H.

1991-01-01

Results are presented on testing a Cr- and Nd-codoped Gd-Sc-Ga-garnet (Cr:Nd:GSGG) crystal and a Nd:YAG crystal (both of 3.2 mm diam and 76-mm long) for pulsed and CW laser operations using a flashlamp and solar simulator as pumping sources. Results from experiments with the flashlamp show that, at pulse lengths of 0.11, 0.28, and 0.90 ms, the slope efficiency of the Cd:Nd:GSGG crystal was higher than that of the Nd:YAG crystal and increased with pulse width. With the solar simulator, however, the CW laser operation of the Cr:Nd:GSGG crystal was limited to intensities not greater than 1500 solar constants, while the Nd:YAG laser successfully performed for all pump beam intensities available. It was found that the exposure for several minutes of the Cr:Nd:GSGG crystal to pump beam intensity of 3000 solar constants led to its damage by thermal cracking, indicating that a better solar-pumped CW laser performance may be difficult to realize with rod geometry.

A home-made system for IPCE measurement of standard and dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palma, Giuseppina; Cozzarini, Luca; Capria, Ennio [Organic OptoElectronics Laboratory, Sincrotrone Trieste SCpA—SS 14.5, km 163.5, 34149 Basovizza (TS) (Italy); Fraleoni-Morgera, Alessandro, E-mail: alessandro.fraleoni@elettra.trieste.it, E-mail: afraleoni@units.it [Organic OptoElectronics Laboratory, Sincrotrone Trieste SCpA—SS 14.5, km 163.5, 34149 Basovizza (TS) (Italy); Flextronics Laboratory, Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste. V. Valerio 10, 34100 Trieste (TS) (Italy)

2015-01-15

A home-made system for incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) characterization, based on a double-beam UV-Vis spectrophotometer, has been set up. In addition to its low cost (compared to the commercially available apparatuses), the double-beam configuration gives the advantage to measure, autonomously and with no need for supplementary equipment, the lamp power in real time, compensating possible variations of the spectral emission intensity and quality, thus reducing measurement times. To manage the optical and electronic components of the system, a custom software has been developed. Validations carried out on a common silicon-based photodiode and on a dye-sensitized solar cell confirm the possibility to adopt this system for determining the IPCE of solar cells, including dye-sensitized ones.

A home-made system for IPCE measurement of standard and dye-sensitized solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Palma, Giuseppina; Cozzarini, Luca; Capria, Ennio; Fraleoni-Morgera, Alessandro

2015-01-01

A home-made system for incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) characterization, based on a double-beam UV-Vis spectrophotometer, has been set up. In addition to its low cost (compared to the commercially available apparatuses), the double-beam configuration gives the advantage to measure, autonomously and with no need for supplementary equipment, the lamp power in real time, compensating possible variations of the spectral emission intensity and quality, thus reducing measurement times. To manage the optical and electronic components of the system, a custom software has been developed. Validations carried out on a common silicon-based photodiode and on a dye-sensitized solar cell confirm the possibility to adopt this system for determining the IPCE of solar cells, including dye-sensitized ones.

Solar wind plasma structure near a 'HELIOS-Perihelion'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kikuchi, H.

1979-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a couple of preliminary but important results obtained from HELIOS observation concerning solar wind plasma structure near a ''HELIOS-Perihelion'' among the data analyses in progress, partly in relation to laboratory plasma. Idealized profiles of the bulk velocity, density and temperature of solar wind near 0.3 AU as deduced from HELIOS A data and correlated K-coronal contours were obtained. During 1974 - 1976, the sun was in the period of declining cycle, and the coronal holes expanded to lower latitudes from northern and southern holes. There is general tendency that the northern coronal hole is somewhat larger than the southern coronal hole. In regards to solar wind velocity, there are two fast stream regions with velocity as high as 800 Km/sec. An electron spectrum measured near a HELIOS-Perihelion (0.3 AU) approximately in the solar direction is shown. Three regions can be distinguished in velocity distribution. The density contours of solar wind electrons in velocity space exhibit a narrow beam of electrons in the magnetic field direction close to the plane of observation. (Kato, T.)

Suprathermal electron loss cone distributions in the solar wind: Ulysses observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, J. L.; Feldman, W. C.; Gosling, J. T.; Hammond, C. M.; Forsyth, R. J.

1996-01-01

We present observations by the Ulysses solar wind plasma experiment of a new class of suprathermal electron signatures. At low solar latitudes and heliocentric distances beyond 3.37 AU Ulysses encountered seven intervals, ranging in duration from 1 hour to 22 hours, in which the suprathermal distributions included an antisunward field-aligned beam and a return population with a flux dropout typically spanning ±60 deg. from the sunward field-aligned direction. All events occurred between the forward and reverse shocks or waves bounding corotating interaction regions (CIRs). The observations support a scenario in which the sunward-moving electrons result from reflection of the prevailing antisunward field-aligned beam at magnetic field compressions downstream from the spacecraft, with wide loss cones caused by the relatively weak mirror ratio. This hypothesis requires that the field magnitude within the CIRs actually increased locally with increasing field-aligned distance from the Sun

Ion beam analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bethge, K.

1995-01-01

Full text: Ion beam analysis is an accelerator application area for the study of materials and the structure of matter; electrostatic accelerators of the Van de Graaff or Dynamitron type are often used for energies up to a few MeV. Two types of machines are available - the single-ended accelerator type with higher beam currents and greater flexibility of beam management, or the tandem accelerator, limited to atomic species with negative ions. The accelerators are not generally installed at specialist accelerator laboratories and have to be easy to maintain and simple to operate. The most common technique for industrial research is Rutherford Back Scattering Spectrometry (RBS). Helium ions are the preferred projectiles, since at elevated energies (above 3 MeV) nuclear resonance scattering can be used to detect photons associated with target molecules containing elements such as carbon, nitrogen or oxygen. Due to the large amount of available data on nuclear reactions in this energy range, activation analysis (detecting trace elements by irradiating the sample) can be performed with charged particles from accelerators over a wider range of atoms than with the conventional use of neutrons, which is more suited to light elements. Resonance reactions have been used to detect trace metals such as aluminium, titanium and vanadium. Hydrogen atoms are vital to the material performance of several classes of materials, such as semiconductors, insulators and ceramics. Prudent selection of the projectile ion aids the analysis of hydrogen composition; the technique is then a simple measurement of the emitted gamma radiation. Solar cell material and glass can be analysed in this way. On a world-wide basis, numerous laboratories perform ion beam analysis for research purposes; considerable work is carried out in cooperation between scientific laboratories and industry, but only a few laboratories provide a completely commercial service

Transport of transient solar wind particles in Earth's cusps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, G. K.; Lee, E.; Teste, A.; Wilber, M.; Lin, N.; Canu, P.; Dandouras, I.; Reme, H.; Fu, S. Y.; Goldstein, M. L.

2008-01-01

An important problem in space physics still not understood well is how the solar wind enters the Earth's magnetosphere. Evidence is presented that transient solar wind particles produced by solar disturbances can appear in the Earth's mid-altitude (∼5 R E geocentric) cusps with densities nearly equal to those in the magnetosheath. That these are magnetosheath particles is established by showing they have the same ''flattop'' electron distributions as magnetosheath electrons behind the bow shock. The transient ions are moving parallel to the magnetic field (B) toward Earth and often coexist with ionospheric particles that are flowing out. The accompanying waves include electromagnetic and broadband electrostatic noise emissions and Bernstein mode waves. Phase-space distributions show a mixture of hot and cold electrons and multiple ion species including field-aligned ionospheric O + beams

Standard Specification for Solar Simulation for Terrestrial Photovoltaic Testing

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2010-01-01

1.1 This specification provides means for classifying solar simulators intended for indoor testing of photovoltaic devices (solar cells or modules), according to their spectral match to a reference spectral irradiance, non-uniformity of spatial irradiance, and temporal instability of irradiance. 1.2 Testing of photovoltaic devices may require the use of solar simulators. Test Methods that require specific classification of simulators as defined in this specification include Test Methods E948, E1036, and E1362. 1.3 This standard is applicable to both pulsed and steady state simulators and includes recommended test requirements used for classifying such simulators. 1.4 A solar simulator usually consists of three major components: (1) light source(s) and associated power supply; (2) any optics and filters required to modify the output beam to meet the classification requirements in Section 4; and (3) the necessary controls to operate the simulator, adjust irradiance, etc. 1.5 A light source that does not mee...

A Stabilizing Feedback Between Cloud Radiative Effects and Greenland Surface Melt: Verification From Multi-year Automatic Weather Station Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Zender, C. S.; Wang, W.; van As, D.

2017-12-01

Clouds have strong impacts on Greenland's surface melt through the interaction with the dry atmosphere and reflective surfaces. However, their effects are uncertain due to the lack of in situ observations. To better quantify cloud radiative effects (CRE) in Greenland, we analyze and interpret multi-year radiation measurements from 30 automatic weather stations encompassing a broad range of climatological and topographical conditions. During melt season, clouds warm surface over most of Greenland, meaning the longwave greenhouse effect outweighs the shortwave shading effect; on the other hand, the spatial variability of net (longwave and shortwave) CRE is dominated by shortwave CRE and in turn by surface albedo, which controls the potential absorption of solar radiation when clouds are absent. The net warming effect decreases with shortwave CRE from high to low altitudes and from north to south (Fig. 1). The spatial correlation between albedo and net CRE is strong (r=0.93, palbedo determines the net CRE seasonal trend, which decreases from May to July and increases afterwards. On an hourly timescale, we find two distinct radiative states in Greenland (Fig. 2). The clear state is characterized by clear-sky conditions or thin clouds, when albedo and solar zenith angle (SZA) weakly correlates with CRE. The cloudy state is characterized by opaque clouds, when the combination of albedo and SZA strongly correlates with CRE (r=0.85, palbedo and solar zenith angle, explains the majority of the CRE variation in spatial distribution, seasonal trend in the ablation zone, and in hourly variability in the cloudy radiative state. Clouds warm the brighter and colder surfaces of Greenland, enhance snow melt, and tend to lower the albedo. Clouds cool the darker and warmer surfaces, inhibiting snow melt, which increases albedo, and thus stabilizes surface melt. This stabilizing mechanism may also occur over sea ice, helping to forestall surface melt as the Arctic becomes dimmer.

Nitrogen deficiency detection using reflected shortwave radiation from irrigated corn canopies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blackmer, T.M.; Schepers, J.S.; Varvel, G.E.; Walter-Shea, E.A.

1996-01-01

Techniques that measure the N status of corn (Zea mays L.) can aid in management decisions that have economic and environmental implications. This study was conducted to identify reflected electromagnetic wavelengths most sensitive to detecting N deficiencies in a corn canopy with the possibility for use as a management tool. Reflected shortwave radiation was measured from an irrigated corn N response trial with four hybrids and five N rates at 0, 40, 80, 120, and 160 kg N ha -1 in 1992 and 0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 kg N ha -1 in 1993. A portable spectroradiometer was used to measure reflected radiation (400-1100 nm in 1992, 350-1050 nm in 1993) from corn canopies at approximately the R5 growth stage. Regression analyses revealed that reflected radiation near 550 and 710 nm was superior to reflected radiation near 450 or 650 nm for detecting N deficiencies. The ratio of light reflectance between 550 and 600 nm to light reflectance between 800 and 900 nm also provided sensitive detection of N stress. In 1993, an inexpensive photometric cell, which has peak sensitivity to light centered at 550 nm, was also used to measure reflected radiation from a corn canopy. Photometric cell readings correlated with relative grain yield (P < 0.001, r 2 = 0.74), but more research will be required to develop procedures to account for varying daylight conditions. These results provide information needed for the development of variable-rate fertilizer N application technology. (author)

Compositional Variations in Sands of the Bagnold Dunes, Gale Crater, Mars, from Visible-Shortwave Infrared Spectroscopy and Comparison to Ground-Truth from the Curiosity Rover

OpenAIRE

Lapotre, M. G. A.; Ehlmann, B. L.; Minson, S. E.; Arvidson, R. E.; Ayoub, F.; Fraeman, A. A.; Ewing, R. C.; Bridges, N. T.

2017-01-01

During its ascent up Mount Sharp, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover traversed the Bagnold Dune Field. We model sand modal mineralogy and grain size at four locations near the rover traverse, using orbital shortwave infrared single-scattering albedo spectra and a Markov chain Monte Carlo implementation of Hapke's radiative transfer theory to fully constrain uncertainties and permitted solutions. These predictions, evaluated against in situ measurements at one site from the Curiosity ...

Investigations on electron beam evaporated Cu(In{sub 0.85}Ga{sub 0.15})Se{sub 2} thin film solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Venkatachalam, M.; Kannan, M.D.; Prasanna, S.; Jayakumar, S.; Balasundaraprabhu, R. [Thin Film Center, Department of Physics, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore (India); Muthukumarasamy, N. [Department of Physics, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore (India); Saroja, M. [Department of Electronics, Erode Arts College, Erode (India)

2009-09-15

CIGS bulk with composition of CuIn{sub 0.85}Ga{sub 0.15}Se{sub 2} was synthesized by direct reaction of elemental copper, indium, gallium and selenium. CIGS thin films were then deposited onto well-cleaned glass substrates using the prepared bulk alloy by electron beam deposition method. The structural properties of the deposited films were studied using X-ray diffraction technique. The as-deposited CIGS films were found to be amorphous. On annealing, the films crystallized with a tetragonal chalcopyrite structure. An intermediate Cu-rich phase precipitated at 200 C and dissociated at higher annealing temperatures. Average grain size calculated from the XRD spectra indicated that the films had a nano-crystalline structure and was further corroborated by AFM analysis of the sample surface. The chemical constituents present in the deposited CIGS films were identified using energy dispersive X-ray analysis. CIGS based solar cells were then fabricated on molybdenum and ITO coated glass substrates and the efficiencies have been evaluated. (author)

Coherent beam-beam effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chao, A.W.

1992-01-01

There are two physical pictures that describe the beam-beam interaction in a storage ring collider: The weak-strong and the strong-strong pictures. Both pictures play a role in determining the beam-beam behavior. This review addresses only the strong-strong picture. The corresponding beam dynamical effects are referred to as the coherent beam-beam effects. Some basic knowledge of the weak-strong picture is assumed. To be specific, two beams of opposite charges are considered. (orig.)

Lessons for Interstellar Travel from the G&C Design of the NEA Scout Solar Sail Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Heaton, Andrew; Diedrich, Benjamin

2017-01-01

NASA is developing the Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout mission that will use a solar sail to travel to an asteroid where it will perform a slow flyby to acquire science imagery. A guidance and control system was developed to meet the science and trajectory requirements. The NEA Scout design process can be applied to an interstellar or precursor mission that uses a beam-propelled sail. The scientific objectives are met by accurately targeting the destination trajectory position and velocity. The destination is targeted by understanding the force on the sail from the beam (or sunlight in the case of NEA Scout) over the duration of the thrust maneuver. The propulsive maneuver is maintained by accurate understanding of the torque on the sail, which is a function of sail shape, optical properties, and mass properties, all of which apply to NEA Scout and beam propelled sails. NEA Scout uses active control of the sail attitude while trimming the solar torque, which could be used on a beamed propulsion sail if necessary. The biggest difference is that NEA Scout can correct for uncertainties in sail thrust modeling, spacecraft orbit, and target orbit throughout the flight to the target, while beamed propulsion needs accurate operation for the short duration of the beamed propulsion maneuver, making accurate understanding of the sail thrust and orbits much more critical.

