Social Determinants and Poor Diet Quality of Energy-Dense Diets of Australian Young Adults

PubMed Central

Allman-Farinelli, Margaret

2017-01-01

This research aimed to determine the diet quality and socio-demographic determinants by level of energy-density of diets of Australian young adults. Secondary analysis of the Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey-2011/2012 for adults aged 18–34 years (n = 2397) was conducted. Diet was assessed by 24-h recalls. Dietary energy-density was calculated as dietary energy/grams of food (kJ/g) and the Healthy-Eating-Index-for-Australians (HEIFA-2013) was used to assess diet quality (highest score = 100). Dietary energy-density was examined with respect to diet quality and sociodemographic determinants including gender, highest tertiary-education attainment, country-of-birth, age, income, and socio-economic-index-for-area (SEIFA). Higher dietary energy-density was associated with lower diet quality scores (β = −3.71, t (2394) = −29.29, p < 0.0001) and included fewer fruits and vegetables, and more discretionary foods. The mean dietary energy-density was 7.7 kJ/g and 7.2 kJ/g for men and women, respectively. Subpopulations most at risk of consuming high energy-dense diets included those with lower education, Australian and English-speaking countries of birth, and men with low income and women from areas of lower socio-economic status. Young adults reporting low energy-dense diets had higher quality diets. Intensive efforts are needed to reduce the high energy-density of young adults’ diets, and should ensure they include populations of lower socio-economic status. PMID:28974029

Social Determinants and Poor Diet Quality of Energy-Dense Diets of Australian Young Adults.

PubMed

Grech, Amanda; Rangan, Anna; Allman-Farinelli, Margaret

2017-10-01

This research aimed to determine the diet quality and socio-demographic determinants by level of energy-density of diets of Australian young adults. Secondary analysis of the Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey-2011/2012 for adults aged 18-34 years ( n = 2397) was conducted. Diet was assessed by 24-h recalls. Dietary energy-density was calculated as dietary energy/grams of food (kJ/g) and the Healthy-Eating-Index-for-Australians (HEIFA-2013) was used to assess diet quality (highest score = 100). Dietary energy-density was examined with respect to diet quality and sociodemographic determinants including gender, highest tertiary-education attainment, country-of-birth, age, income, and socio-economic-index-for-area (SEIFA). Higher dietary energy-density was associated with lower diet quality scores (β = -3.71, t (2394) = -29.29, p < 0.0001) and included fewer fruits and vegetables, and more discretionary foods. The mean dietary energy-density was 7.7 kJ/g and 7.2 kJ/g for men and women, respectively. Subpopulations most at risk of consuming high energy-dense diets included those with lower education, Australian and English-speaking countries of birth, and men with low income and women from areas of lower socio-economic status. Young adults reporting low energy-dense diets had higher quality diets. Intensive efforts are needed to reduce the high energy-density of young adults' diets, and should ensure they include populations of lower socio-economic status.

High Energy Density Regenerative Fuel Cell Systems for Terrestrial Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, Kenneth A.

1999-01-01

Regenerative Fuel Cell System (RFCS) technology for energy storage has been a NASA power system concept for many years. Compared to battery-based energy storage systems, RFCS has received relatively little attention or resources for development because the energy density and electrical efficiency were not sufficiently attractive relative to advanced battery systems. Even today, RFCS remains at a very low technology readiness level (TRL of about 2 indicating feasibility has been demonstrated). Commercial development of the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells for automobiles and other terrestrial applications and improvements in lightweight pressure vessel design to reduce weight and improve performance make possible a high energy density RFCS energy storage system. The results from this study of a lightweight RFCS energy storage system for a remotely piloted, solar-powered, high altitude aircraft indicate an energy density up to 790 w-h/kg with electrical efficiency of 53.4% is attainable. Such an energy storage system would allow a solar-powered aircraft to carry hundreds of kilograms of payload and remain in flight indefinitely for use in atmospheric research, earth observation, resource mapping. and telecommunications. Future developments in the areas of hydrogen and oxygen storage, pressure vessel design, higher temperature and higher- pressure fuel cell operation, unitized regenerative fuel cells, and commercial development of fuel cell technology will improve both the energy density and electrical efficiency of the RFCS.

Heavy nuclei as thermal insulation for protoneutron stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakazato, Ken'ichiro; Suzuki, Hideyuki; Togashi, Hajime

2018-03-01

A protoneutron star (PNS) is a newly formed compact object in a core collapse supernova. In this paper, the neutrino emission from the cooling process of a PNS is investigated using two types of nuclear equation of state (EOS). It is found that the neutrino signal is mainly determined by the high-density EOS. The neutrino luminosity and mean energy are higher and the cooling time scale is longer for the softer EOS. Meanwhile, the neutrino mean energy and the cooling time scale are also affected by the low-density EOS because of the difference in the population of heavy nuclei. Heavy nuclei have a large scattering cross section with neutrinos owing to the coherent effects and act as thermal insulation near the surface of a PNS. The neutrino mean energy is higher and the cooling time scale is longer for an EOS with a large symmetry energy at low densities, namely a small density derivative coefficient of the symmetry energy, L .

Derivation of the density functional theory from the cluster expansion.

PubMed

Hsu, J Y

2003-09-26

The density functional theory is derived from a cluster expansion by truncating the higher-order correlations in one and only one term in the kinetic energy. The formulation allows self-consistent calculation of the exchange correlation effect without imposing additional assumptions to generalize the local density approximation. The pair correlation is described as a two-body collision of bound-state electrons, and modifies the electron- electron interaction energy as well as the kinetic energy. The theory admits excited states, and has no self-interaction energy.

Technical challenges and future direction for high-efficiency metal hydride thermal energy storage systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, Patrick A.; Corgnale, Claudio; Teprovich, Joseph A.; Motyka, Theodore; Hardy, Bruce; Sheppard, Drew; Buckley, Craig; Zidan, Ragaiy

2016-04-01

Recently, there has been increasing interest in thermal energy storage (TES) systems for concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, which allow for continuous operation when sunlight is unavailable. Thermochemical energy storage materials have the advantage of much higher energy densities than latent or sensible heat materials. Furthermore, thermochemical energy storage systems based on metal hydrides have been gaining great interest for having the advantage of higher energy densities, better reversibility, and high enthalpies. However, in order to achieve higher efficiencies desired of a thermal storage system by the US Department of Energy, the system is required to operate at temperatures >600 °C. Operation at temperatures >600 °C presents challenges including material selection, hydrogen embrittlement and permeation of containment vessels, appropriate selection of heat transfer fluids, and cost. Herein, the technical difficulties and proposed solutions associated with the use of metal hydrides as TES materials in CSP applications are discussed and evaluated.

A high-rate long-life Li4Ti5O12/Li[Ni0.45Co0.1Mn1.45]O4 lithium-ion battery.

PubMed

Jung, Hun-Gi; Jang, Min Woo; Hassoun, Jusef; Sun, Yang-Kook; Scrosati, Bruno

2011-11-01

Lithium batteries are receiving considerable attention as storage devices in the renewable energy and sustainable road transport fields. However, low-cost, long-life lithium batteries with higher energy densities are required to facilitate practical application. Here we report a lithium-ion battery that can be cycled at rates as high as 10 C has a life exceeding 500 cycles and an operating temperature range extending from -20 to 55 °C. The estimated energy density is 260 W h kg(-1), which is considerably higher than densities delivered by the presently available Li-ion batteries.

Proximate analysis, in vitro organic matter digestibility, and energy content of common guava (Psidium guajava L.) and yellow, strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum Var. lucidum) tree parts and fruits as potential forage.

PubMed

Adrian, Julie Ann Luiz; Arancon, Norman Q; Mathews, Bruce W; Carpenter, James R

2012-10-24

The nutrient composition of common guava, Psidium guajava L., and strawberry guava (waiwi), Psidium cattleianum var. lucidum, tree parts and fruits was determined during three seasons for six locations in Hawaii to assess guava as a potential feed for cattle. All guava plant parts were higher (p < 0.001) in crude protein than waiwi, but there were no differences in the fiber and energy densities for bark, shoots, and branches. Guava leaves were higher in fiber and had lower energy densities (p < 0.05) than waiwi. Ripe and breaker stage fruits were lower (p < 0.05) in fiber, similar in protein (CP), and higher (p < 0.05) in energy density than immature fruits. Guava fruits were higher in CP (p < 0.05) and organic matter (p < 0.001) and lower in ash (p < 0.001) than waiwi fruits. The primary nutritional concern with guava is low in vitro organic matter digestibility as compared to tropical forage grasses; therefore, it is not recommended as a feedstock for livestock.

Declines in deepwater sculpin Myoxocephalus thompsonii energy density associated with the disappearance of Diporeia spp. in lakes Huron and Michigan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pothoven, S.A.; Hondorp, D.W.; Nalepa, T.F.

2011-01-01

The deepwater sculpin Myoxocephalus thompsonii is a glacial relict in the Laurentian Great Lakes that primarily consumes two glacial relict crustaceans, Mysis relicta and Diporeia spp. Deepwater sculpin were collected in Lake Michigan off Little Sable Point (in 2001) and Muskegon, Michigan (in 2001 and 2009), and in Lake Huron off Harbor Beach, Michigan (in 2007) for energy density and diet analyses. These sites and years represented differences in available prey. In Lake Michigan, energy densities of deepwater sculpin in 2001 were similar to those reported in 1969-1971. In contrast, energy content declined at least 26% at Muskegon between 2001 and 2009. Overall, energy density was 31-34% higher at a site with abundant Diporeia spp. compared with two sites without Diporeia spp. Deepwater sculpin diets consisted primarily of M. relicta at all sites, but included 10-17% (dry mass) Diporeia spp. at sites where this crustacean was still abundant. Food biomass in stomachs was higher at sites with abundant Diporeia spp. than at those without Diporeia spp. Deepwater sculpin energy density and food biomass in stomachs were similar between two sites without Diporeia spp. despite differences in abundance of remaining prey, M. relicta. Declines in deepwater sculpin energy density suggest the potential for further effects on other species and changes in the flow of energy through the food web of the Great Lakes. Published 2010. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Dietary patterns of adolescents in Germany--associations with nutrient intake and other health related lifestyle characteristics.

PubMed

Richter, Almut; Heidemann, Christin; Schulze, Matthias B; Roosen, Jutta; Thiele, Silke; Mensink, Gert B M

2012-03-22

The aim of this study was to identify dietary patterns among a representative sample of German adolescents and their associations with energy and nutrient intake, socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics, and overweight status. In the analysis, data from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents were used. The survey included a comprehensive dietary history interview conducted among 1272 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Dietary patterns were determined with principal component analysis (PCA) based on 48 food groups, for boys and girls separately. Three dietary patterns among boys and two among girls were identified. Among boys, high adherence to the 'western' pattern was associated with higher age, lower socioeconomic status (SES), and lower physical activity level (PA). High adherence to the 'healthy' pattern among boys, but not among girls, was associated with higher SES, and higher PA. Among boys, high adherence to the 'traditional' pattern was associated with higher age. Among girls, high adherence to the 'traditional and western' pattern was associated with lower age, lower SES and more hours watching TV per day. The nutrient density of several vitamins and minerals, particularly of B-vitamins and calcium, increased with increasing scores of the 'healthy' pattern among both sexes. Conversely, with increasing scores of the 'western' pattern among boys, most nutrient densities decreased, particularly of fibre, beta-carotene, vitamin D, biotin and calcium. Among girls with higher scores of the 'traditional and western' pattern, nutrient densities of vitamin A, C, E, K and folate decreased. Among boys, high adherence to the 'traditional' pattern was correlated with higher densities of vitamin B12 and vitamin D and lower densities of fibre, magnesium and iron. No significant associations between dietary patterns and overweight were found. Higher scores for dietary patterns characterized by higher consumption of take away food, meat, confectionary and soft drinks ('western' and 'traditional and western') were found particularly among 16- to 17-years old boys and among adolescents with lower SES. These patterns were also associated with higher energy density, higher percent of energy from unsaturated fatty acids and lower percent of energy from carbohydrates as well as lower nutrient densities of several vitamins and minerals. Therefore, nutritional interventions should try to focus more on adolescents with lower SES and boys in general.

PVDF-based copolymers, terpolymers and their multi-component material systems for capacitor applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Baojin

Miniature of power electronics, scaling-down of microelectronics and other electrical and electronic systems, and development of many technologies (such as hybrid vehicles or implantable heart defibrillators) require capacitors with high energy density to improve the weight and volume efficiency of the whole system. Various capacitor technologies are investigated to meet the requirements of developing future technologies. Among these technologies, polymer film capacitor technology is one of the most promising. Besides high energy density, polymer-based capacitors possess the merits of high power density, low loss, high reliability (self-healing), easy processing, and feasibility (in size, shape and energy level). Due to the ferroelectricity of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based polymers, they exhibit much higher polarization response under an electric field, in comparison with other linear dielectric polymers for capacitor applications. The maximum polarization level of PVDF-based polymers can be as high as 0.1 C/m2 and the breakdown field can be higher than 600 MV/m. An estimated energy density of around 30 J/cm3 can be expected in this class of materials. However, this value is much higher than the energy density that can be achieved in the PVDF homopolymer and the poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) copolymers due to the polarization hysteresis in these polymers. Therefore, in this thesis, PVDF-based polymer materials were investigated and developed to approach this expected energy density by various strategies. An energy density of higher than 24 J/cm 3, which is close to the predicted value, was found in PVDF-based copolymers. Recently, the poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)) terpolymer was developed in Prof. Qiming Zhang's group. Previous works have shown that incorporation of CTE into P(VDF-TrFE) copolymers, in which bulky CFE acts as a defect, could convert the copolymer into relaxor ferroelectrics. P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymers possess a high dielectric constant (larger than 50 at 1 kHz) at room temperature and excellent electromechanical properties. Here, the P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymers were studied as dielectric materials for capacitor applications. The electrical, thermal and microstructure characterizations were performed on the terpolymers. The terpolymers exhibit a high breakdown field (higher than 400 MV/m) and energy density (larger than 9 J/cm 3). The energy discharge characteristics of the terpolymer were studied by directly discharging the stored energy in the terpolymers to a load resistor. Due to the highly field-dependent nonlinear and frequency dependent dielectric response of the terpolymers, the discharge energy density and equivalent series resistance strongly depend on the load resistor and discharge speed. This study found that for high energy density dielectric materials, a very high dielectric constant might not be an advantage. In the case of terpolymers, this leads to early polarization saturation, i.e., polarization response saturates under an electric field much lower than the breakdown field and causes lower than expected energy density. Due to the dielectric nonlinearity and early saturation of polarization, the energy density of the terpolymers increases linearly with the applied electric fields. It was also found that the polymer-metal interface played an important role for conduction and the breakdown field in the terpolymers, which was related to the charge injection from the metal to the polymer. Due to highly nonlinear dielectric behavior and early polarization saturation in the terpolymers, it was proposed that a high dielectric constant might not be desirable to obtain high energy density. Poly(vinylidene fluoride-chlorotrifluoroethylene) (P(VDFCTFE), 10, 15 and 20 wt% CTFE) and Poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP), 10 and 12 wt% HFP) copolymers, which possess a much lower dielectric constant (about 12 at 1 kHz at room temperature), were further investigated for dielectric materials of high energy density. Due to the lower dielectric constant, the early polarization saturation was avoided and these polymers showed a very high breakdown field and energy density. For the P(VDF-CTFE) copolymer with 15 wt% CTFE, an energy density of higher than 24 J/cm 3 at an electric field higher than 650 MV/m could be obtained. Based on thermal and microstructure studies, the high energy density was found to be caused by the structural modification of PVDF by bulky CTFE or HFP, which also act as defects, similar to the terpolymers. The discharge behavior of the copolymers mainly relies on the load resistors, suggesting that the copolymers have lower equivalent series resistance. Multi-component material system based on current available materials was found to be a useful strategy to tailor and improve the performance of dielectric materials. Nanocomposites composed of the P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymers and ZrO2 or TiO2 nanoparticles were found to greatly enhance the polarization response and energy density of terpolymers (from 9 J/cm3 to 10.5 J/cm3). Based on comprehensive thermal, dielectric and microstructure studies, the enhancement was believed to be related to the large amount of interfaces in the nanocomposites. In the interfaces, the chain mobility is increased and the energy barrier between the polar and nonpolar phases is reduced, resulting in higher polarization response and energy density at a reduced electric field. The P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymer/P(VDF-CTFE) copolymer and the P(VDFTrFE-CFE) terpolymer/PMMA blends were also studied. It was found that the P(VDFTrFE-CFE) terpolymers could not be completely miscible with the P(VDF-CTFE) copolymer. In the P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymer/P(VDF-CTFE) copolymer blends, with a small amount of the copolymer (5 and 10 wt%) in the terpolymer, enhancement of the polarization response similar to that observed in the terpolymer/ZrO 2 nanocomposites was observed. This enhancement was also thought to be mainly caused by the interface effect. The breakdown field of blends was also greatly improved, which resulted in a significant improvement in energy density (from 9 J/cm3 to 11.5 J/cm3). The P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymers are miscible with PMMA. Addition of PMMA was found to reduce the dielectric response of blends, but also to improve the breakdown field due to the improvement of mechanical properties. The optimum composition of the blends is around 2.5 wt% PMMA. With this composition, the breakdown field of the blends can be improved without reduction of energy density.

High Energy Density in Azobenzene-based Materials for Photo-Thermal Batteries via Controlled Polymer Architecture and Polymer-Solvent Interactions.

PubMed

Jeong, Seung Pyo; Renna, Lawrence A; Boyle, Connor J; Kwak, Hyunwook S; Harder, Edward; Damm, Wolfgang; Venkataraman, Dhandapani

2017-12-19

Energy densities of ~510 J/g (max: 698 J/g) have been achieved in azobenzene-based syndiotactic-rich poly(methacrylate) polymers. The processing solvent and polymer-solvent interactions are important to achieve morphologically optimal structures for high-energy density materials. This work shows that morphological changes of solid-state syndiotactic polymers, driven by different solvent processings play an important role in controlling the activation energy of Z-E isomerization as well as the shape of the DSC exotherm. Thus, this study shows the crucial role of processing solvents and thin film structure in achieving higher energy densities.

Thermal Fluid Analysis of the Heat Sink and Chip Carrier Assembly for a US Army Research Laboratory Liquid-Fueled Thermophotovoltaic Power Source Demonstrator

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

battery technology (140 W·h/kg for rechargeable lithium - ion technology).1 One way to achieve higher energy density is to take advantage of the large...missions without resupply to unmanned air vehicles requiring only a few hours of running time. In the 10–100 W+ power range, battery technology is the...best solution currently available, but higher-energy dense technologies are needed to augment batteries and extend the available energy density well

Are energy-dense foods really cheaper? Reexamining the relation between food price and energy density.

PubMed

Lipsky, Leah M

2009-11-01

The inverse relation between energy density (kcal/g) and energy cost (price/kcal) has been interpreted to suggest that produce (fruit, vegetables) is more expensive than snacks (cookies, chips). The objective of this study was to show the methodologic weakness of comparing energy density with energy cost. The relation between energy density and energy cost was replicated in a random-number data set. Additionally, observational data were collected for produce and snacks from an online supermarket. Variables included total energy (kcal), total weight (g), total number of servings, serving size (g/serving), and energy density (kcal/g). Price measures included energy cost ($/kcal), total price ($), unit price ($/g), and serving price ($/serving). Two-tailed t tests were used to compare price measures by food category. Relations between energy density and price measures within food categories were examined with the use of Spearman rank correlation analysis. The relation between energy density and energy cost was shown to be driven by the algebraic properties of these variables. Food category was strongly correlated with both energy density and food price measures. Energy cost was higher for produce than for snacks. However, total price and unit price were lower for produce. Serving price and serving size were greater for produce than for snacks. Within food categories, energy density was uncorrelated with most measures of food price, except for a weak positive correlation with serving price within the produce category. The findings suggest the relation between energy density and food price is confounded by food category and depends on which measure of price is used.

Indirect Measurement of Energy Density of Soft PZT Ceramic Utilizing Mechanical Stress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unruan, Muangjai; Unruan, Sujitra; Inkong, Yutthapong; Yimnirun, Rattikorn

2017-11-01

This paper reports on an indirect measurement of energy density of soft PZT ceramic utilizing mechanical stress. The method works analogous to the Olsen cycle and allows for a large amount of electro-mechanical energy conversion. A maximum energy density of 350 kJ/m3/cycle was found under 0-312 MPa and 1-20 kV/cm of applied mechanical stress and electric field, respectively. The obtained result is substantially higher than the results reported in previous studies of PZT materials utilizing a direct piezoelectric effect.

First results from the PHOBOS experiment at RHIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wuosmaa, A. H.; Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Barton, D. S.; Basilev, S.; Bates, B. D.; Baum, R.; Betts, R. R.; Białas, A.; Bindel, R.; Bogucki, W.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Ceglia, M.; Chang, Y.-H.; Chen, A. E.; Coghen, T.; Conner, C.; Czyz, W.; Dabrowski, B.; Decowski, M. P.; Despet, M.; Fita, P.; Fitch, J.; Friedl, M.; Galuska, K.; Ganz, R.; Garcia, E.; George, N.; Godlewski, J.; Gomes, C.; Griesmayer, E.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halik, J.; Halliwell, C.; Haridas, P.; Hayes, A.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hollis, R.; Hołynski, R.; Holzman, B.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J.; Katzy, J.; Kita, W.; Kotuła, J.; Kraner, H.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Law, C.; Lemler, M.; Ligocki, J.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McCleod, D.; Michałowski, J.; Mignerey, A.; Mülmenstädt, J.; Neal, M.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Patel, M.; Pernegger, H.; Plesko, M.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Ross, D.; Rosenberg, L.; Ryan, J.; Sanzgiri, A.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Scaduto, J.; Shea, J.; Sinacore, J.; Skulski, W.; Steadman, S. G.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Steinberg, P.; Straczek, A.; Stodulski, M.; Strek, M.; Stopa, Z.; Sukhanov, A.; Surowiecka, K.; Tang, J.-L.; Teng, R.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Wozniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.; Zalewski, K.; Zychowski, P.

2001-07-01

The PHOBOS experiment at RHIC has measured the charged-particle density dN/dη at mid-rapidity for central Au+Au collisions at center of mass energies of √sNN =56, and 130 GeV. We deduce that dN/dη=408±12(stat)±30(syst) and 555±12(stat)±35(syst) for collision energies of 56 GeV and 130 GeV, respectively. These numbers suggest energy densities that are some 70% higher than have been achieved in any heavy-ion collisions previously studied, and also 25-40% higher than nucleon-nucleon collisions at comparable center of mass energies.

Synchronic inverse seasonal rhythmus of energy density of food intake and sleep quality: a contribution to chrono-nutrition from a Polish adult population.

PubMed

Stelmach-Mardas, M; Iqbal, K; Mardas, M; Schwingshackl, L; Walkowiak, J; Tower, R J; Boeing, H

2017-06-01

There is evidence which suggests that sleep behavior and dietary intake are interlinked. Thus, we investigated whether a seasonal rhythm in food-energy density exists, and how this relates to quality of sleep. Two hundred and thirty adult volunteers were investigated across the four seasons. Anthropometrical measurements were obtained and The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used for an assessment of sleep quality and disturbances. The dietary intake was evaluated using a 24 h dietary recall. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate seasonal changes in energy density and sleep quality, as well as the association of energy density with sleep quality. All analyses were adjusted for age, sex, education, occupation and shift-work. Mean food energy density was significantly higher in winter as compared with other seasons (P<0.05), although no seasonal variations were observed in macronutrient intake (fat and protein). Overall, the sleep quality was low (score value >5) in all seasons, with the lowest quality occurring in winter and the highest in spring (P<0.05). The components of sleep quality score showed that winter had statistically (P<0.05) poorer subjective sleep quality, sleep latency and sleep disturbances, but lower daytime dysfunction compared with spring and summer. After adjusting for seasonal effects (correlated outcome data) and shift-work, energy density was found to be inversely associated (P<0.0001) with sleep quality. An inverse association between seasonal fluctuation of food energy density and sleep quality was found with winter time, associated with the intake of higher energy dense food products and the lowest sleep quality.

Advanced intermediate temperature sodium-nickel chloride batteries with ultra-high energy density

DOE PAGES

Li, Guosheng; Lu, Xiaochuan; Kim, Jin Yong; ...

2016-02-11

Here we demonstrate for the first time that planar Na-NiCl 2 batteries can be operated at an intermediate temperature of 190°C with ultra-high energy density. A specific energy density of 350 Wh/kg, which is 3 times higher than that of conventional tubular Na-NiCl 2 batteries operated at 280°C, was obtained for planar Na-NiCl 2 batteries operated at 190°C over a long-term cell test (1000 cycles). The high energy density and superior cycle stability are attributed to the slower particle growth of the cathode materials (NaCl and Ni) at 190°C. The results reported in this work demonstrate that planar Na-NiCl 2more » batteries operated at an intermediate temperature could greatly benefit this traditional energy storage technology by improving battery energy density, cycle life and reducing material costs.« less

Impact of portion size and energy density on snack intake in preschool-aged children.

PubMed

Looney, Shannon M; Raynor, Hollie A

2011-03-01

The influence of dietary environmental factors on child weight status may be important in the battle against childhood obesity. Portion size and energy density are factors shown to impact entrée energy intake in children. However, the influence of these factors on child snack energy intake has not been studied. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of portion size on intake of a lower energy-dense and higher energy-dense snack in preschool-aged children. A 2×2 crossover design (within-subject factors of portion size and energy density) was conducted on Wednesdays in a preschool setting on the University of Tennessee campus from October 2008 to November 2008. Seventeen children had complete data (age 3.8±0.6 years; 10 of 17 were female; 14 of 17 were white). Foods were applesauce (lower energy dense=0.43 kcal/g) and chocolate pudding (higher energy dense=1.19 kcal/g), and portion sizes were 150 g (small) and 300 g (large). Measures included anthropometrics, hunger, liking of foods, and caretakers' child-feeding practices using validated instruments. Mixed factorial analyses of covariance, with order controlled, analyzed gram and energy snack intake across conditions. There was no significant main effect of energy density on snack intake, but the main effect of portion size on snack intake (small portion size 84.2±30.8 kcal, large portion size 99.0±52.5 kcal; P<0.05) was significant. Results indicate increased energy intake when snacks are offered in larger portion size, regardless of energy density. Snack portion size may be an environmental strategy that can reduce excessive energy intake in children. Copyright © 2011 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of stocking density on growth, body composition and energy budget of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. in recirculating aquaculture systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Baoliang; Liu, Ying; Liu, Ziyi; Qiu, Denggao; Sun, Guoxiang; Li, Xian

2014-09-01

Atlantic salmon Salmo salar were reared at four stocking densities—high density D 1 (final density ˜39 kg/m3), medium densities D 2 (˜29 kg/m3) and D 3 (˜19 kg/m3), and low density D 4 (˜12 kg/m3)—for 40 days to investigate the effect of stocking density on their growth performance, body composition and energy budgets. Stocking density did not significantly affect specific growth rate in terms of weight (SGRw) but did affect specific growth rate in terms of energy (SGRe). Stocking density significantly influenced the ration level (RLw and RLe), feed conversion ratio (FCRw and FCRe) and apparent digestibility rate (ADR). Ration level and FCRw tended to increase with increasing density. Fish at the highest density D 1 and lowest density D 4 showed lower FCRe and higher ADR than at medium densities. Stocking density significantly affected protein and energy contents of the body but did not affect its moisture, lipid, or ash contents. The expenditure of energy for metabolism in the low-density and high-density groups was lower than that in the medium-density groups. Stocking density affected energy utilization from the feces but had no effect on excretion rate. The greater energy allocation to growth at high density and low density may be attributed to reduced metabolic rate and increased apparent digestibility rate. These findings provide information that will assist selection of suitable stocking densities in the Atlantic-salmon-farming industry.

Nanocomposites with increased energy density through high aspect ratio PZT nanowires.

PubMed

Tang, Haixiong; Lin, Yirong; Andrews, Clark; Sodano, Henry A

2011-01-07

High energy storage plays an important role in the modern electric industry. Herein, we investigated the role of filler aspect ratio in nanocomposites for energy storage. Nanocomposites were synthesized using lead zirconate titanate (PZT) with two different aspect ratio (nanowires, nanorods) fillers at various volume fractions dispersed in a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) matrix. The permittivity constants of composites containing nanowires (NWs) were higher than those with nanorods (NRs) at the same inclusion volume fraction. It was also indicated that the high frequency loss tangent of samples with PZT nanowires was smaller than for those with nanorods, demonstrating the high electrical energy storage efficiency of the PZT NW nanocomposite. The high aspect ratio PZT NWs showed a 77.8% increase in energy density over the lower aspect ratio PZT NRs, under an electric field of 15 kV mm(-1) and 50% volume fraction. The breakdown strength was found to decrease with the increasing volume fraction of PZT NWs, but to only change slightly from a volume fraction of around 20%-50%. The maximum calculated energy density of nanocomposites is as high as 1.158 J cm(-3) at 50% PZT NWs in PVDF. Since the breakdown strength is lower compared to a PVDF copolymer such as poly(vinylidene fluoride-tertrifluoroethylene-terchlorotrifluoroethylene) P(VDF-TreEE-CTFE) and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) P(VDF-HFP), the energy density of the nanocomposite could be significantly increased through the use of PZT NWs and a polymer with greater breakdown strength. These results indicate that higher aspect ratio fillers show promising potential to improve the energy density of nanocomposites, leading to the development of advanced capacitors with high energy density.

Path analysis of the energy density of wood in eucalyptus clones.

PubMed

Couto, A M; Teodoro, P E; Trugilho, P F

2017-03-16

Path analysis has been used for establishing selection criteria in genetic breeding programs for several crops. However, it has not been used in eucalyptus breeding programs yet. In the present study, we aimed to identify the wood technology traits that could be used as the criteria for direct and indirect selection of eucalyptus genotypes with high energy density of wood. Twenty-four eucalyptus clones were evaluated in a completely randomized design with five replications. The following traits were assessed: basic wood density, total extractives, lignin content, ash content, nitrogen content, carbon content, hydrogen content, sulfur content, oxygen content, higher calorific power, holocellulose, and energy density. After verifying the variability of all evaluated traits among the clones, a two-dimensional correlation network was used to determine the phenotypic patterns among them. The obtained coefficient of determination (0.94) presented a higher magnitude in relation to the effect of the residual variable, and it served as an excellent model for explaining the genetic effects related to the variations observed in the energy density of wood in all eucalyptus clones. However, for future studies, we recommend evaluating other traits, especially the morphological traits, because of the greater ease in their measurement. Selecting clones with high basic density is the most promising strategy for eucalyptus breeding programs that aim to increase the energy density of wood because of its high heritability and magnitude of the cause-and-effect relationship with this trait.

Significantly Enhanced Energy Density in Nanocomposite Capacitors Combining the TiO2 Nanorod Array with Poly(vinylidene fluoride).

PubMed

Yao, Lingmin; Pan, Zhongbin; Liu, Shaohui; Zhai, Jiwei; Chen, Haydn H D

2016-10-05

A novel inorganic/polymer nanocomposite, using 1-dimensional TiO 2 nanorod array as fillers (TNA) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) as matrix, has been successfully synthesized for the first time. A carefully designed process sequence includes several steps with the initial epitaxial growth of highly oriented TNA on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive glass. Subsequently, PVDF is embedded into the nanorods by the spin-coating method followed by annealing and quenching processes. This novel structure with dispersive fillers demonstrates a successful compromise between the electric displacement and breakdown strength, resulting in a dramatic increase in the electric polarization which leads to a significant improvement on the energy density and discharge efficiency. The nanocomposites with various height ratios of fillers between the TNA and total film thickness were investigated by us. The results show that nanocomposite with 18% height ratio fillers obtains maximum increase in the energy density (10.62 J cm -3 ) at a lower applied electric field of 340 MV m -1 , and it also illustrates a higher efficiency (>85%) under the electric field less than 100 MV m -1 . Even when the electric field reached 340 MV m -1 , the efficiency of nanocomposites can still maintained at ∼70%. This energy density exceeds most of the previously reported TiO 2 -based nanocomposite values at such a breakdown strength, which provides another promising design for the next generation of dielectric nanocomposite material, by using the highly oriented nanorod array as fillers for the higher energy density capacitors. Additionally, the finite element simulation has been employed to analyze the distribution of electric fields and electric flux density to explore the inherent mechanism of the higher performance of the TNA/PVDF nanocomposites.

Pre-sodiated nickel cobaltite for high-performance sodium-ion capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Dongfang; Sun, Xiaoming; Lim, Kyungmi; Ranganathan Gaddam, Rohit; Ashok Kumar, Nanjundan; Kang, Kisuk; Zhao, Xiu Song

2017-09-01

Sodium-ion capacitors (NICs) are a hybrid energy storage system that store energy via both charge adsorption at the cathode/electrolyte interface and charge intercalation in the bulk of the anode, thereby possessing a higher energy density than supercapacitors and a higher power density than batteries. In this work, nickel cobaltite (NiCo2O4) hollow spheres with a chestnut shell morphology have been solvothermally synthesized and tested in a sodium half-cell. The NiCo2O4 material exhibits a reversible capacity of 313 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1. Pre-sodiation of NiCo2O4 is found to significantly improve its energy density. A NIC fabricated with pre-sodiated NiCo2O4 as the anode and an activated carbon (AC) as the cathode delivers an energy density of 60 Wh kg-1 at the power density of 10,000 W kg-1. Ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results reveal that NiCo2O4 is converted to metallic nickel and cobalt and Na2O phases during the pre-sodiation. The metallic nickel and cobalt phases are kinetically favourable for the electrolyte diffusion and electrochemical reactions, thus significantly improving the performance of the pre-sodiated NiCo2O4 electrode.

Ratio of shear viscosity to entropy density in multifragmentation of Au + Au

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, C. L.; Ma, Y. G.; Fang, D. Q.; Li, S. X.; Zhang, G. Q.

2012-06-01

The ratio of the shear viscosity (η) to entropy density (s) for the intermediate energy heavy-ion collisions has been calculated by using the Green-Kubo method in the framework of the quantum molecular dynamics model. The theoretical curve of η/s as a function of the incident energy for the head-on Au + Au collisions displays that a minimum region of η/s has been approached at higher incident energies, where the minimum η/s value is about 7 times Kovtun-Son-Starinets (KSS) bound (1/4π). We argue that the onset of minimum η/s region at higher incident energies corresponds to the nuclear liquid gas phase transition in nuclear multifragmentation.

Reducing the energy density of an entrée decreases children's energy intake at lunch.

PubMed

Leahy, Kathleen E; Birch, Leann L; Rolls, Barbara J

2008-01-01

Strategies need to be developed to reduce preschool children's energy intake. To test the effect of reducing the energy density of an entrée on children's ad libitum energy intake. Subjects were 2- to 5-year-old children (37 boys and 40 girls) in a university day-care facility. In this within-subjects crossover study, children were served a test lunch once per week for 6 weeks. Two versions of a macaroni and cheese entrée were formulated to differ in energy density while maintaining similar palatability. Each version was served to children three times. The higher-energy-density entrée had 2.0 kcal/g and the other entrée was 30% lower in energy density. Lunch, consumed ad libitum, also included broccoli, applesauce, and milk. Food intake and energy intake were measured. A mixed linear model tested effect of energy density of the entrée on food intake and energy intake. Results are reported as mean+/-standard error. Decreasing the energy density of the entrée by 30% significantly (P<0.0001) reduced children's energy intake from the entrée by 25% (72.3+/-8.3 kcal) and total lunch energy intake by 18% (71.8+/-7.9 kcal). Children consumed significantly more of the lower-energy-density entrée (10.1+/-4.2 g; P<0.05). Children's sex-specific body mass index-for-age percentiles did not affect the relationship between energy density of the entrée and children's intakes. Decreasing the energy density of a lunch entrée resulted in a reduction in children's energy intake from the entrée and from the total meal. Reducing the energy density of foods may be an effective strategy to moderate children's energy intake.

A novel carbon electrode material for highly improved EDLC performance.

PubMed

Fang, Baizeng; Binder, Leo

2006-04-20

Porous materials, developed by grafting functional groups through chemical surface modification with a surfactant, represent an innovative concept in energy storage. This work reports, in detail, the first practical realization of a novel carbon electrode based on grafting of vinyltrimethoxysilane (vtmos) functional group for energy storage in electric double layer capacitor (EDLC). Surface modification with surfactant vtmos enhances the hydrophobisation of activated carbon and the affinity toward propylene carbonate (PC) solvent, which improves the wettability of activated carbon in the electrolyte solution based on PC solvent, resulting in not only a lower resistance to the transport of electrolyte ions within micropores of activated carbon but also more usable surface area for the formation of electric double layer, and accordingly, higher specific capacitance, energy density, and power capability available from the capacitor based on modified carbon. Especially, the effects from surface modification become superior at higher discharge rate, at which much better EDLC performance (i.e., much higher energy density and power capability) has been achieved by the modified carbon, suggesting that the modified carbon is a novel and very promising electrode material of EDLC for large current applications where both high energy density and power capability are required.

The Role of Resource Density on Energy Allocation in the Neotropical Termite Nasutitermes aff. coxipoensis (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae).

PubMed

Cristaldo, P F; Almeida, C S; Cruz, N G; Ribeiro, E J M; Rocha, M L C; Santos, A A; Santana, A S; Araújo, A P A

2018-06-01

Organisms acquire energy from environment and must allocate it among different life traits (growth, maintenance and reproduction). Social insects must manage the energy allocation to various levels such as colony growth and caste functions. Here, we addressed the question of whether resource density affects the energy allocation to the number of individuals and caste functions as well as nest's growth rate in the Neotropical termite Nasutitermes aff. coxipoensis (Homgren) (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae). In a manipulative field experiment, colonies of N. aff. coxipoensis, with known volume, were maintained in plots with three different resource's density (0.32, 0.64 and 1.92 baits/m 2 ) over 3 months. After this period, the number of individuals as well as the caste identity and nest volume were measured. Surprisingly, our results showed that colonies reared in the extremes of resource's density (0.32 and 1.92 baits/m 2 ) produced a higher number of individuals compared with colonies reared with intermediate resource density (0. 64 baits/m 2 ). The mean number of workers increased linearly with resource density; however, the average number of immature was higher in colonies reared with 0.32 baits/m 2 compared with colonies reared with 0.64 and 1.92 baits/m 2 . No significant differences of resource density were observed in the mean number of soldiers, worker/soldier ratio as well as in the nest's growth rate. In conclusion, the resource's density seems to play an important role in determining the investment of energy in the number of individuals and caste in N. aff. coxipoensis colonies.

International Symposium on Advanced Laser Technologies Held in Prague, Czech Republic on November 8-13, 1993

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-11-13

nucleation and solidification scenarios in thin films, depending on the energy density of the annealing laser. 1. INTRODUCTION The interaction of...after the laser pulse. The liquid phase appears bright here, due to its higher reflectivity. In order to obtain this picture, part of the incident Nd:YAG...agreement between our calculation (solid line in Fig.4) and experiment as long as the energy density of the laser pulse is below 1.2 F/cm2 . At higher

Semi-local machine-learned kinetic energy density functional with third-order gradients of electron density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seino, Junji; Kageyama, Ryo; Fujinami, Mikito; Ikabata, Yasuhiro; Nakai, Hiromi

2018-06-01

A semi-local kinetic energy density functional (KEDF) was constructed based on machine learning (ML). The present scheme adopts electron densities and their gradients up to third-order as the explanatory variables for ML and the Kohn-Sham (KS) kinetic energy density as the response variable in atoms and molecules. Numerical assessments of the present scheme were performed in atomic and molecular systems, including first- and second-period elements. The results of 37 conventional KEDFs with explicit formulae were also compared with those of the ML KEDF with an implicit formula. The inclusion of the higher order gradients reduces the deviation of the total kinetic energies from the KS calculations in a stepwise manner. Furthermore, our scheme with the third-order gradient resulted in the closest kinetic energies to the KS calculations out of the presented functionals.

Manifestations of dynamo driven large-scale magnetic field in accretion disks of compact objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chagelishvili, G. D.; Chanishvili, R. G.; Lominadze, J. G.; Sokhadze, Z. A.

1991-01-01

A turbulent dynamo nonlinear theory of turbulence was developed that shows that in the compact objects of accretion disks, the generated large-scale magnetic field (when the generation takes place) has a practically toroidal configuration. Its energy density can be much higher than turbulent pulsations energy density, and it becomes comparable with the thermal energy density of the medium. On this basis, the manifestations to which the large-scale magnetic field can lead at the accretion onto black holes and gravimagnetic rotators, respectively, are presented.

Energy density of foods and diets in Mexico and their monetary cost by socioeconomic strata: analyses of ENSANUT data 2012.

PubMed

Mendoza, Alfonso; Pérez, Ana E; Aggarwal, Anju; Drewnowski, Adam

2017-07-01

In January 2014, Mexico implemented an 8% tax on non-essential foods with energy density ≥275 kcal/100 g, with a view to prevent obesity. This study explored energy density of foods and diets in Mexico and their monetary cost across population subgroups. Dietary intakes for 3057 adults (ages ≥19 years) were obtained from the nationally representative Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición (ENSANUT 2012). Energy density (kcal/g) was calculated for foods, food groups and total diets. The mean national retail prices for 153 foods were obtained from the National Institute for Geography and Statistics (INEGI). The monetary cost of total diets (MXN/day) was estimated by attaching food prices to dietary intakes from the ENSANUT food frequency questionnaire. A series of descriptive analyses and regression models examined associations among dietary energy density and diet cost by age, gender, rural or urban residence and socioeconomic status (SES). Energy-dense grains, fats and sweets cost less per calorie than did milk and dairy, meat, vegetables and fruit. Lower cost diets derived more calories from tortillas, tamales, beans and sugar, whereas higher cost diets contained more non-essential energy-dense processed foods and more sugar sweetened beverages, and fruits and vegetables. At each quintile of energy intake, higher dietary energy density was associated with lower energy-adjusted diet costs. Traditional energy-dense tortillas and tamales, also characterised by lower cost, were consumed more by the rural poor. Urban dwellers had more 'western-style' diets. Food patterns in Mexico appear to be driven by monetary cost and SES. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Band gap renormalization and Burstein-Moss effect in silicon- and germanium-doped wurtzite GaN up to 1020 cm-3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feneberg, Martin; Osterburg, Sarah; Lange, Karsten; Lidig, Christian; Garke, Bernd; Goldhahn, Rüdiger; Richter, Eberhard; Netzel, Carsten; Neumann, Maciej D.; Esser, Norbert; Fritze, Stephanie; Witte, Hartmut; Bläsing, Jürgen; Dadgar, Armin; Krost, Alois

2014-08-01

The interplay between band gap renormalization and band filling (Burstein-Moss effect) in n-type wurtzite GaN is investigated. For a wide range of electron concentrations up to 1.6×1020cm-3 spectroscopic ellipsometry and photoluminescence were used to determine the dependence of the band gap energy and the Fermi edge on electron density. The band gap renormalization is the dominating effect up to an electron density of about 9×1018cm-3; at higher values the Burstein-Moss effect is stronger. Exciton screening, the Mott transition, and formation of Mahan excitons are discussed. A quantitative understanding of the near gap transition energies on electron density is obtained. Higher energy features in the dielectric functions up to 10eV are not influenced by band gap renormalization.

Significantly Enhanced Energy Storage Density by Modulating the Aspect Ratio of BaTiO3 Nanofibers

PubMed Central

Zhang, Dou; Zhou, Xuefan; Roscow, James; Zhou, Kechao; Wang, Lu; Luo, Hang; Bowen, Chris R.

2017-01-01

There is a growing need for high energy density capacitors in modern electric power supplies. The creation of nanocomposite systems based on one-dimensional nanofibers has shown great potential in achieving a high energy density since they can optimize the energy density by exploiting both the high permittivity of ceramic fillers and the high breakdown strength of the polymer matrix. In this paper, BaTiO3 nanofibers (NFs) with different aspect ratio were synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method and the permittivity and energy storage of the P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposites were investigated. It is found that as the BaTiO3 NF aspect ratio and volume fraction increased the permittivity and maximum electric displacement of the nanocomposites increased, while the breakdown strength decreased. The nanocomposites with the highest aspect ratio BaTiO3 NFs exhibited the highest energy storage density at the same electric field. However, the nanocomposites with the lowest aspect ratio BaTiO3 NFs achieved the maximal energy storage density of 15.48 J/cm3 due to its higher breakdown strength. This contribution provides a potential route to prepare and tailor the properties of high energy density capacitor nanocomposites. PMID:28332636

Significantly Enhanced Energy Storage Density by Modulating the Aspect Ratio of BaTiO3 Nanofibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Dou; Zhou, Xuefan; Roscow, James; Zhou, Kechao; Wang, Lu; Luo, Hang; Bowen, Chris R.

2017-03-01

There is a growing need for high energy density capacitors in modern electric power supplies. The creation of nanocomposite systems based on one-dimensional nanofibers has shown great potential in achieving a high energy density since they can optimize the energy density by exploiting both the high permittivity of ceramic fillers and the high breakdown strength of the polymer matrix. In this paper, BaTiO3 nanofibers (NFs) with different aspect ratio were synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method and the permittivity and energy storage of the P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposites were investigated. It is found that as the BaTiO3 NF aspect ratio and volume fraction increased the permittivity and maximum electric displacement of the nanocomposites increased, while the breakdown strength decreased. The nanocomposites with the highest aspect ratio BaTiO3 NFs exhibited the highest energy storage density at the same electric field. However, the nanocomposites with the lowest aspect ratio BaTiO3 NFs achieved the maximal energy storage density of 15.48 J/cm3 due to its higher breakdown strength. This contribution provides a potential route to prepare and tailor the properties of high energy density capacitor nanocomposites.

Significantly Enhanced Energy Storage Density by Modulating the Aspect Ratio of BaTiO3 Nanofibers.

PubMed

Zhang, Dou; Zhou, Xuefan; Roscow, James; Zhou, Kechao; Wang, Lu; Luo, Hang; Bowen, Chris R

2017-03-23

There is a growing need for high energy density capacitors in modern electric power supplies. The creation of nanocomposite systems based on one-dimensional nanofibers has shown great potential in achieving a high energy density since they can optimize the energy density by exploiting both the high permittivity of ceramic fillers and the high breakdown strength of the polymer matrix. In this paper, BaTiO 3 nanofibers (NFs) with different aspect ratio were synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method and the permittivity and energy storage of the P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposites were investigated. It is found that as the BaTiO 3 NF aspect ratio and volume fraction increased the permittivity and maximum electric displacement of the nanocomposites increased, while the breakdown strength decreased. The nanocomposites with the highest aspect ratio BaTiO 3 NFs exhibited the highest energy storage density at the same electric field. However, the nanocomposites with the lowest aspect ratio BaTiO 3 NFs achieved the maximal energy storage density of 15.48 J/cm 3 due to its higher breakdown strength. This contribution provides a potential route to prepare and tailor the properties of high energy density capacitor nanocomposites.

High–energy density nonaqueous all redox flow lithium battery enabled with a polymeric membrane

PubMed Central

Jia, Chuankun; Pan, Feng; Zhu, Yun Guang; Huang, Qizhao; Lu, Li; Wang, Qing

2015-01-01

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are considered one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies. However, conventional RFBs suffer from low energy density due to the low solubility of the active materials in electrolyte. On the basis of the redox targeting reactions of battery materials, the redox flow lithium battery (RFLB) demonstrated in this report presents a disruptive approach to drastically enhancing the energy density of flow batteries. With LiFePO4 and TiO2 as the cathodic and anodic Li storage materials, respectively, the tank energy density of RFLB could reach ~500 watt-hours per liter (50% porosity), which is 10 times higher than that of a vanadium redox flow battery. The cell exhibits good electrochemical performance under a prolonged cycling test. Our prototype RFLB full cell paves the way toward the development of a new generation of flow batteries for large-scale energy storage. PMID:26702440

High-energy density nonaqueous all redox flow lithium battery enabled with a polymeric membrane.

PubMed

Jia, Chuankun; Pan, Feng; Zhu, Yun Guang; Huang, Qizhao; Lu, Li; Wang, Qing

2015-11-01

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are considered one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies. However, conventional RFBs suffer from low energy density due to the low solubility of the active materials in electrolyte. On the basis of the redox targeting reactions of battery materials, the redox flow lithium battery (RFLB) demonstrated in this report presents a disruptive approach to drastically enhancing the energy density of flow batteries. With LiFePO4 and TiO2 as the cathodic and anodic Li storage materials, respectively, the tank energy density of RFLB could reach ~500 watt-hours per liter (50% porosity), which is 10 times higher than that of a vanadium redox flow battery. The cell exhibits good electrochemical performance under a prolonged cycling test. Our prototype RFLB full cell paves the way toward the development of a new generation of flow batteries for large-scale energy storage.

