Surface and Interface Physics of Correlated Electron Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Millis, Andrew [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)

2004-09-01

The {\\it Surface and Interface Physics of Correlated Electron Materials} research program provided conceptual understanding of and theoretical methodologies for understanding the properties of surfaces and interfaces involving materials exhibiting strong electronic correlations. The issues addressed in this research program are important for basic science, because the behavior of correlated electron superlattices is a crucial challenge to and crucial test of our understanding of the grand-challenge problem of correlated electron physics and are important for our nation's energy future because correlated interfaces offer opportunities for the control of phenomena needed for energy and device applications. Results include new physics insights, development of new methods, and new predictions for materials properties.

Computational design of surfaces, nanostructures and optoelectronic materials

Science.gov (United States)

Choudhary, Kamal

Properties of engineering materials are generally influenced by defects such as point defects (vacancies, interstitials, substitutional defects), line defects (dislocations), planar defects (grain boundaries, free surfaces/nanostructures, interfaces, stacking faults) and volume defects (voids). Classical physics based molecular dynamics and quantum physics based density functional theory can be useful in designing materials with controlled defect properties. In this thesis, empirical potential based molecular dynamics was used to study the surface modification of polymers due to energetic polyatomic ion, thermodynamics and mechanics of metal-ceramic interfaces and nanostructures, while density functional theory was used to screen substituents in optoelectronic materials. Firstly, polyatomic ion-beams were deposited on polymer surfaces and the resulting chemical modifications of the surface were examined. In particular, S, SC and SH were deposited on amorphous polystyrene (PS), and C2H, CH3, and C3H5 were deposited on amorphous poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) using molecular dynamics simulations with classical reactive empirical many-body (REBO) potentials. The objective of this work was to elucidate the mechanisms by which the polymer surface modification took place. The results of the work could be used in tailoring the incident energy and/or constituents of ion beam for obtaining a particular chemistry inside the polymer surface. Secondly, a new Al-O-N empirical potential was developed within the charge optimized many body (COMB) formalism. This potential was then used to examine the thermodynamic stability of interfaces and mechanical properties of nanostructures composed of aluminum, its oxide and its nitride. The potentials were tested for these materials based on surface energies, defect energies, bulk phase stability, the mechanical properties of the most stable bulk phase, its phonon properties as well as with a genetic algorithm based evolution theory of

Solar energy converter using surface plasma waves

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, L. M. (Inventor)

1984-01-01

Sunlight is dispersed over a diffraction grating formed on the surface of a conducting film on a substrate. The angular dispersion controls the effective grating period so that a matching spectrum of surface plasmons is excited for parallel processing on the conducting film. The resulting surface plasmons carry energy to an array of inelastic tunnel diodes. This solar energy converter does not require different materials for each frequency band, and sunlight is directly converted to electricity in an efficient manner by extracting more energy from the more energetic photons.

Statistical studies on the light output and energy resolution of small LSO single crystals with different surface treatments combined with various reflector materials

CERN Document Server

Heinrichs, U; Bussmann, N; Engels, R; Kemmerling, G; Weber, S; Ziemons, K

2002-01-01

The optimization of light output and energy resolution of scintillators is of special interest for the development of high resolution and high sensitivity PET. The aim of this work is to obtain statistically reliable results concerning optimal surface treatment of scintillation crystals and the selection of reflector material. For this purpose, raw, mechanically polished and etched LSO crystals (size 2x2x10 mm sup 3) were combined with various reflector materials (Teflon tape, Teflon matrix, BaSO sub 4) and exposed to a sup 2 sup 2 Na source. In order to ensure the statistical reliability of the results, groups of 10 LSO crystals each were measured for all combinations of surface treatment and reflector material. Using no reflector material the light output increased up to 551+-35% by mechanical polishing the surface compared to 100+-5% for raw crystals. Etching the surface increased the light output to 441+-29%. The untreated crystals had an energy resolution of 24.6+-4.0%. By mechanical polishing the surfac...

Surface free energy of alkali and transition metal nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aqra, Fathi; Ayyad, Ahmed

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: Size dependent surface free energy of spherical, cubic and disk Au nanoparticles. - Highlights: • A model to account for the surface free energy of metallic nanoparticles is described. • The model requires only the cohesive energy of the nanoparticle. • The surface free energy of a number of metallic nanoparticles has been calculated, and the obtained values agree well with existing data. • Surface energy falls down very fast when the number of atoms is less than hundred. • The model is applicable to any metallic nanoparticle. - Abstract: This paper addresses an interesting issue on the surface free energy of metallic nanoparticles as compared to the bulk material. Starting from a previously reported equation, a theoretical model, that involves a specific term for calculating the cohesive energy of nanoparticle, is established in a view to describe the behavior of surface free energy of metallic nanoparticles (using different shapes of particle: sphere, cube and disc). The results indicate that the behavior of surface energy is very appropriate for spherical nanoparticle, and thus, it is the most realistic shape of a nanoparticle. The surface energy of copper, silver, gold, platinum, tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, paladium and alkali metallic nanoparticles is only prominent in the nanoscale size, and it decreases with the decrease of nanoparticle size. Thus, the surface free energy plays a more important role in determining the properties of nanoparticles than in bulk materials. It differs from shape to another, and falls down as the number of atoms (nanoparticle size) decreases. In the case of spherical nanoparticles, the onset of the sharp decrease in surface energy is observed at about 110 atom. A decrease of 16% and 45% in surface energy is found by moving from bulk to 110 atom and from bulk to 5 atom, respectively. The predictions are consistent with the reported data

EB surface sterilization of food material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaneko, H.; Mizutani, A.; Kato, K.; Nishikimi, T.; Taniguchi, S.

2001-01-01

In this paper, we introduce a food irradiation with low energetic, lower than 300keV, electrons (so-called SOFT ELECTRON) as a rather new method of food sterilization. It is also a physical sterilization method, and free from the problems mentioned above. Low energetic electrons have small penetration power (50-200micron) through raw materials, and by selecting a proper energy of electrons we can sterilize only the surfaces or skins of target materials

Surface properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy part I: Surface roughness and apparent surface free energy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Yingdi; Chibowski, Emil; Szcześ, Aleksandra

2017-01-01

Titanium (Ti) and its alloys are the most often used implants material in dental treatment and orthopedics. Topography and wettability of its surface play important role in film formation, protein adhesion, following osseointegration and even duration of inserted implant. In this paper, we prepared Ti-6Al-4V alloy samples using different smoothing and polishing materials as well the air plasma treatment, on which contact angles of water, formamide and diiodomethane were measured. Then the apparent surface free energy was calculated using four different approaches (CAH, LWAB, O-W and Neumann's Equation of State). From LWAB approach the components of surface free energy were obtained, which shed more light on the wetting properties of samples surface. The surface roughness of the prepared samples was investigated with the help of optical profilometer and AFM. It was interesting whether the surface roughness affects the apparent surface free energy. It was found that both polar interactions the electron donor parameter of the energy and the work of water adhesion increased with decreasing roughness of the surfaces. Moreover, short time plasma treatment (1min) caused decrease in the surface hydrophilic character, while longer time (10min) treatment caused significant increase in the polar interactions and the work of water adhesion. Although Ti-6Al-4V alloy has been investigated many times, to our knowledge, so far no paper has been published in which surface roughness and changes in the surface free energy of the alloy were compared in the quantitative way in such large extent. This novel approach deliver better knowledge about the surface properties of differently smoothed and polished samples which may be helpful to facilitate cell adhesion, proliferation and mineralization. Therefore the results obtained present also potentially practical meaning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface properties of Ti-6Al-4V alloy part I: Surface roughness and apparent surface free energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan, Yingdi; Chibowski, Emil; Szcześ, Aleksandra, E-mail: aszczes@poczta.umcs.lublin.pl

2017-01-01

Titanium (Ti) and its alloys are the most often used implants material in dental treatment and orthopedics. Topography and wettability of its surface play important role in film formation, protein adhesion, following osseointegration and even duration of inserted implant. In this paper, we prepared Ti-6Al-4V alloy samples using different smoothing and polishing materials as well the air plasma treatment, on which contact angles of water, formamide and diiodomethane were measured. Then the apparent surface free energy was calculated using four different approaches (CAH, LWAB, O-W and Neumann's Equation of State). From LWAB approach the components of surface free energy were obtained, which shed more light on the wetting properties of samples surface. The surface roughness of the prepared samples was investigated with the help of optical profilometer and AFM. It was interesting whether the surface roughness affects the apparent surface free energy. It was found that both polar interactions the electron donor parameter of the energy and the work of water adhesion increased with decreasing roughness of the surfaces. Moreover, short time plasma treatment (1 min) caused decrease in the surface hydrophilic character, while longer time (10 min) treatment caused significant increase in the polar interactions and the work of water adhesion. Although Ti-6Al-4V alloy has been investigated many times, to our knowledge, so far no paper has been published in which surface roughness and changes in the surface free energy of the alloy were compared in the quantitative way in such large extent. This novel approach deliver better knowledge about the surface properties of differently smoothed and polished samples which may be helpful to facilitate cell adhesion, proliferation and mineralization. Therefore the results obtained present also potentially practical meaning. - Highlights: • Surface of five Ti-6Al-4V alloy samples were smoothed and polished successively. • The

Advanced energy materials

CERN Document Server

Tiwari, Ashutosh

2014-01-01

An essential resource for scientists designing new energy materials for the vast landscape of solar energy conversion as well as materials processing and characterization Based on the new and fundamental research on novel energy materials with tailor-made photonic properties, the role of materials engineering has been to provide much needed support in the development of photovoltaic devices. Advanced Energy Materials offers a unique, state-of-the-art look at the new world of novel energy materials science, shedding light on the subject's vast multi-disciplinary approach The book focuses p

Gravitational states of antihydrogen near material surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Voronin, Alexei Yu., E-mail: dr.a.voronin@gmail.com [P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute (Russian Federation); Froelich, Piotr [Uppsala University, Department of Quantum Chemistry (Sweden); Nesvizhevsky, Valery V. [Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) (France)

2012-12-15

We present a theoretical study of the motion of antihydrogen atoms in the Earth's gravitational field near a material surface. We predict the existence of long-living quasistationary states of antihydrogen in a superposition of the gravitational and Casimir-van der Waals potentials of the surface. We suggest an interferometric method of measuring the energy difference between such gravitational states, hence the gravitational mass of antihydrogen.

Superface energy of several construction materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Otero, J. L.

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution was used to characterize the surface of different construction materials (marble, sandstone, granite and brick. Surface energy can be divided into two components: dispersive and polar or acid-base. The highest dispersive energy value was found for sandstone, while the values for the other three materials were all very similar. The lower dispersive energy variation exhibited by sandstone with temperature changes is an indication that substances interact equally well with its surface at any temperature. All the materials were found to be amphoteric, with both acid and alkaline components, although acidity was greater in granite and brick and sandstone and marble had higher alkalinity.En este trabajo se ha realizado la caracterización de la superficie de diferentes materiales de construcción (mármol,arenisca, granito y ladrillo mediante cromatografía inversa gas-sólido a dilución infinita. La energía superficial se puede dividir en dos componentes: dispersiva y ácido-base. Los valores obtenidos para la energía dispersiva son bastante parecidas para mármol, granito y ladrillo, mientras que el valor más alto corresponde a la arenisca. Además, este material presenta una menor variación de la energía dispersiva con la temperatura lo que indica que la interacción de cualquier sustancia con su superficie se dará a cualquier temperatura. Por lo que respecta a las componentes ácido-base, se ha observado que todos los materiales poseen ambas componentes lo que indica un carácter anfótero, sin embargo, la acidez es mayor en el granito y en el ladrillo, mientras que la basicidad es mayor en la arenisca y en el mármol.

A simulation of laser energy absorption by nanowired surface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasconcelos, Miguel F.S.; Ramos, Alexandre F., E-mail: miguel.vasconcelos@usp.br, E-mail: alex.ramos@usp.br [Universidade de São Paulo (USP), SP (Brazil). Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades

2017-07-01

Despite recent advances on research about laser inertial fusion energy, to increase the portion of energy absorbed by the target's surface from lasers remains as an important challenge. The plasma formed during the initial instants of laser arrival shields the target and prevents the absorption of laser energy by the deeper layers of the material. One strategy to circumvent that effect is the construction of targets whose surfaces are populated with nanowires. The nanowired surfaces have increased absorption of laser energy and constitutes a promising pathway for enhancing laser-matter coupling. In our work we present the results of simulations aiming to investigate how target's geometrical properties might contribute for maximizing laser energy absorption by material. Simulations have been carried out using the software FLASH, a multi-physics platform developed by researchers from the University of Chicago, written in FORTRAN 90 and Python. Different tools for generating target's geometry and analysis of results were developed using Python. Our results show that a nanowired surfaces has an increased energy absorption when compared with non wired surface. The software for visualization developed in this work also allowed an analysis of the spatial dynamics of the target's temperature, electron density, ionization levels and temperature of the radiation emitted by it. (author)

A simulation of laser energy absorption by nanowired surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasconcelos, Miguel F.S.; Ramos, Alexandre F.

2017-01-01

Despite recent advances on research about laser inertial fusion energy, to increase the portion of energy absorbed by the target's surface from lasers remains as an important challenge. The plasma formed during the initial instants of laser arrival shields the target and prevents the absorption of laser energy by the deeper layers of the material. One strategy to circumvent that effect is the construction of targets whose surfaces are populated with nanowires. The nanowired surfaces have increased absorption of laser energy and constitutes a promising pathway for enhancing laser-matter coupling. In our work we present the results of simulations aiming to investigate how target's geometrical properties might contribute for maximizing laser energy absorption by material. Simulations have been carried out using the software FLASH, a multi-physics platform developed by researchers from the University of Chicago, written in FORTRAN 90 and Python. Different tools for generating target's geometry and analysis of results were developed using Python. Our results show that a nanowired surfaces has an increased energy absorption when compared with non wired surface. The software for visualization developed in this work also allowed an analysis of the spatial dynamics of the target's temperature, electron density, ionization levels and temperature of the radiation emitted by it. (author)

Functional Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Huihui

create uniformly distributed nanopores with large surface area, leading to high-performance electrodes with high capacitance, excellent rate performance and stable cycling, even under a high working voltage of 1.6V. The second part of this dissertation work further improved the capacitance of the carbon electrodes by fluorine doping. This doping process enhances the affinity of the carbon surface with organic electrolytes, leading to further improved capacitance and energy density. In the third part, carbon materials were synthesized with high surface area, capacitance and working voltage of 4V in organic electrolyte, leading to the construction of prototyped devices with energy density comparable to those of the current lead-acid batteries. Besides the abovementioned research, hierarchical graphitic carbons were also explored for lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors. Overall, through rational design of carbons with optimized pore configuration and surface chemistry, carbon electrodes with improved energy density and rate performance were improved significantly. Collectively, this thesis work systematically unveils simple yet effective strategies to achieve high performance carbon-based supercapacitors with high power density and high energy density, including the following aspects: 1) Constructed electrodes with high capacitance through building favorable ion/electron transportation pathways, tuning pore structure and pore size. 2) Improved the capacitance through enhancing the affinity between the carbon electrodes and electrolytes by doping the carbons with heteroatoms. 3) Explored and understand the roles of heteroatom doping in the capacitive behavior by both experimental measurement and computational modeling. 4) Improved energy density of carbon electrodes by enlarging their working voltage in aqueous and organic electrolyte. 5) Scalable and effective production of hierarchically porous graphite particles through aerosol process for use as the anode materials

Surface physics of materials materials science and technology

CERN Document Server

Blakely, J M

2013-01-01

Surface Physics of Materials presents accounts of the physical properties of solid surfaces. The book contains selected articles that deal with research emphasizing surface properties rather than experimental techniques in the field of surface physics. Topics discussed include transport of matter at surfaces; interaction of atoms and molecules with surfaces; chemical analysis of surfaces; and adhesion and friction. Research workers, teachers and graduate students in surface physics, and materials scientist will find the book highly useful.

Energy absorption behaviors of nanoporous materials functionalized (NMF) liquids

OpenAIRE

Kim, Tae Wan

2011-01-01

For many decades, people have been actively investigating high-performance energy absorption materials, so as to develop lightweight and small-sized protective and damping devices, such as blast mitigation helmets, vehicle armors, etc. Recently, the high energy absorption efficiency of nanoporous materials functionalized (NMF) liquids has drawn considerable attention. A NMF liquid is usually a liquid suspension of nanoporous particles with large nanopore surface areas (100 - 2,000 m²/g). The ...

Electron emission from materials at low excitation energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urma, N.; Kijek, M.; Millar, J.J.

1996-01-01

Full text: An experimental system has been designed and developed with the purpose of measuring the total electron emission yield from materials at low energy excitation. In the first instance the reliability of the system was checked by measuring the total electron emission yield for a well defined surface (aluminium 99.45%). The obtained data was in the expected range given by the literature, and consequently the system will be used further for measuring the total electron yield for a range of materials with interest in the instrumentation industry. We intend to measure the total electron emission yield under electron bombardment as a function of incident electron energy up to 1200 eV, angle of incidence, state of the surface and environment to which the surface has been exposed. Dependence of emission on total electron irradiated dose is also of interest. For many practical application of the 'Secondary Electron Emission', the total electron yield is desired to be as large as possible. The above phenomenon has practical applicability in electron multiplier tube and Scanning electron microscopy - when by means of the variation of the yield of the emitted electrons one may produce visible images of small sample areas. The electron multiplier tube, is a device which utilises the above effect to detect and amplify both single particles and low currents streams of charged particles. The majority of electron tubes use electrons with low energy, hundreds of eV. Not a lot has been published in the literature about this regime and also about the emission when the impinging electrons have small energy, up to 1 KeV. The information obtained from the experimental measurements concerning the total electron emission yield is used to asses the investigated materials as a potential electron emitting surfaces or dynodes in an electron multiplier tube

Materials selection guidelines for geothermal energy utilization systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ellis, P.F. II; Conover, M.F.

1981-01-01

This manual includes geothermal fluid chemistry, corrosion test data, and materials operating experience. Systems using geothermal energy in El Salvador, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United States are described. The manual provides materials selection guidelines for surface equipment of future geothermal energy systems. The key chemical species that are significant in determining corrosiveness of geothermal fluids are identified. The utilization modes of geothermal energy are defined as well as the various physical fluid parameters that affect corrosiveness. Both detailed and summarized results of materials performance tests and applicable operating experiences from forty sites throughout the world are presented. The application of various non-metal materials in geothermal environments are discussed. Included in appendices are: corrosion behavior of specific alloy classes in geothermal fluids, corrosion in seawater desalination plants, worldwide geothermal power production, DOE-sponsored utilization projects, plant availability, relative costs of alloys, and composition of alloys. (MHR)

Material surface modification for first wall protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, M.J.

1979-01-01

The elements and strategy of a program to develop low Z surfaces for tokamak reactors is described. The development of low Z coated limiters is selected as an interim goal. Candidate materials were selected from the elements: Be, B, Al, Ti, V, C, O, N and their compounds. The effect of low energy erosion on surface morphology is shown for Be, TiC and VBe 12 . The tradeoffs in coating design are described. Stress analysis results for TiB 2 coated POCO graphite limiters for ORNL's ISX-B tokamak are given

Urban Surface Radiative Energy Budgets Determined Using Aircraft Scanner Data

Science.gov (United States)

Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Quattrochi, Dale A.; Rickman, Doug L.; Estes, Maury G.; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

It is estimated that by the year 2025, 80% of the world's population will live in cities. The extent of these urban areas across the world can be seen in an image of city lights from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. In many areas of North America and Europe, it is difficult to separate individual cities because of the dramatic growth and sprawl of urbanized areas. This conversion of the natural landscape vegetation into man-made urban structures such as roads and buildings drastically alter the regional surface energy budgets, hydrology, precipitation patterns, and meteorology. One of the earliest recognized and measured phenomena of urbanization is the urban heat island (UHI) which was reported as early as 1833 for London and 1862 for Paris. The urban heat island results from the energy that is absorbed by man-made materials during the day and is released at night resulting in the heating of the air within the urban area. The magnitude of the air temperature difference between the urban and surrounding countryside is highly dependent on the structure of the urban area, amount of solar immolation received during the day, and atmospheric conditions during the night. These night time air temperature differences can be in the range of 2 to 5 C. or greater. Although day time air temperature differences between urban areas and the countryside exists during the day, atmospheric mixing and stability reduce the magnitude. This phenomena is not limited to large urban areas, but also occurs in smaller metropolitan areas. The UHI has significant impacts on the urban air quality, meteorology, energy use, and human health. The UPI can be mitigated through increasing the amount of vegetation and modification of urban surfaces using high albedo materials for roofs and paved surfaces. To understand why the urban heat island phenomenon exists it is useful to define the surface in terms of the surface energy budget. Surface temperature and albedo is a major component of

Mesoporous materials for clean energy technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Linares, Noemi; Silvestre-Albero, Ana M; Serrano, Elena; Silvestre-Albero, Joaquín; García-Martínez, Javier

2014-11-21

Alternative energy technologies are greatly hindered by significant limitations in materials science. From low activity to poor stability, and from mineral scarcity to high cost, the current materials are not able to cope with the significant challenges of clean energy technologies. However, recent advances in the preparation of nanomaterials, porous solids, and nanostructured solids are providing hope in the race for a better, cleaner energy production. The present contribution critically reviews the development and role of mesoporosity in a wide range of technologies, as this provides for critical improvements in accessibility, the dispersion of the active phase and a higher surface area. Relevant examples of the development of mesoporosity by a wide range of techniques are provided, including the preparation of hierarchical structures with pore systems in different scale ranges. Mesoporosity plays a significant role in catalysis, especially in the most challenging processes where bulky molecules, like those obtained from biomass or highly unreactive species, such as CO2 should be transformed into most valuable products. Furthermore, mesoporous materials also play a significant role as electrodes in fuel and solar cells and in thermoelectric devices, technologies which are benefiting from improved accessibility and a better dispersion of materials with controlled porosity.

Anisotropic wetting characteristics versus roughness on machined surfaces of hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Yande; Shu, Liming; Natsu, Wataru; He, Fuben

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • The aim is to investigate the influence of roughness on anisotropic wetting on machined surfaces. • The relationship between roughness and anisotropic wetting is modeled by thermodynamical analysis. • The effect of roughness on anisotropic wetting on hydrophilic materials is stronger than that on hydrophobic materials. • The energy barrier existing in the direction perpendicular to the lay is one of the main reasons for the anisotropic wetting. • The contact angle in the parallel direction is larger than that in the perpendicular direction. - Abstract: Anisotropic wetting of machined surfaces is widely applied in industries which can be greatly affected by roughness and solid's chemical properties. However, there has not been much work on it. A free-energy thermodynamic model is presented by analyzing geometry morphology of machined surfaces (2-D model surfaces), which demonstrates the influence of roughness on anisotropic wetting. It can be concluded that the energy barrier is one of the main reasons for the anisotropic wetting existing in the direction perpendicular to the lay. In addition, experiments in investigating anisotropic wetting, which was characterized by the static contact angle and droplet's distortion, were performed on machined surfaces with different roughness on hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials. The droplet's anisotropy found on machined surfaces increased with mean slope of roughness profile Kr. It indicates that roughness on anisotropic wetting on hydrophilic materials has a stronger effect than that on hydrophobic materials. Furthermore, the contact angles predicted by the model are basically consistent with the experimentally ones

Direct Measurement of the Surface Energy of Graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

van Engers, Christian D; Cousens, Nico E A; Babenko, Vitaliy; Britton, Jude; Zappone, Bruno; Grobert, Nicole; Perkin, Susan

2017-06-14

Graphene produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a promising candidate for implementing graphene in a range of technologies. In most device configurations, one side of the graphene is supported by a solid substrate, wheras the other side is in contact with a medium of interest, such as a liquid or other two-dimensional material within a van der Waals stack. In such devices, graphene interacts on both faces via noncovalent interactions and therefore surface energies are key parameters for device fabrication and operation. In this work, we directly measured adhesive forces and surface energies of CVD-grown graphene in dry nitrogen, water, and sodium cholate using a modified surface force balance. For this, we fabricated large (∼1 cm 2 ) and clean graphene-coated surfaces with smooth topography at both macro- and nanoscales. By bringing two such surfaces into contact and measuring the force required to separate them, we measured the surface energy of single-layer graphene in dry nitrogen to be 115 ± 4 mJ/m 2 , which was similar to that of few-layer graphene (119 ± 3 mJ/m 2 ). In water and sodium cholate, we measured interfacial energies of 83 ± 7 and 29 ± 6 mJ/m 2 , respectively. Our work provides the first direct measurement of graphene surface energy and is expected to have an impact both on the development of graphene-based devices and contribute to the fundamental understanding of surface interactions.

Recent Advances in Porous Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Libin; Hu, Xianluo

2018-06-18

Climate change and the energy crisis have promoted the rapid development of electrochemical energy-storage devices. Owing to many intriguing physicochemical properties, such as excellent chemical stability, high electronic conductivity, and a large specific surface area, porous carbon materials have always been considering as a promising candidate for electrochemical energy storage. To date, a wide variety of porous carbon materials based upon molecular design, pore control, and compositional tailoring have been proposed for energy-storage applications. This focus review summarizes recent advances in the synthesis of various porous carbon materials from the view of energy storage, particularly in the past three years. Their applications in representative electrochemical energy-storage devices, such as lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, and lithium-ion hybrid capacitors, are discussed in this review, with a look forward to offer some inspiration and guidelines for the exploitation of advanced carbon-based energy-storage materials. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Magnetic field effects on runaway electron energy deposition in plasma facing materials and components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niemer, K.A.; Gilligan, J.G.

1992-01-01

This paper reports magnetic field effects on runaway electron energy deposition in plasma facing materials and components is investigated using the Integrated TIGER Series. The Integrated TIGER Series is a set of time-independent coupled electron/photon Monte Carlo transport codes which perform photon and electron transport, with or without macroscopic electric and magnetic fields. A three-dimensional computational model of 100 MeV electrons incident on a graphite block was used to simulate runawayelectrons striking a plasma facing component at the edge of a tokamak. Results show that more energy from runaway electrons will be deposited in a material that is in the presence of a magnetic field than in a material that is in the presence of no field. For low angle incident runaway electrons in a strong magnetic field, the majority of the increased energy deposition is near the material surface with a higher energy density. Electrons which would have been reflected with no field, orbit the magnetic field lines and are redeposited in the material surface, resulting in a substantial increase in surface energy deposition. Based on previous studies, the higher energy deposition and energy density will result in higher temperatures which are expected to cause more damage to a plasma facing component

Materials surface treatments by concentrated solar light: a renewable energy option

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez, D.; Rodriguez, J.

1998-01-01

The possible applications of solar furnaces to materials surface treatment are explained in an illustrative manner. A brief description of these systems is exposed, as well as an overview of the feasible industrial or testing applications for which their validity has been proven. (Author) 5 refs

The materials science synchrotron beamline EDDI for energy-dispersive diffraction analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Genzel, Ch.; Denks, I.A.; Gibmeier, J.; Klaus, M.; Wagener, G.

2007-01-01

In April 2005 the materials science beamline EDDI (Energy Dispersive DIffraction) at the Berlin synchrotron storage ring BESSY started operation. The beamline is operated in the energy-dispersive mode of diffraction using the high energy white photon beam provided by a superconducting 7 T multipole wiggler. Starting from basic information on the beamline set-up, its measuring facilities and data processing concept, the wide range of applications for energy-dispersive diffraction is demonstrated by a series of examples coming from different fields in materials sciences. It will be shown, that the EDDI beamline is especially suitable for the investigation of structural properties and gradients in the near surface region of polycrystalline materials. In particular, this concerns the analysis of multiaxial residual stress fields in the highly stressed surface zone of technical parts. The high photon flux further facilitates fast in situ experiments at room as well as high temperature to monitor for example the growth kinetics and reaction in thin film growth

Inverse gas chromatography as a method for determination of surface properties of binding materials

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jihai; Lu, Xiaolei; Yang, Chunxia; Du, Baoli; Wang, Shuxian; Ye, Zhengmao

2017-09-01

Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) is a promising measurement technique for investigating the surface properties of binding materials, which are the major influence element for the adsorption performance of superplasticizer. In this work, using the IGC method, blast furnace slag (BFS), sulphoaluminate cement (SAC) and portland cement (P·O) are employed to systematically evaluate the corresponding dispersive component (γsd), specific surface free energy (γsab), and acid-base properties. The obtained results show that γsd contributes to a major section of the surface free energy in the three binding materials, suggesting they are of a relatively low polarity. Compared to the two kinds of cements, the BFS possesses the highest dispersive and specific surface free energies (the values are 45.01 mJ/m2 and 11.68 mJ/m2, respectively), and also exhibits a wider distribution range of γsd, indicating their surfaces are heterogeneous. For acid-base properties, the results indicate the surfaces of three samples are basic in nature. In addition, the adsorption investigation shows that per unit surface of BFS adsorbs the most superplasticizer molecules, which indicates the higher surface free energies is beneficial to the superplasticizer adsorption.

Asteroids. Prospective energy and material resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badescu, Viorel (ed.) [Bucharest Polytechnic Univ. (Romania). Candida Oancea Institute

2013-11-01

Recent research on Prospective Energy and Material Resources on Asteroids. Carefully edited book dedicated to Asteroids prospective energy and material resources. Written by leading experts in the field. The Earth has limited material and energy resources while these resources in space are virtually unlimited. Further development of humanity will require going beyond our planet and exploring of extraterrestrial resources and sources of unlimited power. Thus far, all missions to asteroids have been motivated by scientific exploration. However, given recent advancements in various space technologies, mining asteroids for resources is becoming ever more feasible. A significant portion of asteroids value is derived from their location; the required resources do not need to be lifted at a great expense from the surface of the Earth. Resources derived from Asteroid not only can be brought back to Earth but could also be used to sustain human exploration of space and permanent settlements in space. This book investigates asteroids' prospective energy and material resources. It is a collection of topics related to asteroid exploration, and utilization. It presents past and future technologies and solutions to old problems that could become reality in our life time. The book therefore is a great source of condensed information for specialists involved in current and impending asteroid-related activities and a good starting point for space researchers, inventors, technologists and potential investors. Written for researchers, engineers, and businessmen interested in asteroids' exploration and exploitation.

Recent Development of Advanced Electrode Materials by Atomic Layer Deposition for Electrochemical Energy Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Cao; Wang, John

2016-10-01

Electrode materials play a decisive role in almost all electrochemical energy storage devices, determining their overall performance. Proper selection, design and fabrication of electrode materials have thus been regarded as one of the most critical steps in achieving high electrochemical energy storage performance. As an advanced nanotechnology for thin films and surfaces with conformal interfacial features and well controllable deposition thickness, atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been successfully developed for deposition and surface modification of electrode materials, where there are considerable issues of interfacial and surface chemistry at atomic and nanometer scale. In addition, ALD has shown great potential in construction of novel nanostructured active materials that otherwise can be hardly obtained by other processing techniques, such as those solution-based processing and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques. This review focuses on the recent development of ALD for the design and delivery of advanced electrode materials in electrochemical energy storage devices, where typical examples will be highlighted and analyzed, and the merits and challenges of ALD for applications in energy storage will also be discussed.

Wettability and surface free energy of polarised ceramic biomaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Miho; Hori, Naoko; Namba, Saki; Yamashita, Kimihiro; Toyama, Takeshi; Nishimiya, Nobuyuki

2015-01-01

The surface modification of ceramic biomaterials used for medical devices is expected to improve osteoconductivity through control of the interfaces between the materials and living tissues. Polarisation treatment induced surface charges on hydroxyapatite, β-tricalcium phosphate, carbonate-substituted hydroxyapatite and yttria-stabilized zirconia regardless of the differences in the carrier ions participating in the polarisation. Characterization of the surfaces revealed that the wettability of the polarised ceramic biomaterials was improved through the increase in the surface free energies compared with conventional ceramic surfaces. (note)

Effect of cocoa fat content on wetting and surface energy of chocolate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lubomír Lapčík

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was the quantification of the effect of the cocoa fat content on the wetting characteristics and surface free energy of different chocolate compositions. On the market, there are many different types of chocolate products which differ both in the sensory and physico-chemical properties together with their raw material compositions and the contents of the individual components. This paper focuses on differences in the use of different types of fats - cocoa butter, milk fat, equivalents or cocoa butter substitutes in chocolate products. Studied samples (prepared at Carla, Ltd. Company were followed by static contact angles of wetting measurements and by calculated surface free energies. There were investigated the effects of fat content and used fat types of the chocolate products on their final wettabilities and resulting surface free energies. There was found a linear dependence between total fat content and the surface free energy, which was gradually increasing with increasing fat content. Additionally, there were performed TG DTG and NIR spectrometry measurements of the tested materials with the aim to determine the melting point of studied fats used, as well as to determine and identify individual fat components of chocolate products which may affect the resulting value of surface free energy.

Surface properties of ceramic/metal composite materials for thermionic converter applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, P.R.; Bozack, M.J.; Swanson, L.W.

1983-01-01

Ceramic/metal composite electrode materials are of interest for thermionic energy conversion (TEC) applications for several reasons. These materials consist of submicron metal fibers or islands in an oxide matrix and therefore provide a basis for fabricating finely structured electrodes, with projecting or recessed metallic regions for more efficient electron emission or collection. Furthermore, evaporation and surface diffusion of matrix oxides may provide oxygen enhancement of cesium adsorption and work function lowering at both the collecting and emitting electrode surfaces of the TEC. Finally, the high work function oxide matrix or oxide-metal interfaces may provide efficient surface ionization of cesium for space-charge reduction in the device. The authors are investigating two types of ceramic/metal composite materials. One type is a directionally solidified eutectic consisting of a bulk oxide matrix such as UO 2 or stabilized ZrO 2 with parallel metal fibers (W) running through the oxide being exposed at the surface by cutting perpendicular to the fiber direction. The second type of material, called a surface eutectic, consists of a refractory substrate (Mo) with a thin layer of deposited and segregated material (Mo-Cr 2 O 3 -A1 2 O 3 ) on the surface. The final configuration of this layer is an oxide matrix with metallic islands scattered throughout

The importance of surface finish to energy performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smith Geoff B.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Power generation in solar energy systems, thermal control in buildings and mitigation of the Urban Heat Island problem, are all sensitive to directional response to incoming radiation. The radiation absorption and emission profile also plays a crucial role in each system's response and depends strongly on surface finish. This important sensitivity needs wider recognition in materials data sheets, system modeling, plus in materials and environmental engineering. The impact of surface roughness on thermal response of natural and man-made external environments is examined. Important examples will be given of the role of surface finish within each class. Total emittance links to the way surface finish influences directional emittance E(θ. Smooth surface thermal emittance on PV module covers, many solar absorbers, some roof paints, polished concrete, and glass windows can be up to 15% different from insulator results based on fully diffuse models of the same material. Widespread evidence indicates smooth metals and low-E solar absorber surfaces cool faster, and smooth insulators slower than previously thought. Matt paint is cooler than low sheen paint under the same solar heating impacts and normal concrete cooler than polished. Emittance for water is the prime environmental example of oblique impacts as it reflects strongly at oblique incidence, which leads to a significant drop in E(θ. Ripples or waves however raise water's average emittance. A surprise in this work was the high sensitivity of total E and its angular components to roughness in the depth range of 0.1–0.8 μm, which are well under ambient thermal IR wavelengths of 3–30 μm but common in metal finishing. Parallel energy flows such as evaporation and convective cooling vary if emittance varies. Thermal image analysis can provide insights into angular radiative effects.

Surface effects on sputtered atoms and their angular and energy dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassanein, A.M.

1985-04-01

A comprehensive three-dimensional Monte Carlo computer code, Ion Transport in Materials and Compounds (ITMC), has been developed to study in detail the surfaces related phenomena that affect the amount of sputtered atoms and back-scattered ions and their angular and energy dependence. A number of important factors that can significantly affect the sputtering behavior of a surface can be studied in detail, such as having different surface properties and composition than the bulk and synergistic effects due to surface segregation of alloys. These factors can be important in determining and lifetime of fusion reactor first walls and limiters. The ITMC Code is based on Monte Carlo methods to track down the path and the damage produced by charged particles as they slow down in solid metal surfaces or compounds. The major advantages of the ITMC code are its flexibility and ability to use and compare all existing models for energy losses, all known interatomic potentials, and to use different materials and compounds with different surface and bulk composition to allow for dynamic surface composition to allow for dynamic surface composition changes. There is good agreement between the code and available experimental results without using adjusting parameters for the energy losses mechanisms. The ITMC Code is highly optimized, very fast to run and easy to use

The calculation of surface free energy based on embedded atom method for solid nickel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo Wenhua; Hu Wangyu; Su Kalin; Liu Fusheng

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A new solution for accurate prediction of surface free energy based on embedded atom method was proposed. ► The temperature dependent anisotropic surface energy of solid nickel was obtained. ► In isotropic environment, the approach does not change most predictions of bulk material properties. - Abstract: Accurate prediction of surface free energy of crystalline metals is a challenging task. The theory calculations based on embedded atom method potentials often underestimate surface free energy of metals. With an analytical charge density correction to the argument of the embedding energy of embedded atom method, an approach to improve the prediction for surface free energy is presented. This approach is applied to calculate the temperature dependent anisotropic surface energy of bulk nickel and surface energies of nickel nanoparticles, and the obtained results are in good agreement with available experimental data.

Asteroids prospective energy and material resources

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

The Earth has limited material and energy resources while these resources in space are virtually unlimited. Further development of humanity will require going beyond our planet and exploring of extraterrestrial resources and sources of unlimited power.   Thus far, all missions to asteroids have been motivated by scientific exploration. However, given recent advancements in various space technologies, mining asteroids for resources is becoming ever more feasible. A significant portion of asteroids value is derived from their location; the required resources do not need to be lifted at a great expense from the surface of the Earth.   Resources derived from Asteroid not only can be brought back to Earth but could also be used to sustain human exploration of space and permanent settlements in space.   This book investigates asteroids' prospective energy and material resources. It is a collection of topics related to asteroid exploration, and utilization. It presents past and future technologies and solutions t...

Synthesis and Thermodynamic Studies of Physisorptive Energy Storage Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Stadie, Nicholas

Physical adsorption of hydrogen or other chemical fuels on the surface of carbonaceous materials offers a promising avenue for energy storage applications. The addition of a well-chosen sorbent material to a compressed gas tank increases the volumetric energy density of the system while still permitting fast refueling, simplicity of design, complete reversibility, high cyclability, and low overall cost of materials. While physical adsorption is most effective at temperatures below ambient, effective storage technologies are possible at room temperature and modestly high pressure. A volumetric Sieverts apparatus was designed, constructed, and commissioned to accurately measure adsorption uptake at high pressures and an appropriate thermodynamic treatment of the experimental data is presented. In Chapter 1, the problem of energy storage is introduced in the context of hydrogen as an ideal alternative fuel for future mobile vehicle applications, and with methane in mind as a near-term solution. The theory of physical adsorption that is relevant to this work is covered in Chapter 2. In-depth studies of two classes of materials are presented in the final chapters. Chapter 3 presents a study of the dissociative "hydrogen spillover" effect in the context of its viability as a practical hydrogen storage solution at room temperature. Chapters 4-5 deal with zeolite-templated carbon, an extremely high surface-area material which shows promise for hydrogen and methane storage applications. Studies of hydrogen adsorption at high pressure (Chapter 4) and anomalous thermodynamic properties of methane adsorption (Chapter 5) on ZTCs are presented. The concluding chapter discusses the impact of and possible future directions for this work.

Converting biomass waste into microporous carbon with simultaneously high surface area and carbon purity as advanced electrochemical energy storage materials

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Fei; Wang, Lijie; Peng, Yiting; Gao, Jihui; Pi, Xinxin; Qu, Zhibin; Zhao, Guangbo; Qin, Yukun

2018-04-01

Developing carbon materials featuring both high accessible surface area and high structure stability are desirable to boost the performance of constructed electrochemical electrodes and devices. Herein, we report a new type of microporous carbon (MPC) derived from biomass waste based on a simple high-temperature chemical activation procedure. The optimized MPC-900 possesses microporous structure, high surface area, partially graphitic structure, and particularly low impurity content, which are critical features for enhancing carbon-based electrochemical process. The constructed MPC-900 symmetric supercapacitor exhibits high performances in commercial organic electrolyte such as widened voltage window up to 3 V and thereby high energy/power densities (50.95 Wh kg-1 at 0.44 kW kg-1; 25.3 Wh kg-1 at 21.5 kW kg-1). Furthermore, a simple melt infiltration method has been employed to enclose SnO2 nanocrystals onto the carbon matrix of MPC-900 as a high-performance lithium storage material. The obtained SnO2-MPC composite with ultrafine SnO2 nanocrystals delivers high capacities (1115 mAh g-1 at 0.2 A g-1; 402 mAh g-1 at 10 A g-1) and high-rate cycling lifespan of over 2000 cycles. This work not only develops a microporous carbon with high carbon purity and high surface area, but also provides a general platform for combining electrochemically active materials.