Charge recombination reduction in dye-sensitized solar cells by means of an electron beam-deposited TiO2 buffer layer between conductive glass and photoelectrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manca, Michele; Malara, Francesco; Martiradonna, Luigi; De Marco, Luisa; Giannuzzi, Roberto; Cingolani, Roberto; Gigli, Giuseppe

2010-01-01

A thin anatase titanium dioxide compact film was deposited by electron beam evaporation as buffer layer between the conductive transparent electrode and the porous TiO 2 -based photoelectrode in dye-sensitized solar cells. The effect of such a buffer layer on the back transfer reaction of electrons to tri-iodide ions in liquid electrolyte-based cells has been studied by means of both electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and open circuit photovoltage decay analysis. The influence of the thickness has been also investigated and an increment in overall quantum conversion efficiency η as high as + 31% with respect to the standard cell - fabricated onto an uncoated conductive glass - has been revealed in the case of a 120 nm thick buffer layer.

Long range heliostat target using array of normal incidence pyranometers to evaluate a beam of solar radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Ghanbari, Cheryl M; Ho, Clifford K; Kolb, Gregory J

2014-03-04

Various technologies described herein pertain to evaluating a beam reflected by a heliostat. A portable target that has an array of sensors mounted thereupon is configured to capture the beam reflected by the heliostat. The sensors in the array output measured values indicative of a characteristic of the beam reflected by the heliostat. Moreover, a computing device can generate and output data corresponding to the beam reflected by the heliostat based on the measured values indicative of the characteristic of the beam received from the sensors in the array.

Building global and diffuse solar radiation series and assessing decadal trends in Girona (NE Iberian Peninsula)

Science.gov (United States)

Calbó, Josep; González, Josep-Abel; Sanchez-Lorenzo, Arturo

2017-08-01

Measurement of solar radiation was initiated in Girona, northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in the late 1980s. Initially, two pyranometers were installed, one of them equipped with a shadowband for measuring the diffuse component. Two other pyranometers currently exist, both ventilated and one of them shadowed, with a sphere, and a pyrheliometer for measuring direct radiation. Additional instruments for other shortwave and longwave components, clouds, and atmospheric aerosols have been installed in recent years. The station is subject to daily inspection, data are saved at high temporal resolution, and instruments are periodically calibrated, all in accordance with the directions of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network. The present paper describes how the entire series of global solar radiation (1987-2014) and diffuse radiation (1994-2014) were built, including the quality control process. Appropriate corrections to the diffuse component were made when a shadowband was employed to make measurements. Analysis of the series reveals that annual mean global irradiance presents a statistically significant increase of 2.5 W m-2 (1.4 %) decade-1 (1988-2014 period), mainly due to what occurs in summer (5.6 W m-2 decade-1). These results constitute the first assessment of solar radiation trends for the northeastern region of the Iberian Peninsula and are consistent with trends observed in the regional surroundings and also by satellite platforms, in agreement with the global brightening phenomenon. Diffuse radiation has decreased at -1.3 W m-2 (-2 %) decade-1 (1994-2014 period), which is a further indication of the reduced cloudiness and/or aerosol load causing the changes.

Photoinduced Operation by Absorption of the Chalcogenide Nanocrystallite Containing Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elnaggar A.M.

2016-12-01

Full Text Available It is shown that for the solar cells containing chalcogenide nanocrystallites using external laser light, one can achieve some enhancement of the photovoltaic efficiency. Photoinduced treatment was carried out using two beams of splitted Er: glass laser operating at 1.54 μm. The light of the laser was incident at different angles and the angles between the beams also were varied. Also, the studies of nanocomposite effective structures have shown enhancement of effective nanocrystalline sizes during the laser treatment. Nanocrystallites of CuInS2 and CuZnSnS4 (CZTS were used as chalcogenide materials. The optimization of the laser beam intensities and nanoparticle sizes were explored.

Proton beam generation of whistler waves in the earth's foreshock

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, H. K.; Goldstein, M. L.

1987-01-01

It is shown that proton beams, often observed upstream of the earth's bow shock and associated with the generation of low-frequency hydromagnetic fluctuations, are also capable of generating whistler waves. The waves can be excited by an instability driven by two-temperature streaming Maxwellian proton distributions which have T (perpendicular)/T(parallel) much greater than 1. It can also be excited by gyrating proton beam distributions. These distributions generate whistler waves with frequencies ranging from 10 to 100 times the proton cyclotron frequency (in the solar wind reference frame) and provide another mechanism for generating the '1-Hz' waves often seen in the earth's foreshock.

Proton beam generation of whistler waves in the Earth's foreshock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, H.K.; Goldstein, M.L.

1987-01-01

We show that proton beams, often observed upstream of the Earth's bow shock and associated with the generation of low-frequency hydromagnetic fluctuations, are also capable of generating whistler waves. The waves can be excited by an instability driven by two-temperature streaming Maxwellian proton distributions which have T/sub perpendicular//T/sub parallel/>>1. It can also be excited by gyrating proton beam distributions. These distributions generate whistler waves with frequencies ranging from 10 to 100 times the proton cyclotron frequency (in the solar wind reference frame) and provide another mechanism for generating the ''1-Hz'' waves often seen in the Earth's foreshock

A 100 kW-Class Technology Demonstrator for Space Solar Power

Science.gov (United States)

Carrington, Connie; Howell, Joe; Day, Greg

2004-01-01

A first step in the development of solar power from space is the flight demonstration of critical technologies. These fundamental technologies include efficient solar power collection and generation, power management and distribution, and thermal management. In addition, the integration and utilization of these technologies into a viable satellite bus could provide an energy-rich platform for a portfolio of payload experiments such as wireless power transmission (WPT). This paper presents the preliminary design of a concept for a 100 kW-class fiee-flying platform suitable for flight demonstration of technology experiments. Recent space solar power (SSP) studies by NASA have taken a stepping stones approach that lead to the gigawatt systems necessary to cost-effectively deliver power from space. These steps start with a 100 kW-class satellite, leading to a 500 kW and then a 1 MW-class platform. Later steps develop a 100 M W bus that could eventually lead to a 1-2 GW pilot plant for SSP. Our studies have shown that a modular approach is cost effective. Modular designs include individual laser-power-beaming satellites that fly in constellations or that are autonomously assembled into larger structures at geosynchronous orbit (GEO). Microwave power-beamed approaches are also modularized into large numbers of identical units of solar arrays, power converters, or supporting structures for arrays and microwave transmitting antennas. A cost-effective approach to launching these modular units is to use existing Earth-to-orbit (ETO) launch systems, in which the modules are dropped into low Earth orbit (LEO) and then the modules perform their own orbit transfer to GEO using expendable solar arrays to power solar electric thrusters. At GEO, the modules either rendezvous and are assembled robotically into larger platforms, or are deployed into constellations of identical laser power-beaming satellites. Since solar electric propulsion by the modules is cost-effective for both

Opto-electronic analysis of silicon solar cells by LBIC investigations and current-voltage characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thantsha, N.M.; Macabebe, E.Q.B.; Vorster, F.J.; Dyk, E.E. van

2009-01-01

A different laser beam induced current (LBIC) mapping technique has been used for the measurements of spatial variation of light generated current of a solar cell. These variations are caused by parasitic resistances and defects at grain boundaries (GBs) in multicrystalline silicon solar cells (mc-Si). This study investigates and identifies the regions within mc-Si solar cells where dominating recombination and lifetime limiting processes occur. A description of the LBIC technique is presented and the results show how multicrystalline GBs and other defects affect the light generated current of a spot illuminated mc-Si solar cell. The results of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) at wavelength of 660 nm revealed that some regions in mc-Si solar cell give rise to paths that lead current away from the intended load.

Opto-electronic analysis of silicon solar cells by LBIC investigations and current-voltage characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thantsha, N.M.; Macabebe, E.Q.B.; Vorster, F.J. [Department of Physics, PO Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa); Dyk, E.E. van, E-mail: ernest.vandyk@nmmu.ac.z [Department of Physics, PO Box 77000, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth 6031 (South Africa)

2009-12-01

A different laser beam induced current (LBIC) mapping technique has been used for the measurements of spatial variation of light generated current of a solar cell. These variations are caused by parasitic resistances and defects at grain boundaries (GBs) in multicrystalline silicon solar cells (mc-Si). This study investigates and identifies the regions within mc-Si solar cells where dominating recombination and lifetime limiting processes occur. A description of the LBIC technique is presented and the results show how multicrystalline GBs and other defects affect the light generated current of a spot illuminated mc-Si solar cell. The results of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) at wavelength of 660 nm revealed that some regions in mc-Si solar cell give rise to paths that lead current away from the intended load.

"Radiative Closure Studies for Clear Skies During the ARM 2003 Aerosol Intensive Observation Period"

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

J. J. Michalsky, G. P. Anderson, J. Barnard, J. Delamere, C. Gueymard, S. Kato, P. Kiedron, A. McComiskey, and P. Ricchiazzi

2006-04-01

The Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program sponsored a large intensive observation period (IOP) to study aerosol during the month of May 2003 around the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Climate Research Facility (CRF) in north central Oklahoma. Redundant measurements of aerosol optical properties were made using different techniques at the surface as well as in vertical profile with sensors aboard two aircraft. One of the principal motivations for this experiment was to resolve the disagreement between models and measurements of diffuse horizontal broadband shortwave irradiance at the surface, especially for modest aerosol loading. This paper focuses on using the redundant aerosol and radiation measurements during this IOP to compare direct beam and diffuse horizontal broadband shortwave irradiance measurements and models at the surface for a wide range of aerosol cases that occurred during 30 clear-sky periods on 13 days of May 2003. Models and measurements are compared over a large range of solar-zenith angles. Six different models are used to assess the relative agreement among them and the measurements. Better agreement than previously achieved appears to be the result of better specification of input parameters and better measurements of irradiances than in prior studies. Biases between modeled and measured direct irradiances are less than 1%, and biases between modeled and measured diffuse irradiances are less than 2%.

Scattering of field-aligned beam ions upstream of Earth's bow shock

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Kis

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Field-aligned beams are known to originate from the quasi-perpendicular side of the Earth's bow shock, while the diffuse ion population consists of accelerated ions at the quasi-parallel side of the bow shock. The two distinct ion populations show typical characteristics in their velocity space distributions. By using particle and magnetic field measurements from one Cluster spacecraft we present a case study when the two ion populations are observed simultaneously in the foreshock region during a high Mach number, high solar wind velocity event. We present the spatial-temporal evolution of the field-aligned beam ion distribution in front of the Earth's bow shock, focusing on the processes in the deep foreshock region, i.e. on the quasi-parallel side. Our analysis demonstrates that the scattering of field-aligned beam (FAB ions combined with convection by the solar wind results in the presence of lower-energy, toroidal gyrating ions at positions deeper in the foreshock region which are magnetically connected to the quasi-parallel bow shock. The gyrating ions are superposed onto a higher energy diffuse ion population. It is suggested that the toroidal gyrating ion population observed deep in the foreshock region has its origins in the FAB and that its characteristics are correlated with its distance from the FAB, but is independent on distance to the bow shock along the magnetic field.

Estimation of shortwave direct aerosol radiative forcing at four locations on the Indo-Gangetic plains: Model results and ground measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Bibi, Humera; Alam, Khan; Bibi, Samina

2017-08-01

This study provides observational results of aerosol optical and radiative characteristics over four locations in IGP. Spectral variation of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) and Asymmetry Parameter (AP) were analysed using AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) data. The analysis revealed that coarse particles were dominant in summer and pre-monsoon, while fine particles were more pronounced in winter and post-monsoon. Furthermore, the spatio-temporal variations of Shortwave Direct Aerosol Radiative Forcing (SDARF) and Shortwave Direct Aerosol Radiative Forcing Efficiency (SDARFE) at the Top Of Atmosphere (TOA), SURface (SUR) and within ATMosphere (ATM) were calculated using SBDART model. The atmospheric Heating Rate (HR) associated with SDARFATM were also computed. It was observed that the monthly averaged SDARFTOA and SDARFSUR were found to be negative leading to positive SDARFATM during all the months over all sites. The increments in net atmospheric forcing lead to maximum HR in November-December and May. The seasonal analysis of SDARF revealed that SDARFTOA and SDARFSUR were negative during all seasons. The SW atmospheric absorption translates to highest atmospheric HR during summer over Karachi and during pre-monsoon over Lahore, Jaipur and Kanpur. Like SDARF, the monthly and seasonal variations of SDARFETOA and SDARFESUR were found to be negative, resulting in positive atmospheric forcing. Additionally, to compare the model estimated forcing against AERONET derived forcing, the regression analysis of AERONET-SBDART forcing were carried out. It was observed that SDARF at SUR and TOA showed relatively higher correlation over Lahore, moderate over Jaipur and Kanpur and lower over Karachi. Finally, the analysis of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model revealed that air masses were arriving from multiple source locations.

Electron precipitation in solar flares - Collisionless effects

Science.gov (United States)

Vlahos, L.; Rowland, H. L.

1984-01-01

A large fraction of the electrons which are accelerated during the impulsive phase of solar flares stream towards the chromosphere and are unstable to the growth of plasma waves. The linear and nonlinear evolution of plasma waves as a function of time is analyzed with a set of rate equations that follows, in time, the nonlinearly coupled system of plasma waves-ion fluctuations. As an outcome of the fast transfer of wave energy from the beam to the ambient plasma, nonthermal electron tails are formed which can stabilize the anomalous Doppler resonance instability responsible for the pitch angle scattering of the beam electrons. The non-collisional losses of the precipitating electrons are estimated, and the observational implication of these results are discussed.

The Coulomb dissociation of 8B and the 8B solar neutrino flux

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gai, M.

1994-01-01

The Coulomb Dissociation of 8 B was measured using 46.5 MeV/u 8 B radioactive beams from the RIKEN-RIPS Radioactive Beam Facility, in an attempt to measure the 7 Be(p,γ) 8 B reaction at low energy, of relevance to estimating the 8 B solar neutrino flux. The experimental setup is discussed and the results are consistent with the lower value of S 17 measured by Filippone et al and Vaughn et al

Studies on reducing the thermal loads of solar-pumped solid state lasers; Taiyoko reiki laser no netsufuka teigen ni kansuru kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shimizu, K; Yugami, H; Naito, H; Arashi, H [Tohoku University, Sendai (Japan)

1997-11-25

It was intended to reduce the thermal loads of solar-pumped solid state lasers (highly densified solar light is irradiated directly onto a laser medium to cause excitation. No electric power is required for the excitation.). For this purpose, experiments were performed by using a selective permeation film. Solar light includes wavelengths not effective for excitation, which causes heat generation and thermal loads such as lens heating effect and thermal stress compounded refraction, degrading the laser beam quality. The Nd:YAG was used as a laser medium, and a multi-layered film (composed of SiO2 and TiO2) which cuts wavelength below 500 nm as a selective permeation film to cut light having wavelengths not required for excitation. A laser transmitting experiment revealed that the slope efficiency is improved by 27% as compared to not using the film. Beam fluctuation was improved to 45%. Using the selective permeation film has realized more efficient conversion of the solar light into a beam with better quality. The results for calculation of heat lens effect by using temperature distribution simulation showed good agreement with experimental values. Using the selective permeation film can suppress the maximum temperature of a laser rod to 68%, as well as the thermal stress. 9 figs., 2 tabs.