Kaon condensation in dense matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carlson, J.; Heiselberg, H.; Pandharipande, V. R.

The kaon energy in neutron matter is calculated analytically with the Klein-Gordon equation, by making a Wigner-Seitz cell approximation and employing a K{sup -}N square well potential. The transition from the low density Lenz potential, proportional to scattering length, to the high density Hartree potential is found to begin at fairly low densities. Exact nonrelativistic calculations of the kaon energy in a simple cubic crystal of neutrons are used to test the Wigner-Seitz and the Ericson-Ericson approximation methods. In this case the frequently used Erickson-Erickson approximation is found to be fairly accurate up to twice nuclear matter density. All themore » calculations indicate that by {approx}4 times nuclear matter density the Hartree limit is reached. We also show that in the Hartree limit the energy of zero momentum kaons does not have relativistic energy dependent factors present in the low density expansions. The results indicate that the density for kaon condensation is higher than previously estimated.« less

High energy density propulsion systems and small engine dynamometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hays, Thomas

2009-07-01

Scope and Method of Study. This study investigates all possible methods of powering small unmanned vehicles, provides reasoning for the propulsion system down select, and covers in detail the design and production of a dynamometer to confirm theoretical energy density calculations for small engines. Initial energy density calculations are based upon manufacturer data, pressure vessel theory, and ideal thermodynamic cycle efficiencies. Engine tests are conducted with a braking type dynamometer for constant load energy density tests, and show true energy densities in excess of 1400 WH/lb of fuel. Findings and Conclusions. Theory predicts lithium polymer, the present unmanned system energy storage device of choice, to have much lower energy densities than other conversion energy sources. Small engines designed for efficiency, instead of maximum power, would provide the most advantageous method for powering small unmanned vehicles because these engines have widely variable power output, loss of mass during flight, and generate rotational power directly. Theoretical predictions for the energy density of small engines has been verified through testing. Tested values up to 1400 WH/lb can be seen under proper operating conditions. The implementation of such a high energy density system will require a significant amount of follow-on design work to enable the engines to tolerate the higher temperatures of lean operation. Suggestions are proposed to enable a reliable, small-engine propulsion system in future work. Performance calculations show that a mature system is capable of month long flight times, and unrefueled circumnavigation of the globe.

Probing the nuclear symmetry energy at high densities with nuclear reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leifels, Y.

2017-11-01

The nuclear equation of state is a topic of highest current interest in nuclear structure and reactions as well as in astrophysics. The symmetry energy is the part of the equation of state which is connected to the asymmetry in the neutron/proton content. During recent years a multitude of experimental and theoretical efforts on different fields have been undertaken to constraint its density dependence at low densities but also above saturation density (ρ_0=0.16 fm ^{-3} . Conventionally the symmetry energy is described by its magnitude S_v and the slope parameter L , both at saturation density. Values of L = 44 -66MeV and S_v=31 -33MeV have been deduced in recent compilations of nuclear structure, heavy-ion reaction and astrophysics data. Apart from astrophysical data on mass and radii of neutron stars, heavy-ion reactions at incident energies of several 100MeV are the only means do access the high density behaviour of the symmetry energy. In particular, meson production and collective flows upto about 1 AGeV are predicted to be sensitive to the slope of the symmetry energy as a function of density. From the measurement of elliptic flow of neutrons with respect to charged particles at GSI, a more stringent constraint for the slope of the symmetry energy at supra-saturation densities has been deduced. Future options to reach even higher densities will be discussed.

Ultrahigh-power micrometre-sized supercapacitors based on onion-like carbon.

PubMed

Pech, David; Brunet, Magali; Durou, Hugo; Huang, Peihua; Mochalin, Vadym; Gogotsi, Yury; Taberna, Pierre-Louis; Simon, Patrice

2010-09-01

Electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, store energy in two closely spaced layers with opposing charges, and are used to power hybrid electric vehicles, portable electronic equipment and other devices. By offering fast charging and discharging rates, and the ability to sustain millions of cycles, electrochemical capacitors bridge the gap between batteries, which offer high energy densities but are slow, and conventional electrolytic capacitors, which are fast but have low energy densities. Here, we demonstrate microsupercapacitors with powers per volume that are comparable to electrolytic capacitors, capacitances that are four orders of magnitude higher, and energies per volume that are an order of magnitude higher. We also measured discharge rates of up to 200 V s(-1), which is three orders of magnitude higher than conventional supercapacitors. The microsupercapacitors are produced by the electrophoretic deposition of a several-micrometre-thick layer of nanostructured carbon onions with diameters of 6-7 nm. Integration of these nanoparticles in a microdevice with a high surface-to-volume ratio, without the use of organic binders and polymer separators, improves performance because of the ease with which ions can access the active material. Increasing the energy density and discharge rates of supercapacitors will enable them to compete with batteries and conventional electrolytic capacitors in a number of applications.

Ultrahigh-power micrometre-sized supercapacitors based on onion-like carbon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pech, David; Brunet, Magali; Durou, Hugo; Huang, Peihua; Mochalin, Vadym; Gogotsi, Yury; Taberna, Pierre-Louis; Simon, Patrice

2010-09-01

Electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, store energy in two closely spaced layers with opposing charges, and are used to power hybrid electric vehicles, portable electronic equipment and other devices. By offering fast charging and discharging rates, and the ability to sustain millions of cycles, electrochemical capacitors bridge the gap between batteries, which offer high energy densities but are slow, and conventional electrolytic capacitors, which are fast but have low energy densities. Here, we demonstrate microsupercapacitors with powers per volume that are comparable to electrolytic capacitors, capacitances that are four orders of magnitude higher, and energies per volume that are an order of magnitude higher. We also measured discharge rates of up to 200 V s-1, which is three orders of magnitude higher than conventional supercapacitors. The microsupercapacitors are produced by the electrophoretic deposition of a several-micrometre-thick layer of nanostructured carbon onions with diameters of 6-7 nm. Integration of these nanoparticles in a microdevice with a high surface-to-volume ratio, without the use of organic binders and polymer separators, improves performance because of the ease with which ions can access the active material. Increasing the energy density and discharge rates of supercapacitors will enable them to compete with batteries and conventional electrolytic capacitors in a number of applications.

Improved Performance of Ionic Liquid Supercapacitors by using Tetracyanoborate Anions.

PubMed

Martins, Vitor L; Rennie, Anthony J R; Sanchez-Ramirez, Nedher; Torresi, Roberto M; Hall, Peter J

2018-02-01

Supercapacitors are energy storage devices designed to operate at higher power densities than conventional batteries, but their energy density is still too low for many applications. Efforts are made to design new electrolytes with wider electrochemical windows than aqueous or conventional organic electrolytes in order to increase energy density. Ionic liquids (ILs) with wide electrochemical stability windows are excellent candidates to be employed as supercapacitor electrolytes. ILs containing tetracyanoborate anions [B(CN) 4 ] offer wider electrochemical stability than conventional electrolytes and maintain a high ionic conductivity (6.9 mS cm -1 ). Herein, we report the use of ILs containing the [B(CN) 4 ] anion for such an application. They presented a high maximum operating voltage of 3.7 V, and two-electrode devices demonstrate high specific capacitances even when operating at relatively high rates (ca. 20 F g -1 @ 15 A g -1 ). This supercapacitor stored more energy and operated at a higher power at all rates studied when compared with cells using a commonly studied ILs.

Reversible chemical delithiation/lithiation of LiFePO4: towards a redox flow lithium-ion battery.

PubMed

Huang, Qizhao; Li, Hong; Grätzel, Michael; Wang, Qing

2013-02-14

Reversible chemical delithiation/lithiation of LiFePO(4) was successfully demonstrated using ferrocene derivatives, based on which a novel energy storage system--the redox flow lithium-ion battery (RFLB), was devised by integrating the operation flexibility of a redox flow battery and high energy density of a lithium-ion battery. Distinct from the recent semi-solid lithium rechargeable flow battery, the energy storage materials of RFLB stored in separate energy tanks remain stationary upon operation, giving us a fresh perspective on building large-scale energy storage systems with higher energy density and improved safety.

High-efficiency acceleration in the laser wakefield by a linearly increasing plasma density

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dong, Kegong; Wu, Yuchi; Zhu, Bin

The acceleration length and the peak energy of the electron beam are limited by the dephasing effect in the laser wakefield acceleration with uniform plasma density. Based on 2D-3V particle in cell simulations, the effects of a linearly increasing plasma density on the electron acceleration are investigated broadly. Comparing with the uniform plasma density, because of the prolongation of the acceleration length and the gradually increasing accelerating field due to the increasing plasma density, the electron beam energy is twice higher in moderate nonlinear wakefield regime. Because of the lower plasma density, the linearly increasing plasma density can also avoidmore » the dark current caused by additional injection. At the optimal acceleration length, the electron energy can be increased from 350 MeV (uniform) to 760 MeV (linearly increasing) with the energy spread of 1.8%, the beam duration is 5 fs and the beam waist is 1.25 μm. This linearly increasing plasma density distribution can be achieved by a capillary with special gas-filled structure, and is much more suitable for experiment.« less

Optimization of hydrostatic pressure at varied sonication conditions--power density, intensity, very low frequency--for isothermal ultrasonic sludge treatment.

PubMed

Delmas, Henri; Le, Ngoc Tuan; Barthe, Laurie; Julcour-Lebigue, Carine

2015-07-01

This work aims at investigating for the first time the key sonication (US) parameters: power density (DUS), intensity (IUS), and frequency (FS) - down to audible range, under varied hydrostatic pressure (Ph) and low temperature isothermal conditions (to avoid any thermal effect). The selected application was activated sludge disintegration, a major industrial US process. For a rational approach all comparisons were made at same specific energy input (ES, US energy per solid weight) which is also the relevant economic criterion. The decoupling of power density and intensity was obtained by either changing the sludge volume or most often by changing probe diameter, all other characteristics being unchanged. Comprehensive results were obtained by varying the hydrostatic pressure at given power density and intensity. In all cases marked maxima of sludge disintegration appeared at optimum pressures, which values increased at increasing power intensity and density. Such optimum was expected due to opposite effects of increasing hydrostatic pressure: higher cavitation threshold then smaller and fewer bubbles, but higher temperature and pressure at the end of collapse. In addition the first attempt to lower US frequency down to audible range was very successful: at any operation condition (DUS, IUS, Ph, sludge concentration and type) higher sludge disintegration was obtained at 12 kHz than at 20 kHz. The same values of optimum pressure were observed at 12 and 20 kHz. At same energy consumption the best conditions - obtained at 12 kHz, maximum power density 720 W/L and 3.25 bar - provided about 100% improvement with respect to usual conditions (1 bar, 20 kHz). Important energy savings and equipment size reduction may then be expected. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energy storage options for space power

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffman, H. W.; Martin, J. F.; Olszewski, M.

Including energy storage in a space power supply enhances the feasibility of using thermal power cycles (Rankine or Brayton) and providing high-power pulses. Superconducting magnets, capacitors, electrochemical batteries, thermal phase-change materials (PCM), and flywheels are assessed; the results obtained suggest that flywheels and phase-change devices hold the most promise. Latent heat storage using inorganic salts and metallic eutectics offers thermal energy storage densities of 1500 kJ/kg to 2000 kJ/kg at temperatures to 1675 K. Innovative techniques allow these media to operate in direct contact with the heat engine working fluid. Enhancing thermal conductivity and/or modifying PCM crystallization habit provide other options. Flywheels of low-strain graphite and Kevlar fibers have achieved mechanical energy storage densities of 300 kJ/kg. With high-strain graphite fibers, storage densities appropriate to space power needs (about 500 kJ/kg) seem feasible. Coupling advanced flywheels with emerging high power density homopolar generators and compulsators could result in electric pulse-power storage modules of significantly higher energy density.

First-principles equation-of-state table of silicon and its effects on high-energy-density plasma simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, S. X.; Gao, R.; Ding, Y.; Collins, L. A.; Kress, J. D.

2017-04-01

Using density-functional theory-based molecular-dynamics simulations, we have investigated the equation of state for silicon in a wide range of plasma density and temperature conditions of ρ =0.001 -500 g /c m3 and T =2000 -108K . With these calculations, we have established a first-principles equation-of-state (FPEOS) table of silicon for high-energy-density (HED) plasma simulations. When compared with the widely used SESAME-EOS model (Table 3810), we find that the FPEOS-predicted Hugoniot is ˜20% softer; for off-Hugoniot plasma conditions, the pressure and internal energy in FPEOS are lower than those of SESAME EOS for temperatures above T ≈ 1-10 eV (depending on density), while the former becomes higher in the low-T regime. The pressure difference between FPEOS and SESAME 3810 can reach to ˜50%, especially in the warm-dense-matter regime. Implementing the FPEOS table of silicon into our hydrocodes, we have studied its effects on Si-target implosions. When compared with the one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulation using the SESAME 3810 EOS model, the FPEOS simulation showed that (1) the shock speed in silicon is ˜10% slower; (2) the peak density of an in-flight Si shell during implosion is ˜20% higher than the SESAME 3810 simulation; (3) the maximum density reached in the FPEOS simulation is ˜40% higher at the peak compression; and (4) the final areal density and neutron yield are, respectively, ˜30% and ˜70% higher predicted by FPEOS versus the traditional simulation using SESAME 3810. All of these features can be attributed to the larger compressibility of silicon predicted by FPEOS. These results indicate that an accurate EOS table, like the FPEOS presented here, could be essential for the precise design of targets for HED experiments.

Energy consumption of agitators in activated sludge tanks - actual state and optimization potential.

PubMed

Füreder, K; Svardal, K; Frey, W; Kroiss, H; Krampe, J

2018-02-01

Depending on design capacity, agitators consume about 5 to 20% of the total energy consumption of a wastewater treatment plant. Based on inhabitant-specific energy consumption (kWh PE 120 -1 a -1 ; PE 120 is population equivalent, assuming 120 g chemical oxygen demand per PE per day), power density (W m -3 ) and volume-specific energy consumption (Wh m -3 d -1 ) as evaluation indicators, this paper provides a sound contribution to understanding energy consumption and energy optimization potentials of agitators. Basically, there are two ways to optimize agitator operation: the reduction of the power density and the reduction of the daily operating time. Energy saving options range from continuous mixing with low power densities of 1 W m -3 to mixing by means of short, intense energy pulses (impulse aeration, impulse stirring). However, the following correlation applies: the shorter the duration of energy input, the higher the power density on the respective volume-specific energy consumption isoline. Under favourable conditions with respect to tank volume, tank geometry, aeration and agitator position, mixing energy can be reduced to 24 Wh m -3 d -1 and below. Additionally, it could be verified that power density of agitators stands in inverse relation to tank volume.

Stress and Displacement Analysis of Microreactors during Thermal and Vacuum Loading

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-07

and extend the available energy density well beyond state-of-the-art battery technology (140 W·h/kg for rechargeable lithium [Li]- ion technology).1...time. In the 10–100 W+ power range, battery technology is the best solution currently available, but higher-energy dense technologies are needed to...augment batteries and extend the available energy density well beyond state-of-the-art battery technology. One way to approach this is to take

Energy density and variability in abundance of pigeon guillemot prey: Support for the quality-variability trade-off hypothesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Litzow, Michael A.; Piatt, John F.; Abookire, Alisa A.; Robards, Martin D.

2004-01-01

1. The quality-variability trade-off hypothesis predicts that (i) energy density (kJ g-1) and spatial-temporal variability in abundance are positively correlated in nearshore marine fishes; and (ii) prey selection by a nearshore piscivore, the pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba Pallas), is negatively affected by variability in abundance. 2. We tested these predictions with data from a 4-year study that measured fish abundance with beach seines and pigeon guillemot prey utilization with visual identification of chick meals. 3. The first prediction was supported. Pearson's correlation showed that fishes with higher energy density were more variable on seasonal (r = 0.71) and annual (r = 0.66) time scales. Higher energy density fishes were also more abundant overall (r = 0.85) and more patchy at a scale of 10s of km (r = 0.77). 4. Prey utilization by pigeon guillemots was strongly non-random. Relative preference, defined as the difference between log-ratio transformed proportions of individual prey taxa in chick diets and beach seine catches, was significantly different from zero for seven of the eight main prey categories. 5. The second prediction was also supported. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to summarize variability in correlated prey characteristics (energy density, availability and variability in abundance). Two PCA scores explained 32% of observed variability in pigeon guillemot prey utilization. Seasonal variability in abundance was negatively weighted by these PCA scores, providing evidence of risk-averse selection. Prey availability, energy density and km-scale variability in abundance were positively weighted. 6. Trophic interactions are known to create variability in resource distribution in other systems. We propose that links between resource quality and the strength of trophic interactions may produce resource quality-variability trade-offs.

Dense downtown living more carbon intense due to higher consumption: a case study of Helsinki

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinonen, Jukka; Kyrö, Riikka; Junnila, Seppo

2011-07-01

Hindering urban sprawl is one of the main goals for contemporary urban planning. Urban density is considered crucial in climate change mitigation since it reduces automobile dependence and decreases unit sizes, for example. This letter analyzes the effect of density in a city context. In the study the Finnish capital Helsinki is divided into two areas of different urban densities: the high density downtown area and the more scarcely populated suburbs. The study is a continuation of a recently published study on the implications of urban structure on carbon emissions, and analyzes further the main finding of the first study—that higher urban density might have negligible or even reverse effect on the per capita carbon emissions. Similarly to the previous study, a consumption based tiered hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) approach is employed in order to produce a comprehensive assessment, free of territorial boundaries and system cutoffs typical of traditional LCAs. Based on the findings of the previous study, it is hypothesized that when assessing city level carbon dioxide emissions from a wider, consumer oriented LCA perspective, increased urban density may not necessarily reduce carbon emissions. Surprisingly, the study finds that carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions are substantially higher in the dense downtown area than in the surrounding suburbs, which is suggested to imply that the increased consumption due to the higher standard of living increases emissions more than the higher density is able to reduce them. The results demonstrate that, while increasing urban density can be justified from a number of ecological, social and economic viewpoints, density is not necessarily a key parameter in the particular case of climate change. In cities like Helsinki, where wealth is concentrated in the downtown area, climate policies should give higher priority to the energy consumption of buildings, to alternative energy production and distribution modes, as well as to low carbon consumption within the city.

Three-Dimensional Expanded Graphene-Metal Oxide Film via Solid-State Microwave Irradiation for Aqueous Asymmetric Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Yang, MinHo; Lee, Kyoung G; Lee, Seok Jae; Lee, Sang Bok; Han, Young-Kyu; Choi, Bong Gill

2015-10-14

Carbon-based electrochemical double-layer capacitors and pseudocapacitors, consisting of a symmetric configuration of electrodes, can deliver much higher power densities than batteries, but they suffer from low energy densities. Herein, we report the development of high energy and power density supercapacitors using an asymmetric configuration of Fe2O3 and MnO2 nanoparticles incorporated into 3D macroporous graphene film electrodes that can be operated in a safe and low-cost aqueous electrolyte. The gap in working potential windows of Fe2O3 and MnO2 enables the stable expansion of the cell voltage up to 1.8 V, which is responsible for the high energy density (41.7 Wh kg(-1)). We employ a household microwave oven to simultaneously create conductivity, porosity, and the deposition of metal oxides on graphene films toward 3D hybrid architectures, which lead to a high power density (13.5 kW kg(-1)). Such high energy and power densities are maintained for over 5000 cycles, even during cycling at a high current density of 16.9 A g(-1).

Advanced intermediate temperature sodium-nickel chloride batteries with ultra-high energy density.

PubMed

Li, Guosheng; Lu, Xiaochuan; Kim, Jin Y; Meinhardt, Kerry D; Chang, Hee Jung; Canfield, Nathan L; Sprenkle, Vincent L

2016-02-11

Sodium-metal halide batteries have been considered as one of the more attractive technologies for stationary electrical energy storage, however, they are not used for broader applications despite their relatively well-known redox system. One of the roadblocks hindering market penetration is the high-operating temperature. Here we demonstrate that planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries can be operated at an intermediate temperature of 190 °C with ultra-high energy density. A specific energy density of 350 Wh kg(-1), higher than that of conventional tubular sodium-nickel chloride batteries (280 °C), is obtained for planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries operated at 190 °C over a long-term cell test (1,000 cycles), and it attributed to the slower particle growth of the cathode materials at the lower operating temperature. Results reported here demonstrate that planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries operated at an intermediate temperature could greatly benefit this traditional energy storage technology by improving battery energy density, cycle life and reducing material costs.

Advanced intermediate temperature sodium-nickel chloride batteries with ultra-high energy density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guosheng; Lu, Xiaochuan; Kim, Jin Y.; Meinhardt, Kerry D.; Chang, Hee Jung; Canfield, Nathan L.; Sprenkle, Vincent L.

2016-02-01

Sodium-metal halide batteries have been considered as one of the more attractive technologies for stationary electrical energy storage, however, they are not used for broader applications despite their relatively well-known redox system. One of the roadblocks hindering market penetration is the high-operating temperature. Here we demonstrate that planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries can be operated at an intermediate temperature of 190 °C with ultra-high energy density. A specific energy density of 350 Wh kg-1, higher than that of conventional tubular sodium-nickel chloride batteries (280 °C), is obtained for planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries operated at 190 °C over a long-term cell test (1,000 cycles), and it attributed to the slower particle growth of the cathode materials at the lower operating temperature. Results reported here demonstrate that planar sodium-nickel chloride batteries operated at an intermediate temperature could greatly benefit this traditional energy storage technology by improving battery energy density, cycle life and reducing material costs.

Shock wave treatment shows dose-dependent enhancement of bone mass and bone strength after fracture of the femur.

PubMed

Wang, Ching-Jen; Yang, Kuender D; Wang, Feng-Sheng; Hsu, Chia-Chen; Chen, Hsiang-Ho

2004-01-01

Shock wave treatment is believed to improve bone healing after fracture. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of shock wave treatment on bone mass and bone strength after fracture of the femur in a rabbit model. A standardized closed fracture of the right femur was created with a three-point bending method in 24 New Zealand white rabbits. Animals were randomly divided into three groups: (1) control (no shock wave treatment), (2) low-energy (shock wave treatment at 0.18 mJ/mm2 energy flux density with 2000 impulses), and (3) high-energy (shock wave treatment at 0.47 mJ/mm2 energy flux density with 4000 impulses). Bone mass (bone mineral density (BMD), callus formation, ash and calcium contents) and bone strength (peak load, peak stress and modulus of elasticity) were assessed at 12 and 24 weeks after shock wave treatment. While the BMD values of the high-energy group were significantly higher than the control group (P = 0.021), the BMD values between the low-energy and control groups were not statistically significant (P = 0.358). The high-energy group showed significantly more callus formation (P < 0.001), higher ash content (P < 0.001) and calcium content (P = 0.003) than the control and low-energy groups. With regard to bone strength, the high-energy group showed significantly higher peak load (P = 0.012), peak stress (P = 0.015) and modulus of elasticity (P = 0.011) than the low-energy and control groups. Overall, the effect of shock wave treatment on bone mass and bone strength appears to be dose dependent in acute fracture healing in rabbits.

New Views on Dark Matter from Emergent Gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Sichun; Zhang, Yun-Long

2018-01-01

We discuss a scenario that apparent dark matter comes from the induced gravity in the (3+1)- dimensional spacetime, which can be embedded into one higher dimensional flat spacetime. The stress tensor of dark energy and dark matter is identified with the Brown-York stress tensor on the hypersurface, and we find an interesting constraint relation between the dark matter and dark energy density parameter and baryonic density parameter. Our approach may show a new understanding for Verlinde's emergent gravity from higher dimensions. We also comment on some phenomenological implications, including gravitational wave solutions and MOND limit.

Dose equivalent neutron dosimeter

DOEpatents

Griffith, Richard V.; Hankins, Dale E.; Tomasino, Luigi; Gomaa, Mohamed A. M.

1983-01-01

A neutron dosimeter is disclosed which provides a single measurements indicating the amount of potential biological damage resulting from the neutron exposure of the wearer, for a wide range of neutron energies. The dosimeter includes a detecting sheet of track etch detecting material such as a carbonate plastic, for detecting higher energy neutrons, and a radiator layer containing conversion material such as .sup.6 Li and .sup.10 B lying adjacent to the detecting sheet for converting moderate energy neutrons to alpha particles that produce tracks in the adjacent detecting sheet. The density of conversion material in the radiator layer is of an amount which is chosen so that the density of tracks produced in the detecting sheet is proportional to the biological damage done by neutrons, regardless of whether the tracks are produced as the result of moderate energy neutrons striking the radiator layer or as the result of higher energy neutrons striking the sheet of track etch material.

Nano-Enabled Technologies for Naval Aviation Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-05

4. Reduced self- discharge DEW 1. Active materials (silicon based/anode only); 2. Active materials coated on CNTs surface; 3...polymer film capacitors have the potential to provide higher energy density, higher power density, reduce weight, improve duty cycles (fast discharge and...dependent excess of 200C) 4. Nano-particle dispersion 5. Understanding discharge rate 6. Design and control of the interface 1. Increased

Graphene-based in-plane micro-supercapacitors with high power and energy densities

PubMed Central

Wu, Zhong–Shuai; Parvez, Khaled; Feng, Xinliang; Müllen, Klaus

2013-01-01

Micro-supercapacitors are important on-chip micro-power sources for miniaturized electronic devices. Although the performance of micro-supercapacitors has been significantly advanced by fabricating nanostructured materials, developing thin-film manufacture technologies and device architectures, their power or energy densities remain far from those of electrolytic capacitors or lithium thin-film batteries. Here we demonstrate graphene-based in-plane interdigital micro-supercapacitors on arbitrary substrates. The resulting micro-supercapacitors deliver an area capacitance of 80.7 μF cm−2 and a stack capacitance of 17.9 F cm−3. Further, they show a power density of 495 W cm−3 that is higher than electrolytic capacitors, and an energy density of 2.5 mWh cm−3 that is comparable to lithium thin-film batteries, in association with superior cycling stability. Such microdevices allow for operations at ultrahigh rate up to 1,000 V s−1, three orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional supercapacitors. Micro-supercapacitors with an in-plane geometry have great promise for numerous miniaturized or flexible electronic applications. PMID:24042088

Graphene-based in-plane micro-supercapacitors with high power and energy densities.

PubMed

Wu, Zhong-Shuai; Parvez, Khaled; Feng, Xinliang; Müllen, Klaus

2013-01-01

Micro-supercapacitors are important on-chip micro-power sources for miniaturized electronic devices. Although the performance of micro-supercapacitors has been significantly advanced by fabricating nanostructured materials, developing thin-film manufacture technologies and device architectures, their power or energy densities remain far from those of electrolytic capacitors or lithium thin-film batteries. Here we demonstrate graphene-based in-plane interdigital micro-supercapacitors on arbitrary substrates. The resulting micro-supercapacitors deliver an area capacitance of 80.7 μF cm⁻² and a stack capacitance of 17.9 F cm⁻³. Further, they show a power density of 495 W cm⁻³ that is higher than electrolytic capacitors, and an energy density of 2.5 mWh cm⁻³ that is comparable to lithium thin-film batteries, in association with superior cycling stability. Such microdevices allow for operations at ultrahigh rate up to 1,000 V s⁻¹, three orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional supercapacitors. Micro-supercapacitors with an in-plane geometry have great promise for numerous miniaturized or flexible electronic applications.

Universality of quantum information in chaotic CFTs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lashkari, Nima; Dymarsky, Anatoly; Liu, Hong

2018-03-01

We study the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH) in chaotic conformal field theories (CFTs) of arbitrary dimensions. Assuming local ETH, we compute the reduced density matrix of a ball-shaped subsystem of finite size in the infinite volume limit when the full system is an energy eigenstate. This reduced density matrix is close in trace distance to a density matrix, to which we refer as the ETH density matrix, that is independent of all the details of an eigenstate except its energy and charges under global symmetries. In two dimensions, the ETH density matrix is universal for all theories with the same value of central charge. We argue that the ETH density matrix is close in trace distance to the reduced density matrix of the (micro)canonical ensemble. We support the argument in higher dimensions by comparing the Von Neumann entropy of the ETH density matrix with the entropy of a black hole in holographic systems in the low temperature limit. Finally, we generalize our analysis to the coherent states with energy density that varies slowly in space, and show that locally such states are well described by the ETH density matrix.

Wave energy analysis based on simulation wave data in the China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Zhan-sheng; Qian, Yu-hao; Sui, Yu-wei; Chen, Xuan; Zhang, Da

2018-05-01

In the current world, where human beings are severely plagued by environmental problems and energy crisis, the full and reasonable utilization of marine new energy resources will contribute to alleviating the energy crisis, contributing to global energy-saving, emission reduction and environmental protection, thus to promote sustainable development. In this study, we firstly simulated a 10-year (1991-2000) 6-hourly wave data of the China Sea, by using the Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) wave model nested with WAVEWATCH-III (WW3) wave model forced with Cross-Calibrated, Multi-Platform (CCMP) wind data. Considering the value size and stability of the wave energy density, we analyzed the overall characteristics of the China Sea wave energy with using the simulation wave data. Results show that: (1) The wave energy density in January and October is distinctly higher than that in April and July. The large center of annual average Wave energy density is located in the north of the South China Sea (of about 12-16 kW/m). (2) Synthetically considering the value size and stability of the wave energy density and stability, the energy-rich area is found to be located in the north region of the South China Sea.

Optimize out-of-core thermionic energy conversion for nuclear electric propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, J. F.

1977-01-01

Current designs for out of core thermionic energy conversion (TEC) to power nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) were evaluated. Approaches to improve out of core TEC are emphasized and probabilities for success are indicated. TEC gains are available with higher emitter temperatures and greater power densities. Good potentialities for accommodating external high temperature, high power density TEC with heat pipe cooled reactors exist.

Thermal Fluid Analysis of the Combustor Test Setup for a US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Liquid-Fueled Thermophotovoltaic Power Source Demonstrator

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

requiring only a few hours of running time. In the 10–100 W+ power range, battery technology is the best solution currently available, but higher...energy dense technologies are needed to augment batteries and extend the available energy density well beyond state of the art battery technology. One way...provide comparable energy density to battery technology with the added advantage of instant recharge. One technology being pursued by the US Army

Significantly Elevated Dielectric and Energy Storage Traits in Boron Nitride Filled Polymer Nano-composites with Topological Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Yefeng; Zhang, Jianxiong; Hu, Jianbing; Li, Shichun; Peng, Cheng

2018-03-01

Interface induced polarization has a prominent influence on dielectric properties of 0-3 type polymer based composites containing Si-based semi-conductors. The disadvantages of composites were higher dielectric loss, lower breakdown strength and energy storage density, although higher permittivity was achieved. In this work, dielectric, conductive, breakdown and energy storage properties of four nano-composites have been researched. Based on the cooperation of fluoropolymer/alpha-SiC layer and fluoropolymer/hexagonal-BN layer, it was confirmed constructing the heterogeneous layer-by-layer composite structure rather than homogeneous mono-layer structure could significantly reduce dielectric loss, promote breakdown strength and increase energy storage density. The former worked for a larger dielectric response and the latter layer acted as a robust barrier of charge carrier transfer. The best nano-composite could possess a permittivity of 43@100 Hz ( 3.3 times of polymer), loss of 0.07@100 Hz ( 37% of polymer), discharged energy density of 2.23 J/cm3@249 kV/cm ( 10 times of polymer) and discharged energy efficiency of 54%@249 kV/cm ( 5 times of polymer). This work might enlighten a facile route to achieve the promising high energy storage composite dielectrics by constructing the layer-by-layer topological structure.

Global analysis of Skyrme forces with higher-order density dependencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuo, Zhi-Wei; Pei, Jun-Chen; Xiong, Xue-Yu; Zhu, Yi

2018-05-01

The density-dependent term in Skyrme forces is essential to simulate three-body and many-body correlations beyond the low-momentum two-body interaction. We speculate that a single density term may be insufficient and a higher-order density dependent term is added. The present work investigates the influence of higher-order density dependencies based on extended UNEDF0 and SkM* forces. Global descriptions of nuclear masses and charge radii are presented. The extended UNEDF0 force gives a global rms error on binding energies of 1.29 MeV. The influence on fission barriers and equation of state are also investigated. Perspectives to improve Skyrme forces are discussed, including global center-of-mass corrections and Lipkin-Nogami pairing corrections. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11522538)

Final Scientific/Technical Report for Low Cost, High Capacity Non- Intercalation Chemistry Automotive Cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berdichevsky, Gene

Commercial Li-ion batteries typically use Ni- and Co-based intercalation cathodes. As the demand for improved performance from batteries increases, these cathode materials will no longer be able to provide the desired energy storage characteristics since they are currently approaching their theoretical limits. Conversion cathode materials are prime candidates for improvement of Li-ion batteries. On both a volumetric and gravimetric basis they have higher theoretical capacity than intercalation cathode materials. Metal fluoride (MFx) cathodes offer higher specific energy density and dramatically higher volumetric energy density. Challenges associated with metal fluoride cathodes were addressed through nanostructured material design and synthesis. A majormore » goal of this project was to develop and demonstrate Li-ion cells based on Si-comprising anodes and metal fluoride (MFx) comprising cathodes. Pairing the high-capacity MFx cathode with a high-capacity anode, such as an alloying Si anode, allows for the highest possible energy density on a cell level. After facing and overcoming multiple material synthesis and electrochemical instability challenges, we succeeded in fabrication of MFx half cells with cycle stability in excess of 500 cycles (to 20% or smaller degradation) and full cells with MFx-based cathodes and Si-based anodes with cycle stability in excess of 200 cycles (to 20% or smaller degradation).« less

Modeling of Single and Dual Reservoir Porous Media Compressed Gas (Air and CO2) Storage Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oldenburg, C. M.; Liu, H.; Borgia, A.; Pan, L.

2017-12-01

Intermittent renewable energy sources are causing increasing demand for energy storage. The deep subsurface offers promising opportunities for energy storage because it can safely contain high-pressure gases. Porous media compressed air energy storage (PM-CAES) is one approach, although the only facilities in operation are in caverns (C-CAES) rather than porous media. Just like in C-CAES, PM-CAES operates generally by injecting working gas (air) through well(s) into the reservoir compressing the cushion gas (existing air in the reservoir). During energy recovery, high-pressure air from the reservoir is mixed with fuel in a combustion turbine to produce electricity, thereby reducing compression costs. Unlike in C-CAES, the storage of energy in PM-CAES occurs variably across pressure gradients in the formation, while the solid grains of the matrix can release/store heat. Because air is the working gas, PM-CAES has fairly low thermal efficiency and low energy storage density. To improve the energy storage density, we have conceived and modeled a closed-loop two-reservoir compressed CO2 energy storage system. One reservoir is the low-pressure reservoir, and the other is the high-pressure reservoir. CO2 is cycled back and forth between reservoirs depending on whether energy needs to be stored or recovered. We have carried out thermodynamic and parametric analyses of the performance of an idealized two-reservoir CO2 energy storage system under supercritical and transcritical conditions for CO2 using a steady-state model. Results show that the transcritical compressed CO2 energy storage system has higher round-trip efficiency and exergy efficiency, and larger energy storage density than the supercritical compressed CO2 energy storage. However, the configuration of supercritical compressed CO2 energy storage is simpler, and the energy storage densities of the two systems are both higher than that of PM-CAES, which is advantageous in terms of storage volume for a given power rating.

Socio-economic position and lower dietary moderation among Chinese immigrant women in the USA.

PubMed

Tseng, Marilyn; Fang, Carolyn Y

2012-03-01

To examine associations of education and occupation, as indicators of socio-economic position (SEP), with dietary intake and diet quality in a sample of Chinese immigrant women. Cross-sectional. Data collection included four days of dietary recalls and information on education and current occupation for participants and their spouses. Philadelphia, PA, USA. Chinese immigrant women (n 423) recruited from October 2005 to April 2008. In multivariate models, both higher education level and occupation category were significantly associated with higher energy density and intake of energy and sugar. Education was additionally associated with intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (P = 0·01) and lower dietary moderation (P = 0·01). With joint categorization based on both education and occupation, we observed significant trends indicating higher energy density (P = 0·004) and higher intake of energy (P = 0·001) and sugar (P = 0·04), but less dietary moderation (P = 0·02) with higher SEP. In this sample of US Chinese immigrants, higher SEP as indicated by education level and occupation category was associated with differences in dietary intake and with less dietary moderation. While higher SEP is typically linked to healthier diet in higher-income nations, in these immigrants the association of SEP with diet follows the pattern of their country of origin - a lower-income country undergoing the nutrition transition.

Ellipsometric and optical study of some uncommon insulator films on 3-5 semiconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alterovitz, S. A.; Warner, J. D.; Liu, D. C.; Pouch, J. J.

1985-01-01

Optical properties of three types of insulating films that show promise in potential applications in the 3-4 semiconductor technology were evaluated, namely a-C:H, BN and CaF2. The plasma deposited a-C:H shows an amorphous behavior with optical energy gaps of approximately 2 to 2.4 eV. These a-C:H films have higher density and/or hardness, higher refractive index and lower optical energy gaps with increasing energy of the particles in the plasma, while the density of states remains unchanged. These results are in agreement, and give a fine-tuned positive confirmation to an existing conjecture on the nature of a-C:H films (1). Ion beam deposited BN films show amorphous behavior with energy gap of 5 eV. These films are nonstoichiometric (B/N approximately 2) and have refractive index, density and/or hardness which are dependent on the deposition conditions. The epitaxially grown CaF2 on GaAs films have optical parameters equal to bulk, but evidence of damage was found in the GaAs at the interface.

Improved Performance of Ionic Liquid Supercapacitors by using Tetracyanoborate Anions

PubMed Central

Martins, Vitor L.; Rennie, Anthony J. R.; Sanchez‐Ramirez, Nedher; Torresi, Roberto M.; Hall, Peter J.

2018-01-01

Abstract Supercapacitors are energy storage devices designed to operate at higher power densities than conventional batteries, but their energy density is still too low for many applications. Efforts are made to design new electrolytes with wider electrochemical windows than aqueous or conventional organic electrolytes in order to increase energy density. Ionic liquids (ILs) with wide electrochemical stability windows are excellent candidates to be employed as supercapacitor electrolytes. ILs containing tetracyanoborate anions [B(CN)4] offer wider electrochemical stability than conventional electrolytes and maintain a high ionic conductivity (6.9 mS cm−1). Herein, we report the use of ILs containing the [B(CN)4] anion for such an application. They presented a high maximum operating voltage of 3.7 V, and two‐electrode devices demonstrate high specific capacitances even when operating at relatively high rates (ca. 20 F g−1 @ 15 A g−1). This supercapacitor stored more energy and operated at a higher power at all rates studied when compared with cells using a commonly studied ILs. PMID:29577008

Modern foraging: Presence of food and energy density influence motivational processing of food advertisements.

PubMed

Bailey, Rachel L

2016-12-01

More energy dense foods are preferable from an optimal foraging perspective, which suggests these foods are more motivationally relevant due to their greater capability of fulfilling biological imperatives. This increase in motivational relevance may be exacerbated in circumstances where foraging will be necessary. This study examined how food energy density and presence of food in the immediate environment interacted to influence motivational processing of food advertisements. N = 58 adults viewed advertisements for foods varying in energy density in contexts where the advertised food was actually present in the viewing room or not. Advertisements for more energy dense foods elicited greater skin conductivity level compared to ads for less energy dense foods when food was not present. All ads elicited decreases in corrugator supercilii activation indicating positive emotional response resultant from appetitive motivational activation, though the greatest activation was exhibited toward higher energy density foods when food was present. This supports an optimal foraging perspective and has implications for healthy eating interventions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

“Ni-Less” Cathodes for High Energy Density, Intermediate Temperature Na-NiCl 2 Batteries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, Hee-Jung; Lu, Xiaochuan; Bonnett, Jeffery F.

Among various battery technologies being considered for stationary energy storage applications, sodium-metal halide (Na-MH) batteries have become one of the most attractive candidates because of the abundance of raw materials, long cycle life, high energy density, and superior safety. However, one of issues limiting its practical application is the relatively expensive nickel (Ni) used in the cathode. In the present work, we focus on of efforts to develop new Ni-based cathodes, and demonstrate that a much higher specific energy density of 405 Wh/kg (23% higher than state-of-the-art Na-MH batteries) can be achieved at an operating temperature of 190oC. Furthermore, 15%more » less Ni is used in the new cathode than that in conventional Na-NiCl2 batteries. Long-term cycling tests also show stable electrochemical performance for over 300 cycles with excellent capacity retention (~100%). The results in this work indicate that these advances can significantly reduce the raw material cost associated with Ni (a 31% reduction) and promote practical applications of Na-MH battery technologies in stationary energy storage systems.« less

Energy density effects on food intake, appetite ratings, and loss of control in women with binge eating disorder and weight-matched controls.

PubMed

Latner, Janet D; Rosewall, Juliet K; Chisholm, Amy M

2008-08-01

Individuals with binge eating disorder have increased gastric capacity and may require excessive food intake and increased volume in the stomach to produce satiation. The present study examined whether lower energy density (ED) meals lead to lower energy intake more than higher-ED meals in women with binge eating disorder (BED) and weight-matched controls. Women with BED (n=15) and healthy weight-matched controls (n=15) were instructed to consume as much as they wished during two test meals on non-consecutive days. Participants were served two hedonically similar versions of a pasta salad (19% protein, 50% carbohydrate, 31% fat): low-ED (1.0 kcal/g) and high-ED (1.6 kcal/g), and food intake and appetite ratings were assessed. Energy intake was significantly lower in the low-ED condition than in the high-ED condition across all participants. BED participants were more likely to report greater prospective consumption, desire for dessert, loss of control over eating, and less enjoyment after meals. Decreasing the energy density of food consumed may help target disturbances in satiation in women with frequent binge eating.

Component-cost and performance based comparison of flow and static batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hopkins, Brandon J.; Smith, Kyle C.; Slocum, Alexander H.; Chiang, Yet-Ming

2015-10-01

Flow batteries are a promising grid-storage technology that is scalable, inherently flexible in power/energy ratio, and potentially low cost in comparison to conventional or ;static; battery architectures. Recent advances in flow chemistries are enabling significantly higher energy density flow electrodes. When the same battery chemistry can arguably be used in either a flow or static electrode design, the relative merits of either design choice become of interest. Here, we analyze the costs of the electrochemically active stack for both architectures under the constraint of constant energy efficiency and charge and discharge rates, using as case studies the aqueous vanadium-redox chemistry, widely used in conventional flow batteries, and aqueous lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP)/lithium-titanium-phosphate (LTP) suspensions, an example of a higher energy density suspension-based electrode. It is found that although flow batteries always have a cost advantage (kWh-1) at the stack level modeled, the advantage is a strong function of flow electrode energy density. For the LFP/LTP case, the cost advantages decreases from ∼50% to ∼10% over experimentally reasonable ranges of suspension loading. Such results are important input for design choices when both battery architectures are viable options.

Bacillus spores as building blocks for stimuli-responsive materials and nanogenerators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahin, Ozgur; Chen, Xi

2014-03-01

Materials that mechanically respond to external chemical stimuli have applications in a wide range of fields. Inspired by biological systems, stimuli-responsive materials that can oscillate, transport fluid, mimic homeostasis, and undergo complex changes in shape have been previously demonstrated. However, the effectiveness of synthetic stimuli-responsive materials in generating work is limited when compared to mechanical actuators. During studies of bacterial sporulation, we have found that the mechanical response of Bacillus spores to water gradients exhibits an energy density of more than 10 MJ/m3, which is two orders of magnitude higher than synthetic water-responsive materials. We also identified mutations that can approximately double the energy density of the spores, and found that spores can self-assemble into dense, submicron-thick monolayers on substrates such as silicon microcantilevers and elastomer sheets, creating self-assembled actuators that can remotely generate electrical power from an evaporating body of water. The energy conversion mechanism of Bacillus spores may facilitate synthetic stimuli-responsive materials with significantly higher energy densities. We acknowledge support from the U.S. Dept. of Energy Early Career Research Program, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and the Rowland Institute at Harvard.

Energy and nutritional value of the meals in kindergartens in Nis (Serbia).

PubMed

Lazarevic, Konstansa; Stojanovic, Dusica; Bogdanović, Dragan

2014-01-01

It is well known that high-energy diet, rich in fat and carbohydrates, increases the risk of obesity. Preschool age is an important period to acquire the eating habits continued later in adulthood. Therefore, evaluation of child nutrition in kindergartens is especially important in the prevention of future obesity. To determine the energy value and energy density of meals consumed by children in kindergartens in Nis (Serbia), including the different types of food, in respect to a probable risk of obesity. The study had been conducted in the years 1998-2012. Three-hundred samples of the meals were gathered and analysed, and the amount of selected food groups used to prepare the meals in kindergartens was calculated (weight, protein, fat and carbohydrate content) in the accredited laboratory of the Public Health Institute in Nis according to the ISO 17025 recommendation. The mean energy value of meals was 978.9 kcal (range: 810 - 1144 kcal). The energy density was low (mean: 1.02 kcal/g, range: 0.92 - 1.42 kcal/g) and decreased over the years, what would imply a reduction in the risk of obesity. The intake of same high-energy food products, such as fats and oils as well as sweets (13.9% and 7.3%, respectively) was higher compared to low-energy foods (fruits - 5.2% and vegetables - 10.8%). The results of our study indicate that children in kindergarten in Nis, in general, were properly nourished in total energy content. The energy value and energy density of the meals consumed did not pose a risk of developing obesity. However, the distribution of food groups differentiated by the energy density level was unfavourable; the deficit of low-energy foods was observed. Planning the child nutrition in kindergartens, with laboratory control of meals, may be an effective strategy in adequate energy intake and prevention of obesity. Providing the higher amount of low-energy foods (fruits and vegetables) in meals in kindergartens is recommended.

Spectral function from Reduced Density Matrix Functional Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romaniello, Pina; di Sabatino, Stefano; Berger, Jan A.; Reining, Lucia

2015-03-01

In this work we focus on the calculation of the spectral function, which determines, for example, photoemission spectra, from reduced density matrix functional theory. Starting from its definition in terms of the one-body Green's function we derive an expression for the spectral function that depends on the natural occupation numbers and on an effective energy which accounts for all the charged excitations. This effective energy depends on the two-body as well as higher-order density matrices. Various approximations to this expression are explored by using the exactly solvable Hubbard chains.

The relationship between gas fill density and hohlraum drive performance at the National Ignition Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, G. N.; Jones, O. S.; Strozzi, D. J.; Moody, J. D.; Turnbull, D.; Ralph, J.; Michel, P. A.; Hohenberger, M.; Moore, A. S.; Landen, O. L.; Divol, L.; Bradley, D. K.; Hinkel, D. E.; Mackinnon, A. J.; Town, R. P. J.; Meezan, N. B.; Berzak Hopkins, L.; Izumi, N.

2017-05-01

Indirect drive inertial confinement fusion experiments were conducted at the National Ignition Facility to investigate the performance of the hohlraum drive as a function of hohlraum gas fill density by imploding high-density-carbon capsules using a 2-shock laser pulse. Measurements characterized the backscatter behavior, the production of hot electrons, the motion and brightness of the laser spots on the hohlraum wall, and the efficiency of the hohlraum x-ray drive as a function of gas fill density ρgf between 0.03 mg/cc ("near vacuum") and 1.6 mg/cc. For hohlraums with ρgf up to 0.85 mg/cc, very little stimulated Raman backscatter (SRS) was observed. For higher ρgf, significant SRS was produced and was observed to occur during the rise to peak laser power and throughout the main pulse. The efficiency with which laser energy absorbed by the hohlraum is converted into drive energy was measured to be the same for ρgf ≥ 0.6 mg/cc once the laser reached peak power. However, for the near vacuum case, the absorbed energy was converted to drive energy more efficiently throughout the pulse and maintained an efficiency ˜10% higher than the gas filled hohlraums throughout the main pulse.

The relationship between gas fill density and hohlraum drive performance at the National Ignition Facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hall, G. N.; Jones, O. S.; Strozzi, D. J.