Surface characterization of the cement for retention of implant supported dental prostheses: In vitro evaluation of cement roughness and surface free energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brajkovic, Denis [Clinic for Dentistry, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Svetozara Markovica 69, 34000 Kragujevac (Serbia); Antonijevic, Djordje; Milovanovic, Petar [Laboratory for Anthropology, Institute of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr. Subotica 4/2, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Kisic, Danilo [Laboratory for Atomic Physics, Institute of Nuclear Sciences “Vinca”, University of Belgrade, Belgrade (Serbia); Zelic, Ksenija; Djuric, Marija [Laboratory for Anthropology, Institute of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr. Subotica 4/2, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia); Rakocevic, Zlatko, E-mail: zlatkora@vinca.rs [Laboratory for Atomic Physics, Institute of Nuclear Sciences “Vinca”, University of Belgrade, Belgrade (Serbia)

2014-08-30

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Surface free energy and surface roughness influence bacterial adhesion. • Bacterial colonization causes periimplantitis and implant loss. • Zinc-based, glass-ionomers and resin-cements were investigated. • Glass-ionomers-cements present the lowest values of surface free energy and roughness. • Glass-ionomer-cements surface properties result with reduced bacterial adhesion. - Abstract: Background: Material surface free energy and surface roughness strongly influence the bacterial adhesion in oral cavity. The aim of this study was to analyze these two parameters in various commercial luting agents used for cementation of implant restorations. Materials and methods: Zinc-based, glass-ionomers, resin modified glass-ionomer and resin-cements were investigated. Contact angle and surface free energy were measured by contact angle analyzer using Image J software program. Materials’ average roughness and fractal dimension were calculated based on Atomic Force Microscope topography images. Results: Zinc phosphate cements presented significantly higher total surface free energy and significantly lower dispersive component of surface free energy compared to other groups, while resin-cements showed significantly lower polar component than other groups. The surface roughness and fractal dimension values were statistically the highest in the zinc phosphate cements and the lowest for the glass-ionomers cements. Conclusion: Glass-ionomers-cements presented lower values of surface free energy and surface roughness than zinc phosphate and resin cements, indicating that their surfaces are less prone to biofilm adhesion. Practical implications: Within limitations of an in vitro trial, our results indicate that glass-ionomers-cements could be the cements of choice for fixation of cement retained implant restorations due to superior surface properties compared to zinc phosphate and resin cements, which may result in reduced plaque formation

Surface characterization of the cement for retention of implant supported dental prostheses: In vitro evaluation of cement roughness and surface free energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brajkovic, Denis; Antonijevic, Djordje; Milovanovic, Petar; Kisic, Danilo; Zelic, Ksenija; Djuric, Marija; Rakocevic, Zlatko

2014-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Surface free energy and surface roughness influence bacterial adhesion. • Bacterial colonization causes periimplantitis and implant loss. • Zinc-based, glass-ionomers and resin-cements were investigated. • Glass-ionomers-cements present the lowest values of surface free energy and roughness. • Glass-ionomer-cements surface properties result with reduced bacterial adhesion. - Abstract: Background: Material surface free energy and surface roughness strongly influence the bacterial adhesion in oral cavity. The aim of this study was to analyze these two parameters in various commercial luting agents used for cementation of implant restorations. Materials and methods: Zinc-based, glass-ionomers, resin modified glass-ionomer and resin-cements were investigated. Contact angle and surface free energy were measured by contact angle analyzer using Image J software program. Materials’ average roughness and fractal dimension were calculated based on Atomic Force Microscope topography images. Results: Zinc phosphate cements presented significantly higher total surface free energy and significantly lower dispersive component of surface free energy compared to other groups, while resin-cements showed significantly lower polar component than other groups. The surface roughness and fractal dimension values were statistically the highest in the zinc phosphate cements and the lowest for the glass-ionomers cements. Conclusion: Glass-ionomers-cements presented lower values of surface free energy and surface roughness than zinc phosphate and resin cements, indicating that their surfaces are less prone to biofilm adhesion. Practical implications: Within limitations of an in vitro trial, our results indicate that glass-ionomers-cements could be the cements of choice for fixation of cement retained implant restorations due to superior surface properties compared to zinc phosphate and resin cements, which may result in reduced plaque formation

International Congress on Energy Efficiency and Energy Related Materials

CERN Document Server

Bahsi, Zehra; Ozer, Mehmet; ENEFM2013

2014-01-01

The International Congress on Energy Efficiency and Energy Related Materials (ENEFM2013) was held on 9-12 October, 2013. This three-day congress focused on the latest developments of sustainable energy technologies, materials for sustainable energy applications and environmental & economic perspectives of energy. These proceedings include 63 peer reviewed technical papers, submitted from leading academic and research institutions from over 23 countries, representing some of the most cutting edge research available. The papers included were presented at the congress in the following sessions: General Issues Wind Energy Solar Energy Nuclear Energy Biofuels and Bioenergy Energy Storage Energy Conservation and Efficiency Energy in Buildings   Economical and Environmental Issues Environment Energy Requirements Economic Development   Materials for Sustainable Energy Hydrogen Production and Storage Photovoltaic Cells Thermionic Converters Batteries and Superconductors Phase Change Materials Fuel Cells Supercon...

Nano materials for Energy and Environmental Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasan, S.; Kannan, A.M.; Kothurkar, N.; Khalil, Y.; Kuravi, S.

2015-01-01

Nano materials enabled technologies have been seamlessly integrated into applications such as aviation and space, chemical industry, optics, solar hydrogen, fuel cell, batteries, sensors, power generation, aeronautic industry, building/construction industry, automotive engineering, consumer electronics, thermoelectric devices, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic industry. Clean energy and environmental applications often demand the development of novel nano materials that can provide shortest reaction pathways for the enhancement of reaction kinetics. Understanding the physicochemical, structural, microstructural, surface, and interface properties of nano materials is vital for achieving the required efficiency, cycle life, and sustain ability in various technological applications. Nano materials with specific size and shape such as nano tubes, nano fibers/nano wires, nano cones, nano composites, nano rods, nano islands, nanoparticles, nanospheres, and nano shells to provide unique properties can be synthesized by tuning the process conditions.

Surface Coating of Gypsum-Based Molds for Maxillofacial Prosthetic Silicone Elastomeric Material: The Surface Topography.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalaf, Salah; Ariffin, Zaihan; Husein, Adam; Reza, Fazal

2015-07-01

This study aimed to compare the surface roughness of maxillofacial silicone elastomers fabricated in noncoated and coated gypsum materials. This study was also conducted to characterize the silicone elastomer specimens after surfaces were modified. A gypsum mold was coated with clear acrylic spray. The coated mold was then used to produce modified silicone experimental specimens (n = 35). The surface roughness of the modified silicone elastomers was compared with that of the control specimens, which were prepared by conventional flasking methods (n = 35). An atomic force microscope (AFM) was used for surface roughness measurement of silicone elastomer (unmodified and modified), and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to evaluate the topographic conditions of coated and noncoated gypsum and silicone elastomer specimens (unmodified and modified) groups. After the gypsum molds were characterized, the fabricated silicone elastomers molded on noncoated and coated gypsum materials were evaluated further. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis of gypsum materials (noncoated and coated) and silicone elastomer specimens (unmodified and modified) was performed to evaluate the elemental changes after coating was conducted. Independent t test was used to analyze the differences in the surface roughness of unmodified and modified silicone at a significance level of p SEM analysis results showed evident differences in surface smoothness. EDX data further revealed the presence of the desired chemical components on the surface layer of unmodified and modified silicone elastomers. Silicone elastomers with lower surface roughness of maxillofacial prostheses can be obtained simply by coating a gypsum mold. © 2014 by the American College of Prosthodontists.

Metal-Organic Framework-Derived Materials for Sodium Energy Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Guoqiang; Hou, Hongshuai; Ge, Peng; Huang, Zhaodong; Zhao, Ganggang; Yin, Dulin; Ji, Xiaobo

2018-01-01

Recently, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are extensively explored and are regarded as one of the most promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries for electrochemical energy conversion and storage, owing to the abundant raw material resources, low cost, and similar electrochemical behavior of elemental sodium compared to lithium. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted enormous attention due to their high surface areas, tunable structures, and diverse applications in drug delivery, gas storage, and catalysis. Recently, there has been an escalating interest in exploiting MOF-derived materials as anodes for sodium energy storage due to their fast mass transport resulting from their highly porous structures and relatively simple preparation methods originating from in situ thermal treatment processes. In this Review, the recent progress of the sodium-ion storage performances of MOF-derived materials, including MOF-derived porous carbons, metal oxides, metal oxide/carbon nanocomposites, and other materials (e.g., metal phosphides, metal sulfides, and metal selenides), as SIB anodes is systematically and completely presented and discussed. Moreover, the current challenges and perspectives of MOF-derived materials in electrochemical energy storage are discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

PRISM -- A tool for modelling proton energy deposition in semiconductor materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oldfield, M.K.; Underwood, C.I.

1996-01-01

This paper presents a description of, and test results from, a new PC based software simulation tool PRISM (Protons in Semiconductor Materials). The model describes proton energy deposition in complex 3D sensitive volumes of semiconductor materials. PRISM is suitable for simulating energy deposition in surface-barrier detectors and semiconductor memory devices, the latter being susceptible to Single-Event Upset (SEU) and Multiple-Bit Upset (MBU). The design methodology on which PRISM is based, together with the techniques used to simulate ion transport and energy deposition, are described. Preliminary test results used to analyze the PRISM model are presented

The impact of roofing material on building energy performance

Science.gov (United States)

Badiee, Ali

The last decade has seen an increase in the efficient use of energy sources such as water, electricity, and natural gas as well as a variety of roofing materials, in the heating and cooling of both residential and commercial infrastructure. Oil costs, coal and natural gas prices remain high and unstable. All of these instabilities and increased costs have resulted in higher heating and cooling costs, and engineers are making an effort to keep them under control by using energy efficient building materials. The building envelope (that which separates the indoor and outdoor environments of a building) plays a significant role in the rate of building energy consumption. An appropriate architectural design of a building envelope can considerably lower the energy consumption during hot summers and cold winters, resulting in reduced HVAC loads. Several building components (walls, roofs, fenestration, foundations, thermal insulation, external shading devices, thermal mass, etc.) make up this essential part of a building. However, thermal insulation of a building's rooftop is the most essential part of a building envelope in that it reduces the incoming "heat flux" (defined as the amount of heat transferred per unit area per unit time from or to a surface) (Sadineni et al., 2011). Moreover, more than 60% of heat transfer occurs through the roof regardless of weather, since a roof is often the building surface that receives the largest amount of solar radiation per square annually (Suman, and Srivastava, 2009). Hence, an argument can be made that the emphasis on building energy efficiency has influenced roofing manufacturing more than any other building envelope component. This research project will address roofing energy performance as the source of nearly 60% of the building heat transfer (Suman, and Srivastava, 2009). We will also rank different roofing materials in terms of their energy performance. Other parts of the building envelope such as walls, foundation

Vapor shielding effects on energy transfer from plasma-gun generated ELM-like transient loads to material surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Kikuchi, Y.; Sakuma, I.; Asai, Y.; Onishi, K.; Isono, W.; Nakazono, T.; Nakane, M.; Fukumoto, N.; Nagata, M.

2016-02-01

Energy transfer processes from ELM-like pulsed helium (He) plasmas with a pulse duration of ˜0.1 ms to aluminum (Al) and tungsten (W) surfaces were experimentally investigated by the use of a magnetized coaxial plasma gun device. The surface absorbed energy density of the He pulsed plasma on the W surface measured with a calorimeter was ˜0.44 MJ m-2, whereas it was ˜0.15 MJ m-2 on the Al surface. A vapor layer in front of the Al surface exposed to the He pulsed plasma was clearly identified by Al neutral emission line (Al i) measured with a high time resolution spectrometer, and fast imaging with a high-speed visible camera filtered around the Al i emission line. On the other hand, no clear evaporation in front of the W surface exposed to the He pulsed plasma was observed in the present condition. Discussions on the reduction in the surface absorbed energy density on the Al surface are provided by considering the latent heat of vaporization and radiation cooling due to the Al vapor cloud.

Low Energy Nuclear Reaction Products at Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Nagel, David J.

2008-03-01

This paper examines the evidence for LENR occurring on or very near to the surface of materials. Several types of experimental indications for LENR surface reactions have been reported and will be reviewed. LENR result in two types of products, energy and the appearance of new elements. The level of instantaneous power production can be written as the product of four factors: (1) the total area of the surface on which the reactions can occur, (2) the fraction of the area that is active at any time, (3) the reaction rate, that is, the number of reactions per unit active area per second, and (4) the energy produced per reaction. Each of these factors, and their limits, are reviewed. A graphical means of relating these four factors over their wide variations has been devised. The instantaneous generation of atoms of new elements can also be written as the product of the first three factors and the new elemental mass produced per reaction. Again, a graphical means of presenting the factors and their results over many orders of magnitude has been developed.

Cluster ion-surface interactions: from meV to MeV energies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nordlund, Kai; Meinander, Kristoffer; Jaervi, Tommi T.; Peltola, Jarkko; Samela, Juha [Accelerator Laboratory, University of Helsinki (Finland)

2008-07-01

The nature of cluster ion-surface interactions changes dramatically with the kinetic energy of the incoming cluster species. In this talk I review some of our recent work on the nature of cluster-surface interactions spanning an energy range from a few MeV/cluster to about 1 MeV/cluster and cluster sizes in the range of 10 - 1000 atoms/cluster. In the energy range of a few MeV/cluster ion, the kinetic energy of the incoming ion is insignificant compared to the energy gained when the surface potential energy at the cluster-surface interface is released and partly translated into kinetic energy. Even in this energy regime I show that surprisingly drastic effects can occur. When the energy of the incoming cluster is raised to a few eV/atom, the kinetic energy of the incoming cluster starts to affect the deposition. It will cause the cluster to entirely reform on impact. When the energy is raised to the range of keV's/cluster, the clusters start to penetrate the sample, fairly similar to conventional ion implantation. However, in dense targets the cluster ions may stick close to each other long enough to cause a significant enhancement of the heat spike in the material. Finally, I show that at kinetic energies around 1 MeV/cluster the cluster enhancement of the heat spike may lead to dramatic surface effects.

Energy-driven surface evolution in beta-MnO2 structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yao, Wentao; Yuan, Yifei; Asayesh-Ardakani, Hasti; Huang, Zhennan; Long, Fei; Friedrich, Craig; Amine, Khalil; Lu, Jun; Shahbazian-Yassar, Reza

2018-01-01

Exposed crystal facets directly affect the electrochemical/catalytic performance of MnO2 materials during their applications in supercapacitors, rechargeable batteries, and fuel cells. Currently, the facet-controlled synthesis of MnO2 is facing serious challenges due to the lack of an in-depth understanding of their surface evolution mechanisms. Here, combining aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and high-resolution TEM, we revealed a mutual energy-driven mechanism between beta-MnO2 nanowires and microstructures that dominated the evolution of the lateral facets in both structures. The evolution of the lateral surfaces followed the elimination of the {100} facets and increased the occupancy of {110} facets with the increase in hydrothermal retention time. Both self-growth and oriented attachment along their {100} facets were observed as two different ways to reduce the surface energies of the beta-MnO2 structures. High-density screw dislocations with the 1/2 < 100 > Burgers vector were generated consequently. The observed surface evolution phenomenon offers guidance for the facet-controlled growth of beta-MnO2 materials with high performances for its application in metal-air batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, etc.

Energy Education Materials Inventory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-08-01

The two volumes of the Energy Education Materials Inventory (EEMI) comprise an annotated bibliography of widely available energy education materials and reference sources. This systematic listing is designed to provide a source book which will facilitate access to these educational resources and hasten the inclusion of energy-focused learning experiences in kindergarten through grade twelve. EEMI Volume II expands Volume I and contains items that have become available since its completion in May, 1976. The inventory consists of three major parts. A core section entitled Media contains titles and descriptive information on educational materials, categorized according to medium. The other two major sections - Grade Level and Subject - are cross indexes of the items for which citations appear in the Media Section. These contain titles categorized according to grade level and subject and show the page numbers of the full citations. The general subject area covered includes the following: alternative energy sources (wood, fuel from organic wastes, geothermal energy, nuclear power, solar energy, tidal power, wind energy); energy conservation, consumption, and utilization; energy policy and legislation, environmental/social aspects of energy technology; and fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, petroleum). (RWR)

Zwitterionic materials for antifouling membrane surface construction.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Mingrui; Gao, Kang; Zhou, Linjie; Jiao, Zhiwei; Wu, Mengyuan; Cao, Jialin; You, Xinda; Cai, Ziyi; Su, Yanlei; Jiang, Zhongyi

2016-08-01

Membrane separation processes are often perplexed by severe and ubiquitous membrane fouling. Zwitterionic materials, keeping electric neutrality with equivalent positive and negative charged groups, are well known for their superior antifouling properties and have been broadly utilized to construct antifouling surfaces for medical devices, biosensors and marine coatings applications. In recent years, zwitterionic materials have been more and more frequently utilized for constructing antifouling membrane surfaces. In this review, the antifouling mechanisms of zwitterionic materials as well as their biomimetic prototypes in cell membranes will be discussed, followed by the survey of common approaches to incorporate zwitterionic materials onto membrane surfaces including surface grafting, surface segregation, biomimetic adhesion, surface coating and so on. The potential applications of these antifouling membranes are also embedded. Finally, we will present a brief perspective on the future development of zwitterionic materials modified antifouling membranes. Membrane fouling is a severe problem hampering the application of membrane separation technology. The properties of membrane surfaces play a critical role in membrane fouling and antifouling behavior/performance. Antifouling membrane surface construction has evolved as a hot research issue for the development of membrane processes. Zwitterionic modification of membrane surfaces has been recognized as an effective strategy to resist membrane fouling. This review summarizes the antifouling mechanisms of zwitterionic materials inspired by cell membranes as well as the popular approaches to incorporate them onto membrane surfaces. It can help form a comprehensive knowledge about the principles and methods of modifying membrane surfaces with zwitterionic materials. Finally, we propose the possible future research directions of zwitterionic materials modified antifouling membranes. Copyright © 2016 Acta Materialia Inc

Smart materials for energy storage in Li-ion batteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashraf E Abdel-Ghany

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Advanced lithium-ion batteries contain smart materials having the function of insertion electrodes in the form of powders with specific and optimized electrochemical properties. Different classes can be considered: the surface modified active particles at either positive or negative electrodes, the nano-composite electrodes and the blended materials. In this paper, various systems are described, which illustrate the improvement of lithium-ion batteries in term of specific energy and power, thermal stability and life cycling.

Erosion of pyrolytic carbon under high surface energy deposition from a pulsed hydrogen plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolt, H.

1992-01-01

Carbon materials are widely applied as plasma facing materials in nuclear fusion devices and are also the prime candidate materials for the next generation of experimental fusion reactors. During operation these materials are frequently subjected to high energy deposition from plasma disruptions. The erosion of carbon materials is regarded as the main issue governing the operational lifetime of plasma facing components. Laboratory experiments have been performed to study the thermal erosion behaviour of carbon in a plasma environment. In the experiments the surface of pyrolytic carbon specimens was exposed to pulsed energy deposition of up to 3.8 MJ m -2 from a hydrogen plasma. The behaviour of the eroded carbon species in the plasma was measured by time-resolved and space-resolved spectroscopy. Intense line radiation of ionic carbon has been measured in the plasma in front of the carbon surface. The results show that the eroded carbon is immediately ionised in the vicinity of the material surface, with a fraction of it being ionised to the double-charged state. (Author)

The role of energetic ions from plasma in the creation of nanostructured materials and stable polymer surface treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilek, M.M.M.; Newton-McGee, K.; McKenzie, D.R.; McCulloch, D.G.

2006-01-01

Plasma processes for the synthesis of new materials as thin films have enabled the production of a wide variety of new materials. These include meta-stable phases, which are not readily found in nature, and more recently, materials with structure on the nanoscale. Study of plasma synthesis processes at the fundamental level has revealed that ion energy, depositing flux and growth surface temperature are the critical parameters affecting the microstructure and the properties of the thin film materials formed. In this paper, we focus on the role of ion flux and impact energy in the creation of thin films with nanoscale structure in the form of multilayers. We describe three synthesis strategies, based on the extraction of ions from plasma sources and involving modulation of ion flux and ion energy. The microstructure, intrinsic stress and physical properties of the multilayered samples synthesized are studied and related back to the conditions at the growth surface during deposition. When energetic ions of a non-condensing species are used, it is possible to place active groups on the surfaces of materials such as polymers. These active groups can then be used as bonding sites in subsequent chemical attachment of proteins or other macromolecules. If the energy of the non-condensing ions is increased to a few keV then modified layers buried under the surface can be produced. Here we describe a method by which the aging effect, which is often observed in plasma surface modifications on polymers, can be reduced and even eliminated using high energy ion bombardment

Review—Two-Dimensional Layered Materials for Energy Storage Applications

KAUST Repository

Kumar, Pushpendra

2016-07-02

Rechargeable batteries are most important energy storage devices in modern society with the rapid development and increasing demand for handy electronic devices and electric vehicles. The higher surface-to-volume ratio two-dimensional (2D) materials, especially transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) and transition metal carbide/nitrite generally referred as MXene, have attracted intensive research activities due to their fascinating physical/chemical properties with extensive applications. One of the growing applications is to use these 2D materials as potential electrodes for rechargeable batteries and electrochemical capacitors. This review is an attempt to summarize the research and development of TMDCs, MXenes and their hybrid structures in energy storage systems. (C) The Author(s) 2016. Published by ECS. All rights reserved.

Review—Two-Dimensional Layered Materials for Energy Storage Applications

KAUST Repository

Kumar, Pushpendra; Abuhimd, Hatem; Wahyudi, Wandi; Li, Mengliu; Ming, Jun; Li, Lain-Jong

2016-01-01

Rechargeable batteries are most important energy storage devices in modern society with the rapid development and increasing demand for handy electronic devices and electric vehicles. The higher surface-to-volume ratio two-dimensional (2D) materials, especially transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) and transition metal carbide/nitrite generally referred as MXene, have attracted intensive research activities due to their fascinating physical/chemical properties with extensive applications. One of the growing applications is to use these 2D materials as potential electrodes for rechargeable batteries and electrochemical capacitors. This review is an attempt to summarize the research and development of TMDCs, MXenes and their hybrid structures in energy storage systems. (C) The Author(s) 2016. Published by ECS. All rights reserved.

Liquid Metals as Plasma-facing Materials for Fusion Energy Systems: From Atoms to Tokamaks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stone, Howard A. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Koel, Bruce E. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Bernasek, Steven L. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Carter, Emily A. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Debenedetti, Pablo G. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States); Panagiotopoulos, Athanassios Z. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)

2017-06-23

The objective of our studies was to advance our fundamental understanding of liquid metals as plasma-facing materials for fusion energy systems, with a broad scope: from atoms to tokamaks. The flow of liquid metals offers solutions to significant problems of the plasma-facing materials for fusion energy systems. Candidate metals include lithium, tin, gallium, and their eutectic combinations. However, such liquid metal solutions can only be designed efficiently if a range of scientific and engineering issues are resolved that require advances in fundamental fluid dynamics, materials science and surface science. In our research we investigated a range of significant and timely problems relevant to current and proposed engineering designs for fusion reactors, including high-heat flux configurations that are being considered by leading fusion energy groups world-wide. Using experimental and theoretical tools spanning atomistic to continuum descriptions of liquid metals, and bridging surface chemistry, wetting/dewetting and flow, our research has advanced the science and engineering of fusion energy materials and systems. Specifically, we developed a combined experimental and theoretical program to investigate flows of liquid metals in fusion-relevant geometries, including equilibrium and stability of thin-film flows, e.g. wetting and dewetting, effects of electromagnetic and thermocapillary fields on liquid metal thin-film flows, and how chemical interactions and the properties of the surface are influenced by impurities and in turn affect the surface wetting characteristics, the surface tension, and its gradients. Because high-heat flux configurations produce evaporation and sputtering, which forces rearrangement of the liquid, and any dewetting exposes the substrate to damage from the plasma, our studies addressed such evaporatively driven liquid flows and measured and simulated properties of the different bulk phases and material interfaces. The range of our studies

Surface energy effect on free vibration of nano-sized piezoelectric double-shell structures

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Xue-Qian; Zhu, Chang-Song; Liu, Jin-Xi; Liu, Xiang-Lin

2018-01-01

Combining Goldenveizer-Novozhilov shell theory, thin plate theory and electro-elastic surface theory, the size-dependent vibration of nano-sized piezoelectric double-shell structures under simply supported boundary condition is presented, and the surface energy effect on the natural frequencies is discussed. The displacement components of the cylindrical nano-shells and annular nano-plates are expanded as the superposition of standard Fourier series based on Hamilton's principle. The total stresses with consideration of surface energy effect are derived, and the total energy function is obtained by using Rayleigh-Ritz energy method. The free vibration equation is solved, and the natural frequency is analyzed. In numerical examples, it is found that the surface elastic constant, piezoelectric constant and surface residual stress show different effects on the natural frequencies. The effect of surface piezoelectric constant is the maximum. The effect of dimensions of the double-shell under different surface material properties is also examined.

Nanometer-size surface modification produced by single, low energy, highly charged ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stockli, M.P.

1994-01-01

Atomically flat surfaces of insulators have been bombarded with low energy, highly charged ions to search for nanometer-size surface modifications. It is expected that the high electron deficiency of highly charged ions will capture and/or remove many of the insulator's localized electrons when impacting on an insulating surface. The resulting local electron deficiency is expected to locally disintegrate the insulator through a open-quotes Coulomb explosionclose quotes forming nanometer-size craters. Xe ions with charge states between 10+ and 45+ and kinetic energies between 0 and 10 keV/q were obtained from the KSU-CRYEBIS, a CRYogenic Electron Beam Ion Source and directed onto various insulating materials. Mica was favored as target material as atomically flat surfaces can be obtained reliably through cleaving. However, the authors observations with an atomic force microscope have shown that mica tends to defoliate locally rather than disintegrate, most likely due to the small binding forces between adjacent layers. So far the authors measurements indicate that each ion produces one blister if the charge state is sufficiently high. The blistering does not seem to depend very much on the kinetic energy of the ions

Low energy ion beam systems for surface analytical and structural studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, G.C.

1980-01-01

This paper reviews the use of low energy ion beam systems for surface analytical and structural studies. Areas where analytical methods which utilize ion beams can provide a unique insight into materials problems are discussed. The design criteria of ion beam systems for performing materials studies are described and the systems now being used by a number of laboratories are reviewed. Finally, several specific problems are described where the solution was provided at least in part by information provided by low energy ion analysis techniques

Molecularly Engineered Energy Materials, an Energy Frontier Research Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ozolins, Vidvuds [Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States). Materials Science and Engineering Dept.

2016-09-28

Molecularly Engineered Energy Materials (MEEM) was established as an interdisciplinary cutting-edge UCLA-based research center uniquely equipped to attack the challenge of rationally designing, synthesizing and testing revolutionary new energy materials. Our mission was to achieve transformational improvements in the performance of materials via controlling the nano-and mesoscale structure using selectively designed, earth-abundant, inexpensive molecular building blocks. MEEM has focused on materials that are inherently abundant, can be easily assembled from intelligently designed building blocks (molecules, nanoparticles), and have the potential to deliver transformative economic benefits in comparison with the current crystalline-and polycrystalline-based energy technologies. MEEM addressed basic science issues related to the fundamental mechanisms of carrier generation, energy conversion, as well as transport and storage of charge and mass in tunable, architectonically complex materials. Fundamental understanding of these processes will enable rational design, efficient synthesis and effective deployment of novel three-dimensional material architectures for energy applications. Three interrelated research directions were initially identified where these novel architectures hold great promise for high-reward research: solar energy generation, electrochemical energy storage, and materials for CO₂ capture. Of these, the first two remained throughout the project performance period, while carbon capture was been phased out in consultation and with approval from BES program manager.

Nano Sensing and Energy Conversion Using Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iltai (Isaac Kim

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Nanophotonic technique has been attracting much attention in applications of nano-bio-chemical sensing and energy conversion of solar energy harvesting and enhanced energy transfer. One approach for nano-bio-chemical sensing is surface plasmon resonance (SPR imaging, which can detect the material properties, such as density, ion concentration, temperature, and effective refractive index in high sensitivity, label-free, and real-time under ambient conditions. Recent study shows that SPR can successfully detect the concentration variation of nanofluids during evaporation-induced self-assembly process. Spoof surface plasmon resonance based on multilayer metallo-dielectric hyperbolic metamaterials demonstrate SPR dispersion control, which can be combined with SPR imaging, to characterize high refractive index materials because of its exotic optical properties. Furthermore, nano-biophotonics could enable innovative energy conversion such as the increase of absorption and emission efficiency and the perfect absorption. Localized SPR using metal nanoparticles show highly enhanced absorption in solar energy harvesting. Three-dimensional hyperbolic metamaterial cavity nanostructure shows enhanced spontaneous emission. Recently ultrathin film perfect absorber is demonstrated with the film thickness is as low as ~1/50th of the operating wavelength using epsilon-near-zero (ENZ phenomena at the wavelength close to SPR. It is expected to provide a breakthrough in sensing and energy conversion applications using the exotic optical properties based on the nanophotonic technique.

Surface energies of metals in both liquid and solid states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aqra, Fathi; Ayyad, Ahmed

2011-01-01

Although during the last years one has seen a number of systematic studies of the surface energies of metals, the aim and the scientific meaning of this research is to establish a simple and a straightforward theoretical model to calculate accurately the mechanical and the thermodynamic properties of metal surfaces due to their important application in materials processes and in the understanding of a wide range of surface phenomena. Through extensive theoretical calculations of the surface tension of most of the liquid metals, we found that the fraction of broken bonds in liquid metals (f) is constant which is equal to 0.287. Using our estimated f value, the surface tension (γ m ), surface energy (γ SV ), surface excess entropy (-dγ/dT), surface excess enthalpy (H s ), coefficient of thermal expansion (α m and α b ), sound velocity (c m ) and its temperature coefficient (-dc/dT) have been calculated for more than sixty metals. The results of the calculated quantities agree well with available experimental data.

Basic reactions of osteoblasts on structured material surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. Meyer

2005-04-01

Full Text Available In order to assess how bone substitute materials determine bone formation in vivo it is useful to understand the mechanisms of the material surface/tissue interaction on a cellular level. Artificial materials are used in two applications, as biomaterials alone or as a scaffold for osteoblasts in a tissue engineering approach. Recently, many efforts have been undertaken to improve bone regeneration by the use of structured material surfaces. In vitro studies of bone cell responses to artificial materials are the basic tool to determine these interactions. Surface properties of materials surfaces as well as biophysical constraints at the biomaterial surface are of major importance since these features will direct the cell responses. Studies on osteoblast-like cell reactivity towards materials will have to focus on the different steps of protein and cell reactions towards defined surface properties. The introduction of new techniques allows nowadays the fabrication of materials with ordered surface structures. This paper gives a review of present knowledge on the various stages of osteoblast reactions on material surfaces, focused on basic cell events under in vitro conditions. Special emphasis is given to cellular reactions towards ordered nano-sized topographies.

Energy materials

CERN Document Server

Bruce, Duncan W; Walton, Richard I

2011-01-01

In an age of global industrialisation and population growth, the area of energy is one that is very much in the public consciousness. Fundamental scientific research is recognised as being crucial to delivering solutions to these issues, particularly to yield novel means of providing efficient, ideally recyclable, ways of converting, transporting and delivering energy. This volume considers a selection of the state-of-the-art materials that are being designed to meet some of the energy challenges we face today. Topics are carefully chosen that show how the skill of the synthetic chemist can

Experimental Study of Plasma-Surface Interaction and Material Damage Relevant to ITER Type I Elms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makhlai, V.A.; Bandura, A.N.; Byrka, O.V. and others; Landman, I.; Neklyudov, I.M.

2006-01-01

The paper presents experimental investigations of main features of plasma surface interaction and energy transfer to the material surface in dependence on plasma heat loads. The experiments were performed with QSPA repetitive plasma pulses of the duration of 0.25 ms and the energy density up to 2.5 MJ/m 2 . Surface morphology of the targets exposed to QSPA plasma screams is analyzed. Relative contribution of the Lorentz force and plasma pressure gradient to the resulting surface profile is discussed. development of cracking on the tungsten surface and swelling of the surface are found to be in strong dependence on initial temperature of the target

Comparison of Piezo-material based Energy Transduction Systems for Artificial Nanoswimmer

Science.gov (United States)

Nain, S.; Rathore, J. S.; Sharma, N. N.

2018-04-01

The energy harnessing is a process of obtaining energy from the surrounding environment and converting into electrical energy. In the last two decades, there has been a plenteous study in energy harnessing. Now a day, energy harnessing using piezoelectric materials has drawn attention of researchers due to low cost, flexibility and light weight. The benefits of piezoelectric material can be utilized by designing a self-powered device for artificial nanoswimmer. Some of the ceramics which displays the piezoelectric effect are lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT), lead-titanate (PbTiO2), lead-zirconate (PbZrO3) and Barium Titanate (BaTiO3). PZT is most extensively used piezoelectric material in the field of energy harnessing but it is brittle in nature. Lead based piezoelectric materials are toxic in nature and may not suitable for in-vivo biomedical applications. To eradicate this problem, researchers are interested in synthesizing lead free piezoelectric material such as Aluminium Nitride (AIN), Barium Titanate (BaTiO3) and Polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF). The biocompatibility of PVDF makes it appropriate to be used for energy harnessing in human body for applications like on board powering of nanoswimmer for various disease detection and drug delivery. In this paper, a cantilever beam is being simulated in COMSOL to study electric potential generated on the surface of beam made of different piezoelectric materials such as AIN, PVDF and PZT due to fluidic pressure, which will be utilized as energy for actuation of artificial nanoswimmer. Piezo-based cantilever beams have been compared and maximum electric potential is being observed in PVDF based beam. PVDF seems most promising piezoelectric material for in-vivo biomedical application and it is readily available.

Materials surface modification by plasma bombardment under simultaneous erosion and redeposition conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirooka, Y.; Goebel, D.M.; Conn, R.W.

1986-07-01

The first in-depth investigation of surface modification of materials by continuous, high-flux argon plasma bombardment under simultaneous erosion and redeposition conditions have been carried out for copper and 304 stainless steel using the PISCES facility. The plasma bombardment conditions are: incident ion flux range from 10 17 to 10 19 ions sec -1 cm -2 , total ion fluence is controlled between 10 19 and 10 22 ions cm -2 , electron temperature range from 5 to 15 eV, and plasma density range from 10 11 to 10 13 cm -3 . The incident ion energy is 100 eV. The sample temperature is between 300 and 700K. Under redeposition dominated conditions, the material erosion rate due to the plasma bombardment is significantly smaller (by a factor up to 10) than that can be expected from the classical ion beam sputtering yield data. It is found that surface morphologies of redeposited materials strongly depend on the plasma bombardment condition. The effect of impurities on surface morphology is elucidated in detail. First-order modelings are implemented to interpret the reduced erosion rate and the surface evolution. Also, fusion related surface properties of redeposited materials such as hydrogen reemission and plasma driven permeation have been characterized

Study of Material Compatibility for a Thermal Energy Storage System with Phase Change Material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Songgang Qiu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The suitability of stainless steel 316L and Inconel 625 for use in a latent heat thermal energy storage (TES system was investigated. A NaCl–NaF eutectic mixture with a melting temperature of 680 °C was used as the phase change material (PCM. Containers were filled with the PCM prior to heating to 750 °C, then examined after 100 and 2500 h of high-temperature exposure by analyzing the material surface and cross-section areas. A small amount of corrosion was present in both samples after 100 h. Neither sample suffered significant damage after 2500 h. The undesirable inter-granular grain boundary attack found in SS316L samples was in the order of 1–2 µm in depth. On Inconel 625 sample surface, an oxide complex formed, resisting material dissolution into the PCM. The surface morphology of tested samples remained largely unchanged after 2500 h, but the corrosion pattern changed from an initially localized corrosion penetration to a more uniform type. After 2500 h, the corrosion depth of Inconel 625 remained at roughly 1–2 µm, indicating that the corrosion rate decelerated. Both materials demonstrated good compatibility with the chosen NaF–NaCl eutectic salt, but the low corrosion activity in Inconel 625 samples shows a performance advantage for long term operation.

Relationship between enamel bond fatigue durability and surface free-energy characteristics with universal adhesives.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagura, Yuko; Tsujimoto, Akimasa; Barkmeier, Wayne W; Watanabe, Hidehiko; Johnson, William W; Takamizawa, Toshiki; Latta, Mark A; Miyazaki, Masashi

2018-04-01

The relationship between enamel bond fatigue durability and surface free-energy characteristics with universal adhesives was investigated. The initial shear bond strengths and shear fatigue strengths of five universal adhesives to enamel were determined with and without phosphoric acid pre-etching. The surface free-energy characteristics of adhesive-treated enamel with and without pre-etching were also determined. The initial shear bond strength and shear fatigue strength of universal adhesive to pre-etched enamel were higher than those to ground enamel. The initial shear bond strength and shear fatigue strength of universal adhesive to pre-etched enamel were material dependent, unlike those to ground enamel. The surface free-energy of the solid (γ S ) and the hydrogen-bonding force (γSh) of universal adhesive-treated enamel were different depending on the adhesive, regardless of the presence or absence of pre-etching. The bond fatigue durability of universal adhesives was higher to pre-etched enamel than to ground enamel. In addition, the bond fatigue durability to pre-etched enamel was material dependent, unlike that to ground enamel. The surface free-energy characteristics of universal adhesive-treated enamel were influenced by the adhesive type, regardless of the presence or absence of pre-etching. The surface free-energy characteristics of universal adhesive-treated enamel were related to the results of the bond fatigue durability. © 2018 Eur J Oral Sci.

Mobile Interfaces: Liquids as a Perfect Structural Material for Multifunctional, Antifouling Surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grinthal, A; Aizenberg, J

2014-01-14

Life creates some of its most robust, extreme surface materials not from solids but from liquids: a purely liquid interface, stabilized by underlying nanotexture, makes carnivorous plant leaves ultraslippery, the eye optically perfect and dirt-resistant, our knees lubricated and pressure-tolerant, and insect feet reversibly adhesive and shape-adaptive. Novel liquid surfaces based on this idea have recently been shown to display unprecedented omniphobic, self-healing, anti-ice, antifouling, optical, and adaptive properties. In this Perspective, we present a framework and a path forward for developing and designing such liquid surfaces into sophisticated, versatile multifunctional materials. Drawing on concepts from solid materials design and fluid dynamics, we outline how the continuous dynamics, responsiveness, and multiscale patternability of a liquid surface layer can be harnessed to create a wide range of unique, active interfacial functions able to operate in harsh, changing environments not achievable with static solids. We discuss how, in partnership with the underlying substrate, the liquid surface can be programmed to adaptively and reversibly reconfigure from a defect-free, molecularly smooth, transparent interface through a range of finely tuned liquid topographies in response to environmental stimuli. With nearly unlimited design possibilities and unmatched interfacial properties, liquid materials as long-term stable interfaces yet in their fully liquid state may potentially transform surface design everywhere from medicine to architecture to energy infrastructure.

Analysis of fracture surface of CFRP material by three-dimensional reconstruction methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lobo, Raquel M.; Andrade, Arnaldo H.P.

2009-01-01

Fracture surfaces of CFRP (carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) materials, used in the nuclear fuel cycle, presents an elevated roughness, mainly due to the fracture mode known as pulling out, that displays pieces of carbon fibers after debonding between fiber and matrix. The fractographic analysis, by bi-dimensional images is deficient for not considering the so important vertical resolution as much as the horizontal resolution. In this case, the knowledge of this heights distribution that occurs during the breaking, can lead to the calculation of the involved energies in the process that would allows a better agreement on the fracture mechanisms of the composite material. An important solution for the material characterization, whose surface presents a high roughness due to the variation in height, is to reconstruct three-dimensionally these fracture surfaces. In this work, the 3D reconstruction was done by two different methods: the variable focus reconstruction, through a stack of images obtained by optical microscopy (OM) and the parallax reconstruction, carried through with images acquired by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of both methods present an elevation map of the reconstructed image that determine the height of the surface pixel by pixel,. The results obtained by the methods of reconstruction for the CFRP surfaces, have been compared with others materials such as aluminum and copper that present a ductile type fracture surface, with lower roughness. (author)

Implementation of solar-reflective surfaces: Materials and utility programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bretz, S.; Akbari, H.; Rosenfeld, A.; Taha, H.

1992-06-01

This report focuses on implementation issues for using solar-reflective surfaces to cool urban heat islands, with specific examples for Sacramento, California. Advantages of solar-reflective surfaces for reducing energy use are: (1) they are cost-effective if albedo is increased during routine maintenance; (2) the energy savings coincide with peak demand for power; (3) there are positive effects on environmental quality; and (4) the white materials have a long service life. Important considerations when choosing materials for mitigating heat islands are identified as albedo, emissivity, durability, cost, pollution and appearance. There is a potential for increasing urban albedo in Sacramento by an additional 18%. Of residential roofs, we estimate that asphalt shingle and modified bitumen cover the largest area, and that built-up roofing and modified bitumen cover the largest area of commercial buildings. For all of these roof types, albedo may be increased at the time of re-roofing without any additional cost. When a roof is repaired, a solar-reflective roof coating may be applied to significantly increase albedo and extend the life of the root Although a coating may be cost-effective if applied to a new roof following installation or to an older roof following repair, it is not cost-effective if the coating is applied only to save energy. Solar-reflective pavement may be cost-effective if the albedo change is included in the routine resurfacing schedule. Cost-effective options for producing light-colored pavement may include: (1) asphalt concrete, if white aggregate is locally available; (2) concrete overlays; and (3) newly developed white binders and aggregate. Another option may be hot-rolled asphalt, with white chippings. Utilities could promote solar-reflective surfaces through advertisement, educational programs and cost-sharing of road resurfacing.

Advanced nanostructured materials for energy storage and conversion

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchings, Gregory S.

Due to a global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to utilize renewable sources of energy, much effort has been directed towards creating new alternatives to fossil fuels. Identifying novel materials for energy storage and conversion can enable radical changes to the current fuel production infrastructure and energy utilization. The use of engineered nanostructured materials in these systems unlocks unique catalytic activity in practical configurations. In this work, research efforts have been focused on the development of nanostructured materials to address the need for both better energy conversion and storage, with applications toward Li-O2 battery electrocatalysts, electrocatalytic generation of H2, conversion of furfural to useful chemicals and fuels, and Li battery anode materials. Highly-active alpha-MnO2 materials were synthesized for use as bifunctional oxygen reduction (ORR) and evolution (OER) catalysts in Li-O2 batteries, and were evaluated under operating conditions with a novel in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy configuration. Through detailed analysis of local coordination and oxidation states of Mn atoms at key points in the electrochemical cycle, a self-switching behavior affecting the bifunctional activity was identified and found to be critical. In an additional study of materials for lithium batteries, nanostructured TiO2 anode materials doped with first-row transition metals were synthesized and evaluated for improving battery discharge capacity and rate performance, with Ni and Co doping at low levels found to cause the greatest enhancement. In addition to battery technology research, I have also sought to find inexpensive and earth-abundant electrocatalysts to replace state-of-the-art Pt/C in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), a systematic computational study of Cu-based bimetallic electrocatalysts was performed. During the screening of dilute surface alloys of Cu mixed with other first-row transition metals, materials with

Surface energy loss processes in XPS studied by absolute reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagatomi, T.; Goto, K.