A machine learning approach to estimation of downward solar radiation from satellite-derived data products: An application over a semi-arid ecosystem in the U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Qingtao; Flores, Alejandro; Glenn, Nancy F; Walters, Reggie; Han, Bangshuai

2017-01-01

Shortwave solar radiation is an important component of the surface energy balance and provides the principal source of energy for terrestrial ecosystems. This paper presents a machine learning approach in the form of a random forest (RF) model for estimating daily downward solar radiation flux at the land surface over complex terrain using MODIS (MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) remote sensing data. The model-building technique makes use of a unique network of 16 solar flux measurements in the semi-arid Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed and Critical Zone Observatory, in southwest Idaho, USA. Based on a composite RF model built on daily observations from all 16 sites in the watershed, the model simulation of downward solar radiation matches well with the observation data (r2 = 0.96). To evaluate model performance, RF models were built from 12 of 16 sites selected at random and validated against the observations at the remaining four sites. Overall root mean square errors (RMSE), bias, and mean absolute error (MAE) are small (range: 37.17 W/m2-81.27 W/m2, -48.31 W/m2-15.67 W/m2, and 26.56 W/m2-63.77 W/m2, respectively). When extrapolated to the entire watershed, spatiotemporal patterns of solar flux are largely consistent with expected trends in this watershed. We also explored significant predictors of downward solar flux in order to reveal important properties and processes controlling downward solar radiation. Based on the composite RF model built on all 16 sites, the three most important predictors to estimate downward solar radiation include the black sky albedo (BSA) near infrared band (0.858 μm), BSA visible band (0.3-0.7 μm), and clear day coverage. This study has important implications for improving the ability to derive downward solar radiation through a fusion of multiple remote sensing datasets and can potentially capture spatiotemporally varying trends in solar radiation that is useful for land surface hydrologic and terrestrial

Nanoscale Analysis of a Hierarchical Hybrid Solar Cell in 3D.

Science.gov (United States)

Divitini, Giorgio; Stenzel, Ole; Ghadirzadeh, Ali; Guarnera, Simone; Russo, Valeria; Casari, Carlo S; Bassi, Andrea Li; Petrozza, Annamaria; Di Fonzo, Fabio; Schmidt, Volker; Ducati, Caterina

2014-05-01

A quantitative method for the characterization of nanoscale 3D morphology is applied to the investigation of a hybrid solar cell based on a novel hierarchical nanostructured photoanode. A cross section of the solar cell device is prepared by focused ion beam milling in a micropillar geometry, which allows a detailed 3D reconstruction of the titania photoanode by electron tomography. It is found that the hierarchical titania nanostructure facilitates polymer infiltration, thus favoring intermixing of the two semiconducting phases, essential for charge separation. The 3D nanoparticle network is analyzed with tools from stochastic geometry to extract information related to the charge transport in the hierarchical solar cell. In particular, the experimental dataset allows direct visualization of the percolation pathways that contribute to the photocurrent.

Tailor cutting of crystalline solar cells by laser micro jet

Science.gov (United States)

Bruckert, F.; Pilat, E.; Piron, P.; Torres, P.; Carron, B.; Richerzhagen, B.; Pirot, M.; Monna, R.

2012-03-01

Coupling a laser into a hair thin water micro jet (Laser Micro Jet, LMJ) for cutting applications offers a wide range of processes that are quite unique. As the laser beam is guided by internal reflections inside of a liquid cylinder, the cuts are naturally straight and do not reflect any divergence as otherwise occurs with an unguided laser beam. Furthermore, having a liquid media at the point of contact ensures a fast removal of heat and eventual debris ensuring clean cuts, which are free of any burrs. Many applications have indeed been developed for a large variety of materials, which are as different as e.g. diamond, silicon, aluminum, ceramic and hard metals. The photovoltaic industry has enjoyed in the last decades tremendous growth rates, which are still projected into the future. We focus here on the segment of Building Integrated PV (BIPV), which requests tailored solutions to actual buildings and not-one-fits-it-all standardized modules. Having the option to tailor cut solar cells opens a new field of BIPV applications. For the first time, finished crystalline solar cells have been LMJ cut into predetermined shapes. First results show that the cut is clean and neat. Preliminary solar performance measurements are positive. This opens a new avenue of tailored made modules instead of having to rely on the one-fits-alloy approach used so far.

Quantitative Comparison of the Variability in Observed and Simulated Shortwave Reflectance

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Yolanda, L.; Pilewskie, P.; Kindel, B. C.; Feldman, D. R.; Collins, W. D.

2013-01-01

The Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) is a climate observation system that has been designed to monitor the Earth's climate with unprecedented absolute radiometric accuracy and SI traceability. Climate Observation System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) have been generated to simulate CLARREO hyperspectral shortwave imager measurements to help define the measurement characteristics needed for CLARREO to achieve its objectives. To evaluate how well the OSSE-simulated reflectance spectra reproduce the Earth s climate variability at the beginning of the 21st century, we compared the variability of the OSSE reflectance spectra to that of the reflectance spectra measured by the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Cartography (SCIAMACHY). Principal component analysis (PCA) is a multivariate decomposition technique used to represent and study the variability of hyperspectral radiation measurements. Using PCA, between 99.7%and 99.9%of the total variance the OSSE and SCIAMACHY data sets can be explained by subspaces defined by six principal components (PCs). To quantify how much information is shared between the simulated and observed data sets, we spectrally decomposed the intersection of the two data set subspaces. The results from four cases in 2004 showed that the two data sets share eight (January and October) and seven (April and July) dimensions, which correspond to about 99.9% of the total SCIAMACHY variance for each month. The spectral nature of these shared spaces, understood by examining the transformed eigenvectors calculated from the subspace intersections, exhibit similar physical characteristics to the original PCs calculated from each data set, such as water vapor absorption, vegetation reflectance, and cloud reflectance.

Aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy analyses of GaAs/Si interfaces in wafer-bonded multi-junction solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Häussler, Dietrich [Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, 24143 Kiel (Germany); Houben, Lothar [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Research Centre Juelich GmbH, 52425 Juelich (Germany); Essig, Stephanie [Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstraße 2, 79110 Freiburg (Germany); Kurttepeli, Mert [Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, 24143 Kiel (Germany); Dimroth, Frank [Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstraße 2, 79110 Freiburg (Germany); Dunin-Borkowski, Rafal E. [Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons, Research Centre Juelich GmbH, 52425 Juelich (Germany); Jäger, Wolfgang, E-mail: wolfgang.jaeger@tf.uni-kiel.de [Institute for Materials Science, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Kaiserstraße 2, 24143 Kiel (Germany)

2013-11-15

Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) investigations have been applied to investigate the structure and composition fluctuations near interfaces in wafer-bonded multi-junction solar cells. Multi-junction solar cells are of particular interest since efficiencies well above 40% have been obtained for concentrator solar cells which are based on III-V compound semiconductors. In this methodologically oriented investigation, we explore the potential of combining aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field STEM imaging (HAADF-STEM) with spectroscopic techniques, such as EELS and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS), and with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), in order to analyze the effects of fast atom beam (FAB) and ion beam bombardment (IB) activation treatments on the structure and composition of bonding interfaces of wafer-bonded solar cells on Si substrates. Investigations using STEM/EELS are able to measure quantitatively and with high precision the widths and the fluctuations in element distributions within amorphous interface layers of nanometer extensions, including those of light elements. Such measurements allow the control of the activation treatments and thus support assessing electrical conductivity phenomena connected with impurity and dopant distributions near interfaces for optimized performance of the solar cells. - Highlights: • Aberration-corrected TEM and EELS reveal structural and elemental profiles across GaAs/Si bond interfaces in wafer-bonded GaInP/GaAs/Si - multi-junction solar cells. • Fluctuations in elemental concentration in nanometer-thick amorphous interface layers, including the disrubutions of light elements, are measured using EELS. • The projected widths of the interface layers are determined on the atomic scale from STEM-HAADF measurements. • The effects of atom and ion beam activation treatment on the bonding

Electron beam silicon purification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kravtsov, Anatoly [SIA ' ' KEPP EU' ' , Riga (Latvia); Kravtsov, Alexey [' ' KEPP-service' ' Ltd., Moscow (Russian Federation)

2014-11-15

Purification of heavily doped electronic grade silicon by evaporation of N-type impurities with electron beam heating was investigated in process with a batch weight up to 50 kilos. Effective temperature of the melt, an indicative parameter suitable for purification process characterization was calculated and appeared to be stable for different load weight processes. Purified material was successfully approbated in standard CZ processes of three different companies. Each company used its standard process and obtained CZ monocrystals applicable for photovoltaic application. These facts enable process to be successfully scaled up to commercial volumes (150-300 kg) and yield solar grade silicon. (copyright 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Simulation experiments and solar wind sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griffith, J.E.; Papanastassiou, D.A.; Russell, W.A.; Tombrello, T.A.; Weller, R.A.

1978-01-01

In order to isolate the role played by solar wind sputtering from other lunar surface phenomena a number of simulation experiments were performed, including isotope abundance measurements of Ca sputtered from terrestrial fluorite and plagioclase by 50-keV and 130-keV 14 N beams, measurement of the energy distribution of U atoms sputtered with 80-keV 40 Ar, and measurement of the fraction of sputtered U atoms which stick on the surfaces used to collect these atoms. 10 references

Electron Cyclotron Maser Emissions from Evolving Fast Electron Beams

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, J. F.; Wu, D. J.; Chen, L.; Zhao, G. Q.; Tan, C. M.

2016-05-01

Fast electron beams (FEBs) are common products of solar active phenomena. Solar radio bursts are an important diagnostic tool for understanding FEBs and the solar plasma environment in which they propagate along solar magnetic fields. In particular, the evolution of the energy spectrum and velocity distribution of FEBs due to the interaction with the ambient plasma and field during propagation can significantly influence the efficiency and properties of their emissions. In this paper, we discuss the possible evolution of the energy spectrum and velocity distribution of FEBs due to energy loss processes and the pitch-angle effect caused by magnetic field inhomogeneity, and we analyze the effects of the evolution on electron-cyclotron maser (ECM) emission, which is one of the most important mechanisms for producing solar radio bursts by FEBs. Our results show that the growth rates all decrease with the energy loss factor Q, but increase with the magnetic mirror ratio σ as well as with the steepness index δ. Moreover, the evolution of FEBs can also significantly influence the fastest growing mode and the fastest growing phase angle. This leads to the change of the polarization sense of the ECM emission. In particular, our results also reveal that an FEB that undergoes different evolution processes will generate different types of ECM emission. We believe the present results to be very helpful for a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamic spectra of solar radio bursts.

ELECTRON CYCLOTRON MASER EMISSIONS FROM EVOLVING FAST ELECTRON BEAMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, J. F.; Wu, D. J.; Chen, L.; Zhao, G. Q.; Tan, C. M.

2016-01-01

Fast electron beams (FEBs) are common products of solar active phenomena. Solar radio bursts are an important diagnostic tool for understanding FEBs and the solar plasma environment in which they propagate along solar magnetic fields. In particular, the evolution of the energy spectrum and velocity distribution of FEBs due to the interaction with the ambient plasma and field during propagation can significantly influence the efficiency and properties of their emissions. In this paper, we discuss the possible evolution of the energy spectrum and velocity distribution of FEBs due to energy loss processes and the pitch-angle effect caused by magnetic field inhomogeneity, and we analyze the effects of the evolution on electron-cyclotron maser (ECM) emission, which is one of the most important mechanisms for producing solar radio bursts by FEBs. Our results show that the growth rates all decrease with the energy loss factor Q , but increase with the magnetic mirror ratio σ as well as with the steepness index δ . Moreover, the evolution of FEBs can also significantly influence the fastest growing mode and the fastest growing phase angle. This leads to the change of the polarization sense of the ECM emission. In particular, our results also reveal that an FEB that undergoes different evolution processes will generate different types of ECM emission. We believe the present results to be very helpful for a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamic spectra of solar radio bursts.

Space Solar Power Satellite Technology Development at the Glenn Research Center: An Overview

Science.gov (United States)

Dudenhoefer, James E.; George, Patrick J.

2000-01-01

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC). is participating in the Space Solar Power Exploratory Research and Technology program (SERT) for the development of a solar power satellite concept. The aim of the program is to provide electrical power to Earth by converting the Sun's energy and beaming it to the surface. This paper will give an overall view of the technologies being pursued at GRC including thin film photovoltaics, solar dynamic power systems, space environmental effects, power management and distribution, and electric propulsion. The developmental path not only provides solutions to gigawatt sized space power systems for the future, but provides synergistic opportunities for contemporary space power architectures. More details of Space Solar Power can be found by reading the references sited in this paper and by connecting to the web site http://moonbase.msfc.nasa.gov/ and accessing the "Space Solar Power" section "Public Access" area.

Synchrotron X-ray imaging applied to solar photovoltaic silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lafford, T A; Villanova, J; Plassat, N; Dubois, S; Camel, D

2013-01-01

Photovoltaic (PV) cell performance is dictated by the material of the cell, its quality and purity, the type, quantity, size and distribution of defects, as well as surface treatments, deposited layers and contacts. A synchrotron offers unique opportunities for a variety of complementary X-ray techniques, given the brilliance, spectrum, energy tunability and potential for (sub-) micron-sized beams. Material properties are revealed within in the bulk and at surfaces and interfaces. X-ray Diffraction Imaging (X-ray Topography), Rocking Curve Imaging and Section Topography reveal defects such as dislocations, inclusions, misorientations and strain in the bulk and at surfaces. Simultaneous measurement of micro-X-Ray Fluorescence (μ-XRF) and micro-X-ray Beam Induced Current (μ-XBIC) gives direct correlation between impurities and PV performance. Together with techniques such as microscopy and Light Beam Induced Current (LBIC) measurements, the correlation between structural properties and photovoltaic performance can be deduced, as well as the relative influence of parameters such as defect type, size, spatial distribution and density (e.g [1]). Measurements may be applied at different stages of solar cell processing in order to follow the evolution of the material and its properties through the manufacturing process. Various grades of silicon are under study, including electronic and metallurgical grades in mono-crystalline, multi-crystalline and mono-like forms. This paper aims to introduce synchrotron imaging to non-specialists, giving example results on selected solar photovoltaic silicon samples.

Design of a gigawatt space solar power satellite using optical concentrator system

Science.gov (United States)

Dessanti, B.; Komerath, N.; Shah, S.

A 1-gigawatt space solar power satellite using a large array of individually pointable optical elements is identified as the key mass element of a large scale space solar power architecture using the Space Power Grid concept. The proposed satellite design enables a significant increase in specific power. Placed in sun-synchronous dynamic orbits near 2000km altitude, these satellites can maintain the constant solar view requirement of GEO-based architectures, while greatly reducing the beaming distance required, decreasing the required antenna size and in turn the overall system mass. The satellite uses an array of individually pointable optical elements (which we call a Mirasol Concentrator Array) to concentrate solar energy to an intensified feed target that feeds into the main heater of the spacecraft, similar conceptually to heliostat arrays. The spacecraft then utilizes Brayton cycle conversion to take advantage of non-linear power level scaling in order to generate high specific power values. Using phase array antennas, the power is then beamed at a millimeter wave frequency of 220GHz down to Earth. The design of the Mirasol concentrator system will be described and a detailed mass estimation of the system is developed. The technical challenges of pointing the elements and maintaining constant solar view is investigated. An end-to-end efficiency analysis is performed. Subsystem designs for the spacecraft are outlined. A detailed mass budget is refined to reflect reductions in uncertainty of the spacecraft mass, particularly in the Mirasol system. One of the key mass drivers of the spacecraft is the active thermal control system. The design of a lightweight thermal control system utilizing graphene sheets is also detailed.