Indirect drive inertial confinement fusion experiments were conducted at the National Ignition Facility to investigate the performance of the hohlraum drive as a function of hohlraum gas fill density by imploding high-density-carbon capsules using a 2-shock laser pulse. Our ,easurements characterize the backscatter behavior, the production of hot electrons, the motion and brightness of the laser spots on the hohlraum wall, and the efficiency of the hohlraum x-ray drive as a function of gas fill density ρ gf between 0.03 mg/cc (“near vacuum”) and 1.6 mg/cc. For hohlraums with ρ gf up to 0.85 mg/cc, very little stimulated Raman backscattermore » (SRS) was observed. Furthermore, for higher ρ gf, significant SRS was produced and was observed to occur during the rise to peak laser power and throughout the main pulse. The efficiency with which laser energy absorbed by the hohlraum is converted into drive energy was measured to be the same for ρ gf ≥ 0.6 mg/cc once the laser reached peak power. But, for the near vacuum case, the absorbed energy was converted to drive energy more efficiently throughout the pulse and maintained an efficiency ~10% higher than the gas filled hohlraums throughout the main pulse.« less

The relationship between gas fill density and hohlraum drive performance at the National Ignition Facility

DOE PAGES

Hall, G. N.; Jones, O. S.; Strozzi, D. J.; ...

2017-05-11

Indirect drive inertial confinement fusion experiments were conducted at the National Ignition Facility to investigate the performance of the hohlraum drive as a function of hohlraum gas fill density by imploding high-density-carbon capsules using a 2-shock laser pulse. Our ,easurements characterize the backscatter behavior, the production of hot electrons, the motion and brightness of the laser spots on the hohlraum wall, and the efficiency of the hohlraum x-ray drive as a function of gas fill density ρ gf between 0.03 mg/cc (“near vacuum”) and 1.6 mg/cc. For hohlraums with ρ gf up to 0.85 mg/cc, very little stimulated Raman backscattermore » (SRS) was observed. Furthermore, for higher ρ gf, significant SRS was produced and was observed to occur during the rise to peak laser power and throughout the main pulse. The efficiency with which laser energy absorbed by the hohlraum is converted into drive energy was measured to be the same for ρ gf ≥ 0.6 mg/cc once the laser reached peak power. But, for the near vacuum case, the absorbed energy was converted to drive energy more efficiently throughout the pulse and maintained an efficiency ~10% higher than the gas filled hohlraums throughout the main pulse.« less

Influence of the first wall material on the particle fuelling in ASDEX Upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lunt, T.; Reimold, F.; Wolfrum, E.; Carralero, D.; Feng, Y.; Schmid, K.; the ASDEX Upgrade Team

2017-05-01

In the period from 2002 to 2007 the material of the plasma facing components (PFCs) of ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) was changed from carbon (C) to tungsten (W). Comparing the measured density profiles of low-density L-mode discharges with little or no gas puff before and after this modification, a significantly higher pedestal-top density was found for W PFCs together with a steeper gradient and a lower pedestal temperature. This change can be explained by larger particle- and energy reflection coefficients for D on W compared to D on C, as shown by EMC3-EIRENE simulations of AUG discharges in similar conditions on a computational grid extending to the main chamber first wall. In the simulations, a change of the wall material at fixed separatrix density indeed shows that for W PFCs more neutrals cross the separatrix, resulting in a steeper density gradient. Analysis of the source resolved and poloidally resolved neutral flux densities across the separatrix show a dominant contribution of the divertor targets to the fuelling profile in the simulation of the low density case. Increasing the density decreases the electron temperature at the target and therefore the potential drop in the electrostatic sheath as well as the energy of the ions impinging on the surface. Neutrals with ∼eV energies, able to reach the separatrix, are then only produced via molecular dissociation processes in the plasma volume independently of the PFC material. Also the contribution of the main chamber PFCs to the fuelling is observed to increase at higher densities.

Redox Species of Redox Flow Batteries: A Review.

PubMed

Pan, Feng; Wang, Qing

2015-11-18

Due to the capricious nature of renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar, large-scale energy storage devices are increasingly required to make the best use of the renewable power. The redox flow battery is considered suitable for large-scale applications due to its modular design, good scalability and flexible operation. The biggest challenge of the redox flow battery is the low energy density. The redox active species is the most important component in redox flow batteries, and the redox potential and solubility of redox species dictate the system energy density. This review is focused on the recent development of redox species. Different categories of redox species, including simple inorganic ions, metal complexes, metal-free organic compounds, polysulfide/sulfur and lithium storage active materials, are reviewed. The future development of redox species towards higher energy density is also suggested.

Effect of laser irradiation on the early-stage seed formation of laser-induced submicrometer-scale silica spheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, H. J.; Ha, S. Y.; Hong, Y. J.; Nam, S.; Oh, S. Y.; Lim, C.

2014-04-01

We describe the effect of irradiation on the early-stage seed formation of submicrometer-scale (SS) SiO2 spheres by a laser-induced process. A quartz cell containing chemical reagents was exposed to a pulsed laser (Nd:YAG, 532 nm) tuned to various energy densities, while SiO2 SS spheres are synthesized in the quartz cell by the Stöber, Fink, and Bohn method. Higher laser energy densities typically produce wider size distributions. In particular, bidisperse SiO2 spheres were obtained when the laser energy density was 1.15 J/cm2. The size distributions were widest with 1.15 J/cm2 and narrowest with 0.33 J/cm2 laser energy density. However, the compositions of the SiO2 SS spheres were not affected by laser irradiation, and we observed by the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy that the compositions of the irradiated and nonirradiated SiO2 SS spheres were the same.

Ferromagnetism enhanced by structural relaxation of biaxially compressed LaCoO3 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, Virat; Suzuki, Yuri

2011-04-01

Epitaxial LaCoO3 films were synthesized on LaAlO3 substrates to explore the role of epitaxial strain and structure on the ferromagnetism observed in these biaxially compressed films. Coherent strain and tetragonal structure were only achieved in thin film samples grown using higher energy densities. The strain relaxed with increasing thickness and was accompanied by increasing mosaic spread. Higher magnetization values were consistently seen in fully relaxed films grown using lower laser energy density. These results suggest that epitaxial strain is not the only factor determining the ferromagnetism and that the microstructure and defects may play a significant role.

Microcraters formed in glass by low density projectiles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mandeville, J.-C.; Vedder, J. F.

1971-01-01

Microcraters were produced in soda-lime glass by the impact of low density projectiles of polystyrene with masses between 0.7 and 62 picograms and velocities between 2 and 14 kilometers per second. The morphology of the craters depends on the velocity and angle of incidence of the projectiles. The transitions in morphology of the craters formed by polystyrene spheres occur at higher velocities than they do for more dense projectiles. For oblique impact, the craters are elongated and shallow with the spallation threshold occuring at higher velocity. For normal incidence, the total displaced mass of the target material per unit of projectile kinetic energy increases slowly with the energy.

Pyrolytic-carbon coating in carbon nanotube foams for better performance in supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Nanfei; Yildiz, Ozkan; Pan, Qin; Zhu, Jiadeng; Zhang, Xiangwu; Bradford, Philip D.; Gao, Wei

2017-03-01

Nowadays, the wide-spread adoption of supercapacitors has been hindered by their inferior energy density to that of batteries. Here we report the use of our pyrolytic-carbon-coated carbon nanotube foams as lightweight, compressible, porous, and highly conductive current collectors in supercapacitors, which are infiltrated with chemically-reduced graphene oxide and later compressed via mechanical and capillary forces to generate the active electrodes. The pyrolytic carbon coatings, introduced by chemical vapor infiltration, wrap around the CNT junctions and increase the surface roughness. When active materials are infiltrated, the pyrolytic-carbon coatings help prevent the π-stacking, enlarge the accessible surface area, and increase the electrical conductivity of the scaffold. Our best-performing device offers 48% and 57% higher gravimetric energy and power density, 14% and 23% higher volumetric energy and power density, respectively, and two times higher knee frequency, than the device with commercial current collectors, while the "true-performance metrics" are strictly followed in our measurements. We have further clarified the solution resistance, charge transfer resistance/capacitance, double-layer capacitance, and Warburg resistance in our system via comprehensive impedance analysis, which will shed light on the design and optimization of similar systems.

The evolution of ring current ion energy density and energy content during geomagnetic storms based on Van Allen Probes measurements

DOE PAGES

Zhao, H.; Li, X.; Baker, D. N.; ...

2015-08-25

Enabled by the comprehensive measurements from the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS), Helium Oxygen Proton Electron mass spectrometer (HOPE), and Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instruments onboard Van Allen Probes in the heart of the radiation belt, the relative contributions of ions with different energies and species to the ring current energy density and their dependence on the phases of geomagnetic storms are quantified. The results show that lower energy (<50 keV) protons enhance much more often and also decay much faster than higher-energy protons. During the storm main phase, ions with energies <50 keV contribute moremore » significantly to the ring current than those with higher energies; while the higher-energy protons dominate during the recovery phase and quiet times. The enhancements of higher-energy proton fluxes as well as energy content generally occur later than those of lower energy protons, which could be due to the inward radial diffusion. For the 29 March 2013 storm we investigated in detail that the contribution from O + is ~25% of the ring current energy content during the main phase and the majority of that comes from <50 keV O +. This indicates that even during moderate geomagnetic storms the ionosphere is still an important contributor to the ring current ions. Using the Dessler-Parker-Sckopke relation, the contributions of ring current particles to the magnetic field depression during this geomagnetic storm are also calculated. In conclusion, the results show that the measured ring current ions contribute about half of the Dst depression.« less

The evolution of ring current ion energy density and energy content during geomagnetic storms based on Van Allen Probes measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, H.; Li, X.; Baker, D. N.

Enabled by the comprehensive measurements from the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS), Helium Oxygen Proton Electron mass spectrometer (HOPE), and Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instruments onboard Van Allen Probes in the heart of the radiation belt, the relative contributions of ions with different energies and species to the ring current energy density and their dependence on the phases of geomagnetic storms are quantified. The results show that lower energy (<50 keV) protons enhance much more often and also decay much faster than higher-energy protons. During the storm main phase, ions with energies <50 keV contribute moremore » significantly to the ring current than those with higher energies; while the higher-energy protons dominate during the recovery phase and quiet times. The enhancements of higher-energy proton fluxes as well as energy content generally occur later than those of lower energy protons, which could be due to the inward radial diffusion. For the 29 March 2013 storm we investigated in detail that the contribution from O + is ~25% of the ring current energy content during the main phase and the majority of that comes from <50 keV O +. This indicates that even during moderate geomagnetic storms the ionosphere is still an important contributor to the ring current ions. Using the Dessler-Parker-Sckopke relation, the contributions of ring current particles to the magnetic field depression during this geomagnetic storm are also calculated. In conclusion, the results show that the measured ring current ions contribute about half of the Dst depression.« less

Advanced intermediate temperature sodium–nickel chloride batteries with ultra-high energy density

PubMed Central

Li, Guosheng; Lu, Xiaochuan; Kim, Jin Y.; Meinhardt, Kerry D.; Chang, Hee Jung; Canfield, Nathan L.; Sprenkle, Vincent L.

2016-01-01

Sodium-metal halide batteries have been considered as one of the more attractive technologies for stationary electrical energy storage, however, they are not used for broader applications despite their relatively well-known redox system. One of the roadblocks hindering market penetration is the high-operating temperature. Here we demonstrate that planar sodium–nickel chloride batteries can be operated at an intermediate temperature of 190 °C with ultra-high energy density. A specific energy density of 350 Wh kg−1, higher than that of conventional tubular sodium–nickel chloride batteries (280 °C), is obtained for planar sodium–nickel chloride batteries operated at 190 °C over a long-term cell test (1,000 cycles), and it attributed to the slower particle growth of the cathode materials at the lower operating temperature. Results reported here demonstrate that planar sodium–nickel chloride batteries operated at an intermediate temperature could greatly benefit this traditional energy storage technology by improving battery energy density, cycle life and reducing material costs. PMID:26864635

Assessment of satiety depends on the energy density and portion size of the test meal

PubMed Central

Williams, Rachel A.; Roe, Liane S.; Rolls, Barbara J.

2013-01-01

Objective Foods that enhance satiety can reduce overconsumption, but the availability of large portions of energy-dense foods may counter their benefits. We tested the influence on meal energy intake of varying the energy density and portion size of food consumed after a preload shown to promote satiety. Design and Methods In a crossover design, 46 women were served lunch on six days. On four days they ate a compulsory salad (300 g, 0.33 kcal/g). Unlike previous studies, instead of varying the preload, the subsequent test meal of pasta was varied between standard and increased levels of both energy density (1.25 or 1.66 kcal/g) and portion size (450 or 600 g). On two control days a salad was not served. Results Following the salad, the energy density and portion size of the test meal independently affected meal energy intake (both p<0.02). Serving the higher-energy-dense pasta increased test meal intake by 153±19 kcal and serving the larger portion of pasta increased test meal intake by 40±16 kcal. Compared to having no salad, consuming the salad decreased test meal intake by 123±18 kcal. Conclusions The effect of satiety-enhancing foods can be influenced by the energy density and portion size of other foods at the meal. PMID:23929544

Ecological energetics of forage fish from the Mediterranean Sea: Seasonal dynamics and interspecific differences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albo-Puigserver, M.; Muñoz, A.; Navarro, J.; Coll, M.; Pethybridge, H.; Sánchez, S.; Palomera, I.

2017-06-01

Small and medium pelagic fishes play a central role in marine food webs by transferring energy from plankton to top predators. In this study, direct calorimetry was used to analyze the energy density of seven pelagic species collected over four seasons from the western Mediterranean Sea: anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus, sardine Sardina pilchardus, round sardinella Sardinella aurita, horse mackerels Trachurus trachurus and T. mediterraneus, and mackerels Scomber scombrus and S. colias. Inter-specific differences in energy density were linked to spawning period, energy allocation strategies for reproduction and growth, and feeding ecologies. Energy density of each species varied over time, with the exception of S. colias, likely due to its high energetic requirements related to migration throughout the year. In general, higher energy density was observed in spring for all species, regardless of their breeding strategy, probably as a consequence of the late-winter phytoplankton bloom. These results provide new insights into the temporal availability of energy in the pelagic ecosystem of the Mediterranean Sea, which are pivotal for understanding how the population dynamics of small and medium pelagic fishes and their predators may respond to environmental changes and fishing impacts. In addition, the differences found in energy density between species highlighted the importance of using species specific energy-values in ecosystem assessment tools such as bioenergetic and food web models.

Myocardial signal density levels and beam-hardening artifact attenuation using dual-energy computed tomography.

PubMed

Rodriguez-Granillo, Gaston A; Carrascosa, Patricia; Cipriano, Silvina; de Zan, Macarena; Deviggiano, Alejandro; Capunay, Carlos; Cury, Ricardo C

2015-01-01

The assessment of myocardial perfusion using single-energy (SE) imaging is influenced by beam-hardening artifacts (BHA). We sought to explore the ability of dual-energy (DE) imaging to attenuate the presence of BHA. Myocardial signal density (SD) was evaluated in 2240 myocardial segments (112 for each energy level) and in 320 American Heart Association segments among the SE group. Compared to DE reconstructions at the best energy level, SE acquisitions showed no significant differences overall regarding myocardial SD or signal-to-noise ratio. The segments most commonly affected by BHA showed significantly lower myocardial SD at the lowest energy levels, progressively normalizing at higher energy levels. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Energetic O+ and H+ Ions in the Plasma Sheet: Implications for the Transport of Ionospheric Ions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ohtani, S.; Nose, M.; Christon, S. P.; Lui, A. T.

2011-01-01

The present study statistically examines the characteristics of energetic ions in the plasma sheet using the Geotail/Energetic Particle and Ion Composition data. An emphasis is placed on the O+ ions, and the characteristics of the H+ ions are used as references. The following is a summary of the results. (1) The average O+ energy is lower during solar maximum and higher during solar minimum. A similar tendency is also found for the average H+ energy, but only for geomagnetically active times; (2) The O+ -to -H+ ratios of number and energy densities are several times higher during solar maximum than during solar minimum; (3) The average H+ and O+ energies and the O+ -to -H+ ratios of number and energy densities all increase with geomagnetic activity. The differences among different solar phases not only persist but also increase with increasing geomagnetic activity; (4) Whereas the average H+ energy increases toward Earth, the average O+ energy decreases toward Earth. The average energy increases toward dusk for both the H+ and O+ ions; (5) The O+ -to -H+ ratios of number and energy densities increase toward Earth during all solar phases, but most clearly during solar maximum. These results suggest that the solar illumination enhances the ionospheric outflow more effectively with increasing geomagnetic activity and that a significant portion of the O+ ions is transported directly from the ionosphere to the near ]Earth region rather than through the distant tail.

First-principles equation-of-state table of silicon and its effects on high-energy-density plasma simulations

DOE PAGES

Hu, S. X.; Gao, R.; Ding, Y.; ...

2017-04-21

Using density-functional theory–based molecular-dynamics simulations, we have investigated the equation of state for silicon in a wide range of plasma density and temperature conditions of ρ=0.001–500g/cm 3 and T=2000–10 8K. With these calculations, we have established a first-principles equation-of-state (FPEOS) table of silicon for high-energy-density (HED) plasma simulations. When compared with the widely used SESAME-EOS model (Table 3810), we find that the FPEOS-predicted Hugoniot is ~20% softer; for off-Hugoniot plasma conditions, the pressure and internal energy in FPEOS are lower than those of SESAME EOS for temperatures above T ≈ 1–10 eV (depending on density), while the former becomes highermore » in the low- T regime. The pressure difference between FPEOS and SESAME 3810 can reach to ~50%, especially in the warm-dense-matter regime. Implementing the FPEOS table of silicon into our hydrocodes, we have studied its effects on Si-target implosions. When compared with the one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulation using the SESAME 3810 EOS model, the FPEOS simulation showed that (1) the shock speed in silicon is ~10% slower; (2) the peak density of an in-flight Si shell during implosion is ~20% higher than the SESAME 3810 simulation; (3) the maximum density reached in the FPEOS simulation is ~40% higher at the peak compression; and (4) the final areal density and neutron yield are, respectively, ~30% and ~70% higher predicted by FPEOS versus the traditional simulation using SESAME 3810. All of these features can be attributed to the larger compressibility of silicon predicted by FPEOS. Furthermore, these results indicate that an accurate EOS table, like the FPEOS presented here, could be essential for the precise design of targets for HED experiments.« less

First-principles equation-of-state table of silicon and its effects on high-energy-density plasma simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hu, S. X.; Gao, R.; Ding, Y.

Using density-functional theory–based molecular-dynamics simulations, we have investigated the equation of state for silicon in a wide range of plasma density and temperature conditions of ρ=0.001–500g/cm 3 and T=2000–10 8K. With these calculations, we have established a first-principles equation-of-state (FPEOS) table of silicon for high-energy-density (HED) plasma simulations. When compared with the widely used SESAME-EOS model (Table 3810), we find that the FPEOS-predicted Hugoniot is ~20% softer; for off-Hugoniot plasma conditions, the pressure and internal energy in FPEOS are lower than those of SESAME EOS for temperatures above T ≈ 1–10 eV (depending on density), while the former becomes highermore » in the low- T regime. The pressure difference between FPEOS and SESAME 3810 can reach to ~50%, especially in the warm-dense-matter regime. Implementing the FPEOS table of silicon into our hydrocodes, we have studied its effects on Si-target implosions. When compared with the one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics simulation using the SESAME 3810 EOS model, the FPEOS simulation showed that (1) the shock speed in silicon is ~10% slower; (2) the peak density of an in-flight Si shell during implosion is ~20% higher than the SESAME 3810 simulation; (3) the maximum density reached in the FPEOS simulation is ~40% higher at the peak compression; and (4) the final areal density and neutron yield are, respectively, ~30% and ~70% higher predicted by FPEOS versus the traditional simulation using SESAME 3810. All of these features can be attributed to the larger compressibility of silicon predicted by FPEOS. Furthermore, these results indicate that an accurate EOS table, like the FPEOS presented here, could be essential for the precise design of targets for HED experiments.« less

Effect of lateral size and thickness on the electronic structure and optical properties of quasi two-dimensional CdSe and CdS nanoplatelets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bose, Sumanta; Fan, W. J., E-mail: ewjfan@ntu.edu.sg; Zhang, D. H.

2016-04-14

The effect of lateral size and vertical thickness of CdSe and CdS nanoplatelets (NPLs) on their electronic structure and optical properties are investigated using an effective-mass envelope function theory based on the 8-band k ⋅ p model with valence force field considerations. Volumetrically larger NPLs have lower photon emission energy due to limited quantum confinement, but a greater transition matrix element (TME) due to larger electron-hole wavefunction overlap. The optical gain characteristics depend on several factors such as TME, Fermi factor, carrier density, NPL dimensions, material composition, and dephasing rate. There is a red shift in the peak position, moremore » so with an increase in thickness than lateral size. For an increasing carrier density, the gain spectrum undergoes a slight blue shift due to band filling effect. For a fixed carrier density, the Fermi factor is higher for volumetrically larger NPLs and so is the difference between the quasi-Fermi level separation and the effective bandgap. The transparency injection carrier density (and thus input current density threshold) is dimension dependent and falls for volumetrically larger NPLs, as they can attain the requisite exciton count for transparency with a relatively lower density. Between CdSe and CdS, CdSe has lower emission energy due to smaller bandgap, but a higher TME due to lower effective mass. CdS, however, has a higher so hole contribution due to a lower spin-orbit splitting energy. Both CdSe and CdS NPLs are suitable candidates for short-wavelength LEDs and lasers in the visible spectrum, but CdSe is expected to exhibit better optical performance.« less

Investigation of a tubular dual-stator flux-switching permanent-magnet linear generator for free-piston energy converter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sui, Yi; Zheng, Ping; Tong, Chengde; Yu, Bin; Zhu, Shaohong; Zhu, Jianguo

2015-05-01

This paper describes a tubular dual-stator flux-switching permanent-magnet (PM) linear generator for free-piston energy converter. The operating principle, topology, and design considerations of the machine are investigated. Combining the motion characteristic of free-piston Stirling engine, a tubular dual-stator PM linear generator is designed by finite element method. Some major structural parameters, such as the outer and inner radii of the mover, PM thickness, mover tooth width, tooth width of the outer and inner stators, etc., are optimized to improve the machine performances like thrust capability and power density. In comparison with conventional single-stator PM machines like moving-magnet linear machine and flux-switching linear machine, the proposed dual-stator flux-switching PM machine shows advantages in higher mass power density, higher volume power density, and lighter mover.

Pillared Structure Design of MXene with Ultralarge Interlayer Spacing for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Capacitors.

PubMed

Luo, Jianmin; Zhang, Wenkui; Yuan, Huadong; Jin, Chengbin; Zhang, Liyuan; Huang, Hui; Liang, Chu; Xia, Yang; Zhang, Jun; Gan, Yongping; Tao, Xinyong

2017-03-28

Two-dimensional transition-metal carbide materials (termed MXene) have attracted huge attention in the field of electrochemical energy storage due to their excellent electrical conductivity, high volumetric capacity, etc. Herein, with inspiration from the interesting structure of pillared interlayered clays, we attempt to fabricate pillared Ti 3 C 2 MXene (CTAB-Sn(IV)@Ti 3 C 2 ) via a facile liquid-phase cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) prepillaring and Sn 4+ pillaring method. The interlayer spacing of Ti 3 C 2 MXene can be controlled according to the size of the intercalated prepillaring agent (cationic surfactant) and can reach 2.708 nm with 177% increase compared with the original spacing of 0.977 nm, which is currently the maximum value according to our knowledge. Because of the pillar effect, the assembled LIC exhibits a superior energy density of 239.50 Wh kg -1 based on the weight of CTAB-Sn(IV)@Ti 3 C 2 even under higher power density of 10.8 kW kg -1 . When CTAB-Sn(IV)@Ti 3 C 2 anode couples with commercial AC cathode, LIC reveals higher energy density and power density compared with conventional MXene materials.

High-temperature, high-power-density thermionic energy conversion for space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, J. F.

1977-01-01

Theoretic converter outputs and efficiencies indicate the need to consider thermionic energy conversion (TEC) with greater power densities and higher temperatures within reasonable limits for space missions. Converter-output power density, voltage, and efficiency as functions of current density were determined for 1400-to-2000 K emitters with 725-to-1000 K collectors. The results encourage utilization of TEC with hotter-than-1650 K emitters and greater-than-6W sq cm outputs to attain better efficiencies, greater voltages, and higher waste-heat-rejection temperatures for multihundred-kilowatt space-power applications. For example, 1800 K, 30 A sq cm TEC operation for NEP compared with the 1650 K, 5 A/sq cm case should allow much lower radiation weights, substantially fewer and/or smaller emitter heat pipes, significantly reduced reactor and shield-related weights, many fewer converters and associated current-collecting bus bars, less power conditioning, and lower transmission losses. Integration of these effects should yield considerably reduced NEP specific weights.

Development of high energy density electrical double layer capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devarajan, Thamarai selvi

Electrochemical Double Layer capacitors (EDLCs) have shown themselves as a viable energy storage alternative. EDLCs have high power density, faster charge/discharge, wide operating temperature and long cycle life compared to batteries since it stores charge by physical separation. Despites all their advantages, their low energy density stand as a bottleneck for capacitors. This research aims to increase the energy density of EDLC without compromising the power density. Energy is proportional to the square of cell voltage. Cell voltage is mainly dependent on electrolyte breakdown. Electrolytes also provide ions for charge separation and conduction. Therefore various electrolytes (Solutes and Solvents) which can give high concentration, solubility and decomposition potential were characterized in the first part of the research. In that study, a novel ionic liquid OPBF4 had higher capacitance and comparable voltage window compared to commercial TEABF4 in Acetonitrile. However, the increased polarity of the fixed ring O-atom and the ion-ion interaction in OPBF4 was responsible for lowering its conductivity. Oxygenated ionic compounds with alkyl groups had lower stability due to beta elimination between two electron withdrawing atoms. Volume based thermodynamics and quantum chemical calculations were used to calculate ion size, HOMO/LUMO energies, and free energy changes and establish relationship with capacitance, redox potential and melting points respectively. In addition free energy of fusion was used to predict the melting point. Ion size had correlation with capacitance due to compact double layer formation. Free energy changes did not explain the differences in melting point and predicted dielectric constant was inconsistent with the polarity. This is presumably due to using Van der Waals volume instead of crystal structure volume and insufficient incorporation of polarization term. The HOMO/LUMO energies gave direct relation between oxidation and reduction potential at 1mA/cm 2. A brief study on non-polar co-solvents for EDLC was studied. Among the solvents studied, fluorinated solvents had low melting point and viscosity due to incorporation of asymmetry. However, because of low dielectric constant, TEABF4 is insoluble and had to be mixed with other solvents. The mixed fluorinated solvents had slightly higher voltage window due to decreased donicity of lone pairs of electrons. The second approach to increasing energy density is to increase capacitance. Capacitance is mainly dependent on surface area and porosity of electrodes. Nanostructured materials which can offer multiple charge storage are currently of interest. Hence, novel NiSi nanotubes were studied as electrodes for supercapacitor applications. Silicon material has high capacity and these inert electrodes can enable higher capacitance by controlling the porosity and functional groups in specific electrolytes. The Silicon wafers were made porous by anodization using hydrofluoric acid. In order to improve the conductivity, the porous silicon was doped, then plated with Ni using electroless plating method and annealed to form nickel mono silicide. Gold was deposited on the back side of the electrode to enhance conductivity. Our porous NiSi electrodes gave capacitance of about 1185muF /cm2 in 0.5 M H 2SO4. Further investigation of oxide formation and modification of functional groups will help achieve higher capacitance.

Characterization of drinking water treatment sludge after ultrasound treatment.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhiwei; Yang, Yanling; Li, Xing; Zhang, Yang; Guo, Xuan

2015-05-01

Ultrasonic technology alone or the combination of ultrasound with alkaline or thermal hydrolysis as pretreatment for anaerobic digestion of activated sludge has been extensively documented. However, there are few reports on ultrasound as pretreatment of drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS), and thereby the characteristic variability of sonicated DWTS has not been fully examined. This research presents a lab-scale study on physical, chemical and biological characteristics of a DWTS sample collected from a water plant after ultrasonic treatment via a bath/probe sonoreactor. By doing this work, we provide implications for using ultrasound as pretreatment of enhanced coagulation of recycling sludge, and for the conditioning of water and wastewater mixed sludge by ultrasound combined with polymers. Our results indicate that the most vigorous DWTS disintegration quantified by particles' size reduction and organic solubilization is achieved with 5 W/ml for 30 min ultra-sonication (specific energy of 1590 kWh/kg TS). The Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) specific surface area of sonicated DWTS flocs increase as ultra-sonication prolongs at lower energy densities (0.03 and 1 W/ml), while decrease as ultra-sonication prolongs at higher energy densities (3 and 5 W/ml). Additionally, the pH and zeta potential of sonicated DWTS slightly varies under all conditions observed. A shorter sonication with higher energy density plays a more effective role in restraining microbial activity than longer sonication with lower energy density. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Weavable, Conductive Yarn-Based NiCo//Zn Textile Battery with High Energy Density and Rate Capability.

PubMed

Huang, Yan; Ip, Wing Shan; Lau, Yuen Ying; Sun, Jinfeng; Zeng, Jie; Yeung, Nga Sze Sea; Ng, Wing Sum; Li, Hongfei; Pei, Zengxia; Xue, Qi; Wang, Yukun; Yu, Jie; Hu, Hong; Zhi, Chunyi

2017-09-26

With intrinsic safety and much higher energy densities than supercapacitors, rechargeable nickel/cobalt-zinc-based textile batteries are promising power sources for next generation personalized wearable electronics. However, high-performance wearable nickel/cobalt-zinc-based batteries are rarely reported because there is a lack of industrially weavable and knittable highly conductive yarns. Here, we use scalably produced highly conductive yarns uniformly covered with zinc (as anode) and nickel cobalt hydroxide nanosheets (as cathode) to fabricate rechargeable yarn batteries. They possess a battery level capacity and energy density, as well as a supercapacitor level power density. They deliver high specific capacity of 5 mAh cm -3 and energy densities of 0.12 mWh cm -2 and 8 mWh cm -3 (based on the whole solid battery). They exhibit ultrahigh rate capabilities of 232 C (liquid electrolyte) and 116 C (solid electrolyte), which endows the batteries excellent power densities of 32.8 mW cm -2 and 2.2 W cm -3 (based on the whole solid battery). These are among the highest values reported so far. A wrist band battery is further constructed by using a large conductive cloth woven from the conductive yarns by a commercial weaving machine. It powers various electronic devices successfully, enabling dual functions of wearability and energy storage.

Gentlest ascent dynamics for calculating first excited state and exploring energy landscape of Kohn-Sham density functionals.

PubMed

Li, Chen; Lu, Jianfeng; Yang, Weitao

2015-12-14

We develop the gentlest ascent dynamics for Kohn-Sham density functional theory to search for the index-1 saddle points on the energy landscape of the Kohn-Sham density functionals. These stationary solutions correspond to excited states in the ground state functionals. As shown by various examples, the first excited states of many chemical systems are given by these index-1 saddle points. Our novel approach provides an alternative, more robust way to obtain these excited states, compared with the widely used ΔSCF approach. The method can be easily generalized to target higher index saddle points. Our results also reveal the physical interest and relevance of studying the Kohn-Sham energy landscape.

Density variations of plastic carriers in metallic glasses during aging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Yue; Iwashita, Takuya; Egami, Takeshi

Thermally induced deformation in metallic glasses was investigated by sampling the potential energy landscape (PEL) and probing the changes in the atomic properties (e.g. energy, displacement, stress). We demonstrate that there exists a universal plastic carrier in amorphous materials, which corresponds to the hopping between local minima on PEL. However very interestingly, the density of plastic carrier is largely affected by the aging history of the glasses. The higher fictive temperature (i . e . fast cooling rate), the larger density of plastic carrier is contained in the system. In particular, we observe a scaling of ρ~exp(- α/Tfic) , which is consistent with the prediction of shear transformation zone theory. The work is supported by U.S. Department of Energy.

Microcombustor-thermoelectric power generator for 10-50 watt applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, Daniel S.; Cho, Steve T.

2010-04-01

Fuel-based portable power systems, including combustion and fuel cell systems, take advantage of the 80x higher energy density of fuel over lithium battery technologies and offer the potential for much higher energy density power sources - especially for long-duration applications, such as unattended sensors. Miniaturization of fuel-based systems poses significant challenges, including processing of fuel in small channels, catalyst poisoning, and coke and soot formation. Recent advances in micro-miniature combustors in the 200Watt thermal range have enabled the development of small power sources that use the chemical energy of heavy fuel to drive thermal-to-electric converters for portable applications. CUBE Technology has developed compact Micro-Furnace combustors that efficiently deliver high-quality heat to optimized thermal-to-electric power converters, such as advanced thermoelectric power modules and Stirling motors, for portable power generation at the 10-50Watt scale. Key innovations include a compact gas-gas recuperator, innovative heavy fuel processing, coke- & soot-free operation, and combustor optimization for low balance-of-plant power use while operating at full throttle. This combustor enables the development of robust, high energy density, miniature power sources for portable applications.

Identifying high energy density stream-reaches through refined geospatial resolution in hydropower resource assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pasha, M. Fayzul K.; Yang, Majntxov; Yeasmin, Dilruba

Benefited from the rapid development of multiple geospatial data sets on topography, hydrology, and existing energy-water infrastructures, the reconnaissance level hydropower resource assessment can now be conducted using geospatial models in all regions of the US. Furthermore, the updated techniques can be used to estimate the total undeveloped hydropower potential across all regions, and may eventually help identify further hydropower opportunities that were previously overlooked. To enhance the characterization of higher energy density stream-reaches, this paper explored the sensitivity of geospatial resolution on the identification of hydropower stream-reaches using the geospatial merit matrix based hydropower resource assessment (GMM-HRA) model. GMM-HRAmore » model simulation was conducted with eight different spatial resolutions on six U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 8-digit hydrologic units (HUC8) located at three different terrains; Flat, Mild, and Steep. The results showed that more hydropower potential from higher energy density stream-reaches can be identified with increasing spatial resolution. Both Flat and Mild terrains exhibited lower impacts compared to the Steep terrain. Consequently, greater attention should be applied when selecting the discretization resolution for hydropower resource assessments in the future study.« less

Identifying high energy density stream-reaches through refined geospatial resolution in hydropower resource assessment

DOE PAGES

Pasha, M. Fayzul K.; Yang, Majntxov; Yeasmin, Dilruba; ...

2016-01-07

Benefited from the rapid development of multiple geospatial data sets on topography, hydrology, and existing energy-water infrastructures, the reconnaissance level hydropower resource assessment can now be conducted using geospatial models in all regions of the US. Furthermore, the updated techniques can be used to estimate the total undeveloped hydropower potential across all regions, and may eventually help identify further hydropower opportunities that were previously overlooked. To enhance the characterization of higher energy density stream-reaches, this paper explored the sensitivity of geospatial resolution on the identification of hydropower stream-reaches using the geospatial merit matrix based hydropower resource assessment (GMM-HRA) model. GMM-HRAmore » model simulation was conducted with eight different spatial resolutions on six U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 8-digit hydrologic units (HUC8) located at three different terrains; Flat, Mild, and Steep. The results showed that more hydropower potential from higher energy density stream-reaches can be identified with increasing spatial resolution. Both Flat and Mild terrains exhibited lower impacts compared to the Steep terrain. Consequently, greater attention should be applied when selecting the discretization resolution for hydropower resource assessments in the future study.« less

Diet density during the first week of life: Effects on energy and nitrogen balance characteristics of broiler chickens.

PubMed

Lamot, D M; Sapkota, D; Wijtten, P J A; van den Anker, I; Heetkamp, M J W; Kemp, B; van den Brand, H

2017-07-01

This study aimed to determine effects of diet density on growth performance, energy balance, and nitrogen (N) balance characteristics of broiler chickens during the first wk of life. Effects of diet density were studied using a dose-response design consisting of 5 dietary fat levels (3.5, 7.0, 10.5, 14.0, and 17.5%). The relative difference in dietary energy level was used to increase amino acid levels, mineral levels, and the premix inclusion level at the same ratio. Chickens were housed in open-circuit climate respiration chambers from d 0 to 7 after hatch. Body weight was measured on d 0 and 7, whereas feed intake was determined daily. For calculation of energy balances, O2 and CO2 exchange were measured continuously and all excreta from d 0 to 7 was collected and analyzed at d 7. Average daily gain (ADG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) decreased linearly (P = 0.047 and P < 0.001, respectively), whereas gain to feed ratio increased (P < 0.001) with increasing diet density. Gross energy (GE) intake and metabolizable energy (ME) intake were not affected by diet density, but the ratio between ME and GE intake decreased linearly with increasing diet density (P = 0.006). Fat, N, and GE efficiencies (expressed as gain per unit of nutrient intake), heat production, and respiratory exchange ratio (CO2 to O2 ratio) decreased linearly (P < 0.001) as diet density increased. Energy retention, N intake, and N retention were not affected by diet density. We conclude that a higher diet density in the first wk of life of broiler chickens did not affect protein and fat retention, whereas the ME to GE ratio decreased linearly with increased diet density. This suggests that diet density appears to affect digestibility rather than utilization of nutrients. © 2017 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Effect of pristine graphene incorporation on charge storage mechanism of three-dimensional graphene oxide: superior energy and power density retention

PubMed Central

Singh, Kiran Pal; Bhattacharjya, Dhrubajyoti; Razmjooei, Fatemeh; Yu, Jong-Sung

2016-01-01

In the race of gaining higher energy density, carbon’s capacity to retain power density is generally lost due to defect incorporation and resistance increment in carbon electrode. Herein, a relationship between charge carrier density/charge movement and supercapacitance performance is established. For this purpose we have incorporated the most defect-free pristine graphene into defective/sacrificial graphene oxide. A unique co-solvent-based technique is applied to get a homogeneous suspension of single to bi-layer graphene and graphene oxide. This suspension is then transformed into a 3D composite structure of pristine graphene sheets (GSs) and defective N-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-RGO), which is the first stable and homogenous 3D composite between GS and RGO to the best of our knowledge. It is found that incorporation of pristine graphene can drastically decrease defect density and thus decrease relaxation time due to improved associations between electrons in GS and ions in electrolyte. Furthermore, N doping is implemented selectively only on RGO and such doping is shown to improve the charge carrier density of the composite, which eventually improves the energy density. After all, the novel 3D composite structure of N-RGO and GS greatly improves energy and power density even at high current density (20 A/g). PMID:27530441

Reducing energy intake and energy density for a sustainable diet: a study based on self-selected diets in French adults.

PubMed

Masset, Gabriel; Vieux, Florent; Verger, Eric Olivier; Soler, Louis-Georges; Touazi, Djilali; Darmon, Nicole

2014-06-01

Studies on theoretical diets are not sufficient to implement sustainable diets in practice because of unknown cultural acceptability. In contrast, self-selected diets can be considered culturally acceptable. The objective was to identify the most sustainable diets consumed by people in everyday life. The diet-related greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) for self-selected diets of 1918 adults participating in the cross-sectional French national dietary survey Individual and National Survey on Food Consumption (INCA2) were estimated. "Lower-Carbon," "Higher-Quality," and "More Sustainable" diets were defined as having GHGE lower than the overall median value, a probability of adequate nutrition intake (PANDiet) score (a measure of the overall nutritional adequacy of a diet) higher than the overall median value, and a combination of both criteria, respectively. Diet cost, as a proxy for affordability, and energy density were also assessed. More Sustainable diets were consumed by 23% of men and 20% of women, and their GHGE values were 19% and 17% lower than the population average (mean) value, respectively. In comparison with the average value, Lower-Carbon diets achieved a 20% GHGE reduction and lower cost, but they were not sustainable because they had a lower PANDiet score. Higher-Quality diets were not sustainable because of their above-average GHGE and cost. More Sustainable diets had an above-average PANDiet score and a below-average energy density, cost, GHGE, and energy content; the energy share of plant-based products was increased by 20% and 15% compared with the average for men and women, respectively. A strength of this study was that most of the dimensions for "sustainable diets" were considered, ie, not only nutritional quality and GHGE but also affordability and cultural acceptability. A reduction in diet-related GHGE by 20% while maintaining high nutritional quality seems realistic. This goal could be achieved at no extra cost by reducing energy intake and energy density and increasing the share of plant-based products. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

Method to produce durable pellets at lower energy consumption using high moisture corn stover and a corn starch binder in a flat die pellet mill

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tumuluru, Jaya Shankar; Conner, Craig C.; Hoover, Amber N.

Biomass from plants can serve as an alternative renewable energy resources for energy production. Low densities of 40–60 kg/m3 for ground lignocellulosic biomass like corn stover limit its operation for energy purposes. The common drawbacks are inefficient transportation, a bigger storage foot print, and handling problems. Densification of biomass using pellet mill helps to overcome these limitations. This study helps to understand the effect of binder on high moisture biomass with a focus on the quality (density and durability), the pelleting efficiency and the specific energy consumption of its pelleting process. Raw corn stover was pelleted at high moisture ofmore » 33% (w.b.) at both varying preheating temperatures and binder percentage. The die speed of the pellet mill was set at 60Hz. The pellets produced were analyzed and showed higher moisture content. They were further dried in a laboratory oven at 70°C for 3-4 hr bringing the pellet moisture to <9%. The dried pellets were evaluated for their physical properties like unit, bulk and tapped density, and durability. Furthermore, the results indicated increasing the binder percentage to 4% improved the physical properties of the pellets and reduced the specific energy consumption. Higher binder addition of 4% reduced the feedstock moisture loss during pelleting to <4%, which can be due reduced residence time of the material in the die. On the other hand the physical properties like density and durability improved significantly with binder addition. At 4% binder and 33% feedstock moisture content, the bulk density and durability values observed were >510 kg/m3 and >98% and the percent fines generation has reduced to <3%. Also at these conditions the specific energy consumption was reduced by about 30-40% compared no binder pelleting test.« less

Method to produce durable pellets at lower energy consumption using high moisture corn stover and a corn starch binder in a flat die pellet mill

DOE PAGES

Tumuluru, Jaya Shankar; Conner, Craig C.; Hoover, Amber N.

2016-06-15

Biomass from plants can serve as an alternative renewable energy resources for energy production. Low densities of 40–60 kg/m3 for ground lignocellulosic biomass like corn stover limit its operation for energy purposes. The common drawbacks are inefficient transportation, a bigger storage foot print, and handling problems. Densification of biomass using pellet mill helps to overcome these limitations. This study helps to understand the effect of binder on high moisture biomass with a focus on the quality (density and durability), the pelleting efficiency and the specific energy consumption of its pelleting process. Raw corn stover was pelleted at high moisture ofmore » 33% (w.b.) at both varying preheating temperatures and binder percentage. The die speed of the pellet mill was set at 60Hz. The pellets produced were analyzed and showed higher moisture content. They were further dried in a laboratory oven at 70°C for 3-4 hr bringing the pellet moisture to <9%. The dried pellets were evaluated for their physical properties like unit, bulk and tapped density, and durability. Furthermore, the results indicated increasing the binder percentage to 4% improved the physical properties of the pellets and reduced the specific energy consumption. Higher binder addition of 4% reduced the feedstock moisture loss during pelleting to <4%, which can be due reduced residence time of the material in the die. On the other hand the physical properties like density and durability improved significantly with binder addition. At 4% binder and 33% feedstock moisture content, the bulk density and durability values observed were >510 kg/m3 and >98% and the percent fines generation has reduced to <3%. Also at these conditions the specific energy consumption was reduced by about 30-40% compared no binder pelleting test.« less

Lattice vibrations in the Frenkel-Kontorova model. I. Phonon dispersion, number density, and energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Qingping; Wu, Lijun; Welch, David O.; Zhu, Yimei

2015-06-01

We studied the lattice vibrations of two interpenetrating atomic sublattices via the Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) model of a linear chain of harmonically interacting atoms subjected to an on-site potential using the technique of thermodynamic Green's functions based on quantum field-theoretical methods. General expressions were deduced for the phonon frequency-wave-vector dispersion relations, number density, and energy of the FK model system. As the application of the theory, we investigated in detail cases of linear chains with various periods of the on-site potential of the FK model. Some unusual but interesting features for different amplitudes of the on-site potential of the FK model are discussed. In the commensurate structure, the phonon spectrum always starts at a finite frequency, and the gaps of the spectrum are true ones with a zero density of modes. In the incommensurate structure, the phonon spectrum starts from zero frequency, but at a nonzero wave vector; there are some modes inside these gap regions, but their density is very low. In our approximation, the energy of a higher-order commensurate state of the one-dimensional system at a finite temperature may become indefinitely close to the energy of an incommensurate state. This finding implies that the higher-order incommensurate-commensurate transitions are continuous ones and that the phase transition may exhibit a "devil's staircase" behavior at a finite temperature.

Asymmetric Supercapacitor Electrodes and Devices.

PubMed

Choudhary, Nitin; Li, Chao; Moore, Julian; Nagaiah, Narasimha; Zhai, Lei; Jung, Yeonwoong; Thomas, Jayan

2017-06-01

The world is recently witnessing an explosive development of novel electronic and optoelectronic devices that demand more-reliable power sources that combine higher energy density and longer-term durability. Supercapacitors have become one of the most promising energy-storage systems, as they present multifold advantages of high power density, fast charging-discharging, and long cyclic stability. However, the intrinsically low energy density inherent to traditional supercapacitors severely limits their widespread applications, triggering researchers to explore new types of supercapacitors with improved performance. Asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) assembled using two dissimilar electrode materials offer a distinct advantage of wide operational voltage window, and thereby significantly enhance the energy density. Recent progress made in the field of ASCs is critically reviewed, with the main focus on an extensive survey of the materials developed for ASC electrodes, as well as covering the progress made in the fabrication of ASC devices over the last few decades. Current challenges and a future outlook of the field of ASCs are also discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Parametric design analysis of a hybrid composite flywheel using a laminated central disc and a filament wound outer ring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nimmer, R. P.

1980-09-01

A hybrid flywheel design concept based on the use of a laminated central disk with a filament-wound outer ring is analyzed for several different combinations of composite materials. Some of the results of this study are: (1) an optimized E-glass disk with Kevlar-49 outer ring offers the prospect of 30% additional energy density over a laminated disk without a ring; (2) a laminated S2-glass disk is capable of storing more energy per unit mass than an E-glass disk because of its higher tensile strength; and (3) the use of wound graphite outer rings with S2-glass disks leads to substantial reductions in the size of the interference fit while offering still higher energy densities than for a Kevlar-49 outer ring.

Daikin Advanced Lithium Ion Battery Technology – High Voltage Electrolyte - REVISED

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sunstrom, Joseph; Hendershot, Ron E.

An evaluation of high voltage electrolytes which contain fluorochemicals as solvents/additive has been completed with the objective of formulating a safe, stable electrolyte capable of operation to 4.6 V. Stable cycle performance has been demonstrated in LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC111)/graphite cells to 4.5 V. The ability to operate at high voltage results in significant energy density gain (>30%) which would manifest as longer battery life resulting in higher range for electric vehicles. Alternatively, a higher energy density battery can be made smaller without sacrificing existing energy. In addition, the fluorinated electrolytes examined showed better safety performance when tested in abuse conditions. Themore » results are promising for future advanced battery development for vehicles as well as other applications.« less

Association of food form with self-reported 24-h energy intake and meal patterns in US adults: NHANES 2003–2008123

PubMed Central

Kant, Ashima K; Graubard, Barry I; Mattes, Richard D

2012-01-01

Background: Laboratory studies suggest that food form (beverages compared with solid foods) evokes behavioral and physiologic responses that modify short-term appetite and food intake. Beverage energy may be less satiating and poorly compensated, which leads to higher energy intake. Objective: We examined associations between 24-h energy consumed in beverages and a variety of meal and dietary attributes to quantify the contribution of beverage consumption to the energy content of diets in free-living individuals consuming their self-selected diets. Design: We used dietary recall data for adults (n = 13,704) in NHANES 2003–2008 to examine the multiple covariate-adjusted associations between 24-h energy from beverages and nonbeverages and associations between beverage intake, eating behaviors, and the energy density of beverage and nonbeverage foods. Results: In the highest tertile of 24-h beverage energy intake, beverages provided >30% of energy. Total 24-h energy and nonbeverage energy consumption and energy density (kcal/g) of both beverage and nonbeverage foods increased with increasing energy from beverages (P < 0.0001). With increasing 24-h beverage energy consumption, the reported frequency of all, snack, and beverage-only ingestive episodes and length of the ingestive period increased, whereas the percentage of energy from main meals decreased (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Higher 24-h beverage energy intake was related to higher energy intake from nonbeverage foods, quality of food selections, and distribution of 24-h energy into main meal and snack episodes. Moderation of beverage-only ingestive episodes and curtailing the length of the ingestion period may hold potential to lower uncompensated beverage energy consumption in the US population. PMID:23097271

A Novel High Energy Density Rechargeable Hybrid Sodium-Air Cell with Acidic Electrolyte.