2010-01-01

The results of the investigation of the inelastic interaction of 300-3000 eV electrons with the Ni and Au surfaces by the analysis of absolute reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy (REELS) spectra were described. The present analysis enables the inelastic mean free path (IMFP), surface excitation parameter (SEP) and differential SEP (DSEP) to be obtained simultaneously from an absolute REELS spectrum. The obtained IMFPs for Ni and Au showed a good agreement with those calculated using the TPP-2M predictive equation. The present SEPs determined for Ni and Au were fitted to the Chen's formula describing the dependence of the SEP on the electron energy, and material parameters for Ni and Au in Chen's formula were proposed. The present DESPs were compared with the theoretical results, and a reasonable agreement between the experimentally determined DSEPs and theoretical results was confirmed. The MC modeling of calculating the REELS spectrum, in which energy loss processes due to surface excitations are taken into account, was also described. The IMFP, SEP and DSEP determined by the present absolute REELS analysis were employed to describe energy loss processes by inelastic scattering in the proposed MC simulation. The simulated REELS spectra were found to be in a good agreement with the experimental spectra for both Ni and Au.

Nanoencapsulation of phase change materials for advanced thermal energy storage systems

Science.gov (United States)

Shchukina, E. M.; Graham, M.; Zheng, Z.

2018-01-01

Phase change materials (PCMs) allow the storage of large amounts of latent heat during phase transition. They have the potential to both increase the efficiency of renewable energies such as solar power through storage of excess energy, which can be used at times of peak demand; and to reduce overall energy demand through passive thermal regulation. 198.3 million tons of oil equivalent were used in the EU in 2013 for heating. However, bulk PCMs are not suitable for use without prior encapsulation. Encapsulation in a shell material provides benefits such as protection of the PCM from the external environment and increased specific surface area to improve heat transfer. This review highlights techniques for the encapsulation of both organic and inorganic PCMs, paying particular attention to nanoencapsulation (capsules with sizes energy release/uptake. PMID:29658558

Nanoencapsulation of phase change materials for advanced thermal energy storage systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Shchukina, E M; Graham, M; Zheng, Z; Shchukin, D G

2018-04-16

Phase change materials (PCMs) allow the storage of large amounts of latent heat during phase transition. They have the potential to both increase the efficiency of renewable energies such as solar power through storage of excess energy, which can be used at times of peak demand; and to reduce overall energy demand through passive thermal regulation. 198.3 million tons of oil equivalent were used in the EU in 2013 for heating. However, bulk PCMs are not suitable for use without prior encapsulation. Encapsulation in a shell material provides benefits such as protection of the PCM from the external environment and increased specific surface area to improve heat transfer. This review highlights techniques for the encapsulation of both organic and inorganic PCMs, paying particular attention to nanoencapsulation (capsules with sizes energy release/uptake.

Tuning surface porosity on vanadium surface by low energy He{sup +} ion irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tripathi, J.K., E-mail: jtripat@purdue.edu; Novakowski, T.J.; Hassanein, A.

2016-08-15

Highlights: • Surface nanostructuring on vanadium surface using novel He{sup +} ion irradiation process. • Tuning surface-porosity using high-flux, low-energy He{sup +} ion irradiation at constant elevated sample temperature (823–173 K). • Presented top-down approach guarantees good contact between different crystallites. • Sequential significant enhancement in surface-pore edge size (and corresponding reduction in surface-pore density) with increasing sample temperature. - Abstract: In the present study, we report on tuning the surface porosity on vanadium surfaces using high-flux, low-energy He{sup +} ion irradiation as function of sample temperature. Polished, mirror-finished vanadium samples were irradiated with 100 eV He{sup +} ions at a constant ion-flux of 7.2 × 10{sup 20} ions m{sup −2} s{sup −1} for 1 h duration at constant sample temperatures in the wide range of 823–1173 K. Our results show that the surface porosity of V{sub 2}O{sub 5} (naturally oxidized vanadium porous structure, after taking out from UHV) is strongly correlated to the sample temperature and is highly tunable. In fact, the surface porosity significantly increases with reducing sample temperature and reaches up to ∼87%. Optical reflectivity on these highly porous V{sub 2}O{sub 5} surfaces show ∼0% optical reflectivity at 670 nm wavelength, which is very similar to that of “black metal”. Combined with the naturally high melting point of V{sub 2}O{sub 5}, this very low optical reflectivity suggests potential application in solar power concentration technology. Additionally, this top-down approach guarantees relatively good contact between the different crystallites and avoids electrical conductivity limitations (if required). Since V{sub 2}O{sub 5} is naturally a potential photocatalytic material, the resulting sub-micron-sized cube-shaped porous structures could be used in solar water splitting for hydrogen production in energy applications.

Ab initio and work function and surface energy anisotropy of LaB6

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Uijttewaal, M. A.; de Wijs, G. A.; de Groot, R. A.

2006-01-01

Lanthanum hexaboride is one of the cathode materials most used in high-power electronics technology, but the many experimental results do not provide a consistent picture of the surface properties. Therefore, we report the first ab initio calculations of the work functions and surface energies of

Computational approaches to energy materials

CERN Document Server

Catlow, Richard; Walsh, Aron

2013-01-01

The development of materials for clean and efficient energy generation and storage is one of the most rapidly developing, multi-disciplinary areas of contemporary science, driven primarily by concerns over global warming, diminishing fossil-fuel reserves, the need for energy security, and increasing consumer demand for portable electronics. Computational methods are now an integral and indispensable part of the materials characterisation and development process.   Computational Approaches to Energy Materials presents a detailed survey of current computational techniques for the

Adsorption energies of poly(ethylene oxide)-based surfactants and nanoparticles on an air-water surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Zell, Zachary A; Isa, Lucio; Ilg, Patrick; Leal, L Gary; Squires, Todd M

2014-01-14

The self-assembly of polymer-based surfactants and nanoparticles on fluid-fluid interfaces is central to many applications, including dispersion stabilization, creation of novel 2D materials, and surface patterning. Very often these processes involve compressing interfacial monolayers of particles or polymers to obtain a desired material microstructure. At high surface pressures, however, even highly interfacially active objects can desorb from the interface. Methods of directly measuring the energy which keeps the polymer or particles bound to the interface (adsorption/desorption energies) are therefore of high interest for these processes. Moreover, though a geometric description linking adsorption energy and wetting properties through the definition of a contact angle can be established for rigid nano- or microparticles, such a description breaks down for deformable or aggregating objects. Here, we demonstrate a technique to quantify desorption energies directly, by comparing surface pressure-density compression measurements using a Wilhelmy plate and a custom-microfabricated deflection tensiometer. We focus on poly(ethylene oxide)-based polymers and nanoparticles. For PEO-based homo- and copolymers, the adsorption energy of PEO chains scales linearly with molecular weight and can be tuned by changing the subphase composition. Moreover, the desorption surface pressure of PEO-stabilized nanoparticles corresponds to the saturation surface pressure for spontaneously adsorbed monolayers, yielding trapping energies of ∼10(3) k(B)T.

Nanostructured Mo-based electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xianluo; Zhang, Wei; Liu, Xiaoxiao; Mei, Yueni; Huang, Yunhui

2015-04-21

The development of advanced energy storage devices is at the forefront of research geared towards a sustainable future. Nanostructured materials are advantageous in offering huge surface to volume ratios, favorable transport features, and attractive physicochemical properties. They have been extensively explored in various fields of energy storage and conversion. This review is focused largely on the recent progress in nanostructured Mo-based electrode materials including molybdenum oxides (MoO(x), 2 ≤ x ≤ 3), dichalconides (MoX2, X = S, Se), and oxysalts for rechargeable lithium/sodium-ion batteries, Mg batteries, and supercapacitors. Mo-based compounds including MoO2, MoO3, MoO(3-y) (0 energy storage systems because of their unique physicochemical properties, such as conductivity, mechanical and thermal stability, and cyclability. In this review, we aim to provide a systematic summary of the synthesis, modification, and electrochemical performance of nanostructured Mo-based compounds, as well as their energy storage applications in lithium/sodium-ion batteries, Mg batteries, and pseudocapacitors. The relationship between nanoarchitectures and electrochemical performances as well as the related charge-storage mechanism is discussed. Moreover, remarks on the challenges and perspectives of Mo-containing compounds for further development in electrochemical energy storage applications are proposed. This review sheds light on the sustainable development of advanced rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors with nanostructured Mo-based electrode materials.

Precise atomic-scale investigations of material sputtering process by light gas ions in pre-threshold energy region

CERN Document Server

Suvorov, A L

2002-01-01

Foundation and prospects of the new original technique of the sputtering yield determination of electro-conducting materials and sub-atomic layers on their surface by light gas ions the pre-threshold energy region (from 10 to 500 eV) are considered. The technique allows to identify individual surface vacancies, i.e., to count individual sputtered atoms directly. A short review of the original results obtained by using the developed techniques is given. Data are presented and analyzed concerning energy thresholds of the sputtering onset and energy dependences of sputtering yield in the threshold energy region for beryllium, tungsten, tungsten oxide, alternating tungsten-carbon layers, three carbon materials as well as for sub-atomic carbon layers on surface of certain metals at their bombardment by hydrogen, deuterium and/or helium ions

Applications of pulsed energy sources and hydrodynamic response to materials science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perry, F.; Nelson, W.

1993-01-01

The dynamic response of materials to pulsed, relativistic electron beams was studied for materials science applications over two decades ago. Presently, intense light ion beams are being explored for materials science applications. These include the Ion Beam Surface Treatment (IBEST) of materials for producing stronger and more corrosion-resistant materials and the evaporative deposition of polycrystalline thin films. Laser sources are also being extensively utilized as pulsed energy sources in medical science and in clinical applications. In particular, laser-tissue interactions are being investigated for laser angioplasty and surgery as well as cancer therapy. The understanding of the energy deposition and hydrodynamic response of a wide range of materials is essential to the success of these applications. In order to address these materials science applications, the authors are utilizing and developing high quality, energy deposition-hydrodynamic code techniques which can aid in the design and interpretation of experiments. Consequently, the authors strongly encourage the development of 3-dimensional, species-selective diagnostic techniques, e.g. Resonant Holographic Interferometry Spectroscopy (RHIS), to be used in analyzing the ablation plume in the thin film deposition experiments. In this presentation they show the results and discuss the limitations of calculations for these materials applications. They also discuss the status of the RHIS diagnostic

FWP executive summaries, Basic Energy Sciences Materials Sciences Programs (SNL/NM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samara, G.A.

1997-05-01

The BES Materials Sciences Program has the central theme of Scientifically Tailored Materials. The major objective of this program is to combine Sandia`s expertise and capabilities in the areas of solid state sciences, advanced atomic-level diagnostics and materials synthesis and processing science to produce new classes of tailored materials as well as to enhance the properties of existing materials for US energy applications and for critical defense needs. Current core research in this program includes the physics and chemistry of ceramics synthesis and processing, the use of energetic particles for the synthesis and study of materials, tailored surfaces and interfaces for materials applications, chemical vapor deposition sciences, artificially-structured semiconductor materials science, advanced growth techniques for improved semiconductor structures, transport in unconventional solids, atomic-level science of interfacial adhesion, high-temperature superconductors, and the synthesis and processing of nano-size clusters for energy applications. In addition, the program includes the following three smaller efforts initiated in the past two years: (1) Wetting and Flow of Liquid Metals and Amorphous Ceramics at Solid Interfaces, (2) Field-Structured Anisotropic Composites, and (3) Composition-Modulated Semiconductor Structures for Photovoltaic and Optical Technologies. The latter is a joint effort with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Separate summaries are given of individual research areas.

Modification of Surface Energy via Direct Laser Ablative Surface Patterning

Science.gov (United States)

Wohl, Christopher J., Jr. (Inventor); Belcher, Marcus A. (Inventor); Connell, John W. (Inventor); Hopkins, John W. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

Surface energy of a substrate is changed without the need for any template, mask, or additional coating medium applied to the substrate. At least one beam of energy directly ablates a substrate surface to form a predefined topographical pattern at the surface. Each beam of energy has a width of approximately 25 micrometers and an energy of approximately 1-500 microJoules. Features in the topographical pattern have a width of approximately 1-500 micrometers and a height of approximately 1.4-100 micrometers.

Materials in energy conversion, harvesting, and storage

CERN Document Server

Lu, Kathy

2014-01-01

First authored book to address materials' role in the quest for the next generation of energy materials Energy balance, efficiency, sustainability, and so on, are some of many facets of energy challenges covered in current research. However, there has not been a monograph that directly covers a spectrum of materials issues in the context of energy conversion, harvesting and storage. Addressing one of the most pressing problems of our time, Materials in Energy Conversion, Harvesting, and Storage illuminates the roles and performance requirements of materials in energy an

Surface energy anisotropy of tungsten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, R; Grenga, H E [Georgia Inst. of Tech., Atlanta (USA). School of Chemical Engineering

1976-10-01

Field-ion microscopy was used to study the faceting behavior and/or surface energy anisotropy of tungsten in vacuum and in hydrogen. In vacuum below 1700 K the activation energy for (110) facet growth agreed with values previously reported for surface diffusion on tungsten. The observed anisotropy values at 0.5 Tsub(m), where Tsub(m) is the absolute melting temperature of tungsten (approximately 3680 K), were different from those previously reported at higher temperatures and more nearly agreed with broken bond calculations based on Mie potential using m=5, n=8, and a 1.5% lattice expansion. Hydrogen appeared to have a negligible effect on surface energy anisotropy, but did preferentially increase surface diffusion rates on (310) regions.

Confined-Volume Effect on the Thermal Properties of Encapsulated Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

De Castro, Paula F; Ahmed, Adham; Shchukin, Dmitry G

2016-03-18

We have encapsulated the heat exchange material, n-docosane, into polyurethane capsules of different sizes. Decreasing the size of the capsules leads to changes of the crystallinity of phase-change material as well as melting/crystallization temperature. The novelty of the paper includes 1) protection of the nanostructured energy-enriched materials against environment during storage and controlled release of the encapsulated energy on demand and 2) study of the structure and surface-to-volume properties of the energy-enriched materials dispersed in capsules of different sizes. The stability of energy nanomaterials, influence of capsule diameter on their energy capacity, homogeneity and operation lifetime are investigated. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Integration of Geometrical and Material Nonlinear Energy Sink with Piezoelectric Material Energy Harvester

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye-Wei Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel design by integrating geometrical and material nonlinear energy sink (NES with a piezoelectric-based vibration energy harvester under shock excitation, which can realize vibration control and energy harvesting. The nonlinear spring and hysteresis behavior of the NES could reflect geometrical and material nonlinearity, respectively. Two configurations of the piezoelectric device, including the piezoelectric element embedded between the NES mass and the single-degree-of-freedom system or ground, are utilised to examine the energy dissipated by damper and hysteresis behavior of NES and the energy harvested by the piezoelectric element. Similar numerical research methods of Runge-Kutta algorithm are used to investigate the two configurations. The energy transaction measure (ETM is adopted to examine the instantaneous energy transaction between the primary and the NES-piezoelectricity system. And it demonstrates that the dissipated and harvested energy transaction is transferred from the primary system to the NES-piezoelectricity system and the instantaneous transaction of mechanical energy occupies a major part of the energy of transaction. Both figurations could realize vibration control efficiently.

Surface Thermometry of Energetic Materials by Laser-Induced Fluorescence

Science.gov (United States)

1989-09-01

at 34 yttrium- aluminum -garnet (Dy:YAG). The simplified energy diagram of Dy:YAG is shown in Fig. 1. Absorbed laser light (at 355 nrm) can 5 excite the...the thermometric technique on a surface similar to that of an energetic material, a thermal-setting plastic supplied by Buehler, Ltd., was employed...temperature over the temperature range of interest. The rare-earth ion dysprosium (Dy) doped into a yttrium- aluminum -garnet (YAG) crystal was I determined

Creating energy citizenship through material participation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryghaug, Marianne; Skjølsvold, Tomas Moe; Heidenreich, Sara

2018-04-01

Transitions towards low-carbon energy systems will be comprehensive and demanding, requiring substantial public support. One important contribution from STS is to highlight the roles of citizens and public engagement. Until recently, energy users have often been treated as customers and passive market actors, or as recipients of technology at the margins of centralized systems. With respect to the latter role, critical or hesitant public action has been explained in terms of NIMBYism and knowledge deficits. This article focuses on the production of energy citizenship when considering public participation in low-carbon energy transitions. We draw upon the theory of 'material participation' to highlight how introducing and using emergent energy technologies may create new energy practices. We analyze an ongoing introduction of new material objects, highlighting the way these technologies can be seen as material interventions co-constructing temporalities of new and sustainable practices. We argue that artefacts such as the electric car, the smart meter and photovoltaic panels may become objects of participation and engagement, and that the introduction of such technologies may foster material participation and energy citizenship. The paper concludes with a discussion about the role of policies for low-carbon energy transitions on the making of energy citizenship, as well as limits of introducing a materially based energy citizenship.

Surface Modification of Polymeric Materials by Plasma Treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E.F. Castro Vidaurre

2002-03-01

Full Text Available Low-temperature plasma treatment has been used in the last years as a useful tool to modify the surface properties of different materials, in special of polymers. In the present work low temperature plasma was used to treat the surface of asymmetric porous substrates of polysulfone (PSf membranes. The main purpose of this work was to study the influence of the exposure time and the power supplied to argon plasma on the permeability properties of the membranes. Three rf power levels, respectively 5, 10 and 15 W were used. Treatment time ranged from 1 to 50 min. Reduction of single gas permeability was observed with Ar plasma treatments at low energy bombardment (5 W and short exposure time (20 min. Higher power and/or higher plasma exposition time causes a degradation process begins. The chemical and structural characterization of the membranes before and after the surface modification was done by AFM, SEM and XPS.

Surface energy of metal alloy nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Takrori, Fahed M.; Ayyad, Ahmed

2017-04-01

The measurement of surface energy of alloy nanoparticles experimentally is still a challenge therefore theoretical work is necessary to estimate its value. In continuation of our previous work on the calculation of the surface energy of pure metallic nanoparticles we have extended our work to calculate the surface energy of different alloy systems, namely, Co-Ni, Au-Cu, Cu-Al, Cu-Mg and Mo-Cs binary alloys. It is shown that the surface energy of metallic binary alloy decreases with decreasing particle size approaching relatively small values at small sizes. When both metals in the alloy obey the Hume-Rothery rules, the difference in the surface energy is small at the macroscopic as well as in the nano-scale. However when the alloy deviated from these rules the difference in surface energy is large in the macroscopic and in the nano scales. Interestingly when solid solution formation is not possible at the macroscopic scale according to the Hume-Rothery rules, it is shown it may form at the nano-scale. To our knowledge these findings here are presented for the first time and is challenging from fundamental as well as technological point of views.

Materials, critical materials and clean-energy technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Eggert, R.

2017-07-01

Modern engineered materials, components and systems depend on raw materials whose properties provide essential functionality to these technologies. Some of these raw materials are subject to supply-chain risks, and such materials are known as critical materials. This paper reviews corporate, national and world perspectives on material criticality. It then narrows its focus to studies that assess "what is critical" to clean-energy technologies. The focus on supply-chain risks is not meant to be alarmist but rather to encourage attention to monitoring these risks and pursuing technological innovation to mitigate the risks.

A review on phase change energy storage: materials and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farid, Mohammed M.; Khudhair, Amar M.; Razack, Siddique Ali K.; Al-Hallaj, Said

2004-01-01

Latent heat storage is one of the most efficient ways of storing thermal energy. Unlike the sensible heat storage method, the latent heat storage method provides much higher storage density, with a smaller temperature difference between storing and releasing heat. This paper reviews previous work on latent heat storage and provides an insight to recent efforts to develop new classes of phase change materials (PCMs) for use in energy storage. Three aspects have been the focus of this review: PCM materials, encapsulation and applications. There are large numbers of phase change materials that melt and solidify at a wide range of temperatures, making them attractive in a number of applications. Paraffin waxes are cheap and have moderate thermal energy storage density but low thermal conductivity and, hence, require large surface area. Hydrated salts have larger energy storage density and higher thermal conductivity but experience supercooling and phase segregation, and hence, their application requires the use of some nucleating and thickening agents. The main advantages of PCM encapsulation are providing large heat transfer area, reduction of the PCMs reactivity towards the outside environment and controlling the changes in volume of the storage materials as phase change occurs. The different applications in which the phase change method of heat storage can be applied are also reviewed in this paper. The problems associated with the application of PCMs with regards to the material and the methods used to contain them are also discussed

SURFACE SYMMETRY ENERGY OF NUCLEAR ENERGY DENSITY FUNCTIONALS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nikolov, N; Schunck, N; Nazarewicz, W; Bender, M; Pei, J

2010-12-20

We study the bulk deformation properties of the Skyrme nuclear energy density functionals. Following simple arguments based on the leptodermous expansion and liquid drop model, we apply the nuclear density functional theory to assess the role of the surface symmetry energy in nuclei. To this end, we validate the commonly used functional parametrizations against the data on excitation energies of superdeformed band-heads in Hg and Pb isotopes, and fission isomers in actinide nuclei. After subtracting shell effects, the results of our self-consistent calculations are consistent with macroscopic arguments and indicate that experimental data on strongly deformed configurations in neutron-rich nuclei are essential for optimizing future nuclear energy density functionals. The resulting survey provides a useful benchmark for further theoretical improvements. Unlike in nuclei close to the stability valley, whose macroscopic deformability hangs on the balance of surface and Coulomb terms, the deformability of neutron-rich nuclei strongly depends on the surface-symmetry energy; hence, its proper determination is crucial for the stability of deformed phases of the neutron-rich matter and description of fission rates for r-process nucleosynthesis.

Materials and surface engineering in tribology

CERN Document Server

Takadoum, Jamal

2010-01-01

This title is designed to provide a clear and comprehensive overview of tribology. The book introduces the notion of a surface in tribology where a solid surface is described from topographical, structural, mechanical, and energetic perspectives. It also describes the principal techniques used to characterize and analyze surfaces. The title then discusses what may be called the fundamentals of tribology by introducing and describing the concepts of adhesion, friction, wear, and lubrication. The book focuses on the materials used in tribology, introducing the major classes of materials used, ei

Real-Space Imaging of Carrier Dynamics of Materials Surfaces by Second-Generation Four-Dimensional Scanning Ultrafast Electron Microscopy

KAUST Repository

Sun, Jingya

2015-09-14

In the fields of photocatalysis and photovoltaics, ultrafast dynamical processes, including carrier trapping and recombination on material surfaces, are among the key factors that determine the overall energy conversion efficiency. A precise knowledge of these dynamical events on the nanometer (nm) and femtosecond (fs) scales was not accessible until recently. The only way to access such fundamental processes fully is to map the surface dynamics selectively in real space and time. In this study, we establish a second generation of four-dimensional scanning ultrafast electron microscopy (4D S-UEM) and demonstrate the ability to record time-resolved images (snapshots) of material surfaces with 650 fs and ∼5 nm temporal and spatial resolutions, respectively. In this method, the surface of a specimen is excited by a clocking optical pulse and imaged using a pulsed primary electron beam as a probe pulse, generating secondary electrons (SEs), which are emitted from the surface of the specimen in a manner that is sensitive to the local electron/hole density. This method provides direct and controllable information regarding surface dynamics. We clearly demonstrate how the surface morphology, grains, defects, and nanostructured features can significantly impact the overall dynamical processes on the surface of photoactive-materials. In addition, the ability to access two regimes of dynamical probing in a single experiment and the energy loss of SEs in semiconductor-nanoscale materials will also be discussed.

Fossil Energy Materials Program conference proceedings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Judkins, R.R. (comp.)

1987-08-01

The US Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy has recognized the need for materials research and development to assure the adequacy of materials of construction for advanced fossil energy systems. The principal responsibility for identifying needed materials research and for establishing a program to address these needs resides within the Office of Technical Coordination. That office has established the Advanced Research and Technology Development (AR and TD) Fossil Energy Materials Program to fulfill that responsibility. In addition to the AR and TD Materials Program, which is designed to address in a generic way the materials needs of fossil energy systems, specific materials support activities are also sponsored by the various line organizations such as the Office of Coal Gasification. A conference was held at Oak Ridge, Tennessee on May 19-21, 1987, to present and discuss the results of program activities during the past year. The conference program was organized in accordance with the research thrust areas we have established. These research thrust areas include structural ceramics (particularly fiber-reinforced ceramic composites), corrosion and erosion, and alloy development and mechanical properties. Eighty-six people attended the conference. Papers have been entered individually into EDB and ERA. (LTN)

Superior pseudocapacitive behavior of confined lignin nanocrystals for renewable energy-storage materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sung-Kon; Kim, Yun Ki; Lee, Hyunjoo; Lee, Sang Bok; Park, Ho Seok

2014-04-01

Strong demand for high-performance energy-storage devices has currently motivated the development of emerging capacitive materials that can resolve their critical challenge (i.e., low energy density) and that are renewable and inexpensive energy-storage materials from both environmental and economic viewpoints. Herein, the pseudocapacitive behavior of lignin nanocrystals confined on reduced graphene oxides (RGOs) used for renewable energy-storage materials is demonstrated. The excellent capacitive characteristics of the renewable hybrid electrodes were achieved by synergizing the fast and reversible redox charge transfer of surface-confined quinone and the interplay with electron-conducting RGOs. Accordingly, pseudocapacitors with remarkable rate and cyclic performances (~96 % retention after 3000 cycles) showed a maximum capacitance of 432 F g(-1), which was close to the theoretical capacitance of 482 F g(-1) and sixfold higher than that of RGO (93 F g(-1)). The chemical strategy delineated herein paves the way to develop advanced renewable electrodes for energy-storage applications and understand the redox chemistry of electroactive biomaterials. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Materials, critical materials and clean-energy technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eggert R.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Modern engineered materials, components and systems depend on raw materials whose properties provide essential functionality to these technologies. Some of these raw materials are subject to supply-chain risks, and such materials are known as critical materials. This paper reviews corporate, national and world perspectives on material criticality. It then narrows its focus to studies that assess “what is critical” to clean-energy technologies. The focus on supply-chain risks is not meant to be alarmist but rather to encourage attention to monitoring these risks and pursuing technological innovation to mitigate the risks.

Collisions of polyatomic ions with surfaces: incident energy partitioning and chemical reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zabka, J.; Roithova, J.; Dolejsek, Z.; Herman, Z.

2002-01-01

Collision of polyatomic ions with surfaces were investigated in ion-surface scattering experiments to obtain more information on energy partitioning in ion-surface collision and on chemical reactions at surfaces. Mass spectra, translation energy and angular distributions of product ions were measured in dependence on the incident energy and the incident angle of polyatomic projectiles. From these data distributions of energy fractions resulting in internal excitation of the projectile, translation energy of the product ions, and energy absorbed by the surface were determined. The surface investigated were a standard stainless steel surface, covered by hydrocarbons, carbon surfaces at room and elevated temperatures, and several surfaces covered by a self-assembled monolayers (C 12 -hydrocarbon SAM, C 11 -perfluorohydrocarbon SAM, and C 11 hydrocarbon with terminal -COOH group SAM). The main processes observed at collision energies of 10 - 50 eV were: neutralization of the ions at surfaces, inelastic scattering and dissociations of the projectile ions, quasi elastic scattering of the projectile ions, and chemical reactions with the surface material (usually hydrogen-atom transfer reactions). The ion survival factor was estimated to be a few percent for even-electron ions (like protonated ethanol ion, C 2 H 5 O + , CD 5 + ) and about 10 - 10 2 times lower for radical ions (like ethanol and benzene molecular ions, CD 4 + ). In the polyatomic ion -surface energy transfer experiments, the ethanol molecular ion was used as a well-characterized projectile ion. The results with most of the surfaces studied showed in the collision energy range of 13 - 32 eV that most collisions were strongly inelastic with about 6 - 8 % of the incident projectile energy transformed into internal excitation of the projectile (independent of the incident angle) and led partially to its further dissociation in a unimolecular way after the interaction with the surface. The incident energy

Investigation of structural materials of reactors using high-energy heavy-ion irradiations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhiguang

2007-01-01

Radiation damage in structural materials of fission/fusion reactors is mainly attributed to the evolution of intensive atom displacement damage induced by energetic particles (n, α and/or fission fragments) and high-rate helium doping by direct α particle bombardments and/or (n, α) reactions. It can cause severe degradation of reactor structural materials such as surface blistering, bulk void swelling, deformation, fatigue, embrittlement, stress erosion corrosion and so on that will significantly affect the operation safety of reactors. However, up to now, behavior of structural materials at the end of their service can hardly be fully tested in a real reactor. In the present work, damage process in reactor structural materials is briefly introduced, then the advantages of energetic ion implantation/irradiation especially high-energy heavy ion irradiation are discussed, and several typical examples on simulation of radiation effects in reactor candidate structural materials using high-energy heavy ion irradiations are pronounced. Experimental results and theoretical analysis suggested that irradiation with energetic particles especially high-energy heavy ions is very useful technique for simulating the evolution of microstructures and macro-properties of reactor structural materials. Furthermore, an on-going plan of material irradiation experiments using high energy H- and He-ions based on the Heavy Ion Research Facilities in Lanzhou (HIRFL) is also briefly interpreted. (authors)

Modelling and analysis of material removal rate and surface roughness in wire-cut EDM of armour materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ravindranadh Bobbili

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The current work presents a comparative study of wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM of armour materials such as aluminium alloy 7017 and rolled homogeneous armour (RHA steel using buckingham pi theorem to model the input variables and thermo-physical characteristics of WEDM on material removal rate (MRR and surface roughness (Ra of Al 7017 and RHA steel. The parameters of the model such as pulse-on time, flushing pressure, input power, thermal diffusivity and latent heat of vaporization have been determined through design of experiment methodology. Wear rate of brass wire increases with rise in input energy in machining Al 7017. The dependence of thermo-physical properties and machining variables on mechanism of MRR and Ra has been described by performing scanning electron microscope (SEM study. The rise in pulse-on time from 0.85μs to 1.25μs causes improvement in MRR and deterioration of surface finish. The machined surface has revealed that craters are found on the machined surface. The propensity of formation of craters increases during WEDM with a higher current and larger pulse-on time.

Active Surfaces and Interfaces of Soft Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qiming

A variety of intriguing surface patterns have been observed on developing natural systems, ranging from corrugated surface of white blood cells at nanometer scales to wrinkled dog skins at millimeter scales. To mimetically harness functionalities of natural morphologies, artificial transformative skin systems by using soft active materials have been rationally designed to generate versatile patterns for a variety of engineering applications. The study of the mechanics and design of these dynamic surface patterns on soft active materials are both physically interesting and technologically important. This dissertation starts with studying abundant surface patterns in Nature by constructing a unified phase diagram of surface instabilities on soft materials with minimum numbers of physical parameters. Guided by this integrated phase diagram, an electroactive system is designed to investigate a variety of electrically-induced surface instabilities of elastomers, including electro-creasing, electro-cratering, electro-wrinkling and electro-cavitation. Combing experimental, theoretical and computational methods, the initiation, evolution and transition of these instabilities are analyzed. To apply these dynamic surface instabilities to serving engineering and biology, new techniques of Dynamic Electrostatic Lithography and electroactive anti-biofouling are demonstrated.

Treatment of surfaces with low-energy electrons

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, L.; Mikmeková, E.; Lejeune, M.

2017-06-01

Electron-beam-induced deposition of various materials from suitable precursors has represented an established branch of nanotechnology for more than a decade. A specific alternative is carbon deposition on the basis of hydrocarbons as precursors that has been applied to grow various nanostructures including masks for subsequent technological steps. Our area of study was unintentional electron-beam-induced carbon deposition from spontaneously adsorbed hydrocarbon molecules. This process traditionally constitutes a challenge for scanning electron microscopy practice preventing one from performing any true surface studies outside an ultrahigh vacuum and without in-situ cleaning of samples, and also jeopardising other electron-optical devices such as electron beam lithographs. Here we show that when reducing the energy of irradiating electrons sufficiently, the e-beam-induced deposition can be converted to e-beam-induced release causing desorption of hydrocarbons and ultimate cleaning of surfaces in both an ultrahigh and a standard high vacuum. Using series of experiments with graphene samples, we demonstrate fundamental features of e-beam-induced desorption and present results of checks for possible radiation damage using Raman spectroscopy that led to optimisation of the electron energy for damage-free cleaning. The method of preventing carbon contamination described here paves the way for greatly enhanced surface sensitivity of imaging and substantially reduced demands on vacuum systems for nanotechnological applications.

Switchable and responsive surfaces and materials for biomedical applications

CERN Document Server

Zhang, Johnathan

2015-01-01

Surface modification of biomaterials can ultimately determine whether a material is accepted or rejected from the human body, and a responsive surface can further make the material ""smart"" and ""intelligent"". Switchable and Responsive Surfaces and Materials for Biomedical Applications outlines synthetic and biological materials that are responsive under different stimuli, their surface design and modification techniques, and applicability in regenerative medicine/tissue engineering,  drug delivery, medical devices, and biomedical diagnostics. Part one provides a detailed overview of swit

Bacillus megaterium mediated mineralization of calcium carbonate as biogenic surface treatment of green building materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhami, Navdeep Kaur; Reddy, M Sudhakara; Mukherjee, Abhijit

2013-12-01

Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation is a biomineralization process that has various applications in remediation and restoration of range of building materials. In the present study, calcifying bacteria, Bacillus megaterium SS3 isolated from calcareous soil was applied as biosealant to enhance the durability of low energy, green building materials (soil-cement blocks). This bacterial isolate produced high amounts of urease, carbonic anhydrase, extra polymeric substances and biofilm. The calcium carbonate polymorphs produced by B. megaterium SS3 were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transmission infra red spectroscopy. These results suggested that calcite is the most predominant carbonate formed by this bacteria followed by vaterite. Application of B. megaterium SS3 as biogenic surface treatment led to 40 % decrease in water absorption, 31 % decrease in porosity and 18 % increase in compressive strength of low energy building materials. From the present investigation, it is clear that surface treatment of building materials by B. megaterium SS3 is very effective and eco friendly way of biodeposition of coherent carbonates that enhances the durability of building materials.

Improvement of a land surface model for accurate prediction of surface energy and water balances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katata, Genki

2009-02-01

In order to predict energy and water balances between the biosphere and atmosphere accurately, sophisticated schemes to calculate evaporation and adsorption processes in the soil and cloud (fog) water deposition on vegetation were implemented in the one-dimensional atmosphere-soil-vegetation model including CO 2 exchange process (SOLVEG2). Performance tests in arid areas showed that the above schemes have a significant effect on surface energy and water balances. The framework of the above schemes incorporated in the SOLVEG2 and instruction for running the model are documented. With further modifications of the model to implement the carbon exchanges between the vegetation and soil, deposition processes of materials on the land surface, vegetation stress-growth-dynamics etc., the model is suited to evaluate an effect of environmental loads to ecosystems by atmospheric pollutants and radioactive substances under climate changes such as global warming and drought. (author)

Quantifying object and material surface areas in residences

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hodgson, Alfred T.; Ming, Katherine Y.; Singer, Brett C.

2005-01-05

The dynamic behavior of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor environments depends, in part, on sorptive interactions between VOCs in the gas phase and material surfaces. Since information on the types and quantities of interior material surfaces is not generally available, this pilot-scale study was conducted in occupied residences to develop and demonstrate a method for quantifying surface areas of objects and materials in rooms. Access to 33 rooms in nine residences consisting of bathrooms, bedroom/offices and common areas was solicited from among research group members living in the East San Francisco Bay Area. A systematic approach was implemented for measuring rooms and objects from 300 cm{sup 2} and larger. The ventilated air volumes of the rooms were estimated and surface area-to-volume ratios were calculated for objects and materials, each segregated into 20 or more categories. Total surface area-to-volume ratios also were determined for each room. The bathrooms had the highest total surface area-to-volume ratios. Bedrooms generally had higher ratios than common areas consisting of kitchens, living/dining rooms and transitional rooms. Total surface area-to-volume ratios for the 12 bedrooms ranged between 2.3 and 4.7 m{sup 2} m{sup -3}. The importance of individual objects and materials with respect to sorption will depend upon the sorption coefficients for the various VOC/materials combinations. When combined, the highly permeable material categories, which may contribute to significant interactions, had a median ratio of about 0.5 m{sup 2} m{sup -3} for all three types of rooms.

Crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol)/sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) blend membranes for fuel cell applications - Surface energy characteristics and proton conductivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kanakasabai, P.; Vijay, P.; Deshpande, Abhijit P.; Varughese, Susy [Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600 036 (India)

2011-02-01

Ionic polymers, their blends and composites are considered potential candidates for application as electrolytes in fuel cells. While developing new materials for membranes, it is important to understand the interactions of these electrolytic materials with electrodes/catalysts and with reactants/products. Some of these interactions can be understood by estimating the surface energy and wettability of the membrane materials. In this work, polyvinyl alcohol with varying degrees of sulfonation and its blend with sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) are prepared and studied for their wettability characteristics using goniometry. The surface energy and its components are estimated using different approaches and compared. Properties such as the ion-exchange capacity, the proton conductivity and the water sorption/desorption behaviour are also investigated to understand the relationship with wettability and surface energy and its components. Among the different methods, the van Oss acid-base and the modified Berthelot approaches yield comparable estimates for the total surface energy. (author)

Surface characterization of graphene based materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pisarek, M.; Holdynski, M.; Krawczyk, M.; Nowakowski, R.; Roguska, A.; Malolepszy, A.; Stobinski, L.; Jablonski, A.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Two kind of samples: commercial graphene on Cu substrate and rGO flakes. • EPES applied to measure the IMFPs in graphene based materials. • Characterization by various techniques like: FE-SEM, AFM, XPS, AES and REELS. • EPES IMFPs for rGO deviated up to 14% from IMFPs calculated using the optical data. - Abstract: In the present study, two kind of samples were used: (i) a monolayer graphene film with a thickness of 0.345 nm deposited by the CVD method on Cu foil, (ii) graphene flakes obtained by modified Hummers method and followed by reduction of graphene oxide. The inelastic mean free path (IMFP), characterizing electron transport in graphene/Cu sample and reduced graphene oxide material, which determines the sampling depth of XPS and AES were evaluated from relative Elastic Peak Electron Spectroscopy (EPES) measurements with the Au standard in the energy range 0.5–2 keV. The measured IMFPs were compared with IMFPs resulting from experimental optical data published in the literature for the graphite sample. The EPES IMFP values at 0.5 and 1.5 keV was practically identical to that calculated from optical data for graphite (less than 4% deviation). For energies 1 and 2 keV, the EPES IMFPs for rGO were deviated up to 14% from IMFPs calculated using the optical data by Tanuma et al. [1]. Before EPES measurements all samples were characterized by various techniques like: FE-SEM, AFM, XPS, AES and REELS to visualize the surface morphology/topography and identify the chemical composition.

Surface characterization of graphene based materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pisarek, M., E-mail: mpisarek@ichf.edu.pl [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw (Poland); Holdynski, M.; Krawczyk, M.; Nowakowski, R.; Roguska, A. [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw (Poland); Malolepszy, A. [Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Warynskiego 1, 00-065 Warsaw (Poland); Stobinski, L. [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw (Poland); Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Warynskiego 1, 00-065 Warsaw (Poland); Jablonski, A. [Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw (Poland)

2016-12-01

Highlights: • Two kind of samples: commercial graphene on Cu substrate and rGO flakes. • EPES applied to measure the IMFPs in graphene based materials. • Characterization by various techniques like: FE-SEM, AFM, XPS, AES and REELS. • EPES IMFPs for rGO deviated up to 14% from IMFPs calculated using the optical data. - Abstract: In the present study, two kind of samples were used: (i) a monolayer graphene film with a thickness of 0.345 nm deposited by the CVD method on Cu foil, (ii) graphene flakes obtained by modified Hummers method and followed by reduction of graphene oxide. The inelastic mean free path (IMFP), characterizing electron transport in graphene/Cu sample and reduced graphene oxide material, which determines the sampling depth of XPS and AES were evaluated from relative Elastic Peak Electron Spectroscopy (EPES) measurements with the Au standard in the energy range 0.5–2 keV. The measured IMFPs were compared with IMFPs resulting from experimental optical data published in the literature for the graphite sample. The EPES IMFP values at 0.5 and 1.5 keV was practically identical to that calculated from optical data for graphite (less than 4% deviation). For energies 1 and 2 keV, the EPES IMFPs for rGO were deviated up to 14% from IMFPs calculated using the optical data by Tanuma et al. [1]. Before EPES measurements all samples were characterized by various techniques like: FE-SEM, AFM, XPS, AES and REELS to visualize the surface morphology/topography and identify the chemical composition.

Treatment of surfaces with low-energy electrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frank, L., E-mail: ludek@isibrno.cz [Institute of Scientific Instruments of the CAS, v.v.i., Královopolská 147, 61264 Brno (Czech Republic); Mikmeková, E. [Institute of Scientific Instruments of the CAS, v.v.i., Královopolská 147, 61264 Brno (Czech Republic); FEI Company, Achtseweg Noord 5, 5651 GG Eindhoven (Netherlands); Lejeune, M. [LPMC – Faculte des Sciences d’Amiens, Universite de Picardie Jules Verne, 33 rue Saint Leu, 80039 Amiens Cedex 2 (France)

2017-06-15

Highlights: • Using proper irradiation parameters, adsorbed hydrocarbons are released from surfaces. • Slow electrons remove hydrocarbons instead of depositing carbon. • Prolonged irradiation with very slow electrons does not create defects in graphene. - Abstract: Electron-beam-induced deposition of various materials from suitable precursors has represented an established branch of nanotechnology for more than a decade. A specific alternative is carbon deposition on the basis of hydrocarbons as precursors that has been applied to grow various nanostructures including masks for subsequent technological steps. Our area of study was unintentional electron-beam-induced carbon deposition from spontaneously adsorbed hydrocarbon molecules. This process traditionally constitutes a challenge for scanning electron microscopy practice preventing one from performing any true surface studies outside an ultrahigh vacuum and without in-situ cleaning of samples, and also jeopardising other electron-optical devices such as electron beam lithographs. Here we show that when reducing the energy of irradiating electrons sufficiently, the e-beam-induced deposition can be converted to e-beam-induced release causing desorption of hydrocarbons and ultimate cleaning of surfaces in both an ultrahigh and a standard high vacuum. Using series of experiments with graphene samples, we demonstrate fundamental features of e-beam-induced desorption and present results of checks for possible radiation damage using Raman spectroscopy that led to optimisation of the electron energy for damage-free cleaning. The method of preventing carbon contamination described here paves the way for greatly enhanced surface sensitivity of imaging and substantially reduced demands on vacuum systems for nanotechnological applications.