Relationship of upflowing ion beams and conics around the dayside cusp/cleft region to the interplanetary conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Miyake

2002-04-01

Full Text Available The dayside cusp/cleft region is known as a major source of upflowing ionospheric ions to the magnetosphere. Since the ions are supposed to be energized by an input of energy from the dayside magnetospheric boundary region, we examined the possible influence of the interplanetary conditions on dayside ion beams and conics observed by the polar-orbiting Exos-D (Akebono satellite. We found that both the solar wind velocity and density, as well as IMF By and Bz , affect the occurrence frequency of ion conics. The energy of ion conics also depends on the solar wind velocity, IMF By and Bz . The ion beams around the local noon are not significantly controlled by the interplanetary conditions. The results reveal that ion convection, as well as the energy source, is important to understand the production of dayside ion conics while that of ion beams basically reflects the intensity of local field-aligned currents.Key words. Ionosphere (particle acceleration – magnetospheric physics (magnetopause, cusp, and boundary layers; magnetosphere ionosphere interaction

On the Generation of Hydrodynamic Shocks by Mixed Beams and Occurrence of Sunquakes in Flares

Science.gov (United States)

Zharkova, Valentina; Zharkov, Sergei

2015-11-01

Observations of solar flares with sunquakes by space- and ground-based instruments reveal essentially different dynamics of seismic events in different flares. Some sunquakes are found to be closely associated with the locations of hard X-ray (HXR) and white-light (WL) emission, while others are located outside either of them. In this article we investigate possible sources causing a seismic response in a form of hydrodynamic shocks produced by the injection of mixed (electron plus proton) beams, discuss the velocities of these shocks, and the depths where they deposit the bulk of their energy and momentum. The simulation of hydrodynamic shocks in flaring atmospheres induced by electron-rich and proton-rich beams reveals that the linear depth of the shock termination is shifted beneath the level of the quiet solar photosphere on a distance from 200 to 5000 km. The parameters of these atmospheric hydrodynamic shocks are used as initial condition for another hydrodynamic model developed for acoustic-wave propagation in the solar interior (Zharkov, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc. 431, 3414, 2013). The model reveals that the depth of energy and momentum deposition by the atmospheric shocks strongly affects the propagation velocity of the acoustic-wave packet in the interior. The locations of the first bounces from the photosphere of acoustic waves generated in the vicinity of a flare are seen as ripples on the solar surface, or sunquakes. Mixed proton-dominated beams are found to produce a strong supersonic shock at depths 200 - 300 km under the level of the quiet-Sun photosphere and in this way produce well-observable acoustic waves, while electron-dominated beams create a slightly supersonic shock propagating down to 5000 km under the photosphere. This shock can only generate acoustic waves at the top layers beneath the photosphere since the shock velocity very quickly drops below the local sound speed. The distance Δ of the first bounce of the generated acoustic waves

A Solar Position Sensor Based on Image Vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruelas, Adolfo; Velázquez, Nicolás; Villa-Angulo, Carlos; Acuña, Alexis; Rosales, Pedro; Suastegui, José

2017-07-29

Solar collector technologies operate with better performance when the Sun beam direction is normal to the capturing surface, and for that to happen despite the relative movement of the Sun, solar tracking systems are used, therefore, there are rules and standards that need minimum accuracy for these tracking systems to be used in solar collectors' evaluation. Obtaining accuracy is not an easy job, hence in this document the design, construction and characterization of a sensor based on a visual system that finds the relative azimuth error and height of the solar surface of interest, is presented. With these characteristics, the sensor can be used as a reference in control systems and their evaluation. The proposed sensor is based on a microcontroller with a real-time clock, inertial measurement sensors, geolocation and a vision sensor, that obtains the angle of incidence from the sunrays' direction as well as the tilt and sensor position. The sensor's characterization proved how a measurement of a focus error or a Sun position can be made, with an accuracy of 0.0426° and an uncertainty of 0.986%, which can be modified to reach an accuracy under 0.01°. The validation of this sensor was determined showing the focus error on one of the best commercial solar tracking systems, a Kipp & Zonen SOLYS 2. To conclude, the solar tracking sensor based on a vision system meets the Sun detection requirements and components that meet the accuracy conditions to be used in solar tracking systems and their evaluation or, as a tracking and orientation tool, on photovoltaic installations and solar collectors.

Absorption enhancement in metal nanoparticles for photoemission current for solar cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gritti, Claudia; Novitsky, Andrey; Malureanu, Radu

2012-01-01

of the semiconductor added to the solar cell photocurrent can extend spectral response range of the device. We study the effect on a model system, which is a Schottky barrier n-GaAs solar cell, with an array of Au nanoparticles positioned at the interface between the semiconductor and the transparent top electrode....... Based on the simulations, we chose to study disk-shaped Au nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 25nm to 50nm using electron beam lithography. Optical characterization of the fabricated devices shows the presence of LSP resonance around the wavelength of 1250nm, below the bandgap of GaAs....

A 5 MV Pelletron accelerator providing {sup 1}H{sup +}, {sup 4}He{sup +}, and {sup 12}C{sup +} beams for underground nuclear astrophysics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinicke, Stefan; Cowan, Thomas E.; Grieger, Marcel; Ludwig, Felix; Rath, Ferdinand; Roeder, Marko; Takacs, Marcell P.; Wagner, Louis [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden (Germany); Technische Universitaet Dresden (Germany); Bemmerer, Daniel; Junghans, Arnd R.; Mueller, Stefan E.; Rimarzig, Bernd; Schwengner, Ronald; Szuecs, Tamas; Wagner, Andreas [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Dresden (Germany); Reinhardt, Tobias P.; Zuber, Kai [Technische Universitaet Dresden (Germany)

2016-07-01

Accelerator-based experiments at the 0.4 MV LUNA underground accelerator at Gran Sasso have enabled great progress for studies of Big Bang and solar fusion reactions. However, to complete the picture of solar fusion reactions and open up helium and carbon burning reactions to study, higher beam energies are required. A 5 MV Pelletron accelerator will be installed in the Felsenkeller underground laboratory in Dresden. It will allow both, tandem mode operations for {sup 12}C{sup +} beams and the use of a radio frequency ion source on the high voltage terminal for {sup 1}H{sup +} and {sup 4}He{sup +} beams. The beam from the RF ion source is fed in with a remotely controlled electrostatic deflector. In addition, a large, ultra-sensitive high-purity germanium detector for offline measurements will be installed at Felsenkeller. The final timeline of the project will be shown, as well as the science case for in-house research and the capabilities available to external scientific users.

The generation of pollution-free electrical power from solar energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherry, W. R.

1971-01-01

Projections of the U.S. electrical power demands over the next 30 years indicate that the U.S. could be in grave danger from power shortages, undesirable effluence, and thermal pollution. An appraisal of nonconventional methods of producing electrical power is conducted, giving particular attention to the conversion of solar energy into commercial quantities of electrical power by solar cells. It is found that 1% of the land area of the 48 states could provide the total electrical power requirements of the U.S. in the year 1990. The ultimate method of generating vast quantities of electrical power would be from a series of synchronous satellites which beam microwave power back to earth to be used wherever needed. Present high manufacturing costs of solar cells could be substantially reduced by using massive automated techniques employing abundant low cost materials.

Boron profiles in doped amorphous-silicon solar cells formed by plasma ion deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoddart, C.T.H.; Hunt, C.P.; Coleman, J.H.

1979-01-01

Amorphous silicon p-n junction solar cells of large area (100 cm 2 ) and having a quantum efficiency approaching 100% in the blue region have been prepared by plasma ion-plating, the p layer being formed from diborane and silane gases in a cathode glow-discharge. Surface secondary ion mass spectrometry combined with ion beam etching was found to be a very sensitive method with high in-depth resolution for obtaining the initial boron-silicon profile of the solar cell p-n junction. (author)

Research and development for evaluation system of solar cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1986-08-01

In order to evaluate the performance and capability of solar cell properly and impartially, the evaluation systems for the performance and reliability have been assured. The results are as follows. 1. Development for performance evaluation method; (1) The international comparisons of standard solar cell calibration methods and our method has been assured to be mostly near to the average value. (2) Experimental solar cell has been made and the indoors and outdoors evaluation of solar cell module have become to be possible with same accuracy. (3) As the spectro-radiometer of high performance have been developed, the measurements of the output of the solar cell module have become possible, monitering spectrum of wide range of natural solar beam. (4) With use of several kinds of standard solar cell, measurement errors have been assured. (5) As for nominal operating cell temperature of module, experimental researches have been done indoors and outdoors and the diffeneces have been assured. 2. Development of reliability evaluation method; (1) In outdoor exposure test, the basic data of the accelerating degradation test have been accumulated and it has been assured that the degradation of crystal type is few. (2) By the acceleration degradation test with use of weathermeter, and temperature and humidity cycling test device, the proceses of degradation have been assured. (3) In the processes of enviromental tests and mechanical strength tests, remarkable degradation has not been recognized.(1 tab)

Note: Photoluminescence measurement system for multi-junction solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Trespidi, F; Malchiodi, A; Farina, F

2017-05-01

We describe a photoluminescence spectroscopy system developed for studying phenomena of optical coupling in multiple-junction solar cells and processed/unprocessed wafers, under the high solar concentration levels typical of HCPV (High Concentration PhotoVoltaic) systems. The instrument operates at room temperature over two spectral ranges: 475 nm-1100 nm and 950 nm-1650 nm. Power densities exceeding 10 000 suns can be obtained on the sample. The system can host up to four compact focusable solid state laser sources, presently only three are mounted and operated at 450 nm, 520 nm, and 785 nm; they provide overlapped beams on the sample surface and can shine simultaneously the sample to study possible mutual interaction between the different junctions.

Innovating a solar concentrator of static reflector and movable center for heat processes; Un concentrador solar innovador de reflector estatico y foco movil para procesos de calor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez, V.; Pujol, R.; Moia, A.

2008-07-01

The development of a solar thermal collector with fixed reflector and tracking absorber, especially designed for supplying process heat in industrial processes and solar cooling is described. the final solution consists in a mesh of 32 Sydney evacuates tubes with a total aperture of 24 m{sup 2} and maximum focus length of about 800 mm. With this design it is expected to reach about 40% annual averaged efficiency (referred to beam radiation at latitude of 39 degree centigrade) with temperatures in the range from 120 to 150 degree centigrade. At moment the first prototype is starting operation. (Author)

Interaction of a finite-length ion beam with a background plasma: Reflected ions at the quasi-parallel bow shock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onsager, T.G.; Winske, D.; Thomsen, M.F.

1991-01-01

The coupling of a finite-length, field-aligned, ion beam with a uniform background plasma is investigated using one-dimensional hybrid computer simulations. The finite-length beam is used to study the interaction between the incident solar wind and ions reflected from the Earth's quasi-parallel bow shock, where the reflection process may vary with time. The coupling between the reflected ions and the solar wind is relevant to ion heating at the bow shock and possibly to the formation of hot, flow anomalies and re-formation of the shock itself. The authors find that although there are many similarities between the instabilities driven by the finite-length beam and those predicted by linear theory for an infinite, homogeneous beam, there are also some important differences. Consistent with linear theory, the waves which dominate the interaction are the electromagnetic right-hand polarized resonant and nonresonant modes. However, in addition to the instability growth rates, the length of time that the waves are in contact with the beam is also an important factor in determining which wave mode will dominate the interaction. Whereas linear theory predicts the nonresonant mode to have the larger growth rate for the parameters they investigate, with finite-length beam they find that both the nonresonant and resonant modes contribute to the interaction. They find that the interaction will result in strong coupling, where a significant fraction of the available free energy is converted into thermal energy in a short time, provided the beam is sufficiently dense or sufficiently long

Primary Beam and Dish Surface Characterization at the Allen Telescope Array by Radio Holography

Science.gov (United States)

Harp, G. R.; Ackermann, R. F.; Nadler, Z. J.; Blair, Samantha K.; Davis, M. M.; Wright, M. C. H.; Forster, J. R.; Deboer, D. R.; Welch, W. J.; Atkinson, Shannon; Backer, D. C.; Backus, P. R.; Barott, William; Bauermeister, Amber; Blitz, Leo; Bock, D. C.-J.; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Bradford, Tucker; Cheng, Calvin; Croft, Steve; Dexter, Matt; Dreher, John; Engargiola, Greg; Fields, E. D.; Heiles, Carl; Helfer, Tamara; Jordan, Jane; Jorgensen, Susan; Kilsdonk, Tom; Gutierrez-Kraybill, Colby; Keating, Garrett; Law, Casey; Lugten, John; MacMahon, D. H. E.; McMahon, Peter; Milgrome, Oren; Siemion, Andrew; Smolek, Ken; Thornton, Douglas; Pierson, Tom; Randall, Karen; Ross, John; Shostak, Seth; Tarter, J. C.; Urry, Lynn; Werthimer, Dan; Williams, Peter K. G.; Whysong, David

2011-06-01

The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) is a cm-wave interferometer in California, comprising 42 antenna elements with 6-m diameter dishes. We characterize the antenna optical accuracy using two-antenna interferometry and radio holography. The distortion of each telescope relative to the average is small, with RMS differences of 1% of beam peak value. Holography provides images of dish illumination, characterizing as-built mirror surfaces. Maximal distortions across ~ 2 meter lengths appear to result from mounting stresses or solar radiation. Experimental RMS errors are 0.7 mm at night and 3 mm under worst-case solar illumination. For frequencies 4, 10, and 15 GHz, the nighttime values indicate sensitivity losses of 1, 10 and 20%, respectively. ATA's wide-bandwidth receiver permits observations over a continuous range 0.5-11.2 GHz. We probe the antenna optical gain and beam pattern stability as a function of focus position and observation frequency, concluding that ATA can produce high fidelity images over a decade of simultaneous observation frequencies. We quantify solar heating effects on antenna sensitivity and pointing accuracy. We find that during the day, observations >=5 GHz will suffer some sensitivity loss and it may be necessary to make antenna pointing corrections on a 1-2 hourly basis.

Aerosols, clouds and radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Twomey, S [University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (USA). Inst. of Atmospheric Physics

1991-01-01

Most of the so-called 'CO{sub 2} effect' is, in fact, an 'H{sub 2}O effect' brought into play by the climate modeler's assumption that planetary average temperature dictates water-vapor concentration (following Clapeyron-Clausius). That assumption ignores the removal process, which cloud physicists know to be influenced by the aerosol, since the latter primarily controls cloud droplet number and size. Droplet number and size are also influential for shortwave (solar) energy. The reflectance of many thin to moderately thick clouds changes when nuclei concentrations change and make shortwave albedo susceptible to aerosol influence.

Source of the backstreaming ion beams in the foreshock region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, M.; Goodrich, C.C.; Winske, D.; Papadopoulos, K.