PubMed

Kang, Yao; Su, Fengmei; Zhang, Qingkai; Liang, Feng; Adair, Keegan R; Chen, Kunfeng; Xue, Dongfeng; Hayashi, Katsuro; Cao, Shan Cecilia; Yadegari, Hossein; Sun, Xueliang

2018-06-22

Low cost, high energy density and highly efficient devices for energy storage have long been desired in our society. Herein, a novel high energy density hybrid sodium-air cell was fabricated successfully based on acidic catholytes. Such a hybrid sodium-air cell possess a high theoretical voltage of 3.94 V, capacity of 1121 mAh g-1, and energy density of 4418 Wh kg-1. Firstly, the buffering effect of an acidic solution was demonstrated, which provides relatively long and stable cell discharge behaviours. Secondly, the catholyte of hybrid sodium-air cells were optimized systematically from the solutions of 0.1 M H3PO4 + 0.1 M Na2SO4 to 0.1 M HAc + 0.1 M NaAc, and it was found that the cells with 0.1 M H3PO4 + 0.1 M Na2SO4 displayed maximum power density of 34.9 mW cm-2. The cell with 0.1 M H3PO4 + 0.1 M Na2SO4 displayed higher discharge capacity of 896 mAh g-1. Moreover, the fabricated acidic hybrid sodium-air cells exhibited stable cycling performance in ambient air, and they delivered a low voltage gap around 0.3 V when the current density is 0.13 mA cm-2, leading to a high energy efficiency up to 90%. Therefore, the present study provides new opportunities to develop highly cost-effective energy storage technologies.

Improving nutrition in home child care: are food costs a barrier?

PubMed Central

Monsivais, Pablo; Johnson, Donna B

2015-01-01

Objective Child-care providers have a key role to play in promoting child nutrition, but the higher cost of nutritious foods may pose a barrier. The present study tested the hypothesis that higher nutritional quality of foods served was associated with higher food expenditures in child care homes participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Design In this cross-sectional study, nutritional quality of foods served to children and food expenditures were analysed based on 5 d menus and food shopping receipts. Nutritional quality was based on servings of whole grains, fresh whole fruits and vegetables, energy density (kJ/g) and mean nutrient adequacy (mean percentage of dietary reference intake) for seven nutrients of concern for child health. Food expenditures were calculated by linking receipt and menu data. Associations between food expenditures and menu quality were examined using bivariate statistics and multiple linear regression models. Setting USA in 2008–2009. Subjects Sixty child-care providers participating in CACFP in King County, Washington State. Results In bivariate analyses, higher daily food expenditures were associated with higher total food energy and higher nutritional quality of menus. Controlling for energy and other covariates, higher food expenditures were strongly and positively associated with number of portions of whole grains and fresh produce served (P = 0·001 and 0·005, respectively), with lower energy density and with higher mean nutrient adequacy of menus overall (P = 0·003 and 0·032, respectively). Conclusions The results indicate that improving the nutritional quality of foods in child care may require higher food spending. PMID:22014448

Investigation of the Electron Acceleration by a High-Power Laser and a Density-Tapered Mixed-Gas Cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jinju; Phung, Vanessa L. J.; Kim, Minseok; Hur, Min-Sup; Suk, Hyyong

2017-10-01

Plasma-based accelerators can generate about 1000 times stronger acceleration field compared with RF-based conventional accelerators, which can be done by high power laser and plasma. There are many issues in this research and one of them is development of a good plasma source for higher electron beam energy. For this purpose, we are investigating a special type of plasma source, which is a density-tapered gas cell with a mixed-gas for easy injection. By this type of special gas cell, we expect higher electron beam energies with easy injection in the wakefield. In this poster, some experimental results for electron beam generation with the density-tapered mixed-gas cell are presented. In addition to the experimental results, CFD (Computational-Fluid-Dynamics) and PIC (Particle-In-Cell) simulation results are also presented for comparison studies.

Effects of Consuming Preloads with Different Energy Density and Taste Quality on Energy Intake and Postprandial Blood Glucose

PubMed Central

Tey, Siew Ling; Salleh, Nurhazwani; Forde, Ciaran G.

2018-01-01

Consumption of reduced energy dense foods and drink has the potential to reduce energy intake and postprandial blood glucose concentrations. In addition, the taste quality of a meal (e.g., sweet or savoury) may play a role in satiation and food intake. The objective of this randomised crossover study was to examine whether energy density and taste quality has an impact on energy intake and postprandial blood glucose response. Using a preload design, participants were asked to consume a sweet (“Cheng Teng”) or a savoury (broth) preload soup in high energy density (HED; around 0.50 kcal/g; 250 kcal) or low energy density (LED; around 0.12 kcal/g; 50 kcal) in mid-morning and an ad libitum lunch was provided an hour after the preload. Participants recorded their food intake for the rest of the day after they left the study site. Energy compensation and postprandial blood glucose response were measured in 32 healthy lean males (mean age = 28.9 years, mean BMI = 22.1 kg/m2). There was a significant difference in ad libitum lunch intake between treatments (p = 0.012), with higher intake in sweet LED and savoury LED compared to sweet HED and savoury HED. Energy intake at subsequent meals and total daily energy intake did not differ between the four treatments (both p ≥ 0.214). Consumption of HED preloads resulted in a larger spike in postprandial blood glucose response compared with LED preloads, irrespective of taste quality (p < 0.001). Energy density rather than taste quality plays an important role in energy compensation and postprandial blood glucose response. This suggests that regular consumption of low energy-dense foods has the potential to reduce overall energy intake and to improve glycemic control. PMID:29385055

Effects of Consuming Preloads with Different Energy Density and Taste Quality on Energy Intake and Postprandial Blood Glucose.

PubMed

Tey, Siew Ling; Salleh, Nurhazwani; Henry, Christiani Jeyakumar; Forde, Ciaran G

2018-01-31

Consumption of reduced energy dense foods and drink has the potential to reduce energy intake and postprandial blood glucose concentrations. In addition, the taste quality of a meal (e.g., sweet or savoury) may play a role in satiation and food intake. The objective of this randomised crossover study was to examine whether energy density and taste quality has an impact on energy intake and postprandial blood glucose response. Using a preload design, participants were asked to consume a sweet ("Cheng Teng") or a savoury (broth) preload soup in high energy density (HED; around 0.50 kcal/g; 250 kcal) or low energy density (LED; around 0.12 kcal/g; 50 kcal) in mid-morning and an ad libitum lunch was provided an hour after the preload. Participants recorded their food intake for the rest of the day after they left the study site. Energy compensation and postprandial blood glucose response were measured in 32 healthy lean males (mean age = 28.9 years, mean BMI = 22.1 kg/m²). There was a significant difference in ad libitum lunch intake between treatments ( p = 0.012), with higher intake in sweet LED and savoury LED compared to sweet HED and savoury HED. Energy intake at subsequent meals and total daily energy intake did not differ between the four treatments (both p ≥ 0.214). Consumption of HED preloads resulted in a larger spike in postprandial blood glucose response compared with LED preloads, irrespective of taste quality ( p < 0.001). Energy density rather than taste quality plays an important role in energy compensation and postprandial blood glucose response. This suggests that regular consumption of low energy-dense foods has the potential to reduce overall energy intake and to improve glycemic control.

Room Temperature Electroluminescence from Tensile-Strained Si0.13Ge0.87/Ge Multiple Quantum Wells on a Ge Virtual Substrate

PubMed Central

Lin, Guangyang; Chen, Ningli; Zhang, Lu; Huang, Zhiwei; Huang, Wei; Wang, Jianyuan; Xu, Jianfang; Chen, Songyan; Li, Cheng

2016-01-01

Direct band electroluminescence (EL) from tensile-strained Si0.13Ge0.87/Ge multiple quantum wells (MQWs) on a Ge virtual substrate (VS) at room temperature is reported herein. Due to the competitive result of quantum confinement Stark effect and bandgap narrowing induced by tensile strain in Ge wells, electroluminescence from Γ1-HH1 transition in 12-nm Ge wells was observed at around 1550 nm. As injection current density increases, additional emission shoulders from Γ2-HH2 transition in Ge wells and Ge VS appeared at around 1300–1400 nm and 1600–1700 nm, respectively. The peak energy of EL shifted to the lower energy side superquadratically with an increase of injection current density as a result of the Joule heating effect. During the elevation of environmental temperature, EL intensity increased due to a reduction of energy between L and Γ valleys of Ge. Empirical fitting of the relationship between the integrated intensity of EL (L) and injection current density (J) with L~Jm shows that the m factor increased with injection current density, suggesting higher light emitting efficiency of the diode at larger injection current densities, which can be attributed to larger carrier occupations in the Γ valley and the heavy hole (HH) valance band at higher temperatures. PMID:28773923

Room Temperature Electroluminescence from Tensile-Strained Si0.13Ge0.87/Ge Multiple Quantum Wells on a Ge Virtual Substrate.

PubMed

Lin, Guangyang; Chen, Ningli; Zhang, Lu; Huang, Zhiwei; Huang, Wei; Wang, Jianyuan; Xu, Jianfang; Chen, Songyan; Li, Cheng

2016-09-27

Direct band electroluminescence (EL) from tensile-strained Si 0.13 Ge 0.87 /Ge multiple quantum wells (MQWs) on a Ge virtual substrate (VS) at room temperature is reported herein. Due to the competitive result of quantum confinement Stark effect and bandgap narrowing induced by tensile strain in Ge wells, electroluminescence from Γ1-HH1 transition in 12-nm Ge wells was observed at around 1550 nm. As injection current density increases, additional emission shoulders from Γ2-HH2 transition in Ge wells and Ge VS appeared at around 1300-1400 nm and 1600-1700 nm, respectively. The peak energy of EL shifted to the lower energy side superquadratically with an increase of injection current density as a result of the Joule heating effect. During the elevation of environmental temperature, EL intensity increased due to a reduction of energy between L and Γ valleys of Ge. Empirical fitting of the relationship between the integrated intensity of EL ( L ) and injection current density ( J ) with L ~ J m shows that the m factor increased with injection current density, suggesting higher light emitting efficiency of the diode at larger injection current densities, which can be attributed to larger carrier occupations in the Γ valley and the heavy hole (HH) valance band at higher temperatures.

An accurate analytic description of neutrino oscillations in matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akhmedov, E. Kh.; Niro, Viviana

2008-12-01

A simple closed-form analytic expression for the probability of two-flavour neutrino oscillations in a matter with an arbitrary density profile is derived. Our formula is based on a perturbative expansion and allows an easy calculation of higher order corrections. The expansion parameter is small when the density changes relatively slowly along the neutrino path and/or neutrino energy is not very close to the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) resonance energy. Our approximation is not equivalent to the adiabatic approximation and actually goes beyond it. We demonstrate the validity of our results using a few model density profiles, including the PREM density profile of the Earth. It is shown that by combining the results obtained from the expansions valid below and above the MSW resonance one can obtain a very good description of neutrino oscillations in matter in the entire energy range, including the resonance region.

Ion acceleration in electrostatic collisionless shock: on the optimal density profile for quasi-monoenergetic beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boella, E.; Fiúza, F.; Stockem Novo, A.; Fonseca, R.; Silva, L. O.

2018-03-01

A numerical study on ion acceleration in electrostatic shock waves is presented, with the aim of determining the best plasma configuration to achieve quasi-monoenergetic ion beams in laser-driven systems. It was recently shown that tailored near-critical density plasmas characterized by a long-scale decreasing rear density profile lead to beams with low energy spread (Fiúza et al 2012 Phys. Rev. Lett. 109 215001). In this work, a detailed parameter scan investigating different plasma scale lengths is carried out. As result, the optimal plasma spatial scale length that allows for minimizing the energy spread while ensuring a significant reflection of ions by the shock is identified. Furthermore, a new configuration where the required profile has been obtained by coupling micro layers of different densities is proposed. Results show that this new engineered approach is a valid alternative, guaranteeing a low energy spread with a higher level of controllability.

Analyzing non-LTE Kr plasmas produced in high energy density experiments: from the Z machine to the National Ignition Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dasgupta, Arati

2015-11-01

Designing high fluence photon sources above 10 keV are a challenge for High Energy Density plasmas. This has motivated radiation source development investigations of Kr with K-shell energies around 13 keV. Recent pulsed power driven gas-puff experiments on the refurbished Z machine at Sandia have produced intense X-rays in the multi-keV photon energy range. K-shell radiative yields and efficiencies are very high for Ar, but rapidly decrease for higher atomic number (ZA) elements such as Kr. It has been suggested that an optimum exists corresponding to a trade-off between the increase of photon energy for higher ZA elements and the corresponding fall off in radiative power. However the conversion efficiency on NIF, where the drive, energy deposition process, and target dynamics are different, does not fall off with higher ZA as rapidly as on Z. We have developed detailed atomic structure and collisional data for the full K-, L- and partial M-shell of Kr using the Flexible Atomic Code (FAC). Our non-LTE atomic model includes all collisional and recombination processes, including state-specific dielectronic recombination (DR), that significantly affect ionization balance and spectra of Kr plasmas at the temperatures and densities of concern. The model couples ionization physics, radiation production and transport, and magnetohydrodynamics. In this talk, I will give a detailed description of the model and discuss 1D Kr simulations employing a multifrequency radiation transport scheme. Synthetic K- and L-shell spectra will be compared with available experimental data. This talk will analyze experimental data indicative of the differences between Z and NIF experimental data and discuss how they affect the K-shell radiative output of Kr plasma. Work supported by DOE/NNSA.

Higher dimensional strange quark matter solutions in self creation cosmology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Şen, R., E-mail: ramazansen-1991@hotmail.com; Aygün, S., E-mail: saygun@comu.edu.tr

In this study, we have generalized the higher dimensional flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) universe solutions for a cloud of string with perfect fluid attached strange quark matter (SQM) in Self Creation Cosmology (SCC). We have obtained that the cloud of string with perfect fluid does not survive and the string tension density vanishes for this model. However, we get dark energy model for strange quark matter with positive density and negative pressure in self creation cosmology.

2D Raman band splitting in graphene: Charge screening and lifting of the K-point Kohn anomaly.

PubMed

Wang, Xuanye; Christopher, Jason W; Swan, Anna K

2017-10-19

Pristine graphene encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride has transport properties rivalling suspended graphene, while being protected from contamination and mechanical damage. For high quality devices, it is important to avoid and monitor accidental doping and charge fluctuations. The 2D Raman double peak in intrinsic graphene can be used to optically determine charge density, with decreasing peak split corresponding to increasing charge density. We find strong correlations between the 2D 1 and 2D 2 split vs 2D line widths, intensities, and peak positions. Charge density fluctuations can be measured with orders of magnitude higher precision than previously accomplished using the G-band shift with charge. The two 2D intrinsic peaks can be associated with the "inner" and "outer" Raman scattering processes, with the counterintuitive assignment of the phonon closer to the K point in the KM direction (outer process) as the higher energy peak. Even low charge screening lifts the phonon Kohn anomaly near the K point for graphene encapsulated in hBN, and shifts the dominant intensity from the lower to the higher energy peak.

All Solid State Rechargeable Lithium Batteries using Block Copolymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallinan, Daniel; Balsara, Nitash

2011-03-01

The growing need for alternative energy and increased demand for mobile technology require higher density energy storage. Existing battery technologies, such as lithium ion, are limited by theoretical energy density as well as safety issues. Other battery chemistries are promising options for dramatically increasing energy density. Safety can be improved by replacing the flammable, reactive liquids used in existing lithium-ion battery electrolytes with polymer electrolytes. Block copolymers are uniquely suited for this task because ionic conductivity and mechanical strength, both important properties in battery formulation, can be independently controlled. In this study, lithium batteries were assembled using lithium metal as negative electrode, polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) copolymer with lithium salt as electrolyte, and a positive electrode. The positive electrode consisted of polymer electrolyte for ion conduction, carbon for electron conduction, and an active material. Batteries were charged and discharged over many cycles. The battery cycling results were compared to a conventional battery chemistry.

Self-assembling graphene-anthraquinone-2-sulphonate supramolecular nanostructures with enhanced energy density for supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Lifang; Gan, Shiyu; Li, Hongyan; Han, Dongxue; Li, Fenghua; Bao, Yu; Niu, Li

2017-07-01

Boosting the energy density of capacitive energy storage devices remains a crucial issue for facilitating applications. Herein, we report a graphene-anthraquinone supramolecular nanostructure by self-assembly for supercapacitors. The sulfonated anthraquinone exhibits high water solubility, a π-conjugated structure and redox active features, which not only serve as a spacer to interact with and stabilize graphene but also introduce extra pseudocapacitance contributions. The formed nest-like three-dimensional (3D) nanostructure with further hydrothermal treatment enhances the accessibility of ion transfer and exposes the redox-active quinone groups in the electrolytes. A fabricated all-solid-state flexible symmetric device delivers a high specific capacitance of 398.5 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 (1.5 times higher than graphene), superior energy density (52.24 Wh kg-1 at about 1 kW kg-1) and good stability (82% capacitance retention after 10 000 cycles).

Composition and energy contents of mature inshore spawning capelin (Mallotus villosus): Implications for seabird predators

USGS Publications Warehouse

Montevecchi, W.A.; Piatt, John F.

1984-01-01

1. Lipid levels of capelin are highest in late fall and lowest during the summer spawning season; protein levels are constant at 13–14% body wt throughout the year.2. Ovid females contained significantly more lipid and protein and less water and had higher energy densities than males and spent females.3. Surgically-removed egg masses made up 34.2 ± 10.3% female body wt and were very similar in composition and energy density to gravid females, differing from spent females and males in similar respects. Owing to the ovarian development of females, sexes differ in energy density only during the spawning season.4. Sexes were similar in amino acid composition. Analysis of capelin and three other seabird forage species revealed that isoleucine levels were lower than minimum avian maintenance and growth requirements.5. Implications for the foraging behaviour and food preferences of diving seabird predators (murres, puffins) are discussed

Optimize out-of-core thermionic energy conversion for nuclear electric propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, J. F.

1978-01-01

Thermionic energy conversion (TEC) potentialities for nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) are examined. Considering current designs, their limitations, and risks raises critical questions about the use of TEC for NEP. Apparently a reactor cooled by hotter-than-1675 K heat pipes has good potentialities. TEC with higher temperatures and greater power densities than the currently proposed 1650 K, 5-to-6 W/sq cm version offers substantial gains. Other approaches to high-temperature electric isolation appear also promising. A high-power-density, high-temperature TEC for NEP appears, therefore, attainable. It is recommended to optimize out-of-core thermionic energy conversion for nuclear electric propulsion. Although current TEC designs for NEP seem unnecessary compared with Brayton versions, large gains are apparently possible with increased temperatures and greater power densities.

Fruits and vegetables displace, but do not decrease, total energy in school lunches.

PubMed

Bontrager Yoder, Andrea B; Schoeller, Dale A

2014-08-01

The high overweight and obesity prevalence among US children is a well-established public health concern. Diet is known to play a causal role in obesity. Increasing fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption to recommended levels is proposed to help reduce obesity, because their bulk and low energy density are believed to reduce energy-dense food consumption (volume displacement hypothesis). This study tests this hypothesis at the lunch meal among upper-elementary students participating in a Farm to School (F2S) program. Digital photographs of students' school lunch trays were visually analyzed to identify the food items and amounts that were present and consumed before and after the meal. Using the USDA Nutrient Database, total and FV-only energy were calculated for each tray. Analysis of total- and non-FV energy intake was performed according to (1) levels of FV energy intake, (2) FV energy density, and (3) previous years of Farm to School programming. Higher intake of FV energy displaced non-FV energy, but total energy did not decrease across FV energy intake groups. High-FV-energy-density trays showed lower non-FV energy intake than low-FV-energy-density trays (470±179 vs. 534±219 kcal; p<0.0001). Trays from schools with more previous years of F2S programming decreased total and non-FV energy intake from school lunches (p for trend<0.0001, both). Increased FV consumption reduces non-FV energy intake, but does not reduce total energy intake. Therefore, this study does not support the volume displacement hypothesis and suggests calorie displacement instead.

Higher-order finite-difference formulation of periodic Orbital-free Density Functional Theory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghosh, Swarnava; Suryanarayana, Phanish, E-mail: phanish.suryanarayana@ce.gatech.edu

2016-02-15

We present a real-space formulation and higher-order finite-difference implementation of periodic Orbital-free Density Functional Theory (OF-DFT). Specifically, utilizing a local reformulation of the electrostatic and kernel terms, we develop a generalized framework for performing OF-DFT simulations with different variants of the electronic kinetic energy. In particular, we propose a self-consistent field (SCF) type fixed-point method for calculations involving linear-response kinetic energy functionals. In this framework, evaluation of both the electronic ground-state and forces on the nuclei are amenable to computations that scale linearly with the number of atoms. We develop a parallel implementation of this formulation using the finite-difference discretization.more » We demonstrate that higher-order finite-differences can achieve relatively large convergence rates with respect to mesh-size in both the energies and forces. Additionally, we establish that the fixed-point iteration converges rapidly, and that it can be further accelerated using extrapolation techniques like Anderson's mixing. We validate the accuracy of the results by comparing the energies and forces with plane-wave methods for selected examples, including the vacancy formation energy in Aluminum. Overall, the suitability of the proposed formulation for scalable high performance computing makes it an attractive choice for large-scale OF-DFT calculations consisting of thousands of atoms.« less

A high energy and power Li-ion capacitor based on a TiO2 nanobelt array anode and a graphene hydrogel cathode.

PubMed

Wang, Huanwen; Guan, Cao; Wang, Xuefeng; Fan, Hong Jin

2015-03-25

A novel hybrid Li-ion capacitor (LIC) with high energy and power densities is constructed by combining an electrochemical double layer capacitor type cathode (graphene hydrogels) with a Li-ion battery type anode (TiO(2) nanobelt arrays). The high power source is provided by the graphene hydrogel cathode, which has a 3D porous network structure and high electrical conductivity, and the counter anode is made of free-standing TiO(2) nanobelt arrays (NBA) grown directly on Ti foil without any ancillary materials. Such a subtle designed hybrid Li-ion capacitor allows rapid electron and ion transport in the non-aqueous electrolyte. Within a voltage range of 0.0-3.8 V, a high energy of 82 Wh kg(-1) is achieved at a power density of 570 W kg(-1). Even at an 8.4 s charge/discharge rate, an energy density as high as 21 Wh kg(-1) can be retained. These results demonstrate that the TiO(2) NBA//graphene hydrogel LIC exhibits higher energy density than supercapacitors and better power density than Li-ion batteries, which makes it a promising electrochemical power source. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Stress is associated with unfavorable patterns of dietary intake among female chinese immigrants.

PubMed

Tseng, Marilyn; Fang, Carolyn Y

2011-06-01

Chinese immigrants experience increased risk for weight gain and chronic disease after US migration. Whether psychosocial stress affects their eating behavior is unknown. The purpose of this study is to examine psychosocial stress and dietary intake among 426 Chinese immigrant women in the Philadelphia region. Participants completed 4 days of dietary recalls and questionnaires assessing positive and negative life events in the past year and migration-related stressors. In hierarchical linear regression models, positive life events were associated with higher energy intake (β = 21.1, p =  0.04). Migration-related stress was associated with lower total gram (β  = -11.3, p < 0.0001) and overall grain (β  = -0.18, p = 0.03) intake and higher energy density (β = 0.002, p = 0.04) and percent energy from fat (β = 0.06, p = 0.05). Migration-related stress did not increase overall intake in terms of energy and total grams but selectively increased fat intake and energy density. Such dietary habits may have implications for future chronic disease risk in this immigrant population.

Assessment of energy density usage during 180W lithium triborate laser photoselective vaporization of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Is there an optimum amount of kilo-Joules per gram of prostate?

PubMed

Valdivieso, Roger; Meyer, Christian P; Hueber, Pierre-Alain; Meskawi, Malek; Alenizi, Abdullah M; Azizi, Mounsif; Trinh, Quoc-Dien; Misrai, Vincent; Rutman, Matthew; Te, Alexis E; Chughtai, Bilal; Barber, Neil J; Emara, Amr M; Munver, Ravi; Zorn, Kevin C

2016-10-01

To assess the effect of energy density (kJ/mL) applied on adenoma during photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) treatment for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) on functional outcomes, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) reduction and complications. After exclusions, a total of 440 patients who underwent GreenLight (tm) laser XPS-180W lithium triborate PVP for the treatment of BPH were retrospectively reviewed. Data were collected from seven different international centres (Canada, USA, UK and France). Patients were stratified into four energy density groups (kJ/mL) according to intra-operative energy delivered and prostate volume as determined by preoperative transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS): group 1: <3 kJ/mL; group 2: 3-5 kJ/mL; group 3: 5-7 kJ/mL; and group 4: ≥7 kJ/mL. Energy density groups were chosen arbitrarily. PSA reduction and functional outcomes (International Prostate Symptom Score, quality of life, post-void residual urine volume, maximum urinary flow rate) were compared at 6, 12 and 24 months. Peri-operative complications and retreatment rates were also compared among the groups. The PSA reduction rates at 24 months after the procedure were 51, 61, 79 and 83% for the energy density groups <3, 3-5, 5-7 and ≥7 kJ/mL, respectively (P ≤ 0.01). This held true after accounting for baseline confounders. Energy density was not associated with higher complication rates, including haematuria, stricture formation, incontinence, refractory urinary retention, urinary tract infection and conversion to transurethral resection of the prostate. Functional outcomes at 2 years of follow-up were equivalent among the groups (P > 0.05 for all) and similar retreatment rates were observed (P = 0.36). Higher energy usage per cc of prostate was associated with a more significant reduction in PSA level (>50%) at 6, 12 and 24 months, suggesting increased vaporization of adenoma tissue; however, this did not translate into differences in functional outcomes at 2-year follow-up. © 2016 The Authors BJU International © 2016 BJU International Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Data Fitting to Study Ablated Hard Dental Tissues by Nanosecond Laser Irradiation.

PubMed

Al-Hadeethi, Y; Al-Jedani, S; Razvi, M A N; Saeed, A; Abdel-Daiem, A M; Ansari, M Shahnawaze; Babkair, Saeed S; Salah, Numan A; Al-Mujtaba, A

2016-01-01

Laser ablation of dental hard tissues is one of the most important laser applications in dentistry. Many works have reported the interaction of laser radiations with tooth material to optimize laser parameters such as wavelength, energy density, etc. This work has focused on determining the relationship between energy density and ablation thresholds using pulsed, 5 nanosecond, neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet; Nd:Y3Al5O12 (Nd:YAG) laser at 1064 nanometer. For enamel and dentin tissues, the ablations have been performed using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique. The ablation thresholds and relationship between energy densities and peak areas of calcium lines, which appeared in LIBS, were determined using data fitting. Furthermore, the morphological changes were studied using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Moreover, the chemical stability of the tooth material after ablation has been studied using Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX). The differences between carbon atomic % of non-irradiated and irradiated samples were tested using statistical t-test. Results revealed that the best fitting between energy densities and peak areas of calcium lines were exponential and linear for enamel and dentin, respectively. In addition, the ablation threshold of Nd:YAG lasers in enamel was higher than that of dentin. The morphology of the surrounded ablated region of enamel showed thermal damages. For enamel, the EDX quantitative analysis showed that the atomic % of carbon increased significantly when laser energy density increased.

Relativistically induced transparency acceleration of light ions by an ultrashort laser pulse interacting with a heavy-ion-plasma density gradient.

PubMed

Sahai, Aakash A; Tsung, Frank S; Tableman, Adam R; Mori, Warren B; Katsouleas, Thomas C

2013-10-01

The relativistically induced transparency acceleration (RITA) scheme of proton and ion acceleration using laser-plasma interactions is introduced, modeled, and compared to the existing schemes. Protons are accelerated with femtosecond relativistic pulses to produce quasimonoenergetic bunches with controllable peak energy. The RITA scheme works by a relativistic laser inducing transparency [Akhiezer and Polovin, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz 30, 915 (1956); Kaw and Dawson, Phys. Fluids 13, 472 (1970); Max and Perkins, Phys. Rev. Lett. 27, 1342 (1971)] to densities higher than the cold-electron critical density, while the background heavy ions are stationary. The rising laser pulse creates a traveling acceleration structure at the relativistic critical density by ponderomotively [Lindl and Kaw, Phys. Fluids 14, 371 (1971); Silva et al., Phys. Rev. E 59, 2273 (1999)] driving a local electron density inflation, creating an electron snowplow and a co-propagating electrostatic potential. The snowplow advances with a velocity determined by the rate of the rise of the laser's intensity envelope and the heavy-ion-plasma density gradient scale length. The rising laser is incrementally rendered transparent to higher densities such that the relativistic-electron plasma frequency is resonant with the laser frequency. In the snowplow frame, trace density protons reflect off the electrostatic potential and get snowplowed, while the heavier background ions are relatively unperturbed. Quasimonoenergetic bunches of velocity equal to twice the snowplow velocity can be obtained and tuned by controlling the snowplow velocity using laser-plasma parameters. An analytical model for the proton energy as a function of laser intensity, rise time, and plasma density gradient is developed and compared to 1D and 2D PIC OSIRIS [Fonseca et al., Lect. Note Comput. Sci. 2331, 342 (2002)] simulations. We model the acceleration of protons to GeV energies with tens-of-femtoseconds laser pulses of a few petawatts. The scaling of proton energy with laser power compares favorably to other mechanisms for ultrashort pulses [Schreiber et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 045005 (2006); Esirkepov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 175003 (2004); Silva et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 015002 (2004); Fiuza et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 215001 (2012)].

Lattice vibrations in the Frenkel-Kontorova model. I. Phonon dispersion, number density, and energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meng, Qingping; Wu, Lijun; Welch, David O.

2015-06-17

We studied the lattice vibrations of two inter-penetrating atomic sublattices via the Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) model of a linear chain of harmonically interacting atoms subjected to an on-site potential, using the technique of thermodynamic Green's functions based on quantum field-theoretical methods. General expressions were deduced for the phonon frequency-wave-vector dispersion relations, number density, and energy of the FK model system. In addition, as the application of the theory, we investigated in detail cases of linear chains with various periods of the on-site potential of the FK model. Some unusual but interesting features for different amplitudes of the on-site potential of themore » FK model are discussed. In the commensurate structure, the phonon spectrum always starts at a finite frequency, and the gaps of the spectrum are true ones with a zero density of modes. In the incommensurate structure, the phonon spectrum starts from zero frequency, but at a non-zero wave vector; there are some modes inside these gap regions, but their density is very low. In our approximation, the energy of a higher-order commensurate state of the one-dimensional system at a finite temperature may become indefinitely close to the energy of an incommensurate state. This finding implies that the higher-order incommensurate-commensurate transitions are continuous ones and that the phase transition may exhibit a “devil's staircase” behavior at a finite temperature.« less

Improved Dielectric Properties and Energy Storage Density of Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) Nanocomposite with Hydantoin Epoxy Resin Coated BaTiO3.

PubMed

Luo, Hang; Zhang, Dou; Jiang, Chao; Yuan, Xi; Chen, Chao; Zhou, Kechao

2015-04-22

Energy storage materials are urgently demanded in modern electric power supply and renewable energy systems. The introduction of inorganic fillers to polymer matrix represents a promising avenue for the development of high energy density storage materials, which combines the high dielectric constant of inorganic fillers with supernal dielectric strength of polymer matrix. However, agglomeration and phase separation of inorganic fillers in the polymer matrix remain the key barriers to promoting the practical applications of the composites for energy storage. Here, we developed a low-cost and environmentally friendly route to modifying BaTiO3 (BT) nanoparticles by a kind of water-soluble hydantoin epoxy resin. The modified BT nanoparticles exhibited homogeneous dispersion in the ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) matrix and strong interfacial adhesion with the polymer matrix. The dielectric constants of the nanocomposites increased significantly with the increase of the coated BT loading, while the dielectric loss of the nanocomposites was still as low as that of the pure P(VDF-HFP). The energy storage density of the nanocomposites was largely enhanced with the coated BT loading at the same electric field. The nanocomposite with 20 vol % BT exhibited an estimated maximum energy density of 8.13 J cm(-3), which was much higher than that of pure P(VDF-HFP) and other dielectric polymers. The findings of this research could provide a feasible approach to produce high energy density materials for practical application in energy storage.

Average fast neutron flux in three energy ranges in the Quinta assembly irradiated by two types of beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strugalska-Gola, Elzbieta; Bielewicz, Marcin; Kilim, Stanislaw; Szuta, Marcin; Tyutyunnikov, Sergey

2017-03-01

This work was performed within the international project "Energy plus Transmutation of Radioactive Wastes" (E&T - RAW) for investigations of energy production and transmutation of radioactive waste of the nuclear power industry. 89Y (Yttrium 89) samples were located in the Quinta assembly in order to measure an average high neutron flux density in three different energy ranges using deuteron and proton beams from Dubna accelerators. Our analysis showed that the neutron density flux for the neutron energy range 20.8 - 32.7 MeV is higher than for the neutron energy range 11.5 - 20.8 MeV both for protons with an energy of 0.66 GeV and deuterons with an energy of 2 GeV, while for deuteron beams of 4 and 6 GeV we did not observe this.

Energy density of ionospheric and solar wind origin ions in the near-Earth magnetotail during substorms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daglis, Loannis A.; Livi, Stefano; Sarris, Emmanuel T.; Wilken, Berend

1994-01-01

Comprehensive energy density studies provide an important measure of the participation of various sources in energization processes and have been relatively rare in the literature. We present a statistical study of the energy density of the near-Earth magnetotail major ions (H(+), O(+), He(++), He(+)) during substorm expansion phase and discuss its implications for the solar wind/magnetosphere/ionosphere coupling. Our aim is to examine the relation between auroral activity and the particle energization during substorms through the correlation between the AE indices and the energy density of the major magnetospheric ions. The data we used here were collected by the charge-energy-mass (CHEM) spectrometer on board the Active Magnetospheric Particle Trace Explorer (AMPTE)/Charge Composition Explorer (CCE) satellite in the near-equatorial nightside magnetosphere, at geocentric distances approximately 7 to 9 R(sub E). CHEM provided the opportunity to conduct the first statistical study of energy density in the near-Earth magnetotail with multispecies particle data extending into the higher energy range (greater than or equal to 20 keV/E). the use of 1-min AE indices in this study should be emphasized, as the use (in previous statistical studies) of the (3-hour) Kp index or of long-time averages of AE indices essentially smoothed out all the information on substorms. Most distinct feature of our study is the excellent correlation of O(+) energy density with the AE index, in contrast with the remarkably poor He(++) energy density - AE index correlation. Furthermore, we examined the relation of the ion energy density to the electrojet activity during substorm growth phase. The O(+) energy density is strongly correlated with the pre-onset AU index, that is the eastward electrojet intensity, which represents the growth phase current system. Our investigation shows that the near-Earth magnetotail is increasingly fed with energetic ionospheric ions during periods of enhanced dissipation of auroral currents. The participation of the ionosphere in the substorm energization processes seems to be closely, although not solely, associated with the solar wind/magnetosphere coupling. That is, the ionosphere influences actively the substorm energization processes by responding to the increased solar wind/magnetosphere coupling as well as to the unloading dissipation of stored energy, with the increased feeding of new material into the magnetosphere.

Charged-Particle Multiplicity near Midrapidity in Central Au+Au Collisions at sNN = 56 and 130 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Barton, D. S.; Basilev, S.; Bates, B. D.; Baum, R.; Betts, R. R.; Białas, A.; Bindel, R.; Bogucki, W.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Ceglia, M.; Chang, Y.-H.; Chen, A. E.; Coghen, T.; Conner, C.; Czyż, W.; Dabrowski, B.; Decowski, M. P.; Despet, M.; Fita, P.; Fitch, J.; Friedl, M.; Gałuszka, K.; Ganz, R.; Garcia, E.; George, N.; Godlewski, J.; Gomes, C.; Griesmayer, E.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halik, J.; Halliwell, C.; Haridas, P.; Hayes, A.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hollis, R.; HołyŃski, R.; Holzman, B.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J.; Katzy, J.; Kita, W.; Kotuła, J.; Kraner, H.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Law, C.; Lemler, M.; Ligocki, J.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Michałowski, J.; Mignerey, A.; Mülmenstädt, J.; Neal, M.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Patel, M.; Pernegger, H.; Plesko, M.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Ross, D.; Rosenberg, L.; Ryan, J.; Sanzgiri, A.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Scaduto, J.; Shea, J.; Sinacore, J.; Skulski, W.; Steadman, S. G.; Stephans, G. S.; Steinberg, P.; Straczek, A.; Stodulski, M.; Strȩk, M.; Stopa, Z.; Sukhanov, A.; Surowiecka, K.; Tang, J.-L.; Teng, R.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.; Zalewski, K.; Żychowski, P.

2000-10-01

We present the first measurement of pseudorapidity densities of primary charged particles near midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at sNN = 56 and 130 GeV. For the most central collisions, we find the charged-particle pseudorapidity density to be dN/dη\\|\\|η\\|<1 = 408+/-12\\(stat\\)+/-30\\(syst\\) at 56 GeV and 555+/-12\\(stat\\)+/-35\\(syst\\) at 130 GeV, values that are higher than any previously observed in nuclear collisions. Compared to proton-antiproton collisions, our data show an increase in the pseudorapidity density per participant by more than 40% at the higher energy.

Breast density evaluation using spectral mammography, radiologist reader assessment and segmentation techniques: a retrospective study based on left and right breast comparison

PubMed Central

Molloi, Sabee; Ding, Huanjun; Feig, Stephen

2015-01-01

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the precision of mammographic breast density measurement using radiologist reader assessment, histogram threshold segmentation, fuzzy C-mean segmentation and spectral material decomposition. Materials and Methods Spectral mammography images from a total of 92 consecutive asymptomatic women (50–69 years old) who presented for annual screening mammography were retrospectively analyzed for this study. Breast density was estimated using 10 radiologist reader assessment, standard histogram thresholding, fuzzy C-mean algorithm and spectral material decomposition. The breast density correlation between left and right breasts was used to assess the precision of these techniques to measure breast composition relative to dual-energy material decomposition. Results In comparison to the other techniques, the results of breast density measurements using dual-energy material decomposition showed the highest correlation. The relative standard error of estimate for breast density measurements from left and right breasts using radiologist reader assessment, standard histogram thresholding, fuzzy C-mean algorithm and dual-energy material decomposition was calculated to be 1.95, 2.87, 2.07 and 1.00, respectively. Conclusion The results indicate that the precision of dual-energy material decomposition was approximately factor of two higher than the other techniques with regard to better correlation of breast density measurements from right and left breasts. PMID:26031229

Altered Right Ventricular Kinetic Energy Work Density and Viscous Energy Dissipation in Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: A Pilot Study Using 4D Flow MRI.

PubMed

Han, Q Joyce; Witschey, Walter R T; Fang-Yen, Christopher M; Arkles, Jeffrey S; Barker, Alex J; Forfia, Paul R; Han, Yuchi

2015-01-01

Right ventricular (RV) function has increasingly being recognized as an important predictor for morbidity and mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The increased RV after-load increase RV work in PAH. We used time-resolved 3D phase contrast MRI (4D flow MRI) to derive RV kinetic energy (KE) work density and energy loss in the pulmonary artery (PA) to better characterize RV work in PAH patients. 4D flow and standard cardiac cine images were obtained in ten functional class I/II patients with PAH and nine healthy subjects. For each individual, we calculated the RV KE work density and the amount of viscous dissipation in the PA. PAH patients had alterations in flow patterns in both the RV and the PA compared to healthy subjects. PAH subjects had significantly higher RV KE work density than healthy subjects (94.7±33.7 mJ/mL vs. 61.7±14.8 mJ/mL, p = 0.007) as well as a much greater percent PA energy loss (21.1±6.4% vs. 2.2±1.3%, p = 0.0001) throughout the cardiac cycle. RV KE work density and percent PA energy loss had mild and moderate correlations with RV ejection fraction. This study has quantified two kinetic energy metrics to assess RV function using 4D flow. RV KE work density and PA viscous energy loss not only distinguished healthy subjects from patients, but also provided distinction amongst PAH patients. These metrics hold promise as imaging markers for RV function.

Photoneutrino energy losses in strong magnetic fields.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Canuto, V.; Fassio-Canuto, L.

1973-01-01

Previously computed rates of energy losses (Petrosian et al., 1967) ignored the presence of strong magnetic fields, hence the change brought in when such a field (about 10 to the 12th to 10 to the 13th power G) is included is studied. The results indicate that for T about 10 to the 8th power K and densities rho of about 10,000 g/cu cm, the presence of a strong H field decreases the energy losses by at the most a factor between 10 and 100 in the region up to rho = 1,000,000 g/cu cm. At higher densities the neutrino emissivities are almost identical.

Metal-halide mixtures for latent heat energy storage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, K.; Manvi, R.

1981-01-01

Alkali metal and alkali halide mixtures are identified which may be suitable for thermal energy storage at temperatures above 600 C. The use of metal-halides is appropriate because of their tendency to form two immiscible melts with a density difference, which reduces scale formation and solidification on heat transfer surfaces. Also, the accumulation of phase change material along the melt interface is avoided by the self-dispersing characteristic of some metal-halides, in particular Sr-SrCl2, Ba-BaCl2, and Ba-BaBr2 mixtures. Further advantages lie in their high thermal conductivities, ability to cope with thermal shock, corrosion inhibition, and possibly higher energy densities.

The energy density of laser light differentially modulates the skin morphological reorganization in a murine model of healing by secondary intention

PubMed Central

Novaes, Rômulo D; Gonçalves, Reggiani V; Cupertino, Marli C; Araújo, Bruna M; Rezende, Rafael M; Santos, Eliziária C; Leite, João Paulo V; Matta, Sérgio Luis P

2014-01-01

This study investigates the influence of gallium–arsenide (GaAs) laser photobiostimulation applied with different energy densities on skin wound healing by secondary intention in rats. Three circular wounds, 10 mm in diameter, were made on the dorsolateral region of 21 Wistar rats weighting 282.12 ± 36.08 g. The animals were equally randomized into three groups: Group SAL, saline solution 0.9%; Group L3, laser GaAs 3 J/cm2; Group L30, laser GaAs 30 J/cm2. Analyses of cells, blood vessels, collagen and elastic fibres, glycosaminoglycans and wound contraction were performed on the scar tissue from different wounds every 7 days for 21 days. On day 7, 14 and 21, L3 and L30 showed higher collagen and glycosaminoglycan levels compared to SAL (P < 0.05). At day 21, elastic fibres were predominant in L3 and L30 compared to SAL (P < 0.05). Type-III collagen fibres were predominant at day 7 in both groups. There was gradual reduction in these fibres and accumulation of type-I collagen over time, especially in L3 and L30 compared with SAL. Elevated density of blood vessels was seen in L30 on days 7 and 14 compared to the other groups (P < 0.05). On these same days, there was higher tissue cellularity in L3 compared with SAL (P < 0.05). The progression of wound closure during all time points investigated was higher in the L30 group (P < 0.05). Both energy densities investigated increased the tissue cellularity, vascular density, collagen and elastic fibres, and glycosaminoglycan synthesis, with the greater benefits for wound closure being found at the density of 30 J/cm2. PMID:24354418

Transition from Selective Withdrawal to Light Layer Entrainment in an Oil-Water System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartenberger, Joel; O'Hern, Timothy; Webb, Stephen; James, Darryl

2010-11-01

Selective withdrawal refers to the selective removal of fluid of one density without entraining an adjacent fluid layer of a different density. Most prior literature has examined removal of the lower density fluid and the transition to entraining the higher density fluid. In the present experiments, a higher density liquid is removed through a tube that extends just below its interface with a lower density fluid. The critical depth for a given flow rate at which the liquid-liquid interface transitions to entrain the lighter fluid was measured. Experiments were performed for a range of different light layer silicone oils and heavy layer water or brine, covering a range of density and viscosity ratios. Applications include density-stratified reservoirs and brine removal from oil storage caverns. Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

High-energy MnO2 nanowire/graphene and graphene asymmetric electrochemical capacitors.

PubMed

Wu, Zhong-Shuai; Ren, Wencai; Wang, Da-Wei; Li, Feng; Liu, Bilu; Cheng, Hui-Ming

2010-10-26

In order to achieve high energy and power densities, we developed a high-voltage asymmetric electrochemical capacitor (EC) based on graphene as negative electrode and a MnO(2) nanowire/graphene composite (MGC) as positive electrode in a neutral aqueous Na(2)SO(4) solution as electrolyte. MGC was prepared by solution-phase assembly of graphene sheets and α-MnO(2) nanowires. Such aqueous electrolyte-based asymmetric ECs can be cycled reversibly in the high-voltage region of 0-2.0 V and exhibit a superior energy density of 30.4 Wh kg(-1), which is much higher than those of symmetric ECs based on graphene//graphene (2.8 Wh kg(-1)) and MGC//MGC (5.2 Wh kg(-1)). Moreover, they present a high power density (5000 W kg(-1) at 7.0 Wh kg(-1)) and acceptable cycling performance of ∼79% retention after 1000 cycles. These findings open up the possibility of graphene-based composites for applications in safe aqueous electrolyte-based high-voltage asymmetric ECs with high energy and power densities.

Temperature scaling in a dense vibrofluidized granular material.

PubMed

Sunthar, P; Kumaran, V

1999-08-01

The leading order "temperature" of a dense two-dimensional granular material fluidized by external vibrations is determined. The grain interactions are characterized by inelastic collisions, but the coefficient of restitution is considered to be close to 1, so that the dissipation of energy during a collision is small compared to the average energy of a particle. An asymptotic solution is obtained where the particles are considered to be elastic in the leading approximation. The velocity distribution is a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution in the leading approximation. The density profile is determined by solving the momentum balance equation in the vertical direction, where the relation between the pressure and density is provided by the virial equation of state. The temperature is determined by relating the source of energy due to the vibrating surface and the energy dissipation due to inelastic collisions. The predictions of the present analysis show good agreement with simulation results at higher densities where theories for a dilute vibrated granular material, with the pressure-density relation provided by the ideal gas law, are in error.

Ultrathin Hierarchical Porous Carbon Nanosheets for High-Performance Supercapacitors and Redox Electrolyte Energy Storage.

PubMed

Jayaramulu, Kolleboyina; Dubal, Deepak P; Nagar, Bhawna; Ranc, Vaclav; Tomanec, Ondrej; Petr, Martin; Datta, Kasibhatta Kumara Ramanatha; Zboril, Radek; Gómez-Romero, Pedro; Fischer, Roland A

2018-04-01

The design of advanced high-energy-density supercapacitors requires the design of unique materials that combine hierarchical nanoporous structures with high surface area to facilitate ion transport and excellent electrolyte permeability. Here, shape-controlled 2D nanoporous carbon sheets (NPSs) with graphitic wall structure through the pyrolysis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are developed. As a proof-of-concept application, the obtained NPSs are used as the electrode material for a supercapacitor. The carbon-sheet-based symmetric cell shows an ultrahigh Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET)-area-normalized capacitance of 21.4 µF cm -2 (233 F g -1 ), exceeding other carbon-based supercapacitors. The addition of potassium iodide as redox-active species in a sulfuric acid (supporting electrolyte) leads to the ground-breaking enhancement in the energy density up to 90 Wh kg -1 , which is higher than commercial aqueous rechargeable batteries, maintaining its superior power density. Thus, the new material provides a double profits strategy such as battery-level energy and capacitor-level power density. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Arrays as Efficient Supports for Faradaic Capacitive Electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oguntoye, Moses; Holleran, Mary-Kate; Roberts, Katherine; Pesika, Noshir

Supercapacitors are notable for their ability to deliver energy at higher power (compared to batteries) and store energy at higher density (compared to capacitors) as well as exhibit a long cycle life. In our efforts to further the development of supercapacitors, our focus is on using vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNT) as supports for faradaic capacitive electrode materials. The objective is to develop electrodes functioning in an inexpensive aqueous environment with small potential windows, that store energy at a higher density than carbon materials alone. We describe the different approaches explored to overcome the challenges of non-uniform deposition, poor wetting and array collapse. Materials that are electrochemically anchored to VACNT supports include NiCo2O4, VOx, Fe2O3 and Co-Mn mixed oxides. In each case, the specific capacitance obtained using the VACNT arrays as supports is significantly more than that obtained by direct deposition onto current collectors or by using VACNT alone. The ease of VACNT growth and the degree of coating control achievable using electrodeposition means there is much potential in exploring them as supports for capacitive electrode materials.