System and method for non-destructive evaluation of surface characteristics of a magnetic material

Science.gov (United States)

Jiles, David C.; Sipahi, Levent B.

1994-05-17

A system and a related method for non-destructive evaluation of the surface characteristics of a magnetic material. The sample is excited by an alternating magnetic field. The field frequency, amplitude and offset are controlled according to a predetermined protocol. The Barkhausen response of the sample is detected for the various fields and offsets and is analyzed. The system produces information relating to the frequency content, the amplitude content, the average or RMS energy content, as well as count rate information, for each of the Barkhausen responses at each of the excitation levels applied during the protocol. That information provides a contiguous body of data, heretofore unavailable, which can be analyzed to deduce information about the surface characteristics of the material at various depths below the surface.

Microwavable thermal energy storage material

Science.gov (United States)

Salyer, I.O.

1998-09-08

A microwavable thermal energy storage material is provided which includes a mixture of a phase change material and silica, and a carbon black additive in the form of a conformable dry powder of phase change material/silica/carbon black, or solid pellets, films, fibers, moldings or strands of phase change material/high density polyethylene/ethylene vinyl acetate/silica/carbon black which allows the phase change material to be rapidly heated in a microwave oven. The carbon black additive, which is preferably an electrically conductive carbon black, may be added in low concentrations of from 0.5 to 15% by weight, and may be used to tailor the heating times of the phase change material as desired. The microwavable thermal energy storage material can be used in food serving applications such as tableware items or pizza warmers, and in medical wraps and garments. 3 figs.

Novel surface coating strategies for better battery materials

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Wen, L

2018-03-01

Full Text Available . Surface-coated cathodes have been demonstrated to be effective in blocking these surface processes and enhancing the electrochemical performance of the materials. For example, the electron-insulating but ion-conducting lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) has been... noticed that most LIB electrode materials have very poor electrical conductivity (e.g. lithium iron phosphate and lithium titanate are almost insulators).22,23 In this regard, surface coating of the electrode active materials with a conductive layer...

Temperature Dependent Surface Modification of Tungsten Exposed to High-Flux Low-Energy Helium Ion Irradiation

OpenAIRE

Damico, Antony Q; Tripathi, Jitendra K; Novakowski, Theodore J; Miloshevsky, Gennady; Hassanein, Ahmed

2016-01-01

Nuclear fusion is a great potential energy source that can provide a relatively safe and clean limitless supply of energy using hydrogen isotopes as fuel material. ITER (international thermonuclear experimental reactor) is the world first fusion reactor currently being built in France. Tungsten (W) is a prime candidate material as plasma facing component (PFC) due to its excellent mechanical properties, high melting point, and low erosion rate. However, W undergoes a severe surface morphology...

Analysis of energy flow during playground surface impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

Davidson, Peter L; Wilson, Suzanne J; Chalmers, David J; Wilson, Barry D; Eager, David; McIntosh, Andrew S

2013-10-01

The amount of energy dissipated away from or returned to a child falling onto a surface will influence fracture risk but is not considered in current standards for playground impact-attenuating surfaces. A two-mass rheological computer simulation was used to model energy flow within the wrist and surface during hand impact with playground surfaces, and the potential of this approach to provide insights into such impacts and predict injury risk examined. Acceleration data collected on-site from typical playground surfaces and previously obtained data from children performing an exercise involving freefalling with a fully extended arm provided input. The model identified differences in energy flow properties between playground surfaces and two potentially harmful surface characteristics: more energy was absorbed by (work done on) the wrist during both impact and rebound on rubber surfaces than on bark, and rubber surfaces started to rebound (return energy to the wrist) while the upper limb was still moving downward. Energy flow analysis thus provides information on playground surface characteristics and the impact process, and has the potential to identify fracture risks, inform the development of safer impact-attenuating surfaces, and contribute to development of new energy-based arm fracture injury criteria and tests for use in conjunction with current methods.

Electrode surface engineering by atomic layer deposition: A promising pathway toward better energy storage

KAUST Repository

Ahmed, Bilal

2016-04-29

Research on electrochemical energy storage devices including Li ion batteries (LIBs), Na ion batteries (NIBs) and supercapacitors (SCs) has accelerated in recent years, in part because developments in nanomaterials are making it possible to achieve high capacities and energy and power densities. These developments can extend battery life in portable devices, and open new markets such as electric vehicles and large-scale grid energy storage. It is well known that surface reactions largely determine the performance and stability of electrochemical energy storage devices. Despite showing impressive capacities and high energy and power densities, many of the new nanostructured electrode materials suffer from limited lifetime due to severe electrode interaction with electrolytes or due to large volume changes. Hence control of the surface of the electrode material is essential for both increasing capacity and improving cyclic stability of the energy storage devices.Atomic layer deposition (ALD) which has become a pervasive synthesis method in the microelectronics industry, has recently emerged as a promising process for electrochemical energy storage. ALD boasts excellent conformality, atomic scale thickness control, and uniformity over large areas. Since ALD is based on self-limiting surface reactions, complex shapes and nanostructures can be coated with excellent uniformity, and most processes can be done below 200. °C. In this article, we review recent studies on the use of ALD coatings to improve the performance of electrochemical energy storage devices, with particular emphasis on the studies that have provided mechanistic insight into the role of ALD in improving device performance. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.

Energy and environment: a challenge for materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchand, Ch.; Walle, E.; Hody, St.; Alleau, Th.; Bassat, J.M.; Pourcelly, G.; Aitelli, P.; Crepy, Ch. de; Le Douaron, A.; Moussy, F.; Guibert, A. de; Mogensen, P.C.; Beauvy, M.

2005-01-01

The ESIREM (Ecole Superieure d'Ingenieurs de Recherche en Electronique et en Materiaux) has organized its yearly colloquium in Dijon on the 20. of January 2005. The topic was 'energy and environment: a challenge for materials'. Here are presented the summaries of the speeches of Mr C. Marchand: how to conciliate increasing needs in energy, limited resources in hydrocarbons and to control the releases of greenhouse gases: a main challenge for the 21. century; of Mr E. Walle: materials for the future nuclear systems; of Mr S. Hody: which future prospect for the energy production: the point of view of Gaz de France; of Mr T. Alleau: the hydrogen, the energy of the future; of Mr J.M. Bassat: the specificities of the SOFC, new materials for a carrying out at ambient temperature; of Mr G. Pourcelly: the PEMFC; of Mrs A. Le Douaron and F. Moussy: materials, energy and environment in automotive industry; of Ms A. de Guibert: the key role of materials in the lithium-ion accumulators; of Mr P. C. Mogensen: the photovoltaic materials: the key of the solar energy; and of Mr M. Beauvy: the future reactors: challenges for materials. (O.M.)

Surface energy characteristics of zeolite embedded PVDF nanofiber films with electrospinning process

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Dong Hee; Kang, Hyun Wook

2016-11-01

Electrospinning is a nano-scale fiber production method with various polymer materials. This technique allows simple fiber diameters control by changing the physical conditions such as applied voltage and polymer solution viscosity during the fabrication process. The electrospun polymer fibers form a thin porous film with high surface area to volume ratio. Due to these unique characteristics, it is widely used for many application fields such as photocatalyst, electric sensor, and antibacterial scaffold for tissue engineering. Filtration is one of the main applications of electrospun polymer fibers for specific application of filtering out dust particles and dehumidification. Most polymers which are commonly used in electrospinning are hard to perform the filtering and dehumidification simultaneously because of their low hygroscopic property. To overcome this obstacle, the desiccant polymers are developed such as polyacrylic acid and polysulfobetaine methacrylate. However, the desiccant polymers are generally expensive and need special solvent for electrospinning. An alternating way to solve these problems is mixing desiccant material like zeolite in polymer solution during an electrospinning process. In this study, the free surface energy characteristics of electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film with various zeolite concentrations are investigated to control the hygroscopic property of general polymers. Fundamental physical property of wettability with PVDF shows hydrophobicity. The electrospun PVDF film with small weight ratio with higher than 0.1% of zeolite powder shows diminished contact angles that certifying the wettability of PVDF can be controlled using desiccant material in electrospinning process. To quantify the surface energy of electrospun PVDF films, sessile water droplets are introduced on the electrospun PVDF film surface and the contact angles are measured. The contact angles of PVDF film are 140° for without zeolite and 80° for with 5

On the Stiction of MEMS Materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhuang, Yanxin; Menon, Aric Kumaran

2005-01-01

energies and stiction of commonly used MEMS materials by contact angle measurements and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Dispersive and polar components of surface energies are calculated by Owens-Wendt-Rabel-Kaelble method. Silicon and silicon-related materials have higher polar surface energies than SU-8...... been shown that the materials with higher surface energy have higher sticton/adhesion forces. The topography of surface influences the contact angle and stiction, and is also discussed in the paper....

Energy implications of recycling packaging materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaines, L.L. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States); Stodolsky, F. [Argonne National Lab., Washington, DC (United States)

1994-03-01

In 1992, Congress sought to rewrite the United States comprehensive solid waste legislation -- the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Commodity-specific recycling rates were proposed for consumer-goods packaging materials and newsprint We compare the impacts on energy, materials use, and landfill volume of recycling at those rates to the impacts for alternative methods of material disposition to determine the optimum for each material. After products have served their intended uses, there are several alternative paths for material disposition. These include reuse, recycling to the same product, recycling to a lower-valued product, combustion for energy recovery, incineration without energy recovery, and landfill. Only options considered to be environmentally sound are Included. Both houses of Congress specifically excluded combustion for energy recovery from counting towards the recovery goats, probably because combustion is viewed as a form of disposal and is therefore assumed to waste resources and have n environmental effects. However, co-combustion in coal-fired plants or combustion in appropriately pollution-controlled waste-to-energy plants Is safe, avoids landfill costs, and can displace fossil fuels. In some cases, more fossil fuels can be displaced by combustion than by recycling. We compare the alternative life-cycle energies to the energies for producing the products from virgin materials. Results depend on the material and on the objective to be achieved. There are trade-offs among possible goals. For instance, paper packaging recycling conserves trees but may require greater fossil-fuel input than virgin production. Therefore, the objectives for proposed legislation must be examined to see whether they can most effectively be achieved by mandated recycling rates or by other methods of disposition. The optimal choices for the United States may not necessarily be the same as those for Europe and other parts of the world.

Material discovery by combining stochastic surface walking global optimization with a neural network.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Si-Da; Shang, Cheng; Zhang, Xiao-Jie; Liu, Zhi-Pan

2017-09-01

While the underlying potential energy surface (PES) determines the structure and other properties of a material, it has been frustrating to predict new materials from theory even with the advent of supercomputing facilities. The accuracy of the PES and the efficiency of PES sampling are two major bottlenecks, not least because of the great complexity of the material PES. This work introduces a "Global-to-Global" approach for material discovery by combining for the first time a global optimization method with neural network (NN) techniques. The novel global optimization method, named the stochastic surface walking (SSW) method, is carried out massively in parallel for generating a global training data set, the fitting of which by the atom-centered NN produces a multi-dimensional global PES; the subsequent SSW exploration of large systems with the analytical NN PES can provide key information on the thermodynamics and kinetics stability of unknown phases identified from global PESs. We describe in detail the current implementation of the SSW-NN method with particular focuses on the size of the global data set and the simultaneous energy/force/stress NN training procedure. An important functional material, TiO 2 , is utilized as an example to demonstrate the automated global data set generation, the improved NN training procedure and the application in material discovery. Two new TiO 2 porous crystal structures are identified, which have similar thermodynamics stability to the common TiO 2 rutile phase and the kinetics stability for one of them is further proved from SSW pathway sampling. As a general tool for material simulation, the SSW-NN method provides an efficient and predictive platform for large-scale computational material screening.

A Surface Temperature Initiated Closure (STIC) for surface energy balance fluxes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mallick, Kaniska; Jarvis, Andrew J.; Boegh, Eva

2014-01-01

The use of Penman–Monteith (PM) equation in thermal remote sensing based surface energy balance modeling is not prevalent due to the unavailability of any direct method to integrate thermal data into the PM equation and due to the lack of physical models expressing the surface (or stomatal......) and boundary layer conductances (gS and gB) as a function of surface temperature. Here we demonstrate a new method that physically integrates the radiometric surface temperature (TS) into the PM equation for estimating the terrestrial surface energy balance fluxes (sensible heat, H and latent heat, λ......E). The method combines satellite TS data with standard energy balance closure models in order to derive a hybrid closure that does not require the specification of surface to atmosphere conductance terms. We call this the Surface Temperature Initiated Closure (STIC), which is formed by the simultaneous solution...

A New Energy Source for Organic Synthesis in Europa's Surface Ice

Science.gov (United States)

Borucki, Jerome G.; Khare, Bishun; Cruikshank, Dale P.; DeVincenzi, D. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Colored regions on Jupiter's satellite Europa and other icy bodies in the outer Solar System may be contaminated by organic macromolecular solid material that is produced when surface ices are exposed to electrical energy. Hypervelocity meteorite impacts and fracture release tidal and tectonic stresses in icy crusts in the form of electrical discharges, which provide the energy for in situ synthesis of the organic solids. We report measurements of electrical discharge, light emission, and magnetic phenomena in hypervelocity impacts into ice with projectiles with V approx. 5 km/s. Part of the projectile's kinetic energy is converted into electrical potential, while the mechanical disruption of the impact also releases stress energy as light, heat, electrical, and magnetic fields as secondary emissions. These newly recognized energy sources suggest that the dark material in the area of impact craters are tholins generated from the energy of the impacts and that well up from the fracture zone. Large pools of liquid water would persist under the meteorite crater for thousands of years, with the potential for prebiotic chemistry to take place at an accelerated rate due to energy pumped in from the secondary emissions.

Multilayer Relaxation and Surface Energies of Metallic Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Bozzolo, Guillermo; Rodriguez, Agustin M.; Ferrante, John

1994-01-01

The perpendicular and parallel multilayer relaxations of fcc (210) surfaces are studied using equivalent crystal theory (ECT). A comparison with experimental and theoretical results is made for AI(210). The effect of uncertainties in the input parameters on the magnitudes and ordering of surface relaxations for this semiempirical method is estimated. A new measure of surface roughness is proposed. Predictions for the multilayer relaxations and surface energies of the (210) face of Cu and Ni are also included.

Waste Material Management: Energy and materials for industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-05-01

This booklet describes DOE`s Waste Material Management (WMM) programs, which are designed to help tap the potential of waste materials. Four programs are described in general terms: Industrial Waste Reduction, Waste Utilization and Conversion, Energy from Municipal Waste, and Solar Industrial Applications.

Optimisation of integrated energy and materials systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gielen, D.J.; Okken, P.A.

1994-06-01

To define cost-effective long term CO2 reduction strategies an integrated energy and materials system model for the Netherlands for the period 2000-2040 is developed. The model is based upon the energy system model MARKAL, which configures an optimal mix of technologies to satisfy the specified energy and product/materials service demands. This study concentrates on CO 2 emission reduction in the materials system. For this purpose, the energy system model is enlarged with a materials system model including all steps 'from cradle to grave'. The materials system model includes 29 materials, 20 product groups and 30 waste materials. The system is divided into seven types of technologies; 250 technologies are modeled. The results show that the integrated optimisation of the energy system and the materials system can significantly reduce the emission reduction costs, especially at higher reduction percentages. The reduction is achieved through shifts in materials production and waste handling and through materials substitution in products. Shifts in materials production and waste management seem cost-effective, while the cost-effectiveness of shifts in product composition is sensitive due to the cost structure of products. For the building sector, transportation applications and packaging, CO 2 policies show a significant impact on prices, and shifts in product composition could occur. For other products, the reduction through materials substitution seems less promising. The impact on materials consumption seems most significant for cement (reduced), timber and aluminium (both increased). For steel and plastics, the net effect is balanced, but shifts between applications do occur. The MARKAL-approach is feasible to study integrated energy and materials systems. The progress compared to other environmental system analysis instruments is much more insight in the interaction of technologies on a national scale and in time

New electron-ion-plasma equipment for modification of materials and products surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koval', N.N.

2013-01-01

the report the processes of electron-beam nanostructurization of material surfaces are considered. In IHCE SB RAS the equipment 'SOLO' of electron-beam treatment of product surface has been developed. By 'SOLO' the processes of electron-beam polishing of metals and alloys surface are realized. Furthermore the processes of superfast surface hardening of materials are developed by 'SOLO'. That leads to nanostructurization of surface layer. In process of electron-beam treatment the pulse electron beam with energy of (5÷50) J/cm 2 , getting on a treated surface, makes superfast heating (10 8 -10 9 K/s) (during pulse duration of ((50÷200) µs) to temperature of melting point of substrate material. Then superfast (10 6 -10 8 K/s) cooling occurs at the expense of heat removal in deeper cold layers of a substrate. As a result of superfast hardening in near-surface layer with thickness of several units to several tens micron the improved structure of treated material is formed. The surface is cleared; fusible impurity is evaporated; in steels hardening submicro- and nanocrystalline structure is formed; surface hardness increases. Besides, in vacuum in a liquid phase smoothing of surfaces relief (polishing) occurs by surface tension force. The essential changes of a structural-phase state of surface layer lead to significant improvement of physical, chemical, and strength properties of the material. That is impossible by traditional methods of surface treatment. In the report the examples of combined processes of surface layers nanostructurization, including perspective electron-beam mixing of coating/substrate systems are demonstrated. The presented equipment and realized processes are a basis of development of new electron-ion-plasma technologies of nanostructurization of material and product surfaces. These methods allow considerably improving physical and chemical, exploitation properties of details and instruments surface. That leads to

Topological insulator materials and nanostructures for future electronics, spintronics and energy conversion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kantser, Valeriu

2011-01-01

Two fundamental electrons attributes in materials and nanostructures - charge and spin - determine their electronic properties. The processing of information in conventional electronic devices is based only on the charge of the electrons. Spin electronics, or spintronics, uses the spin of electrons, as well as their charge, to process information. Metals, semiconductors and insulators are the basic materials that constitute the components of electronic devices, and these have been transforming all aspects of society for over a century. In contrast, magnetic metals, half-metals, magnetic semiconductors, dilute magnetic semiconductors and magnetic insulators are the materials that will form the basis for spintronic devices. Materials with topological band structure attributes and having a zero-energy band gap surface states are a special class of these materials that exhibit some fascinating and superior electronic properties compared to conventional materials allowing to combine both charge and spin functionalities. This article reviews a range of topological insulator materials and nanostructures with tunable surface states, focusing on nanolayered and nanowire like structures. These materials and nanostructures all have intriguing physical properties and numerous potential practical applications in spintronics, electronics, optics and sensors.

Interfacial and Surface Science | Materials Science | NREL

Science.gov (United States)

Science group within the Material Science Center. He oversees research studies of surfaces and interfaces Interfacial and Surface Science Interfacial and Surface Science Image of irregular-outlined, light address a broad range of fundamental and applied issues in surface and interfacial science that are

A systematic first-principles study of surface energies, surface relaxation and Friedel oscillation of magnesium surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Jia-Jun; Yang, Xiao-Bao; Zhao, Yu-Jun; OuYang, LiuZhang; Zhu, Min

2014-01-01

We systematically study the surface energies and surface relaxations of various low-index and high-index Mg surfaces. It is found that low-index surfaces are not necessarily stable as Mg(1 0  1-bar  0) is the most unstable surface in the series of Mg(1 0  1-bar  n) (n = 0–9). A surface-energy predicting model based on the bond cutting is proposed to explain the relative surface stabilities. The local relaxations of the low-index surfaces could be explained by the Friedel oscillation. For the high-index surfaces, the combination of charge smoothing effect and dramatic charge depletion influences the relaxations, which show a big difference from the low-index ones. Our findings provide theoretical data for considerable insights into the surface energies of hexagonal close-packed metals. (paper)

Deposition of thin films and surface modification by pulsed high energy density plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan Pengxun; Yang Size

2002-01-01

The use of pulsed high energy density plasma is a new low temperature plasma technology for material surface treatment and thin film deposition. The authors present detailed theoretical and experimental studies of the production mechanism and physical properties of the pulsed plasma. The basic physics of the pulsed plasma-material interaction has been investigated. Diagnostic measurements show that the pulsed plasma has a high electron temperature of 10-100 eV, density of 10 14 -10 16 cm -3 , translation velocity of ∼10 -7 cm/s and power density of ∼10 4 W/cm 2 . Its use in material surface treatment combines the effects of laser surface treatment, electron beam treatment, shock wave bombardment, ion implantation, sputtering deposition and chemical vapor deposition. The metastable phase and other kinds of compounds can be produced on low temperature substrates. For thin film deposition, a high deposition ratio and strong film to substrate adhesion can be achieved. The thin film deposition and material surface modification by the pulsed plasma and related physical mechanism have been investigated. Thin film c-BN, Ti(CN), TiN, DLC and AlN materials have been produced successfully on various substrates at room temperature. A wide interface layer exists between film and substrate, resulting in strong adhesion. Metal surface properties can be improved greatly by using this kind of treatment

Lithium-Catalyzed Carbon Aerogel and Its Possible Application in Energy Storage Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Ciszewski, Mateusz; Szatkowska, Elżbieta; Koszorek, Andrzej

2017-07-01

A lithium-based catalyst for carbon aerogel compounds and carbon nanotubes synthesis was used. Lithium hydroxide-catalyzed and CNT-modified carbon aerogel was compared to traditionally synthesized sodium carbonate-catalyzed carbon aerogel, as well as to the same material modified with CNT to evaluate the real effect of lithium hydroxide addition. Enhancement in the specific surface area from 498 m2/g to 786 m2/g and significant change in pore size distribution were observed. Low temperature, supercritical drying in carbon dioxide was used to prepare an organic aerogel with subsequent pyrolysis in an inert gas flow to convert it into carbon aerogel. The as-obtained material was examined with respect to energy storage applications, i.e. symmetric hybrid supercapacitors. It was shown that lithium hydroxide was responsible for shorter gelation time, increased specific surface area, and a greater number of micropores within the structure. For both reference materials prepared using sodium carbonate, quite different data were recorded. It was presented that the proper choice of carbon matrix should combine both high specific surface area and appropriate pore size distribution. High surface area and a relatively large number of micropores were responsible for specific capacity loss.

Kapton charging characteristics: Effects of material thickness and electron-energy distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, W. S.; Dulgeroff, C. R.; Hymann, J.; Viswanathan, R.

1985-01-01

Charging characteristics of polyimide (Kapton) of varying thicknesses under irradiation by a very-low-curent-density electron beam, with the back surface of the sample grounded are reported. These charging characteristics are in good agreement with a simple analytical model which predicts that in thin samples at low current density, sample surface potential is limited by conduction leakage through the bulk material. The charging of Kapton in a low-current-density electron beam in which the beam energy was modulated to simulate Maxwellian and biMaxwellian distribution functions is measured.

Surface mobilities on solid materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binh, V.T.

1983-01-01

This book constitutes the proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Surface Mobilities on Solid Materials held in France in 1981. The goal of the two-week meeting was to review up-to-date knowledge on surface diffusion, both theoretical and experimental, and to highlight those areas in which much more knowledge needs to be accumulated. Topics include theoretical aspects of surface diffusion (e.g., microscopic theories of D at zero coverage; statistical mechanical models and surface diffusion); surface diffusion at the atomic level (e.g., FIM studies of surface migration of single adatoms and diatomic clusters; field emission studies of surface diffusion of adsorbates); foreign adsorbate mass transport; self-diffusion mass transport (e.g., different driving forces for the matter transport along surfaces; measurements of the morphological evolution of tips); the role of surface diffusion in some fundamental and applied sciences (e.g. adatomadatom pair interactions and adlayer superstructure formation; surface mobility in chemical reactions and catalysis); and recent works on surface diffusion (e.g., preliminary results on surface self-diffusion measurements on nickel and chromium tips)

Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy data - over 200 satellite-derived meteorology and solar energy parameters, monthly averaged from 22 years of data, global solar...

Phase change materials in energy sector - applications and material requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Kuta, Marta; Wójcik, Tadeusz M.

2015-05-01

Phase change materials (PCMs) have been applying in many areas. One of them is energy field. PCMs are interesting for the energy sector because their use enables thermal stabilization and storage of large amount of heat. It is major issue for safety of electronic devices, thermal control of buildings and vehicles, solar power and many others energy domains. This paper contains preliminary results of research on solid-solid phase change materials designed for thermal stabilisation of electronic devices.

Material and energy productivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberger, Julia K; Krausmann, Fridolin

2011-02-15

Resource productivity, measured as GDP output per resource input, is a widespread sustainability indicator combining economic and environmental information. Resource productivity is ubiquitous, from the IPAT identity to the analysis of dematerialization trends and policy goals. High resource productivity is interpreted as the sign of a resource-efficient, and hence more sustainable, economy. Its inverse, resource intensity (resource per GDP) has the reverse behavior, with higher values indicating environmentally inefficient economies. In this study, we investigate the global systematic relationship between material, energy and carbon productivities, and economic activity. We demonstrate that different types of materials and energy exhibit fundamentally different behaviors, depending on their international income elasticities of consumption. Biomass is completely inelastic, whereas fossil fuels tend to scale proportionally with income. Total materials or energy, as aggregates, have intermediate behavior, depending on the share of fossil fuels and other elastic resources. We show that a small inelastic share is sufficient for the total resource productivity to be significantly correlated with income. Our analysis calls into question the interpretation of resource productivity as a sustainability indicator. We conclude with suggestions for potential alternatives.

The surface energy of metals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vitos, Levente; Ruban, Andrei; Skriver, Hans Lomholt

1998-01-01

We have used density functional theory to establish a database of surface energies for low index surfaces of 60 metals in the periodic table. The data may be used as a consistent starting point for models of surface science phenomena. The accuracy of the database is established in a comparison...

Spectrally selective solar energy materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sikkens, M.

1981-01-01

The performance and properties of spectrally selective materials are considered and, in particular, the selective absorption of solar radiation by free electrons is discussed, both in a homogeneous material in which these electrons are strongly scattered, and in a composite material consisting of small metal particles in a dielectric host. Such materials can be used as selective absorbers if they are deposited as a thin film onto a metal substrate, the latter providing the required low emittance. This type of selective surfaces is produced by reactive sputtering of Ni in an Ar/CH 4 gas mixture. This method can yield Ni films with a considerable carbon concentration. The carbon concentration can be varied over a wide range by adjusting the partial methane pressure. The associated experimental techniques are discussed. As the carbon concentration increases, the structure of the films changes from a Ni phase in which carbon is dissolved, via an intermediate Ni 3 C phase into an amorphous carbon phase with a high electrical resistivity in which small nickel particles are embedded. Both mechanisms of selective absorption by free electrons are observed and are found to be well described by rather simple models. The best selectivity is obtained at high carbon concentrations where the films consist of nickel particles in carbon. Depending on the film thickness and the substrate material, the solar absorptance varies between 0.78 and 0.90, while the thermal emittance varies between 0.025 and 0.04. Since the films are found to be stable at 400 0 C in vacuum, it appears that these films are good candidates for application in photothermal solar energy conversion at temperature levels around 200 0 C and higher. (Auth.)

Energy conservation potential of surface modification technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Le, H.K.; Horne, D.M.; Silberglitt, R.S.

1985-09-01

This report assesses the energy conservation impact of surface modification technologies on the metalworking industries. The energy conservation impact of surface modification technologies on the metalworking industries is assessed by estimating their friction and wear tribological sinks and the subsequent reduction in these sinks when surface modified tools are used. Ion implantation, coatings, and laser and electron beam surface modifications are considered.

Energy materials. Advances in characterization, modelling and application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersen, N.H.; Eldrup, M.; Hansen, N.; Juul Jensen, D.; Nielsen, E.M.; Nielsen, S.F.; Soerensen, B.F.; Pedersen, A.S.; Vegge, T.; West, S.S.

2008-01-01

Energy-related topics in the modern world and energy research programmes cover the range from basic research to applications and structural length scales from micro to macro. Materials research and development is a central part of the energy area as break-throughs in many technologies depend on a successful development and validation of new or advanced materials. The Symposium is organized by the Materials Research Department at Risoe DTU - National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy. The Department concentrates on energy problems combining basic and applied materials research with special focus on the key topics: wind, fusion, superconductors and hydrogen. The symposium is based on these key topics and focus on characterization of materials for energy applying neutron, X-ray and electron diffraction. Of special interest is research carried out at large facilities such as reactors and synchrotrons, supplemented by other experimental techniques and modelling on different length scales that underpins experiments. The Proceedings contain 15 key note presentations and 30 contributed presentations, covering the abovementioned key topics relevant for the energy materials. The contributions clearly show the importance of materials research when developing sustainable energy technologies and also that many challenges remain to be approached. (BA)

A thermal spike analysis of low energy ion activated surface processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilmore, G.M.; Haeri, A.; Sprague, J.A.

1989-01-01

This paper reports a thermal spike analysis utilized to predict the time evolution of energy propagation through a solid resulting from energetic particle impact. An analytical solution was developed that can predict the number of surface excitations such as desorption, diffusion or chemical reaction activated by an energetic particle. The analytical solution is limited to substrates at zero Kelvin and to materials with constant thermal diffusivities. These limitations were removed by developing a computer numerical integration of the propagation of the thermal spike through the solid and the subsequent activation of surface processes

Nanoscale control of energy and matter in plasma-surface interactions: towards energy-efficient nanotech

Science.gov (United States)

Ostrikov, Kostya

2010-11-01

This presentation focuses on the plasma issues related to the solution of the grand challenge of directing energy and matter at nanoscales. This ability is critical for the renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies for sustainable future development. It will be discussed how to use environmentally and human health benign non-equilibrium plasma-solid systems and control the elementary processes of plasma-surface interactions to direct the fluxes of energy and matter at multiple temporal and spatial scales. In turn, this makes it possible to achieve the deterministic synthesis of self- organised arrays of metastable nanostructures in the size range beyond the reach of the present-day nanofabrication. Such structures have tantalising prospects to enhance performance of nanomaterials in virtually any area of human activity yet remain almost inaccessible because the Nature's energy minimisation rules allow only a small number of stable equilibrium states. By using precisely controlled and kinetically fast nanoscale transfer of energy and matter under non-equilibrium conditions and harnessing numerous plasma- specific controls of species creation, delivery to the surface, nucleation and large-scale self-organisation of nuclei and nanostructures, the arrays of metastable nanostructures can be created, arranged, stabilised, and further processed to meet the specific requirements of the envisaged applications. These approaches will eventually lead to faster, unprecedentedly- clean, human-health-friendly, and energy-efficient nanoscale synthesis and processing technologies for the next-generation renewable energy and light sources, biomedical devices, information and communication systems, as well as advanced functional materials for applications ranging from basic food, water, health and clean environment needs to national security and space missions.

Spectroscopy of reactive species produced by low-energy atmospheric-pressure plasma on conductive target material surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Hiromasa; Sakakita, Hajime; Kato, Susumu; Kim, Jaeho; Kiyama, Satoru; Fujiwara, Masanori; Itagaki, Hirotomo; Ikehara, Yuzuru; Okazaki, Toshiya; Ikehara, Sanae; Nakanishi, Hayao; Shimizu, Nobuyuki

2016-01-01

A method for blood coagulation using low-energy atmospheric-pressure plasma (LEAPP) is confirmed as an alternative procedure to reduce tissue damage caused by heat. Blood coagulation using LEAPP behaves differently depending on working gas species; helium is more effective than argon in promoting fast coagulation. To analyse the difference in reactive species produced by helium and argon plasma, spectroscopic measurements were conducted without and with a target material. To compare emissions, blood coagulation experiments using LEAPP for both plasmas were performed under almost identical conditions. Although many kinds of reactive species such as hydroxyl radicals and excited nitrogen molecules were observed with similar intensity in both plasmas, intensities of nitrogen ion molecules and nitric oxide molecules were extremely strong in the helium plasma. It is considered that nitrogen ion molecules were mainly produced by penning ionization by helium metastable. Near the target, a significant increase in the emissions of reactive species is observed. There is a possibility that electron acceleration was induced in a local electric field formed on the surface. However, in argon plasma, emissions from nitrogen ion were not measured even near the target surface. These differences between the two plasmas may be producing the difference in blood coagulation behaviour. To control the surrounding gas of the plasma, a gas-component-controllable chamber was assembled. Filling the chamber with O 2 /He or N 2 /He gas mixtures selectively produces either reactive oxygen species or reactive nitrogen species. Through selective treatments, this chamber would be useful in studying the effects of specific reactive species on blood coagulation. (paper)

Spectroscopy of reactive species produced by low-energy atmospheric-pressure plasma on conductive target material surface

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Hiromasa; Sakakita, Hajime; Kato, Susumu; Kim, Jaeho; Kiyama, Satoru; Fujiwara, Masanori; Itagaki, Hirotomo; Okazaki, Toshiya; Ikehara, Sanae; Nakanishi, Hayao; Shimizu, Nobuyuki; Ikehara, Yuzuru

2016-10-01

A method for blood coagulation using low-energy atmospheric-pressure plasma (LEAPP) is confirmed as an alternative procedure to reduce tissue damage caused by heat. Blood coagulation using LEAPP behaves differently depending on working gas species; helium is more effective than argon in promoting fast coagulation. To analyse the difference in reactive species produced by helium and argon plasma, spectroscopic measurements were conducted without and with a target material. To compare emissions, blood coagulation experiments using LEAPP for both plasmas were performed under almost identical conditions. Although many kinds of reactive species such as hydroxyl radicals and excited nitrogen molecules were observed with similar intensity in both plasmas, intensities of nitrogen ion molecules and nitric oxide molecules were extremely strong in the helium plasma. It is considered that nitrogen ion molecules were mainly produced by penning ionization by helium metastable. Near the target, a significant increase in the emissions of reactive species is observed. There is a possibility that electron acceleration was induced in a local electric field formed on the surface. However, in argon plasma, emissions from nitrogen ion were not measured even near the target surface. These differences between the two plasmas may be producing the difference in blood coagulation behaviour. To control the surrounding gas of the plasma, a gas-component-controllable chamber was assembled. Filling the chamber with O2/He or N2/He gas mixtures selectively produces either reactive oxygen species or reactive nitrogen species. Through selective treatments, this chamber would be useful in studying the effects of specific reactive species on blood coagulation.

Effect of surface energy on powder compactibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Fichtner, Frauke; Mahlin, Denny; Welch, Ken; Gaisford, Simon; Alderborn, Göran

2008-12-01

The influence of surface energy on the compactibility of lactose particles has been investigated. Three powders were prepared by spray drying lactose solutions without or with low proportions of the surfactant polysorbate 80. Various powder and tablet characterisation procedures were applied. The surface energy of the powders was characterized by Inverse Gas Chromatography and the compressibility of the powders was described by the relationship between tablet porosity and compression pressure. The compactibility of the powders was analyzed by studying the evolution of tablet tensile strength with increasing compaction pressure and porosity. All powders were amorphous and similar in particle size, shape, and surface area. The compressibility of the powders and the microstructure of the formed tablets were equal. However, the compactibility and dispersive surface energy was dependent of the composition of the powders. The decrease in tablet strength correlated to the decrease in powder surface energy at constant tablet porosities. This supports the idea that tablet strength is controlled by formation of intermolecular forces over the areas of contact between the particles and that the strength of these bonding forces is controlled by surface energy which, in turn, can be altered by the presence of surfactants.

Concavity Theorems for Energy Surfaces

OpenAIRE

Giraud, B. G.; Karataglidis, S.

2011-01-01

Concavity properties prevent the existence of significant landscapes in energy surfaces obtained by strict constrained energy minimizations. The inherent contradiction is due to fluctuations of collective coordinates. A solution to those fluctuations is given.

Skin damage probabilities using fixation materials in high-energy photon beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carl, J.; Vestergaard, A.

2000-01-01

Patient fixation, such as thermoplastic masks, carbon-fibre support plates and polystyrene bead vacuum cradles, is used to reproduce patient positioning in radiotherapy. Consequently low-density materials may be introduced in high-energy photon beams. The aim of the this study was to measure the increase in skin dose when low-density materials are present and calculate the radiobiological consequences in terms of probabilities of early and late skin damage. An experimental thin-windowed plane-parallel ion chamber was used. Skin doses were measured using various overlaying low-density fixation materials. A fixed geometry of a 10 x 10 cm field, a SSD = 100 cm and photon energies of 4, 6 and 10 MV on Varian Clinac 2100C accelerators were used for all measurements. Radiobiological consequences of introducing these materials into the high-energy photon beams were evaluated in terms of early and late damage of the skin based on the measured surface doses and the LQ-model. The experimental ion chamber save results consistent with other studies. A relationship between skin dose and material thickness in mg/cm 2 was established and used to calculate skin doses in scenarios assuming radiotherapy treatment with opposed fields. Conventional radiotherapy may apply mid-point doses up to 60-66 Gy in daily 2-Gy fractions opposed fields. Using thermoplastic fixation and high-energy photons as low as 4 MV do increase the dose to the skin considerably. However, using thermoplastic materials with thickness less than 100 mg/cm 2 skin doses are comparable with those produced by variation in source to skin distance, field size or blocking trays within clinical treatment set-ups. The use of polystyrene cradles and carbon-fibre materials with thickness less than 100 mg/cm 2 should be avoided at 4 MV at doses above 54-60 Gy. (author)

Surface characterization of graphene based materials

Science.gov (United States)

Pisarek, M.; Holdynski, M.; Krawczyk, M.; Nowakowski, R.; Roguska, A.; Malolepszy, A.; Stobinski, L.; Jablonski, A.

2016-12-01

In the present study, two kind of samples were used: (i) a monolayer graphene film with a thickness of 0.345 nm deposited by the CVD method on Cu foil, (ii) graphene flakes obtained by modified Hummers method and followed by reduction of graphene oxide. The inelastic mean free path (IMFP), characterizing electron transport in graphene/Cu sample and reduced graphene oxide material, which determines the sampling depth of XPS and AES were evaluated from relative Elastic Peak Electron Spectroscopy (EPES) measurements with the Au standard in the energy range 0.5-2 keV. The measured IMFPs were compared with IMFPs resulting from experimental optical data published in the literature for the graphite sample. The EPES IMFP values at 0.5 and 1.5 keV was practically identical to that calculated from optical data for graphite (less than 4% deviation). For energies 1 and 2 keV, the EPES IMFPs for rGO were deviated up to 14% from IMFPs calculated using the optical data by Tanuma et al. [1]. Before EPES measurements all samples were characterized by various techniques like: FE-SEM, AFM, XPS, AES and REELS to visualize the surface morphology/topography and identify the chemical composition.

Surface chemistry of first wall materials - From fundamental data to modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linsmeier, Ch.; Reinelt, M.; Schmid, K.

2011-01-01

The application of different materials at the first wall of fusion devices, like beryllium, carbon, and tungsten in the case of ITER, unavoidably leads to the formation of compounds. These compounds are created dynamically during operation and depend on the local parameters like surface temperature, incoming particle energies and species. In dedicated, well-defined laboratory experiments, using mainly X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering analysis for qualitative and quantitative chemical surface analysis, the parameter space in relevant element combinations are investigated. These studies lead to a deep understanding of the reaction mechanisms under the applied conditions and to a quantitative description of reaction and diffusion processes. These data can be parameterized and integrated into a modeling approach which combines dynamic surface chemistry with the modeling of the transport in the plasma. Two different approaches for surface reaction modeling are compared and benchmarked with experimental data.

SURFACE ENERGY BALANCE OVER ORANGE ORCHARD USING SURFACE RENEWAL ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salvatore Barbagallo

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Reliable estimation of surface sensible and latent heat flux is the most important process to appraise energy and mass exchange among atmosphere and biosphere. In this study the surface energy fluxes were measured over an irrigated orange orchard during 2005-2008 monitoring periods using a Surface Renewal- Energy Balance approach. The experimental area is located in a representative orchard growing area of eastern Sicily (Italy. The performance of Surface Renewal (SR analysis for estimating sensible heat flux (H was analysed and evaluated in terms of correlation with H fluxes from the eddy covariance (EC method. Study revealed that the mean available energy (RN- G and latent heat flux (LE were of about 300 W m-2 and 237 W m-2, respectively, during dry periods and unstable-case atmospheric conditions. The estimated crop coefficient Kc values for the orchard crop averaged close to 0.80, which is considerably higher than previous FAO studies that found the value to be 0.65 for citrus with 70% of ground cover. The intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (LI PAR by the crop was measured and relationships between LAI and crop coefficient (Kc were established.

Removal of PCB from indoor air and surface materials by introduction of additional sorbing materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gunnarsen, Lars Bo; Lyng, Nadja; Kolarik, Barbara

2017-01-01

Alleviation of indoor PCB contamination is extremely expensive because PCB from old primary sources has redistributed to most other surfaces over time. This study investigates the introduction of new removable sorbing materials as a method instantly lowering the concentration of PCB in indoor air...... and slowly decontaminating old surface materials. In three bedrooms of a contaminated apartment respectively new painted gypsum boards, sheets of flexible polyurethane foam and activated carbon fabric were introduced. The PCB concentrations in room air were monitored before the intervention and several times...... during the following 10 months. The PCB concentrations in the old surface materials as well as the new materials were also measured. An immediate reduction of PCB concentration in indoor air, a gradual increase of PCB in new material and as well a gradual reduction in old surface materials were...

Wearable energy sources based on 2D materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Fang; Ren, Huaying; Shan, Jingyuan; Sun, Xiao; Wei, Di; Liu, Zhongfan

2018-05-08

Wearable energy sources are in urgent demand due to the rapid development of wearable electronics. Besides flexibility and ultrathin thickness, emerging 2D materials present certain extraordinary properties that surpass the properties of conventional materials, which make them advantageous for high-performance wearable energy sources. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of recent advances in 2D material based wearable energy sources including wearable batteries, supercapacitors, and different types of energy harvesters. The crucial roles of 2D materials in the wearable energy sources are highlighted. Based on the current progress, the existing challenges and future prospects are outlined and discussed.