1983-01-01

A new source mechanism is proposed for the 'reflected' ion beams observed in the foreshock region of the earth's bow shock. In our model the beams originate in the magnetosheath downstream of the qausi-perpendicular portion of the shock. The quasi-perpendicular shock transition is characterized by two downstream ion populations including high-energy gyrating ions in addition to the directly transmitted anisotropic ions. We show by particle simulations that this highly anisotropic downstream ion distribution (T/sub perpendicular//T/sub parallel/ >>1) can excite electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves which, in turn, pitch angle scatter the gyrating ions in a few ion gyroperiods. As a result, some ions acquire large parallel velocities and move fast enough along the convecting downstream magnetic field to escape back across the bow shock into the upstream region. The distribution of escaping ions calculated by using the pitch-angle-scattered ions, as a source, becomes a beam with a large temperature anisotropy T/sub perpendicular/ approx.3--5 T/sub parallel/ and a mean velocity along the magnetic field of about twice that of the solar wind velocity. A significant result is the presence of the maximum angle theta/sub n/B = theta/sub c/ above which no ions can escape, where theta/sub n/B is the angle between the shock normal and the interplanetary magnetic field. A wide peak of constant escaping ion flux is formed below theta/sub c/ whose number density is 1--2% of that of the solar wind. These results are in general agreement with the ISEE observations of the 'reflected' ions

Journal of Earth System Science | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. Empirical formulae for estimation of hourly incoming shortwave radiation over the Indian Ocean under different cloud amounts have been developed by using the pyranometer measurements of the incoming solar radiation and the cloud observations during BOBMEX Pilot (October - November 1998) cruise.

Summary of the 2014 Beam-Halo Monitoring Workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fisher, Alan

2015-09-25

Understanding and controlling beam halo is important for high-intensity hadron accelerators, for high-brightness electron linacs, and for low-emittance light sources. This can only be achieved by developing suitable diagnostics. The main challenge faced by such instrumentation is the high dynamic range needed to observe the halo in the presence of an intense core. In addition, measurements must often be made non-invasively. This talk summarizes the one-day workshop on Beam-Halo Monitoring that was held at SLAC on September 19 last year, immediately following IBIC 2014 in Monterey. Workshop presentations described invasive techniques using wires, screens, or crystal collimators, and non-invasive measurements with gas or scattered electrons. Talks on optical methods showed the close links between observing halo and astronomical problems like observing the solar corona or directly observing a planet orbiting another star.

Lessons for Interstellar Travel from the Guidance and Control Design of the Near Earth Asteroid Scout Solar Sail Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Diedrich, Benjamin; Heaton, Andrew

2017-01-01

NASA is developing the Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout mission that will use a solar sail to travel to an asteroid where it will perform a slow flyby to acquire science imagery. A guidance and control system was developed to meet the science and trajectory requirements. The NEA Scout design process can be applied to an interstellar or precursor mission that uses a beam propelled sail. The scientific objectives are met by accurately targeting the destination trajectory position and velocity. The destination is targeted by understanding the force on the sail from the beam (or sunlight in the case of NEA Scout) over the duration of the thrust maneuver. The propulsive maneuver is maintained by accurate understanding of the torque on the sail, which is a function of sail shape, optical properties, and mass properties, all of which apply to NEA Scout and beam propelled sails. NEA Scout uses active control of the sail attitude while trimming the solar torque, which could be used on a beamed propulsion sail if necessary. The biggest difference is that NEA Scout can correct for uncertainties in sail thrust modeling, spacecraft orbit, and target orbit throughout the flight to the target, while beamed propulsion needs accurate operation for the short duration of the beamed propulsion maneuver, making accurate understanding of the sail thrust and orbits much more critical.

NONLINEAR EVOLUTION OF BEAM-PLASMA INSTABILITY IN INHOMOGENEOUS MEDIUM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ziebell, L. F.; Pavan, J.; Yoon, P. H.; Gaelzer, R.

2011-01-01

The problem of electron-beam propagation in inhomogeneous solar wind is intimately related to the solar type II and/or type III radio bursts. Many scientists have addressed this issue in the past by means of quasi-linear theory, but in order to fully characterize the nonlinear dynamics, one must employ weak-turbulence theory. Available numerical solutions of the weak-turbulence theory either rely on only one nonlinear process (either decay or scattering), or when both nonlinear terms are included, the inhomogeneity effect is generally ignored. The present paper reports the full solution of weak-turbulence theory that includes both decay and scattering processes, and also incorporating the effects of density gradient. It is found that the quasi-linear effect sufficiently accounts for the primary Langmuir waves, but to properly characterize the back-scattered Langmuir wave, which is important for eventual radiation generation, it is found that both nonlinear decay and scattering processes make comparable contributions. Such a finding may be important in the quantitative analysis of the plasma emission process with application to solar type II and/or type III radio bursts.

Turbulence and wave particle interactions in solar-terrestrial plasmas. Annual Status Report, 1 July 1983-30 June 1984

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dulk, G.A.; Goldman, M.V.; Toomre, J.

1985-01-01

Activities in the following study areas are reported: (1) particle and wave processes in solar flares; (2) solar convection zone turbulence; and (3) solar radiation emission. To investigate the amplification of cyclotron maser radiation in solar flares, a radio frequency. (RF) heating model was developed for the corona surrounding the energy release site. Then nonlinear simulations of compressible convection display prominent penetration by plumes into regions of stable stratification at the base of the solar convection zone, leading to the excitation of internal gravity waves there. Lastly, linear saturation of electron-beam-driven Langmuir waves by ambient density fluctuations, nonlinear saturation by strong turbulence processes, and radiation emission mechanisms are examined. An additional section discusses solar magnetic fields and hydromagnetic waves in inhomogeneous media, and the effect of magnetic fields on stellar oscillation

Impact of shortwave ultraviolet (UV-C) radiation on the antioxidant activity of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Dogu-Baykut, Esra; Gunes, Gurbuz; Decker, Eric Andrew

2014-08-15

Thyme is a good source of antioxidant compounds but it can be contaminated by microorganisms. An experimental fluid bed ultraviolet (UV) reactor was designed for microbial decontamination of thyme samples and the effect of shortwave ultraviolet light (UV-C) radiation on antioxidant properties of thyme was studied. Samples were exposed to UV-C radiation for 16 or 64 min. UV-C treatment led to 1.04 and 1.38 log CFU/g reduction of total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB) counts. Hunter a(∗) value was the most sensitive colour parameter during UV-C treatment. 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity of extracts was not significantly affected by UV-C. Addition of thyme extracts at 0.15 and 0.3 μmol GAE/ml emulsion delayed the formation of lipid hydroperoxides and headspace hexanal in the 5.0%(wt) corn oil-in-water emulsion from 4 to 9 and 14 days, respectively. No significant changes in oxidation rates were observed between UV-C treated and untreated samples at same concentrations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transmission media appropriate laser-microwave solar power satellite system

Science.gov (United States)

Schäfer, C. A.; Gray, D.

2012-10-01

As a solution to the most critical problems with Solar power Satellite (SPS) development, a system is proposed which uses laser power transmission in space to a receiver high in the atmosphere that relays the power to Earth by either cable or microwave power transmission. It has been shown in the past that such hybrid systems have the advantages of a reduction in the mass of equipment required in geostationary orbit and avoidance of radio frequency interference with other satellites and terrestrial communications systems. The advantage over a purely laser power beam SPS is that atmospheric absorption is avoided and outages due to clouds and precipitation will not occur, allowing for deployment in the equatorial zone and guaranteeing year round operation. This proposal is supported by brief literature surveys and theoretical calculations to estimate crucial parameters in this paper. In relation to this concept, we build on a recently proposed method to collect solar energy by a tethered balloon at high altitude because it enables a low-cost start for bringing the first Watt of power to Earth giving some quick return on investment, which is desperately missing in the traditional SPS concept. To tackle the significant problem of GW-class SPSs of high launch cost per kg mass brought to space, this paper introduces a concept which aims to achieve a superior power over mass ratio compared to traditional satellite designs by the use of thin-film solar cells combined with optical fibres for power delivery. To minimise the aperture sizes and cost of the transmitting and receiving components of the satellite and high altitude receiver, closed-loop laser beam pointing and target tracking is crucial for pointing a laser beam onto a target area that is of similar size to the beam's diameter. A recently developed technique based on optical phase conjugation is introduced and its applicability for maintaining power transmission between the satellite and high altitude receiver is

Beam-Beam Interaction Studies at LHC

CERN Document Server

Schaumann, Michaela; Alemany Fernandez, R

2011-01-01

The beam-beam force is one of the most important limiting factors in the performance of a collider, mainly in the delivered luminosity. Therefore, it is essential to measure the effects in LHC. Moreover, adequate understanding of LHC beam-beam interaction is of crucial importance in the design phases of the LHC luminosity upgrade. Due to the complexity of this topic the work presented in this thesis concentrates on the beam-beam tune shift and orbit effects. The study of the Linear Coherent Beam-Beam Parameter at the LHC has been determined with head-on collisions with small number of bunches at injection energy (450 GeV). For high bunch intensities the beam-beam force is strong enough to expect orbit effects if the two beams do not collide head-on but with a crossing angle or with a given offset. As a consequence the closed orbit changes. The closed orbit of an unperturbed machine with respect to a machine where the beam-beam force becomes more and more important has been studied and the results are as well ...

Reflection of the solar wind ions at the earth's bow shock: energization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonifazi, C.; Moreno, G.; Russell, C.T.

1983-01-01

The energies of the field-aligned proton beams observed upstream of the earth's bow shock are tested, on a statistical basis, against a simple reflection model. The comparison is carried out using both plasma and magnetic field data collected by the ISEE 2 spacecraft. The observations refer to the period from November 5 to December 20, 1977. According to this model, some of the solar wind protons incident upon the earth's shock front when reflected upstream gain energy by displacement parallel to the interplanetary electric field. The energy gained in the reflection can be described as a function of the angles between the interplanetary magnetic field, the solar wind bulk velocity, and the local shock normal. The task of finding these angles, i.e., the expected source point of the reflected ions at the earth's shock front, has been resolved using both the measured magnetic field direction and actual beam trajectory. The latter method, which takes into account the ion drift velocity, leads to a better agreement between theory and observations when far from the shock. In particular, it allows us to check the energies of the field-aligned beams even when they are observed far from the earth's bow shock (at distances up to 10-15 R/sub E/). We confirm, on a statistical basis, the test of the model recently carried out using the Los Alamos National Laboratory/Max-Planck-extraterrestrische observations on ISEE 1 and 2. We infer that reflected beams can sometimes propagate far upstream of the earth's bow shock without changing their energy properties

A new concept of space solar power satellite

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xun; Duan, Baoyan; Song, Liwei; Yang, Yang; Zhang, Yiqun; Wang, Dongxu

2017-07-01

Space solar power satellite (SSPS) is a tremendous energy system that collects and converts solar power to electric power in space, and then transmits the electric power to earth wirelessly. In this paper, a novel SSPS concept based on ε-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterial is proposed. A spherical condenser made of ENZ metamaterial is developed, by using the refractive property of the ENZ metamaterial sunlight can be captured and redirected to its center. To make the geometric concentration ratio of the PV array reasonable, a hemispherical one located at the center is used to collect and convert the normal-incidence sunlight to DC power, then through a phased array transmitting antenna the DC power is beamed down to the rectenna on the ground. Detailed design of the proposed concept is presented.

Properties of solar generators with reflectors and radiators

Science.gov (United States)

Ebeling, W. D.; Rex, D.; Bierfischer, U.

1980-06-01

Radiation cooled concentrator systems using silicon and GaAs cells were studied. The principle of radiation cooling by the reflector surfaces is discussed for cylindrical parabolic reflectors (SARA), truncated hexagonal pyramids, and a small trough configuration. Beam paths, collection properties for imperfect orientation, and thermal optimization parameters were analyzed. The three concentrating systems with radiation cooling offer advantages over the plane panel and over the large trough. With silicon solar cells they exhibit considerably lower solar cell consumption per Kw and also lower mass per kW. With GaAs cells the SARA system reduces the number of solar cells needed per kW to less than 10%. Also in all other cases SARA offers the best values for alpha and F sub sol, as long as narrow angular tolerances of the panel orientation can be met. Analysis of the energy collecting properties for imperfect orientation shows the superiority of the hexagonal concentrator. This device can produce power for even large angles between the sun and the panel normal.

Effects of electron beam irradiation on electrification of and discharge from surface of artificial satellite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishimoto, Hironobu; Fujii, Haruhisa; Shibuya, Yoshikazu; Kasai, Koitaro; Abe, Toshio.

1986-01-01

Plasma has the largest influence on the electrification and discharge in the space environment. In the present study, satellite surface material is irradiated with an electron beam witch simulates the electron flow in the plasma, in order to investigate the mechanism of electrification and discharge and to provide basic information required for developing electrification prevention techniques. The heat-control material samples used include silver-deposited Teflon, aluminum-deposited Kapton, optical solar reflector and transparent conductive-coated aluminum-deposited Kapton. It is shown that silvered Teflon is electrified more easily than aluminized Kapton. Two types of discharge are found to occur in silvered Teflon: creeping discharge in thick samples (5 mil) and penetration break accompanied by creeping discharge in thin samples (1 mil). The discharge frequency increases with increasing beam current density and electron energy. The occurrence of discharge results in an increase in the sunlight absorption factor of silvered Teflon. When a set of four sheets of optical solar reflector is subjected to electron beam, active discharge is seen to take place between the sheets. It is also revealed that static electrification can be prevented effectively if the surface of heat-control material is coated with transparent conductive material such as indium oxide. (Nogami, K.)

Performance characterization of the SERI High-Flux Solar Furnace

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lewandowski, A.; Bingham, C. (Solar Energy Research Inst., Golden, CO (United States)); O' Gallagher, J.; Winston, R.; Sagie, D. (Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States))

1991-12-01

This paper describes a unique, new solar furnace at the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) that can generate a wide range of flux concentrations to support research in areas including materials processing, high-temperature detoxification and high-flux optics. The furnace is unique in that it uses a flat, tracking heliostat along with a long focal length-to-diameter (f/D) primary concentrator in an off-axis configuration. The experiments are located inside a building completely outside the beam between the heliostat and primary concentrator. The long f/D ratio of the primary concentrator was designed to take advantage of a nonimaging secondary concentrator to significantly increase the flux concentration capabilities of the system. Results are reported for both the single-stage and two-stage configurations. (orig.).

Concentrating Solar Power Projects - Planta Solar 20 | Concentrating Solar

Science.gov (United States)

Power | NREL 20 This page provides information on Planta Solar 20, a concentrating solar power Solar's Planta Solar 20 (PS20) is a 20-megawatt power tower plant being constructed next to the PS10 tower and increasing incident solar radiation capture will increase net electrical power output by 10

Conversion of solar radiation using parabolic mirrors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolanta Fieducik

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The use of solar energy is a promising source of renewable energy to cover the energy needs of our society. The aim of the study will be to analyze the possibility of converting solar energy using parabolic reflectors to the heat energy needed to meet the needs of hot water for a family of 4 people. This study presents simulations of the use of solar radiation using radiant concentration systems. The parabolic mirror directs the concentrated beam of sunlight onto a tube located in the focal plane, which is filled with water that under the influence of solar radiation heats up. This article assumes constant mirror geometry and tube cross section, while simulation is performed for different coefficients. For calculations it was assumed that the reflection coefficient of sunlight from the mirror r is variable and an analysis of its effect on the amount of heated liquid is made. The radiation absorption coefficient across the tube surface was determined by a, the thermal surface emissivity coefficient was determined as e and the simulations were performed at variable values for the amount of heated liquid. The calculations and their analysis show that, with appropriately chosen coefficients, it is possible to meet the needs of a 4-person family in warm water using the proposed installation in Poland.