Study of the operating parameters of a helicon plasma discharge source using PIC-MCC simulation technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaafarian, Rokhsare; Ganjovi, Alireza; Etaati, Gholamreza

2018-01-01

In this work, a Particle in Cell-Monte Carlo Collision simulation technique is used to study the operating parameters of a typical helicon plasma source. These parameters mainly include the gas pressure, externally applied static magnetic field, the length and radius of the helicon antenna, and the frequency and voltage amplitude of the applied RF power on the helicon antenna. It is shown that, while the strong radial gradient of the formed plasma density in the proximity of the plasma surface is substantially proportional to the energy absorption from the existing Trivelpiece-Gould (TG) modes, the observed high electron temperature in the helicon source at lower static magnetic fields is significant evidence for the energy absorption from the helicon modes. Furthermore, it is found that, at higher gas pressures, both the plasma electron density and temperature are reduced. Besides, it is shown that, at higher static magnetic fields, owing to the enhancement of the energy absorption by the plasma charged species, the plasma electron density is linearly increased. Moreover, it is seen that, at the higher spatial dimensions of the antenna, both the plasma electron density and temperature are reduced. Additionally, while, for the applied frequencies of 13.56 MHz and 27.12 MHz on the helicon antenna, the TG modes appear, for the applied frequency of 18.12 MHz on the helicon antenna, the existence of helicon modes is proved. Moreover, by increasing the applied voltage amplitude on the antenna, the generation of mono-energetic electrons is more probable.

Recovery of butanol from Clostridium beijerinckii P260 fermentation broth by supercritical CO

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Butanol is a superior biofuel to ethanol because of its blend properties and higher energy density. However, its recovery by distillation from the fermentation broth is energy intensive. For this reason, we studied butanol recovery by supercritical CO2 extraction from simulated and actual fermentati...

Active Structural Acoustic Control as an Approach to Acoustic Optimization of Lightweight Structures

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-06-01

appropriate approach based on Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) would facilitate investigations of the structural behavior at a high modal density. On the way...higher frequency investigations an approach based on the Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) is recommended to describe the structural dynamic behavior

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Zhen; Chen, Xuefeng; Peng, Wei

The dielectric properties and electrical hysteresis behaviors of Pb{sub 0.97}La{sub 0.02}(Zr{sub 0.58}Sn{sub 0.335}Ti{sub 0.085})O{sub 3} antiferroelectric (AFE) ceramics were investigated in this work with an emphasis on energy storage properties. Three phase transition points can be detected as temperature increases. AFE and paraelectric phases are found to coexist from 100 °C to 170 °C. The room temperature recoverable energy density is 1.37 J/cm{sup 3} at 8.6 kV/mm. With increasing temperature (from 20 °C to 100 °C) and frequency (from 0.01 to 100 Hz) under 8.6 kV/mm, the variation of recoverable energy density was less than 15%, all higher than 1.2 J/cm{sup 3}. All the corresponding energy efficiencies were nomore » less than 75%. The high energy density, high energy efficiency, and their weak dependence on temperature and frequency during a wide scope indicate that these antiferroelectric ceramics are quite promising to be used for pulse power capacitors applications.« less

Initialization of hydrodynamics in relativistic heavy ion collisions with an energy-momentum transport model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naboka, V. Yu.; Akkelin, S. V.; Karpenko, Iu. A.; Sinyukov, Yu. M.

2015-01-01

A key ingredient of hydrodynamical modeling of relativistic heavy ion collisions is thermal initial conditions, an input that is the consequence of a prethermal dynamics which is not completely understood yet. In the paper we employ a recently developed energy-momentum transport model of the prethermal stage to study influence of the alternative initial states in nucleus-nucleus collisions on flow and energy density distributions of the matter at the starting time of hydrodynamics. In particular, the dependence of the results on isotropic and anisotropic initial states is analyzed. It is found that at the thermalization time the transverse flow is larger and the maximal energy density is higher for the longitudinally squeezed initial momentum distributions. The results are also sensitive to the relaxation time parameter, equation of state at the thermalization time, and transverse profile of initial energy density distribution: Gaussian approximation, Glauber Monte Carlo profiles, etc. Also, test results ensure that the numerical code based on the energy-momentum transport model is capable of providing both averaged and fluctuating initial conditions for the hydrodynamic simulations of relativistic nuclear collisions.

Beam energy dependence of pseudorapidity distributions of charged particles produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, Sumit; Nayak, Tapan K.; Datta, Kaustuv

2016-06-01

Heavy-ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Large Hadron Collider at CERN probe matter at extreme conditions of temperature and energy density. Most of the global properties of the collisions can be extracted from the measurements of charged-particle multiplicity and pseudorapidity (η ) distributions. We have shown that the available experimental data on beam energy and centrality dependence of η distributions in heavy-ion (Au +Au or Pb +Pb ) collisions from √{sNN}=7.7 GeV to 2.76 TeV are reasonably well described by the AMPT model, which is used for further exploration. The nature of the η distributions has been described by a double Gaussian function using a set of fit parameters, which exhibit a regular pattern as a function of beam energy. By extrapolating the parameters to a higher energy of √{sNN}=5.02 TeV, we have obtained the charged-particle multiplicity densities, η distributions, and energy densities for various centralities. Incidentally, these results match well with some of the recently published data by the ALICE Collaboration.

Generalized model screening potentials for Fermi-Dirac plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbari-Moghanjoughi, M.

2016-04-01

In this paper, some properties of relativistically degenerate quantum plasmas, such as static ion screening, structure factor, and Thomson scattering cross-section, are studied in the framework of linearized quantum hydrodynamic theory with the newly proposed kinetic γ-correction to Bohm term in low frequency limit. It is found that the correction has a significant effect on the properties of quantum plasmas in all density regimes, ranging from solid-density up to that of white dwarf stars. It is also found that Shukla-Eliasson attractive force exists up to a few times the density of metals, and the ionic correlations are seemingly apparent in the radial distribution function signature. Simplified statically screened attractive and repulsive potentials are presented for zero-temperature Fermi-Dirac plasmas, valid for a wide range of quantum plasma number-density and atomic number values. Moreover, it is observed that crystallization of white dwarfs beyond a critical core number-density persists with this new kinetic correction, but it is shifted to a much higher number-density value of n0 ≃ 1.94 × 1037 cm-3 (1.77 × 1010 gr cm-3), which is nearly four orders of magnitude less than the nuclear density. It is found that the maximal Thomson scattering with the γ-corrected structure factor is a remarkable property of white dwarf stars. However, with the new γ-correction, the maximal scattering shifts to the spectrum region between hard X-ray and low-energy gamma-rays. White dwarfs composed of higher atomic-number ions are observed to maximally Thomson-scatter at slightly higher wavelengths, i.e., they maximally scatter slightly low-energy photons in the presence of correction.

Fast‐Rate Capable Electrode Material with Higher Energy Density than LiFePO4: 4.2V LiVPO4F Synthesized by Scalable Single‐Step Solid‐State Reaction

PubMed Central

Kim, Minkyung; Lee, Seongsu

2015-01-01

Use of compounds that contain fluorine (F) as electrode materials in lithium ion batteries has been considered, but synthesizing single‐phase samples of these compounds is a difficult task. Here, it is demonstrated that a simple scalable single‐step solid‐state process with additional fluorine source can obtain highly pure LiVPO4F. The resulting material with submicron particles achieves very high rate capability ≈100 mAh g−1 at 60 C‐rate (1‐min discharge) and even at 200 C‐rate (18 s discharge). It retains superior capacity, ≈120 mAh g−1 at 10 C charge/10 C discharge rate (6‐min) for 500 cycles with >95% retention efficiency. Furthermore, LiVPO4F shows low polarization even at high rates leading to higher operating potential >3.45 V (≈3.6 V at 60 C‐rate), so it achieves high energy density. It is demonstrated for the first time that highly pure LiVPO4F can achieve high power capability comparable to LiFePO4 and much higher energy density (≈521 Wh g−1 at 20 C‐rate) than LiFePO4 even without nanostructured particles. LiVPO4F can be a real substitute of LiFePO4. PMID:27774395

Fast-Rate Capable Electrode Material with Higher Energy Density than LiFePO4: 4.2V LiVPO4F Synthesized by Scalable Single-Step Solid-State Reaction.

PubMed

Kim, Minkyung; Lee, Seongsu; Kang, Byoungwoo

2016-03-01

Use of compounds that contain fluorine (F) as electrode materials in lithium ion batteries has been considered, but synthesizing single-phase samples of these compounds is a difficult task. Here, it is demonstrated that a simple scalable single-step solid-state process with additional fluorine source can obtain highly pure LiVPO 4 F. The resulting material with submicron particles achieves very high rate capability ≈100 mAh g -1 at 60 C-rate (1-min discharge) and even at 200 C-rate (18 s discharge). It retains superior capacity, ≈120 mAh g -1 at 10 C charge/10 C discharge rate (6-min) for 500 cycles with >95% retention efficiency. Furthermore, LiVPO 4 F shows low polarization even at high rates leading to higher operating potential >3.45 V (≈3.6 V at 60 C-rate), so it achieves high energy density. It is demonstrated for the first time that highly pure LiVPO 4 F can achieve high power capability comparable to LiFePO 4 and much higher energy density (≈521 Wh g -1 at 20 C-rate) than LiFePO 4 even without nanostructured particles. LiVPO 4 F can be a real substitute of LiFePO 4.

Antiproton powered propulsion with magnetically confined plasma engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lapointe, Michael R.

1989-01-01

Matter-antimatter annihilation releases more energy per unit mass than any other method of energy production, making it an attractive energy source for spacecraft propulsion. In the magnetically confined plasma engine, antiproton beams are injected axially into a pulsed magnetic mirror system, where they annihilate with an initially neutral hydrogen gas. The resulting charged annihilation products transfer energy to the hydrogen propellant, which is then exhausted through one end of the pulsed mirror system to provide thrust. The calculated energy transfer efficiencies for a low number density (10(14)/cu cm) hydrogen propellant are insufficient to warrant operating the engine in this mode. Efficiencies are improved using moderate propellant number densities (10(16)/cu cm), but the energy transferred to the plasma in a realistic magnetic mirror system is generally limited to less than 2 percent of the initial proton-antiproton annihilation energy. The energy transfer efficiencies are highest for high number density (10(18)/cu cm) propellants, but plasma temperatures are reduced by excessive radiation losses. Low to moderate thrust over a wide range of specific impulse can be generated with moderate propellant number densities, while higher thrust but lower specific impulse may be generated using high propellant number densities. Significant mass will be required to shield the superconducting magnet coils from the high energy gamma radiation emitted by neutral pion decay. The mass of such a radiation shield may dominate the total engine mass, and could severely diminish the performance of antiproton powered engines which utilize magnetic confinement. The problem is compounded in the antiproton powered plasma engine, where lower energy plasma bremsstrahlung radiation may cause shield surface ablation and degradation.

Homogeneous/Inhomogeneous-Structured Dielectrics and their Energy-Storage Performances.

PubMed

Yao, Zhonghua; Song, Zhe; Hao, Hua; Yu, Zhiyong; Cao, Minghe; Zhang, Shujun; Lanagan, Michael T; Liu, Hanxing

2017-05-01

The demand for dielectric capacitors with higher energy-storage capability is increasing for power electronic devices due to the rapid development of electronic industry. Existing dielectrics for high-energy-storage capacitors and potential new capacitor technologies are reviewed toward realizing these goals. Various dielectric materials with desirable permittivity and dielectric breakdown strength potentially meeting the device requirements are discussed. However, some significant limitations for current dielectrics can be ascribed to their low permittivity, low breakdown strength, and high hysteresis loss, which will decrease their energy density and efficiency. Thus, the implementation of dielectric materials for high-energy-density applications requires the comprehensive understanding of both the materials design and processing. The optimization of high-energy-storage dielectrics will have far-reaching impacts on the sustainable energy and will be an important research topic in the near future. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Wearable Solid-State Supercapacitors Operating at High Working Voltage with a Flexible Nanocomposite Electrode.

PubMed

Li, Xiaoyan; Wang, Jun; Zhao, Yaping; Ge, Fengyan; Komarneni, Sridhar; Cai, Zaisheng

2016-10-05

The proposed approach for fabricating ultralight self-sustained electrodes facilitates the structural integration of highly flexible carbon nanofibers, amino-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes (AM-MWNT), and MnO 2 nanoflakes for potential use in wearable supercapacitors. Because of the higher orientation of AM-MWNT and the sublimation of terephthalic acid (PTA) in the carbonization process, freestanding electrodes could be realized with high porosity and flexibility and could possess remarkable electrochemical properties without using polymer substrates. Wearable symmetric solid-state supercapacitors were further assembled using a LiCl/PVA gel electrolyte, which exhibit a maximum energy density of 44.57 Wh/kg (at a power density of 337.1 W/kg) and a power density of 13330 W/kg (at an energy density of 19.64 Wh/kg) with a working voltage as high as 1.8 V. Due to the combination of several favorable traits such as flexibility, high energy density, and excellent electrochemical cyclability, the presently developed wearable supercapacitors with wide potential windows are expected to be useful for new kinds of portable electric devices.

A high-performance supercapacitor electrode based on N-doped porous graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Shuge; Liu, Zhen; Zhao, Bote; Zeng, Jianhuang; Hu, Hao; Zhang, Qiaobao; Chen, Dongchang; Qu, Chong; Dang, Dai; Liu, Meilin

2018-05-01

The development of high-performance supercapacitors (SCs) often faces some contradictory and competing requirements such as excellent rate capability, long cycling life, and high energy density. One effective strategy is to explore electrode materials of high capacitance, electrode architectures of fast charge and mass transfer, and electrolytes of wide voltage window. Here we report a facile and readily scalable strategy to produce high-performance N-doped graphene with a high specific capacitance (∼390 F g-1). A symmetric SC device with a wide voltage window of 3.5 V is also successfully fabricated based on the N-doped graphene electrode. More importantly, the as-assembled symmetric SC delivers a high energy density of 55 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 1800 W kg-1 while maintaining superior cycling life (retaining 96.6% of the initial capacitance after 20,000 cycles). Even at a power density as high as 8800 W kg-1, it still retains an energy density of 29 Wh kg-1, higher than those of previously reported graphene-based symmetric SCs.

Finite-T correlations and free exchange-correlation energy of quasi-one-dimensional electron gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garg, Vinayak; Sharma, Akariti; Moudgil, R. K.

2018-02-01

We have studied the effect of temperature on static density-density correlations and plasmon excitation spectrum of quasi-one-dimensional electron gas (Q1DEG) using the random phase approximation (RPA). Numerical results for static structure factor, pair-correlation function, static density susceptibility, free exchange-correlation energy and plasmon dispersion are presented over a wide range of temperature and electron density. As an interesting result, we find that the short-range correlations exhibit a non-monotonic dependence on temperature T, initially growing stronger (i.e. the pair-correlation function at small inter-electron spacing assuming relatively smaller values) with increasing T and then weakening above a critical T. The cross-over temperature is found to increase with increasing coupling among electrons. Also, the q = 2kF peak in the static density susceptibility χ(q,ω = 0,T) at T = 0 K smears out with rising T. The free exchange-correlation energy and plasmon dispersion show a significant variation with T, and the trend is qualitatively the same as in higher dimensions.

Compressed Liquid Densities and Helmholtz Energy Equation of State for Fluoroethane (R161)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Haiyan; Fang, Dan; Gao, Kehui; Meng, Xianyang; Wu, Jiangtao

2016-06-01

In this study, compressed liquid densities of Fluoroethane (R161, CAS No. 353-36-6) were measured using a high-pressure vibrating-tube densimeter over the temperature range from (283 to 363) K with pressures up to 100 MPa. A Helmholtz energy equation of state for R161 was developed from these density measurements and other experimental thermodynamic property data from the literature. The formulation is valid for temperatures from the triple point temperature of 130 K to 420 K with pressures up to 100 MPa. The approximate uncertainties of properties calculated with the new equation of state are estimated to be 0.25 % in density, 0.2 % in saturated liquid density between 230 K and 320 K, and 0.2 % in vapor pressure below 350 K. Deviations in the critical region are higher for all properties. The extrapolation behavior of the new formulation at high temperatures and high pressures is reasonable.

Dynamics of a Two-Dimensional System of Quantum Dipoles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mazzanti, F.; Astrakharchik, G. E.; Boronat, J.

2009-03-20

A detailed microscopic analysis of the dynamic structure function S(k,{omega}) of a two-dimensional Bose system of dipoles polarized along the direction perpendicular to the plane is presented and discussed. Starting from ground-state quantities obtained using a quantum diffusion Monte Carlo algorithm, the density-density response is evaluated in the context of the correlated basis functions (CBF) theory. CBF predicts a sharp peak and a multiexcitation component at higher energies produced by the decay of excitations. We discuss the structure of the phonon-roton peak and show that the Feynman and Bogoliubov predictions depart from the CBF result already at low densities. Wemore » finally discuss the emergence of a roton in the spectrum, but find the roton energy not low enough to make the system unstable under density fluctuations up to the highest density considered that is close to the freezing point.« less

Fruits and Vegetables Displace, But Do Not Decrease, Total Energy in School Lunches

PubMed Central

Schoeller, Dale A.

2014-01-01

Abstract Background: The high overweight and obesity prevalence among US children is a well-established public health concern. Diet is known to play a causal role in obesity. Increasing fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption to recommended levels is proposed to help reduce obesity, because their bulk and low energy density are believed to reduce energy-dense food consumption (volume displacement hypothesis). This study tests this hypothesis at the lunch meal among upper-elementary students participating in a Farm to School (F2S) program. Methods: Digital photographs of students' school lunch trays were visually analyzed to identify the food items and amounts that were present and consumed before and after the meal. Using the USDA Nutrient Database, total and FV-only energy were calculated for each tray. Analysis of total- and non-FV energy intake was performed according to (1) levels of FV energy intake, (2) FV energy density, and (3) previous years of Farm to School programming. Results: Higher intake of FV energy displaced non-FV energy, but total energy did not decrease across FV energy intake groups. High-FV-energy-density trays showed lower non-FV energy intake than low-FV-energy-density trays (470±179 vs. 534±219 kcal; p<0.0001). Trays from schools with more previous years of F2S programming decreased total and non-FV energy intake from school lunches (p for trend<0.0001, both). Conclusions: Increased FV consumption reduces non-FV energy intake, but does not reduce total energy intake. Therefore, this study does not support the volume displacement hypothesis and suggests calorie displacement instead. PMID:24988122

All-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors based on Fe-doped mesoporous Co3O4 and three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide electrodes with high energy and power densities.

PubMed

Zhang, Cheng; Wei, Jun; Chen, Leiyi; Tang, Shaolong; Deng, Mingsen; Du, Youwei

2017-10-19

An asymmetric supercapacitor offers opportunities to effectively utilize the full potential of the different potential windows of the two electrodes for a higher operating voltage, resulting in an enhanced specific capacitance and significantly improved energy without sacrificing the power delivery and cycle life. To achieve high energy and power densities, we have synthesized an all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor with a wider voltage range using Fe-doped Co 3 O 4 and three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (3DrGO) as the positive and negative electrodes, respectively. In contrast to undoped Co 3 O 4 , the increased density of states and modified charge spatial separation endow the Fe-doped Co 3 O 4 electrode with greatly improved electrochemical capacitive performance, including high specific capacitance (1997 F g -1 and 1757 F g -1 at current densities of 1 and 20 A g -1 , respectively), excellent rate capability, and superior cycling stability. Remarkably, the optimized all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor can be cycled reversibly in a wide range of 0-1.8 V, thus delivering a high energy density (270.3 W h kg -1 ), high power density (9.0 kW kg -1 at 224.2 W h kg -1 ), and excellent cycling stability (91.8% capacitance retention after 10 000 charge-discharge cycles at a constant current density of 10 A g -1 ). The superior capacitive performance suggests that such an all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor shows great potential for developing energy storage systems with high levels of energy and power delivery.

A thermally regenerative ammonia battery with carbon-silver electrodes for converting low-grade waste heat to electricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahimi, Mohammad; Kim, Taeyoung; Gorski, Christopher A.; Logan, Bruce E.

2018-01-01

Thermally regenerative ammonia batteries (TRABs) have shown great promise as a method to convert low-grade waste heat into electrical power, with power densities an order of magnitude higher than other approaches. However, previous TRABs based on copper electrodes suffered from unbalanced anode dissolution and cathode deposition rates during discharging cycles, limiting practical applications. To produce a TRAB with stable and reversible electrode reactions over many cycles, inert carbon electrodes were used with silver salts. In continuous flow tests, power production was stable over 100 discharging cycles, demonstrating excellent reversibility. Power densities were 23 W m-2-electrode area in batch tests, which was 64% higher than that produced in parallel tests using copper electrodes, and 30 W m-2 (net energy density of 490 Wh m-3-anolyte) in continuous flow tests. While this battery requires the use a precious metal, an initial economic analysis of the system showed that the cost of the materials relative to energy production was 220 per MWh, which is competitive with energy production from other non-fossil fuel sources. A substantial reduction in costs could be obtained by developing less expensive anion exchange membranes.

High Energy Density and High Temperature Multilayer Capacitor Films for Electric Vehicle Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Treufeld, Imre; Song, Michelle; Zhu, Lei; Baer, Eric; Snyder, Joe; Langhe, Deepak

2015-03-01

Multilayer films (MLFs) with high energy density and high temperature capability (>120 °C) have been developed at Case Western Reserve University. Such films offer a potential solution for electric car DC-link capacitors, where high ripple currents and high temperature tolerance are required. The current state-of-the-art capacitors used in electric cars for converting DC to AC use biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), which can only operate at temperatures up to 85 °C requiring an external cooling system. The polycarbonate (PC)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) MLFs have a higher permittivity compared to that of BOPP (2.3), leading to higher energy density. They have good mechanical stability and reasonably low dielectric losses at 120 °C. Nonetheless, our preliminary dielectric measurements show that the MLFs exhibit appreciable dielectric losses (20%) at 120 °C, which would, despite all the other advantages, make them not suitable for practical applications. Our preliminary data showed that dielectric losses of the MLFs at 120 °C up to 400 MV/m and 1000 Hz originate mostly from impurity ionic conduction. This work is supported by the NSF PFI/BIC Program (IIP-1237708).

Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/NH2-Treated Graphene Nanodot/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites with Enhanced Dielectric Performance for Ultrahigh Energy Density Capacitor.

PubMed

Cho, Sunghun; Lee, Jun Seop; Jang, Jyongsik

2015-05-13

This work describes a ternary nanocomposite system, composed of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), NH2-treated graphene nanodots (GNDs), and reduced graphene oxides (RGOs), for use in high energy density capacitor. When the RGO sheets were added to PVDF matrix, the β-phase content of PVDF became higher than that of the pristine PVDF. The surface-treatment of GNDs with an ethylenediamine can promote the hydrogen bonding interactions between the GNDs and PVDF, which promote the formation of β-phase PVDF. This finding could be extended to combine the advantages of both RGO and NH2-treated GND for developing an effective and reliable means of preparing PVDF/NH2-treated GND/RGO nanocomposite. Relatively small amounts of NH2-treated GND/RGO cofillers (10 vol %) could make a great impact on the α → β phase transformation, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties of the ternary nanocomposite. The resulting PVDF/NH2-treated GND/RGO nanocomposite exhibited higher dielectric constant (ε' ≈ 60.6) and larger energy density (U(e) ≈ 14.1 J cm(-3)) compared with the pristine PVDF (ε' ≈ 11.6 and U(e) ≈ 1.8 J cm(-3)).

Ion acceleration in electrostatic collisionless shock: on the optimal density profile for quasi-monoenergetic beams

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boella, E.; Fiúza, F.; Novo, A. Stockem

Here, a numerical study on ion acceleration in electrostatic shock waves is presented, with the aim of determining the best plasma configuration to achieve quasi-monoenergetic ion beams in laser-driven systems. It was recently shown that tailored near-critical density plasmas characterized by a long-scale decreasing rear density profile lead to beams with low energy spread (Fiúza et al 2012 Phys. Rev. Lett. 109 215001). In this work, a detailed parameter scan investigating different plasma scale lengths is carried out. As result, the optimal plasma spatial scale length that allows for minimizing the energy spread while ensuring a significant reflection of ionsmore » by the shock is identified. Furthermore, a new configuration where the required profile has been obtained by coupling micro layers of different densities is proposed. Lastly, results show that this new engineered approach is a valid alternative, guaranteeing a low energy spread with a higher level of controllability.« less

Ion acceleration in electrostatic collisionless shock: on the optimal density profile for quasi-monoenergetic beams

DOE PAGES

Boella, E.; Fiúza, F.; Novo, A. Stockem; ...

2018-02-01

Here, a numerical study on ion acceleration in electrostatic shock waves is presented, with the aim of determining the best plasma configuration to achieve quasi-monoenergetic ion beams in laser-driven systems. It was recently shown that tailored near-critical density plasmas characterized by a long-scale decreasing rear density profile lead to beams with low energy spread (Fiúza et al 2012 Phys. Rev. Lett. 109 215001). In this work, a detailed parameter scan investigating different plasma scale lengths is carried out. As result, the optimal plasma spatial scale length that allows for minimizing the energy spread while ensuring a significant reflection of ionsmore » by the shock is identified. Furthermore, a new configuration where the required profile has been obtained by coupling micro layers of different densities is proposed. Lastly, results show that this new engineered approach is a valid alternative, guaranteeing a low energy spread with a higher level of controllability.« less

Influence of excitation frequency on the metastable atoms and electron energy distribution function in a capacitively coupled argon discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, S.; Sirse, N.; Turner, M. M.; Ellingboe, A. R.

2018-06-01

One-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation is used to simulate the capacitively coupled argon plasma for a range of excitation frequency from 13.56 MHz to 100 MHz. The argon chemistry set can, selectively, include two metastable levels enabling multi-step ionization and metastable pooling. The results show that the plasma density decreases when metastable atoms are included with higher discrepancy at a higher excitation frequency. The contribution of multistep ionization to the overall density increases with the excitation frequency. The electron temperature increases with the inclusion of metastable atoms and decreases with the excitation frequency. At a lower excitation frequency, the density of Ar** (3p5 4p, 13.1 eV) is higher than that of Ar* (3p5 4s, 11.6 eV), whereas at higher excitation frequencies, the Ar* (3p5 4s, 11.6 eV) is the dominant metastable atom. The metastable and electron temperature profile evolve from a parabolic profile at a lower excitation frequency to a saddle type profile at a higher excitation frequency. With metastable, the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) changes its shape from Druyvesteyn type, at a low excitation frequency, to bi-Maxwellian, at a high frequency plasma excitation; however, a three-temperature EEDF is observed without metastable atoms.

Suitability of Coastal Marshes as Whooping Crane Foraging Habitat in Southwest Louisiana, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

King, Sammy L.; Kang, Sung-Ryong

2014-01-01

Foraging habitat conditions (i.e., water depth, prey biomass, digestible energy density) can be a significant predictor of foraging habitat selection by wading birds. Potential foraging habitats of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) using marshes include ponds and emergent marsh, but the potential prey and energy availability in these habitat types have rarely been studied. In this study, we estimated daily digestible energy density for Whooping Cranes in different marsh and microhabitat types (i.e., pond, flooded emergent marsh). Also, indicator metrics of foraging habitat suitability for Whooping Cranes were developed based on seasonal water depth, prey biomass, and digestible energy density. Seasonal water depth (cm), prey biomass (g wet weight m-2), and digestible energy density (kcal g-1m-2) ranged from 0.0 to 50.2 ± 2.8, 0.0 to 44.8 ± 22.3, and 0.0 to 31.0 ± 15.3, respectively. With the exception of freshwater emergent marsh in summer, all available habitats were capable of supporting one Whooping Crane per 0.1 ha per day. All habitat types in the marshes had relatively higher suitability in spring and summer than in fall and winter. Our study indicates that based on general energy availability, freshwater marshes in the region can support Whooping Cranes in a relatively small area, particularly in spring and summer. In actuality, the spatial density of ponds, the flood depth of the emergent marsh, and the habitat conditions (e.g., vegetation density) between adjacent suitable habitats will constrain suitable habitat and Whooping Crane numbers.

Optimization of the combined proton acceleration regime with a target composition scheme

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yao, W. P.; Graduate School, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Beijing 100088; Li, B. W., E-mail: li-baiwen@iapcm.ac.cn

A target composition scheme to optimize the combined proton acceleration regime is presented and verified by two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations by using an ultra-intense circularly polarized (CP) laser pulse irradiating an overdense hydrocarbon (CH) target, instead of a pure hydrogen (H) one. The combined acceleration regime is a two-stage proton acceleration scheme combining the radiation pressure dominated acceleration (RPDA) stage and the laser wakefield acceleration (LWFA) stage sequentially together. Protons get pre-accelerated in the first stage when an ultra-intense CP laser pulse irradiating an overdense CH target. The wakefield is driven by the laser pulse after penetrating through the overdense CHmore » target and propagating in the underdense tritium plasma gas. With the pre-accelerate stage, protons can now get trapped in the wakefield and accelerated to much higher energy by LWFA. Finally, protons with higher energies (from about 20 GeV up to about 30 GeV) and lower energy spreads (from about 18% down to about 5% in full-width at half-maximum, or FWHM) are generated, as compared to the use of a pure H target. It is because protons can be more stably pre-accelerated in the first RPDA stage when using CH targets. With the increase of the carbon-to-hydrogen density ratio, the energy spread is lower and the maximum proton energy is higher. It also shows that for the same laser intensity around 10{sup 22} W cm{sup −2}, using the CH target will lead to a higher proton energy, as compared to the use of a pure H target. Additionally, proton energy can be further increased by employing a longitudinally negative gradient of a background plasma density.« less

Nonlocal heat transport and improved target design for x-ray heating studies at x-ray free electron lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoidn, Oliver; Seidler, Gerald T.

2018-01-01

The extremely high-power densities and short durations of single pulses of x-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) have opened new opportunities in atomic physics, where complex excitation-relaxation chains allow for high ionization states in atomic and molecular systems, and in dense plasma physics, where XFEL heating of solid-density targets can create unique dense states of matter having temperatures on the order of the Fermi energy. We focus here on the latter phenomena, with special emphasis on the problem of optimum target design to achieve high x-ray heating into the warm dense matter (WDM) state. We report fully three-dimensional simulations of the incident x-ray pulse and the resulting multielectron relaxation cascade to model the spatial energy density deposition in multicomponent targets, with particular focus on the effects of nonlocal heat transport due to the motion of high energy photoelectrons and Auger electrons. We find that nanoscale high-Z /low-Z multicomponent targets can give much improved energy density deposition in lower-Z materials, with enhancements reaching a factor of 100. This has three important benefits. First, it greatly enlarges the thermodynamic parameter space in XFEL x-ray heating studies of lower-Z materials. Second, it allows the use of higher probe photon energies, enabling higher-information content x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements such as in two-color XFEL operations. Third, while this is merely one step toward optimization of x-ray heating target design, the demonstration of the importance of nonlocal heat transport establishes important common ground between XFEL-based x-ray heating studies and more traditional laser plasma methods.

Some issues for blast from a structural reactive material solid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, F.

2018-07-01

Structural reactive material (SRM) is consolidated from a mixture of micro- or nanometric reactive metals and metal compounds to the mixture theoretical maximum density. An SRM can thus possess a higher energy density, relying on various exothermic reactions, and higher mechanical strength and heat resistance than that of conventional CHNO explosives. Progress in SRM solid studies is reviewed specifically as an energy source for air blast through the reaction of fine SRM fragments under explosive loading. This includes a baseline SRM solid explosion characterization, material properties of an SRM solid, and its dynamic fine fragmentation mechanisms and fragment reaction mechanisms. The overview is portrayed mainly from the author's own experimental studies combined with theoretical and numerical explanation. These advances have laid down some fundamentals for the next stage of developments.

Some issues for blast from a structural reactive material solid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, F.

2018-03-01

Structural reactive material (SRM) is consolidated from a mixture of micro- or nanometric reactive metals and metal compounds to the mixture theoretical maximum density. An SRM can thus possess a higher energy density, relying on various exothermic reactions, and higher mechanical strength and heat resistance than that of conventional CHNO explosives. Progress in SRM solid studies is reviewed specifically as an energy source for air blast through the reaction of fine SRM fragments under explosive loading. This includes a baseline SRM solid explosion characterization, material properties of an SRM solid, and its dynamic fine fragmentation mechanisms and fragment reaction mechanisms. The overview is portrayed mainly from the author's own experimental studies combined with theoretical and numerical explanation. These advances have laid down some fundamentals for the next stage of developments.

Nanowire modified carbon fibers for enhanced electrical energy storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuvo, Mohammad Arif Ishtiaque; (Bill) Tseng, Tzu-Liang; Ashiqur Rahaman Khan, Md.; Karim, Hasanul; Morton, Philip; Delfin, Diego; Lin, Yirong

2013-09-01

The study of electrochemical super-capacitors has become one of the most attractive topics in both academia and industry as energy storage devices because of their high power density, long life cycles, and high charge/discharge efficiency. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the development of multifunctional structural energy storage devices such as structural super-capacitors for applications in aerospace, automobiles, and portable electronics. These multifunctional structural super-capacitors provide structures combining energy storage and load bearing functionalities, leading to material systems with reduced volume and/or weight. Due to their superior materials properties, carbon fiber composites have been widely used in structural applications for aerospace and automotive industries. Besides, carbon fiber has good electrical conductivity which will provide lower equivalent series resistance; therefore, it can be an excellent candidate for structural energy storage applications. Hence, this paper is focused on performing a pilot study for using nanowire/carbon fiber hybrids as building materials for structural energy storage materials; aiming at enhancing the charge/discharge rate and energy density. This hybrid material combines the high specific surface area of carbon fiber and pseudo-capacitive effect of metal oxide nanowires, which were grown hydrothermally in an aligned fashion on carbon fibers. The aligned nanowire array could provide a higher specific surface area that leads to high electrode-electrolyte contact area thus fast ion diffusion rates. Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Diffraction measurements are used for the initial characterization of this nanowire/carbon fiber hybrid material system. Electrochemical testing is performed using a potentio-galvanostat. The results show that gold sputtered nanowire carbon fiber hybrid provides 65.9% higher energy density than bare carbon fiber cloth as super-capacitor.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Darrow, Ken; Hedman, Bruce

Data centers represent a rapidly growing and very energy intensive activity in commercial, educational, and government facilities. In the last five years the growth of this sector was the electric power equivalent to seven new coal-fired power plants. Data centers consume 1.5% of the total power in the U.S. Growth over the next five to ten years is expected to require a similar increase in power generation. This energy consumption is concentrated in buildings that are 10-40 times more energy intensive than a typical office building. The sheer size of the market, the concentrated energy consumption per facility, and themore » tendency of facilities to cluster in 'high-tech' centers all contribute to a potential power infrastructure crisis for the industry. Meeting the energy needs of data centers is a moving target. Computing power is advancing rapidly, which reduces the energy requirements for data centers. A lot of work is going into improving the computing power of servers and other processing equipment. However, this increase in computing power is increasing the power densities of this equipment. While fewer pieces of equipment may be needed to meet a given data processing load, the energy density of a facility designed to house this higher efficiency equipment will be as high as or higher than it is today. In other words, while the data center of the future may have the IT power of ten data centers of today, it is also going to have higher power requirements and higher power densities. This report analyzes the opportunities for CHP technologies to assist primary power in making the data center more cost-effective and energy efficient. Broader application of CHP will lower the demand for electricity from central stations and reduce the pressure on electric transmission and distribution infrastructure. This report is organized into the following sections: (1) Data Center Market Segmentation--the description of the overall size of the market, the size and types of facilities involved, and the geographic distribution. (2) Data Center Energy Use Trends--a discussion of energy use and expected energy growth and the typical energy consumption and uses in data centers. (3) CHP Applicability--Potential configurations, CHP case studies, applicable equipment, heat recovery opportunities (cooling), cost and performance benchmarks, and power reliability benefits (4) CHP Drivers and Hurdles--evaluation of user benefits, social benefits, market structural issues and attitudes toward CHP, and regulatory hurdles. (5) CHP Paths to Market--Discussion of technical needs, education, strategic partnerships needed to promote CHP in the IT community.« less

Nanowire Na0.35MnO2 from a hydrothermal method as a cathode material for aqueous asymmetric supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, B. H.; Liu, Y.; Chang, Z.; Yang, Y. Q.; Wen, Z. B.; Wu, Y. P.; Holze, R.

2014-05-01

Nanowire Na0.35MnO2 was prepared by a simple and low energy consumption hydrothermal method; its electrochemical performance as a cathode material for aqueous asymmetric supercapacitors in Na2SO4 solution was investigated. Due to the nanowire structure its capacitance (157 F g-1) is much higher than that of the rod-like Na0.95MnO2 (92 F g-1) from solid phase reaction although its sodium content is lower. When it is assembled into an asymmetric aqueous supercapacitor using activated carbon as the counter electrode and aqueous 0.5 mol L-1 Na2SO4 electrolyte solution, the nanowire Na0.35MnO2 shows an energy density of 42.6 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 129.8 W kg-1 based on the total weight of the two electrode material, higher than those for the rod-like Na0.95MnO2, with an energy density of 27.3 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 74.8 W kg-1, and that of LiMn2O4. The new material presents excellent cycling behavior even when dissolved oxygen is not removed from the electrolyte solution. The results hold great promise for practical applications of this cathode material since sodium is much cheaper than lithium and its natural resources are rich.

The effect of microstructure on the performance of Li-ion porous electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Ding-Wen

By combining X-ray tomography data and computer-generated porous elec- trodes, the impact of microstructure on the energy and power density of lithium-ion batteries is analyzed. Specifically, for commercial LiMn2O4 electrodes, results indi- cate that a broad particle size distribution of active material delivers up to two times higher energy density than monodisperse-sized particles for low discharge rates, and a monodisperse particle size distribution delivers the highest energy and power density for high discharge rates. The limits of traditionally used microstructural properties such as tortuosity, reactive area density, particle surface roughness, morphological anisotropy were tested against degree of particle size polydispersity, thus enabling the identification of improved porous architectures. The effects of critical battery processing parameters, such as layer compaction and carbon black, were also rationalized in the context of electrode performance. While a monodisperse particle size distribution exhibits the lowest possible tortuosity and three times higher surface area per unit volume with respect to an electrode conformed of a polydisperse particle size distribution, a comparable performance can be achieved by polydisperse particle size distributions with degrees of polydispersity less than 0.2 of particle size standard deviation. The use of non-spherical particles raises the tortuosity by as much as three hundred percent, which considerably lowers the power performance. However, favorably aligned particles can maximize power performance, particularly for high discharge rate applications.

Adsorption and diffusion of mono, di, and trivalent ions on two-dimensional TiS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samad, Abdus; Shafique, Aamir; Shin, Young-Han

2017-04-01

A comparative study of the monovalent (Li, Na, and K) and multivalent (Be, Mg, Ca, and Al) metal ion adsorption and diffusion on an electronically semi-metallic two-dimensional nanosheet of 1T structured TiS2 is presented here to contribute to the search for abundant, cheap, and nontoxic ingredients for efficient rechargeable metal ion batteries. The total formation energy of the metal ion adsorption and the Bader charge analysis show that the divalent Mg and Ca ions can have a charge storage density double that of the monovalent Li, Na, and K ions, while the Be and Al ions form metallic clusters even at a low adsorption density because of their high bulk energies. The adsorption of Mg ions shows the lowest averaged open circuit voltage (0.13 V). The activation energy barriers for the diffusion of metal ions on the surface of the monolayer successively decrease from Li to K and Be to Ca. Mg and Ca, being divalent, are capable of storing a higher power density than Li while K and Na have a higher rate capability than the Li ions. Therefore, rechargeable Li ion batteries can be totally or partially replaceable by Mg ion batteries, where high power density and high cell voltage are required, while the abundant, cheap, and fast Na ions can be used for green grid applications.

Energy and Pitch Distribution of Spontaneously-generated High-energy Bulk Ions in the RFP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jungha; Anderson, Jay; Reusch, Joshua; Eilerman, Scott; Capecchi, William

2014-10-01

Magnetic reconnection events in the reversed field pinch (RFP) are known to heat bulk and impurity ions. Runaway due to a parallel electric field has recently been confirmed as an important acceleration mechanism for high energy test ions supplied by a neutral beam. This effect does not, however, explain the change in distribution of nearly Maxwellian bulk ions at a reconnection event. By operating MST near maximum current and low electron density, significant fusion neutron flux can be generated without neutral beam injection. The bulk ion distribution created in these plasmas is well-confined, non-Maxwellian, and can be measured by the Advanced Neutral Particle Analyzer (ANPA) placed at a radial or tangential porthole. Data show a high energy tail up to 25 keV with a relatively higher signal in the low energy channels (8-15 keV) at the radial port following a reconnection event. Analysis of the energy dependence of trapped orbits sampled by the ANPA at the radial view implies an abundance of lower energy particles in regions of higher neutral density. This mandates a careful deconvolution of the measured ANPA signal to compute the fast ion distribution. This work is supported by the US DOE and NSF.

Hidden vegetables: an effective strategy to reduce energy intake and increase vegetable intake in adults123

PubMed Central

Blatt, Alexandria D; Roe, Liane S

2011-01-01

Background: The overconsumption of energy-dense foods leads to excessive energy intakes. The substitution of low-energy-dense vegetables for foods higher in energy density can help decrease energy intakes but may be difficult to implement if individuals dislike the taste of vegetables. Objective: We investigated whether incorporating puréed vegetables to decrease the energy density of entrées at multiple meals reduced daily energy intakes and increased daily vegetable intakes. Design: In this crossover study, 20 men and 21 women ate ad libitum breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the laboratory once a week for 3 wk. Across conditions, entrées at meals varied in energy density from standard versions (100% condition) to reduced versions (85% and 75% conditions) by the covert incorporation of 3 or 4.5 times the amount of puréed vegetables. Entrées were accompanied by unmanipulated side dishes. Participants rated their hunger and fullness before and after meals. Results: Subjects consumed a consistent weight of foods across conditions of energy density; thus, the daily energy intake significantly decreased by 202 ± 60 kcal in the 85% condition (P < 0.001) and by 357 ± 47 kcal in the 75% condition (P < 0.0001). Daily vegetable consumption significantly increased from 270 ± 17 g of vegetables in the 100% condition to 487 ± 25 g of vegetables in the 75% condition (P < 0.0001). Despite the decreased energy intake, ratings of hunger and fullness did not significantly differ across conditions. Entrées were rated as similar in palatability across conditions. Conclusions: Large amounts of puréed vegetables can be incorporated into various foods to decrease the energy density. This strategy can lead to substantial reductions in energy intakes and increases in vegetable intakes. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01165086. PMID:21289225

Hidden vegetables: an effective strategy to reduce energy intake and increase vegetable intake in adults.

PubMed

Blatt, Alexandria D; Roe, Liane S; Rolls, Barbara J

2011-04-01

The overconsumption of energy-dense foods leads to excessive energy intakes. The substitution of low-energy-dense vegetables for foods higher in energy density can help decrease energy intakes but may be difficult to implement if individuals dislike the taste of vegetables. We investigated whether incorporating puréed vegetables to decrease the energy density of entrées at multiple meals reduced daily energy intakes and increased daily vegetable intakes. In this crossover study, 20 men and 21 women ate ad libitum breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the laboratory once a week for 3 wk. Across conditions, entrées at meals varied in energy density from standard versions (100% condition) to reduced versions (85% and 75% conditions) by the covert incorporation of 3 or 4.5 times the amount of puréed vegetables. Entrées were accompanied by unmanipulated side dishes. Participants rated their hunger and fullness before and after meals. Subjects consumed a consistent weight of foods across conditions of energy density; thus, the daily energy intake significantly decreased by 202 ± 60 kcal in the 85% condition (P < 0.001) and by 357 ± 47 kcal in the 75% condition (P < 0.0001). Daily vegetable consumption significantly increased from 270 ± 17 g of vegetables in the 100% condition to 487 ± 25 g of vegetables in the 75% condition (P < 0.0001). Despite the decreased energy intake, ratings of hunger and fullness did not significantly differ across conditions. Entrées were rated as similar in palatability across conditions. Large amounts of puréed vegetables can be incorporated into various foods to decrease the energy density. This strategy can lead to substantial reductions in energy intakes and increases in vegetable intakes. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01165086.

Electrical power production from low-grade waste heat using a thermally regenerative ethylenediamine battery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahimi, Mohammad; D'Angelo, Adriana; Gorski, Christopher A.; Scialdone, Onofrio; Logan, Bruce E.

2017-05-01

Thermally regenerative ammonia-based batteries (TRABs) have been developed to harvest low-grade waste heat as electricity. To improve the power production and anodic coulombic efficiency, the use of ethylenediamine as an alternative ligand to ammonia was explored here. The power density of the ethylenediamine-based battery (TRENB) was 85 ± 3 W m-2-electrode area with 2 M ethylenediamine, and 119 ± 4 W m-2 with 3 M ethylenediamine. This power density was 68% higher than that of TRAB. The energy density was 478 Wh m-3-anolyte, which was ∼50% higher than that produced by TRAB. The anodic coulombic efficiency of the TRENB was 77 ± 2%, which was more than twice that obtained using ammonia in a TRAB (35%). The higher anodic efficiency reduced the difference between the anode dissolution and cathode deposition rates, resulting in a process more suitable for closed loop operation. The thermal-electric efficiency based on ethylenediamine separation using waste heat was estimated to be 0.52%, which was lower than that of TRAB (0.86%), mainly due to the more complex separation process. However, this energy recovery could likely be improved through optimization of the ethylenediamine separation process.

Modeling and Simulation of Linear and Nonlinear MEMS Scale Electromagnetic Energy Harvesters for Random Vibration Environments

PubMed Central

Sassani, Farrokh

2014-01-01

The simulation results for electromagnetic energy harvesters (EMEHs) under broad band stationary Gaussian random excitations indicate the importance of both a high transformation factor and a high mechanical quality factor to achieve favourable mean power, mean square load voltage, and output spectral density. The optimum load is different for random vibrations and for sinusoidal vibration. Reducing the total damping ratio under band-limited random excitation yields a higher mean square load voltage. Reduced bandwidth resulting from decreased mechanical damping can be compensated by increasing the electrical damping (transformation factor) leading to a higher mean square load voltage and power. Nonlinear EMEHs with a Duffing spring and with linear plus cubic damping are modeled using the method of statistical linearization. These nonlinear EMEHs exhibit approximately linear behaviour under low levels of broadband stationary Gaussian random vibration; however, at higher levels of such excitation the central (resonant) frequency of the spectral density of the output voltage shifts due to the increased nonlinear stiffness and the bandwidth broadens slightly. Nonlinear EMEHs exhibit lower maximum output voltage and central frequency of the spectral density with nonlinear damping compared to linear damping. Stronger nonlinear damping yields broader bandwidths at stable resonant frequency. PMID:24605063

Self-injection of electrons in a laser-wakefield accelerator by using longitudinal density ripple

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dahiya, Deepak; Sharma, A. K.; Sajal, Vivek

By introducing a longitudinal density ripple (periodic modulation in background plasma density), we demonstrate self-injection of electrons in a laser-wakefield accelerator. The wakefield driven plasma wave, in presence of density ripple excites two side band waves of same frequency but different wave numbers. One of these side bands, having smaller phase velocity compared to wakefield driven plasma wave, preaccelerates the background plasma electrons. Significant number of these preaccelerated electrons get trapped in the laser-wakefield and further accelerated to higher energies.

Data Fitting to Study Ablated Hard Dental Tissues by Nanosecond Laser Irradiation

PubMed Central

Abdel-Daiem, A. M.; Ansari, M. Shahnawaze; Babkair, Saeed S.; Salah, Numan A.; Al-Mujtaba, A.