Thermoelectric Energy Conversion: Materials, Devices, and Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Gang

2015-01-01

This paper will present a discussion of challenges, progresses, and opportunities in thermoelectric energy conversion technology. We will start with an introduction to thermoelectric technology, followed by discussing advances in thermoelectric materials, devices, and systems. Thermoelectric energy conversion exploits the Seebeck effect to convert thermal energy into electricity, or the Peltier effect for heat pumping applications. Thermoelectric devices are scalable, capable of generating power from nano Watts to mega Watts. One key issue is to improve materials thermoelectric figure- of-merit that is linearly proportional to the Seebeck coefficient, the square of the electrical conductivity, and inversely proportional to the thermal conductivity. Improving the figure-of-merit requires good understanding of electron and phonon transport as their properties are often contradictory in trends. Over the past decade, excellent progresses have been made in the understanding of electron and phonon transport in thermoelectric materials, and in improving existing and identify new materials, especially by exploring nanoscale size effects. Taking materials to real world applications, however, faces more challenges in terms of materials stability, device fabrication, thermal management and system design. Progresses and lessons learnt from our effort in fabricating thermoelectric devices will be discussed. We have demonstrated device thermal-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency ∼10% and solar-thermoelectric generator efficiency at 4.6% without optical concentration of sunlight (Figure 1) and ∼8-9% efficiency with optical concentration. Great opportunities exist in advancing materials as well as in using existing materials for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy utilization, as well as mobile applications. (paper)

Chemistry of high-energy materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klapoetke, Thomas M. [Ludwig-Maximilians-Univ., Muenchen (Germany). Dept. of Chemistry; Maryland Univ., College Park, MD (US). Center of Energetic Concepts Development (CECD)

2011-07-01

The graduate-level textbook Chemistry of High-Energy Materials provides an introduction to and an overview of primary and secondary (high) explosives as well as propellant charges, rocket propellants and pyrotechnics. After a brief historical overview, the main classes of energetic materials are discussed systematically. Thermodynamic aspects, as far as relevant to energetic materials, are discussed, as well as modern computational approaches to predict performance and sensitivity parameters. The most important performance criteria such as detonation velocity, detonation pressure and heat of explosion, as well as the relevant sensitivity parameters suc as impact and friction sensitivity and electrostatic discharge sensitivity are explored in detail. Modern aspects of chemical synthesis including lead-free primary explosives and high-nitrogen compounds are also included in this book together with a discussion of high-energy materials for future defense needs. The most important goal of this book, based on a lecture course which has now been held at LMU Munich for over 12 years, is to increase knowledge and know-how in the synthesis and safe handling of high-energy materials. Society needs now as much as ever advanced explosives, propellant charges, rocket propellants and pyrotechnics to meet the demands in defense and engineering. This book is first and foremost aimed at advanced students in chemistry, engineering and materials sciences. However, it is also intended to provide a good introduction to the chemistry of energetic materials and chemical defense technology for scientists in the defense industry and government-run defense organizations. (orig.)

Materials science for solar energy conversion systems

CERN Document Server

Granqvist, CG

1991-01-01

Rapid advances in materials technology are creating many novel forms of coatings for energy efficient applications in solar energy. Insulating heat mirrors, selective absorbers, transparent insulation and fluorescent concentrators are already available commercially. Radiative cooling, electrochromic windows and polymeric light pipes hold promise for future development, while chemical and photochemical processes are being considered for energy storage. This book investigates new material advances as well as applications, costs, reliability and industrial production of existing materials. Each c

Final report for Assembling Microorganisms into Energy Converting Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sahin, Ozgur

2018-03-26

The goal of this project was to integrate microorganisms capable of reversible energy transduction in response to changing relative humidity with non-biological materials to create hybrid energy conversion systems. While plants and many other biological organisms have developed structures that are extraordinarily effective in converting changes in relative humidity into mechanical energy, engineered energy transduction systems rarely take advantage of this powerful phenomenon. Rather than developing synthetic materials that can convert changes in relative humidity in to mechanical energy, we developed approaches to assemble bacterial spores into larger materials. These materials can convert energy from evaporation of water in dry atmospheric conditions, which we demonstrated by building energy harvesters from these materials. We have also developed experiments to investigate the interaction of water with the spore material, and to determine how this interaction imposes limits on energy conversion. In addition, we carried out theoretical calculations to investigate the limits imposed by the environmental conditions to the power available in the energy harvesting process. These calculations took into account heat and water vapor transfer in the atmosphere surrounding the spore based materials. Overall, our results suggest that biomolecular materials are promising candidates to convert energy from evaporation.

Tribologically modified surfaces on elastomeric materials

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rodriguez, N.V.; Masen, Marc Arthur; Schipper, Dirk J.

2013-01-01

As the result of tribological loading, the properties of the surface of elastomeric materials will alter. This effect has been observed using SEM and EDS analysis of the tread of a used car tyre, where differences in structure between the substrate and the area near the surface were found. To study

Additive Manufacturing: Unlocking the Evolution of Energy Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhakeyev, Adilet; Wang, Panfeng; Zhang, Li; Shu, Wenmiao; Wang, Huizhi; Xuan, Jin

2017-10-01

The global energy infrastructure is undergoing a drastic transformation towards renewable energy, posing huge challenges on the energy materials research, development and manufacturing. Additive manufacturing has shown its promise to change the way how future energy system can be designed and delivered. It offers capability in manufacturing complex 3D structures, with near-complete design freedom and high sustainability due to minimal use of materials and toxic chemicals. Recent literatures have reported that additive manufacturing could unlock the evolution of energy materials and chemistries with unprecedented performance in the way that could never be achieved by conventional manufacturing techniques. This comprehensive review will fill the gap in communicating on recent breakthroughs in additive manufacturing for energy material and device applications. It will underpin the discoveries on what 3D functional energy structures can be created without design constraints, which bespoke energy materials could be additively manufactured with customised solutions, and how the additively manufactured devices could be integrated into energy systems. This review will also highlight emerging and important applications in energy additive manufacturing, including fuel cells, batteries, hydrogen, solar cell as well as carbon capture and storage.

Numerical investigation of shape domain effect to its elasticity and surface energy using adaptive finite element method

Science.gov (United States)

Alfat, Sayahdin; Kimura, Masato; Firihu, Muhammad Zamrun; Rahmat

2018-05-01

In engineering area, investigation of shape effect in elastic materials was very important. It can lead changing elasticity and surface energy, and also increase of crack propagation in the material. A two-dimensional mathematical model was developed to investigation of elasticity and surface energy in elastic material by Adaptive Finite Element Method. Besides that, behavior of crack propagation has observed for every those materials. The government equations were based on a phase field approach in crack propagation model that developed by Takaishi-Kimura. This research has varied four shape domains where physical properties of materials were same (Young's modulus E = 70 GPa and Poisson's ratio ν = 0.334). Investigation assumptions were; (1) homogeneous and isotropic material, (2) there was not initial cracking at t = 0, (3) initial displacement was zero [u1, u2] = 0) at initial condition (t = 0), and (4) length of time simulation t = 5 with interval Δt = 0.005. Mode I/II or mixed mode crack propagation has been used for the numerical investigation. Results of this studies were very good and accurate to show changing energy and behavior of crack propagation. In the future time, this research can be developed to complex phenomena and domain. Furthermore, shape optimization can be investigation by the model.

Radiation damage in materials. Primary knock-on atom energy analyses of cascade damage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekimura, Naoto

1995-01-01

To understand cascade damage formation as a function of primary recoil energy, thin foils of gold were irradiated with 20 - 400 keV self-ions to 1.0 x 10 14 ions/m 2 at 300 K. Yield of groups of vacancy clusters saturated at ion energy higher than 100 keV. Number of clusters in a group had variation even from the same energy ions. Size distribution of the clusters was not strongly dependent on number of clusters in a group and ion energy. Density of vacancy clusters in a group formed near the specimen surface was calibrated to estimate vacancy cluster formation in neutron-irradiated material. A model was proposed to predict distribution of defect clusters in the irradiated materials based on a primary recoil spectrum. Examples of recomposed distribution of vacancy clusters in a group in irradiated gold were compared with the measured data. (author)

Ion doping of surface layers in conducting electrical materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zukowski, P.; Karwat, Cz.; Kozak, Cz. M.; Kolasik, M.; Kiszczak, K.

2009-01-01

The presented article gives basic component elements of an implanter MKPCz-99, its parameters and methods for doping surface layers of conducting electrical materials. The discussed device makes possible to dope the materials with ions of gaseous elements. At the application of cones made of solid-element sheets it is possible to perform doping with atoms that do not chemically react with the modified material. By performing voltage drop measurements with a specialized circuit between a movable testing electrode and the modified sample the dependence of transition resistance on pressure force of the testing electrode on the sample can be determined. The testing can be performed at the current passage of a determined value for surfaces modified with ions of gaseous elements or atoms of solid elements. A computer stand for switch testing makes possible to measure temperature of switch contacts and voltage drop at the contact and thereby to determine contact resistance of a switch depending on the number of switch cycles (ON-OFF). Pattern recording of current and voltage at the switch contacts and the application of an adequate computer software makes possible to determined the value of energy between fixed and moving contacts at their getting apart. In order to eliminate action of the environment onto the switch operation measurements can be performed at placing the tested switch together with the driving system in an atmosphere of noble gas like argon. (authors)

Comparative researches concerning cleaning chosen construction materials surface layer using UV and IR laser radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Napadlek, W.; Marczak, J.; Kubicki, J.; Szudrowicz, M.

2002-01-01

The paper presents comparative research studies of cleaning out of deposits and pollution disposals on different constructional materials like; steel, cast iron, aluminium, copper by using UV and IR laser radiation of wavelength λ =1.064 μm; λ = 0.532 μm; λ = 0.355 μm and λ = 0.266 μm and also impulse laser TEA CO 2 at radiation λ = 10.6 μm were used for the experiments. Achieved experimental results gave us basic information on parameters and conditions and application of each used radiation wavelength. Each kind of pollution and base material should be individually treated, selecting the length of wave and radiation energy density. Laser microtreatment allows for broad cleaning application of the surface of constructional materials as well as may be used in future during manufacturing processes as: preparation of surface for PVD technology, galvanotechnics, cleaning of the surface of machine parts etc. (author)

Mapping Carrier Dynamics on Material Surfaces in Space and Time using Scanning Ultrafast Electron Microscopy

KAUST Repository

Sun, Jingya; Adhikari, Aniruddha; Shaheen, Basamat; Yang, Haoze; Mohammed, Omar F.

2016-01-01

Selectively capturing the ultrafast dynamics of charge carriers on materials surfaces and at interfaces is crucial to the design of solar cells and optoelectronic devices. Despite extensive research efforts over the past few decades, information and understanding about surface-dynamical processes, including carrier trapping and recombination remains extremely limited. A key challenge is to selectively map such dynamic processes, a capability that is hitherto impractical by time-resolved laser techniques, which are limited by the laser’s relatively large penetration depth and consequently they record mainly bulk information. Such surface dynamics can only be mapped in real space and time by applying four-dimensional (4D) scanning ultrafast electron microscopy (S-UEM), which records snapshots of materials surfaces with nanometer spatial and sub-picosecond temporal resolutions. In this method, the secondary electron (SE) signal emitted from the sample’s surface is extremely sensitive to the surface dynamics and is detected in real time. In several unique applications, we spatially and temporally visualize the SE energy gain and loss, the charge carrier dynamics on the surface of InGaN nanowires and CdSe single crystals and its powder film. We also provide the mechanisms for the observed dynamics, which will be the foundation for future potential applications of S-UEM to a wide range of studies on material surfaces and device interfaces.

Mapping Carrier Dynamics on Material Surfaces in Space and Time using Scanning Ultrafast Electron Microscopy

KAUST Repository

Sun, Jingya

2016-02-25

Selectively capturing the ultrafast dynamics of charge carriers on materials surfaces and at interfaces is crucial to the design of solar cells and optoelectronic devices. Despite extensive research efforts over the past few decades, information and understanding about surface-dynamical processes, including carrier trapping and recombination remains extremely limited. A key challenge is to selectively map such dynamic processes, a capability that is hitherto impractical by time-resolved laser techniques, which are limited by the laser’s relatively large penetration depth and consequently they record mainly bulk information. Such surface dynamics can only be mapped in real space and time by applying four-dimensional (4D) scanning ultrafast electron microscopy (S-UEM), which records snapshots of materials surfaces with nanometer spatial and sub-picosecond temporal resolutions. In this method, the secondary electron (SE) signal emitted from the sample’s surface is extremely sensitive to the surface dynamics and is detected in real time. In several unique applications, we spatially and temporally visualize the SE energy gain and loss, the charge carrier dynamics on the surface of InGaN nanowires and CdSe single crystals and its powder film. We also provide the mechanisms for the observed dynamics, which will be the foundation for future potential applications of S-UEM to a wide range of studies on material surfaces and device interfaces.

Global Stress Classification System for Materials Used in Solar Energy Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Slamova, Karolina; Schill, Christian; Herrmann, Jan; Datta, Pawan; Chih Wang, Chien

2016-08-01

Depending on the geographical location, the individual or combined impact of environmental stress factors and corresponding performance losses for solar applications varies significantly. Therefore, as a strategy to reduce investment risks and operating and maintenance costs, it is necessary to adapt the materials and components of solar energy systems specifically to regional environmental conditions. The project «GloBe Solar» supports this strategy by focusing on the development of a global stress classification system for materials in solar energy applications. The aim of this classification system is to assist in the identification of the individual stress conditions for every location on the earth's surface. The stress classification system could serve as a decision support tool for the industry (manufacturers, investors, lenders and project developers) and help to improve knowledge and services that can provide higher confidence to solar power systems.

New Routes Towards Nanoporous Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Gas Adsorption

OpenAIRE

Oschatz, Martin

2015-01-01

The chemical element carbon plays a key role in the 21st century. “The new carbon age” is associated with the global warming due to increasing carbon dioxide emissions. The latter are a major consequence of the continued combustion of fossil fuels for energy generation. However, carbon is also one key component to overcome these problems. Especially porous carbon materials are highly attractive for many environmentally relevant applications. These materials provide high specific surface area,...

Energy exchange in thermal energy atom-surface scattering: impulsive models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barker, J.A.; Auerbach, D.J.

1979-01-01

Energy exchange in thermal energy atom surface collisions is studied using impulsive ('hard cube' and 'hard sphere') models. Both models reproduce the observed nearly linear relation between outgoing and incoming energies. In addition, the hard-sphere model accounts for the widths of the outcoming energy distributions. (Auth.)

Comparison of glass surfaces as a countertop material to existing surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turo, Laura A.; Winschell, Abigail E.

2011-09-01

Gleen Glass, a small production glass company that creates countertops, was selected for the Technology Assistance Program through Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Gleen Glass was seeking material property analysis comparing glass as a countertop material to current surfaces (i.e. marble, granite and engineered stone). With samples provided from Gleen Glass, testing was done on granite, marble, and 3 different glass surfaces ('Journey,' 'Pebble,' and 'Gleen'). Results showed the glass surfaces have a lower density, lower water absorption, and are stronger in compressive and flexural tests as compared to granite and marble. Thermal shock tests showed the glass failed when objects with a high thermal mass are placed directly on them, whereas marble and granite did not fracture under these conditions.

Critical assessment of Pt surface energy - An atomistic study

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jin-Soo; Seol, Donghyuk; Lee, Byeong-Joo

2018-04-01

Despite the fact that surface energy is a fundamental quantity in understanding surface structure of nanoparticle, the results of experimental measurements and theoretical calculations for the surface energy of pure Pt show a wide range of scattering. It is necessary to further ensure the surface energy of Pt to find the equilibrium shape and atomic configuration in Pt bimetallic nanoparticles accurately. In this article, we critically assess and optimize the Pt surface energy using a semi-empirical atomistic approach based on the second nearest-neighbor modified embedded-atom method interatomic potential. That is, the interatomic potential of pure Pt was adjusted in a way that the surface segregation tendency in a wide range of Pt binary alloys is reproduced in accordance with experimental information. The final optimized Pt surface energy (mJ/m2) is 2036 for (100) surface, 2106 for (110) surface, and 1502 for (111) surface. The potential can be utilized to find the equilibrium shape and atomic configuration of Pt bimetallic nanoparticles more accurately.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOAMING BEHAVIOR AND SURFACE ENERGY OF ASPHALT BINDER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian-ping Xu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available To solve the problem of insufficiency in microscopic performance of foamed asphalt binder, surface energy theory was utilized to analyze the foaming behavior and wettability of asphalt binder. Based on the surface energy theory, the Wilhelmy plate method and universal sorption device method were employed to measure the surface energy components of asphalt binders and aggregates, respectively. Combined with the traditional evaluation indictor for foamed asphalt, the relationship between the foaming property and surface energy of asphalt binder was analyzed. According to the surface energy components, the wettability of asphalt binder to aggregate was calculated to verify the performance of foamed asphalt mixture. Results indicate that the foaming behavior of asphalt will be influenced by surface energy, which will increase with the decline of surface energy. In addition, the surface energy of asphalt binder significantly influences the wettability of asphalt binder to aggregates. Meanwhile, there is an inversely proportional relationship between surface energy of asphalt binder and wettability. Therefore, it can be demonstrated that surface energy is a good indictor which can be used to evaluate the foaming behavior of the asphalt binder. And it is suggested to choose the asphalt binder with lower surface energy in the process of design of foamed asphalt mixture.

Modification of Textile Materials' Surface Properties Using Chemical Softener

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jurgita KOŽENIAUSKIENĖ

2011-03-01

Full Text Available In the present study the effect of technological treatment involving the processes of washing or washing and softening with chemical cationic softener "Surcase" produced in Great Britain on the surface properties of cellulosic textile materials manufactured from cotton, bamboo and viscose spun yarns was investigated. The changes in textile materials surface properties were evaluated using KTU-Griff-Tester device and FEI Quanta 200 FEG scanning electron microscope (SEM. It was observed that the worst hand properties and the higher surface roughness are observed of cotton materials if compared with those of bamboo and viscose materials. Also, it was shown that depending on the material structure the handle parameters of knitted materials are the better than the ones of woven fabrics.http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.17.1.249

Neutron applications in materials for energy

CERN Document Server

Kearley, Gordon J

2015-01-01

Neutron Applications in Materials for Energy collects results and conclusions of recent neutron-based investigations of materials that are important in the development of sustainable energy. Chapters are authored by leading scientists with hands-on experience in the field, providing overviews, recent highlights, and case-studies to illustrate the applicability of one or more neutron-based techniques of analysis. The theme follows energy production, storage, and use, but each chapter, or section, can also be read independently, with basic theory and instrumentation for neutron scattering being

Dynamic behaviour of interphases and its implication on high-energy-density cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wangda; Dolocan, Andrei; Oh, Pilgun; Celio, Hugo; Park, Suhyeon; Cho, Jaephil; Manthiram, Arumugam

2017-01-01

Undesired electrode–electrolyte interactions prevent the use of many high-energy-density cathode materials in practical lithium-ion batteries. Efforts to address their limited service life have predominantly focused on the active electrode materials and electrolytes. Here an advanced three-dimensional chemical and imaging analysis on a model material, the nickel-rich layered lithium transition-metal oxide, reveals the dynamic behaviour of cathode interphases driven by conductive carbon additives (carbon black) in a common nonaqueous electrolyte. Region-of-interest sensitive secondary-ion mass spectrometry shows that a cathode-electrolyte interphase, initially formed on carbon black with no electrochemical bias applied, readily passivates the cathode particles through mutual exchange of surface species. By tuning the interphase thickness, we demonstrate its robustness in suppressing the deterioration of the electrode/electrolyte interface during high-voltage cell operation. Our results provide insights on the formation and evolution of cathode interphases, facilitating development of in situ surface protection on high-energy-density cathode materials in lithium-based batteries. PMID:28443608

Formation of nanocrystalline surface layers in various metallic materials by near surface severe plastic deformation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masahide Sato, Nobuhiro Tsuji, Yoritoshi Minamino and Yuichiro Koizumi

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The surface of the various kinds of metallic materials sheets were severely deformed by wire-brushing at ambient temperature to achieve nanocrystalline surface layer. The surface layers of the metallic materials developed by the near surface severe plastic deformation (NS-SPD were characterized by means of TEM. Nearly equiaxed nanocrystals with grain sizes ranging from 30 to 200 nm were observed in the near surface regions of all the severely scratched metallic materials, which are Ti-added ultra-low carbon interstitial free steel, austenitic stainless steel (SUS304, 99.99 wt.%Al, commercial purity aluminum (A1050 and A1100, Al–Mg alloy (A5083, Al-4 wt.%Cu alloy, OFHC-Cu (C1020, Cu–Zn alloy (C2600 and Pb-1.5%Sn alloy. In case of the 1050-H24 aluminum, the depth of the surface nanocrystalline layer was about 15 μm. It was clarified that wire-brushing is an effective way of NS-SPD, and surface nanocrystallization can be easily achieved in most of metallic materials.

Making waves: Kinetic processes controlling surface evolution during low energy ion sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, W.L.; Chason, Eric

2007-01-01

When collimated beams of low energy ions are used to bombard materials, the surface often develops a periodic pattern or ''ripple'' structure. Different types of patterns are observed to develop under different conditions, with characteristic features that depend on the substrate material, the ion beam parameters, and the processing conditions. Because the patterns develop spontaneously, without applying any external mask or template, their formation is the expression of a dynamic balance among fundamental surface kinetic processes, e.g., erosion of material from the surface, ion-induced defect creation, and defect-mediated evolution of the surface morphology. In recent years, a comprehensive picture of the different kinetic mechanisms that control the different types of patterns that form has begun to emerge. In this article, we provide a review of different mechanisms that have been proposed and how they fit together in terms of the kinetic regimes in which they dominate. These are grouped into regions of behavior dominated by the directionality of the ion beam, the crystallinity of the surface, the barriers to surface roughening, and nonlinear effects. In sections devoted to each type of behavior, we relate experimental observations of patterning in these regimes to predictions of continuum models and to computer simulations. A comparison between theory and experiment is used to highlight strengths and weaknesses in our understanding. We also discuss the patterning behavior that falls outside the scope of the current understanding and opportunities for advancement

Impact of indoor surface material on perceived air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Senitkova, I

2014-03-01

The material combination impact on perceived indoor air quality for various surface interior materials is presented in this paper. The chemical analysis and sensory assessments identifies health adverse of indoor air pollutants (TVOCs). In this study, emissions and odors from different common indoor surface materials were investigated in glass test chamber under standardized conditions. Chemical measurements (TVOC concentration) and sensory assessments (odor intensity, air acceptability) were done after building materials exposure to standardized conditions. The results of the chemical and sensory assessment of individual materials and their combinations are compared and discussed within the paper. The using possibility of individual material surface sorption ability was investigated. The knowledge of targeted sorption effects can be used in the interior design phase. The results demonstrate the various sorption abilities of various indoor materials as well as the various sorption abilities of the same indoor material in various combinations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface Modification of MXenes: A Pathway to Improve MXene Electrode Performance in Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices

KAUST Repository

Ahmed, Bilal

2017-12-31

The recent discovery of layered transition metal carbides (MXenes) is one of the most important developments in two-dimensional (2D) materials. Preliminary theoretical and experimental studies suggest a wide range of potential applications for MXenes. The MXenes are prepared by chemically etching ‘A’-layer element from layered ternary metal carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides (MAX phases) through aqueous acid treatment, which results in various surface terminations such as hydroxyl, oxygen or fluorine. It has been found that surface terminations play a critical role in defining MXene properties and affects MXene performance in different applications such as electrochemical energy storage, electromagnetic interference shielding, water purification, sensors and catalysis. Also, the electronic, thermoelectric, structural, plasmonic and optical properties of MXenes largely depend upon surface terminations. Thus, controlling the surface chemistry if MXenes can be an efficient way to improve their properties. This research mainly aims to perform surface modifications of two commonly studied MXenes; Ti2C and Ti3C2, via chemical, thermal or physical processes to enhance electrochemical energy storage properties. The as-prepared and surface modified MXenes have been studied as electrode materials in Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and supercapacitors (SCs). In pursuit of desirable MXene surface, we have developed an in-situ room temperature oxidation process, which resulted in TiO2/MXene nanocomposite and enhanced Li-ion storage. The idea of making metal oxide and MXene nanocomposites was taken to the next level by combining a high capacity anode materials – SnO2 – and MXene. By taking advantage of already existing surface functional groups (–OH), we have developed a composite of SnO2/MXene by atomic layer deposition (ALD) which showed enhanced capacity and excellent cyclic stability. Thermal annealing of MXene at elevated temperature under different atmospheres was

Materials aspects of world energy needs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1980-01-01

Plenary session papers presented by participants from both developed and developing countries contributed to the information base on materials and energy outlook, international cooperation, economic aspects, and environmental considerations and established the theme for the subsequent workshop sessions. Workshops on ten major aspects of materials-energy interrelationships provided the opportunity of open and informal discussion of critical issues in each area and the development of reasonable consensus on problems and potential solutions. A separate abstract for each of the 10 plenary-session papers, the 10 workshop reports, and the 4 selected papers will appear in Energy Research Abstracts (ERA) and Energy Abstracts for Policy Analysis (EAPA). The brief issue summaries (preprints) will appear individually (total of 75) only in the DOE Energy Data Base.

A topological screening heuristic for low-energy, high-index surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Wenhao; Ceder, Gerbrand

2018-03-01

Robust ab initio investigations of nanoparticle surface properties require a method to identify candidate low-energy surface facets a priori. By assuming that low-energy surfaces are planes with high atomic density, we devise an efficient algorithm to screen for low-energy surface orientations, even if they have high (hkl) miller indices. We successfully predict the observed low-energy, high-index { 10 12 bar } and { 10 1 bar 4 } surfaces of hematite α-Fe2O3, the {311} surfaces of cuprite Cu2O, and the {112} surfaces of anatase TiO2. We further tabulate candidate low-energy surface orientations for nine of the most common binary oxide structures. Screened surfaces are found to be generally applicable across isostructural compounds with varying chemistries, although relative surface energies between facets may vary based on the preferred coordination of the surface atoms.

Surface displacements and energy release rates for constant stress drop slip zones in joined elastic quarter spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, Michael J.; Wen, Shengmin; Keer, Leon M.

2000-08-01

A three-dimensional quasi-static model of faulting in an elastic half-space with a horizontal change of material properties (i.e., joined elastic quarter spaces) is considered. A boundary element method is used with a stress drop slip zone approach so that the fault surface relative displacements as well as the free surface displacements are approximated in elements over their respective domains. Stress intensity factors and free surface displacements are calculated for a variety of cases to show the phenomenological behavior of faulting in such a medium. These calculations showed that the behavior could be distinguished from a uniform half-space. Slip in a stiffer material increases, while slip in a softer material decreases the energy release rate and the free surface displacements. Also, the 1989 Kalapana earthquake was located on the basis of a series of forward searches using this method and leveling data. The located depth is 8 km, which is the closer to the seismically inferred depth than that determined from other models. Finally, the energy release rate, which can be used as a fracture criterion for fracture at this depth, is calculated to be 11.1×106 J m-2.

Surface effects on the mechanical properties of nanoporous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia Re; Li Xide; Feng Xiqiao; Qin Qinghua; Liu Jianlin

2011-01-01

Using the theory of surface elasticity, we investigate the mechanical properties of nanoporous materials. The classical theory of porous materials is modified to account for surface effects, which become increasingly important as the characteristic sizes of microstructures shrink to nanometers. First, a refined Timoshenko beam model is presented to predict the effective elastic modulus of nanoporous materials. Then the surface effects on the elastic microstructural buckling behavior of nanoporous materials are examined. In particular, nanoporous gold is taken as an example to illustrate the application of the proposed model. The results reveal that both the elastic modulus and the critical buckling behavior of nanoporous materials exhibit a distinct dependence on the characteristic sizes of microstructures, e.g. the average ligament width.

Surface effects on the mechanical properties of nanoporous materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xia Re [School of Power and Mechanical Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072 (China); Li Xide; Feng Xiqiao [AML, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Qin Qinghua [School of Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 (Australia); Liu Jianlin, E-mail: fengxq@tsinghua.edu.cn [Department of Engineering Mechanics, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266555 (China)

2011-07-01

Using the theory of surface elasticity, we investigate the mechanical properties of nanoporous materials. The classical theory of porous materials is modified to account for surface effects, which become increasingly important as the characteristic sizes of microstructures shrink to nanometers. First, a refined Timoshenko beam model is presented to predict the effective elastic modulus of nanoporous materials. Then the surface effects on the elastic microstructural buckling behavior of nanoporous materials are examined. In particular, nanoporous gold is taken as an example to illustrate the application of the proposed model. The results reveal that both the elastic modulus and the critical buckling behavior of nanoporous materials exhibit a distinct dependence on the characteristic sizes of microstructures, e.g. the average ligament width.

Energies and raw materials. The energy situation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-09-01

Statistics are given on the energy and raw materials (coal, oil, etc.) production and consumption levels in France in September 1997: primary energy total consumption has increased (mobile year) of 1.1%, at the same rate since 3 years. Interior demand has varied depending on the energy: strong decrease for coal (- 5.9%), slight increase for petroleum products (+ 0.8%), strong increase for gas (+ 3.2%) and moderate increase for electricity (+ 1.7%). An increase in the dollar exchange rate and a high level of oil and gas imports have induced a record energy cost level with + 30% on one year, reaching 89.2 billions Francs, to be compared to 68.5 in September 1996

Surface energy for electroluminescent polymers and indium-tin-oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong Zhiyou; Yin Sheng; Liu Chen; Zhong Youxin; Zhang Wuxing; Shi Dufang; Wang Chang'an

2003-01-01

The contact angles on the thin films of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV) and indium-tin-oxide (ITO) were measured by the sessile-drop technique. The surface energies of the films were calculated using the Owens-Wendt (OW) and van Oss-Chaudhury-Good (vOCG) approaches. The overall total surface energies of MEH-PPV and the as-received ITO were 30.75 and 30.07 mJ/m 2 , respectively. Both approaches yielded almost the same surface energies. The surface energies were mainly contributed from the dispersion interactions or Lifshitz-van der Waals (LW) interactions for both MEH-PPV and ITO. The changes in the contact angles and surface energies of the ITO films, due to different solvent cleaning processes and oxygen plasma treatments, were analyzed. Experimental results revealed that the total surface energy of the ITO films increased after various cleaning processes. In comparison with different solvents used in this study, we found that methanol is an effective solvent for ITO cleaning, as a higher surface energy was observed. ITO films treated with oxygen plasma showed the highest surface energy. This work demonstrated that contact angle measurement is a useful method to diagnose the cleaning effect on ITO films

Surface-conductivity enhancement of PMMA by keV-energy metal-ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bannister, M.E.; Hijazi, H.; Meyer, H.M.; Cianciolo, V.; Meyer, F.W.

2014-01-01

An experiment has been proposed to measure the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) with high precision at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Spallation Neutron Source. One of the requirements of this experiment is the development of PMMA (Lucite) material with a sufficiently conductive surface to permit its use as a high-voltage electrode while immersed in liquid He. At the ORNL Multicharged Ion Research Facility, an R and D activity is under way to achieve suitable surface conductivity in poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) using metal ion implantation. The metal implantation is performed using an electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) ion source and a recently developed beam line deceleration module that is capable of providing high flux beams for implantation at energies as low as a few tens of eV. The latter is essential for reaching implantation fluences exceeding 1 × 10 16 cm −2 , where typical percolation thresholds in polymers have been reported. In this contribution, we report results on initial implantation of Lucite by Ti and W beams with keV energies to average fluences in the range 0.5–6.2 × 10 16 cm −2 . Initial measurements of surface-resistivity changes are reported as function of implantation fluence, energy, and sample temperature. We also report X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) surface and depth profiling measurements of the ion implanted samples, to identify possible correlations between the near surface and depth resolved implanted W concentrations and the measured surface resistivities

Comparison of surface energy fluxes with satellite-derived surface energy flux estimates from a shrub-steppe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirkham, R.R.

1993-12-01

This thesis relates the components of the surface energy balance (i.e., net radiation, sensible and latent heat flux densities, soil heat flow) to remotely sensed data for native vegetation in a semi-arid environment. Thematic mapper data from Landsat 4 and 5 were used to estimate net radiation, sensible heat flux (H), and vegetation amount. Several sources of ground truth were employed. They included soil water balance using the neutron thermalization method and weighing lysimeters, and the measurement of energy fluxes with the Bowen ratio energy balance (BREB) technique. Sensible and latent heat flux were measured at four sites on the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site using a weighing lysimeter and/or BREB stations. The objective was to calibrate an aerodynamic transport equation that related H to radiant surface temperature. The transport equation was then used with Landsat thermal data to generate estimates of H and compare these estimates against H values obtained with BREB/lysimeters at the time of overflight. Landsat and surface meteorologic data were used to estimate the radiation budget terms at the surface. Landsat estimates of short-wave radiation reflected from the surface correlate well with reflected radiation measured using inverted Eppley pyranometers. Correlation of net radiation estimates determined from satellite data, pyranometer, air temperature, and vapor pressure compared to net radiometer values obtained at time of overflight were excellent for a single image, but decrease for multiple images. Soil heat flux, G T , is a major component of the energy balance in arid systems and G T generally decreases as vegetation cover increases. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values generated from Landsat thermatic mapper data were representative of field observations of the presence of green vegetation, but it was not possible to determine a single relationship between NDVI and G T for all sites

Energy impacts of recycling disassembly material in residential buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, Weijun; Ariyama, Takahiro; Ojima, Toshio; Meier, Alan

2000-01-01

In order to stop the global warmth due to the CO2 concentration, the energy use should be decreased. The investment of building construction industry in Japan is about 20 percent of GDP. This fraction is much higher than in most developed countries. That results the Japanese building construction industry including residential use consumes about one third of all energy and resources of the entire industrial sectors. In order to save energy as well as resource, the recycle of the building materials should be urgent to be carried out. In this paper, we focus on the potential energy savings with a simple calculated method when the building materials or products are manufactured from recycled materials. We examined three kinds of residential buildings with different construction techniques and estimated the decreased amount of energy consumption and resources resulting from use of recycled materials. The results have shown for most building materials, the energy consumption needed to remake housing materials from recycled materials is lower than that to make new housing materials. The energy consumption of building materials in all case-study housing can be saved by at least 10 percent. At the same time, the resource, measured by mass of building materials (kg) can be decreased by over 50 percent

Feasibility of Cathode Surface Coating Technology for High-Energy Lithium-ion and Beyond-Lithium-ion Batteries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalluri, Sujith; Yoon, Moonsu; Jo, Minki; Liu, Hua Kun; Dou, Shi Xue; Cho, Jaephil; Guo, Zaiping

2017-12-01

Cathode material degradation during cycling is one of the key obstacles to upgrading lithium-ion and beyond-lithium-ion batteries for high-energy and varied-temperature applications. Herein, we highlight recent progress in material surface-coating as the foremost solution to resist the surface phase-transitions and cracking in cathode particles in mono-valent (Li, Na, K) and multi-valent (Mg, Ca, Al) ion batteries under high-voltage and varied-temperature conditions. Importantly, we shed light on the future of materials surface-coating technology with possible research directions. In this regard, we provide our viewpoint on a novel hybrid surface-coating strategy, which has been successfully evaluated in LiCoO 2 -based-Li-ion cells under adverse conditions with industrial specifications for customer-demanding applications. The proposed coating strategy includes a first surface-coating of the as-prepared cathode powders (by sol-gel) and then an ultra-thin ceramic-oxide coating on their electrodes (by atomic-layer deposition). What makes it appealing for industry applications is that such a coating strategy can effectively maintain the integrity of materials under electro-mechanical stress, at the cathode particle and electrode- levels. Furthermore, it leads to improved energy-density and voltage retention at 4.55 V and 45 °C with highly loaded electrodes (≈24 mg.cm -2 ). Finally, the development of this coating technology for beyond-lithium-ion batteries could be a major research challenge, but one that is viable. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Dark Material at the Surface of Polar Crater Deposits on Mercury

Science.gov (United States)

Neumann, Gregory A.; Cavanaugh, John F.; Sun, Xiaoli; Mazarico, Erwan; Smith, David E.; Zuber, Maria T.; Solomon, Sean C.; Paige, Daid A.

2012-01-01

Earth-based radar measurements [1-3] have yielded images of radar-bright material at the poles of Mercury postulated to be near-surface water ice residing in cold traps on the permanently shadowed floors of polar impact craters. The Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) on board the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft has now mapped much of the north polar region of Mercury [4] (Fig. 1). Radar-bright zones lie within polar craters or along poleward-facing scarps lying mainly in shadow. Calculations of illumination with respect to solid-body motion [5] show that at least 0.5% of the surface area north of 75deg N lies in permanent shadow, and that most such permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) coincide with radar-bright regions. MLA transmits a 1064-nm-wavelength laser pulse at 8 Hz, timing the leading and trailing edges of the return pulse. MLA can in some cases infer energy and thereby surface reflectance at the laser wavelength from the returned pulses. Surficial exposures of water ice would be optically brighter than the surroundings, but persistent surface water ice would require temperatures over all seasons to remain extremely low (Mercury s eccentric orbit, 3:2 spin-orbit resonance, and near-zero obliquity generally do not support such conditions in all permanently shadowed craters but suggest that water ice buried near the surface ( 1 Gy. We describe measurements of reflectivity derived from MLA pulse returns. These reflectivity data show that surface materials in the shadowed regions are darker than their surroundings, enough to strongly attenuate or extinguish laser returns. Such measurements appear to rule out widespread surface exposures of water ice. We consider explanations for the apparent low reflectivity of these regions involving other types of volatile deposit.

Advanced materials for clean energy

CERN Document Server

Xu (Kyo Jo), Qiang

2015-01-01

Arylamine-Based Photosensitizing Metal Complexes for Dye-Sensitized Solar CellsCheuk-Lam Ho and Wai-Yeung Wongp-Type Small Electron-Donating Molecules for Organic Heterojunction Solar CellsZhijun Ning and He TianInorganic Materials for Solar Cell ApplicationsYasutake ToyoshimaDevelopment of Thermoelectric Technology from Materials to GeneratorsRyoji Funahashi, Chunlei Wan, Feng Dang, Hiroaki Anno, Ryosuke O. Suzuki, Takeyuki Fujisaka, and Kunihito KoumotoPiezoelectric Materials for Energy HarvestingDeepam Maurya, Yongke Yan, and Shashank PriyaAdvanced Electrode Materials for Electrochemical Ca

Surface energy of very neutron rich nuclei

CERN Document Server

Von Groote, H

1976-01-01

For a microscopic model calculation of the nuclear surface-energy coefficient sigma the surface energy is defined as the energy loss of an uncharged, semiinfinite (inhomogeneous) two-component system compared to an infinite (homogeneous) system with the same particle asymmetry delta . Using the Thomas-Fermi model the calculations are performed for a series of systems with increasing delta , starting from symmetric matter ( delta =0) and extending beyond the drip line of the neutrons, until the system undergoes a phase transition to a homogeneous system. The results for the surface energy as well as for the neutron skin and for the surface diffuseness are compared to the macroscopic approach of the Droplet Model (DM), which turns out to be a good approximation for small asymmetries typical for the region of the valley of beta -stability. For larger asymmetries, close to the drip lines, terms of higher order than contained in the DM approach are no longer negligible. Beyond the drip lines the pressure of the ou...

Laser-material interactions: A study of laser energy coupling with solids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shannon, Mark Alan [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

1993-11-01

This study of laser-light interactions with solid materials ranges from low-temperature heating to explosive, plasma-forming reactions. Contained are four works concerning laser-energy coupling: laser (i) heating and (ii) melting monitored using a mirage effect technique, (iii) the mechanical stress-power generated during high-powered laser ablation, and (iv) plasma-shielding. First, a photothermal deflection (PTD) technique is presented for monitoring heat transfer during modulated laser heating of opaque solids that have not undergone phase-change. Of main interest is the physical significance of the shape, magnitude, and phase for the temporal profile of the deflection signal. Considered are the effects that thermophysical properties, boundary conditions, and geometry of the target and optical probe-beam have on the deflection response. PTD is shown to monitor spatial and temporal changes in heat flux leaving the surface due to changes in laser energy coupling. The PTD technique is then extended to detect phase-change at the surface of a solid target. Experimental data shows the onset of melt for indium and tin targets. The conditions for which melt can be detected by PTD is analyzed in terms of geometry, incident power and pulse length, and thermophysical properties of the target and surroundings. Next, monitoring high-powered laser ablation of materials with stress-power is introduced. The motivation for considering stress-power is given, followed by a theoretical discussion of stress-power and how it is determined experimentally. Experiments are presented for the ablation of aluminum targets as a function of energy and intensity. The stress-power response is analyzed for its physical significance. Lastly, the influence of plasma-shielding during high-powered pulsed laser-material interactions is considered. Crater size, emission, and stress-power are measured to determine the role that the gas medium and laser pulse length have on plasma shielding.

Laser-material interactions: A study of laser energy coupling with solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shannon, M.A.; California Univ., Berkeley, CA

1993-11-01

This study of laser-light interactions with solid materials ranges from low-temperature heating to explosive, plasma-forming reactions. Contained are four works concerning laser-energy coupling: laser (i) heating and (ii) melting monitored using a mirage effect technique, (iii) the mechanical stress-power generated during high-powered laser ablation, and (iv) plasma-shielding. First, a photothermal deflection (PTD) technique is presented for monitoring heat transfer during modulated laser heating of opaque solids that have not undergone phase-change. Of main interest is the physical significance of the shape, magnitude, and phase for the temporal profile of the deflection signal. Considered are the effects that thermophysical properties, boundary conditions, and geometry of the target and optical probe-beam have on the deflection response. PTD is shown to monitor spatial and temporal changes in heat flux leaving the surface due to changes in laser energy coupling. The PTD technique is then extended to detect phase-change at the surface of a solid target. Experimental data shows the onset of melt for indium and tin targets. The conditions for which melt can be detected by PTD is analyzed in terms of geometry, incident power and pulse length, and thermophysical properties of the target and surroundings. Next, monitoring high-powered laser ablation of materials with stress-power is introduced. The motivation for considering stress-power is given, followed by a theoretical discussion of stress-power and how it is determined experimentally. Experiments are presented for the ablation of aluminum targets as a function of energy and intensity. The stress-power response is analyzed for its physical significance. Lastly, the influence of plasma-shielding during high-powered pulsed laser-material interactions is considered. Crater size, emission, and stress-power are measured to determine the role that the gas medium and laser pulse length have on plasma shielding

Surface Characteristics and Biofilm Development on Selected Dental Ceramic Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyoung H. Kim

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Intraoral adjustment and polishing of dental ceramics often affect their surface characteristics, promoting increased roughness and consequent biofilm growth. This study correlated surface roughness to biofilm development with four commercially available ceramic materials. Methods. Four ceramic materials (Vita Enamic®, Lava™ Ultimate, Vitablocs Mark II, and Wieland Reflex® were prepared as per manufacturer instructions. Seventeen specimens of each material were adjusted and polished to simulate clinical intraoral procedures and another seventeen remained unaltered. Specimens were analysed by SEM imaging, confocal microscopy, and crystal violet assay. Results. SEM images showed more irregular surface topography in adjusted specimens than their respective controls. Surface roughness (Ra values were greater in all materials following adjustments. All adjusted materials with the exception of Vitablocs Mark II promoted significantly greater biofilm growth relative to controls. Conclusion. Simulated intraoral polishing methods resulted in greater surface roughness and increased biofilm accumulation.

Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Conference on Fossil Energy Materials. Fossil Energy AR and TD Materials Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cole, N.C.; Judkins, R.R. [comps.

1993-07-01

Objective of the AR&TD Materials Program is to conduct research and development on materials for longer-term fossil energy applications as well as for generic needs of various fossil fuel technologies. The 37 papers are arranged into 3 sessions: ceramics, new alloys/intermetallics, and new alloys/advanced austenitics. Selected papers have been indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

Formation of nanostructures on HOPG surface in presence of surfactant atom during low energy ion irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ranjan, M., E-mail: ranjanm@ipr.res.in; Joshi, P.; Mukherjee, S.

2016-07-15

Low energy ions beam often develop periodic patterns on surfaces under normal or off-normal incidence. Formation of such periodic patterns depends on the substrate material, the ion beam parameters, and the processing conditions. Processing conditions introduce unwanted contaminant atoms, which also play strong role in pattern formation by changing the effective sputtering yield of the material. In this work we have analysed the effect of Cu, Fe and Al impurities introduced during low energy Ar{sup +} ion irradiation on HOPG substrate. It is observed that by changing the species of foreign atoms the surface topography changes drastically. The observed surface topography is co-related with the modified sputtering yield of HOPG. Presence of Cu and Fe amplify the effective sputtering yield of HOPG, so that the required threshold for the pattern formation is achieved with the given fluence, whereas Al does not lead to any significant change in the effective yield and hence no pattern formation occurs.

Surface Plasmon-Assisted Solar Energy Conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Dodekatos, Georgios; Schünemann, Stefan; Tüysüz, Harun

2016-01-01

The utilization of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) from plasmonic noble metals in combination with semiconductors promises great improvements for visible light-driven photocatalysis, in particular for energy conversion. This review summarizes the basic principles of plasmonic photocatalysis, giving a comprehensive overview about the proposed mechanisms for enhancing the performance of photocatalytically active semiconductors with plasmonic devices and their applications for surface plasmon-assisted solar energy conversion. The main focus is on gold and, to a lesser extent, silver nanoparticles in combination with titania as semiconductor and their usage as active plasmonic photocatalysts. Recent advances in water splitting, hydrogen generation with sacrificial organic compounds, and CO2 reduction to hydrocarbons for solar fuel production are highlighted. Finally, further improvements for plasmonic photocatalysts, regarding performance, stability, and economic feasibility, are discussed for surface plasmon-assisted solar energy conversion.

Crystal Nucleation Using Surface-Energy-Modified Glass Substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordquist, Kyle A; Schaab, Kevin M; Sha, Jierui; Bond, Andrew H

2017-08-02

Systematic surface energy modifications to glass substrates can induce nucleation and improve crystallization outcomes for small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and proteins. A comparatively broad probe for function is presented in which various APIs, proteins, organic solvents, aqueous media, surface energy motifs, crystallization methods, form factors, and flat and convex surface energy modifications were examined. Replicate studies ( n ≥ 6) have demonstrated an average reduction in crystallization onset times of 52(4)% (alternatively 52 ± 4%) for acetylsalicylic acid from 91% isopropyl alcohol using two very different techniques: bulk cooling to 0 °C using flat surface energy modifications or microdomain cooling to 4 °C from the interior of a glass capillary having convex surface energy modifications that were immersed in the solution. For thaumatin and bovine pancreatic trypsin, a 32(2)% reduction in crystallization onset times was demonstrated in vapor diffusion experiments ( n ≥ 15). Nucleation site arrays have been engineered onto form factors frequently used in crystallization screening, including microscope slides, vials, and 96- and 384-well high-throughput screening plates. Nucleation using surface energy modifications on the vessels that contain the solutes to be crystallized adds a layer of useful variables to crystallization studies without requiring significant changes to workflows or instrumentation.

Alternative surfacing materials for weed control at BC Hydro substations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wells, T.C.; Shrimpton, G.M.

1997-01-01

A two year study was conducted by BC Hydro in which a variety of surfacing materials were tested for their suitability for use in substations. Ideally, surfacing materials should have the following characteristics: high electrical resistivity in both dry and wet conditions, resistance to invasion by weeds, good driveability, good drainage, non-flammable, reasonably priced, no dust to foul conductors, and be aesthetically pleasing. Trials at Vernon Koksilah, and Ingledow substations were conducted to test the materials. A qualitative estimate of the amount of weed control provided by each material was recorded. The trials were meant to provide operational recommendations and screening information to allow for future testing of promising materials or combination of materials. Results showed that no single material meets all the desired criteria. The surfaces that best combined good weed control, electrical resistance and surface stability was a 15 cm deep layer of crushed gravel, especially if underlain by a layer of geotextile. 4 refs., 3 tabs., 1 fig

Materials 2014: a great success for materials sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isnard, Olivier; Crepin, Jerome

2014-01-01

In this work are presented the summaries of the 19 symposiums presented at the conference: 'Materials 2014' and whose topics were: eco-materials, materials for energy storage and conversion, strategic materials, rare elements and recycling, surfaces functionalization and physico-chemical characterization, interfaces and coatings, corrosion, aging, durability, damage mechanical behaviours, disordered materials, glasses and their functionalization, materials and health, functional materials, porous, granular and with a high surface area materials, nano-materials, nano-structured systems, assembling processes, carbonaceous materials, great instruments and studies of materials, materials in severe conditions, powder forming processes, metallic materials and structures lightening. (O.M.)

Energies and raw materials. The energy situation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-11-01

Statistics are given on the energy and raw materials (coal, oil, etc.) production and consumption levels in France in November 1997: primary energy total consumption has increased (mobile year) of 0.6%, at a slightly inferior rate than the rate since 3 years. Interior demand has varied depending on the energy: strong decrease for coal (- 9.3%), slight increase for petroleum products (+ 1.2%), markedly slowing down increase for gas (+ 1.4%) and moderate increase for electricity (+ 1.3%). An increase in the dollar exchange rate and a high level of oil and gas imports have induced a maintained high energy cost level with + 14% on one year, reaching 86.8 billions Francs, to be compared to 76.1 in November 1996

Neutrality Versus Materiality: A Thermodynamic Theory of Neutral Surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rémi Tailleux

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a theory for constructing quasi-neutral density variables γ directly in thermodynamic space is formulated, which is based on minimising the absolute value of a purely thermodynamic quantity J n . Physically, J n has a dual dynamic/thermodynamic interpretation as the quantity controlling the energy cost of adiabatic and isohaline parcel exchanges on material surfaces, as well as the dependence of in-situ density on spiciness, in a description of water masses based on γ, spiciness and pressure. Mathematically, minimising | J n | in thermodynamic space is showed to be equivalent to maximising neutrality in physical space. The physics of epineutral dispersion is also reviewed and discussed. It is argued, in particular, that epineutral dispersion is best understood as the aggregate effect of many individual non-neutral stirring events (being understood here as adiabatic and isohaline events with non-zero buoyancy, so that it is only the net displacement aggregated over many events that is approximately neutral. This new view resolves an apparent paradox between the focus in neutral density theory on zero-buoyancy motions and the overwhelming evidence that lateral dispersion in the ocean is primarily caused by non-zero buoyancy processes such as tides, residual currents and sheared internal waves. The efficiency by which a physical process contributes to lateral dispersion can be characterised by its energy signature, with those processes releasing available potential energy (negative energy cost being more efficient than purely neutral processes with zero energy cost. The latter mechanism occurs in the wedge of instability, and its source of energy is the coupling between baroclinicity, thermobaricity, and density compensated temperature/salinity anomalies. Such a mechanism, which can only exist in a salty ocean, is speculated to be important for dissipating spiciness anomalies and neutral helicity. The paper also discusses potential

Breakage mechanics for granular materials in surface-reactive environments

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yida; Buscarnera, Giuseppe

2018-03-01

It is known that the crushing behaviour of granular materials is sensitive to the state of the fluids occupying the pore space. Here, a thermomechanical theory is developed to link such macroscopic observations with the physico-chemical processes operating at the microcracks of individual grains. The theory relies on the hypothesis that subcritical fracture propagation at intra-particle scale is the controlling mechanism for the rate-dependent, water-sensitive compression of granular specimens. First, the fracture of uniaxially compressed particles in surface-reactive environments is studied in light of irreversible thermodynamics. Such analysis recovers the Gibbs adsorption isotherm as a central component linking the reduction of the fracture toughness of a solid to the increase of vapour concentration. The same methodology is then extended to assemblies immersed in wet air, for which solid-fluid interfaces have been treated as a separate phase. It is shown that this choice brings the solid surface energy into the dissipation equations of the granular matrix, thus providing a pathway to (i) integrate the Gibbs isotherm with the continuum description of particle assemblies and (ii) reproduce the reduction of their yield strength in presence of high relative humidity. The rate-effects involved in the propagation of cracks and the evolution of breakage have been recovered by considering non-homogenous dissipation potentials associated with the creation of surface area at both scales. It is shown that the proposed model captures satisfactorily the compression response of different types of granular materials subjected to varying relative humidity. This result was achieved simply by using parameters based on the actual adsorption characteristics of the constituting minerals. The theory therefore provides a physically sound and thermodynamically consistent framework to study the behaviour of granular solids in surface-reactive environments.

Energy Materials Coordinating Committee (EMaCC)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-05-31

This report summarizes EMaCC activities for fiscal year 1990 and describes the materials research programs of various offices and divisions within the department. The DOE Energy Materials Coordinating Committee (EMaCC) serves primarily to enhance coordination among the Department's materials programs and to further the effective use of materials expertise within the department. (JL)

A Combined Model of Charging of the Surface and Bulk of a Dielectric Target by Electrons with the Energies 10-30 keV

Science.gov (United States)

Zykov, V. M.; Neiman, D. A.

2018-04-01

A physico-mathematical model of the processes of radiation-induced charging of dielectric materials with open surfaces, irradiated with monoenergetic electrons in the energy range 10-30 keV, is described. The model takes into account the relationship between the processes of surface and bulk charging for the given conditions of the experimental design, which accounts for the effect of anomalously long charging of dielectrics after the incident energy of primary electrons during charging is reduced to below the second critical energy for the secondary electronic emission coefficient. The initial fast phase of charging a high-resistivity dielectric material (Al2O3) is investigated. It is shown that as the incident electron energy is approaching the second critical energy during charging, the secondary electronic emission is partially suppressed due to negative charging of the open surface of the dielectric and formation of a near-surface inversion electrical field retarding the electronic emission yield.

Atom-surface interaction: Zero-point energy formalism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paranjape, V.V.

1985-01-01

The interaction energy between an atom and a surface formed by a polar medium is derived with use of a new approach based on the zero-point energy formalism. It is shown that the energy depends on the separation Z between the atom and the surface. With increasing Z, the energy decreases according to 1/Z 3 , while with decreasing Z the energy saturates to a finite value. It is also shown that the energy is affected by the velocity of the atom, but this correction is small. Our result for large Z is consistent with the work of Manson and Ritchie [Phys. Rev. B 29, 1084 (1984)], who follow a more traditional approach to the problem

DOE Energy Frontiers Research Center for Heterogeneous Functional Materials; the “HeteroFoaM Center”

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reifsnider, Kenneth Leonard [Univ. of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (United States)

2016-11-03

Synopsis of five year accomplishments: Devices that convert and store energy are generally made from heterogeneous constituent materials that act and interact to selectively conduct, transport, and separate mass, heat, and charge. Controlling these actions and interactions enables the technical breakthroughs that have made fuel cells, batteries, and solid state membranes, for example, essential parts of our society. In the biological sense, these materials are ‘vascular’ rather than primitive ‘cellular’ materials, in which the arrangements and configurations of the constituents (including their void phases) play essential and definitive roles in their functional capabilities. In 2009 a group of investigators, with lifetime investments of effort in the understanding of heterogeneous materials, recognized that the design of such material systems is not an optimization problem as such. Local interactions of the constituents create “emergent” properties and responses that are not part of the formal set of constituent characteristics, in much the same sense that society and culture is created by the group interactions of the people involved. The design of emergent properties is an open question in all formal science, but for energy materials the lack of this foundation science relegates development tasks to Edisonian trial and error, with anecdotal success and frequent costly failures. That group defined, for the first time, multi-scale heterogeneous functional materials with functional disordered and void phase regions as “HeteroFoaM,” and formed the first multidisciplinary research team to define and codify the foundation science of that material class. The primary goal of the HeteroFoaM Center was, and is, to create and establish the multi-scale fundamental knowledge and related methodology required for the rational and systematic multiphysics design of heterogeneous functional materials and their interfaces and surfaces for applications in energy

Surface modification of positive electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Julien, C.M., E-mail: Christian.Julien@upmc.fr [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 6, Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux (PHENIX), UMR 8234, 75005 Paris (France); Mauger, A. [Institut de Minéralogie de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie (IMPMC), UPMC Univ. Paris 6, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris (France); Groult, H. [Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 6, Physicochimie des Electrolytes et Nanosystèmes Interfaciaux (PHENIX), UMR 8234, 75005 Paris (France); Zaghib, K. [Energy Storage and Conversion, Research Institute of Hydro-Québec, Varennes, Québec J3X 1S1 (Canada)

2014-12-01

The advanced lithium-ion batteries are critically important for a wide range of applications, from portable electronics to electric vehicles. The research on their electrodes aims to increase the energy density and the power density, improve the calendar and the cycling life, without sacrificing the safety issues. A constant progress through the years has been obtained owing to the surface treatment of the particles, in particular the coating of the nanoparticles with a layer that protects the core region from side reactions with the electrolyte, prevents the loss of oxygen, and the dissolution of the metal ions in the electrolyte, or simply improve the conductivity of the powder. The purpose of the present work is to present the different surface modifications that have been tried for three families of positive electrodes: layered, spinel and olivine frameworks that are currently considered as promising materials. The role of the different coats used to improve either the surface conductivity, or the thermal stability, or the structural integrity is discussed. - Highlights: • Report the various surface modifications tried for the positive electrodes of Li-ion batteries. • The role of different coats used to improve the conductivity, or the thermal stability, or the structural integrity. • Improvement of electrochemical properties of electrodes after coating or surface treatment.

Surface effects on the mechanical properties of nanoporous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Zixing; Zhang Cungang; Liu Qiang; Yang Zhenyu

2011-01-01

In this paper, surface effects on the mechanical behaviour of nanoporous materials are investigated using the theory of surface elasticity and Timoshenko beam theory based on the tetrakaidecahedron (or Kelvin) open-cell foam model. Meanwhile, the influence of surface elasticity and residual surface stress on the mechanical properties of nanoporous materials is discussed. In addition, the results derived from the theory of Euler-Bernoulli beam model are also provided for comparison. Theoretical results show that the effective Young's modulus of the nanoporous materials increases as the diameter of the strut decreases, but in contrast Poisson's ratio and the brittle collapse strength decrease with the diameter of the strut. The contribution of shear deformation to surface effects on elastic properties is more significant, while the surface effects on brittle collapse strength are not sensitive to shear deformation, and it can even be neglected. As the strut size increases, the present results can be reduced to the cases without considering surface effects, which verifies the efficiency of the present model to a certain extent.

Energy harvesting with piezoelectric and pyroelectric materials

CERN Document Server

Muensit, Nantakan

2011-01-01

The purpose of this book is to present the current state of knowledge in the field of energy harvesting using piezoelectric and pyroelectric materials. The book is addressed to students and academics engaged in research in the fields of energy harvesting, material sciences and engineering. Scientists and engineers who are working in the area of energy conservation and renewable energy resources should find it useful as well. Explanations of fundamental physical properties such as piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity are included to aid the understanding of the non-specialist. Specific technolo

Radiation damages of material surfaces by plasma emission in thermonuclear devices. Methods of study of surface phenomena and simulation effect of thermonuclear plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rybalko, V.F.

1978-01-01

Phenomena that can introduce a controlling contribution into the erosion of the first wall surface in thermonuclear reactor are reviewed. Considered are the main characteristics of the physical disintegration: dependence of the disintegration coefficient upon the energy and the incidence angle of the bombarding particles, upon the atomic number of the material of the target and the type of bombarding particles. Stressed is the lack of reliable data on the disintegration of materials by light ions, which are of a maximum interest in relation to the controlled thermonuclear synthesis. The chemical disintegration and some regularities of it for the carbon-hydrogen and carbon-oxygen systems are discussed briefly. Listed are the main properties of blistering and its contribution to the erosion of crystalline surfaces

On the mechanics of continua with boundary energies and growing surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Papastavrou, Areti; Steinmann, Paul; Kuhl, Ellen

2013-06-01

Many biological systems are coated by thin films for protection, selective absorption, or transmembrane transport. A typical example is the mucous membrane covering the airways, the esophagus, and the intestine. Biological surfaces typically display a distinct mechanical behavior from the bulk; in particular, they may grow at different rates. Growth, morphological instabilities, and buckling of biological surfaces have been studied intensely by approximating the surface as a layer of finite thickness; however, growth has never been attributed to the surface itself. Here, we establish a theory of continua with boundary energies and growing surfaces of zero thickness in which the surface is equipped with its own potential energy and is allowed to grow independently of the bulk. In complete analogy to the kinematic equations, the balance equations, and the constitutive equations of a growing solid body, we derive the governing equations for a growing surface. We illustrate their spatial discretization using the finite element method, and discuss their consistent algorithmic linearization. To demonstrate the conceptual differences between volume and surface growth, we simulate the constrained growth of the inner layer of a cylindrical tube. Our novel approach toward continua with growing surfaces is capable of predicting extreme growth of the inner cylindrical surface, which more than doubles its initial area. The underlying algorithmic framework is robust and stable; it allows to predict morphological changes due to surface growth during the onset of buckling and beyond. The modeling of surface growth has immediate biomedical applications in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, gastritis, obstructive sleep apnoea, and tumor invasion. Beyond biomedical applications, the scientific understanding of growth-induced morphological instabilities and surface wrinkling has important implications in material sciences, manufacturing, and microfabrication, with applications in

Tuning and predicting the wetting of nanoengineered material surface

Science.gov (United States)

Ramiasa-MacGregor, M.; Mierczynska, A.; Sedev, R.; Vasilev, K.

2016-02-01

The wetting of a material can be tuned by changing the roughness on its surface. Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology open exciting opportunities to control macroscopic wetting behaviour. Yet, the benchmark theories used to describe the wettability of macroscopically rough surfaces fail to fully describe the wetting behaviour of systems with topographical features at the nanoscale. To shed light on the events occurring at the nanoscale we have utilised model gradient substrata where surface nanotopography was tailored in a controlled and robust manner. The intrinsic wettability of the coatings was varied from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The measured water contact angle could not be described by the classical theories. We developed an empirical model that effectively captures the experimental data, and further enables us to predict the wetting of surfaces with nanoscale roughness by considering the physical and chemical properties of the material. The fundamental insights presented here are important for the rational design of advanced materials having tailored surface nanotopography with predictable wettability.The wetting of a material can be tuned by changing the roughness on its surface. Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology open exciting opportunities to control macroscopic wetting behaviour. Yet, the benchmark theories used to describe the wettability of macroscopically rough surfaces fail to fully describe the wetting behaviour of systems with topographical features at the nanoscale. To shed light on the events occurring at the nanoscale we have utilised model gradient substrata where surface nanotopography was tailored in a controlled and robust manner. The intrinsic wettability of the coatings was varied from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The measured water contact angle could not be described by the classical theories. We developed an empirical model that effectively captures the experimental data, and further enables us to predict the

Chemical and Physical Interactions of Martian Surface Material

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, J. L.

1999-09-01

A model of alteration and maturation of the Martian surface material is described involving both chemical and physical interactions. Physical processes involve distribution and mixing of the fine-grained soil particles across the surface and into the atmosphere. Chemical processes include reaction of sulfate, salt and oxidizing components of the soil particles; these agents in the soils deposited on rocks will chew through the rock minerals forming coatings and will bind surface soils together to form duricrust deposits. Formation of crystalline iron oxide/oxyhydroxide minerals through hydrothermal processes and of poorly crystalline and amorphous phases through palagonitic processes both contribute to formation of the soil particles. Chemical and physical alteration of these soil minerals and phases contribute to producing the chemical, magnetic and spectroscopic character of the Martian soil as observed by Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor. Minerals such as maghemite/magnetite and jarosite/alunite have been observed in terrestrial volcanic soils near steam vents and may be important components of the Martian surface material. The spectroscopic properties of several terrestrial volcanic soils containing these minerals have been analyzed and evaluated in terms of the spectroscopic character of the surface material on Mars.

Thermal energy storage based on cementitious materials: A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khadim Ndiaye

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Renewable energy storage is now essential to enhance the energy performance of buildings and to reduce their environmental impact. Many heat storage materials can be used in the building sector in order to avoid the phase shift between solar radiation and thermal energy demand. However, the use of storage material in the building sector is hampered by problems of investment cost, space requirements, mechanical performance, material stability, and high storage temperature. Cementitious material is increasingly being used as a heat storage material thanks to its low price, mechanical performance and low storage temperature (generally lower than 100 °C. In addition, cementitious materials for heat storage have the prominent advantage of being easy to incorporate into the building landscape as self-supporting structures or even supporting structures (walls, floor, etc.. Concrete solutions for thermal energy storage are usually based on sensible heat transfer and thermal inertia. Phase Change Materials (PCM incorporated in concrete wall have been widely investigated in the aim of improving building energy performance. Cementitious material with high ettringite content stores heat by a combination of physical (adsorption and chemical (chemical reaction processes usable in both the short (daily, weekly and long (seasonal term. Ettringite materials have the advantage of high energy storage density at low temperature (around 60 °C. The encouraging experimental results in the literature on heat storage using cementitious materials suggest that they could be attractive in a number of applications. This paper summarizes the investigation and analysis of the available thermal energy storage systems using cementitious materials for use in various applications.

Homogeneous near surface activity distribution by double energy activation for TLA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takacs, S.; Ditroi, F.; Tarkanyi, F.

2007-01-01

Thin layer activation (TLA) is a versatile tool for activating thin surface layers in order to study real-time the surface loss by wear, corrosion or erosion processes of the activated parts, without disassembling or stopping running mechanical structures or equipment. The research problem is the determination of the irradiation parameters to produce point-like or large area optimal activity-depth distribution in the sample. Different activity-depth profiles can be produced depending on the type of the investigated material and the nuclear reaction used. To produce activity that is independent of the depth up to a certain depth is desirable when the material removed from the surface by wear, corrosion or erosion can be collected completely. By applying dual energy irradiation the thickness of this quasi-constant activity layer can be increased or the deviation of the activity distribution from a constant value can be minimized. In the main, parts made of metals and alloys are suitable for direct activation, but by using secondary particle implantation the wear of other materials can also be studied in a surface range a few micrometers thick. In most practical cases activation of a point-like spot (several mm 2 ) is enough to monitor the wear, corrosion or erosion, but for special problems relatively large surfaces areas of complicated spatial geometry need to be activated uniformly. Two ways are available for fulfilling this task, (1) production of large area beam spot or scanning the beam over the surface in question from the accelerator side, or (2) a programmed 3D movement of the sample from the target side. Taking into account the large variability of tasks occurring in practice, the latter method was chosen as the routine solution in our cyclotron laboratory

Novel Material Integration for Reliable and Energy-Efficient NEM Relay Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, I.-Ru

Energy-efficient switching devices have become ever more important with the emergence of ubiquitous computing. NEM relays are promising to complement CMOS transistors as circuit building blocks for future ultra-low-power information processing, and as such have recently attracted significant attention from the semiconductor industry and researchers. Relay technology potentially can overcome the energy efficiency limit for conventional CMOS technology due to several key characteristics, including zero OFF-state leakage, abrupt switching behavior, and potentially very low active energy consumption. However, two key issues must be addressed for relay technology to reach its full potential: surface oxide formation at the contacting surfaces leading to increased ON-state resistance after switching, and high switching voltages due to strain gradient present within the relay structure. This dissertation advances NEM relay technology by investigating solutions to both of these pressing issues. Ruthenium, whose native oxide is conductive, is proposed as the contacting material to improve relay ON-state resistance stability. Ruthenium-contact relays are fabricated after overcoming several process integration challenges, and show superior ON-state resistance stability in electrical measurements and extended device lifetime. The relay structural film is optimized via stress matching among all layers within the structure, to provide lower strain gradient (below 10E-3/microm -1) and hence lower switching voltage. These advancements in relay technology, along with the integration of a metallic interconnect layer, enable complex relay-based circuit demonstration. In addition to the experimental efforts, this dissertation theoretically analyzes the energy efficiency limit of a NEM switch, which is generally believed to be limited by the surface adhesion energy. New compact (electronic device technology.

Kramers-Kronig transform for the surface energy loss function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, G.L.; DeNoyer, L.K.; French, R.H.; Guittet, M.J.; Gautier-Soyer, M.

2005-01-01

A new pair of Kramers-Kronig (KK) dispersion relationships for the transformation of surface energy loss function Im[-1/(ε + 1)] has been proposed. The validity of the new surface KK transform is confirmed, using both a Lorentz oscillator model and the surface energy loss functions determined from the experimental complex dielectric function of SrTiO 3 and tungsten metal. The interband transition strength spectra (J cv ) have been derived either directly from the original complex dielectric function or from the derived dielectric function obtained from the KK transform of the surface energy loss function. The original J cv trace and post-J cv trace overlapped together for the three modes, indicating that the new surface Kramers-Kronig dispersion relationship is valid for the surface energy loss function

An extended formula for the energy spectrum of sputtered atoms from a material irradiated by light ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ono, T.; Aoki, Y.; Yamamura, Y.; Kawamura, T.; Kenmotsu, T.

2004-10-01

We extend a formula proposed by Kenmotsu et al. (hereafter Paper I), which fits with the energy spectrum of atoms sputtered from a heavy material hit by low-energy light ions (H + , D + , T + , He + ) by taking into account an inelastic energy loss neglected in Paper I. We assume that primary knock-on atoms produced by ions backscattered at large angles do not lose energy while penetrating the material up to the surface, instead of the energy-loss model used in Paper I. The extended formula is expressed in terms of a normalized energy-distribution function and is compared with the data calculated with the ACAT code for 50 eV, 100 eV and 1 keV D + ions impinging on a Fe target. Our formula fits well with the data in a wide range of incident energy. (author)

Advanced fluoride-based materials for energy conversion

CERN Document Server

Nakajima, Tsuyoshi

2015-01-01

Advanced Fluoride-Based Materials for Energy Conversion provides thorough and applied information on new fluorinated materials for chemical energy devices, exploring the electrochemical properties and behavior of fluorinated materials in lithium ion and sodium ion batteries, fluoropolymers in fuel cells, and fluorinated carbon in capacitors, while also exploring synthesis applications, and both safety and stability issues. As electronic devices, from cell phones to hybrid and electric vehicles, are increasingly common and prevalent in modern lives and require dependable, stable chemical energy devices with high-level functions are becoming increasingly important. As research and development in this area progresses rapidly, fluorine compounds play a critical role in this rapid progression. Fluorine, with its small size and the highest electronegativity, yields stable compounds under various conditions for utilization as electrodes, electrolytes, and membranes in energy devices. The book is an ideal reference f...

Challenges in realizing ultraflat materials surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takashi Yatsui

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Ultraflat surface substrates are required to achieve an optimal performance of future optical, electronic, or optoelectronic devices for various applications, because such surfaces reduce the scattering loss of photons, electrons, or both at the surfaces and interfaces. In this paper, we review recent progress toward the realization of ultraflat materials surfaces. First, we review the development of surface-flattening techniques. Second, we briefly review the dressed photon–phonon (DPP, a nanometric quasiparticle that describes the coupled state of a photon, an electron, and a multimode-coherent phonon. Then, we review several recent developments based on DPP-photochemical etching and desorption processes, which have resulted in angstrom-scale flat surfaces. To confirm that the superior flatness of these surfaces that originated from the DPP process, we also review a simplified mathematical model that describes the scale-dependent effects of optical near-fields. Finally, we present the future outlook for these technologies.

Detection of defects and evaluation of material deterioration using surface wave technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokono, Yoshikazu; Yoshiara, Toshikatsu; Suetsugu, Jun; Imanaka, Takuichi

1996-01-01

It is very important to detect surface damage and evaluate deterioration of material surface because of their influences on mechanical properties of materials. In general, magnetic particle testing, liquid penetrant testing and eddy current testing are commonly used for detecting surface flaws. These methods, however, are neither effective for estimating flaw height nor for evaluating material deterioration. In this paper the authors apply surface wave propagating along the test surface for these purposes. The surface wave (Rayleigh wave) propagates only near the surface layer in the order of one wave length. In other words, the lower the frequency, the deeper the penetration depth of the surface wave. Accordingly, they can select the frequency considering the inspection purpose. On the other hand, when surface wave having broad-band frequency propagates along the surface of a specimen, higher frequency ultrasound propagates very close to the surface and lower frequency ultrasound propagates deeper in the specimen. Hence, frequency analysis is expected to be effective for estimating upper edge of flaw. Surface wave is also very sensitive to material surface properties such as existence of voids or micro cracks. Acoustic characteristics such as sound velocity, attenuation and other feature parameters are influenced by the variation of the material properties. Hence, material deterioration can be evaluated by the acoustic features

Energy quantization for approximate H-surfaces and applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shenzhou Zheng

2013-07-01

Full Text Available We consider weakly convergent sequences of approximate H-surface maps defined in the plane with their tension fields bounded in $L^p$ for p> 4/3, and establish an energy quantization that accounts for the loss of their energies by the sum of energies over finitely many nontrivial bubbles maps on $mathbb{R}^2$. As a direct consequence, we establish the energy identity at finite singular time to their H-surface flows.

Spin texture of the surface state of three-dimensional Dirac material Ca3PbO

Science.gov (United States)

Kariyado, Toshikaze

2015-04-01

The bulk and surface electronic structures of a candidate three-dimensional Dirac material Ca3PbO and its family are discussed especially focusing on the spin texture on the surface states. We first explain the basic features of the bulk band structure of Ca3PbO, such as emergence of Dirac fermions near the Fermi energy, and compare it with the other known three-dimensional Dirac semimetals. Then, the surface bands and spin-texture on them are investigated in detail. It is shown that the surface bands exhibit strong momentum-spin locking, which may be useful in some application for spin manipulation, induced by a combination of the inversion symmetry breaking at the surface and the strong spin-orbit coupling of Pb atoms. The surface band structure and the spin-textures are sensitive to the surface types.

Spin texture of the surface state of three-dimensional Dirac material Ca3PbO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kariyado, Toshikaze

2015-01-01

The bulk and surface electronic structures of a candidate three-dimensional Dirac material Ca 3 PbO and its family are discussed especially focusing on the spin texture on the surface states. We first explain the basic features of the bulk band structure of Ca 3 PbO, such as emergence of Dirac fermions near the Fermi energy, and compare it with the other known three-dimensional Dirac semimetals. Then, the surface bands and spin-texture on them are investigated in detail. It is shown that the surface bands exhibit strong momentum-spin locking, which may be useful in some application for spin manipulation, induced by a combination of the inversion symmetry breaking at the surface and the strong spin-orbit coupling of Pb atoms. The surface band structure and the spin-textures are sensitive to the surface types. (paper)

Surfaces and interfaces of electronic materials

CERN Document Server

Brillson, Leonard J

2012-01-01

An advanced level textbook covering geometric, chemical, and electronic structure of electronic materials, and their applications to devices based on semiconductor surfaces, metal-semiconductor interfaces, and semiconductor heterojunctions. Starting with the fundamentals of electrical measurements on semiconductor interfaces, it then describes the importance of controlling macroscopic electrical properties by atomic-scale techniques. Subsequent chapters present the wide range of surface and interface techniques available to characterize electronic, optical, chemical, and structural propertie

Moon Prospective Energy and Material Resources

CERN Document Server

2012-01-01

The Earth has limited material and energy resources. Further development of the humanity will require going beyond our planet for mining and use of extraterrestrial mineral resources and search of power sources. The exploitation of the natural resources of the Moon is a first natural step on this direction. Lunar materials may contribute to the betterment of conditions of people on Earth but they also may be used to establish permanent settlements on the Moon. This will allow developing new technologies, systems and flight operation techniques to continue space exploration.   In fact, a new branch of human civilization could be established permanently on Moon in the next century. But, meantime, an inventory and proper social assessment of Moon’s prospective energy and material resources is required. This book investigates the possibilities and limitations of various systems supplying manned bases on Moon with energy and other vital resources. The book collects together recent proposals and innovative optio...

Influence of Bias on the Friction Imaging of Ferroelectric Domains in Single Crystal Barium Titanate Energy Storage Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lan Chen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The friction imaging of newlycleaved surface domains of single crystal BaTiO3 energy storage materials under both positive and negative voltage bias is investigated by scanning force microscope. When the bias was applied and reversed, three regions with different brightness and contrast in friction image indicated different response to the biases: the friction image of domain A displayed a great change in brightness while domains B and C displayed only a very small change. Possible mechanisms of the interesting phenomena originating from different static force between different charged tip and the periodical array of surface charges inside the inplane domains were proposed. These results provide a new method for the determination of the polarization direction for the domain parallel to the surface and may be useful in the investigation of ferroelectric energy storage materials, especially the relationship between the polarization direction of domain and the bias.

Effects of Electrode Material on the Voltage of a Tree-Based Energy Generator.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Zhibin; Wang, Guozhu; Li, Wenbin; Zhang, Junguo; Kan, Jiangming

2015-01-01

The voltage between a standing tree and its surrounding soil is regarded as an innovative renewable energy source. This source is expected to provide a new power generation system for the low-power electrical equipment used in forestry. However, the voltage is weak, which has caused great difficulty in application. Consequently, the development of a method to increase the voltage is a key issue that must be addressed in this area of applied research. As the front-end component for energy harvesting, a metal electrode has a material effect on the level and stability of the voltage obtained. This study aimed to preliminarily ascertain the rules and mechanisms that underlie the effects of electrode material on voltage. Electrodes of different materials were used to measure the tree-source voltage, and the data were employed in a comparative analysis. The results indicate that the conductivity of the metal electrode significantly affects the contact resistance of the electrode-soil and electrode-trunk contact surfaces, thereby influencing the voltage level. The metal reactivity of the electrode has no significant effect on the voltage. However, passivation of the electrode materials markedly reduces the voltage. Suitable electrode materials are demonstrated and recommended.

Mesoscale structural characterization within bulk materials by high-energy X-ray microdiffraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lienert, U.; Poulsen, H.F.; Kvick, Å.

2001-01-01

A novel diffraction technique for the local three-dimensional characterization within polycrystalline bulk materials is presented. The technique uses high-energy synchrotron radiation (40 keV materials. Focusing broadband optics have been developed...... experimental evidence that a longitudinal resolution down to 10 mum can be obtained. Fundamental materials properties such as the strain/stress state, grain-orientation, -size, and -surface topology can be probed and mapped in three dimensions in favorable cases. Imbedded volumes and interfaces become...... accessible. The technique is nondestructive and allows for in situ studies of samples in complicated environments. A dedicated experimental station has been constructed at the ID11 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. On-line two-dimensional detectors and conical slits have been developed...

Energy demand for materials in an international context.

Science.gov (United States)

Worrell, Ernst; Carreon, Jesus Rosales

2017-06-13

Materials are everywhere and have determined society. The rapid increase in consumption of materials has led to an increase in the use of energy and release of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing emissions in material-producing industries is a key challenge. If all of industry switched to current best practices, the energy-efficiency improvement potential would be between 20% and 35% for most sectors. While these are considerable potentials, especially for sectors that have historically paid a lot of attention to energy-efficiency improvement, realization of these potentials under current 'business as usual' conditions is slow due to a large variety of barriers and limited efforts by industry and governments around the world. Importantly, the potentials are not sufficient to achieve the deep reductions in carbon emissions that will be necessary to stay within the climate boundaries as agreed in the 2015 Paris Conference of Parties. Other opportunities need to be included in the menu of options to mitigate GHG emissions. It is essential to develop integrated policies combining energy efficiency, renewable energy and material efficiency and material demand reduction, offering the most economically attractive way to realize deep reductions in carbon emissions.This article is part of the themed issue 'Material demand reduction'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Symmetry energy in nuclear surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danielewicz, P.; Lee, Jenny

2009-01-01

Interplay between the dependence of symmetry energy on density and the variation of nucleonic densities across nuclear surface is discussed. That interplay gives rise to the mass dependence of the symmetry coefficient in an energy formula. Charge symmetry of the nuclear interactions allows to introduce isoscalar and isovector densities that are approximately independent of the magnitude of neutron-proton asymmetry. (author)

Redox-active Hybrid Materials for Pseudocapacitive Energy Storage

Science.gov (United States)

Boota, Muhammad

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials show a great promise for the purpose of manufacturing high performance electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage systems and beyond. Molecular level combination of two best suited components in a hybrid material leads to new or sometimes exceptional sets of physical, chemical, mechanical and electrochemical properties that makes them attractive for broad ranges of applications. Recently, there has been growing interest in producing redox-active hybrid nanomaterials for energy storage applications where generally the organic component provides high redox capacitance and the inorganic component offers high conductivity and robust support. While organic-inorganic hybrid materials offer tremendous opportunities for electrochemical energy storage applications, the task of matching the right organic material out of hundreds of natural and nearly unlimited synthetic organic molecules to appropriate nanostructured inorganic support hampers their electrochemical energy storage applications. We aim to present the recent development of redox-active hybrid materials for pseudocapacitive energy storage. We will show the impact of combination of suitable organic materials with distinct carbon nanostructures and/or highly conductive metal carbides (MXenes) on conductivity, charge storage performance, and cyclability. Combined experimental and molecular simulation results will be discussed to shed light on the interfacial organic-inorganic interactions, pseudocapacitive charge storage mechanisms, and likely orientations of organic molecules on conductive supports. Later, the concept of all-pseudocapacitive organic-inorganic asymmetric supercapacitors will be highlighted which open up new avenues for developing inexpensive, sustainable, and high energy density aqueous supercapacitors. Lastly, future challenges and opportunities to further tailor the redox-active hybrids will be highlighted.

Materials handbook for fusion energy systems

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, J. W.; Marchbanks, M. F.

A materials data book for use in the design and analysis of components and systems in near term experimental and commercial reactor concepts has been created by the Office of Fusion Energy. The handbook is known as the Materials Handbook for Fusion Energy Systems (MHFES) and is available to all organizations actively involved in fusion related research or system designs. Distribution of the MHFES and its data pages is handled by the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory (HEDL), while its direction and content is handled by McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company — St. Louis (MDAC-STL). The MHFES differs from other handbooks in that its format is geared more to the designer and structural analyst than to the materials scientist or materials engineer. The format that is used organizes the handbook by subsystems or components rather than material. Within each subsystem is information pertaining to material selection, specific material properties, and comments or recommendations on treatment of data. Since its inception a little more than a year ago, over 80 copies have been distributed to over 28 organizations consisting of national laboratories, universities, and private industries.

Spectral Signatures of Surface Materials in Pig Buildings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, GuoQiang; Strøm, Jan; Blanke, Mogens

2006-01-01

. In this study, the optical properties of different types of surfaces to be cleaned and the dirt found in finishing pig units were investigated in the visual and the near infrared (VIS-NIR) optical range. Four types of commonly used materials in pig buildings, i.e. concrete, plastic, wood and steel were applied...... and after high-pressure water cleaning. The spectral signatures of the surface materials and dirt attached to the surfaces showed that it is possible to make discrimination and hence to classify areas that are visually clean. When spectral bands 450, 600, 700 and 800 nm are chosen, there are at least two...

Energy Materials Research Laboratory (EMRL)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Energy Materials Research Laboratory at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) creates a cross-disciplinary laboratory facility that lends itself to the...

Surface studies with high-energy ion beams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stensgaard, Ivan [Aarhus Univ. (Denmark). Inst. of Physics

1992-07-01

High-energy ion scattering is an extremely useful technique for surface studies. Three methods for surface composition analysis (Rutherford backscattering, nuclear-reaction analysis and elastic recoil detection) are discussed. Directional effects in ion-beam surface interactions (shadowing and blocking) form the basis for surface structure analysis with high-energy ion beams and these phenomena are addressed in some detail. It is shown how surface relaxation and reconstruction, as well as positions of adsorbed atoms, can be determined by comparison with computer simulations. A special technique called transmission channelling is introduced and shown to be particularly well suited for studies of adsorption positions, even of hydrogen. Recent developments in the field are demonstrated by discussing a large number of important (experimental) applications which also include surface dynamics and melting, as well as epitaxy and interface structure. (author).

Tunisia-Japan Symposium: R&D of Energy and Material Sciences for Sustainable Society

Science.gov (United States)

Akimoto, Katsuhiro; Suzuki, Yoshikazu; Monirul Islam, Muhammad

2015-04-01

This volume of the Journal of Physics: Conference Series contains papers presented at the Tunisia-Japan Symposium: R&D of Energy and Material Sciences for Sustainable Society (TJS 2014) held at Gammarth, Republic of Tunisia on November 28-30, 2014. The TJS 2014 is based on the network of the Tunisia-Japan Symposium on Science, Society and Technology (TJASSST) which has been regularly organized since 2000. The symposium was focused on the technological developments of energy and materials for the realization of sustainable society. To generate technological breakthrough and innovation, it seems to be effective to discuss with various fields of researchers such as solid-state physicists, chemists, surface scientists, process engineers and so on. In this symposium, there were as many as 109 attendees from a wide variety of research fields. The technical session consisted of 106 contributed presentations including 3 plenary talks and 7 key-note talks. We hope the Conference Series and publications like this volume will contribute to the progress in research and development in the field of energy and material sciences for sustainable society and in its turn contribute to the creation of cultural life and peaceful society.