A method to calibrate a solar pyranometer for measuring reference diffuse irradiance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reda, I.; Stoffel, T.; Myers, D. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)

2003-02-01

Accurate pyranometer calibrations, traceable to internationally recognized standards, are critical for solar irradiance measurements. One calibration method is the component summation, where the pyranometers are calibrated outdoors under clear sky conditions, and the reference global solar irradiance is calculated as the sum of two reference components, the diffuse and subtended beam solar irradiances. The beam component is measured with pyrheliometers traceable to the World Radiometric Reference, while there is no internationally recognized reference for the diffuse component. In the absence of such a reference, we present a method to consistently calibrate pyranometers for measuring the diffuse component with an estimated uncertainty of {+-} (3% of reading +1 W/m{sup 2}). The method is based on using a modified shade/unshade method, and pyranometers with less than 1 W/m{sup 2} thermal offset errors. We evaluated the consistency of our method by calibrating three pyranometers four times. Calibration results show that the responsivity change is within {+-} 0.52% for the three pyranometers. We also evaluated the effect of calibrating pyranometers unshaded, then using them shaded to measure diffuse irradiance. We calibrated three unshaded pyranometers using the component summation method. Their outdoor measurements of clear sky diffuse irradiance, from sunrise to sundown, showed that the three calibrated pyranometers can be used to measure the diffuse irradiance to within {+-} 1.4 W/m{sup 2} variation from the reference irradiance. (author)

Beam-beam phenomenology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teng, L.C.

1980-01-01

In colliding beam storage rings the beam collision regions are generally so short that the beam-beam interaction can be considered as a series of evenly spaced non-linear kicks superimposed on otherwise stable linear oscillations. Most of the numerical studies on computers were carried out in just this manner. But for some reason this model has not been extensively employed in analytical studies. This is perhaps because all analytical work has so far been done by mathematicians pursuing general transcendental features of non-linear mechanics for whom this specific model of the specific system of colliding beams is too parochial and too repugnantly physical. Be that as it may, this model is of direct interest to accelerator physicists and is amenable to (1) further simplification, (2) physical approximation, and (3) solution by analogy to known phenomena

Statistics of counter-streaming solar wind suprathermal electrons at solar minimum: STEREO observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Lavraud

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Previous work has shown that solar wind suprathermal electrons can display a number of features in terms of their anisotropy. Of importance is the occurrence of counter-streaming electron patterns, i.e., with "beams" both parallel and anti-parallel to the local magnetic field, which is believed to shed light on the heliospheric magnetic field topology. In the present study, we use STEREO data to obtain the statistical properties of counter-streaming suprathermal electrons (CSEs in the vicinity of corotating interaction regions (CIRs during the period March–December 2007. Because this period corresponds to a minimum of solar activity, the results are unrelated to the sampling of large-scale coronal mass ejections, which can lead to CSE owing to their closed magnetic field topology. The present study statistically confirms that CSEs are primarily the result of suprathermal electron leakage from the compressed CIR into the upstream regions with the combined occurrence of halo depletion at 90° pitch angle. The occurrence rate of CSE is found to be about 15–20% on average during the period analyzed (depending on the criteria used, but superposed epoch analysis demonstrates that CSEs are preferentially observed both before and after the passage of the stream interface (with peak occurrence rate >35% in the trailing high speed stream, as well as both inside and outside CIRs. The results quantitatively show that CSEs are common in the solar wind during solar minimum, but yet they suggest that such distributions would be much more common if pitch angle scattering were absent. We further argue that (1 the formation of shocks contributes to the occurrence of enhanced counter-streaming sunward-directed fluxes, but does not appear to be a necessary condition, and (2 that the presence of small-scale transients with closed-field topologies likely also contributes to the occurrence of counter-streaming patterns, but only in the slow solar wind prior to

Parabolic solar concentrator

Science.gov (United States)

Tecpoyotl-Torres, M.; Campos-Alvarez, J.; Tellez-Alanis, F.; Sánchez-Mondragón, J.

2006-08-01

In this work we present the basis of the solar concentrator design, which has is located at Temixco, Morelos, Mexico. For this purpose, this place is ideal due to its geographic and climatic conditions, and in addition, because it accounts with the greatest constant illumination in Mexico. For the construction of the concentrator we use a recycled parabolic plate of a telecommunications satellite dish (NEC). This plate was totally covered with Aluminum. The opening diameter is of 332 cm, the focal length is of 83 cm and the opening angle is of 90°. The geometry of the plate guaranties that the incident beams, will be collected at the focus. The mechanical treatment of the plate produces an average reflectance of 75% in the visible region of the solar spectrum, and of 92% for wavelengths up to 3μm in the infrared region. We obtain up to 2000°C of temperature concentration with this setup. The reflectance can be greatly improved, but did not consider it as typical practical use. The energy obtained can be applied to conditions that require of those high calorific energies. In order to optimize the operation of the concentrator we use a control circuit designed to track the apparent sun position.

Sine sweep and steady-state response of simplified solar array models with nonlinear elements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fey, R.H.B.; van Liempt, F.P.H.

2002-01-01

In this paper the nonlinear dynamic behaviour of two simplified solar array systems is investigated experimentally and numerically. A simplified beam model supported by one snubber (a bilinear spring which can only take compressive forces) is used to investigate the dynamics of the extension arm on

Atmospheric scattering corrections to solar radiometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Box, M.A.; Deepak, A.

1979-01-01

Whenever a solar radiometer is used to measure direct solar radiation, some diffuse sky radiation invariably enters the detector's field of view along with the direct beam. Therefore, the atmospheric optical depth obtained by the use of Bouguer's transmission law (also called Beer-Lambert's law), that is valid only for direct radiation, needs to be corrected by taking account of the scattered radiation. In this paper we shall discuss the correction factors needed to account for the diffuse (i.e., singly and multiply scattered) radiation and the algorithms developed for retrieving aerosol size distribution from such measurements. For a radiometer with a small field of view (half-cone angle 0 ) and relatively clear skies (optical depths <0.4), it is shown that the total diffuse contributions represents approximately l% of the total intensity. It is assumed here that the main contributions to the diffuse radiation within the detector's view cone are due to single scattering by molecules and aerosols and multiple scattering by molecules alone, aerosol multiple scattering contributions being treated as negligibly small. The theory and the numerical results discussed in this paper will be helpful not only in making corrections to the measured optical depth data but also in designing improved solar radiometers

Comparison between laser terahertz emission microscope and conventional methods for analysis of polycrystalline silicon solar cell

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hidetoshi Nakanishi

2015-11-01

Full Text Available A laser terahertz emission microscope (LTEM can be used for noncontact inspection to detect the waveforms of photoinduced terahertz emissions from material devices. In this study, we experimentally compared the performance of LTEM with conventional analysis methods, e.g., electroluminescence (EL, photoluminescence (PL, and laser beam induced current (LBIC, as an inspection method for solar cells. The results showed that LTEM was more sensitive to the characteristics of the depletion layer of the polycrystalline solar cell compared with EL, PL, and LBIC and that it could be used as a complementary tool to the conventional analysis methods for a solar cell.

A symplectic coherent beam-beam model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furman, M.A.

1989-05-01

We consider a simple one-dimensional model to study the effects of the beam-beam force on the coherent dynamics of colliding beams. The key ingredient is a linearized beam-beam kick. We study only the quadrupole modes, with the dynamical variables being the 2nd-order moments of the canonical variables q, p. Our model is self-consistent in the sense that no higher order moments are generated by the linearized beam-beam kicks, and that the only source of violation of symplecticity is the radiation. We discuss the round beam case only, in which vertical and horizontal quantities are assumed to be equal (though they may be different in the two beams). Depending on the values of the tune and beam intensity, we observe steady states in which otherwise identical bunches have sizes that are equal, or unequal, or periodic, or behave chaotically from turn to turn. Possible implications of luminosity saturation with increasing beam intensity are discussed. Finally, we present some preliminary applications to an asymmetric collider. 8 refs., 8 figs

A transitioning Arctic surface energy budget: the impacts of solar zenith angle, surface albedo and cloud radiative forcing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sedlar, Joseph; Tjernstroem, Michael; Leck, Caroline [Stockholm University, Department of Meteorology, Stockholm (Sweden); Mauritsen, Thorsten [Max-Planck-Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg (Germany); Shupe, Matthew D.; Persson, P.O.G. [University of Colorado, NOAA-ESRL-PSD, Boulder, CO (United States); Brooks, Ian M.; Birch, Cathryn E. [University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment, Leeds (United Kingdom); Sirevaag, Anders [University of Bergen, Bjerknes Center for Climate Research, Bergen (Norway); Nicolaus, Marcel [Norwegian Polar Institute, Tromsoe (Norway); Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany)

2011-10-15

Snow surface and sea-ice energy budgets were measured near 87.5 N during the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS), from August to early September 2008. Surface temperature indicated four distinct temperature regimes, characterized by varying cloud, thermodynamic and solar properties. An initial warm, melt-season regime was interrupted by a 3-day cold regime where temperatures dropped from near zero to -7 C. Subsequently mean energy budget residuals remained small and near zero for 1 week until once again temperatures dropped rapidly and the energy budget residuals became negative. Energy budget transitions were dominated by the net radiative fluxes, largely controlled by the cloudiness. Variable heat, moisture and cloud distributions were associated with changing air-masses. Surface cloud radiative forcing, the net radiative effect of clouds on the surface relative to clear skies, is estimated. Shortwave cloud forcing ranged between -50 W m{sup -2} and zero and varied significantly with surface albedo, solar zenith angle and cloud liquid water. Longwave cloud forcing was larger and generally ranged between 65 and 85 W m{sup -2}, except when the cloud fraction was tenuous or contained little liquid water; thus the net effect of the clouds was to warm the surface. Both cold periods occurred under tenuous, or altogether absent, low-level clouds containing little liquid water, effectively reducing the cloud greenhouse effect. Freeze-up progression was enhanced by a combination of increasing solar zenith angles and surface albedo, while inhibited by a large, positive surface cloud forcing until a new air-mass with considerably less cloudiness advected over the experiment area. (orig.)

Solar power satellite - A geostationary channel tunnel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bulloch, C

1981-12-01

The concept-development status of solar power satellite (SPS) systems is considered, with attention to Heavy-Lift Launch Vehicles (HLLVs), the construction methods to be used in either geostationary or low earth orbit, and the configuration of the solar array. By comparison with the 30-ton payload of the Space Shuttle, HLLV designs under consideration have payloads of 114 to 425 tons. The unit cost for 5-GW satellites, in 1977 dollars, is estimated at five billion dollars. Consideration is given to the possible deleterious environmental effects of both the 400 or more launches required for each SPS and such results of radio frequency energy transfer beam operation as the suppression of blood platelet production in human beings and ionospheric heating. The uncertainty that still surrounds the relative advantages of competing designs and the need for long-range, billion-dollar funding appear to be insuperable obstacles to the construction of SPSs.

Application of photoluminescence imaging and laser-beam-induced-current mapping in thin film solar cell characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Geyuan [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

2017-05-06

My research projects are focused on application of photonics, optics and micro- fabrication technology in energy related fields. Photonic crystal fabrication research has the potential to help us generate and use light more efficiently. In order to fabricate active 3D woodpile photonic structure devices, a woodpile template is needed to enable the crystal growth process. We developed a silica woodpile template fabrication process based on two polymer transfer molding technique. A silica woodpile template is demonstrated to work with temperature up to 900 C. It provides a more economical way to explore making better 3D active woodpile photonic devices like 3D photonic light emitting diodes (LED). Optical research on solar cell testing has the potential to make our energy generation more e cient and greener. PL imaging and LBIC mapping are used to measure CdTe solar cells with different back contacts. A strong correlation between PL image defects and LBIC map defects is observed. This opens up potential application for PL imaging in fast solar cell inspection. 2D laser IV scan shows its usage in 2D parameter mapping. We show its ability to generate important information about solar cell performance locally around PL image defects.

Hybrid sunlight/LED illumination and renewable solar energy saving concepts for indoor lighting.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuei, Chih-Hsuan; Sun, Wen-Shing; Kuo, Chien-Cheng

2010-11-08

A hybrid method for using sunlight and light-emitting diode (LED) illumination powered by renewable solar energy for indoor lighting is simulated and presented in this study. We can illuminate an indoor space and collect the solar energy using an optical switching system. When the system is turned off, the full spectrum of the sunlight is concentrated by a concentrator, to be absorbed by solar photovoltaic devices that provide the electricity to power the LEDs. When the system is turned on, the sunlight collected by the concentrator is split into visible and non-visible rays by a beam splitter. The visible rays pass through the light guide into a light box where it is mixed with LED light to ultimately provide uniform illumination by a diffuser. The non-visible rays are absorbed by the solar photovoltaic devices to provide electrical power for the LEDs. Simulation results show that the efficiency of the hybrid sunlight/LED illumination with the renewable solar energy saving design is better than that of LED and traditional lighting systems.

Beam halo in high-intensity beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wangler, T.P.

1993-01-01

In space-charge dominated beams the nonlinear space-charge forces produce a filamentation pattern, which in projection to the 2-D phase spaces results in a 2-component beam consisting of an inner core and a diffuse outer halo. The beam-halo is of concern for a next generation of cw, high-power proton linacs that could be applied to intense neutron generators for nuclear materials processing. The author describes what has been learned about beam halo and the evolution of space-charge dominated beams using numerical simulations of initial laminar beams in uniform linear focusing channels. Initial results are presented from a study of beam entropy for an intense space-charge dominated beam

Hybrids of Solar Sail, Solar Electric, and Solar Thermal Propulsion for Solar-System Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Wilcox, Brian H.

2012-01-01

Solar sails have long been known to be an attractive method of propulsion in the inner solar system if the areal density of the overall spacecraft (S/C) could be reduced to approx.10 g/sq m. It has also long been recognized that the figure (precise shape) of useful solar sails needs to be reasonably good, so that the reflected light goes mostly in the desired direction. If one could make large reflective surfaces with reasonable figure at an areal density of approx.10 g/sq m, then several other attractive options emerge. One is to use such sails as solar concentrators for solar-electric propulsion. Current flight solar arrays have a specific output of approx. 100W/kg at 1 Astronomical Unit (AU) from the sun, and near-term advances promise to significantly increase this figure. A S/C with an areal density of 10 g/sq m could accelerate up to 29 km/s per year as a solar sail at 1 AU. Using the same sail as a concentrator at 30 AU, the same spacecraft could have up to approx. 45 W of electric power per kg of total S/C mass available for electric propulsion (EP). With an EP system that is 50% power-efficient, exhausting 10% of the initial S/C mass per year as propellant, the exhaust velocity is approx. 119 km/s and the acceleration is approx. 12 km/s per year. This hybrid thus opens attractive options for missions to the outer solar system, including sample-return missions. If solar-thermal propulsion were perfected, it would offer an attractive intermediate between solar sailing in the inner solar system and solar electric propulsion for the outer solar system. In the example above, both the solar sail and solar electric systems don't have a specific impulse that is near-optimal for the mission. Solar thermal propulsion, with an exhaust velocity of the order of 10 km/s, is better matched to many solar system exploration missions. This paper derives the basic relationships between these three propulsion options and gives examples of missions that might be enabled by

Implementation of depolarization due to beam-beam effects in the beam-beam interaction simulation tool GUINEA-PIG++

Science.gov (United States)

Rimbault, C.; Le Meur, G.; Blampuy, F.; Bambade, P.; Schulte, D.

2009-12-01

Depolarization is a new feature in the beam-beam simulation tool GUINEA-PIG++ (GP++). The results of this simulation are studied and compared with another beam-beam simulation tool, CAIN, considering different beam parameters for the International Linear Collider (ILC) with a centre-of-mass energy of 500 GeV.