2016-01-01

Laser ablation of dental hard tissues is one of the most important laser applications in dentistry. Many works have reported the interaction of laser radiations with tooth material to optimize laser parameters such as wavelength, energy density, etc. This work has focused on determining the relationship between energy density and ablation thresholds using pulsed, 5 nanosecond, neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet; Nd:Y3Al5O12 (Nd:YAG) laser at 1064 nanometer. For enamel and dentin tissues, the ablations have been performed using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique. The ablation thresholds and relationship between energy densities and peak areas of calcium lines, which appeared in LIBS, were determined using data fitting. Furthermore, the morphological changes were studied using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Moreover, the chemical stability of the tooth material after ablation has been studied using Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX). The differences between carbon atomic % of non-irradiated and irradiated samples were tested using statistical t-test. Results revealed that the best fitting between energy densities and peak areas of calcium lines were exponential and linear for enamel and dentin, respectively. In addition, the ablation threshold of Nd:YAG lasers in enamel was higher than that of dentin. The morphology of the surrounded ablated region of enamel showed thermal damages. For enamel, the EDX quantitative analysis showed that the atomic % of carbon increased significantly when laser energy density increased. PMID:27228169

Ab-initio study on electronic properties of rocksalt SnAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babariya, Bindiya; Vaghela, M. V.; Gajjar, P. N.

2018-05-01

Within the frame work of Local Density Approximation of Exchange and Correlation, ab-initio method of density functional theory with Abinit code is used to compute electronic energy band structure, density of States and charge density of SnAs in rocksalt phase. Our result after optimization for lattice constant agrees with experimental value within 0.59% deviation. The computed electronic energy bands in high symmetry directions Γ→K→X→Γ→L→X→W→L→U shown metallic nature. The lowest band in the electronic band structure is showing band-gap approximately 1.70 eV from next higher band and no crossing between lowest two bands are seen. The density of states revels p-p orbit hybridization between Sn and As atoms. The spherical contour around Sn and As in the charge density plot represent partly ionic and partly covalent bonding. Fermi surface topology is the resultant effect of the single band crossing along L direction at Ef.

Self-assembling graphene-anthraquinone-2-sulphonate supramolecular nanostructures with enhanced energy density for supercapacitors.

PubMed

Gao, Lifang; Gan, Shiyu; Li, Hongyan; Han, Dongxue; Li, Fenghua; Bao, Yu; Niu, Li

2017-07-07

Boosting the energy density of capacitive energy storage devices remains a crucial issue for facilitating applications. Herein, we report a graphene-anthraquinone supramolecular nanostructure by self-assembly for supercapacitors. The sulfonated anthraquinone exhibits high water solubility, a π-conjugated structure and redox active features, which not only serve as a spacer to interact with and stabilize graphene but also introduce extra pseudocapacitance contributions. The formed nest-like three-dimensional (3D) nanostructure with further hydrothermal treatment enhances the accessibility of ion transfer and exposes the redox-active quinone groups in the electrolytes. A fabricated all-solid-state flexible symmetric device delivers a high specific capacitance of 398.5 F g -1 at 1 A g -1 (1.5 times higher than graphene), superior energy density (52.24 Wh kg -1 at about 1 kW kg -1 ) and good stability (82% capacitance retention after 10 000 cycles).

The equivalent depth of burst for impact cratering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holsapple, K. A.

1980-01-01

The concept of modeling an impact cratering event with an explosive event with the explosive buried at some equivalent depth of burst (d.o.b.) is discussed. Various and different ways to define this equivalent d.o.b. are identified. Recent experimental results for a dense quartz sand are used to determine the equivalent d.o.b. for various conditions of charge type, event size, and impact conditions. The results show a decrease in equivalent d.o.b. with increasing energy for fixed impact velocity and a decrease in equivalent d.o.b. with increasing velocity for fixed energy. The values for an iron projectile are on the order of 2-3 projectile radii for energy equal to one ton of TNT, decreasing to about 1.5 radii at a megaton of TNT. The dependence on projectile and target mass density matches that included in common jet-penetration formulas for projectile densities greater than target densities and for the higher energies.

Nickel-hydrogen component development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Charleston, J. A.

1983-01-01

Light weight energy storage systems for future space missions are investigated. One of the systems being studied is the nickel hydrogen battery. This battery is designed to achieve longer life, improve performance, and higher energy densities for space applications. The nickel hydrogen component development is discussed. Test data from polarization measurements of the hydrogen electrode component is presented.

Enhanced bioelectricity harvesting in microbial fuel cells treating food waste leachate produced from biohydrogen fermentation.

PubMed

Choi, Jeongdong; Ahn, Youngho

2015-05-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) treating the food waste leachate produced from biohydrogen fermentation were examined to enhance power generation and energy recovery. In batch mode, the maximum voltage production was 0.56 V and the power density reached 1540 mW/m(2). The maximum Coulombic efficiency (CEmax) and energy efficiency (EE) in the batch mode were calculated to be 88.8% and 18.8%, respectively. When the organic loading rate in sequencing batch mode varied from 0.75 to 6.2 g COD/L-d (under CEmax), the maximum power density reached 769.2 mW/m(2) in OLR of 3.1 g COD/L-d, whereas higher energy recovery (CE=52.6%, 0.346 Wh/g CODrem) was achieved at 1.51 g COD/L-d. The results demonstrate that readily biodegradable substrates in biohydrogen fermentation can be effectively used for the enhanced bioelectricity harvesting of MFCs and a MFC coupled with biohydrogen fermentation is of great benefit on higher electricity generation and energy efficiency. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Object Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulations of Radiation Damage In Bulk Tungsten

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nandipati, Giridhar; Setyawan, Wahyu; Heinisch, Howard; Roche, Kenneth; Kurtz, Richard; Wirth, Brian

2015-11-01

Results are presented for the evolution of radiation damage in bulk tungsten investigated using the object KMC simulation tool, KSOME, as a function of dose, dose rate and primary knock-on atom (PKA) energies in the range of 10 to 100 keV, at temperatures of 300, 1025 and 2050 K. At 300 K, the number density of vacancies changes minimally with dose rate while the number density of vacancy clusters slightly decreases with dose rate indicating that larger clusters are formed at higher dose rates. Although the average vacancy cluster size increases slightly, the vast majority exists as mono-vacancies. At 1025 K void lattice formation was observed at all dose rates for cascades below 60 keV and at lower dose rates for higher PKA energies. After the appearance of initial features of the void lattice, vacancy cluster density increased minimally while the average vacancy cluster size increases rapidly with dose. At 2050 K, no accumulation of defects was observed over a broad range of dose rates for all PKA energies studied in this work. Further comparisons of results of irradiation simulations at various dose rates and PKA spectra, representative of the High Flux Isotope Reactor and future fusion relevant irradiation facilities will be discussed. The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) and Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) has supported this study through the SciDAC-3 program.

Fuel-powered artificial muscles.

PubMed

Ebron, Von Howard; Yang, Zhiwei; Seyer, Daniel J; Kozlov, Mikhail E; Oh, Jiyoung; Xie, Hui; Razal, Joselito; Hall, Lee J; Ferraris, John P; Macdiarmid, Alan G; Baughman, Ray H

2006-03-17

Artificial muscles and electric motors found in autonomous robots and prosthetic limbs are typically battery-powered, which severely restricts the duration of their performance and can necessitate long inactivity during battery recharge. To help solve these problems, we demonstrated two types of artificial muscles that convert the chemical energy of high-energy-density fuels to mechanical energy. The first type stores electrical charge and uses changes in stored charge for mechanical actuation. In contrast with electrically powered electrochemical muscles, only half of the actuator cycle is electrochemical. The second type of fuel-powered muscle provides a demonstrated actuator stroke and power density comparable to those of natural skeletal muscle and generated stresses that are over a hundred times higher.

An Assessment of Subsurface Residual Stress Analysis in SLM Ti-6Al-4V

PubMed Central

Mishurova, Tatiana; Cabeza, Sandra; Artzt, Katia; Haubrich, Jan; Klaus, Manuela; Genzel, Christoph; Requena, Guillermo; Bruno, Giovanni

2017-01-01

Ti-6Al-4V bridges were additively fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM) under different scanning speed conditions, to compare the effect of process energy density on the residual stress state. Subsurface lattice strain characterization was conducted by means of synchrotron diffraction in energy dispersive mode. High tensile strain gradients were found at the frontal surface for samples in an as-built condition. The geometry of the samples promotes increasing strains towards the pillar of the bridges. We observed that the higher the laser energy density during fabrication, the lower the lattice strains. A relief of lattice strains takes place after heat treatment. PMID:28772706

Characterization system for research on energy storage capacitors.

PubMed

Noriega, J R; Iyore, O D; Budime, C; Gnade, B; Vasselli, J

2013-05-01

In this work a characterization system for high energy-density capacitors is described and demonstrated. Capacitors are being designed using thin-film technology in an attempt to achieve higher energy-density levels by operating the devices at a high voltage. These devices are fabricated from layers of 100 nm aluminum and a layer of polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene on a polyethylene naphthalate plastic substrate. The devices have been designed to store electrical charge at up to 200 V. Characterizations of these devices focus on the measurement of capacitance vs bias voltage and temperature, equivalent series resistance, and charge/discharge cycles. For the purpose of the characterization of these capacitors, an electronic charge/discharge interface was designed and tested.

First-principles study of Li decorated coronene graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yafei; Cheng, Xinlu

2017-11-01

We use the first-principles calculation based on density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the hydrogen storage of Li decorated coronene graphene. Our result indicates that single Li atom can adsorb three H2 molecules and the adsorption energy per H2 is -0.224 eV. When four Li atoms doped, the largest hydrogen gravimetric density is 6.82 wt.% and this is higher than the 2017 target by the US department of energy (DOE). Meanwhile, the adsorption energy per H2 is -0.220 eV, which is suitable for H2 molecules to store. Therefore, Li decorated coronene graphene will be a candidate for hydrogen storage materials in the future.

Broken symmetries, zero-energy modes, and quantum transport in disordered graphene: from supermetallic to insulating regimes.

PubMed

Cresti, Alessandro; Ortmann, Frank; Louvet, Thibaud; Van Tuan, Dinh; Roche, Stephan

2013-05-10

The role of defect-induced zero-energy modes on charge transport in graphene is investigated using Kubo and Landauer transport calculations. By tuning the density of random distributions of monovacancies either equally populating the two sublattices or exclusively located on a single sublattice, all conduction regimes are covered from direct tunneling through evanescent modes to mesoscopic transport in bulk disordered graphene. Depending on the transport measurement geometry, defect density, and broken sublattice symmetry, the Dirac-point conductivity is either exceptionally robust against disorder (supermetallic state) or suppressed through a gap opening or by algebraic localization of zero-energy modes, whereas weak localization and the Anderson insulating regime are obtained for higher energies. These findings clarify the contribution of zero-energy modes to transport at the Dirac point, hitherto controversial.

Pilot investigation of the correlation between histological and clinical effects of infrared fractional resurfacing lasers.

PubMed

Walgrave, Susan; Zelickson, Brian; Childs, James; Altshuler, Gregory; Erofeev, Andrei; Yaroslavsky, Ilya; Kist, David; Counters, Jeff

2008-11-01

Yucatan Black pig skin was treated with a 1,540-nm erbium (Er):glass laser (Lux1540, 15 and 30 mJ) and two 1,550-nm Er-doped fiber lasers (Fraxel SR750 and SR1500, 8, 10, and 12 mJ). Histologic sections were examined to determine the depth of damage and to correlate subjects' clinical response. Concurrently, six subjects with photodamaged skin received three split-face and ipsilateral dorsal hand treatments with the 1,540-nm Er:glass laser on one side and one of the 1,550-nm Er-doped lasers (Fraxel SR750) on the other. The 1,550-nm Er-doped lasers, using lower fluences and higher densities, produced shallower micro-columns than the 1,540-nm Er:glass device at higher fluences and lower densities (mean depths 250-275 microm vs 425-525 microm, respectively). Blinded assessors found greater overall improvement in pigmentation with the 1,550-nm Er-doped laser and better overall improvement in texture with the 1,540-nm Er:glass laser. Greater densities of shallower damage columns at lower energies may better improve pigmentation, whereas deeper injuries, using higher energies and moderate densities, may better improve texture. This pilot study did not compare similar fluences and histologic damage between the two systems, and newer available systems allow for greater depth of penetration.

Theoretical prediction of the impact of Auger recombination on charge collection from an ion track

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edmonds, Larry D.

1991-01-01

A recombination mechanism that significantly reduces charge collection from very dense ion tracks in silicon devices was postulated by Zoutendyk et al. The theoretical analysis presented here concludes that Auger recombination is such a mechanism and is of marginal importance for higher density tracks produced by 270-MeV krypton, but of major importance for higher density tracks. The analysis shows that recombination loss is profoundly affected by track diffusion. As the track diffuses, the density and recombination rate decrease so fast that the linear density (number of electron-hole pairs per unit length) approaches a non-zero limiting value as t yields infinity. Furthermore, the linear density is very nearly equal to this limiting value in a few picoseconds or less. When Auger recombination accompanies charge transport processes that have much longer time scales, it can be simulated by assigning a reduced linear energy transfer to the ion.

Optimizing Dense Plasma Focus Neutron Yields with Fast Gas Jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McMahon, Matthew; Kueny, Christopher; Stein, Elizabeth; Link, Anthony; Schmidt, Andrea

2016-10-01

We report a study using the particle-in-cell code LSP to perform fully kinetic simulations modeling dense plasma focus (DPF) devices with high density gas jets on axis. The high density jet models fast gas puffs which allow for more mass on axis while maintaining the optimal pressure for the DPF. As the density of the jet compared to the background fill increases we find the neutron yield increases, as does the variability in the neutron yield. Introducing perturbations in the jet density allow for consistent seeding of the m =0 instability leading to more consistent ion acceleration and higher neutron yields with less variability. Jets with higher on axis density are found to have the greatest yield. The optimal jet configuration is explored. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Double trouble: Portion size and energy density combine to increase preschool children’s lunch intake

PubMed Central

Kling, Samantha M.R.; Roe, Liane S.; Keller, Kathleen L.; Rolls, Barbara J.

2016-01-01

Background Both portion size and energy density (ED) have substantial effects on intake; however, their combined effects on preschool children’s intake have not been examined when multiple foods are varied at a meal. Objective We tested the effects on intake of varying the portion size and ED of lunches served to children in their usual eating environment. Design In a crossover design, lunch was served in 3 childcare centers once a week for 6 weeks to 120 children aged 3 to 5 y. Across the 6 meals, all items were served at 3 levels of portion size (100%, 150%, or 200%) and 2 levels of ED (100% or 142%). The lunch menu had either lowerED or higher-ED versions of chicken, macaroni and cheese, vegetables, applesauce, ketchup, and milk. Children’s ratings of the foods indicated that the lower-ED and higher-ED meals were similarly well liked. Results The weight of food and milk consumed at meals was increased by serving larger portions (P<0.0001) but was unaffected by varying the ED (P=0.22). Meal energy intake, however, was independently affected by portion size and ED (both P<0.0001). Doubling the portions increased energy intake by 24% and increasing meal ED by 42% increased energy intake by 40%. These effects combined to increase intake by 175±12 kcal or 79% at the higherED meal with the largest portions compared to the lower-ED meal with the smallest portions. The foods contributing the most to this increase were chicken, macaroni and cheese, and applesauce. The effects of meal portion size and ED on intake were not influenced by child age or body size, but were significantly affected by parental ratings of child eating behavior. Conclusion Strategically moderating the portion size and ED of foods typically consumed by children could substantially reduce their energy intake without affecting acceptability. PMID:26879105

Double trouble: Portion size and energy density combine to increase preschool children's lunch intake.

PubMed

Kling, Samantha M R; Roe, Liane S; Keller, Kathleen L; Rolls, Barbara J

2016-08-01

Both portion size and energy density (ED) have substantial effects on intake; however, their combined effects on preschool children's intake have not been examined when multiple foods are varied at a meal. We tested the effects on intake of varying the portion size and ED of lunches served to children in their usual eating environment. In a crossover design, lunch was served in 3 childcare centers once a week for 6weeks to 120 children aged 3-5y. Across the 6 meals, all items were served at 3 levels of portion size (100%, 150%, or 200%) and 2 levels of ED (100% or 142%). The lunch menu had either lower-ED or higher-ED versions of chicken, macaroni and cheese, vegetables, applesauce, ketchup, and milk. Children's ratings of the foods indicated that the lower-ED and higher-ED meals were similarly well liked. The total weight of food and milk consumed at meals was increased by serving larger portions (P<0.0001) but was unaffected by varying the ED (P=0.22). Meal energy intake, however, was independently affected by portion size and ED (both P<0.0001). Doubling the portions increased energy intake by 24% and increasing meal ED by 42% increased energy intake by 40%. These effects combined to increase intake by 175±12kcal or 79% at the higher-ED meal with the largest portions compared to the lower-ED meal with the smallest portions. The foods contributing the most to this increase were chicken, macaroni and cheese, and applesauce. The effects of meal portion size and ED on intake were not influenced by child age or body size, but were significantly affected by parental ratings of child eating behavior. Strategically moderating the portion size and ED of foods typically consumed by children could substantially reduce their energy intake without affecting acceptability. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High Performance Microbial Fuel Cells and Supercapacitors Using Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, Hao

A Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a bio-inspired carbon-neutral, renewable electrochemical converter to extract electricity from catabolic reaction of micro-organisms. It is a promising technology capable of directly converting the abundant biomass on the planet into electricity and potentially alleviate the emerging global warming and energy crisis. The current and power density of MFCs are low compared with conventional energy conversion techniques. Since its debut in 2002, many studies have been performed by adopting a variety of new configurations and structures to improve the power density. The reported maximum areal and volumetric power densities range from 19 mW/m2 to 1.57 W/m2 and from 6.3 W/m3 to 392 W/m 3, respectively, which are still low compared with conventional energy conversion techniques. In this dissertation, the impact of scaling effect on the performance of MFCs are investigated, and it is found that by scaling down the characteristic length of MFCs, the surface area to volume ratio increases and the current and power density improves. As a result, a miniaturized MFC fabricated by Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) technology with gold anode is presented in this dissertation, which demonstrate a high power density of 3300 W/m3. The performance of the MEMS MFC is further improved by adopting anodes with higher surface area to volume ratio, such as carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene based anodes, and the maximum power density is further improved to a record high power density of 11220 W/m3. A novel supercapacitor by regulating the respiration of the bacteria is also presented, and a high power density of 531.2 A/m2 (1,060,000 A/m3) and 197.5 W/m2 (395,000 W/m3), respectively, are marked, which are one to two orders of magnitude higher than any previously reported microbial electrochemical techniques.

7TH International Symposium: Nanostructure: Physics and Technology

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-01-01

within the density functional theory [8]. The Hamiltonian (fit and/H 4 for spin 4" and spin 4. electrons, respectively) is given by: fi) - i2--V[ + E,(r...population of higher energy levels by electrons with spin -1/2. This results in increased polarization of luminescence which may exceed 50% (see curve 1 in...that higher energy lines quench at high field. In addition a change in the linewidth of the emission is found for high electric fields. Introduction

Sodium-sulfur batteries for spacecraft energy storage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dueber, R. E.

1986-01-01

Power levels for future space missions will be much higher than are presently attainable using nickel-cadmium and nickel-hydrogen batteries. Development of a high energy density rechargeable battery is essential in being able to provide these higher power levels without tremendous weight penalties. Studies conducted by both the Air Force and private industry have identified the sodium-sulfur battery as the best candidate for a next generation battery system. The advantages of the sodium-sulfur battery over the nickel-cadmium battery are discussed.

High energy density in PVDF nanocomposites using an optimized nanowire array.

PubMed

Guo, Ru; Luo, Hang; Liu, Weiwei; Zhou, Xuefan; Tang, Lin; Zhou, Kechao; Zhang, Dou

2018-06-22

TiO2 nanowire arrays are often utilized to prepare high performance polymer nanocomposites, however, the contribution to the energy density is limited due to their non-ferroelectric characteristics. A nanocomposite with an optimized nanowire array combining the ferroelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) with TiO2, readily forming nanowires (denoted as a TiO2-P nanowire array), is prepared to enhance the permittivity. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is used as the polymer matrix due to its high breakdown strength, e.g. 600-700 kV mm-1. As a result, the permittivity and breakdown electric field reach 53 at 1 kHz and 550 kV mm-1, respectively. Therefore, the nanocomposites achieve a higher discharge energy density of 12.4 J cm-3 with excellent cycle stability, which is the highest among nanocomposites based on a nanowire array as a filler in a PVDF matrix. This work provides not only a feasible approach to obtain high performance dielectric nanocomposites, but also a wide range of potential applications in the energy storage and energy harvesting fields.

A Robust Hybrid Zn-Battery with Ultralong Cycle Life.

PubMed

Li, Bing; Quan, Junye; Loh, Adeline; Chai, Jianwei; Chen, Ye; Tan, Chaoliang; Ge, Xiaoming; Hor, T S Andy; Liu, Zhaolin; Zhang, Hua; Zong, Yun

2017-01-11

Advanced batteries with long cycle life and capable of harnessing more energies from multiple electrochemical reactions are both fundamentally interesting and practically attractive. Herein, we report a robust hybrid zinc-battery that makes use of transition-metal-based redox reaction (M-O-OH → M-O, M = Ni and Co) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to deliver more electrochemical energies of comparably higher voltage with much longer cycle life. The hybrid battery was constructed using an integrated electrode of NiCo 2 O 4 nanowire arrays grown on carbon-coated nickel foam, coupled with a zinc plate anode in alkaline electrolyte. Benefitted from the M-O/M-O-OH redox reactions and rich ORR active sites in NiCo 2 O 4 , the battery has concurrently exhibited high working voltage (by M-O-OH → M-O) and high energy density (by ORR). The good oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of the electrode and the reversible M-O ↔ M-O-OH reactions also enabled smooth recharging of the batteries, leading to excellent cycling stabilities. Impressively, the hybrid batteries maintained highly stable charge-discharge voltage profile under various testing conditions, for example, almost no change was observed over 5000 cycles at a current density of 5 mA cm -2 after some initial stabilization. With merits of higher working voltage, high energy density, and ultralong cycle life, such hybrid batteries promise high potential for practical applications.

Design of State-of-the-art Flow Cells for Energy Applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Ping

The worldwide energy demand is increasing every day and it necessitates rational and efficient usage of renewable energy. Undoubtedly, utilization of renewable energy can address various environmental challenges. However, all current renewable energy resources (wind, solar, and hydroelectric power) are intermittent and fluctuating in their nature that raises an important question of introducing effective energy storage solutions. Utilization of redox flow cells (RFCs) has recently been recognized as a viable technology for large-scale energy storage and, hence, is well suited for integrating renewable energy and balancing electricity grids. In brief, RFC is an electrochemical storage device where energy is storedmore » in chemical bonds, similar to a battery, but with reactants external to the cell. The state-of-the-art in flow cell technology uses an aqueous acidic electrolyte and simple metal redox couples. Thus, there is an urgent call to develop efficient (high-energy density) and low-cost RFCs to meet the efflorescent energy storage demands. To address the first challenge of achieving high-energy density, we plan to design and further modify complexes composed of bifunctional multidentate ligands and specific metal centers, capable of storing as many electrons as possible. In order to address the second challenge of reducing cost of the RFCs, we plan to use iron (Fe) metal as it regularly occupies multiple oxidation states and is the second most abundant metal in the earth’s crust that makes it an ideal metal for improved energy densities, higher potentials, and numbers of electrons per molecule while maintaining potential cost competitiveness. Density functional theory calculations considering solvation effects will be performed to yield accurate predictions of redox potentials.« less

Holographic dark energy in higher derivative gravity with time varying model parameter c2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borah, B.; Ansari, M.

2015-01-01

Purpose of this paper is to study holographic dark energy in higher derivative gravity assuming the model parameter c2 as a slowly time varying function. Since dark energy emerges as combined effect of linear as well as non-linear terms of curvature, therefore it is important to see holographic dark energy at higher derivative gravity, where action contains both linear as well as non-linear terms of Ricci curvature R. We consider non-interacting scenario of the holographic dark energy with dark matter in spatially flat universe and obtain evolution of the equation of state parameter. Also, we determine deceleration parameter as well as the evolution of dark energy density to explain expansion of the universe. Further, we investigate validity of generalized second law of thermodynamics in this scenario. Finally, we find out a cosmological application of our work by evaluating a relation for the equation of state of holographic dark energy for low red-shifts containing c2 correction.

Middle Atmosphere Electrodynamics During a Thunderstorm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Croskey, Charles L.

1996-01-01

Rocket-based instrumentation investigations of middle atmospheric electrodynamics during thunderstorms were conducted in coordination with balloon-measurements at Wallops Island, Virginia. Middle atmosphere electrodynamics and energy coupling are of particular importance to associated electrical processes at lower and higher altitudes. Objectives of this research effort included: (1) investigation of thunderstorm effects on middle atmosphere electrical structure, including spatial and temporal dependence; (2) characterization of electric field transients and the associated energy deposited at various altitudes; (3) evaluation of the vertical Maxwell current density over a thunderstorm to study the coupling of energy to higher altitudes; and (4) investigation of the coupling of energy to the ionosphere and the current supplied to the 'global circuit.'

Multiconfiguration Pair-Density Functional Theory Spectral Calculations Are Stable to Adding Diffuse Basis Functions.

PubMed

Hoyer, Chad E; Gagliardi, Laura; Truhlar, Donald G

2015-11-05

Time-dependent Kohn-Sham density functional theory (TD-KS-DFT) is useful for calculating electronic excitation spectra of large systems, but the low-energy spectra are often complicated by artificially lowered higher-energy states. This affects even the lowest energy excited states. Here, by calculating the lowest energy spin-conserving excited state for atoms from H to K and for formaldehyde, we show that this problem does not occur in multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT). We use the tPBE on-top density functional, which is a translation of the PBE exchange-correlation functional. We compare to a robust multireference method, namely, complete active space second-order perturbation theory (CASPT2), and to TD-KS-DFT with two popular exchange-correlation functionals, PBE and PBE0. We find for atoms that the mean unsigned error (MUE) of MC-PDFT with the tPBE functional improves from 0.42 to 0.40 eV with a double set of diffuse functions, whereas the MUEs for PBE and PBE0 drastically increase from 0.74 to 2.49 eV and from 0.45 to 1.47 eV, respectively.

The effect of activation agent on surface morphology, density and porosity of palm shell and coconut shell activated carbon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leman, A. M.; Zakaria, S.; Salleh, M. N. M.; Sunar, N. M.; Feriyanto, D.; Nazri, A. A.

2017-09-01

Activated carbon (AC) has one of the promising alternative technology for filtration and adsorption process. It inexpensive material because the sources is abundant especially in Malaysia. Main purpose of this project is to develop AC by chemical activation process to improve adsorption capacity by improving porosity of AC. AC developed via carbonization using designed burner at temperature of 650°C to 850 °C and activated by Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) in 12 hour and then dried at temperature of 300°C. Characterization and analysis is conducted by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for surface morphology analysis, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) for composition analysis, density and porosity analysis. Results shows that uneven surface has been observed both of AC and non-AC and also AC shows higher porosity as compared to non-AC materials. Density value of raw material has lower than AC up to 11.67% and 47.54% and porosity of raw material has higher than AC up to 31.45% and 45.69% for palm shell and coconut shell AC. It can be concluded that lower density represent higher porosity of material and higher porosity indicated higher adsorption capacity as well.

Effect of polyaniline on MWCNTs supercapacitor properties prepared by electrophoretic deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razak, Rozelia Azila Abd; Eleas, Nor Hamizah; Mohammad, Nurul Nazwa; Yusof, Azmi Mohamed; Zaine, Intan Syaffinazzilla

2017-08-01

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is widely used as supercapacitor electrode material. However, the specific capacitance of MWCNTs cannot achieve optimum value to facilitate required demand. Conducting polymers have been introduced to achieve optimum energy density and power density of supercapacitor electrode material. Previous work had demonstrated the effects of adding conducting polymer into carbon base material to get pseudocapacitance effect. Nevertheless the effects specifically of polyaniline (PANi) to MWCNTs were significantly low. This work describes the effect of PANi adding on MWCNTs film prepared by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique in order to increase the specific capacitance of MWCNTs. The commercial MWCNTs is dispersed in deionized water by using crystal violet. The admixtures without PANi (sample A), 5wt.% of PANi (sample B) and 10wt.% of PANi (sample C) have been prepared by ex-situ polymerization. The voltage supplied for film deposition is 8 V for 5 minutes. The morphology, functional group and electrochemical properties of MWCNTs due to the presence of PANi had been studied. From FESEM analysis, the presence of PANi can be clearly observed for sample B and sample C while FTIR analysis, proves PANi structure on MWCNTs with its functional group presence in sample B and sample C through the absorbtion band which obviously shifted to higher value compare to sample A. Cyclic voltammogram (CV) analysis shown redox activity occurred in sample B and sample C with identical anodic and cathodic peaks. Sample B hold the higher specific capacitance and higher energy density compared than sample A and sample B. From galvanostatic charge-discharge (CD) measurement, the charge and discharge process for sample B is longer than sample A and sample C which consequently lower its power density. The presence of PANi at 5wt.% is able to increase specific capacitance as well as energy density to optimum value.

Advanced materials for energy storage.

PubMed

Liu, Chang; Li, Feng; Ma, Lai-Peng; Cheng, Hui-Ming

2010-02-23

Popularization of portable electronics and electric vehicles worldwide stimulates the development of energy storage devices, such as batteries and supercapacitors, toward higher power density and energy density, which significantly depends upon the advancement of new materials used in these devices. Moreover, energy storage materials play a key role in efficient, clean, and versatile use of energy, and are crucial for the exploitation of renewable energy. Therefore, energy storage materials cover a wide range of materials and have been receiving intensive attention from research and development to industrialization. In this Review, firstly a general introduction is given to several typical energy storage systems, including thermal, mechanical, electromagnetic, hydrogen, and electrochemical energy storage. Then the current status of high-performance hydrogen storage materials for on-board applications and electrochemical energy storage materials for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors is introduced in detail. The strategies for developing these advanced energy storage materials, including nanostructuring, nano-/microcombination, hybridization, pore-structure control, configuration design, surface modification, and composition optimization, are discussed. Finally, the future trends and prospects in the development of advanced energy storage materials are highlighted.

High moisture corn stover pelleting in a flat die pellet mill fitted with a 6 mm die: physical properties and specific energy consumption

DOE PAGES

Tumuluru, Jaya Shankar

2015-06-15

The quality and specific energy consumption (SEC) of the biomass pellets produced depend upon pelleting process conditions. The present study includes understanding the effect of feedstock moisture in the range of 28–38% (wet basis [w.b.]) and preheating in the range of 30–110°C at two die speeds of 40 and 60 Hz on the physical properties and SEC. A flat die pellet mill fitted with a 6 mm die was used in the present study. The physical properties of pellets such as moisture content, unit, bulk and tapped density, durability, and expansion ratio and SEC of the pelleting process are measured.more » The results indicate that the pellets produced have durability values in the range of 87–98%, and unit bulk and tapped density in the range of 670–1100, 375–575, and 420–620 kg/m³. Increasing the feedstock moisture content from 33% to 38% (w.b) decreased the unit, bulk and tapped density by about 30–40%. Increasing feedstock moisture content increased the expansion ratio and decreased the density values. A higher feedstock moisture content of 38% (w.b.) and higher preheating temperature of 110°C resulted in lower density and a higher expansion ratio, which can be attributed to flash off of moisture as the material extrudes out of the die. The SEC was in the range of 75–275 kWh/ton. Higher feedstock moisture content of 38% (w.b.) and a lower die speed of 40 Hz increased the SEC, whereas lower to medium preheating temperature (30–70°C), medium feedstock moisture content of 33% (w.b.), and a higher die speed of 60 Hz minimized the SEC to <100 kWh/ton.« less

The impact of eating frequency and time of intake on nutrient quality and body mass index: The INTERMAP Study, a population based study

PubMed Central

Aljuraiban, Ghadeer S.; Chan, Queenie; Griep, Linda M. Oude; Brown, Ian J.; Daviglus, Martha L.; Stamler, Jeremiah; Van Horn, Linda; Elliott, Paul; Frost, Gary S.

2014-01-01

Background Epidemiologic evidence is sparse on the effect of dietary behaviors and diet quality on body mass index (BMI) that may be important drivers of the obesity epidemic. Objective This study investigated the relationships of frequency of eating and time of intake to energy density, nutrient quality and BMI using data from the INTERnational study on MAcro/micronutrients and blood Pressure (INTERMAP) including 2,696 men and women aged 40-59 from the United States and the United Kingdom. Design INTERMAP is a cross-sectional investigation with four 24-hour dietary recalls and BMI measurements conducted between 1996 and 1999. Consumption of solid foods was aggregated into eating occasion. Nutrient density is expressed using the Nutrient Rich Food (NRF 9.3) index. The ratio of evening/morning energy intake was calculated; mean values of four visits were used. Statistical analyses performed Characteristics across eating occasion categories are presented as adjusted mean with corresponding 95% confidence interval. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine associations of eating occasions, ratio of evening/morning energy intake, dietary energy density, and NRF 9.3 index with BMI. Results Compared to participants with < 4 eating occasions/24-hours, those with ≥ 6 eating occasions/24-hours had lower mean: BMI: 27.3 vs. 29.0 kg/m2; total energy intake: 2,129 vs. 2,472 kcal/24-hours; dietary energy density: 1.5 vs. 2.1 kcal/g; and higher NRF 9.3 index: 34.3 vs. 28.1. In multiple regression analyses, higher evening intake relative to morning intake was directly associated with BMI; however this did not influence the relationship between eating frequency and BMI. Conclusions Our results suggest that a larger number of small meals may be associated with improved diet quality and lower BMI. This may have implications for behavioral approaches to controlling the obesity epidemic. PMID:25620753

Plasma Assisted Combustion

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-02-28

these pulses was uniform. Dependence of the energy contribution on pressure is showed in the Figure 3.5. It is clearly seen that for the pressure of...note that water–ions kinetics is more important than kinetics of initial substances– ions because water has higher proton affinity energy than... pulsed discharge. 4.3.2 Kinetic model To calculate the densities of active particles, one has to determine electron energy dis- tribution function (EEDF

Mesoscale Eddies Are Oases for Higher Trophic Marine Life

PubMed Central

Godø, Olav R.; Samuelsen, Annette; Macaulay, Gavin J.; Patel, Ruben; Hjøllo, Solfrid Sætre; Horne, John; Kaartvedt, Stein; Johannessen, Johnny A.

2012-01-01

Mesoscale eddies stimulate biological production in the ocean, but knowledge of energy transfers to higher trophic levels within eddies remains fragmented and not quantified. Increasing the knowledge base is constrained by the inability of traditional sampling methods to adequately sample biological processes at the spatio-temporal scales at which they occur. By combining satellite and acoustic observations over spatial scales of 10 s of km horizontally and 100 s of m vertically, supported by hydrographical and biological sampling we show that anticyclonic eddies shape distribution and density of marine life from the surface to bathyal depths. Fish feed along density structures of eddies, demonstrating that eddies catalyze energy transfer across trophic levels. Eddies create attractive pelagic habitats, analogous to oases in the desert, for higher trophic level aquatic organisms through enhanced 3-D motion that accumulates and redistributes biomass, contributing to overall bioproduction in the ocean. Integrating multidisciplinary observation methodologies promoted a new understanding of biophysical interaction in mesoscale eddies. Our findings emphasize the impact of eddies on the patchiness of biomass in the sea and demonstrate that they provide rich feeding habitat for higher trophic marine life. PMID:22272294

Simulations of the Cleft Ion Fountain outflows resulting from the passage of Storm Enhanced Density (SED) plasma flux tubes through the dayside cleft auroral processes region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horwitz, James; Zeng, Wen

2007-10-01

Foster et al. [2002] reported elevated ionospheric density regions convected from subauroral plasmaspheric regions toward noon, in association with convection of plasmaspheric tails. These Storm Enhanced Density (SED) regions could supply cleft ion fountain outflows. Here, we will utilize our Dynamic Fluid Kinetic (DyFK) model to simulate the entry of a high-density ``plasmasphere-like'' flux tube entering the cleft region and subjected to an episode of wave-driven transverse ion heating. It is found that the O^+ ion density at higher altitudes increases and the density at lower altitudes decreases, following this heating episode, indicating increased fluxes of O^+ ions from the ionospheric source gain sufficient energy to reach higher altitudes after the effects of transverse wave heating. Foster, J. C., P. J. Erickson, A. J. Coster, J. Goldstein, and F. J. Rich, Ionospheric signatures of plasmaspheric tails, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29(13), 1623, doi:10.1029/2002GL015067, 2002.

Exciplex-exciplex energy transfer and annihilation in solid films of porphyrin-fullerene dyads.

PubMed

Lehtivuori, Heli; Lemmetyinen, Helge; Tkachenko, Nikolai V

2006-12-20

Exciplex-exciplex annihilation was observed for the first time in porphyrin-fullerene molecular films. The films were prepared using Langmuir-Blodgett and drop casting methods. The exciplex-exciplex interactions were studied using femtosecond pump-probe method. The exciplex-exciplex annihilation can be seen as a fast (within few picoseconds) decay of the transient absorption at excitation densities higher than 0.4 mJ/cm2. Analysis of the excitation density dependences indicates that in average four dyads are involved in the exciplex-exciplex interaction, suggesting that an exciplex-exciplex energy transfer may precede the annihilation.

Theory of disordered Heisenberg ferromagnets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stubbs, R. M.

1973-01-01

A Green's function technique is used to calculate the magnetic properties of Heisenberg ferromagnets in which the exchange interactions deviate randomly in strength from the mean interaction. Systems of sc, bcc, and fcc topologies and of general spin values are treated. Disorder produces marked effects in the density of spin wave states, in the form of enhancement of the low-energy density and extension of the energy band to higher values. The spontaneous magnetization and the Curie temperature decrease with increasing disorder. The effects of disorder are shown to be more pronounced in the ferromagnetic than in the paramagnetic phase.

Changes in proximate composition and somatic energy content for Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) from Kachemak Bay, Alaska relative to maturity and season

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robards, Martin D.; Anthony, Jill A.; Rose, George A.; Piatt, John F.

1999-01-01

Mean dry-weight energy values of adult Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) peaked in spring and early summer (20.91 kJg−1 for males, 21.08 kJg−1 for females), then declined by about 25% during late summer and fall (15.91 kJg−1 for males, 15.74 kJg−1 for females). Late summer declines in energy density paralleled gonadal development. Gender differences in energy density (males

Controlled porosity in electrodes

DOEpatents

Chiang, Yet-Ming; Bae, Chang-Jun; Halloran, John William; Fu, Qiang; Tomsia, Antoni P.; Erdonmez, Can K.

2015-06-23

Porous electrodes in which the porosity has a low tortuosity are generally provided. In some embodiments, the porous electrodes can be designed to be filled with electrolyte and used in batteries, and can include low tortuosity in the primary direction of ion transport during charge and discharge of the battery. In some embodiments, the electrodes can have a high volume fraction of electrode active material (i.e., low porosity). The attributes outlined above can allow the electrodes to be fabricated with a higher energy density, higher capacity per unit area of electrode (mAh/cm.sup.2), and greater thickness than comparable electrodes while still providing high utilization of the active material in the battery during use. Accordingly, the electrodes can be used to produce batteries with high energy densities, high power, or both compared to batteries using electrodes of conventional design with relatively highly tortuous pores.

Selective removal of arsenic and monovalent ions from brackish water reverse osmosis concentrate.

PubMed

Xu, Pei; Capito, Marissa; Cath, Tzahi Y

2013-09-15

Concentrate disposal and management is a considerable challenge for the implementation of desalination technologies, especially for inland applications where concentrate disposal options are limited. This study has focused on selective removal of arsenic and monovalent ions from brackish groundwater reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate for beneficial use and safe environmental disposal using in situ and pre-formed hydrous ferric oxides/hydroxides adsorption, and electrodialysis (ED) with monovalent permselective membranes. Coagulation with ferric salts is highly efficient at removing arsenic from RO concentrate to meet a drinking water standard of 10 μg/L. The chemical demand for ferric chloride however is much lower than ferric sulfate as coagulant. An alternative method using ferric sludge from surface water treatment plant is demonstrated as an efficient adsorbent to remove arsenic from RO concentrate, providing a promising low cost, "waste treat waste" approach. The monovalent permselective anion exchange membranes exhibit high selectivity in removing monovalent anions over di- and multi-valent anions. The transport of sulfate and phosphate through the anion exchange membranes was negligible over a broad range of electrical current density. However, the transport of divalent cations such as calcium and magnesium increases through monovalent permselective cation exchange membranes with increasing current density. Higher overall salt concentration reduction is achieved around limiting current density while higher normalized salt removal rate in terms of mass of salt per membrane area and applied energy is attained at lower current density because the energy unitization efficiency decreases at higher current density. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermodynamic properties of ideal Fermi gases in a harmonic potential in an n-dimensional space under the generalized uncertainty principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Heling; Ren, Jinxiu; Wang, Wenwei; Yang, Bin; Shen, Hongjun

2018-02-01

Using the semi-classical (Thomas-Fermi) approximation, the thermodynamic properties of ideal Fermi gases in a harmonic potential in an n-dimensional space are studied under the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP). The mean particle number, internal energy, heat capacity and other thermodynamic variables of the Fermi system are calculated analytically. Then, analytical expressions of the mean particle number, internal energy, heat capacity, chemical potential, Fermi energy, ground state energy and amendments of the GUP are obtained at low temperatures. The influence of both the GUP and the harmonic potential on the thermodynamic properties of a copper-electron gas and other systems with higher electron densities are studied numerically at low temperatures. We find: (1) When the GUP is considered, the influence of the harmonic potential is very much larger, and the amendments produced by the GUP increase by eight to nine orders of magnitude compared to when no external potential is applied to the electron gas. (2) The larger the particle density, or the smaller the particle masses, the bigger the influence of the GUP. (3) The effect of the GUP increases with the increase in the spatial dimensions. (4) The amendments of the chemical potential, Fermi energy and ground state energy increase with an increase in temperature, while the heat capacity decreases. T F0 is the Fermi temperature of the ideal Fermi system in a harmonic potential. When the temperature is lower than a certain value (0.22 times T F0 for the copper-electron gas, and this value decreases with increasing electron density), the amendment to the internal energy is positive, however, the amendment decreases with increasing temperature. When the temperature increases to the value, the amendment is zero, and when the temperature is higher than the value, the amendment to the internal energy is negative and the absolute value of the amendment increases with increasing temperature. (5) When electron density is greater than or equal to 1037 m-3, the influence of the GUP becomes the dominant factor affecting the thermodynamic properties of the system.

Quasi-perpetual discharge behaviour in p-type Ge-air batteries.

PubMed

Ocon, Joey D; Kim, Jin Won; Abrenica, Graniel Harne A; Lee, Jae Kwang; Lee, Jaeyoung

2014-11-07

Metal-air batteries continue to become attractive energy storage and conversion systems due to their high energy and power densities, safer chemistries, and economic viability. Semiconductor-air batteries - a term we first define here as metal-air batteries that use semiconductor anodes such as silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) - have been introduced in recent years as new high-energy battery chemistries. In this paper, we describe the excellent doping-dependent discharge kinetics of p-type Ge anodes in a semiconductor-air cell employing a gelled KOH electrolyte. Owing to its Fermi level, n-type Ge is expected to have lower redox potential and better electronic conductivity, which could potentially lead to a higher operating voltage and better discharge kinetics. Nonetheless, discharge measurements demonstrated that this prediction is only valid at the low current regime and breaks down at the high current density region. The p-type Ge behaves extremely better at elevated currents, evident from the higher voltage, more power available, and larger practical energy density from a very long discharge time, possibly arising from the high overpotential for surface passivation. A primary semiconductor-air battery, powered by a flat p-type Ge as a multi-electron anode, exhibited an unprecedented full discharge capacity of 1302.5 mA h gGe(-1) (88% anode utilization efficiency), the highest among semiconductor-air cells, notably better than new metal-air cells with three-dimensional and nanostructured anodes, and at least two folds higher than commercial Zn-air and Al-air cells. We therefore suggest that this study be extended to doped-Si anodes, in order to pave the way for a deeper understanding on the discharge phenomena in alkaline metal-air conversion cells with semiconductor anodes for specific niche applications in the future.

Increased restrictive feeding practices are associated with reduced energy density in 4-6-year-old, multi-ethnic children at ad libitum laboratory test-meals.

PubMed

Sud, Shama; Tamayo, Nina Carmela; Faith, Myles S; Keller, Kathleen L

2010-10-01

Increased reports of restrictive feeding have shown positive relationships to child obesity, however, the mechanism between the two has not been elucidated. This study examined the relationship between reported use of restrictive feeding practices and 4-6-year-old children's self-selected energy density (ED) and total energy intake from an ad libitum, laboratory dinner including macaroni and cheese, string beans, grapes, baby carrots, cheese sticks, pudding, milks, and a variety of sweetened beverages. A second objective explored the relationship between ED and child body mass index (BMI) z-score. Seventy (n=70) healthy children from primarily non-Caucasian and lower socioeconomic status families participated. Mothers completed the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) to assess restrictive feeding practices. Energy density (kcal/g) values for both foods and drinks (ED(food+drink)) and ED for foods only (ED(foods)) were calculated by dividing the average number of calories consumed by the average weight eaten across 4 meals. Higher maternal restriction was associated with lower ED(food+drink). In overweight and obese children only, higher maternal restriction was associated with lower ED(food). There was a non-significant trend for both ED measures to be negatively associated with child BMI z-score. Overall, restrictive feeding practices were not associated with child BMI z-score. However, when analyzing separate aspects of restriction, parents reported higher use of restricting access to palatable foods but lower use of using palatable foods as rewards with heavier children. Previous reports of positive associations between child obesity and restrictive feeding practices may not apply in predominantly non-Caucasian, lower socioeconomic status cohorts of children.

A Microelectromechanical High-Density Energy Storage/Rapid Release System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodgers, M. Steven; Allen, Jim J.; Meeks, Kent D.

1999-07-21

One highly desirable characteristic of electrostatically driven microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is that they consume very little power. The corresponding drawback is that the force they produce may be inadequate for many applications. It has previously been demonstrated that gear reduction units or microtransmissions can substantially increase the torque generated by microengines. Operating speed, however, is also reduced by the transmission gear ratio. Some applications require both high speed and high force. If this output is only required for a limited period of time, then energy could be stored in a mechanical system and rapidly released upon demand. We have designed,more » fabricated, and demonstrated a high-density energy storage/rapid release system that accomplishes this task. Built using a 5-level surface micromachining technology, the assembly closely resembles a medieval crossbow. Energy releases on the order of tens of nanojoules have already been demonstrated, and significantly higher energy systems are under development.« less

Stacking faults density driven collapse of magnetic energy in hcp-cobalt nano-magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nong, H. T. T.; Mrad, K.; Schoenstein, F.; Piquemal, J.-Y.; Jouini, N.; Leridon, B.; Mercone, S.

2017-06-01

Cobalt nanowires with different shape parameters were synthesized via the polyol process. By calculating the magnetic energy product (BH max) both for dried nano-powder and for nanowires in their synthesis solution, we observed unexpected independent BH max values from the nanowires shape. A good alignment of the nanowires leads to a higher BH max value. Our results show that the key parameter driving the magnetic energy product of the cobalt nanowires is the stacking fault density. An exponential collapse of the magnetic energy is observed at very low percentage of structural faults. Cobalt nanowires with almost perfect hcp crystalline structures should present high magnetic energy, which is promising for application in rare earth-free permanent magnets. Oral talk at 8th International Workshop on Advanced Materials Science and Nanotechnology (IWAMSN2016), 8-12 November 2016, Ha Long City, Vietnam.

Microelectromechanical high-density energy storage/rapid release system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodgers, M. Steven; Allen, James J.; Meeks, Kent D.; Jensen, Brian D.; Miller, Samuel L.

1999-08-01

One highly desirable characteristic of electrostatically driven microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is that they consume very little power. The corresponding drawback is that the force they produce may be inadequate for many applications. It has previously been demonstrated that gear reduction units or microtransmissions can substantially increase the torque generated by microengines. Operating speed, however, is also reduced by the transmission gear ratio. Some applications require both high speed and high force. If this output is only required for a limited period of time, then energy could be stored in a mechanical system and rapidly released upon demand. We have designed, fabricated, and demonstrated a high-density energy storage/rapid release system that accomplishes this task. Built using a 5-level surface micromachining technology, the assembly closely resembles a medieval crossbow. Energy releases on the order of tens of nanojoules have already been demonstrated, and significantly higher energy systems are under development.

Mineral content of complementary foods.