Advanced Materials and Nano technology for Sustainable Energy Development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huo, Z.; Wu, Ch.H.; Zhu, Z.; Zhao, Y.

2015-01-01

Energy is the material foundation of human activities and also the single most valuable resource for the production activities of human society. Materials play a pivotal role in advancing technologies that can offer efficient renewable energy solutions for the future. This special issue has been established as an international foremost interdisciplinary forum that aims to publish high quality and original full research articles on all aspects of the study of materials for the deployment of renewable and sustainable energy technologies. The special issue covers experimental and theoretical aspects of materials and prototype devices for sustainable energy conversion, storage, and saving, together with materials needed for renewable energy production. It brings together stake holders from universities, industries, government agents, and businesses that are involved in the invention, design, development, and implementation of sustainable technologies. The research work has already been published in this special issue which discusses comprehensive technologies for wastewater treatment, strategies for controlling gaseous pollutant releases within chemical plant, evaluation of FCC catalysis poisoning mechanism, clean technologies for fossil fuel use, new-type photo catalysis material design with controllable morphology for solar energy conversion, and so forth. These studies describe important, intriguing, and systematic investigations on advanced materials and technologies for dealing with the key technologies and important issues that continue to haunt the global energy industry. They also tie together many aspects of current energy transportation science and technology, exhibiting outstanding industrial insights that have the potential to encourage and stimulate fresh perspectives on challenges, opportunities, and solutions to energy and environmental sustainability

High Energy Density Li-ion Cells for EV’s Based on Novel, High Voltage Cathode Material Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kepler, Keith [Farasis Energy Inc; Slater, Michael [Farasis Energy Inc

2018-03-14

This Li-ion cell technology development project had three objectives: to develop advanced electrode materials and cell components to enable stable high-voltage operation; to design and demonstrate a Li-ion cell using these materials that meets the PHEV40 performance targets; and to design and demonstrate a Li-ion cell using these materials that meets the EV performance targets. The major challenge to creating stable high energy cells with long cycle life is system integration. Although materials that can give high energy cells are known, stabilizing them towards long-term cycling in the presence of other novel cell components is a major challenge. The major technical barriers addressed by this work include low cathode specific energy, poor electrolyte stability during high voltage operation, and insufficient capacity retention during deep discharge for Si-containing anodes. Through the course of this project, Farasis was able to improve capacity retention of NCM materials for 4.4+ V operation, through both surface treatment and bulk-doping approaches. Other material advances include increased rate capability and of HE-NCM materials through novel synthesis approach, doubling the relative capacity at 1C over materials synthesized using standard methods. Silicon active materials proved challenging throughout the project and ultimately were the limiting factor in the energy density vs. cycle life trade off. By avoiding silicon anodes for the lower energy PHEV design, we manufactured cells with intermediate energy density and long cycle life under high voltage operation for PHEV applications. Cells with high energy density for EV applications were manufactured targeting a 300 Wh/kg design and were able to achieve > 200 cycles.

Energy and material flows of megacities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Christopher A; Stewart, Iain; Facchini, Angelo; Cersosimo, Igor; Mele, Renata; Chen, Bin; Uda, Mariko; Kansal, Arun; Chiu, Anthony; Kim, Kwi-Gon; Dubeux, Carolina; Lebre La Rovere, Emilio; Cunha, Bruno; Pincetl, Stephanie; Keirstead, James; Barles, Sabine; Pusaka, Semerdanta; Gunawan, Juniati; Adegbile, Michael; Nazariha, Mehrdad; Hoque, Shamsul; Marcotullio, Peter J; González Otharán, Florencia; Genena, Tarek; Ibrahim, Nadine; Farooqui, Rizwan; Cervantes, Gemma; Sahin, Ahmet Duran

2015-05-12

Understanding the drivers of energy and material flows of cities is important for addressing global environmental challenges. Accessing, sharing, and managing energy and material resources is particularly critical for megacities, which face enormous social stresses because of their sheer size and complexity. Here we quantify the energy and material flows through the world's 27 megacities with populations greater than 10 million people as of 2010. Collectively the resource flows through megacities are largely consistent with scaling laws established in the emerging science of cities. Correlations are established for electricity consumption, heating and industrial fuel use, ground transportation energy use, water consumption, waste generation, and steel production in terms of heating-degree-days, urban form, economic activity, and population growth. The results help identify megacities exhibiting high and low levels of consumption and those making efficient use of resources. The correlation between per capita electricity use and urbanized area per capita is shown to be a consequence of gross building floor area per capita, which is found to increase for lower-density cities. Many of the megacities are growing rapidly in population but are growing even faster in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and energy use. In the decade from 2001-2011, electricity use and ground transportation fuel use in megacities grew at approximately half the rate of GDP growth.

Thermal Energy Storage with Phase Change Material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lavinia Gabriela SOCACIU

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Thermal energy storage (TES systems provide several alternatives for efficient energy use and conservation. Phase change materials (PCMs for TES are materials supplying thermal regulation at particular phase change temperatures by absorbing and emitting the heat of the medium. TES in general and PCMs in particular, have been a main topic in research for the last 30 years, but although the information is quantitatively enormous, it is also spread widely in the literature, and difficult to find. PCMs absorb energy during the heating process as phase change takes place and release energy to the environment in the phase change range during a reverse cooling process. PCMs possesses the ability of latent thermal energy change their state with a certain temperature. PCMs for TES are generally solid-liquid phase change materials and therefore they need encapsulation. TES systems using PCMs as a storage medium offers advantages such as high TES capacity, small unit size and isothermal behaviour during charging and discharging when compared to the sensible TES.

Graphite intercalated polyaniline composite with superior anticorrosive and hydrophobic properties, as protective coating material on steel surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rathnayake, R.M.N.M. [National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy (Sri Lanka); Graduate School of Engineering, Toyota Technological Institute, 2-12-1 Hisakata, Tempaku, Nagoya 468-8511 (Japan); Mantilaka, M.M.M.G.P.G. [Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology, Nanotechnology and Science Park, Mahenwatte, Pitipana, Homagama (Sri Lanka); Hara, Masanori; Huang, Hsin-Hui [Graduate School of Engineering, Toyota Technological Institute, 2-12-1 Hisakata, Tempaku, Nagoya 468-8511 (Japan); Wijayasinghe, H.W.M.A.C., E-mail: athula@ifs.ac.lk [National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy (Sri Lanka); Yoshimura, Masamichi [Graduate School of Engineering, Toyota Technological Institute, 2-12-1 Hisakata, Tempaku, Nagoya 468-8511 (Japan); Pitawala, H.M.T.G.A. [Department of Geology, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya (Sri Lanka)

2017-07-15

Highlights: • In this paper, it has been utilized a novel method to prepare a new composite material of PANI/NPG graphite composite, using NPG vein graphite variety. • It is found that the composite works as an anti-corrosive coating on steel surfaces. Further, the prepared composite shows good hydrophobic ability, which is very useful in preventing corrosion on metal surfaces. • The prepared PANI/NPG composite material shows a significantly high corrosion resistance compared to alkyd resin/PANI coatings or alkyd resin coatings, on steel surfaces. - Abstract: Solid polymer composite systems are widely being used for potential technological applications in secondary energy sources and electrochromic devices. In this study, we synthesized and characterized a composite material composed of polyaniline (PANI) and natural needle platy (NPG) vein graphite. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclic voltammetry (CV), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), micro-Raman analysis, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to study the structural and electrochemical properties of the prepared PANI/NPG graphite composite. XPS, FTIR, and micro-Raman analysis confirmed the existence of relevant functional groups and bonding in the prepared PANI/NPG composite material. The composite shows a very low corrosion rate, approximately 29 μm per year, and high hydrophobicity on steel surfaces, which helps to prevent the corrosion due to O{sub 2} penetration towards the metal surface. It indicates that the composite can be used as a high potential surface coating material to anticorrosion. The specific capacitance of PANI/NPG composite is 833.3 F g{sup −1}, which is higher than that of PANI. This synergistic electrical performance result proves the prepared PANI/NPG graphite composite as a suitable protective coating material for steel

Computed Potential Energy Surfaces and Minimum Energy Pathways for Chemical Reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Walch, Stephen P.; Langhoff, S. R. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

Computed potential energy surfaces are often required for computation of such parameters as rate constants as a function of temperature, product branching ratios, and other detailed properties. For some dynamics methods, global potential energy surfaces are required. In this case, it is necessary to obtain the energy at a complete sampling of all the possible arrangements of the nuclei, which are energetically accessible, and then a fitting function must be obtained to interpolate between the computed points. In other cases, characterization of the stationary points and the reaction pathway connecting them is sufficient. These properties may be readily obtained using analytical derivative methods. We have found that computation of the stationary points/reaction pathways using CASSCF/derivative methods, followed by use of the internally contracted CI method to obtain accurate energetics, gives usefull results for a number of chemically important systems. The talk will focus on a number of applications including global potential energy surfaces, H + O2, H + N2, O(3p) + H2, and reaction pathways for complex reactions, including reactions leading to NO and soot formation in hydrocarbon combustion.

Megavoltage cargo radiography with dual energy material decomposition

Science.gov (United States)

Shikhaliev, Polad M.

2018-02-01

Megavoltage (MV) radiography has important applications in imaging large cargos for detecting illicit materials. A useful feature of MV radiography is the possibility of decomposing and quantifying materials with different atomic numbers. This can be achieved by imaging cargo at two different X-ray energies, or dual energy (DE) radiography. The performance of both single energy and DE radiography depends on beam energy, beam filtration, radiation dose, object size, and object content. The purpose of this work was to perform comprehensive qualitative and quantitative investigations of the image quality in MV radiography depending on the above parameters. A digital phantom was designed including Fe background with thicknesses of 2cm, 6cm, and 18cm, and materials samples of Polyethylene, Fe, Pb, and U. The single energy images were generated at x-ray beam energies 3.5MV, 6MV, and 9MV. The DE material decomposed images were generated using interlaced low and high energy beams 3.5/6MV and 6/9MV. The X-ray beams were filtered by low-Z (Polyethylene) and high-Z (Pb) filters with variable thicknesses. The radiation output of the accelerator was kept constant for all beam energies. The image quality metrics was signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the particular sample over a particular background. It was found that the SNR depends on the above parameters in a complex way, but can be optimized by selecting a particular set of parameters. For some imaging setups increased filter thicknesses, while strongly absorbing the beams, increased the SNR of material decomposed images. Beam hardening due to polyenergetic x-ray spectra resulted in material decomposition errors, but this could be addressed using region of interest decomposition. It was shown that it is not feasible to separate the materials with close atomic numbers using the DE method. Particularly, Pb and U were difficult to decompose, at least at the dose levels allowed by radiation source and safety requirements.

Surface relaxation and surface energy of face –centered Cubic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DR. MIKE HORSFALL

Surface relaxation and surface energy of face –centered Cubic metals. 1AGHEMENLO H E; *2IYAYI, S E; 3AVWIRI ,G O. 1, 3 Department of Physics, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria. 2 Department of Physics, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. 3 Department of Physics, University of Port Harcourt, PH, Nigeria.

Material fluxes on the surface of the earth

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

National Research Council Staff; Commission on Geosciences, Environment and Resources; Division on Earth and Life Studies; Board on Earth Sciences & Resources; National Research Council; National Academy of Sciences

...) level of surficial fluxes and their dynamics. Leading experts in the field offer a historical perspective on geofluxes and discuss the cycles of materials on the earth's surface, from weathering processes to the movement of material...

MATERIALS REQUIREMENTS FOR THERMIONIC ENERGY CONVERSION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allen, R. C.; Skeen, C. H.

1963-03-15

The fundamentals of the thermionic energy conversion and its potential applications are reviewed. Materials problems associated with thermionic emitters are considered in relation to the following: work function; emissivity; vaporization; thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties; chemical stability; permeation; and stability under nuclear radiation. Cesium purity and materials suitable for collectors, electrical leads, support structures, insulators, and seals are also discussed. Experimental work on problems involved is reviewed. It is concluded that significant developments have occurred recently in all areas of thermionic energy conversion. (40 references) (A.G.W.)

Probing Free-Energy Surfaces with Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez-Ruiz, Jose M.

2011-05-01

Many aspects of protein folding can be understood in terms of projections of the highly dimensional energy landscape onto a few (or even only one) particularly relevant coordinates. These free-energy surfaces can be probed conveniently from experimental differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) thermograms, as DSC provides a direct relation with the protein partition function. Free-energy surfaces thus obtained are consistent with two fundamental scenarios predicted by the energy-landscape perspective: (a) well-defined macrostates separated by significant free-energy barriers, in some cases, and, in many other cases, (b) marginal or even vanishingly small barriers, which furthermore show a good correlation with kinetics for fast- and ultrafast-folding proteins. Overall, the potential of DSC to assess free-energy surfaces for a wide variety of proteins makes it possible to address fundamental issues, such as the molecular basis of the barrier modulations produced by natural selection in response to functional requirements or to ensure kinetic stability.

A new structure for comparing surface passivation materials of GaAs solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Desalvo, Gregory C.; Barnett, Allen M.

1989-01-01

The surface recombination velocity (S sub rec) for bare GaAs is typically as high as 10 to the 6th power to 10 to the 7th power cm/sec, which dramatically lowers the efficiency of GaAs solar cells. Early attempts to circumvent this problem by making an ultra thin junction (xj less than .1 micron) proved unsuccessful when compared to lowering S sub rec by surface passivation. Present day GaAs solar cells use an GaAlAs window layer to passivate the top surface. The advantages of GaAlAs in surface passivation are its high bandgap energy and lattice matching to GaAs. Although GaAlAs is successful in reducing the surface recombination velocity, it has other inherent problems of chemical instability (Al readily oxidizes) and ohmic contact formation. The search for new, more stable window layer materials requires a means to compare their surface passivation ability. Therefore, a device structure is needed to easily test the performance of different passivating candidates. Such a test device is described.

Stochastic clustering of material surface under high-heat plasma load

Science.gov (United States)

Budaev, Viacheslav P.

2017-11-01

The results of a study of a surface formed by high-temperature plasma loads on various materials such as tungsten, carbon and stainless steel are presented. High-temperature plasma irradiation leads to an inhomogeneous stochastic clustering of the surface with self-similar granularity - fractality on the scale from nanoscale to macroscales. Cauliflower-like structure of tungsten and carbon materials are formed under high heat plasma load in fusion devices. The statistical characteristics of hierarchical granularity and scale invariance are estimated. They differ qualitatively from the roughness of the ordinary Brownian surface, which is possibly due to the universal mechanisms of stochastic clustering of material surface under the influence of high-temperature plasma.

Computational Screening of Energy Materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pandey, Mohnish

, it is the need of the hour to search for environmentally benign renewable energy resources. The biggest source of the renewable energy is our sun and the immense energy it provides can be used to power the whole planet. However, an efficient way to harvest the solar energy to meet all the energy demand has...... not been realized yet. A promising way to utilize the solar energy is the photon assisted water splitting. The process involves the absorption of sunlight with a semiconducting material (or a photoabsorber) and the generated electron-hole pair can be used to produce hydrogen by splitting the water. However...... an accurate description of the energies with the first-principle calculations. Therefore, along this line the accuracy and predictability of the Meta-Generalized Gradient Approximation functional with Bayesian error estimation is also assessed....

U.S. Department of Energy Critical Materials Strategy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bauer, D.; Diamond, D.; Li, J.; Sandalow, D.; Telleen, P.; Wanner, B.

2010-12-01

This report examines the role of rare earth metals and other materials in the clean energy economy. It was prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) based on data collected and research performed during 2010. Its main conclusions include: (a) Several clean energy technologies -- including wind turbines, electric vehicles, photovoltaic cells and fluorescent lighting -- use materials at risk of supply disruptions in the short term. Those risks will generally decrease in the medium and long term. (b) Clean energy technologies currently constitute about 20 percent of global consumption of critical materials. As clean energy technologies are deployed more widely in the decades ahead, their share of global consumption of critical materials will likely grow. (c) Of the materials analyzed, five rare earth metals (dysprosium, neodymium, terbium, europium and yttrium), as well as indium, are assessed as most critical in the short term. For this purpose, 'criticality' is a measure that combines importance to the clean energy economy and risk of supply disruption. (d) Sound policies and strategic investments can reduce the risk of supply disruptions, especially in the medium and long term. (e) Data with respect to many of the issues considered in this report are sparse. In the report, DOE describes plans to (i) develop its first integrated research agenda addressing critical materials, building on three technical workshops convened by the Department during November and December 2010; (ii) strengthen its capacity for information-gathering on this topic; and (iii) work closely with international partners, including Japan and Europe, to reduce vulnerability to supply disruptions and address critical material needs. DOE will work with other stakeholders -- including interagency colleagues, Congress and the public -- to shape policy tools that strengthen the United States' strategic capabilities. DOE also announces its plan to develop an updated critical

Mathematical Modeling of the Concentrated Energy Flow Effect on Metallic Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey Konovalov

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Numerous processes take place in materials under the action of concentrated energy flows. The most important ones include heating together with the temperature misdistribution throughout the depth, probable vaporization on the surface layer, melting to a definite depth, and hydrodynamic flotation; generation of thermo-elastic waves; dissolution of heterogeneous matrix particles; and formation of nanolayers. The heat-based model is presented in an enthalpy statement involving changes in the boundary conditions, which makes it possible to consider melting and vaporization on the material surface. As a result, a linear dependence of penetration depth vs. energy density has been derived. The model of thermo-elastic wave generation is based on the system of equations on the uncoupled one-dimensional problem of dynamic thermo-elasticity for a layer with the finite thickness. This problem was solved analytically by the symbolic method. It has been revealed for the first time that the generated stress pulse comprises tension and compression zones, which are caused by increases and decreases in temperature on the boundary. The dissolution of alloying elements is modeled on the example of a titanium-carbon system in the process of electron beam action. The mathematical model is proposed to describe it, and a procedure is suggested to solve the problem of carbon distribution in titanium carbide and liquid titanium-carbide solution in terms of the state diagram and temperature changes caused by phase transitions. Carbon concentration vs. spatial values were calculated for various points of time at diverse initial temperatures of the cell. The dependence of carbon particle dissolution on initial temperature and radius of the particle were derived. A hydrodynamic model based on the evolution of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in shear viscous flows has been proposed to specify the formation of nanostructures in materials subjected to the action of concentrated

An energy conservation approach to adsorbate-induced surface stress and the extraction of binding energy using nanomechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Pinnaduwage, Lal A.; Boiadjiev, Vassil I.; Hawk, John E.; Gehl, Anthony C.; Fernando, Gayanath W.; Rohana Wijewardhana, L. C.

2008-03-01

Surface stress induced by molecular adsorption in three different binding processes has been studied experimentally using a microcantilever sensor. A comprehensive free-energy analysis based on an energy conservation approach is proposed to explain the experimental observations. We show that when guest molecules bind to atoms/molecules on a microcantilever surface, the released binding energy is retained in the host surface, leading to a metastable state where the excess energy on the surface is manifested as an increase in surface stress leading to the bending of the microcantilever. The released binding energy appears to be almost exclusively channeled to the surface energy, and energy distribution to other channels, including heat, appears to be inactive for this micromechanical system. When this excess surface energy is released, the microcantilever relaxes back to the original state, and the relaxation time depends on the particular binding process involved. Such vapor phase experiments were conducted for three binding processes: physisorption, hydrogen bonding, and chemisorption. Binding energies for these three processes were also estimated.

An energy conservation approach to adsorbate-induced surface stress and the extraction of binding energy using nanomechanics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinnaduwage, Lal A; Boiadjiev, Vassil I; Hawk, John E; Gehl, Anthony C [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, PO Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6122 (United States); Fernando, Gayanath W [Physics Department, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269 (United States); Wijewardhana, L C Rohana [Physics Department, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221 (United States)

2008-03-12

Surface stress induced by molecular adsorption in three different binding processes has been studied experimentally using a microcantilever sensor. A comprehensive free-energy analysis based on an energy conservation approach is proposed to explain the experimental observations. We show that when guest molecules bind to atoms/molecules on a microcantilever surface, the released binding energy is retained in the host surface, leading to a metastable state where the excess energy on the surface is manifested as an increase in surface stress leading to the bending of the microcantilever. The released binding energy appears to be almost exclusively channeled to the surface energy, and energy distribution to other channels, including heat, appears to be inactive for this micromechanical system. When this excess surface energy is released, the microcantilever relaxes back to the original state, and the relaxation time depends on the particular binding process involved. Such vapor phase experiments were conducted for three binding processes: physisorption, hydrogen bonding, and chemisorption. Binding energies for these three processes were also estimated.

Graphene-Based Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei Liu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Because of their unique 2D structure and numerous fascinating properties, graphene-based materials have attracted particular attention for their potential applications in energy storage devices. In this review paper, we focus on the latest work regarding the development of electrode materials for batteries and supercapacitors from graphene and graphene-based carbon materials. To begin, the advantages of graphene as an electrode material and the existing problems facing its use in this application will be discussed. The next several sections deal with three different methods for improving the energy storage performance of graphene: the restacking of the nanosheets, the doping of graphene with other elements, and the creation of defects on graphene planes. State-of-the-art work is reviewed. Finally, the prospects and further developments in the field of graphene-based materials for electrochemical energy storage are discussed.

Vibrational energy on surfaces: Ultrafast flash-thermal conductance of molecular monolayers

Science.gov (United States)

Dlott, Dana

2008-03-01

Vibrational energy flow through molecules remains a perennial problem in chemical physics. Usually vibrational energy dynamics are viewed through the lens of time-dependent level populations. This is natural because lasers naturally pump and probe vibrational transitions, but it is also useful to think of vibrational energy as being conducted from one location in a molecule to another. We have developed a new technique where energy is driven into a specific part of molecules adsorbed on a metal surface, and ultrafast nonlinear coherent vibrational spectroscopy is used to watch the energy arrive at another part. This technique is the analog of a flash thermal conductance apparatus, except it probes energy flow with angstrom spatial and femtosecond temporal resolution. Specific examples to be presented include energy flow along alkane chains, and energy flow into substituted benzenes. Ref: Z. Wang, J. A. Carter, A. Lagutchev, Y. K. Koh, N.-H. Seong, D. G. Cahill, and D. D. Dlott, Ultrafast flash thermal conductance of molecular chains, Science 317, 787-790 (2007). This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under award DMR 0504038 and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under award FA9550-06-1-0235.

Surface energy and work function of elemental metals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skriver, Hans Lomholt; Rosengaard, N. M.

1992-01-01

and noble metals, as derived from the surface tension of liquid metals. In addition, they give work functions which agree with the limited experimental data obtained from single crystals to within 15%, and explain the smooth behavior of the experimental work functions of polycrystalline samples......We have performed an ab initio study of the surface energy and the work function for six close-packed surfaces of 40 elemental metals by means of a Green’s-function technique, based on the linear-muffin-tin-orbitals method within the tight-binding and atomic-sphere approximations. The results...... are in excellent agreement with a recent full-potential, all-electron, slab-supercell calculation of surface energies and work functions for the 4d metals. The present calculations explain the trend exhibited by the surface energies of the alkali, alkaline earth, divalent rare-earth, 3d, 4d, and 5d transition...

Aluminum hydride as a hydrogen and energy storage material: Past, present and future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graetz, J., E-mail: graetz@bnl.gov [Sustainable Energy Technologies Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Reilly, J.J. [Sustainable Energy Technologies Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States); Yartys, V.A.; Maehlen, J.P. [Institute for Energy Technology, Kjeller (Norway); Bulychev, B.M. [Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation); Antonov, V.E. [Institute of Solid State Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka (Russian Federation); Tarasov, B.P. [Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka (Russian Federation); Gabis, I.E. [Department of Physics, Saint-Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation)

2011-09-15

Aluminum hydride (AlH{sub 3}) and its associated compounds make up a fascinating class of materials that have motivated considerable scientific and technological research over the past 50 years. Due primarily to its high energy density, AlH{sub 3} has become a promising hydrogen and energy storage material that has been used (or proposed for use) as a rocket fuel, explosive, reducing agent and as a hydrogen source for portable fuel cells. This review covers the past, present and future research on aluminum hydride and includes the latest research developments on the synthesis of {alpha}-AlH{sub 3} and the other polymorphs (e.g., microcrystallization reaction, batch and continuous methods), crystallographic structures, thermodynamics and kinetics (e.g., as a function of crystallite size, catalysts and surface coatings), high-pressure hydrogenation experiments and possible regeneration routes.

Assessment Of Surface-Catalyzed Reaction Products From High Temperature Materials In Plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Luke Daniel

Current simulations of atmospheric entry into both Mars and Earth atmospheres for the design of thermal protections systems (TPS) typically invoke conservative assumptions regarding surface-catalyzed recombination and the amount of energy deposited on the surface. The need to invoke such assumptions derives in part from lack of adequate experimental data on gas-surface interactions at trajectory relevant conditions. Addressing this issue, the University of Vermont's Plasma Test and Diagnostics Laboratory has done extensive work to measure atomic specie consumption by measuring the concentration gradient over various material surfaces. This thesis extends this work by attempting to directly diagnose molecular species production in air plasmas. A series of spectral models for the A-X and B-X systems of nitric oxide (NO), and the B-X system of boron monoxide (BO) have been developed. These models aim to predict line positions and strengths for the respective molecules in a way that is best suited for the diagnostic needs of the UVM facility. From the NO models, laser induced fluorescence strategies have been adapted with the intent of characterizing the relative quantity and thermodynamic state of NO produced bysurface-catalyzed recombination, while the BO model adds a diagnostic tool for the testing of diboride-based TPS materials. Boundary layer surveys of atomic nitrogen and NO have been carried out over water-cooled copper and nickel surfaces in air/argon plasmas. Translation temperatures and relative number densities throughout the boundary layer are reported. Additional tests were also conducted over a water-cooled copper surface to detect evidence of highly non-equilibrium effects in the form of excess population in elevated vibrational levels of the A-X system of NO. The tests showed that near the sample surface there is a much greater population in the upsilon'' = 1ground state than is predicted by a Boltzmann distribution.

1996 Activities report on energies and raw materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The 1996 activity survey of the French General Directory for Energy and Raw Materials, which main objectives are to preserve the competitiveness of French economy, enhance environmental protection, secure the long term supply safety and maintain the public service basis for energy supply, is presented. The main themes of the survey are: the nuclear safety in Eastern Europe, the electric power inland market, the evolution of the oil market in 1996, the situation of refining in France, restructuring the BRGM (Mining and Geological Research Bureau), followed by brief facts concerning the sustainable energy development, nuclear energy, electric power, electricity and gas common issues, gas, coal, petroleum products, raw materials and underground materials. A series of global diagrams concludes the survey

Preparation of ceramic materials for surface characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zipperian, D.C.

1989-01-01

This paper discusses how microstructural preparation permits a microscopic analysis of a material's internal structure, which is related to the physical properties of the material. Today, numerous microstructural quantitative and qualitative measurements are commonly utilized. Several of these include phase determination, phase hardness, phase distribution, grain size and shape, and porosity and size distribution. The most widely used surface characterization techniques are optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and x-ray microscopy. Optical microscopy includes both transmitted-and reflected-light techniques and requires a surface preparation prior to analysis. Transmitted-light microscopy samples require thinning and polishing of both sides of the sample, whereas reflected light techniques require polishing of only one side of the sample

Climate-induced hotspots in surface energy fluxes from 1948 to 2000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheng Li; Liu Shuhua; Liu Heping

2010-01-01

Understanding how land surfaces respond to climate change requires knowledge of land-surface processes, which control the degree to which interannual variability and mean trends in climatic variables affect the surface energy budget. We use the latest version of the Community Land Model version 3.5 (CLM3.5), which is driven by the latest updated hybrid reanalysis-observation atmospheric forcing dataset constructed by Princeton University, to obtain global distributions of the surface energy budget from 1948 to 2000. We identify climate change hotspots and surface energy flux hotspots from 1948 to 2000. Surface energy flux hotspots, which reflect regions with strong changes in surface energy fluxes, reveal seasonal variations with strong signals in winter, spring, and autumn and weak ones in summer. Locations for surface energy flux hotspots are not, however, fully linked with those for climate change hotspots, suggesting that only in some regions are land surfaces more responsive to climate change in terms of interannual variability and mean trends.

Development of material measures for performance verifying surface topography measuring instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leach, Richard; Giusca, Claudiu; Rickens, Kai; Riemer, Oltmann; Rubert, Paul

2014-01-01

The development of two irregular-geometry material measures for performance verifying surface topography measuring instruments is described. The material measures are designed to be used to performance verify tactile and optical areal surface topography measuring instruments. The manufacture of the material measures using diamond turning followed by nickel electroforming is described in detail. Measurement results are then obtained using a traceable stylus instrument and a commercial coherence scanning interferometer, and the results are shown to agree to within the measurement uncertainties. The material measures are now commercially available as part of a suite of material measures aimed at the calibration and performance verification of areal surface topography measuring instruments

Statistics of ductile fracture surfaces: the effect of material parameters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ponson, Laurent; Cao, Yuanyuan; Bouchaud, Elisabeth

2013-01-01

distributed. The three dimensional analysis permits modeling of a three dimensional material microstructure and of the resulting three dimensional stress and deformation states that develop in the fracture process region. Material parameters characterizing void nucleation are varied and the statistics...... of the resulting fracture surfaces is investigated. All the fracture surfaces are found to be self-affine over a size range of about two orders of magnitude with a very similar roughness exponent of 0.56 ± 0.03. In contrast, the full statistics of the fracture surfaces is found to be more sensitive to the material...

The energy landscape of glassy dynamics on the amorphous hafnium diboride surface

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Duc; Mallek, Justin; Cloud, Andrew N.; Abelson, John R.; Girolami, Gregory S.; Lyding, Joseph; Gruebele, Martin

2014-11-01

Direct visualization of the dynamics of structural glasses and amorphous solids on the sub-nanometer scale provides rich information unavailable from bulk or conventional single molecule techniques. We study the surface of hafnium diboride, a conductive ultrahigh temperature ceramic material that can be grown in amorphous films. Our scanning tunneling movies have a second-to-hour dynamic range and single-point current measurements extend that to the millisecond-to-minute time scale. On the a-HfB2 glass surface, two-state hopping of 1-2 nm diameter cooperatively rearranging regions or "clusters" occurs from sub-milliseconds to hours. We characterize individual clusters in detail through high-resolution (single cluster vertical displacements, we can reconstruct the local free energy landscape of individual clusters, complete with activation barrier height, a reaction coordinate in nanometers, and the shape of the free energy landscape basins between which hopping occurs. The experimental images are consistent with the compact shape of α-relaxors predicted by random first order transition theory, whereas the rapid hopping rate, even taking less confined motion at the surface into account, is consistent with β-relaxations. We make a proposal of how "mixed" features can show up in surface dynamics of glasses.

Cohesion and coordination effects on transition metal surface energies

Science.gov (United States)

Ruvireta, Judit; Vega, Lorena; Viñes, Francesc

2017-10-01

Here we explore the accuracy of Stefan equation and broken-bond model semiempirical approaches to obtain surface energies on transition metals. Cohesive factors are accounted for either via the vaporization enthalpies, as proposed in Stefan equation, or via cohesive energies, as employed in the broken-bond model. Coordination effects are considered including the saturation degree, as suggested in Stefan equation, employing Coordination Numbers (CN), or as the ratio of broken bonds, according to the bond-cutting model, considering as well the square root dependency of the bond strength on CN. Further, generalized coordination numbers CN bar are contemplated as well, exploring a total number of 12 semiempirical formulations on the three most densely packed surfaces of 3d, 4d, and 5d Transition Metals (TMs) displaying face-centered cubic (fcc), body-centered cubic (bcc), or hexagonal close-packed (hcp) crystallographic structures. Estimates are compared to available experimental surface energies obtained extrapolated to zero temperature. Results reveal that Stefan formula cohesive and coordination dependencies are only qualitative suited, but unadvised for quantitative discussion, as surface energies are highly overestimated, favoring in addition the stability of under-coordinated surfaces. Broken-bond cohesion and coordination dependencies are a suited basis for quantitative comparison, where square-root dependencies on CN to account for bond weakening are sensibly worse. An analysis using Wulff shaped averaged surface energies suggests the employment of broken-bond model using CN to gain surface energies for TMs, likely applicable to other metals.

Controlling coverage of solution cast materials with unfavourable surface interactions

KAUST Repository

Burlakov, V. M.; Eperon, G. E.; Snaith, H. J.; Chapman, S. J.; Goriely, A.

2014-01-01

Creating uniform coatings of a solution-cast material is of central importance to a broad range of applications. Here, a robust and generic theoretical framework for calculating surface coverage by a solid film of material de-wetting a substrate is presented. Using experimental data from semiconductor thin films as an example, we calculate surface coverage for a wide range of annealing temperatures and film thicknesses. The model generally predicts that for each value of the annealing temperature there is a range of film thicknesses leading to poor surface coverage. The model accurately reproduces solution-cast thin film coverage for organometal halide perovskites, key modern photovoltaic materials, and identifies processing windows for both high and low levels of surface coverage. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Controlling coverage of solution cast materials with unfavourable surface interactions

KAUST Repository

Burlakov, V. M.

2014-03-03

Creating uniform coatings of a solution-cast material is of central importance to a broad range of applications. Here, a robust and generic theoretical framework for calculating surface coverage by a solid film of material de-wetting a substrate is presented. Using experimental data from semiconductor thin films as an example, we calculate surface coverage for a wide range of annealing temperatures and film thicknesses. The model generally predicts that for each value of the annealing temperature there is a range of film thicknesses leading to poor surface coverage. The model accurately reproduces solution-cast thin film coverage for organometal halide perovskites, key modern photovoltaic materials, and identifies processing windows for both high and low levels of surface coverage. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Method of measuring surface density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gregor, J.

1982-01-01

A method is described of measuring surface density or thickness, preferably of coating layers, using radiation emitted by a suitable radionuclide, e.g., 241 Am. The radiation impinges on the measured material, e.g., a copper foil and in dependence on its surface density or thickness part of the flux of impinging radiation is reflected and part penetrates through the material. The radiation which has penetrated through the material excites in a replaceable adjustable backing characteristic radiation of an energy close to that of the impinging radiation (within +-30 keV). Part of the flux of the characteristic radiation spreads back to the detector, penetrates through the material in which in dependence on surface density or thickness of the coating layer it is partly absorbed. The flux of the penetrated characteristic radiation impinging on the face of the detector is a function of surface density or thickness. Only that part of the energy is evaluated of the energy spectrum which corresponds to the energy of characteristic radiation. (B.S.)

Properties and cleanability of new and traditional agricultural surface materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. MÄÄTTÄ

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to evaluate new and traditional surface materials for use in cattle barns. The evaluated concrete materials had different compositions and included different additives and coatings. Contact angle meter, optical profilometry and scanning electron microscopy SEM were used for characterization of surface properties. Radiochemical methods and a biochemical adenosine triphosphate ATP method were used to determine cleanability. A specific methodological aim was to examine the correlations between these determination methods. A statistically significant difference was observed between contact angles of non-coated concretes, coated concretes and joint materials. In general, coatings smoothened surfaces and the joint materials were the roughest surfaces, as illustrated by profilometry and SEM. On the basis of the radiochemical determination methods, coatings improved the cleanability of concrete. An epoxy joint material was cleaned efficiently from the oil model soil and from the labelled feed soil when compared to the two cement-based joint materials. According to the results of the biochemical ATP method the manure test soil was cleaned better from a concrete including inorganic sealant than from the other materials examined. The cleanability results of oil model soil used in the radiochemical method correlated with the results of the test feed soil used in the biochemical ATP method. Both determination methods of cleanability appeared to be suitable for examining the cleanability of surfaces soiled with agricultural soils. Only the radiochemical determination gives detailed quantitative results, but it can be used only in laboratory studies. The results of this laboratory study will be used for selecting materials for a pilot study in a cattle barn.;

International conference on composite materials and energy: Proceedings. Enercomp 95

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1995-01-01

World demand for composite materials is continuously increasing. High strength and rigidity, associated with light weight, are the key factors for composites' success. These materials find numerous applications in all sectors of industry. Presently, a sector of particular interest in terms of demand for composite materials is the energy industry. More and more applications are found in the field of the forms of energy: electrical, petroleum, gas, nuclear, solar and wind. The topics addressed in various sessions of the conference cover potential applications of the entire range of polymer, metal and ceramic composites in all sectors of energy. Papers are divided into sessions covering the following topics: properties; design and analysis; fracture; fatigue and long-term performance; new materials; innovative processing; liquid molding; joining and repairs; radiation curing; recycling; development in ceramic materials; innovations in metallic materials; metal-matrix composites; nondestructive evaluation; energy savings in transportation; pressure vessels and piping; wind energy applications; electrical components; concrete applications; power plant applications; and new materials in the energy field. Most of the papers have been processed separately for inclusion on the data base

Study of LiFePO{sub 4} cathode materials coated with high surface area carbon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Cheng-Zhang; Fey, George Ting-Kuo [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Central University, Chung-Li 32054 (China); Kao, Hsien-Ming [Department of Chemistry, National Central University, Chung-Li 32054 (China)

2009-04-01

LiFePO{sub 4} is a potential cathode material for 4 V lithium-ion batteries. Carbon-coated lithium iron phosphates were prepared using a high surface area carbon to react precursors through a solid-state process, during which LiFePO{sub 4} particles were embedded in amorphous carbon. The carbonaceous materials were synthesized by the pyrolysis of peanut shells under argon, where they were carbonized in a two-step process that occurred between 573 and 873 K. The shells were also treated with a proprietary porogenic agent with the goal of altering the pore structure and surface area of the pyrolysis products. The electrochemical properties of the as-prepared LiFePO{sub 4}/C composite cathode materials were systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, element mapping, energy dispersive spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. In LiFePO{sub 4}/C composites, the carbon not only increases rate capability, but also stabilizes capacity. In fact, the capacity of the composites increased with the specific surface area of carbon. The best result was observed with a composite made of 8.0 wt.% with a specific surface area of 2099 m{sup 2} g{sup -1}. When high surface area carbon was used as a carbon source to produce LiFePO{sub 4}, overall conductivity increased from 10{sup -8} to 10{sup -4} S cm{sup -1}, because the inhibition of particle growth during the final sintering process led to greater specific capacity, improved cycling properties and better rate capability compared to a pure olivine LiFePO{sub 4} material. (author)

Modification of the surface properties of glass-ceramic materials at low-pressure RF plasma stream

Science.gov (United States)

Tovstopyat, Alexander; Gafarov, Ildar; Galeev, Vadim; Azarova, Valentina; Golyaeva, Anastasia

2018-05-01

The surface roughness has a huge effect on the mechanical, optical, and electronic properties of materials. In modern optical systems, the specifications for the surface accuracy and smoothness of substrates are becoming even more stringent. Commercially available pre-polished glass-ceramic substrates were treated with the radio frequency (RF) inductively coupled (13.56 MHz) low-pressure plasma to clean the surface of the samples and decrease the roughness. Optical emission spectroscopy was used to investigate the plasma stream parameters and phase-shifted interferometry to investigate the surface of the specimen. In this work, the dependence of RF inductively coupled plasma on macroscopic parameters was investigated with the focus on improving the surfaces. The ion energy, sputtering rate, and homogeneity were investigated. The improvements of the glass-ceramic surfaces from 2.6 to 2.2 Å root mean square by removing the "waste" after the previous operations had been achieved.

Effects of Electrode Material on the Voltage of a Tree-Based Energy Generator.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhibin Hao

Full Text Available The voltage between a standing tree and its surrounding soil is regarded as an innovative renewable energy source. This source is expected to provide a new power generation system for the low-power electrical equipment used in forestry. However, the voltage is weak, which has caused great difficulty in application. Consequently, the development of a method to increase the voltage is a key issue that must be addressed in this area of applied research. As the front-end component for energy harvesting, a metal electrode has a material effect on the level and stability of the voltage obtained. This study aimed to preliminarily ascertain the rules and mechanisms that underlie the effects of electrode material on voltage. Electrodes of different materials were used to measure the tree-source voltage, and the data were employed in a comparative analysis. The results indicate that the conductivity of the metal electrode significantly affects the contact resistance of the electrode-soil and electrode-trunk contact surfaces, thereby influencing the voltage level. The metal reactivity of the electrode has no significant effect on the voltage. However, passivation of the electrode materials markedly reduces the voltage. Suitable electrode materials are demonstrated and recommended.

Sorption Energy Maps of Clay Mineral Surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cygan, Randall T.; Kirkpatrick, R. James

1999-01-01

A molecular-level understanding of mineral-water interactions is critical for the evaluation and prediction of the sorption properties of clay minerals that may be used in various chemical and radioactive waste disposal methods. Molecular models of metal sorption incorporate empirical energy force fields, based on molecular orbital calculations and spectroscopic data, that account for Coulombic, van der Waals attractive, and short-range repulsive energies. The summation of the non-bonded energy terms at equally-spaced grid points surrounding a mineral substrate provides a three dimensional potential energy grid. The energy map can be used to determine the optimal sorption sites of metal ions on the exposed surfaces of the mineral. By using this approach, we have evaluated the crystallographic and compositional control of metal sorption on the surfaces of kaolinite and illite. Estimates of the relative sorption energy and most stable sorption sites are derived based on a rigid ion approximation

Energy harvesting using a thermoelectric material

Science.gov (United States)

Nersessian, Nersesse [Van Nuys, CA; Carman, Gregory P [Los Angeles, CA; Radousky, Harry B [San Leandro, CA

2008-07-08

A novel energy harvesting system and method utilizing a thermoelectric having a material exhibiting a large thermally induced strain (TIS) due to a phase transformation and a material exhibiting a stress induced electric field is introduced. A material that exhibits such a phase transformation exhibits a large increase in the coefficient of thermal expansion over an incremental temperature range (typically several degrees Kelvin). When such a material is arranged in a geometric configuration, such as, for a example, a laminate with a material that exhibits a stress induced electric field (e.g. a piezoelectric material) the thermally induced strain is converted to an electric field.

Energy harvesting: an integrated view of materials, devices and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Radousky, H. B.; Liang, H.