Proposal of leak path passivation for InGaN solar cells to reduce the leakage current

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Ke, E-mail: ke.wang@chiba-u.jp; Imai, Daichi; Kusakabe, Kazuhide [Center for SMART Green Innovation Research, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522 (Japan); Yoshikawa, Akihiko, E-mail: yoshi@faculty.chiba-u.jp [Center for SMART Green Innovation Research, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522 (Japan); Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kogakuin University, Nakano-cho, Hachioji, Tokyo 2665-1 (Japan)

2016-01-25

We propose some general ways to passivate the leak paths in InGaN solar cells and report some experimental evidences of its effectiveness. By adopting an AlOx passivation process, the photovoltaic performances of GaN pn-junctions and InGaN solar cells, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, have been significantly improved. The open circuit voltage under 1 sun illumination increases from 1.46 to 2.26 V for a GaN pn junction, and from 0.95 to 1.27 V for an InGaN solar cell, demonstrating evidence of leak path passivation (LPP) by AlOx. The proposed LPP is expected to be a realistic way to exploit the potential of thick and relaxed but defective InGaN for solar cell applications.

Think the way to measure the Earth Radiation Budget and the Total Solar Irradiance with a small satellites constellation

Science.gov (United States)

Meftah, M.; Keckhut, P.; Damé, L.; Bekki, S.; Sarkissian, A.; Hauchecorne, A.

2018-05-01

Within the past decade, satellites constellations have become possible and practical. One of the interest to use a satellites constellation is to measure the true Earth Radiation Imbalance, which is a crucial quantity for testing climate models and for predicting the future course of global warming. This measurement presents a high interest because the 2001-2010 decade has not shown the accelerating pace of global warming that most models predict, despite the fact that the greenhouse-gas radiative forcing continues to rise. All estimates (ocean heat content and top of atmosphere) show that over the past decade the Earth radiation imbalance ranges between 0.5 to 1W-2. Up to now, the Earth radiation imbalance has not been measured directly. The only way to measure the imbalance with sufficient accuracy is to measure both the incoming solar radiations (total solar irradiance) and the outgoing terrestrial radiations (top of atmosphere outgoing longwave radiations and shortwave radiations) onboard the same satellite, and ideally, with the same instrument. The incoming solar radiations and the outgoing terrestrial radiations are of nearly equal magnitude of the order of 340.5W-2. The objective is to measure these quantities over time by using differential Sun-Earth measurements (to counter calibration errors) with an accuracy better than 0.05Wm-2 at 1σ. It is also necessary to have redundant instruments to track aging in space in order to measure during a decade and to measure the global diurnal cycle with a dozen satellites. Solar irradiance and Earth Radiation Budget (SERB) is a potential first in orbit demonstration satellite. The SERB nano-satellite aims to measure on the same platform the different components of the Earth radiation budget and the total solar irradiance. Instrumental payloads (solar radiometer and Earth radiometers) can acquire the technical maturity for the future large missions (constellation that insure global measurement cover) by flying in a

Beam-plasma instability in ion beam systems used in neutral beam generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hooper, E.B. Jr.

1977-02-01

The beam-plasma instability is analyzed for the ion beams used for neutral beam generation. Both positive and negative ion beams are considered. Stability is predicted when the beam velocity is less than the electron thermal velocity; the only exception occurs when the electron density accompanying a negative ion beam is less than the ion density by nearly the ratio of electron to ion masses. For cases in which the beam velocity is greater than the electron thermal velocity, instability is predicted near the electron plasma frequency

Concentrating Solar Power Projects - Khi Solar One | Concentrating Solar

Science.gov (United States)

Power | NREL Khi Solar One This page provides information on Khi Solar One, a concentrating solar power (CSP) project, with data organized by background, parcipants and power plant configuration . Status Date: February 8, 2016 Project Overview Project Name: Khi Solar One Country: South Africa Location

Shortwave forcing and feedbacks in Last Glacial Maximum and Mid-Holocene PMIP3 simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Braconnot, Pascale; Kageyama, Masa

2015-11-13

Simulations of the climates of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), 21 000 years ago, and of the Mid-Holocene (MH), 6000 years ago, allow an analysis of climate feedbacks in climate states that are radically different from today. The analyses of cloud and surface albedo feedbacks show that the shortwave cloud feedback is a major driver of differences between model results. Similar behaviours appear when comparing the LGM and MH simulated changes, highlighting the fingerprint of model physics. Even though the different feedbacks show similarities between the different climate periods, the fact that their relative strength differs from one climate to the other prevents a direct comparison of past and future climate sensitivity. The land-surface feedback also shows large disparities among models even though they all produce positive sea-ice and snow feedbacks. Models have very different sensitivities when considering the vegetation feedback. This feedback has a regional pattern that differs significantly between models and depends on their level of complexity and model biases. Analyses of the MH climate in two versions of the IPSL model provide further indication on the possibilities to assess the role of model biases and model physics on simulated climate changes using past climates for which observations can be used to assess the model results. © 2015 The Author(s).

Scattering of field-aligned beam ions upstream of Earth's bow shock

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Kis

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Field-aligned beams are known to originate from the quasi-perpendicular side of the Earth's bow shock, while the diffuse ion population consists of accelerated ions at the quasi-parallel side of the bow shock. The two distinct ion populations show typical characteristics in their velocity space distributions. By using particle and magnetic field measurements from one Cluster spacecraft we present a case study when the two ion populations are observed simultaneously in the foreshock region during a high Mach number, high solar wind velocity event. We present the spatial-temporal evolution of the field-aligned beam ion distribution in front of the Earth's bow shock, focusing on the processes in the deep foreshock region, i.e. on the quasi-parallel side. Our analysis demonstrates that the scattering of field-aligned beam (FAB ions combined with convection by the solar wind results in the presence of lower-energy, toroidal gyrating ions at positions deeper in the foreshock region which are magnetically connected to the quasi-parallel bow shock. The gyrating ions are superposed onto a higher energy diffuse ion population. It is suggested that the toroidal gyrating ion population observed deep in the foreshock region has its origins in the FAB and that its characteristics are correlated with its distance from the FAB, but is independent on distance to the bow shock along the magnetic field.

Wavelength-modulated spectroscopy of the sub-bandgap response of solar cell devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mandanirina, N.H., E-mail: s213514095@nmmu.ac.za; Botha, J.R.; Wagener, M.C.

2016-01-01

A wavelength-modulation setup for measuring the differential photo-response of a GaSb/GaAs quantum ring solar cell structure is reported. The pseudo-monochromatic wavelength is modulated at the output of a conventional monochromator by means of a vibrating slit mechanism. The vibrating slit was able to modulate the excitation wavelength up to 33 nm. The intensity of the light beam was kept constant through a unique flux correction module, designed and built in-house. The setup enabled measurements in the near-infrared range (from 1000 to 1300 nm), which is specifically used to probe the sub-band gap differential photo-response of GaAs solar cells.

Concentrating Solar Power Projects - Nevada Solar One | Concentrating Solar

Science.gov (United States)

Power | NREL Nevada Solar One This page provides information on Nevada Solar One, a concentrating solar power (CSP) project, with data organized by background, participants, and power plant configuration. Acciona Energy's Nevada Solar One is the third largest CSP plant in the world and the first plant

PROTON HEATING IN SOLAR WIND COMPRESSIBLE TURBULENCE WITH COLLISIONS BETWEEN COUNTER-PROPAGATING WAVES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Jiansen; Tu, Chuanyi; Wang, Linghua; Pei, Zhongtian [School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 (China); Marsch, Eckart [Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, D-24118 Kiel (Germany); Chen, Christopher H. K. [Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Zhang, Lei [Sate Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Salem, Chadi S.; Bale, Stuart D., E-mail: jshept@gmail.com [Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2015-11-10

Magnetohydronamic turbulence is believed to play a crucial role in heating laboratory, space, and astrophysical plasmas. However, the precise connection between the turbulent fluctuations and the particle kinetics has not yet been established. Here we present clear evidence of plasma turbulence heating based on diagnosed wave features and proton velocity distributions from solar wind measurements by the Wind spacecraft. For the first time, we can report the simultaneous observation of counter-propagating magnetohydrodynamic waves in the solar wind turbulence. As opposed to the traditional paradigm with counter-propagating Alfvén waves (AWs), anti-sunward AWs are encountered by sunward slow magnetosonic waves (SMWs) in this new type of solar wind compressible turbulence. The counter-propagating AWs and SWs correspond, respectively, to the dominant and sub-dominant populations of the imbalanced Elsässer variables. Nonlinear interactions between the AWs and SMWs are inferred from the non-orthogonality between the possible oscillation direction of one wave and the possible propagation direction of the other. The associated protons are revealed to exhibit bi-directional asymmetric beams in their velocity distributions: sunward beams appear in short, narrow patterns and anti-sunward in broad extended tails. It is suggested that multiple types of wave–particle interactions, i.e., cyclotron and Landau resonances with AWs and SMWs at kinetic scales, are taking place to jointly heat the protons perpendicular and in parallel.

Feasibility studies of the geochemical Ti-205 solar neutrino experiment

CERN Document Server

Neumaier, S; Nolte, E; Morinaga, H

1991-01-01

New investigations on the signal to background ratio of the geochemical 205Tl( v., e-)205Pb solar neutrino experiment are presented. The neutrino capture rate of 205Tl and a possible reduction of the neutrino signal due to neutrino oscillations in matter are discussed. The contributions of natural radioactivity, stopped negative muons and fast muons to the background of 205Pb are estimated. The production of radioisotopes in the lead region induced by cosmic ray muons was studied at the high energy muon beam (M2) of CERN with 120, 200 and 280 GeV muons. The background contribution of cosmic ray muons is found to be significantly higher than expected by former estimations and restricts the feasibility of the 205Tl solar neutrino experiment.

Solar energy captured by a curved collector designed for architectural integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodríguez-Sánchez, D.; Belmonte, J.F.; Izquierdo-Barrientos, M.A.; Molina, A.E.; Rosengarten, G.; Almendros-Ibáñez, J.A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We present a new prototype of solar collector for architectural integration. • Equations of the solar radiation on a curved surface. • We compare the energy intercepted by the prototype with the energy intercepted by conventional collectors. • The prototype can be competitive compared with conventional collectors. - Abstract: In this paper we present a prototype for a new type of solar thermal collector designed for architectural integration. In this proposal, the conventional geometry of a flat solar thermal collector is changed to a curved geometry, to improve its visual impact when mounted on a building facade or roof. The mathematical equations for the beam and diffuse solar radiation received by a collector with this geometry are developed for two different orientations, horizontal and vertical. The performance of this curved prototype, in terms of solar radiation received, is compared with a conventional tilted-surface collector for different orientations in Madrid (Spain). The comparison is made for typical clear-sky days in winter and summer as well as for an entire year. The results demonstrate that the curved collector only receives between 12% and 25% less radiation than the conventional tilted-surface collectors when oriented horizontally, depending on the azimuth of the curved surface, although these percentages are reduced to approximately 50% when the collector is oriented vertically

A Study of Solar Flare Effects on Mid and High Latitude Radio Wave Propagation using SuperDARN.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruohoniemi, J. M.; Chakraborty, S.; Baker, J. B.

2017-12-01

Over the Horizon (OTH) communication is strongly dependent on the state of the ionosphere, which is sensitive to solar X-ray flares. The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN), whose working principle is dependent on trans-ionospheric radio communication, uses HF radio waves to remotely sense the ionosphere. The backscatter returns from the terrestrial surface (also known as ground-scatter) transit the ionosphere four times and simulate the operation of an HF communications link. SuperDARN backscatter signal properties are altered (strongly attenuated and changes apparent phase) during a sudden ionospheric disturbance following a solar flare, commonly known as Short-Wave Fadeout or SWF. During an SWF the number of SuperDARN backscatter echoes drops suddenly (≈1 min) and sharply, often to near zero, and recovers within 30 minutes to an hour. In this study HF propagation data (SuperDARN backscatter) obtained during SWF events are analyzed for the purpose of validating and improving the performance of HF absorption models, such as, Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) D-region Absorption model (DRAP) and CCMC physics based AbbyNormal model. We will also present preliminary results from a physics based model for the mid and high latitude ionospheric response to flare-driven space weather anomalies, which can be used to estimate different physical parameters of the ionosphere such as electron density, collision frequency, absorption coefficients, response time of D-region etc.

Beam Techniques - Beam Control and Manipulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minty, Michiko G

2003-01-01

We describe commonly used strategies for the control of charged particle beams and the manipulation of their properties. Emphasis is placed on relativistic beams in linear accelerators and storage rings. After a brief review of linear optics, we discuss basic and advanced beam control techniques, such as transverse and longitudinal lattice diagnostics, matching, orbit correction and steering, beam-based alignment, and linac emittance preservation. A variety of methods for the manipulation of particle beam properties are also presented, for instance, bunch length and energy compression, bunch rotation, changes to the damping partition number, and beam collimation. The different procedures are illustrated by examples from various accelerators. Special topics include injection and extraction methods, beam cooling, spin transport and polarization

Beam Techniques - Beam Control and Manipulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minty, Michiko G

2003-04-24

We describe commonly used strategies for the control of charged particle beams and the manipulation of their properties. Emphasis is placed on relativistic beams in linear accelerators and storage rings. After a brief review of linear optics, we discuss basic and advanced beam control techniques, such as transverse and longitudinal lattice diagnostics, matching, orbit correction and steering, beam-based alignment, and linac emittance preservation. A variety of methods for the manipulation of particle beam properties are also presented, for instance, bunch length and energy compression, bunch rotation, changes to the damping partition number, and beam collimation. The different procedures are illustrated by examples from various accelerators. Special topics include injection and extraction methods, beam cooling, spin transport and polarization.

Beam-beam studies for FCC-hh

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2068329; Pieloni, Tatiana; Buffat, Xavier; Furuseth, Sondre Vik

2017-01-01

The Future Circular Collider hadron-hadron (FCC-hh) design study is currently exploring different IR design possibilities including round and flat optics or different crossing schemes. The present study intends to evaluate each scenario from the beam-beam effects point of view. In particular the single particle long term stability to maximize beam lifetimes and luminosity reach is used to quantify the differences. The impact of strong head on interactions on the beam quality and lifetime is addressed by means of GPU accelerated simulations code featuring a weak-strong 6-dimensional beam-beam interaction.

Dynamical chaos and beam-beam models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izrailev, F.M.

1990-01-01

Some aspects of the nonlinear dynamics of beam-beam interaction for simple one-dimensional and two-dimensional models of round and flat beams are discussed. The main attention is paid to the stochasticity threshold due to the overlapping of nonlinear resonances. The peculiarities of a round beam are investigated in view of using the round beams in storage rings to get high luminosity. 16 refs.; 7 figs

Beam, multi-beam and broad beam production with COMIC devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sortais, P.; Lamy, T.; Medard, J.; Angot, J.; Peaucelle, C.