PubMed

Jani, Rati; Udipi, S A; Ghugre, P S

2009-01-01

To document mineral contents iron, zinc, calcium, energy contents and nutrient densities in complementary foods commonly given to young urban slum children. Information on dietary intake was collected from 892 mothers of children aged 13-24 months, using 24 hour dietary recall and standardized measures. Three variations of 27 most commonly prepared recipes were analyzed and their energy (Kcal/g) and nutrient densities (mg/100 Kcal) were calculated. Considerable variations were observed in preparation of all items fed to the children. Cereal-based items predominated their diets with only small amount of vegetables/fruits. Fenugreek was the only leafy vegetable included, but was given to only 1-2% of children. Iron, calcium, zinc contents of staple complementary foods ranged from: 0.33 mg to 3.73 mg, 4 mg to 64 mg, and 0.35 mg to 2.99 mg/100 respectively. Recipes diluted with less water and containing vegetables, spices had higher mineral content. Minerals densities were higher for dals, fenugreek vegetable, khichdi and chapatti. Using the median amounts of the various recipes fed to children, intakes of all nutrients examined especially calcium and iron was low. There is an urgent need to educate mothers about consistency, dilution, quantity, frequency, method of preparation, inclusion of micronutrient-rich foods, energy-dense complementary foods and gender equality.

Engineering the Pores of Biomass-Derived Carbon: Insights for Achieving Ultrahigh Stability at High Power in High-Energy Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Thangavel, Ranjith; Kaliyappan, Karthikeyan; Ramasamy, Hari Vignesh; Sun, Xueliang; Lee, Yun-Sung

2017-07-10

Electrochemical supercapacitors with high energy density are promising devices due to their simple construction and long-term cycling performance. The development of a supercapacitor based on electrical double-layer charge storage with high energy density that can preserve its cyclability at higher power presents an ongoing challenge. Herein, we provide insights to achieve a high energy density at high power with an ultrahigh stability in an electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) system by using carbon from a biomass precursor (cinnamon sticks) in a sodium ion-based organic electrolyte. Herein, we investigated the dependence of EDLC performance on structural, textural, and functional properties of porous carbon engineered by using various activation agents. The results demonstrate that the performance of EDLCs is not only dependent on their textural properties but also on their structural features and surface functionalities, as is evident from the electrochemical studies. The electrochemical results are highly promising and revealed that the porous carbon with poor textural properties has great potential to deliver high capacitance and outstanding stability over 300 000 cycles compared with porous carbon with good textural properties. A very low capacitance degradation of around 0.066 % per 1000 cycles, along with high energy density (≈71 Wh kg -1 ) and high power density, have been achieved. These results offer a new platform for the application of low-surface-area biomass-derived carbons in the design of highly stable high-energy supercapacitors. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Microscopically based energy density functionals for nuclei using the density matrix expansion. II. Full optimization and validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navarro Pérez, R.; Schunck, N.; Dyhdalo, A.; Furnstahl, R. J.; Bogner, S. K.

2018-05-01

Background: Energy density functional methods provide a generic framework to compute properties of atomic nuclei starting from models of nuclear potentials and the rules of quantum mechanics. Until now, the overwhelming majority of functionals have been constructed either from empirical nuclear potentials such as the Skyrme or Gogny forces, or from systematic gradient-like expansions in the spirit of the density functional theory for atoms. Purpose: We seek to obtain a usable form of the nuclear energy density functional that is rooted in the modern theory of nuclear forces. We thus consider a functional obtained from the density matrix expansion of local nuclear potentials from chiral effective field theory. We propose a parametrization of this functional carefully calibrated and validated on selected ground-state properties that is suitable for large-scale calculations of nuclear properties. Methods: Our energy functional comprises two main components. The first component is a non-local functional of the density and corresponds to the direct part (Hartree term) of the expectation value of local chiral potentials on a Slater determinant. Contributions to the mean field and the energy of this term are computed by expanding the spatial, finite-range components of the chiral potential onto Gaussian functions. The second component is a local functional of the density and is obtained by applying the density matrix expansion to the exchange part (Fock term) of the expectation value of the local chiral potential. We apply the UNEDF2 optimization protocol to determine the coupling constants of this energy functional. Results: We obtain a set of microscopically constrained functionals for local chiral potentials from leading order up to next-to-next-to-leading order with and without three-body forces and contributions from Δ excitations. These functionals are validated on the calculation of nuclear and neutron matter, nuclear mass tables, single-particle shell structure in closed-shell nuclei, and the fission barrier of 240Pu. Quantitatively, they perform noticeably better than the more phenomenological Skyrme functionals. Conclusions: The inclusion of higher-order terms in the chiral perturbation expansion seems to produce a systematic improvement in predicting nuclear binding energies while the impact on other observables is not really significant. This result is especially promising since all the fits have been performed at the single-reference level of the energy density functional approach, where important collective correlations such as center-of-mass correction, rotational correction, or zero-point vibrational energies have not been taken into account yet.

A Note on the Propagation of Quantized Vortex Rings Through a Quantum Turbulence Tangle: Energy Transport or Energy Dissipation?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laurie, Jason; Baggaley, Andrew W.

2015-07-01

We investigate quantum vortex ring dynamics at scales smaller than the inter-vortex spacing in quantum turbulence. Through geometrical arguments and high-resolution numerical simulations, we examine the validity of simple estimates for the mean free path and the structure of vortex rings post-reconnection. We find that a large proportion of vortex rings remain coherent objects where approximately of their energy is preserved. This leads us to consider the effectiveness of energy transport in turbulent tangles. Moreover, we show that in low density tangles, appropriate for the ultra-quantum regime, ring emission cannot be ruled out as an important mechanism for energy dissipation. However at higher vortex line densities, typically associated with the quasi-classical regime, loop emission is expected to make a negligible contribution to energy dissipation, even allowing for the fact that our work shows rings can survive multiple reconnection events. Hence the Kelvin wave cascade seems the most plausible mechanism leading to energy dissipation.

Histologic comparison of the CO2 laser and Nd:YAG with and without water/air surface cooling on tooth root structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cobb, Charles M.; Spencer, Paulette; McCollum, Mark H.

1995-05-01

Specimens consisted of 18 extracted single rooted teeth unaffected by periodontal disease. After debriding roots, specimens were randomly divided into 4 treatment groups and subjected to a single pass, at varying energy densities, of a CO2, Nd:YAG, and Nd:YAG with air/water surface cooling (Nd:YAG-C). The rate of exposure was controlled at 4 mm/sec. Approximate energy densities were: CO2, 138, 206, 275, and 344 J/cm2; Nd:YAG, 114, 171, 229, and 286 J/cm2; Nd:YAG-C, 286, 343, 514, and 571 J/cm2. The CO2 laser was used both in continuous and pulsed beam modes (20 Hz, 0.01 sec pulse length and 0.8 mm dia spot size) whereas the Nd:YAG and Nd:YAG-C were preset at 50 Hz, 0.08 sec pulse length and 0.6 mm dia spot size. Specimen examination by SEM revealed, for all lasers, a direct correlation between increasing energy densities and depth of tissue ablation and width of tissue damage. However, to achieve the same relative dept of tissue ablation, the Nd:YAG-C required higher energy densities than either the CO2 or Nd:YAG lasers. The Nd:YAG-C generated a cavitation with sharply defined margins. Furthermore, regardless of energy density, and in contrast with other laser types, areas treated with the Nd:YAG-C did not exhibit collateral zones of heat damaged surface tissue.

Controlling the formation of rodlike V2O5 nanocrystals on reduced graphene oxide for high-performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Li, Meili; Sun, Guoying; Yin, Pingping; Ruan, Changping; Ai, Kelong

2013-11-13

Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) has attracted much attention for energy storage application because of its high Faradaic activity and stable crystal structure, which make it a promising electrode material for supercapacitors. However, the low electronic conductivity and small lithium-ion diffusion coefficient of V2O5 limit its practical applications. To overcome these limitations, a facile and efficient method is here demonstrated for the fabrication of V2O5/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites as electrode materials for supercapacitors. With this method, the reduction of graphene oxide can be achieved in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solvent, without the addition of any other toxic reducing agent. Importantly, this solvent can control the formation of the uniform rodlike V2O5 nanocrystals on the surface of rGO. Compared to pure V2O5 microspheres, the V2O5/rGO nanocomposites exhibited a higher specific capacitance of 537 F g(-1) at a current density of 1 A g(-1) in neutral aqueous electrolytes, a higher energy density of 74.58 Wh kg(-1) at a power density of 500 W kg(-1), and better stability even after 1000 charge/discharge cycles. Their excellent performances can be attributed to the synergistic effect of rGO and rodlike V2O5 nanocrystals. Such impressive results may promote new opportunities for these electrode materials in high-energy-density storage systems.

Achieving Ultrahigh Energy Density and Long Durability in a Flexible Rechargeable Quasi-Solid-State Zn-MnO2 Battery.

PubMed

Zeng, Yinxiang; Zhang, Xiyue; Meng, Yue; Yu, Minghao; Yi, Jianan; Wu, Yiqiang; Lu, Xihong; Tong, Yexiang

2017-07-01

Advanced flexible batteries with high energy density and long cycle life are an important research target. Herein, the first paradigm of a high-performance and stable flexible rechargeable quasi-solid-state Zn-MnO 2 battery is constructed by engineering MnO 2 electrodes and gel electrolyte. Benefiting from a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) buffer layer and a Mn 2+ -based neutral electrolyte, the fabricated Zn-MnO 2 @PEDOT battery presents a remarkable capacity of 366.6 mA h g -1 and good cycling performance (83.7% after 300 cycles) in aqueous electrolyte. More importantly, when using PVA/ZnCl 2 /MnSO 4 gel as electrolyte, the as-fabricated quasi-solid-state Zn-MnO 2 @PEDOT battery remains highly rechargeable, maintaining more than 77.7% of its initial capacity and nearly 100% Coulombic efficiency after 300 cycles. Moreover, this flexible quasi-solid-state Zn-MnO 2 battery achieves an admirable energy density of 504.9 W h kg -1 (33.95 mW h cm -3 ), together with a peak power density of 8.6 kW kg -1 , substantially higher than most recently reported flexible energy-storage devices. With the merits of impressive energy density and durability, this highly flexible rechargeable Zn-MnO 2 battery opens new opportunities for powering portable and wearable electronics. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Benefits of snacking in older Americans.

PubMed

Zizza, Claire A; Tayie, Francis A; Lino, Mark

2007-05-01

Because energy intakes decline with age, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of snacking on energy intakes and energy density in older adults. Twenty-four-hour dietary recall data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2002 were used to compare the diets of snackers and nonsnackers. This study included 2,002 adults aged 65 years and older. All statistical analyses accounted for the survey design and sample weights. Linear regression was used to estimate energy and energy-yielding nutrient intakes, eating occasions, energy intake per eating occasions, and energy density of eating occasions. The prevalence of snacking was high (84%) among this age group, and snackers had significantly higher daily intakes of energy, protein, carbohydrate, and total fat. Alcohol intakes were not significantly different. For those who snacked, it contributed almost a quarter of their energy and carbohydrate intakes and a fifth of their daily fat intakes. Snacking contributed 14% of their daily protein intakes. Snackers had, on average, two and a half snacking occasions per day, with each snacking occasion contributing 150 kcal. The average energy contribution of meals was not different between snackers and nonsnackers. The energy density of meals is significantly greater for snackers than for nonsnackers. Results from this study demonstrate that snacking is an important dietary behavior among older adults. Whereas snacking may promote energy imbalance resulting in obesity among other age groups, our results suggest snacking may ensure older adults consume diets adequate in energy.

A strategy for analysis of (molecular) equilibrium simulations: Configuration space density estimation, clustering, and visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamprecht, Fred A.; Peter, Christine; Daura, Xavier; Thiel, Walter; van Gunsteren, Wilfred F.

2001-02-01

We propose an approach for summarizing the output of long simulations of complex systems, affording a rapid overview and interpretation. First, multidimensional scaling techniques are used in conjunction with dimension reduction methods to obtain a low-dimensional representation of the configuration space explored by the system. A nonparametric estimate of the density of states in this subspace is then obtained using kernel methods. The free energy surface is calculated from that density, and the configurations produced in the simulation are then clustered according to the topography of that surface, such that all configurations belonging to one local free energy minimum form one class. This topographical cluster analysis is performed using basin spanning trees which we introduce as subgraphs of Delaunay triangulations. Free energy surfaces obtained in dimensions lower than four can be visualized directly using iso-contours and -surfaces. Basin spanning trees also afford a glimpse of higher-dimensional topographies. The procedure is illustrated using molecular dynamics simulations on the reversible folding of peptide analoga. Finally, we emphasize the intimate relation of density estimation techniques to modern enhanced sampling algorithms.

3-V Solid-State Flexible Supercapacitors with Ionic-Liquid-Based Polymer Gel Electrolyte for AC Line Filtering.

PubMed

Kang, Yu Jin; Yoo, Yongju; Kim, Woong

2016-06-08

State-of-the-art solid-state flexible supercapacitors with sufficiently fast response speed for AC line filtering application suffer from limited energy density. One of the main causes of the low energy density is the low cell voltage (1 V), which is limited by aqueous-solution-based gel electrolytes. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time a 3-V flexible supercapacitor for AC line filtering based on an ionic-liquid-based polymer gel electrolyte and carbon nanotube electrode material. The flexible supercapacitor exhibits an areal energy density that is more than 20 times higher than that of the previously demonstrated 1-V flexible supercapacitor (0.66 vs 0.03 μWh/cm(2)) while maintaining excellent capacitive behavior at 120 Hz. The supercapacitor shows a maximum areal power density of 1.5 W/cm(2) and a time constant of 1 ms. The improvement of the cell voltage while maintaining the fast-response capability greatly improves the potential of supercapacitors for high-frequency applications in wearable and/or portable electronics.

Solar Illumination Control of the Polar Wind

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maes, L.; Maggiolo, R.; De Keyser, J.; André, M.; Eriksson, A. I.; Haaland, S.; Li, K.; Poedts, S.

2017-11-01

Polar wind outflow is an important process through which the ionosphere supplies plasma to the magnetosphere. The main source of energy driving the polar wind is solar illumination of the ionosphere. As a result, many studies have found a relation between polar wind flux densities and solar EUV intensity, but less is known about their relation to the solar zenith angle at the ionospheric origin, certainly at higher altitudes. The low energy of the outflowing particles and spacecraft charging means it is very difficult to measure the polar wind at high altitudes. We take advantage of an alternative method that allows estimations of the polar wind flux densities far in the lobes. We analyze measurements made by the Cluster spacecraft at altitudes from 4 up to 20 RE. We observe a strong dependence on the solar zenith angle in the ion flux density and see that both the ion velocity and density exhibit a solar zenith angle dependence as well. We also find a seasonal variation of the flux density.

Heterogeneous to homogeneous melting transition visualized with ultrafast electron diffraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

The ultrafast laser excitation of matters leads to non-equilibrium states with complex solid-liquid phase transition dynamics. We used electron diffraction at mega-electronvolt energies to visualize the ultrafast melting of gold on the atomic scale length. For energy densities approaching the irreversible melting regime, we first observed heterogeneous melting on time scales of 100 ps to 1000 ps, transitioning to homogeneous melting that occurs catastrophically within 10-20 ps at higher energy densities. We showed evidence for the heterogeneous coexistence of solid and liquid. We determined the ion and electron temperature evolution and found superheated conditions. Our results constrain the electron-ion couplingmore » rate, determine the Debye temperature and reveal the melting sensitivity to nucleation seeds.« less

Specific energy consumption and quality of wood pellets produced using high-moisture lodgepole pine grind in a flat die pellet mill

DOE PAGES

Tumuluru, Jaya Shankar

2016-04-16

In the present study a Box–Behnken experimental design was used to understand the effect of the moisture content of lodgepole pine grind (33–39%, w.b.), die speed (40–60 Hz) and preheating temperature (30–90 °C) on the pellet quality and specific energy consumption. The partially dried pellets produced had high-moisture content in the range of 19–28% (w.b.), and were further dried to <9% (w.b.) in a mechanical oven set at 70 °C for 3 h. Dried pellets were further evaluated for pellet moisture content, unit, bulk, tapped density, and durability. Response surface models developed for the product properties have adequately described themore » process based on coefficient of determination values. Surface plots developed indicated higher unit, bulk, and tapped density (1050, 520, 560 kg/m 3) are achievable at 33–35% (w.b.) moisture content of the lodgepole pine grind, die speed of 60 Hz and preheating temperature of 30–60 °C. Higher moisture content of 39% (w.b) reduced unit, bulk, and tapped density to <912, 396, and 452 kg/m 3. Higher durability values of >95% were obtained at 33–35% (w.b.) at lower preheating temperatures of 30–50 °C and higher die speed of >50 Hz. At 33% (w.b.) moisture content of the lodgepole pine grind, preheating temperature of 90 °C, and die speed of 60 Hz, the observed specific energy consumption was <116 kW h/ton. As a result, scanning electron microscope studies indicated that lignin crosslinking is the primary reason for binding of the lodgepole pine grind at high-moisture content.« less

Computational studies on the crystal structure, thermodynamic properties, detonation performance, and pyrolysis mechanism of 2,4,6,8-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacubane as a novel high energy density material.

PubMed

Wang, Fang; Du, Hongchen; Zhang, Jianying; Gong, Xuedong

2011-10-27

Studies have suggested that octanitrocubane (ONC) is one of the most powerful non-nuclear high energy density material (HEDM) currently known. 2,4,6,8-Tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetraazacubane (TNTAC) studied in this work may also be a novel HEDM due to its high nitrogen content and crystal density. Density functional theory and molecular mechanics methods have been employed to study the crystal structure, IR spectrum, electronic structure, thermodynamic properties, gas-phase and condensed-phase heat of formation, detonation performance, and pyrolysis mechanism of TNTAC. The TNTAC has a predicted density of about 2.12 g/cm(3), and its detonation velocity (10.42 km/s) and detonation pressure (52.82 GPa) are higher than that of ONC. The crystalline packing is P2(1)2(1)2(1), and the corresponding cell parameters are Z = 4, a = 8.87 Å, b = 8.87 Å, and c = 11.47 Å. Both the density of states of the predicted crystal and the bond dissociation energy of the molecule in gas phase show that the cage C-N bond is the trigger bond during thermolysis. The activation energy of the pyrolysis initiation reaction obtained from the B3LYP/6-311++G(2df,2p) level is 125.98 kJ/mol, which indicates that TNTAC meets the thermal stability request as an exploitable HEDM.

Applied magnetism: A supply-driven materials challenge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rios, Orlando; McCall, Scott K.

Permanent magnets are important in many green energy technologies including wind turbine generators and hybrid-electric vehicle motors. For these applications, volume and weight are important factors driving the overall design, and therefore a high energy density, or energy product, is an important figure of merit. This quantity defines the magnetic energy contained in a given volume of material, and so higher energy density magnets enable smaller, lighter applications. Currently, the most powerful magnets suitable for commercial purposes contain rare earth elements (REE), usually neodymium and dysprosium in the neodymium-iron-boride class of magnets. However, for select applications, often requiring high temperatures,more » samarium cobalt is the alloy of choice. These magnets have energy densities several times greater than their nearest non-REE-based competitor, which for some applications is the defining factor in creating a viable device. The global supply of these REE is overwhelmingly produced in China, which in 2015 mined more than ten times as much as the next largest producer (Australia). Such market domination effectively creates a single source of supply, leaving industries which rely on REE consumption susceptible to price shocks and supply disruptions of these critical materials. Furthermore, this supply sensitivity may act as a drag on the adaptation rate of green energy technologies, particularly for large-scale users.« less

Applied magnetism: A supply-driven materials challenge

DOE PAGES

Rios, Orlando; McCall, Scott K.

2016-05-27

Permanent magnets are important in many green energy technologies including wind turbine generators and hybrid-electric vehicle motors. For these applications, volume and weight are important factors driving the overall design, and therefore a high energy density, or energy product, is an important figure of merit. This quantity defines the magnetic energy contained in a given volume of material, and so higher energy density magnets enable smaller, lighter applications. Currently, the most powerful magnets suitable for commercial purposes contain rare earth elements (REE), usually neodymium and dysprosium in the neodymium-iron-boride class of magnets. However, for select applications, often requiring high temperatures,more » samarium cobalt is the alloy of choice. These magnets have energy densities several times greater than their nearest non-REE-based competitor, which for some applications is the defining factor in creating a viable device. The global supply of these REE is overwhelmingly produced in China, which in 2015 mined more than ten times as much as the next largest producer (Australia). Such market domination effectively creates a single source of supply, leaving industries which rely on REE consumption susceptible to price shocks and supply disruptions of these critical materials. Furthermore, this supply sensitivity may act as a drag on the adaptation rate of green energy technologies, particularly for large-scale users.« less

Optimizing dewaterability of drinking water treatment sludge by ultrasound treatment: Correlations to sludge physicochemical properties.

PubMed

Meng, Zhili; Zhou, Zhiwei; Zheng, Dan; Liu, Lujian; Dong, Jun; Yang, Yanling; Li, Xing; Zhang, Tingting

2018-07-01

Sludge dewatering has proven to be an effective method to reduce the volume of sludge. In this study, drinking water treatment sludge (DWTS) was treated by ultra-sonication under variable conditions comparing two sonoreactor types (bath and probe), four frequencies (25, 40, 68, 160 kHz) and four energy density levels (0.03, 1, 3, 5 W/mL). The effects of these conditions were studied using specific resistance to filtration and capillary suction time as measures of dewaterability, and floc size, the Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) specific surface area and Zeta potential to determine treated sludge characteristics. The results indicated that the dewaterability of sonicated sludge improved at relatively low energy densities of 0.03 and 1.0 W/mL, while an optimum for sonication duration (within 10 min) was also identified. Higher frequencies (tested up to 160 kHz) with acoustic energy density of 0.03 W/mL also reduced the dewatering property. At higher energy densities of 3.0 and 5.0 W/mL, dewaterability of sludge deteriorated regardless of ultra-sonication time, with an increase of solubilized organic matter content and severely changed floc characteristics. The deterioration of the dewatering capacity was closely related to the considerably reduced floc sizes, dissolution of proteins and polysaccharides, and to the Zeta potential of sonicated sludge flocs. The dewaterability was not correlated with BET specific surface area. Mechanistic explanations for the observations were discussed by analyzing corrosion patterns of aluminum foil as a measure for cavitation field distribution. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wieser, Patti; Hopkins, David

The DOE Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) collaborates to develop fusion as a safe, clean and abundant energy source for the future. This video discusses PPPL's research and development on plasma, the fourth state of matter. In this simulation of plasma turbulence inside PPPL's National Spherical Torus Experiment, the colorful strings represent higher and lower electron density in turbulent plasma as it circles around a donut-shaped fusion reactor; red and orange are higher density. This image is among those featured in the slide show, "Plasmas are Hot and Fusion is Cool," a production of PPPL and the Princeton University Broadcastmore » Center.« less

Cholesterol values in free-ranging gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla and Gorilla beringei) and Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).

PubMed

Schmidt, Debra A; Ellersieck, Mark R; Cranfield, Michael R; Karesh, William B

2006-09-01

Cholesterol concentrations in captive gorillas and orangutans vary widely within species and average approximately 244 mg/dl for gorillas and 169 mg/dl for orangutans as published previously. The International Species Inventory System reports higher concentrations of 275 and 199 mg/dl for gorillas and orangutans, respectively. It is unknown whether these values were typical, influenced by captive management, or both. To answer this question, banked serum samples from free-ranging mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei), western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) were analyzed for total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. Mountain gorillas did not differ significantly from free-ranging western lowland gorillas in cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations, indicating mountain gorilla values could be a model for western lowland gorillas. Captive gorilla total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in free-ranging groups. Triglyceride concentrations for captive gorillas were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the male mountain and western lowland gorillas, but they were not significantly different from the female mountain gorillas. Captive orangutan total cholesterol concentrations were only higher (P < 0.05) than the free-ranging female orangutans, whereas captive orangutan low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than both free-ranging male and female orangutans. Calculated and measured low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were compared for all free-ranging animals and were significantly different (P < 0.05) for all groups, indicating Friedewald's equation for calculating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is not appropriate for use with nonfasted apes. The higher total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations in captive apes may predispose them to cardiovascular disease and might be attributed to diets, limited energy expenditure, and genetics.

Laser-Plasma Interactions in Drive Campaign targets on the National Ignition Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinkel, D. E.; Callahan, D. A.; Moody, J. D.; Amendt, P. A.; Lasinski, B. F.; MacGowan, B. J.; Meeker, D.; Michel, P. A.; Ralph, J.; Rosen, M. D.; Ross, J. S.; Schneider, M. B.; Storm, E.; Strozzi, D. J.; Williams, E. A.

2016-03-01

The Drive campaign [D A Callahan et al., this conference] on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser [E. I. Moses, R. N. Boyd, B. A. Remington, C. J. Keane, R. Al-Ayat, Phys. Plasmas 16, 041006 (2009)] has the focused goal of understanding and optimizing the hohlraum for ignition. Both the temperature and symmetry of the radiation drive depend on laser and hohlraum characteristics. The drive temperature depends on the coupling of laser energy to the hohlraum, and the symmetry of the drive depends on beam-to-beam interactions that result in energy transfer [P. A. Michel, S. H. Glenzer, L. Divol, et al, Phys. Plasmas 17, 056305 (2010).] within the hohlraum. To this end, hohlraums are being fielded where shape (rugby vs. cylindrical hohlraums), gas fill composition (neopentane at room temperature vs. cryogenic helium), and gas fill density (increase of ∼ 150%) are independently changed. Cylindrical hohlraums with higher gas fill density show improved inner beam propagation, as should rugby hohlraums, because of the larger radius over the capsule (7 mm vs. 5.75 mm in a cylindrical hohlraum). Energy coupling improves in room temperature neopentane targets, as well as in hohlraums at higher gas fill density. In addition cross-beam energy transfer is being addressed directly by using targets that mock up one end of a hohlraum, but allow observation of the laser beam uniformity after energy transfer. Ideas such as splitting quads into “doublets” by re-pointing the right and left half of quads are also being pursued. LPI results of the Drive campaign will be summarized, and analyses of future directions presented.

Comparison of bone density measurement techniques: DXA and Archimedes' principle.

PubMed

Keenan, M J; Hegsted, M; Jones, K L; Delany, J P; Kime, J C; Melancon, L E; Tulley, R T; Hong, K D

1997-11-01

The standard method for determination of density (g/cm3) of bones from small animals has been the application of Archimedes' principle. A recent development has been software for the determination of "density" (g/cm2) of small animal bones with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). We compared Archimedes' principle and DXA (Hologic QDR-2000) in the measurement of the densities of whole and hollowed femurs of 5- to 6-month-old retired female breeder rats. In an attempt to ensure detectable treatment differences, rats were used from a low-vitamin D Holtzman and a supplemental-vitamin D Sprague-Dawley colony. Whole femur densities were higher for supplemental-vitamin D colony rats than for low vitamin D rats using both techniques (Archimedes' principle, p < 0.002; DXA, p < 0.005), and the densities from the two techniques were highly correlated (r = 0.82, p < 0.0001). Actual density values were higher for Archimedes' principle than for DXA. Other variables such as femur ash weight and calcium content were also highly correlated to densities with both techniques. Hollowed femur density values were higher than whole femur values with Archimedes' principle but lower with DXA. Colony effects for hollowed femur densities were diminished with Archimedes' principle (p < 0.03) and eliminated with DXA (p < 0.53). Investigation of whole bones is more biologically relevant, and both techniques were effective in detecting differences between whole femurs from low-vitamin D and supplemental-vitamin D colony rats.

How brain response and eating habits modulate food energy estimation.

PubMed

Mengotti, P; Aiello, M; Terenzi, D; Miniussi, C; Rumiati, R I

2018-05-01

The estimates we do of the energy content of different foods tend to be inaccurate, depending on several factors. The elements influencing such evaluation are related to the differences in the portion size of the foods shown, their energy density (kcal/g), but also to individual differences of the estimators, such as their body-mass index (BMI) or eating habits. Within this context the contribution of brain regions involved in food-related decisions to the energy estimation process is still poorly understood. Here, normal-weight and overweight/obese women with restrained or non-restrained eating habits, received anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (AtDCS) to modulate the activity of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) while they performed a food energy estimation task. Participants were asked to judge the energy content of food images, unaware that all foods, for the quantity presented, shared the same energy content. Results showed that food energy density was a reliable predictor of their energy content estimates, suggesting that participants relied on their knowledge about the food energy density as a proxy for estimating food energy content. The neuromodulation of the dlPFC interacted with individual differences in restrained eating, increasing the precision of the energy content estimates in participants with higher scores in the restrained eating scale. Our study highlights the importance of eating habits, such as restrained eating, in modulating the activity of the left dlPFC during food appraisal. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Non-aqueous hybrid supercapacitors fabricated with mesoporous TiO2 microspheres and activated carbon electrodes with superior performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Yong; Zhao, Bote; Wang, Jie; Shao, Zongping

2014-05-01

Mesoporous TiO2 microspheres, synthesized by a facile template-free solvothermal method and subsequent heat treatment, are exploited as the electrode for hybrid supercapacitors. The effects of the calcination temperature on the phase composition, particulate microstructure and morphology are characterized by XRD, Raman, FE-SEM and N2 adsorption/desorption measurements. Hybrid supercapacitors utilizing the as-prepared TiO2 mesoporous microspheres as the negative electrode and activated carbon (AC) as the positive electrode in a non-aqueous electrolyte are fabricated. The electrochemical performance of these hybrid supercapacitors is studied by galvanostatic charge-discharge and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The hybrid supercapacitor built from TiO2 microspheres calcined at 400 °C shows the best performance, delivering an energy density of 79.3 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 178.1 W kg-1. Even at a power density of 9.45 kW kg-1, an energy density of 31.5 Wh kg-1 is reached. These values are much higher than the AC-AC symmetric supercapacitor. In addition, the hybrid supercapacitor exhibits excellent cycling performance, retaining 98% of the initial energy density after 1000 cycles. Such outstanding electrochemical performance of the hybrid supercapacitor is attributed to the matched reaction kinetics between the two electrodes with different energy storage mechanisms.

Low-density plasma formation in aqueous biological media using sub-nanosecond laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genc, Suzanne L.; Ma, Huan; Venugopalan, Vasan

2014-08-01

We demonstrate the formation of low- and high-density plasmas in aqueous media using sub-nanosecond laser pulses delivered at low numerical aperture (NA = 0.25). We observe two distinct regimes of plasma formation in deionized water, phosphate buffered saline, Minimum Essential Medium (MEM), and MEM supplemented with phenol red. Optical breakdown is first initiated in a low-energy regime and characterized by bubble formation without plasma luminescence with threshold pulse energies in the range of Ep ≈ 4-5 μJ, depending on media formulation. The onset of this regime occurs over a very narrow interval of pulse energies and produces small bubbles (Rmax = 2-20 μm) due to a tiny conversion (η < 0.01%) of laser energy to bubble energy EB. The lack of visible plasma luminescence, sharp energy onset, and low bubble energy conversion are all hallmarks of low-density plasma (LDP) formation. At higher pulse energies (Ep = 11-20 μJ), the process transitions to a second regime characterized by plasma luminescence and large bubble formation. Bubbles formed in this regime are 1-2 orders of magnitude larger in size ( R max ≳ 100 μ m ) due to a roughly two-order-of-magnitude increase in bubble energy conversion (η ≳ 3%). These characteristics are consistent with high-density plasma formation produced by avalanche ionization and thermal runaway. Additionally, we show that supplementation of MEM with fetal bovine serum (FBS) limits optical breakdown to this high-energy regime. The ability to produce LDPs using sub-nanosecond pulses focused at low NA in a variety of cell culture media formulations without FBS can provide for cellular manipulation at high throughput with precision approaching that of femtosecond pulses delivered at high NA.

Three-dimensional bicontinuous nanoporous Au/polyaniline hybrid films for high-performance electrochemical supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, Xingyou; Zhang, Ling; Fujita, Takeshi; Ding, Yi; Chen, Mingwei

2012-01-01

We report three-dimensional bicontinuous nanoporous Au/polyaniline (PANI) composite films made by one-step electrochemical polymerization of PANI shell onto dealloyed nanoporous gold (NPG) skeletons for the applications in electrochemical supercapacitors. The NPG/PANI based supercapacitors exhibit ultrahigh volumetric capacitance (∼1500 F cm-3) and energy density (∼0.078 Wh cm-3), which are seven and four orders of magnitude higher than these of electrolytic capacitors, with the same power density up to ∼190 W cm-3. The outstanding capacitive performances result from a novel nanoarchitecture in which pseudocapacitive PANI shells are incorporated into pore channels of highly conductive NPG, making them promising candidates as electrode materials in supercapacitor devices combing high-energy storage densities with high-power delivery.

High-power density piezoelectric energy harvesting using radially strained ultrathin trigonal tellurium nanowire assembly.

PubMed

Lee, Tae Il; Lee, Sangmin; Lee, Eungkyu; Sohn, Sungwoo; Lee, Yean; Lee, Sujeong; Moon, Geondae; Kim, Dohyang; Kim, Youn Sang; Myoung, Jae Min; Wang, Zhong Lin

2013-06-04

A high-yield solution-processed ultrathin (<10 nm) trigonal tellurium (t-Te) nanowire (NW) is introduced as a new class of piezoelectric nanomaterial with a six-fold higher piezoelectric constant compared to conventional ZnO NWs for a high-volume power-density nanogenerator (NG). While determining the energy-harvesting principle in a NG consisting of t-Te NW, it is theoretically and experimentally found that t-Te NW is piezoelectrically activated only by creating strain in its radial direction, along which it has an asymmetric crystal structure. Based upon this mechanism, a NG with a monolayer consisting of well-aligned t-Te NWs and a power density of 9 mW/cm(3) is fabricated. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Rotating assembly working group summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulkarni, S. V.

1984-01-01

The feasibility of a fail safe flywheel system was demonstrated. Three of the major advantages of flywheel systems are: longer operational life, higher electrical efficiency, and higher system energy density. The use of composite material flywheels is important to realize these advantages. Rotor design and dynamics, rotor materials and fabrication, safety, nondestructive testing, and systems operation loads and environment, are outlined.

Relativistically Induced Transparency Acceleration (RITA) - laser-plasma accelerated quasi-monoenergetic GeV ion-beams with existing lasers?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahai, Aakash A.

2013-10-01

Laser-plasma ion accelerators have the potential to produce beams with unprecedented characteristics of ultra-short bunch lengths (100s of fs) and high bunch-charge (1010 particles) over acceleration length of about 100 microns. However, creating and controlling mono-energetic bunches while accelerating to high-energies has been a challenge. If high-energy mono-energetic beams can be demonstrated with minimal post-processing, laser (ω0)-plasma (ωpe) ion accelerators may be used in a wide-range of applications such as cancer hadron-therapy, medical isotope production, neutron generation, radiography and high-energy density science. Here we demonstrate using analysis and simulations that using relativistic intensity laser-pulses and heavy-ion (Mi ×me) targets doped with a proton (or light-ion) species (mp ×me) of trace density (at least an order of magnitude below the cold critical density) we can scale up the energy of quasi-mono-energetically accelerated proton (or light-ion) beams while controlling their energy, charge and energy spectrum. This is achieved by controlling the laser propagation into an overdense (ω0 <ωpeγ = 1) increasing plasma density gradient by incrementally inducing relativistic electron quiver and thereby rendering them transparent to the laser while the heavy-ions are immobile. Ions do not directly interact with ultra-short laser that is much shorter in duration than their characteristic time-scale (τp <<√{mp} /ω0 <<√{Mi} /ω0). For a rising laser intensity envelope, increasing relativistic quiver controls laser propagation beyond the cold critical density. For increasing plasma density (ωpe2 (x)), laser penetrates into higher density and is shielded, stopped and reflected where ωpe2 (x) / γ (x , t) =ω02 . In addition to the laser quivering the electrons, it also ponderomotively drives (Fp 1/γ∇za2) them forward longitudinally, creating a constriction of snowplowed e-s. The resulting longitudinal e--displacement from laser's push is controlled by the electrostatic space-charge pull by the immobile background ions. In the rest-frame of the laser, the electrostatic-potential that the ions create to balance the ponderomotive force on e-s, scales as the effective vector potential, aplasma . This potential hill, due to snowplowed e-s, co-propagating with the rising laser can reflect protons and light-ions (Relativistically Induced Transparency Acceleration, RITA). Desired proton or light-ion energies can be achieved by controlling the velocity of the snowplow, which is shown to scale inversely with the rise-time of the laser (higher energies for shorter pulses) and directly with the scale-length of the plasma density gradient. Similar acceleration can be produced by controlling the increase of the laser frequency (Chirp Induced Transparency Acceleration, ChITA). Work supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF- PHY-0936278. Also, NSF-PHY-0936266 and NSF-PHY-0903039; the US Department of Energy under DEFC02-07ER41500, DE- FG02-92ER40727 and DE-FG52-09NA29552.

Supercapacitors based on self-assembled graphene organogel.

PubMed

Sun, Yiqing; Wu, Qiong; Shi, Gaoquan

2011-10-14

Self-assembled graphene organogel (SGO) with 3-dimensional (3D) macrostructure was prepared by solvothermal reduction of a graphene oxide (GO) dispersion in propylene carbonate (PC). This SGO was used as an electrode material for fabricating supercapacitors with a PC electrolyte. The supercapacitor can be operated in a wide voltage range of 0-3 V and exhibits a high specific capacitance of 140 F g(-1) at a discharge current density of 1 A g(-1). Furthermore, it can still keep a specific capacitance of 90 F g(-1) at a high current density of 30 A g(-1). The maximum energy density of the SGO based supercapacitor was tested to be 43.5 Wh kg(-1), and this value is higher than those of the graphene based supercapacitors with aqueous or PC electrolytes reported previously. Furthermore, at a high discharge current density of 30 A g(-1), the energy and power densities of the supercapacitor were measured to be 15.4 Wh kg(-1) and 16,300 W kg(-1), respectively. These results indicate that the supercapacitor has a high specific capacitance and power density, and excellent rate capability.

Electricity production from municipal solid waste using microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Chiu, H Y; Pai, T Y; Liu, M H; Chang, C A; Lo, F C; Chang, T C; Lo, H M; Chiang, C F; Chao, K P; Lo, W Y; Lo, S W; Chu, Y L

2016-07-01

The organic content of municipal solid waste has long been an attractive source of renewable energy, mainly as a solid fuel in waste-to-energy plants. This study focuses on the potential to use microbial fuel cells to convert municipal solid waste organics into energy using various operational conditions. The results showed that two-chamber microbial fuel cells with carbon felt and carbon felt allocation had a higher maximal power density (20.12 and 30.47 mW m(-2) for 1.5 and 4 L, respectively) than those of other electrode plate allocations. Most two-chamber microbial fuel cells (1.5 and 4 L) had a higher maximal power density than single-chamber ones with corresponding electrode plate allocations. Municipal solid waste with alkali hydrolysis pre-treatment and K3Fe(CN)6 as an electron acceptor improved the maximal power density to 1817.88 mW m(-2) (~0.49% coulomb efficiency, from 0.05-0.49%). The maximal power density from experiments using individual 1.5 and 4 L two-chamber microbial fuel cells, and serial and parallel connections of 1.5 and 4 L two-chamber microbial fuel cells, was found to be in the order of individual 4 L (30.47 mW m(-2)) > serial connection of 1.5 and 4 L (27.75) > individual 1.5 L (20.12) > parallel connection of 1.5 and 4 L (17.04) two-chamber microbial fuel cells . The power density using municipal solid waste microbial fuel cells was compared with information in the literature and discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

Nucleation and growth of Ag on Sb-terminated Ge( 1 0 0 )

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, L. H.; Altman, E. I.

2002-06-01

The effect of Sb on Ag growth on Ge(1 0 0) was characterized using scanning tunneling microscopy, low energy electron diffraction, and Auger electron spectroscopy. Silver was found to immediately form three-dimensional clusters on the Sb-covered surface over the entire temperature range studied (320-570 K), thus the growth was Volmer-Weber. Regardless of the deposition conditions, there was no evidence that Sb segregated to the Ag surface, despite Sb having a lower surface tension than either Ag or Ge. The failure of Sb to segregate to the surface could be understood in terms of the much stronger interaction between Sb and Ge versus Ag and Ge creating a driving force to maintain an Sb-Ge interface. Silver nucleation on Sb/Ge(1 0 0) was characterized by measuring the Ag cluster density as a function of deposition rate. The results revealed that the cluster density was nearly independent of the deposition rate below 420 K, indicating that heterogeneous nucleation at defects in the Sb-terminated surface competed with homogeneous nucleation. At higher temperatures, the defects were less effective in trapping diffusing Ag atoms and the dependence of the cluster density on deposition rate suggested a critical size of at least two. For temperatures above 420 K, the Ag diffusion barrier plus the dissociation energy of the critical cluster was estimated by measuring the cluster density as a function of temperature; the results suggested a value of 0.84±0.1 eV which is significantly higher than values reported for Ag nucleation on Sb-free surfaces. In comparison to the bare Ge surface, Ag formed a higher density of smaller, lower clusters when Sb was present. Below 420 K the higher cluster density could be attributed to nucleation at defects in the Sb layer while at higher temperatures the high diffusion barrier restricted the cluster size and density. Although Sb does not act as a surfactant in this system since it does not continuously float to the surface and the growth is not layer-by-layer, adding Sb was found to be useful in limiting the Ag cluster size and height which led to smoother, more continuous Ag films and in preventing the formation of metastable Ag-Ge surface alloys.

Energy absorption ability of buckyball C720 at low impact speed: a numerical study based on molecular dynamics

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The dynamic impact response of giant buckyball C720 is investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations. The non-recoverable deformation of C720 makes it an ideal candidate for high-performance energy absorption. Firstly, mechanical behaviors under dynamic impact and low-speed crushing are simulated and modeled, which clarifies the buckling-related energy absorption mechanism. One-dimensional C720 arrays (both vertical and horizontal alignments) are studied at various impact speeds, which show that the energy absorption ability is dominated by the impact energy per buckyball and less sensitive to the number and arrangement direction of buckyballs. Three-dimensional stacking of buckyballs in simple cubic, body-centered cubic, hexagonal, and face-centered cubic forms are investigated. Stacking form with higher occupation density yields higher energy absorption. The present study may shed lights on employing C720 assembly as an advanced energy absorption system against low-speed impacts. PMID:23360618

Penetrating chest trauma caused by a blank cartridge actuated rubber ball projectile: case presentation and ballistic investigation of an uncommon weapon type.

PubMed

Frank, Matthias; Peters, Dieter; Klemm, Wolfram; Grossjohann, Rico; Ekkernkamp, Axel; Bockholdt, Britta; Seifert, Julia

2017-09-01

Recently, an increasing number of an uncommon weapon type based on a caliber 6-mm Flobert blank cartridge actuated revolver which discharges 10-mm-diameter rubber ball projectiles has been confiscated by police authorities following criminal offenses. A recent trauma case presenting with a penetrating chest injury occasioned an investigation into the basic ballistic parameters of this type of weapon. Kinetic energy E of the test projectiles was calculated between 5.8 and 12.5 J. Energy density ED of the test projectiles was close to or higher than the threshold energy density of human skin. It can be concluded that penetrating skin injuries due to free-flying rubber ball projectiles discharged at close range cannot be ruled out. However, in case of a contact shot, the main injury potential of this weapon type must be attributed to the high energy density of the muzzle gas jet which may, similar to well-known gas or alarm weapons, cause life-threatening or even lethal injuries.

Strain controlled ferromagnetic-ferrimagnetic transition and vacancy formation energy of defective graphene.

PubMed

Zhang, Yajun; Sahoo, Mpk; Wang, Jie

2016-09-23

Single vacancy (SV)-induced magnetism in graphene has attracted much attention motivated by its potential in achieving new functionalities. However, a much higher vacancy formation energy limits its direct application in electronic devices and the dependency of spin interaction on the strain is unclear. Here, through first-principles density-functional theory calculations, we investigate the possibility of strain engineering towards lowering vacancy formation energy and inducing new magnetic states in defective graphene. It is found that the SV-graphene undergoes a phase transition from an initial ferromagnetic state to a ferrimagnetic state under a biaxial tensile strain. At the same time, the biaxial tensile strain significantly lowers the vacancy formation energy. The charge density, density of states and band theory successfully identify the origin and underlying physics of the transition. The predicted magnetic phase transition is attributed to the strain driven spin flipping at the C-atoms nearest to the SV-site. The magnetic semiconducting graphene induced by defect and strain engineering suggests an effective way to modulate both spin and electronic degrees of freedom in future spintronic devices.

Metal-Organic Frameworks as Highly Active Electrocatalysts for High-Energy Density, Aqueous Zinc-Polyiodide Redox Flow Batteries.

PubMed

Li, Bin; Liu, Jian; Nie, Zimin; Wang, Wei; Reed, David; Liu, Jun; McGrail, Pete; Sprenkle, Vincent

2016-07-13

The new aqueous zinc-polyiodide redox flow battery (RFB) system with highly soluble active materials as well as ambipolar and bifunctional designs demonstrated significantly enhanced energy density, which shows great potential to reduce RFB cost. However, the poor kinetic reversibility and electrochemical activity of the redox reaction of I3(-)/I(-) couples on graphite felts (GFs) electrode can result in low energy efficiency. Two nanoporous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), MIL-125-NH2 and UiO-66-CH3, that have high surface areas when introduced to GF surfaces accelerated the I3(-)/I(-) redox reaction. The flow cell with MOF-modified GFs serving as a positive electrode showed higher energy efficiency than the pristine GFs; increases of about 6.4% and 2.7% occurred at the current density of 30 mA/cm(2) for MIL-125-NH2 and UiO-66-CH3, respectively. Moreover, UiO-66-CH3 is more promising due to its excellent chemical stability in the weakly acidic electrolyte. This letter highlights a way for MOFs to be used in the field of RFBs.

Microstructural Design for Stress Wave Energy Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

Polyurea based foam 7 4) Controlling transmission and reflection of pressure and shear waves in a multilayered anisotropic structure 10 5... Polyurea based foam consists of several factors including high energy absorption, light weight, higher elastic modulus to density ratio (compared with... Polyurea ), and collapsible voids under extreme loading. Pure Polyurea offers unique properties such as increased shear stiffness under large pressure

Vacancy-mediated dehydrogenation of sodium alanate

PubMed Central

Gunaydin, Hakan; Houk, Kendall N.; Ozoliņš, Vidvuds

2008-01-01

Clarification of the mechanisms of hydrogen release and uptake in transition-metal-doped sodium alanate, NaAlH4, a prototypical high-density complex hydride, has fundamental importance for the development of improved hydrogen-storage materials. In this and most other modern hydrogen-storage materials, H2 release and uptake are accompanied by long-range diffusion of metal species. Using first-principles density-functional theory calculations, we have determined that the activation energy for Al mass transport via AlH3 vacancies is Q = 85 kJ/mol·H2, which is in excellent agreement with experimentally measured activation energies in Ti-catalyzed NaAlH4. The activation energy for an alternate decomposition mechanism via NaH vacancies is found to be significantly higher: Q = 112 kJ/mol·H2. Our results suggest that bulk diffusion of Al species is the rate-limiting step in the dehydrogenation of Ti-doped samples of NaAlH4 and that the much higher activation energies measured for uncatalyzed samples are controlled by other processes, such as breaking up of AlH4− complexes, formation/dissociation of H2 molecules, and/or nucleation of the product phases. PMID:18299582

[Copper recovery from artificial bioleaching lixivium of waste printed circuit boards].

PubMed

Cheng, Dan; Zhu, Neng-Wu; Wu, Ping-Xiao; Zou, Ding-Hui; Xing, Yi-Jia

2014-04-01

The key step to realize metal recovery from bioleaching solutions is the recovery of copper from bioleaching lixivium of waste printed circuit boards in high-grade form. The influences of cathode material, current density, initial pH and initial copper ion concentration on the efficiency and energy consumption of copper recovery from artificial bioleaching lixivium under condition of constant current were investigated using an electro-deposition approach. The results showed that the larger specific surface area of the cathode material (carbon felt) led to the higher copper recovery efficiency (the recovery efficiencies of the anode and the cathode chambers were 96.56% and 99.25%, respectively) and the smaller the total and unit mass product energy consumption (the total and unit mass product energy consumptions were 0.022 kW x h and 15.71 kW x h x kg(-1), respectively). The copper recovery efficiency and energy consumption increased with the increase of current density. When the current density was 155.56 mA x cm(-2), the highest copper recovery efficiencies in the anode and cathode chambers reached 98.51% and 99.37%, respectively. Accordingly, the highest total and unit mass product energy consumptions were 0.037 kW x h and 24.34 kW x h x kg(-1), respectively. The copper recovery efficiency was also significantly affected by the initial copper ion concentration. The increase of the initial copper ion concentration would lead to faster decrease of copper ion concentration, higher total energy consumption, and lower unit mass product consumption. However, the initial pH had no significant effect on the copper recovery efficiency. Under the optimal conditions (carbon felt for cathode materials, current density of 111.11 mA x cm(-2), initial pH of 2.0, and initial copper ion concentration of 10 g x L(-1)), the copper recovery efficiencies of the anode and cathode chambers were 96.75% and 99.35%, and the total and unit mass product energy consumptions were 0.021 kW x h and 14.61 kW x h x kg(-1), respectively. The deposited copper on the cathode material was fascicularly distributed and no oxygen was detected.