2012-12-01

Energy harvesting refers to the set of processes by which useful energy is captured from waste, environmental, or mechanical sources and is converted into a usable form. The discipline of energy harvesting is a broad topic that includes established methods and materials such as photovoltaics and thermoelectrics, as well as more recent technologies that convert mechanical energy, magnetic energy and waste heat to electricity. This article will review various state-of-the-art materials and devices for direct energy conversion and in particular will include multistep energy conversion approaches. The article will highlight the nano-materials science underlying energy harvesting principles and devices, but also include more traditional bulk processes and devices as appropriate and synergistic. Emphasis is placed on device-design innovations that lead to higher efficiency energy harvesting or conversion technologies ranging from the cm/mm-scale down to MEMS/NEMS (micro- and nano-electromechanical systems) devices. Theoretical studies are reviewed, which address transport properties, crystal chemistry, thermodynamic analysis, energy transfer, system efficiency and device operation. New developments in experimental methods; device design and fabrication; nanostructured materials fabrication; materials properties; and device performance measurement techniques are discussed.

Comment on 'Modelling of surface energies of elemental crystals'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jinping; Luo Xiaoguang; Hu Ping; Dong Shanliang

2009-01-01

Jiang et al (2004 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 16 521) present a model based on the traditional broken-bond model for predicting surface energies of elemental crystals. It is found that bias errors can be produced in calculating the coordination numbers of surface atoms, especially in the prediction of high-Miller-index surface energies. (comment)

Analysis of the surface technology of silicon detectors for imaging of low-energy beta tracers in biological material

CERN Document Server

Tykva, R

2000-01-01

Using silicon surface barrier detectors, the counting sensitivity of low-energy beta tracers is considerably influenced by surface technology applied in detector manufacturing. Original diagnostic procedure, using a mixture of uranium fission products, is described to trace the behaviors of different admixtures as in the etching bath as in the water used during development of the detector surface. In combination with some other described analyses, the detectors produced with the developed surface control are used in a PC - controlled scanning equipment reaching at room temperature an FWHM of 3.4 keV for sup 2 sup 4 sup 1 Am. Such detectors make it possible to image distribution, of e.g., sup 3 H, sup 1 sup 2 sup 5 I, sup 3 H+ sup 1 sup 4 C and other beta tracer combinations applied in life and environmental sciences.

Small-angle and surface scattering from porous and fractal materials.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sinha, S. K.

1998-09-18

We review the basic theoretical methods used to treat small-angle scattering from porous materials, treated as general two-phase systems, and also the basic experimental techniques for carrying out such experiments. We discuss the special forms of the scattering when the materials exhibit mass or surface fractal behavior, and review the results of recent experiments on several types of porous media and also SANS experiments probing the phase behavior of binary fluid mixtures or polymer solutions confined in porous materials. Finally, we discuss the analogous technique of off-specular scattering from surfaces and interfaces which is used to study surface roughness of various kinds.

On the specific surface area of nanoporous materials

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Detsi, E.; De Jong, E.; Zinchenko, A.; Vukovic, Z.; Vukovic, I.; Punzhin, S.; Loos, K.; ten Brinke, G.; De Raedt, H. A.; Onck, P. R.; De Hosson, J. T. M.

2011-01-01

A proper quantification of the specific surface area of nanoporous materials is necessary for a better understanding of the properties that are affected by the high surface-area-to-volume ratio of nanoporous metals, nanoporous polymers and nanoporous ceramics. In this paper we derive an analytical

Changing of micromorphology of silicon-on-sapphire epitaxial layer surface at irradiation by subthreshold energy X-radiation

CERN Document Server

Kiselev, A N; Skupov, V D; Filatov, D O

2001-01-01

The morphology of silicon-on-sapphire epitaxial layer surface after pulse irradiation by the X-rays with the energy of <= 140 keV is studied. The study on the irradiated material surface is carried out by the methods of the atomic force microscopy and ellipsometry. The average roughness value after irradiation constitutes 7 nm. The change in the films surface microrelief occurs due to reconstruction of their dislocation structure under the action of elastic waves, originating in the X radiation

Numerical simulation of electron behavior and beam heating on a material surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shioda, K.; Hashidate, Y.; Kumagai, M.

1991-01-01

A method of numerical analysis is investigated for the manufacturing processes employing electron beam heating, such as hardening, cutting, and welding. High-energy electrons (10 ∼ 50 keV) impinge upon the surface of a material and diffuse by multiple elastic/nonelastic scattering caused by atoms. Although the electron collisions with atomic nuclei can be treated approximately as elastic, collisions with orbital electrons of atoms are nonelastic. Fast electrons are decelerated in the course of atomic excitation or X-ray radiation, transferring their kinetic energy to the lattice system as thermal energy. In this paper, the difference between the heat-generating density and the electron density is clarified numerically, as well as the penetration depth and the reflection ratio of the electron beam. Calculated results for these quantities show good agreement with the referenced data. In addition, the difference between the penetration depth of the electrons and that of the heat, which has never been discussed in detail before, is clarified

Surface free energy for systems with integrable boundary conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goehmann, Frank; Bortz, Michael; Frahm, Holger

2005-01-01

The surface free energy is the difference between the free energies for a system with open boundary conditions and the same system with periodic boundary conditions. We use the quantum transfer matrix formalism to express the surface free energy in the thermodynamic limit of systems with integrable boundary conditions as a matrix element of certain projection operators. Specializing to the XXZ spin-1/2 chain we introduce a novel 'finite temperature boundary operator' which characterizes the thermodynamical properties of surfaces related to integrable boundary conditions

Computational materials design for energy applications

Science.gov (United States)

Ozolins, Vidvuds

2013-03-01

General adoption of sustainable energy technologies depends on the discovery and development of new high-performance materials. For instance, waste heat recovery and electricity generation via the solar thermal route require bulk thermoelectrics with a high figure of merit (ZT) and thermal stability at high-temperatures. Energy recovery applications (e.g., regenerative braking) call for the development of rapidly chargeable systems for electrical energy storage, such as electrochemical supercapacitors. Similarly, use of hydrogen as vehicular fuel depends on the ability to store hydrogen at high volumetric and gravimetric densities, as well as on the ability to extract it at ambient temperatures at sufficiently rapid rates. We will discuss how first-principles computational methods based on quantum mechanics and statistical physics can drive the understanding, improvement and prediction of new energy materials. We will cover prediction and experimental verification of new earth-abundant thermoelectrics, transition metal oxides for electrochemical supercapacitors, and kinetics of mass transport in complex metal hydrides. Research has been supported by the US Department of Energy under grant Nos. DE-SC0001342, DE-SC0001054, DE-FG02-07ER46433, and DE-FC36-08GO18136.

Material selection and embodied energy

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ampofo-Anti, N

2010-11-01

Full Text Available mix concrete apron Non reinforced, ready mix concrete strip foundation Non reinforced, ready mix ground floor slab Concrete block Modular, hollow concrete block Solid concrete block Finishes Floor screed Insulated ceiling panel Perlite... Predicting the embodied energy contribution of a single material is however not as easy as green building practices assume. As illustrated by the example in Box 1, the choice of a material implies the choice of integral constituents such as insulation...

Moon. Prospective energy and material resources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badescu, Viorel (ed.) [Polytechnic Univ. of Bucharest (Romania). Candida Oancea Inst.

2012-07-01

The Earth has limited material and energy resources. Further development of the humanity will require going beyond our planet for mining and use of extraterrestrial mineral resources and search of power sources. The exploitation of the natural resources of the Moon is a first natural step on this direction. Lunar materials may contribute to the betterment of conditions of people on Earth but they also may be used to establish permanent settlements on the Moon. This will allow developing new technologies, systems and flight operation techniques to continue space exploration. In fact, a new branch of human civilization could be established permanently on Moon in the next century. But, meantime, an inventory and proper social assessment of Moon's prospective energy and material resources is required. This book investigates the possibilities and limitations of various systems supplying manned bases on Moon with energy and other vital resources. The book collects together recent proposals and innovative options and solutions. It is a useful source of condensed information for specialists involved in current and impending Moon-related activities and a good starting point for young researchers. (orig.)

Contact mechanics for layered materials with randomly rough surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Persson, B N J

2012-03-07

The contact mechanics model of Persson is applied to layered materials. We calculate the M function, which relates the surface stress to the surface displacement, for a layered material, where the top layer (thickness d) has different elastic properties than the semi-infinite solid below. Numerical results for the contact area as a function of the magnification are presented for several cases. As an application, we calculate the fluid leak rate for laminated rubber seals.

The rise of organic electrode materials for energy storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Schon, Tyler B; McAllister, Bryony T; Li, Peng-Fei; Seferos, Dwight S

2016-11-07

Organic electrode materials are very attractive for electrochemical energy storage devices because they can be flexible, lightweight, low cost, benign to the environment, and used in a variety of device architectures. They are not mere alternatives to more traditional energy storage materials, rather, they have the potential to lead to disruptive technologies. Although organic electrode materials for energy storage have progressed in recent years, there are still significant challenges to overcome before reaching large-scale commercialization. This review provides an overview of energy storage systems as a whole, the metrics that are used to quantify the performance of electrodes, recent strategies that have been investigated to overcome the challenges associated with organic electrode materials, and the use of computational chemistry to design and study new materials and their properties. Design strategies are examined to overcome issues with capacity/capacitance, device voltage, rate capability, and cycling stability in order to guide future work in the area. The use of low cost materials is highlighted as a direction towards commercial realization.

Permafrost-An alternative target material for ultra-high energy neutrino detection?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nahnhauer, R.; Rostovtsev, A.A.; Tosi, D.

2008-01-01

The interest in the detection of cosmic neutrinos with energies above 10 17 eV has increased considerably in recent years. Possible target materials for in-matter arrays of ∼100 km 3 size under discussion are water, ice and rock salt. Here we propose to investigate permafrost as an additional alternative, covering ∼20% of Earth land surface and reaching down to more than 1000 m depth at certain locations. If sufficiently large attenuation lengths for radio and acoustic signals can be demonstrated by in-situ measurements, the construction of a large hybrid array within this material may be possible in the Northern Hemisphere. Properties and problems of a possible location in Siberia are discussed below. Some acoustic data are compared with laboratory measurements using 'artificial' permafrost

An Energy Conservation Approach to Adsorbate-Induced Surface Stress and the Extraction of Binding Energy Using Nanomechanics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinnaduwage, Lal A [ORNL; Boiadjiev, Vassil I [ORNL; Fernando, G. W. [University of Connecticut, Storrs; Hawk, J. E. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Wijewardhana, L.C. R. [University of Cincinnati; Gehl, Anthony C [ORNL

2008-01-01

Microcantilevers are ideally-suited for the study of surface phenomena due to their large surface-to-volume ratios, which amplify surface effects. We show that when guest molecules bind to atoms/molecules on a microcantilever surface, the released binding energy is retained in the host surface, leading to a metastable state where the excess energy on the surface is manifested as an increase in surface stress leading to the bending of the microcantilever. When the excess energy is released, the microcantilever relaxes back to the original state, and the relaxation time depends on the particular binding process involved. Such experiments were conducted for three binding processes in vapor phase experiments: physisorption, hydrogen bonding, and chemisorption. To our knowledge, such an energy conservation approach has not been taken into account in adsorbate-induced surface effect investigations. Furthermore, these experiments illustrate that detailed molecular-level information on binding energies can be extracted from this simple micromechanical sensor.

Adsorption energy of iron-phthalocyanine on crystal surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Struzzi, C.; Scardamaglia, M.; Angelucci, M; Massimi, L.; Mariani, C.; Betti, G.

2013-01-01

The adsorption energy of iron-phthalocyanine (FePc) deposited on different crystal surfaces is studied by thermal desorption spectroscopy. A thin film of molecules has been absorbed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), on graphene epitaxially grown on Ir(111), and on Au(110). Activation energies for the desorption of a molecular thin film and for the FePc single layer are determined at the three surfaces. The desorption temperature measured for the thin films is only slightly dependent on the substrate, since it is mostly dominated by molecule-molecule interactions. A definitely different desorption temperature is found at the single-layer coverage: we find an increasing desorption temperature going from HOPG, to graphene/Ir, to the Au(110) surface. The different adsorption energies of the first FePc layer in contact with the substrate surface are discussed taking into account the interaction and the growth morphology.

Developments in organic solid–liquid phase change materials and their applications in thermal energy storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, R.K.; Ganesan, P.; Tyagi, V.V.; Metselaar, H.S.C.; Sandaran, S.C.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Review of organic phase change materials for thermal energy storage. • Review of the eutectic mixtures of organic PCMs. • Review of the techniques of PCM encapsulations and enhancing the thermal conductivity. • Applications of low and medium temperature organic PCMs are listed in detail. • Recommendations are made for future applications of organic PCMs. - Abstract: Thermal energy storage as sensible or latent heat is an efficient way to conserve the waste heat and excess energy available such as solar radiation. Storage of latent heat using organic phase change materials (PCMs) offers greater energy storage density over a marginal melting and freezing temperature difference in comparison to inorganic materials. These favorable characteristics of organic PCMs make them suitable in a wide range of applications. These materials and their eutectic mixtures have been successfully tested and implemented in many domestic and commercial applications such as, building, electronic devices, refrigeration and air-conditioning, solar air/water heating, textiles, automobiles, food, and space industries. This review focuses on three aspects: the materials, encapsulation and applications of organic PCMs, and provides an insight on the recent developments in applications of these materials. Organic PCMs have inherent characteristic of low thermal conductivity (0.15–0.35 W/m K), hence, a larger surface area is required to enhance the heat transfer rate. Therefore, attention is also given to the thermal conductivity enhancement of the materials, which helps to keep the area of the system to a minimum. Besides, various available techniques for material characterization have also been discussed. It has been found that a wide range of the applications of organic PCMs in buildings and other low and medium temperature solar energy applications are in abundant use but these materials are not yet popular among space applications and virtual data storage media. In

Advanced Electrode Materials for High Energy Next Generation Li ion Batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Hayner, Cary Michael

charge-discharge cycles. To stabilize silicon materials, composites of silicon nanoparticles were dispersed between graphene sheets and supported by a 3-D network of graphite formed by reconstituted regions of graphene stacks. These free-standing, self-supported composites exhibited excellent Li-ion storage capacities higher than 2200 mAh/g and good cycling stability. In order to improve the advantages graphene can provide as a 3-D scaffold, carbon vacancies were introduced into the basal planes via an acid-oxidation treatment. These vacancies markedly enhance the rate performance of graphene materials as well as silicon-graphene composites. Silicon-graphene composites containing carbon vacancies achieved high accessible storage capacities at fast charge/discharge rates that rival supercapacitor performance while maintaining good cycling stability. Optimal carbon vacancy size and density were determined. Graphene composites were also formed with iron trifluoride (FeF 3), a high-energy cathode material with ability to store up to 712 mAh/g capacity, over 3X more than current state-of-the-art cathode materials. A facile route that combines co-assembly and photothermal reduction was developed to synthesize free-standing, flexible FeF3/graphene papers. The papers contained a uniform dispersion of FeF3 nanoparticles (400 mAh/g and improved cycling performance compared to bare FeF3 particles. Lastly, novel ternary iron-manganese fluoride (FexMn 1-xF2) cathode materials were synthesized via a convenient, bottom-up solution-phase synthesis which allowed control of particle size, shape, and surface morphology. The synthesized materials exhibited nanoscale features with average particle size of 20-40 nm. These ternary metal composites exhibited key, desirable properties for next-generation Li-ion battery cathode materials. The described process constituted a translatable route to large-scale production of ternary metal fluoride nanoparticles.

Effects of energy and carbon taxes on building material competitiveness

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sathre, Roger; Gustavsson, Leif [Ecotechnology, Mid Sweden University, 831 25 Oestersund, (Sweden)

2007-04-15

The relations between building material competitiveness and economic instruments for mitigating climate change are explored in this bottom-up study. The effects of carbon and energy taxes on building material manufacturing cost and total building construction cost are modelled, analysing individual materials as well as comparing a wood-framed building to a reinforced concrete-framed building. The energy balances of producing construction materials made of wood, concrete, steel, and gypsum are described and quantified. For wood lumber, more usable energy is available as biomass residues than is consumed in the processing steps. The quantities of biofuels made available during the production of wood materials are calculated, and the cost differences between using these biofuels and using fossil fuels are shown under various tax regimes. The results indicate that higher energy and carbon taxation rates increase the economic competitiveness of wood construction materials. This is due to both the lower energy cost for material manufacture, and the increased economic value of biomass by-products used to replace fossil fuel. (Author)

Annual report 1997. Energies and raw materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

This report gives the important directions of French energy policy. Nuclear energy, electric power, natural gas, coal and petroleum products are reviewed. The situations and the forecasting for raw materials are also given. (N.C.)

Surface free energy of non-stick coatings deposited using closed field unbalanced magnetron sputter ion plating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, C.-C.; Lee, S.-C.; Dai, S.-B.; Tien, S.-L.; Chang, C.-C.; Fu, Y.-S.

2007-01-01

Semiconductor IC packaging molding dies require wear resistance, corrosion resistance and non-sticking (with a low surface free energy). The molding releasing capability and performance are directly associated with the surface free energy between the coating and product material. The serious sticking problem reduces productivity and reliability. Depositing TiN, TiMoS, ZrN, CrC, CrN, NiCr, NiCrN, CrTiAlN and CrNiTiAlN coatings using closed field unbalanced magnetron sputter ion plating, and characterizing their surface free energy are the main object in developing a non-stick coating system for semiconductor IC molding tools. The contact angle of water, diiodomethane and ethylene glycol on the coated surfaces were measured at temperature in 20 deg. C using a Dataphysics OCA-20 contact angle analyzer. The surface free energy of the coatings and their components (dispersion and polar) were calculated using the Owens-Wendt geometric mean approach. The surface roughness was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The adhesion force of these coatings was measured using direct tensile pull-off test apparatus. The experimental results showed that NiCrN, CrN and NiCrTiAlN coatings outperformed TiN, ZrN, NiCr, CiTiAlN, CrC and TiMoS coatings in terms of non-sticking, and thus have the potential as working layers for injection molding industrial equipment, especially in semiconductor IC packaging molding applications

The Materials Chemistry of Atomic Oxygen with Applications to Anisotropic Etching of Submicron Structures in Microelectronics and the Surface Chemistry Engineering of Porous Solids

Science.gov (United States)

Koontz, Steve L.; Leger, Lubert J.; Wu, Corina; Cross, Jon B.; Jurgensen, Charles W.

1994-01-01

Neutral atomic oxygen is the most abundant component of the ionospheric plasma in the low Earth orbit environment (LEO; 200 to 700 kilometers altitude) and can produce significant degradation of some spacecraft materials. In order to produce a more complete understanding of the materials chemistry of atomic oxygen, the chemistry and physics of O-atom interactions with materials were determined in three radically different environments: (1) The Space Shuttle cargo bay in low Earth orbit (the EOIM-3 space flight experiment), (2) a high-velocity neutral atom beam system (HVAB) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and (3) a microwave-plasma flowing-discharge system at JSC. The Space Shuttle and the high velocity atom beam systems produce atom-surface collision energies ranging from 0.1 to 7 eV (hyperthermal atoms) under high-vacuum conditions, while the flowing discharge system produces a 0.065 eV surface collision energy at a total pressure of 2 Torr. Data obtained in the three different O-atom environments referred to above show that the rate of O-atom reaction with polymeric materials is strongly dependent on atom kinetic energy, obeying a reactive scattering law which suggests that atom kinetic energy is directly available for overcoming activation barriers in the reaction. General relationships between polymer reactivity with O atoms and polymer composition and molecular structure have been determined. In addition, vacuum ultraviolet photochemical effects have been shown to dominate the reaction of O atoms with fluorocarbon polymers. Finally, studies of the materials chemistry of O atoms have produced results which may be of interest to technologists outside the aerospace industry. Atomic oxygen 'spin-off' or 'dual use' technologies in the areas of anisotropic etching in microelectronic materials and device processing, as well as surface chemistry engineering of porous solid materials are described.

Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) Reactor Materials: News for the Reactor Materials Crosscut, May 2016

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maloy, Stuart Andrew [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Materials Science in Radiation and Dynamics Extremes

2016-09-26

In this newsletter for Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) Reactor Materials, pages 1-3 cover highlights from the DOE-NE (Nuclear Energy) programs, pages 4-6 cover determining the stress-strain response of ion-irradiated metallic materials via spherical nanoindentation, and pages 7-8 cover theoretical approaches to understanding long-term materials behavior in light water reactors.

Suppression of material transfer at contacting surfaces: the effect of adsorbates on Al/TiN and Cu/diamond interfaces from first-principles calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Feldbauer, Gregor; Wolloch, Michael; Bedolla, Pedro O.; Redinger, Josef; Vernes, András; Mohn, Peter

2018-03-01

The effect of monolayers of oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H) on the possibility of material transfer at aluminium/titanium nitride (Al/TiN) and copper/diamond (Cu/Cdia) interfaces, respectively, were investigated within the framework of density functional theory (DFT). To this end the approach, contact, and subsequent separation of two atomically flat surfaces consisting of the aforementioned pairs of materials were simulated. These calculations were performed for the clean as well as oxygenated and hydrogenated Al and Cdia surfaces, respectively. Various contact configurations were considered by studying several lateral arrangements of the involved surfaces at the interface. Material transfer is typically possible at interfaces between the investigated clean surfaces; however, the addition of O to the Al and H to the Cdia surfaces was found to hinder material transfer. This passivation occurs because of a significant reduction of the adhesion energy at the examined interfaces, which can be explained by the distinct bonding situations.

Multiresolution molecular mechanics: Surface effects in nanoscale materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Qingcheng, E-mail: qiy9@pitt.edu; To, Albert C., E-mail: albertto@pitt.edu

2017-05-01

Surface effects have been observed to contribute significantly to the mechanical response of nanoscale structures. The newly proposed energy-based coarse-grained atomistic method Multiresolution Molecular Mechanics (MMM) (Yang, To (2015), ) is applied to capture surface effect for nanosized structures by designing a surface summation rule SR{sup S} within the framework of MMM. Combined with previously proposed bulk summation rule SR{sup B}, the MMM summation rule SR{sup MMM} is completed. SR{sup S} and SR{sup B} are consistently formed within SR{sup MMM} for general finite element shape functions. Analogous to quadrature rules in finite element method (FEM), the key idea to the good performance of SR{sup MMM} lies in that the order or distribution of energy for coarse-grained atomistic model is mathematically derived such that the number, position and weight of quadrature-type (sampling) atoms can be determined. Mathematically, the derived energy distribution of surface area is different from that of bulk region. Physically, the difference is due to the fact that surface atoms lack neighboring bonding. As such, SR{sup S} and SR{sup B} are employed for surface and bulk domains, respectively. Two- and three-dimensional numerical examples using the respective 4-node bilinear quadrilateral, 8-node quadratic quadrilateral and 8-node hexahedral meshes are employed to verify and validate the proposed approach. It is shown that MMM with SR{sup MMM} accurately captures corner, edge and surface effects with less 0.3% degrees of freedom of the original atomistic system, compared against full atomistic simulation. The effectiveness of SR{sup MMM} with respect to high order element is also demonstrated by employing the 8-node quadratic quadrilateral to solve a beam bending problem considering surface effect. In addition, the introduced sampling error with SR{sup MMM} that is analogous to numerical integration error with quadrature rule in FEM is very small. - Highlights: �

Valence bond model potential energy surface for H4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silver, D.M.; Brown, N.J.

1980-01-01

Potential energy surfaces for the H 4 system are derived using the valence bond procedure. An ab initio evaluation of the valence bond energy expression is described and some of its numerical properties are given. Next, four semiempirical evaluations of the valence bond energy are defined and parametrized to yield reasonable agreement with various ab initio calculations of H 4 energies. Characteristics of these four H 4 surfaces are described by means of tabulated energy minima and equipotential contour maps for selected geometrical arrangements of the four nuclei

Dual-energy X-ray radiography for automatic high-Z material detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Gongyin; Bennett, Gordon; Perticone, David

2007-01-01

There is an urgent need for high-Z material detection in cargo. Materials with Z > 74 can indicate the presence of fissile materials or radiation shielding. Dual (high) energy X-ray material discrimination is based on the fact that different materials have different energy dependence in X-ray attenuation coefficients. This paper introduces the basic physics and analyzes the factors that affect dual-energy material discrimination performance. A detection algorithm is also discussed

Effect of material flows on energy intensity in process industries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Liru; Aye, Lu [International Technologies Center (IDTC), Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 (Australia); Lu, Zhongwu [Institute of Materials and Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004 (China); Zhang, Peihong [Department of Municipal and Environmental Engineering, Shenyang Architecture University, Shenyang 110168 (China)

2006-09-15

Many energy-intensive process industries have complex material flows, which have a strong effect on the overall energy intensity of the final product (OEIF). This problem, however, has only been recognised qualitatively due to the lack of quantitative analysis methods. This paper presents an in-depth quantitative analysis of the effect of material flows on energy intensity in process industries. Based on the concept of a standard material flow diagram (SMFD), as used in steel manufacturing, the SMFD for a generic process industry was first developed. Then material flow scenarios were addressed in a practical material flow diagram (PMFD) using the characteristics of practical process industries. The effect of each material flow deviating from a SMFD on the OEIF was analysed. The steps involved in analysing the effect of material flows in a PMFD on its energy intensity are also discussed in detail. Finally, using 1999 statistical data from the Chinese Zhenzhou alumina refinery plant, the PMFD and SMFD for this plant were constructed as a case study. The effect of material flows on the overall energy intensity of alumina (OEIA) was thus analysed quantitatively. To decrease OEIA, the process variations which decrease the product ratios could be employed in all except in multi-supplied fraction cases. In these cases, the fractions from the stream with lower energy intensities should be increased. (author)

Energies and raw material. Annual report; Energies et matieres premieres. Rapport annuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-07-01

The annual report of the french General Direction of the Energy and the Raw Material (DGEMP) deals with the energy policy. The following subjects are analysed: the french program of fight against the global warming; the biogas; the radioactive wastes management program; the french nuclear industry re-organization; Tchernobyl; the electric power and gas public service; the risk prevention concerning the electric power production; the international Gaz De France protocol; the closing of the Ales mine; the cooperation ELF and TOTAL; the french para-petroleum industry; the raw material prices; the french mining situation; the french energy policy audit by the AIE; the energy accidents of december. The DGEMP organization chart with contacts and the publications are also included. (A.L.B.)

Solar Energy Educational Material, Activities and Science Projects

Science.gov (United States)

dropdown arrow Site Map A-Z Index Menu Synopsis Solar Energy Educational Materials Solar with glasses " ;The sun has produced energy for billions of years. Solar energy is the solar radiation that reaches the earth. Solar energy can be converted directly or indirectly into other forms of energy, such as

The surface energy, thermal vibrations of dislocation lines and the critical crack extension force

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiang, Chien.

1979-09-01

The connections between atomic structure and mechanical properties of metals are interested by many physicist and mechanists recently. The authors of this paper try to connect the fracture of materials with the surface energy and dislocation properties, which may be treated with lattice dynamics and electron theory of solids. It shows that to combine the knowledge of solid state physics and fracture mechanics is quite important. (author)

Fracture surface energy of the Punchbowl fault, San Andreas system.

Science.gov (United States)

Chester, Judith S; Chester, Frederick M; Kronenberg, Andreas K

2005-09-01

Fracture energy is a form of latent heat required to create an earthquake rupture surface and is related to parameters governing rupture propagation and processes of slip weakening. Fracture energy has been estimated from seismological and experimental rock deformation data, yet its magnitude, mechanisms of rupture surface formation and processes leading to slip weakening are not well defined. Here we quantify structural observations of the Punchbowl fault, a large-displacement exhumed fault in the San Andreas fault system, and show that the energy required to create the fracture surface area in the fault is about 300 times greater than seismological estimates would predict for a single large earthquake. If fracture energy is attributed entirely to the production of fracture surfaces, then all of the fracture surface area in the Punchbowl fault could have been produced by earthquake displacements totalling <1 km. But this would only account for a small fraction of the total energy budget, and therefore additional processes probably contributed to slip weakening during earthquake rupture.

Materials research and development for fusion energy applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zinkle, S.J.; Snead, L.L.

1998-01-01

Some of the critical issues associated with materials selection for proposed magnetic fusion reactors are reviewed, with a brief overview of refractory alloys (vanadium, tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten) and primary emphasis on ceramic materials. SiC/SiC composites are under consideration for the first wall and blanket structure, and dielectric insulators will be used for the heating, control and diagnostic measurement of the fusion plasma. Key issues for SiC/SiC composites include radiation-induced degradation in the strength and thermal conductivity. Recent work has focused on the development of radiation-resistant fibers and fiber/matrix interfaces (porous SiC, SiC multilayers) which would also produce improved SiC/SiC performance for applications such as heat engines and aerospace components. The key physical parameters for dielectrics include electrical conductivity, dielectric loss tangent and thermal conductivity. Ionizing radiation can increase the electrical conductivity of insulators by many orders of magnitude, and surface leakage currents can compromise the performance of some fusion energy components. Irradiation can cause a pronounced degradation in the loss tangent and thermal conductivity. Fundamental physical parameter measurements on ceramics which are of interest for both fusion and non-fusion applications are discussed

FWP executive summaries: Basic energy sciences materials sciences programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samara, G.A.

1996-02-01

This report provides an Executive Summary of the various elements of the Materials Sciences Program which is funded by the Division of Materials Sciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy at Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico.

Composite Materials Based on Hemp and Flax for Low-Energy Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Brzyski, Przemysław; Barnat-Hunek, Danuta; Suchorab, Zbigniew; Łagód, Grzegorz

2017-01-01

The article presents the results obtained in the course of a study on prospective application of flax/hemp wastes as a filling material of lime-based composites in the construction of low-energy buildings. The utilized filler comprised the hydrated lime with clay and Portland cement used as additives. The analysis involved evaluation of such properties as porosity, density, thermal conductivity, absorptivity, permeability, as well as compressive and flexural strength. Depending on the quantity of the filler, the properties of the composite changed. This, in turn, enabled to evaluate whether the utilized composite met the thermal requirements established for low-energy buildings. Afterwards, the obtained data were cross-referenced with the results gathered in the case of a room built of autoclaved aerated concrete. In order to prevent reaching the critical surface humidity, the internal surface temperature had to be calculated. Moreover, the chances of interstitial condensation occurring in the wall made of the analyzed lime–flax–hemp composite were determined as well. The study showed that the composite exhibits low strength, low density, low thermal conductivity, and high absorptivity. The external walls made of the lime–flax–hemp composite receive a limited exposure to condensation, but not significant enough to constitute any threat. The requirements established for low-energy buildings can be met by using the analyzed composite. PMID:28772871

Material and energy flows in rotary kiln-electric furnace smelting of ferronickel alloy with energy saving

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Peng; Li, Baokuan; Cheung, Sherman C.P.; Wu, Wenyuan

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Establish the synergy relationship of material and energy in key RKEF processes. • Develop an analysis model to study energy saving with internal cycling of energy. • Analyze material and energy flow parameters and assess its associated synergy effect. • A methodology to evaluate the synergy and design indices of RKEF processes. - Abstract: An energy saving strategy with two energy saving measures has been proposed for reducing energy loss in the rotary kiln-electric furnace (RKEF) for the smelting of ferronickel alloy. One of the measures is to recover the waste heat of exhaust gas from the rotary kiln for preheating and dehydrating the wet laterite ores in the rotary dryer. Another measure is to recycle the furnace gas from the electric furnace into the rotary kiln as fuel. Based on the mass conservation and energy conservation laws, an analysis model of material and energy flows has been developed to understand the potential energy saving with the internal cycling of material and energy in the RKEF process. The analysis model not only considers the energy efficiency but also assess the synergy degree of system. Furthermore, the model also predicts the ratio of raw materials and the energy flow distribution to investigate residual heat and energy and analyze the effects of nickel content on energy flow. Finally, the evaluation methodology of synergy and the technic indices are also presented. Through the investigation of the synergy effect, the performance of the RKEF process can be evaluated and quantified for performance optimization in future.

Dose distribution considerations of medium energy electron beams at extended source-to-surface distance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saw, Cheng B.; Ayyangar, Komanduri M.; Pawlicki, Todd; Korb, Leroy J.

1995-01-01

Purpose: To determine the effects of extended source-to-surface distance (SSD) on dose distributions for a range of medium energy electron beams and cone sizes. Methods and Materials: The depth-dose curves and isodose distributions of 6 MeV, 10 MeV, and 14 MeV electron beams from a dual photon and multielectron energies linear accelerator were studied. To examine the influence of cone size, the smallest and the largest cone sizes available were used. Measurements were carried out in a water phantom with the water surface set at three different SSDs from 101 to 116 cm. Results: In the region between the phantom surface and the depth of maximum dose, the depth-dose decreases as the SSD increases for all electron beam energies. The effects of extended SSD in the region beyond the depth of maximum dose are unobservable and, hence, considered minimal. Extended SSD effects are apparent for higher electron beam energy with small cone size causing the depth of maximum dose and the rapid dose fall-off region to shift deeper into the phantom. However, the change in the depth-dose curve is small. On the other hand, the rapid dose fall-off region is essentially unaltered when the large cone is used. The penumbra enlarges and electron beam flatness deteriorates with increasing SSD

Surface segregation energies in transition-metal alloys

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ruban, Andrei; Skriver, Hans Lomholt; Nørskov, Jens Kehlet

1999-01-01

We present a database of 24 x 24 surface segregation energies of single transition metal impurities in transition-metal hosts obtained by a Green's-function linear-muffin-tin-orbitals method in conjunction with the coherent potential and atomic sphere approximations including a multipole correction...... to the electrostatic potential and energy. We use the database to establish the major factors which govern surface segregation in transition metal alloys. We find that the calculated trends are well described by Friedel's rectangular state density model and that the few but significant deviations from the simple...

Kinetic-energy functionals studied by surface calculations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vitos, Levente; Skriver, Hans Lomholt; Kollár, J.

1998-01-01

The self-consistent jellium model of metal surfaces is used to study the accuracy of a number of semilocal kinetic-energy functionals for independent particles. It is shown that the poor accuracy exhibited by the gradient expansion approximation and most of the semiempirical functionals in the lo...... density, high gradient limit may be subtantially improved by including locally a von Weizsacker term. Based on this, we propose a simple one-parameter Pade's approximation, which reproduces the exact Kohn-Sham surface kinetic energy over the entire range of metallic densities....

Facies of ion bombarded surfaces of brittle materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Primak, W.

1975-12-01

Materials were bombarded by protons, deuterons, and helium ions. The materials investigated were quartz; glasses; carbides and borides (SiC, B 4 C, TiB 2 ); oxides and nitrides (magnorite, sapphire, spinel, Al 2 O 3 , Si 3 N 4 , ZrO 2 , BaTiO 3 ); and miscellaneous (graphite, LiNbO 3 , copper). Oberservations were of growth, reflectivity, blistering, surface ablation, and swelling. Calculations were made of the effects of a layer, of its gradual transformation, and of the introduction of a gas. It is concluded that: Radiation blistering is not a primary process. Observations of blister formation and exfoliation cannot be used to calculate the surface ablation rate. The primary process is the development of a microporous layer which causes swelling. Visible blisters are caused by fracturing by transverse stresses in this layer and may occur during the bombardment, or in some cases, much later, in storage. There is no evidence of extreme gas pressures in the blisters. When blisters develop, they may be stable under continued bombardment for a dose many times that at which they formed. The swelling is a better index of the effects than is the blistering, and must be associated in most cases with permeability to the gas. Behavior with protons and deuterons is similar, with helium different. All but quartz, vitreous silica, and Pyrex are impervious to hydrogen and deuterium; only dense barium crown glass, carbides, borides, oxides, and nitrides are impervious to helium. Quartz shows swelling caused by conversion to a vitreous product of much lower density but no porosity, while for the others, most of the swelling and surface growth is caused by porosity. Surface ablation by the blistering process may be reduced by initial porosity or by initial or subsequent surface fissuring. However, for impervious materials, surface damage by the introduction of porosity would continue

4H-SiC surface energy tuning by nitrogen up-take

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pitthan, E., E-mail: eduardo.pitthan@ufrgs.br [Institute for Advanced Materials, Devices and Nanotechnology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States); PGMICRO, UFRGS, 91509-900, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Amarasinghe, V.P. [Institute for Advanced Materials, Devices and Nanotechnology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States); Xu, C.; Gustafsson, T. [Institute for Advanced Materials, Devices and Nanotechnology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States); Stedile, F.C. [PGMICRO, UFRGS, 91509-900, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Instituto de Química, UFRGS, 91509-900, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Feldman, L.C. [Institute for Advanced Materials, Devices and Nanotechnology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States); Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States)

2017-04-30

Highlights: • Wettability modification of 4H-SiC as a function of nitrogen adsorption is reported. • SiC surface energy was significantly reduced as nitrogen was incorporated. • Modifications obtained were proved to be inert to etching and stable against time. • Variable control of SiC surface provides new opportunities for biomedical applications. - Abstract: Surface energy modification and surface wettability of 4H silicon carbide (0001) as a function of nitrogen adsorption is reported. The surface wettability is shown to go from primarily hydrophilic to hydrophobic and the surface energy was significantly reduced with increasing nitrogen incorporation. These changes are investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. The surface energy was quantitatively determined by the Fowkes model and interpreted primarily in terms of the variation of the surface chemistry with nitrogen coverage. Variable control of SiC surface energies with a simple and controllable atomic additive such as nitrogen that is inert to etching, stable against time, and also effective in electrical passivation, can provide new opportunities for SiC biomedical applications, where surface wetting plays an important role in the interaction with the biological interfaces.

Assessment of Uncertainty in the Determination of Activation Energy for Polymeric Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Darby, Stephania P.; Landrum, D. Brian; Coleman, Hugh W.

1998-01-01

An assessment of the experimental uncertainty in obtaining the kinetic activation energy from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data is presented. A neat phenolic resin, Borden SC1O08, was heated at three heating rates to obtain weight loss vs temperature data. Activation energy was calculated by two methods: the traditional Flynn and Wall method based on the slope of log(q) versus 1/T, and a modification of this method where the ordinate and abscissa are reversed in the linear regression. The modified method produced a more accurate curve fit of the data, was more sensitive to data nonlinearity, and gave a value of activation energy 75 percent greater than the original method. An uncertainty analysis using the modified method yielded a 60 percent uncertainty in the average activation energy. Based on this result, the activation energy for a carbon-phenolic material was doubled and used to calculate the ablation rate In a typical solid rocket environment. Doubling the activation energy increased surface recession by 3 percent. Current TGA data reduction techniques that use the traditional Flynn and Wall approach to calculate activation energy should be changed to the modified method.

Modeling the effects of electrical and non-electrical parameters on the material removal and surface integrity in case of µEDM of a non-conductive ceramic material using a combined fuzzy-AOM approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Puthumana, Govindan

2016-01-01

Micro-EDM is a non-contact process based on the thermoelectric energy between a tool electrode and a workpiece. In μEDM process, the mechanism of material removal is melting and evaporation. The thermal energy in the discharge plasma helps remove material from the workpiece, at the same time...... and surface integrity for a non-conductive ceramic material. The fuzzy logic modeling system is employed for predicting the μEDM process responses. The trends in the material removal rate and hardness values with the chosen electrical and non-electrical parameter for the model and obtained using AOM approach...... are compared. The average deviation between the model predictions and the results obtained using AOM plots is less than 10%. The material removal rate (MRR) decreases linearly with voltage, indicating a difference in material removal mechanism in the μEDM of non-conductive materials....

Surface finish and subsurface damage in polycrystalline optical materials

Science.gov (United States)

Shafrir, Shai Negev

We measure and describe surface microstructure and subsurface damage (SSD) induced by microgrinding of hard metals and hard ceramics used in optical applications. We examine grinding of ceramic materials with bonded abrasives, and, specifically, deterministic microgrinding (DMG). DMG, at fixed nominal infeed rate and with bound diamond abrasive tools, is the preferred technique for optical fabrication of ceramic materials. In DMG material removal is by microcracking. DMG provides cost effective high manufacturing rates, while attaining higher strength and performance, i.e., low level of subsurface damage (SSD). A wide range of heterogeneous materials of interest to the optics industry were studied in this work. These materials include: A binderless tungsten carbide, nonmagnetic Ni-based tungsten carbides, magnetic Co-based tungsten carbides, and, in addition, other hard optical ceramics, such as aluminum oxynitride (Al23O27N5/ALON), polycrystalline alumina (Al2O3/PCA), and chemical vapor deposited (CVD) silicon carbide (Si4C/SiC). These materials are all commercially available. We demonstrate that spots taken with magnetorheological finishing (MRF) platforms can be used for estimating SSD depth induced by the grinding process. Surface morphology was characterized using various microscopy techniques, such as: contact interferometer, noncontact white light interferometer, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The evolution of surface roughness with the amount of material removed by the MRF process, as measured within the spot deepest point of penetration, can be divided into two stages. In the first stage the induced damaged layer and associated SSD from microgrinding are removed, reaching a low surface roughness value. In the second stage we observe interaction between the MRF process and the material's microstructure as MRF exposes the subsurface without introducing new damage. Line scans taken parallel to the MR

Ion surface collisions on surfaces relevant for fusion devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasul, B.; Endstrasser, N.; Zappa, F.; Grill, V.; Scheier, P.; Mark, T.

2006-01-01

Full text: One of the great challenges of fusion research is the compatibility of reactor grade plasmas with plasma facing materials coating the inner walls of a fusion reactor. The question of which surface coating should be used is of particular interest for the design of ITER. The impact of energetic plasma particles leads to sputtering of wall material into the plasma. A possible solution for the coating of plasma facing walls would be the use of special carbon surfaces. Investigations of these various surfaces have been started at BESTOF ion-surface collision apparatus. Experiment beam of singly charged molecular ions of hydrocarbon molecules, i.e. C 2 H + 4 , is generated in a Nier-type electron impact ionization source at an electron energy of about 70 eV. In the first double focusing mass spectrometer the ions are mass and energy analyzed and afterwards refocused onto a surface. The secondary reaction products are monitored using a Time Of Flight mass spectrometer. The secondary ion mass spectra are recorded as a function of the collision energy for different projectile ions and different surfaces. A comparison of these spectra show for example distinct changes in the survival probability of the same projectile ion C 2 H + 4 for different surfaces. (author)

Mossbauer analysis of Luna 16 lunar surface material

Science.gov (United States)

Nady, D. L.; Cher, L.; Kulcsar, K.