2012-01-01

The COMIC discharge cavity is a very versatile technology. We will present new results and devices that match new applications like: molecular beams, ultra compact beam line for detectors calibrations, quartz source for on-line application, high voltage platform source, sputtering /assistance broad beams and finally, a quite new use, high energy multi-beam production for surface material modifications. In more details, we will show that the tiny discharge of COMIC can mainly produce molecular ions (H 3+ ). We will present the preliminary operation of the fully quartz ISOLDE COMIC version, in collaboration with IPN Lyon, we will present a first approach for a slit extraction version of a three cavity device, and after discussing about various extraction systems on the multi discharge device (41 cavities) we will show the low energy broad beam (2 KV) and high energy multi-beams (10 beams up to 30 KV) productions. We will specially present the different extraction systems adapted to each application and the beams characteristics which are strongly dependent on the voltage distribution of an accel-accel two electrodes extraction system. The paper is followed by the slides of the presentation. (authors)

Fuzzy rule-based model for optimum orientation of solar panels using satellite image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaher, A; Thiery, F; Grieu, S; Traoré, A; N’goran, Y

2017-01-01

In solar energy converting systems, a particular attention is paid to the orientation of solar collectors in order to optimize the overall system efficiency. In this context, the collectors can be fixed or oriented by a continuous solar tracking system. The proposed approach is based on METEOSAT images processing in order to detect the cloud coverage and its duration. These two parameters are treated by a fuzzy inference system deciding the optimal position of the solar panel. In fact, three weather cases can be considered: clear, partly covered or overcast sky. In the first case, the direct sunlight is more important than the diffuse radiation, thus the panel is always pointed towards the sun. In the overcast case, the solar beam is close to zero and the panel is placed horizontally to receive the diffuse radiation. Under partly covered conditions, the fuzzy inference system decides which of the previous positions is more efficient. The proposed approach is implemented using experimental prototype located in Perpignan (France). On a period of 17 months, the results are very satisfactory, with power gains of up to 23 % compared to the collectors oriented by a continuous solar tracking. (paper)

Internal plasma state of the high speed solar wind at 1 AU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldman, W.C.; Abraham--Shrauner, B.; Asbridge, J.R.; Bame, S.J.

1976-01-01

The character of particle velocity distributions in the high speed solar wind is presented. It is found that electron distribution shapes differ from simple bi-Maxwellians in that a hot, strongly beamed, high energy electron component is always present and is observed to move relative to a distinct low energy electron component along the magnetic field direction, B, away from the sun. The velocity difference between hot and cold electron components appears, at times, to be strongly correlated with the local Alfven speed. This correlation suggests that the solar wind heat flux is being limited some of the time in the neighborhood of 1 AU. Proton velocity distributions are also best described in terms of two relatively convecting, unresolved components. The velocity of the lower density proton beam component is generally larger than that of the main component and the temperature of the main component perpendicular to B is typically 2 to 3 times larger than its parallel temperature. Alpha particles as a whole generally move faster than the protons along B and have a temperature which is, on the average, 6 times higher than the temperature of the total proton population. Evidence is presented which supports the idea that the two-component proton structure observed in high speed regions is intimately related to fine scale velocity variations at 1 AU, and hence by inference, to prominent spatial and/or temporal structures present throughout that part of the corona from which the solar wind evolves

Sculptured platinum nanowire counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Hyeonseok [Department of Electrical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802 (United States); Horn, Mark W., E-mail: MHorn@engr.psu.edu [Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802-6812 (United States)

2013-07-01

Sculptured platinum nanowire thin films were formed by oblique angle electron beam evaporation with a 5° vapor incidence angle and incorporated as counter electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). For the comparison of the performance, bare fluorine doped tin oxide, planar Pt electrodes and counter electrodes treated with chloroplatinic acid were prepared. The sculptured Pt nanowire electrodes showed five times lower charge transfer resistance (0.121 [Ω∗cm{sup 2}]) than that of Pt planar electrode (0.578 [Ω∗cm{sup 2}]) and when the Pt nanowire electrodes are treated with an H{sub 2}PtCl{sub 6} solution have more than ten times lower charge transfer resistance (0.04025 [Ω∗cm{sup 2}]). Moreover, Pt nanowire films used as a counter electrode lead to enhancement in current density and efficiency in comparison with Pt planar counter electrodes. The conversion efficiency with planar electrodes was 5.1 [%] while the efficiency of DSSC with platinum nanowire counter electrodes reached to 5.63 [%] under AM 1.5 illumination. - Highlights: • Pt sculptured thin films (STFs) fabricated by electron beam evaporator. • The STFs featured higher roughness and lower charge transfer resistance. • Improved performance of dye-sensitized solar cells by Pt STFs counter electrodes.

Beam-beam limit in e+e- circular colliders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohmi, K.; Tawada, M.; Kamada, S.; Oide, K.; Cai, Y.; Qiang, J.

2004-01-01

Beam-beam effects limit the luminosity of circular colliders. Once the bunch population exceeds a threshold, the luminosity increases at a slower rate. This phenomenon is called the beam-beam limit. Onset of the beam-beam limit has been analyzed with various simulation methods based on the weak-strong and strong-strong models. We have observed that an incoherent phenomenon is mainly concerned in the beam-beam limit. The simulation have shown that equilibrium distributions of the two colliding beams are distorted from Gaussians when the luminosity is limited. The beam-beam limit is estimated to be ξ∼0.1 for a B factory with damping time of several thousand turns

An Exploration Perspective of Beamed Energy Propulsion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cole, John

2008-01-01

The Vision for Exploration is currently focused on flying the Space Shuttle safely to complete our Space Station obligations, retiring the Shuttle in 2010, then returning humans to the Moon and learning how to proceed to Mars and beyond. The NASA budget still includes funds for science and aeronautics but the primary focus is on human exploration. Fiscal constraints have led to pursuing exploration vehicles that use heritage hardware, particularly existing boosters and engines, with the minimum modifications necessary to satisfy mission requirements. So, pursuit of immature technologies is not currently affordable by NASA. Beamed energy is one example of an immature technology, from a human exploration perspective, that may eventually provide significant benefits for human exploration of space, but likely not in the near future. Looking to the more distant future, this paper will examine some of the criteria that must be achieved by beamed energy propulsion to eventually contribute to human exploration of the solar system. The analysis focuses on some of the implications of increasing the payload fraction of a launch vehicle, with a quick look at trans-lunar injection. As one would expect, there is potential for benefit, and there are concerns. The analysis concludes with an assessment of the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for some beamed energy propulsion components, indicating that TRL 2 is close to being completed

Detailed spectra of high power broadband microwave radiation from interactions of relativistic electron beams with weakly magnetized plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, K.G.; Benford, G.; Tzach, D.

1983-01-01

Prodigious quantities of microwave energy are observed uniformly across a wide frequency band when a relativistic electron beam (REB) penetrates a plasma. Measurement calculations are illustrated. A model of Compton-like boosting of ambient plasma waves by beam electrons, with collateral emission of high frequency photons, qualitatively explain the spectra. A transition in spectral behavior is observed from the weak to strong turbulence theories advocated for Type III solar burst radiation, and further into the regime the authors characterize as super-strong REB-plasma interactions

Greenhouse Observations of the Stratosphere and Troposphere (GHOST): a novel shortwave infrared spectrometer developed for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Humpage, Neil; Boesch, Hartmut; Palmer, Paul; Parr-Burman, Phil; Vick, Andy; Bezawada, Naidu; Black, Martin; Born, Andy; Pearson, David; Strachan, Jonathan; Wells, Martyn

2014-05-01

The tropospheric distribution of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is dependent on surface flux variations, atmospheric chemistry and transport processes over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Errors in assumed atmospheric transport can adversely affect surface flux estimates inferred from surface, aircraft or satellite observations of greenhouse gas concentrations using inverse models. We present a novel, compact shortwave infrared spectrometer (GHOST) for installation on the NASA Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle to provide tropospheric column observations of CO2, CO, CH4, H2O and HDO over the ocean to address the need for large-scale, simultaneous, finely resolved measurements of key GHGs. These species cover a range of lifetimes and source processes, and measurements of their tropospheric columns will reflect the vertically integrated signal of their vertical and horizontal transport within the troposphere. The primary science objectives of GHOST are to: 1) provide observations which can be used to test atmospheric transport models; 2) validate satellite observations of GHG column observations over oceans, thus filling a critical gap in current validation capabilities; and 3) complement in-situ tropopause transition layer tracer observations from other instrumentation on board the Global Hawk to provide a link between upper and lower troposphere concentration measurements. The GHOST spectrometer system comprises a target acquisition module (TAM), a fibre slicer and feed system, and a multiple order spectrograph. The TAM design utilises a gimbal behind an optical dome, which is programmed to direct solar radiation reflected by the ocean surface into a fibre optic bundle. The fibre slicer and feed system then splits the light into the four spectral bands using order sorting filters. The fibres corresponding to each band are arranged with a small sideways offset to correctly centre each spectrum on the detector array. The spectrograph design is unique in that a

Beam diagnostics for low energy beams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Harasimowicz

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Low-energetic ion and antimatter beams are very attractive for a number of fundamental studies. The diagnostics of such beams, however, is a challenge due to low currents down to only a few thousands of particles per second and significant fraction of energy loss in matter at keV beam energies. A modular set of particle detectors has been developed to suit the particular beam diagnostic needs of the ultralow-energy storage ring (USR at the future facility for low-energy antiproton and ion research, accommodating very low beam intensities at energies down to 20 keV. The detectors include beam-profile monitors based on scintillating screens and secondary electron emission, sensitive Faraday cups for absolute intensity measurements, and capacitive pickups for beam position monitoring. In this paper, the design of all detectors is presented in detail and results from beam measurements are shown. The resolution limits of all detectors are described and options for further improvement summarized. Whilst initially developed for the USR, the instrumentation described in this paper is also well suited for use in other low-intensity, low-energy accelerators, storage rings, and beam lines.

Optimizing the updated Goddard shortwave radiation Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) scheme for Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Mielikainen, Jarno; Huang, Bormin; Huang, Allen H.-L.

2015-05-01

Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) ushers in a new era of supercomputing speed, performance, and compatibility. It allows the developers to run code at trillions of calculations per second using the familiar programming model. In this paper, we present our results of optimizing the updated Goddard shortwave radiation Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) scheme on Intel Many Integrated Core Architecture (MIC) hardware. The Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor is the first product based on Intel MIC architecture, and it consists of up to 61 cores connected by a high performance on-die bidirectional interconnect. The co-processor supports all important Intel development tools. Thus, the development environment is familiar one to a vast number of CPU developers. Although, getting a maximum performance out of Xeon Phi will require using some novel optimization techniques. Those optimization techniques are discusses in this paper. The results show that the optimizations improved performance of the original code on Xeon Phi 7120P by a factor of 1.3x.

Measurement and modeling of shortwave irradiance components in cloud-free atmospheres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halthore, R.N.

1999-08-04

Atmosphere scatters and absorbs incident solar radiation modifying its spectral content and decreasing its intensity at the surface. It is very useful to classify the earth-atmospheric solar radiation into several components--direct solar surface irradiance (E{sub direct}), diffuse-sky downward surface irradiance (E{sub diffuse}), total surface irradiance, and upwelling flux at the surface and at the top-of-the atmosphere. E{sub direct} depends only on the extinction properties of the atmosphere without regard to details of extinction, namely scattering or absorption; furthermore it can be accurately measured to high accuracy (0.3%) with the aid of an active cavity radiometer (ACR). E{sub diffuse} has relatively larger uncertainties both in its measurement using shaded pyranometers and in model estimates, owing to the difficulty in accurately characterizing pyranometers and in measuring model inputs such as surface reflectance, aerosol single scattering albedo, and phase function. Radiative transfer model simulations of the above surface radiation components in cloud-free skies using measured atmospheric properties show that while E{sub direct} estimates are closer to measurements, E{sub diffuse} is overestimated by an amount larger than the combined uncertainties in model inputs and measurements, illustrating a fundamental gap in the understanding of the magnitude of atmospheric absorption in cloud-free skies. The excess continuum type absorption required to reduce the E{sub diffuse} model overestimate ({approximately}3--8% absorptance) would significantly impact climate prediction and remote sensing. It is not clear at present what the source for this continuum absorption is. Here issues related to measurements and modeling of the surface irradiance components are discussed.

Beam-beam interactions in p-p storage rings

CERN Document Server

Keil, Eberhard

1977-01-01

There are two lectures. The first one (sections 2 to 5) deals with the theoretical aspects of the beam-beam interaction, and the second one (sections 6 to 8) describes the results of experiments in the ISR. Section 3 describes the strength of the beam-beam interaction in terms of the linear tune shift Delta Q which has been calculated for several models. Because of the non-uniform density distribution in the beam the force results in a tune spread. This can be calculated by a perturbation method as explained in section 4. Section 5 discusses the simulation of the beam-beam interaction on a computer. Finally, section 6 reviews beam-beam phenomena observed in the CERN-ISR. These include the absence of observable beam-beam effects in unbunched beams, overlap knock-out resonances, collisions between a low-energy beam and a high-intensity stack, experiments with a nonlinear lens, and experiments with a high- beta insertion. (20 refs).

ONSETS AND SPECTRA OF IMPULSIVE SOLAR ENERGETIC ELECTRON EVENTS OBSERVED NEAR THE EARTH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kontar, Eduard P.; Reid, Hamish A. S.

2009-01-01

Impulsive solar energetic electrons are often observed in the interplanetary space near the Earth and have an attractive diagnostic potential for poorly understood solar flare acceleration processes. We investigate the transport of solar flare energetic electrons in the heliospheric plasma to understand the role of transport to the observed onset and spectral properties of the impulsive solar electron events. The propagation of energetic electrons in solar wind plasma is simulated from the acceleration region at the Sun to the Earth, taking into account self-consistent generation and absorption of electrostatic electron plasma (Langmuir) waves, effects of nonuniform plasma, collisions, and Landau damping. The simulations suggest that the beam-driven plasma turbulence and the effects of solar wind density inhomogeneity play a crucial role and lead to the appearance of (1) a spectral break for a single power-law injected electron spectrum, with the spectrum flatter below the break, (2) apparent early onset of low-energy electron injection, and (3) the apparent late maximum of low-energy electron injection. We show that the observed onsets, spectral flattening at low energies, and formation of a break energy at tens of keV is the direct manifestation of wave-particle interactions in nonuniform plasma of a single accelerated electron population with an initial power-law spectrum.

Solar neutrinos and nonradial solar oscillations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zatsepin, G.T.; Gavryuseva, E.A.; Kopysov, Yu.S.

1980-01-01

The problem of origin of surface solar oscillations is considered. It is assumed that generation of oscillations is performed by the solar nucleus. The necessary excitation condition for gravitational oscillations of the solar nucleus is a sharp decrease of the oscillation amplitude outside the nucleus, where the nuclear reaction rates are small and only radiation losses are considerable. It is shown that the specific singularities of gravitational wave propagation in solar entrails permit to attain a significant reduction of the oscillation amplitude. The solar entrails can serve as an effective trap for gravitational waves, if the substance of the solar nucleus is close to the state of convectional equilibrium. In order that the g 1 quadrupole mode of the solar nucleus has a period of 2h 40 min and sharply decreases in the solar mantle, it is enough that only the external part of the solar nucleus is close to the state of convectional equilibrium. Closeness of the solar nucleus to the state of convectional equilibrium is an argument in favour of its periodic mixing. Periodic mixing of the solar nucleus can serve as a cause of a low counting rate of solar neutrinos in R.Davis chlorous detector

Image motion compensation by area correlation and centroid tracking of solar surface features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nein, M.E.; Mcintosh, W.R.; Cumings, N.P.

1983-07-01

An experimental solar correlation tracker was tested and evaluated on a ground-based solar magnetograph. Using sunspots as fixed targets, tracking error signals were derived by which the telescope image was stabilized against wind induced perturbations. Two methods of stabilization were investigated mechanical stabilization of the image by controlled two-axes motion of an active optical element in the telescope beam, and electronic stabilization by biasing of the electron scan in the recording camera. Both approaches have demonstrated telescope stability of about 0.6 arc sec under random perturbations which can cause the unstabilized image to move up to 120 arc sec at frequencies up to 30 Hz

Image motion compensation by area correlation and centroid tracking of solar surface features