Silicon/copper dome-patterned electrodes for high-performance hybrid supercapacitors.

PubMed

Liu, Xuyan; Jung, Hun-Gi; Kim, Sang-Ok; Choi, Ho-Suk; Lee, Sangwha; Moon, Jun Hyuk; Lee, Joong Kee

2013-12-02

This study proposes a method for manufacturing high-performance electrode materials in which controlling the shape of the current collector and electrode material for a Li-ion capacitor (LIC). In particular, the proposed LIC manufacturing method maintains the high voltage of a cell by using a microdome-patterned electrode material, allowing for reversible reactions between the Li-ion and the active material for an extended period of time. As a result, the LICs exhibit initial capacities of approximately 42 F g⁻¹, even at 60 A g⁻¹. The LICs also exhibit good cycle performance up to approximately 15,000 cycles. In addition, these advancements allow for a considerably higher energy density than other existing capacitor systems. The energy density of the proposed LICs is approximately nine, two, and 1.5 times higher than those of the electrochemical double layer capacitor (EDLC), AC/LiMn₂O₄ hybrid capacitor, and intrinsic Si/AC LIC, respectively.

Silicon/copper dome-patterned electrodes for high-performance hybrid supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xuyan; Jung, Hun-Gi; Kim, Sang-Ok; Choi, Ho-Suk; Lee, Sangwha; Moon, Jun Hyuk; Lee, Joong Kee

2013-12-01

This study proposes a method for manufacturing high-performance electrode materials in which controlling the shape of the current collector and electrode material for a Li-ion capacitor (LIC). In particular, the proposed LIC manufacturing method maintains the high voltage of a cell by using a microdome-patterned electrode material, allowing for reversible reactions between the Li-ion and the active material for an extended period of time. As a result, the LICs exhibit initial capacities of approximately 42 F g-1, even at 60 A g-1. The LICs also exhibit good cycle performance up to approximately 15,000 cycles. In addition, these advancements allow for a considerably higher energy density than other existing capacitor systems. The energy density of the proposed LICs is approximately nine, two, and 1.5 times higher than those of the electrochemical double layer capacitor (EDLC), AC/LiMn2O4 hybrid capacitor, and intrinsic Si/AC LIC, respectively.

Thermodynamic properties of water in confined environments: a Monte Carlo study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gladovic, Martin; Bren, Urban; Urbic, Tomaž

2018-05-01

Monte Carlo simulations of Mercedes-Benz water in a crowded environment were performed. The simulated systems are representative of both composite, porous or sintered materials and living cells with typical matrix packings. We studied the influence of overall temperature as well as the density and size of matrix particles on water density, particle distributions, hydrogen bond formation and thermodynamic quantities. Interestingly, temperature and space occupancy of matrix exhibit a similar effect on water properties following the competition between the kinetic and the potential energy of the system, whereby temperature increases the kinetic and matrix packing decreases the potential contribution. A novel thermodynamic decomposition approach was applied to gain insight into individual contributions of different types of inter-particle interactions. This decomposition proved to be useful and in good agreement with the total thermodynamic quantities especially at higher temperatures and matrix packings, where higher-order potential-energy mixing terms lose their importance.

3D direct writing fabrication of electrodes for electrochemical storage devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Min; Zhang, Feng; Wang, Wei; Alexandridis, Paschalis; Zhou, Chi; Wu, Gang

2017-06-01

Among different printing techniques, direct ink writing is commonly used to fabricate 3D battery and supercapacitor electrodes. The major advantages of using the direct ink writing include effectively building 3D structure for energy storage devices and providing higher power density and higher energy density than traditional techniques due to the increased surface area of electrode. Nevertheless, direct ink writing has high standards for the printing inks, which requires high viscosity, high yield stress under shear and compression, and well-controlled viscoelasticity. Recently, a number of 3D-printed energy storage devices have been reported, and it is very important to understand the printing process and the ink preparation process for further material design and technology development. We discussed current progress of direct ink writing technologies by using various electrode materials including carbon nanotube-based material, graphene-based material, LTO (Li4Ti5O12), LFP (LiFePO4), LiMn1-xFexPO4, and Zn-based metallic oxide. Based on achieve electrochemical performance, these 3D-printed devices deliver performance comparable to the energy storage device fabricated using traditional methods still leaving large room for further improvement. Finally, perspectives are provided on the potential future direction of 3D printing for all solid-state electrochemical energy storage devices.

Energy, nutrient and food content of snacks in French adults.

PubMed

Si Hassen, Wendy; Castetbon, Katia; Tichit, Christine; Péneau, Sandrine; Nechba, Anouar; Ducrot, Pauline; Lampuré, Aurélie; Bellisle, France; Hercberg, Serge; Méjean, Caroline

2018-02-27

Snacking raises concern since it may lead to an additional energy intake and poor nutrient quality. A snacking occasion can be defined as any eating occasion apart from main meals, regardless of the amount or type of foods consumed. We described the frequency of snacking occasions according to daily timing in French adults, and compared them between each other, and with the main meals, in terms of energy intake, energy and nutrient density, and food content. This cross-sectional analysis included 104,265 adults from the NutriNet-Santé cohort. Food intake was estimated using 24-h records of weekdays. For each eating occasion, nutrient density and energy content and density were computed. After weighting, 47.6% of our sample were men and mean age was 45.6 (15.3). Overall, 68% of participants ate at least one snack during the reported record, mainly in the morning or afternoon. Overall snack had a lower nutrient density [22.8 (SD = 278.3)] than main meals [25.8 (36.9) to 30.0 (30.4)]; but higher energy density [222.2 (163.3) kcal/100 g] than meals [133.9 (57.3) to 175.9 (99.6) kcal/100 g]. Morning snack was the snacking occasion with the lowest energy density [211 kcal/100 g], the lowest energy intake [104.1 kcal] and the highest nutrient density [60.1]. Afternoon and evening snacks had the highest energy loads [192.4 kcal and 207.6 kcal], but low nutrient scores [16 and 13, respectively]. The main food groups contributing to energy intake from snacks were fatty-sweet and sugary foods, fruit, hot beverages, and bread. Our findings highlight the frequency of snacking and the varying nutritional quality of snacks over the day. The morning snack was shown to be healthier than afternoon and evening snacks. This study was conducted according to guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki, and all procedures were approved by the Institutional Review Board of the French Institute for Health and Medical Research (IRB Inserm No. 0000388FWA00005831) and the French Data Protection Authority (Commission Nationale Informatique et Libertés No. 908450 and No. 909216). Electronic informed consent was obtained from all participants (Clinical Trial no. NCT03335644 ).

Energy density of zooplankton and fish larvae in the southern Catalan Sea (NW Mediterranean)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barroeta, Ziortza; Olivar, M. Pilar; Palomera, Isabel

2017-06-01

In marine communities, energy of small planktonic organisms is transferred to their predators through feeding. The energy accumulated as organic substances by the different plankton organisms (Energetic Density content, ED) has been analysed in high latitudes and tropical areas, but not in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we approach this type of investigation for Mediterranean plankton through measures of total calorimetric content using an oxygen bomb calorimeter. We examined the spatiotemporal variation in the ED of microplankton (50-200 μm) and mesozooplankton (200-2000 μm), and two plankton-consumers, sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) larvae. The study was carried out during the winter and summer of 2013 off the Ebro River Delta (NW Mediterranean Sea). Both plankton fractions showed a more coastal distribution and higher biomasses during winter, the period of sardine larvae occurrences, in front of a wider cross-shelf distribution and lower biomasses in summer, when anchovy appeared. ED values increased with the size of each plankton component, i.e., microzooplankton < mesozooplankton < fish larvae. A tendency for higher plankton ED in the winter period was observed, although being only significant for coastal zone, associated to the more productive waters there. Sardine and anchovy larvae showed an increasing trend in the amount of energy during development, with significantly lower ED between early larvae (6-10 mm standard length) and late postflexion stages (16-20 mm standard length). Small larvae of both species departed from a similarly low ED content, but in the next two size classes sardine larvae showed higher ED values than anchovy, being significantly higher in the 16-20 mm size class. Information on larval feeding patterns and larval growth rates for each species were used to discuss differences in energy allocation strategies.

Phenomenological scattering-rate model for the simulation of the current density and emission power in mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kurlov, S. S.; Institute of Semiconductor Physics, National Academy of Sciences, pr. Nauki 45, Kiev-03028; Flores, Y. V.

2016-04-07

A phenomenological scattering-rate model introduced for terahertz quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) [Schrottke et al., Semicond. Sci. Technol. 25, 045025 (2010)] is extended to mid-infrared (MIR) QCLs by including the energy dependence of the intersubband scattering rates for energies higher than the longitudinal optical phonon energy. This energy dependence is obtained from a phenomenological fit of the intersubband scattering rates based on published lifetimes of a number of MIR QCLs. In our approach, the total intersubband scattering rate is written as the product of the exchange integral for the squared moduli of the envelope functions and a phenomenological factor that dependsmore » only on the transition energy. Using the model to calculate scattering rates and imposing periodical boundary conditions on the current density, we find a good agreement with low-temperature data for current-voltage, power-current, and energy-photon flux characteristics for a QCL emitting at 5.2 μm.« less

Ultra-Fine Highly Energetic Core-Shell Nanoparticles with Triggerable Protective Coatings

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-02-01

volume ratios and strong electronic coupling, which offers higher stored energy densities and decreased warhead size. Current technologies produce nano...aluminum (Al) – the most attractive high-energetic candidate for the use in explosives because of its density and high relative heat of oxide...major breakthrough in the area of explosive materials. II. Project Objectives The overall objective of this research program was to develop a new

Effectiveness of the use of LLLT on disorders of the maxillofacial region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soares, Luiz G. P.; Carvalho, Carolina M.; Marques, Aparecida M. C.; Cangussú, Maria Cristina T.; Pinheiro, Antônio L. B.

2012-03-01

Dentistry has traditionally depended on science and technology for improvement of diagnostic tools and treatment options. The impact of using light sources in clinical Dentistry has been significantly higher than in clinical Medicine and Surgery. Light sources have been used as a therapeutic agent for many centuries. The major use of light for therapeutic applications in health care sciences was noticeably initiated after the development of lasers in 1960. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of LLLT on treating disorders of the maxillofacial region. For this, the records of patients treated at the Laser Center of the School of Dentistry of the Federal University of Bahia were revised. We analyzed 867 treatment cycles in 572 patients. The mean age of the patients was 53.5 years old, most were females. Majority of them complained of some pain. G50.0 and K07.6 were the most frequent diagnostics. The mean energy density per session was 18.36 +/- 14.6 J/cm2 and mean treatment one 176.4 +/- 132.4 J/cm2. IR laser was the most frequently used wavelength. Most patients were asymptomatic or improved at discharge. Improved or asymptomatic patients had a mean age of 50.9 years old. For these, the mean number of sessions was 13, the total mean session energy density was 16.6 J/cm2 and mean total energy density treatment was 169.5 J/cm2. For symptomatic patients, the mean age was 56.4 years old. The mean number of sessions was 10. The mean energy density per session on these patients was 20.6 J/cm2 and mean total treatment energy density was 210.9 J/cm2. 55.34% of the patients were asymptomatic or improved at discharge. For these, the mean number of sessions was 13, the total mean session energy density was 16.6 J/cm2 and mean total energy density treatment was 169.5 J/cm2. For symptomatic patients, the mean age was 56.4 years old. The mean number of sessions was 10. The mean energy density per session on these patients was 20.6 J/cm2 and mean total treatment energy density was 210.9 J/cm2. The results of this study are indicative that the use of LLLT for treating different disorders of the maxillofacial region is effective and well accepted by the patients.

Comparative studies on structures, mechanical properties, sensitivity, stabilities and detonation performance of CL-20/TNT cocrystal and composite explosives by molecular dynamics simulation.

PubMed

Hang, Gui-Yun; Yu, Wen-Li; Wang, Tao; Wang, Jin-Tao; Li, Zhen

2017-09-19

To investigate and compare the differences of structures and properties of CL-20/TNT cocrystal and composite explosives, the CL-20/TNT cocrystal and composite models were established. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the structures, mechanical properties, sensitivity, stabilities and detonation performance of cocrystal and composite models with COMPASS force field in NPT ensemble. The lattice parameters, mechanical properties, binding energies, interaction energy of trigger bond, cohesive energy density and detonation parameters were determined and compared. The results show that, compared with pure CL-20, the rigidity and stiffness of cocrystal and composite models decreased, while plastic properties and ductility increased, so mechanical properties can be effectively improved by adding TNT into CL-20 and the cocrystal model has better mechanical properties. The interaction energy of the trigger bond and the cohesive energy density is in the order of CL-20/TNT cocrystal > CL-20/TNT composite > pure CL-20, i.e., cocrystal model is less sensitive than CL-20 and the composite model, and has the best safety parameters. Binding energies show that the cocrystal model has higher intermolecular interaction energy values than the composite model, thus illustrating the better stability of the cocrystal model. Detonation parameters vary as CL-20 > cocrystal > composite, namely, the energy density and power of cocrystal and composite model are weakened; however, the CL-20/TNT cocrystal explosive still has desirable energy density and detonation performance. This results presented in this paper help offer some helpful guidance to better understand the mechanism of CL-20/TNT cocrystal explosives and provide some theoretical assistance for cocrystal explosive design.

Limiting factors to advancing thermal battery technology for naval applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Patrick B.; Winchester, Clinton S.

1991-10-01

Thermal batteries are primary reserve electrochemical power sources using molten salt electrolyte which experience little effective aging while in storage or dormant deployment. Thermal batteries are primarily used in military applications, and are currently used in a wide variety of Navy devices such as missiles, torpedoes, decays, and training targets, usually as power supplies in guidance, propulsion, and Safe/Arm applications. Technology developments have increased the available energy and power density ratings by an order of magnitude in the last ten years. Present thermal batteries, using lithium anodes and metal sulfide cathodes, are capable of performing applications where only less rugged and more expensive silver oxide/zinc or silver/magnesium chloride seawater batteries could serve previously. Additionally, these batteries are capable of supplanting lithium/thionyl chloride reserve batteries in a variety of specifically optimized designs. Increases in thermal battery energy and power density capabilities are not projected to continue with the current available technology. Several battery designs are now at the edge of feasibility and safety. Since future naval systems are likely to require continued growth of battery energy and power densities, there must be significant advances in battery technology. Specifically, anode alloy composition and new cathode materials must be investigated to allow for safe development and deployment of these high power, higher energy density batteries.

Design of activated carbon/activated carbon asymmetric capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piñeiro-Prado, Isabel; Salinas-Torres, David; Ruiz Rosas, Ramiro; Morallon, Emilia; Cazorla-Amoros, Diego

2016-03-01

Supercapacitors are energy storage devices that offer a high power density and a low energy density in comparison with batteries. Their limited energy density can be overcome by using asymmetric configuration in mass electrodes, where each electrode works within their maximum available potential window, rendering the maximum voltage output of the system. Such asymmetric capacitors must be optimized through careful electrochemical characterization of the electrodes for accurate determination of the capacitance and the potential stability limits. The results of the characterization are then used for optimizing mass ratio of the electrodes from the balance of stored charge. The reliability of the design largely depends on the approach taken for the electrochemical characterization. Therefore, the performance could be lower than expected and even the system could break down, if a well thought out procedure is not followed. In this work, a procedure for the development of asymmetric supercapacitors based on activated carbons is detailed. Three activated carbon materials with different textural properties and surface chemistry have been systematically characterized in neutral aqueous electrolyte. The asymmetric configuration of the masses of both electrodes in the supercapacitor has allowed to cover a higher potential window, resulting in an increase of the energy density of the three devices studied when compared with the symmetric systems, and an improved cycle life.

Silicon carbide-free graphene growth on silicon for lithium-ion battery with high volumetric energy density

PubMed Central

Son, In Hyuk; Hwan Park, Jong; Kwon, Soonchul; Park, Seongyong; Rümmeli, Mark H.; Bachmatiuk, Alicja; Song, Hyun Jae; Ku, Junhwan; Choi, Jang Wook; Choi, Jae-man; Doo, Seok-Gwang; Chang, Hyuk

2015-01-01

Silicon is receiving discernable attention as an active material for next generation lithium-ion battery anodes because of its unparalleled gravimetric capacity. However, the large volume change of silicon over charge–discharge cycles weakens its competitiveness in the volumetric energy density and cycle life. Here we report direct graphene growth over silicon nanoparticles without silicon carbide formation. The graphene layers anchored onto the silicon surface accommodate the volume expansion of silicon via a sliding process between adjacent graphene layers. When paired with a commercial lithium cobalt oxide cathode, the silicon carbide-free graphene coating allows the full cell to reach volumetric energy densities of 972 and 700 Wh l−1 at first and 200th cycle, respectively, 1.8 and 1.5 times higher than those of current commercial lithium-ion batteries. This observation suggests that two-dimensional layered structure of graphene and its silicon carbide-free integration with silicon can serve as a prototype in advancing silicon anodes to commercially viable technology. PMID:26109057

Assessment of the influence of energy density and feedstock transport distance on the environmental performance of methane from maize silages.

PubMed

Bacenetti, Jacopo; Lovarelli, Daniela; Ingrao, Carlo; Tricase, Caterina; Negri, Marco; Fiala, Marco

2015-10-01

In Europe, thanks to public subsidy, the production of electricity from anaerobic digestion (AD) of agricultural feedstock has considerably grown and several AD plants were built. When AD plants are concentrated in specific areas (e.g., Northern Italy), increases of feedstock' prices and transport distances can be observed. In this context, as regards low-energy density feedstock, the present research was designed to estimate the influence of the related long-distance transport on the environmental performances of the biogas-to-electricity process. For this purpose the following transport systems were considered: farm trailers and trucks. For small distances (<5 km), the whole plant silage shows the lowest impact; however, when distances increase, silages with higher energy density (even though characterised by lower methane production per hectare) become more environmentally sustainable. The transport by trucks achieves better environmental performances especially for distances greater than 25 km. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A DFT study of ethanol adsorption and decomposition on α-Al2O3(0 0 0 1) surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiang, Hsin-Ni; Nachimuthu, Santhanamoorthi; Cheng, Ya-Chin; Damayanti, Nur Pradani; Jiang, Jyh-Chiang

2016-02-01

Ethanol adsorption and decomposition on the clean α-Al2O3(0 0 0 1) surface have been systematically investigated by density functional theory calculations. The nature of the surface-ethanol bonding has studied through the density of states (DOS) and the electron density difference (EDD) contour plots. The DOS patterns confirm that the lone pair electrons of EtOH are involved in the formation of a surface Alsbnd O dative bond and the EDD plots provide evidences for the bond weakening/forming, which are consistent with the DOS analysis. Our ethanol decomposition results indicate that ethanol dehydration to ethylene (CH3CH2OH(a) → C2H4(g) + OH(a) + H(a)), is the main reaction pathway with the energy barrier of 1.46 eV. Although the cleavage of the hydroxyl group of ethanol has lower energy barrier, the further decomposition of ethoxy owns much higher energy barrier.

Enhancing low-grade thermal energy recovery in a thermally regenerative ammonia battery using elevated temperatures.

PubMed

Zhang, Fang; LaBarge, Nicole; Yang, Wulin; Liu, Jia; Logan, Bruce E

2015-03-01

A thermally regenerative ammonia battery (TRAB) is a new approach for converting low-grade thermal energy into electricity by using an ammonia electrolyte and copper electrodes. TRAB operation at 72 °C produced a power density of 236 ± 8 Wm(-2), with a linear decrease in power to 95 ± 5 Wm(-2) at 23 °C. The improved power at higher temperatures was due to reduced electrode overpotentials and more favorable thermodynamics for the anode reaction (copper oxidation). The energy density varied with temperature and discharge rates, with a maximum of 650 Wh m(-3) at a discharge energy efficiency of 54% and a temperature of 37 °C. The energy efficiency calculated with chemical process simulation software indicated a Carnot-based efficiency of up to 13% and an overall thermal energy recovery of 0.5%. It should be possible to substantially improve these energy recoveries through optimization of electrolyte concentrations and by using improved ion-selective membranes and energy recovery systems such as heat exchangers. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Quaternized adamantane-containing poly(aryl ether ketone) anion exchange membranes for vanadium redox flow battery applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Bengui; Zhang, Shouhai; Weng, Zhihuan; Wang, Guosheng; Zhang, Enlei; Yu, Ping; Chen, Xiaomeng; Wang, Xinwei

2016-09-01

Quaternized adamantane-containing poly(aryl ether ketone) anion exchange membranes (QADMPEK) are prepared and investigated for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) application. The bulky, rigid and highly hydrophobic adamantane segment incorporated into the backbone of membrane material makes QADMPEK membranes have low water uptake and swelling ratio, and the as-prepared membranes display significantly lower permeability of vanadium ions than that of Nafion117 membrane. As a consequence, the VRFB cell with QADMPEK-3 membrane shows higher coulombic efficiency (99.4%) and energy efficiency (84.0%) than those for Nafion117 membrane (95.2% and 80.5%, respectively) at the current density of 80 mA cm-2. Furthermore, at a much higher current density of 140 mA cm-2, QADMPEK membrane still exhibits better coulombic efficiency and energy efficiency than Nafion117 membrane (coulombic efficiency 99.2% vs 96.5% and energy efficiency 76.0% vs 74.0%). Moreover, QADMPEK membranes show high stability in in-situ VRFB cycle test and ex-situ oxidation stability test. These results indicate that QADMPEK membranes are good candidates for VRFB applications.

Production of dimethylfuran for liquid fuels from biomass-derived carbohydrates.

PubMed

Román-Leshkov, Yuriy; Barrett, Christopher J; Liu, Zhen Y; Dumesic, James A

2007-06-21

Diminishing fossil fuel reserves and growing concerns about global warming indicate that sustainable sources of energy are needed in the near future. For fuels to be useful in the transportation sector, they must have specific physical properties that allow for efficient distribution, storage and combustion; these properties are currently fulfilled by non-renewable petroleum-derived liquid fuels. Ethanol, the only renewable liquid fuel currently produced in large quantities, suffers from several limitations, including low energy density, high volatility, and contamination by the absorption of water from the atmosphere. Here we present a catalytic strategy for the production of 2,5-dimethylfuran from fructose (a carbohydrate obtained directly from biomass or by the isomerization of glucose) for use as a liquid transportation fuel. Compared to ethanol, 2,5-dimethylfuran has a higher energy density (by 40 per cent), a higher boiling point (by 20 K), and is not soluble in water. This catalytic strategy creates a route for transforming abundant renewable biomass resources into a liquid fuel suitable for the transportation sector, and may diminish our reliance on petroleum.

Enhanced energy density and thermal conductivity in poly(fluorovinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) nanocomposites incorporated with boron nitride nanosheets exfoliated under assistance of hyperbranched polyethylene.

PubMed

Ye, Huijian; Lu, Tiemei; Xu, Chunfeng; Zhong, Mingqiang; Xu, Lixin

2018-03-02

Polymer dielectric film with a large dielectric constant, high energy density and enhanced thermal conductivity are of significance for the development of impulse capacitors. However, the fabrication of polymer dielectrics combining high energy density and thermal conductivity is still a challenge at the moment. Here we demonstrate the facile exfoliation of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) in common organic solvents under sonication with the assistance of hyperbranched polyethylene (HBPE). The noncovalent CH-π interactions between the nanosheets and HBPE ensure the dispersion of BNNSs in organic solvents with high concentrations, because of the highly branched chain structure of HBPE. Subsequently, the resultant BNNSs with a few defects are distributed uniformly in the poly(fluorovinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) nanocomposite films prepared via simple solution casting. The BNNS/P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposite exhibits outstanding dielectric properties, high energy density and high thermal conductivity. The dielectric constant of the 0.5 wt% nanocomposite film is 35.5 at 100 Hz with an energy density of 5.6 J cm -3 at 325 MV m -1 and a high charge-discharge efficiency of 79% due to the depression of the charge injection and chemical species ionization in a high field. Moreover, a thermal conductivity of 1.0 wt% nanocomposite film reaches 0.91 W·m -1  · K -1 , which is 3.13 times higher than that of the fluoropolymer matrix. With dipole accumulation and orientation in the interfacial zone, lightweight, flexible BNNS/P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposite films with high charge-discharge performance and thermal conductivity, exhibit promising applications in relatively high-temperature electronics and energy storage devices.

Enhanced energy density and thermal conductivity in poly(fluorovinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) nanocomposites incorporated with boron nitride nanosheets exfoliated under assistance of hyperbranched polyethylene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Huijian; Lu, Tiemei; Xu, Chunfeng; Zhong, Mingqiang; Xu, Lixin

2018-03-01

Polymer dielectric film with a large dielectric constant, high energy density and enhanced thermal conductivity are of significance for the development of impulse capacitors. However, the fabrication of polymer dielectrics combining high energy density and thermal conductivity is still a challenge at the moment. Here we demonstrate the facile exfoliation of hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) in common organic solvents under sonication with the assistance of hyperbranched polyethylene (HBPE). The noncovalent CH-π interactions between the nanosheets and HBPE ensure the dispersion of BNNSs in organic solvents with high concentrations, because of the highly branched chain structure of HBPE. Subsequently, the resultant BNNSs with a few defects are distributed uniformly in the poly(fluorovinylidene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) nanocomposite films prepared via simple solution casting. The BNNS/P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposite exhibits outstanding dielectric properties, high energy density and high thermal conductivity. The dielectric constant of the 0.5 wt% nanocomposite film is 35.5 at 100 Hz with an energy density of 5.6 J cm-3 at 325 MV m-1 and a high charge-discharge efficiency of 79% due to the depression of the charge injection and chemical species ionization in a high field. Moreover, a thermal conductivity of 1.0 wt% nanocomposite film reaches 0.91 W·m-1 · K-1, which is 3.13 times higher than that of the fluoropolymer matrix. With dipole accumulation and orientation in the interfacial zone, lightweight, flexible BNNS/P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposite films with high charge-discharge performance and thermal conductivity, exhibit promising applications in relatively high-temperature electronics and energy storage devices.

Fast and stable redox reactions of MnO2/CNT hybrid electrodes for dynamically stretchable pseudocapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Taoli; Wei, Bingqing

2015-07-01

Pseudocapacitors, which are energy storage devices that take advantage of redox reactions to store electricity, have a different charge storage mechanism compared to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), and they could realize further gains if they were used as stretchable power sources. The realization of dynamically stretchable pseudocapacitors and understanding of the underlying fundamentals of their mechanical-electrochemical relationship have become indispensable. We report herein the electrochemical performance of dynamically stretchable pseudocapacitors using buckled MnO2/CNT hybrid electrodes. The extremely small relaxation time constant of less than 0.15 s indicates a fast redox reaction at the MnO2/CNT hybrid electrodes, securing a stable electrochemical performance for the dynamically stretchable pseudocapacitors. This finding and the fundamental understanding gained from the pseudo-capacitive behavior coupled with mechanical deformation under a dynamic stretching mode would provide guidance to further improve their overall performance including a higher power density than LIBs, a higher energy density than EDLCs, and a long-life cycling stability. Most importantly, these results will potentially accelerate the applications of stretchable pseudocapacitors for flexible and biomedical electronics.Pseudocapacitors, which are energy storage devices that take advantage of redox reactions to store electricity, have a different charge storage mechanism compared to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), and they could realize further gains if they were used as stretchable power sources. The realization of dynamically stretchable pseudocapacitors and understanding of the underlying fundamentals of their mechanical-electrochemical relationship have become indispensable. We report herein the electrochemical performance of dynamically stretchable pseudocapacitors using buckled MnO2/CNT hybrid electrodes. The extremely small relaxation time constant of less than 0.15 s indicates a fast redox reaction at the MnO2/CNT hybrid electrodes, securing a stable electrochemical performance for the dynamically stretchable pseudocapacitors. This finding and the fundamental understanding gained from the pseudo-capacitive behavior coupled with mechanical deformation under a dynamic stretching mode would provide guidance to further improve their overall performance including a higher power density than LIBs, a higher energy density than EDLCs, and a long-life cycling stability. Most importantly, these results will potentially accelerate the applications of stretchable pseudocapacitors for flexible and biomedical electronics. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr02310f

Transverse energy per charged particle in heavy-ion collisions: Role of collective flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar Tiwari, Swatantra; Sahoo, Raghunath

2018-03-01

The ratio of (pseudo)rapidity density of transverse energy and the (pseudo)rapidity density of charged particles, which is a measure of the mean transverse energy per particle, is an important observable in high energy heavy-ion collisions. This ratio reveals information about the mechanism of particle production and the freeze-out criteria. Its collision energy and centrality dependence is almost similar to the chemical freeze-out temperature until top Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) energy. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) measurement at √{s_{NN}} = 2.76 TeV brings up new challenges towards understanding the phenomena like gluon saturation and role of collective flow, etc. being prevalent at high energies, which could contribute to the above observable. Statistical Hadron Gas Model (SHGM) with a static fireball approximation has been successful in describing both the centrality and energy dependence until top RHIC energies. However, the SHGM predictions for higher energies lie well below the LHC data. In order to understand this, we have incorporated collective flow in an excluded-volume SHGM (EV-SHGM). Our studies suggest that the collective flow plays an important role in describing E T/ N ch and it could be one of the possible parameters to explain the rise observed in E T/ N ch from RHIC to LHC energies. Predictions are made for E T/ N ch , participant pair normalized-transverse energy per unit rapidity and the Bjorken energy density for Pb+Pb collisions at √{s_{NN}} = 5.02 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider.

High Cycle Life Cathode for High Voltage (5V) Lithium Ion Batteries

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-16

lithium cobalt phosphate (LiCoPO4) that provides higher energy density (15% > LiFePO4 demonstrated, up to 40% greater with further R&D). •The invention...standard LiFePO4 • Higher voltage at cell level may reduce number of cells required for application • Easy and inexpensive method to prepare • Offers safety

Indentability of conventional and negative Poisson's ratio foams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lakes, R. S.; Elms, K.

1992-01-01

The indentation resistance of foams, both of conventional structure and of reentrant structure giving rise to negative Poisson's ratio, is studied using holographic interferometry. In holographic indentation tests, reentrant foams had higher yield strength and lower stiffness than conventional foams of the same original relative density. Calculated energy absorption for dynamic impact is considerably higher for reentrant foam than conventional foam.

Transition metal sulfides grown on graphene fibers for wearable asymmetric supercapacitors with high volumetric capacitance and high energy density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, Weihua; Lai, Ting; Lai, Jianwei; Xie, Haoting; Ouyang, Liuzhang; Ye, Jianshan; Yu, Chengzhong

2016-06-01

Fiber shaped supercapacitors are promising candidates for wearable electronics because they are flexible and light-weight. However, a critical challenge of the widespread application of these energy storage devices is their low cell voltages and low energy densities, resulting in limited run-time of the electronics. Here, we demonstrate a 1.5 V high cell voltage and high volumetric energy density asymmetric fiber supercapacitor in aqueous electrolyte. The lightweight (0.24 g cm-3), highly conductive (39 S cm-1), and mechanically robust (221 MPa) graphene fibers were firstly fabricated and then coated by NiCo2S4 nanoparticles (GF/NiCo2S4) via the solvothermal deposition method. The GF/NiCo2S4 display high volumetric capacitance up to 388 F cm-3 at 2 mV s-1 in a three-electrode cell and 300 F cm-3 at 175.7 mA cm-3 (568 mF cm-2 at 0.5 mA cm-2) in a two-electrode cell. The electrochemical characterizations show 1000% higher capacitance of the GF/NiCo2S4 as compared to that of neat graphene fibers. The fabricated device achieves high energy density up to 12.3 mWh cm-3 with a maximum power density of 1600 mW cm-3, outperforming the thin-film lithium battery. Therefore, these supercapacitors are promising for the next generation flexible and wearable electronic devices.

Transition metal sulfides grown on graphene fibers for wearable asymmetric supercapacitors with high volumetric capacitance and high energy density

PubMed Central

Cai, Weihua; Lai, Ting; Lai, Jianwei; Xie, Haoting; Ouyang, Liuzhang; Ye, Jianshan; Yu, Chengzhong

2016-01-01

Fiber shaped supercapacitors are promising candidates for wearable electronics because they are flexible and light-weight. However, a critical challenge of the widespread application of these energy storage devices is their low cell voltages and low energy densities, resulting in limited run-time of the electronics. Here, we demonstrate a 1.5 V high cell voltage and high volumetric energy density asymmetric fiber supercapacitor in aqueous electrolyte. The lightweight (0.24 g cm−3), highly conductive (39 S cm−1), and mechanically robust (221 MPa) graphene fibers were firstly fabricated and then coated by NiCo2S4 nanoparticles (GF/NiCo2S4) via the solvothermal deposition method. The GF/NiCo2S4 display high volumetric capacitance up to 388 F cm−3 at 2 mV s−1 in a three-electrode cell and 300 F cm−3 at 175.7 mA cm−3 (568 mF cm−2 at 0.5 mA cm−2) in a two-electrode cell. The electrochemical characterizations show 1000% higher capacitance of the GF/NiCo2S4 as compared to that of neat graphene fibers. The fabricated device achieves high energy density up to 12.3 mWh cm−3 with a maximum power density of 1600 mW cm−3, outperforming the thin-film lithium battery. Therefore, these supercapacitors are promising for the next generation flexible and wearable electronic devices. PMID:27248510

Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Microwave Pulse Propagation in Air Breakdown Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuo, S. P.; Kim, J.

1991-01-01

Numerical simulation is used to investigate the extent of the electron density at a distant altitude location which can be generated by a high-power ground-transmitted microwave pulse. This is done by varying the power, width, shape, and carrier frequency of the pulse. The results show that once the breakdown threshold field is exceeded in the region below the desired altitude location, electron density starts to build up in that region through cascading breakdown. The generated plasma attenuates the pulse energy (tail erosion) and thus deteriorates the energy transmission to the destined altitude. The electron density saturates at a level limited by the pulse width and the tail erosion process. As the pulse continues to travel upward, though the breakdown threshold field of the background air decreases, the pulse energy (width) is reduced more severely by the tail erosion process. Thus, the electron density grows more quickly at the higher altitude, but saturates at a lower level. Consequently, the maximum electron density produced by a single pulse at 50 km altitude, for instance, is limited to a value below 10(exp 6) cm(exp -3). Three different approaches are examined to determine if the ionization at the destined location can be improved: a repetitive pulse approach, a focused pulse approach, and two intersecting beams. Only the intersecting beam approach is found to be practical for generating the desired density level.

Potential Energy Landscape of the Liquid-Liquid Phase Transition in Water and the transformation between Low-Density and High-Density Amorphous Ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giovambattista, N.; Sciortino, F.; Starr, F. W.; Poole, P. H.

The potential energy landscape (PEL) formalism is a valuable approach within statistical mechanics for describing supercooled liquids and glasses. We use the PEL formalism and computer simulations to study the transformation between low-density (LDL) and high-density liquid (HDL) water, and between low-density (LDA) and high-density amorphous ice (HDA). We employ the ST2 water model that exhibits a LDL-HDL first-order phase transition and a sharp LDA-HDA transformation, as observed in experiments. Our results are consistent with the view that LDA and HDA configurations are associated with two distinct regions (megabasins) of the PEL that are separated by a potential energy barrier. At higher temperature, we find that LDL configurations are located in the same megabasin as LDA, and that HDL configurations are located in the same megabasin as HDA. We show that the pressure-induced LDL-HDL and LDA-HDA transformations occur along paths that interconnect these two megabasins, but that the path followed by the liquid and the amorphous ice differ. We also study the liquid-to-ice-VII first-order phase transition. The PEL properties across this transition are qualitatively similar to the changes found during the LDA-HDA transformation, supporting the interpretation that the LDA-HDA transformation is a first-order-like phase transition between out-of-equilibrium states.

Spin-density fluctuations and the fluctuation-dissipation theorem in 3 d ferromagnetic metals

DOE PAGES

Wysocki, Alex L.; Valmispild, V. N.; Kutepov, A.; ...

2017-11-15

Spatial and time scales of spin-density fluctuations (SDFs) were analyzed in 3d ferromagnets using ab initio linear-response calculations of complete wave-vector and energy dependence of the dynamic spin susceptibility tensor. We demonstrate that SDFs are spread continuously over the entire Brillouin zone and while the majority of them reside within the 3d bandwidth, a significant amount comes from much higher energies. A validity of the adiabatic approximation in spin dynamics is discussed. The SDF spectrum is shown to have two main constituents: a minor low-energy spin-wave contribution and a much larger high-energy component from more localized excitations. Furthermore, using themore » fluctuation-dissipation theorem, the on-site spin correlator and the related effective fluctuating moment were properly evaluated and their universal dependence on the 3d band population is further discussed.« less

Spin-density fluctuations and the fluctuation-dissipation theorem in 3 d ferromagnetic metals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wysocki, Alex L.; Valmispild, V. N.; Kutepov, A.

Spatial and time scales of spin-density fluctuations (SDFs) were analyzed in 3d ferromagnets using ab initio linear-response calculations of complete wave-vector and energy dependence of the dynamic spin susceptibility tensor. We demonstrate that SDFs are spread continuously over the entire Brillouin zone and while the majority of them reside within the 3d bandwidth, a significant amount comes from much higher energies. A validity of the adiabatic approximation in spin dynamics is discussed. The SDF spectrum is shown to have two main constituents: a minor low-energy spin-wave contribution and a much larger high-energy component from more localized excitations. Furthermore, using themore » fluctuation-dissipation theorem, the on-site spin correlator and the related effective fluctuating moment were properly evaluated and their universal dependence on the 3d band population is further discussed.« less

Air transportation energy efficiency - Alternatives and implications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, L. J.

1976-01-01

Results from recent studies of air transportation energy efficiency alternatives are discussed, along with some of the implications of these alternatives. The fuel-saving alternatives considered include aircraft operation, aircraft modification, derivative aircraft, and new aircraft. In the near-term, energy efficiency improvements should be possible through small improvements in fuel-saving flight procedures, higher density seating, and higher load factors. Additional small near-term improvements could be obtained through aircraft modifications, such as the relatively inexpensive drag reduction modifications. Derivatives of existing aircraft could meet the requirements for new aircraft and provide energy improvements until advanced technology is available to justify the cost of a completely new design. In order to obtain significant improvements in energy efficiency, new aircraft must truly exploit advanced technology in such areas as aerodynamics, composite structures, active controls, and advanced propulsion.

Relativistically induced transparency acceleration of light ions by an ultrashort laser pulse interacting with a heavy-ion-plasma density gradient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahai, Aakash A.; Tsung, Frank S.; Tableman, Adam R.; Mori, Warren B.; Katsouleas, Thomas C.

2013-10-01

The relativistically induced transparency acceleration (RITA) scheme of proton and ion acceleration using laser-plasma interactions is introduced, modeled, and compared to the existing schemes. Protons are accelerated with femtosecond relativistic pulses to produce quasimonoenergetic bunches with controllable peak energy. The RITA scheme works by a relativistic laser inducing transparency [Akhiezer and Polovin, Zh. Eksp. Teor. Fiz 30, 915 (1956); Kaw and Dawson, Phys. FluidsPFLDAS0031-917110.1063/1.1692942 13, 472 (1970); Max and Perkins, Phys. Rev. Lett.PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.27.1342 27, 1342 (1971)] to densities higher than the cold-electron critical density, while the background heavy ions are stationary. The rising laser pulse creates a traveling acceleration structure at the relativistic critical density by ponderomotively [Lindl and Kaw, Phys. FluidsPFLDAS0031-917110.1063/1.1693437 14, 371 (1971); Silva , Phys. Rev. E1063-651X10.1103/PhysRevE.59.2273 59, 2273 (1999)] driving a local electron density inflation, creating an electron snowplow and a co-propagating electrostatic potential. The snowplow advances with a velocity determined by the rate of the rise of the laser's intensity envelope and the heavy-ion-plasma density gradient scale length. The rising laser is incrementally rendered transparent to higher densities such that the relativistic-electron plasma frequency is resonant with the laser frequency. In the snowplow frame, trace density protons reflect off the electrostatic potential and get snowplowed, while the heavier background ions are relatively unperturbed. Quasimonoenergetic bunches of velocity equal to twice the snowplow velocity can be obtained and tuned by controlling the snowplow velocity using laser-plasma parameters. An analytical model for the proton energy as a function of laser intensity, rise time, and plasma density gradient is developed and compared to 1D and 2D PIC OSIRIS [Fonseca , Lect. Note Comput. Sci.9783-540410.1007/3-540-47789-6_36 2331, 342 (2002)] simulations. We model the acceleration of protons to GeV energies with tens-of-femtoseconds laser pulses of a few petawatts. The scaling of proton energy with laser power compares favorably to other mechanisms for ultrashort pulses [Schreiber , Phys. Rev. Lett.PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.97.045005 97, 045005 (2006); Esirkepov , Phys. Rev. Lett.PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.92.175003 92, 175003 (2004); Silva , Phys. Rev. Lett.PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.92.015002 92, 015002 (2004); Fiuza , Phys. Rev. Lett.PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.109.215001 109, 215001 (2012)].

Potential energy landscape of the apparent first-order phase transition between low-density and high-density amorphous ice.

PubMed

Giovambattista, Nicolas; Sciortino, Francesco; Starr, Francis W; Poole, Peter H

2016-12-14

The potential energy landscape (PEL) formalism is a valuable approach within statistical mechanics to describe supercooled liquids and glasses. Here we use the PEL formalism and computer simulations to study the pressure-induced transformations between low-density amorphous ice (LDA) and high-density amorphous ice (HDA) at different temperatures. We employ the ST2 water model for which the LDA-HDA transformations are remarkably sharp, similar to what is observed in experiments, and reminiscent of a first-order phase transition. Our results are consistent with the view that LDA and HDA configurations are associated with two distinct regions (megabasins) of the PEL that are separated by a potential energy barrier. At higher temperature, we find that low-density liquid (LDL) configurations are located in the same megabasin as LDA, and that high-density liquid (HDL) configurations are located in the same megabasin as HDA. We show that the pressure-induced LDL-HDL and LDA-HDA transformations occur along paths that interconnect these two megabasins, but that the path followed by the liquid is different from the path followed by the amorphous solid. At higher pressure, we also study the liquid-to-ice-VII first-order phase transition, and find that the behavior of the PEL properties across this transition is qualitatively similar to the changes found during the LDA-HDA transformation. This similarity supports the interpretation that the LDA-HDA transformation is a first-order phase transition between out-of-equilibrium states. Finally, we compare the PEL properties explored during the LDA-HDA transformations in ST2 water with those reported previously for SPC/E water, for which the LDA-HDA transformations are rather smooth. This comparison illuminates the previous work showing that, at accessible computer times scales, a liquid-liquid phase transition occurs in the case of ST2 water, but not for SPC/E water.

Potential energy landscape of the apparent first-order phase transition between low-density and high-density amorphous ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giovambattista, Nicolas; Sciortino, Francesco; Starr, Francis W.; Poole, Peter H.

2016-12-01

The potential energy landscape (PEL) formalism is a valuable approach within statistical mechanics to describe supercooled liquids and glasses. Here we use the PEL formalism and computer simulations to study the pressure-induced transformations between low-density amorphous ice (LDA) and high-density amorphous ice (HDA) at different temperatures. We employ the ST2 water model for which the LDA-HDA transformations are remarkably sharp, similar to what is observed in experiments, and reminiscent of a first-order phase transition. Our results are consistent with the view that LDA and HDA configurations are associated with two distinct regions (megabasins) of the PEL that are separated by a potential energy barrier. At higher temperature, we find that low-density liquid (LDL) configurations are located in the same megabasin as LDA, and that high-density liquid (HDL) configurations are located in the same megabasin as HDA. We show that the pressure-induced LDL-HDL and LDA-HDA transformations occur along paths that interconnect these two megabasins, but that the path followed by the liquid is different from the path followed by the amorphous solid. At higher pressure, we also study the liquid-to-ice-VII first-order phase transition, and find that the behavior of the PEL properties across this transition is qualitatively similar to the changes found during the LDA-HDA transformation. This similarity supports the interpretation that the LDA-HDA transformation is a first-order phase transition between out-of-equilibrium states. Finally, we compare the PEL properties explored during the LDA-HDA transformations in ST2 water with those reported previously for SPC/E water, for which the LDA-HDA transformations are rather smooth. This comparison illuminates the previous work showing that, at accessible computer times scales, a liquid-liquid phase transition occurs in the case of ST2 water, but not for SPC/E water.

Solid H2 in the interstellar medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Füglistaler, A.; Pfenniger, D.

2018-06-01

Context. Condensation of H2 in the interstellar medium (ISM) has long been seen as a possibility, either by deposition on dust grains or thanks to a phase transition combined with self-gravity. H2 condensation might explain the observed low efficiency of star formation and might help to hide baryons in spiral galaxies. Aims: Our aim is to quantify the solid fraction of H2 in the ISM due to a phase transition including self-gravity for different densities and temperatures in order to use the results in more complex simulations of the ISM as subgrid physics. Methods: We used molecular dynamics simulations of fluids at different temperatures and densities to study the formation of solids. Once the simulations reached a steady state, we calculated the solid mass fraction, energy increase, and timescales. By determining the power laws measured over several orders of magnitude, we extrapolated to lower densities the higher density fluids that can be simulated with current computers. Results: The solid fraction and energy increase of fluids in a phase transition are above 0.1 and do not follow a power law. Fluids out of a phase transition are still forming a small amount of solids due to chance encounters of molecules. The solid mass fraction and energy increase of these fluids are linearly dependent on density and can easily be extrapolated. The timescale is below one second, the condensation can be considered instantaneous. Conclusions: The presence of solid H2 grains has important dynamic implications on the ISM as they may be the building blocks for larger solid bodies when gravity is included. We provide the solid mass fraction, energy increase, and timescales for high density fluids and extrapolation laws for lower densities.

A Study of Carbon Nanofibers and Active Carbon as Symmetric Supercapacitor in Aqueous Electrolyte: A Comparative Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daraghmeh, Allan; Hussain, Shahzad; Saadeddin, Iyad; Servera, Llorenç; Xuriguera, Elena; Cornet, Albert; Cirera, Albert

2017-12-01

Symmetric supercapacitors are fabricated by carbon nanofibers (CNF) and activated carbon (AC) using similar proportions of 7 wt% polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer binder in an aqueous electrolyte. In this study, a comparison of porous texture and electrochemical performances between CNFs and AC based supercapacitors was carried out. Electrodes were assembled in the cell without a current collector. The prepared electrodes of CNFs and AC present Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 83 and 1042 m2/g, respectively. The dominant pore structure for CNFs is mesoporous while for AC is micropore. The results showed that AC provided higher specific capacitance retention up to very fast scan rate of 500 mV/s. AC carbon had a specific capacitance of 334 F/g, and CNFs had 52 F/g at scan rate 5 mV/s in aqueous solution. Also, the results indicate the superior conductivity of CNFs in contrast to AC counterparts. The measured equivalent series resistance (ESR) showed a very small value for CNFs (0.28 Ω) in comparison to AC that has an ESR resistance of (3.72 Ω). Moreover, CNF delivered higher specific power (1860 W/kg) than that for AC (450 W/kg). On the other hand, AC gave higher specific energy (18.1 Wh/kg) than that for CNFs (2 Wh/kg).This indicates that the AC is good for energy applications. Whereas, CNF is good for power application. Indeed, the higher surface area will lead to higher specific capacitance and hence higher energy density for AC. For CNF, lower ESR is responsible for having higher power density. Both CNF and AC supercapacitor exhibit an excellent charge-discharge stability up to 2500 cycles.

The contribution of snacks to dietary intake and their association with eating location among Norwegian adults - results from a cross-sectional dietary survey.

PubMed

Myhre, Jannicke B; Løken, Elin B; Wandel, Margareta; Andersen, Lene F

2015-04-12

Snack consumption has been reported to increase over recent decades. Little is known about possible associations between snack composition and snack eating location. In the present study, we aimed to describe the contribution of snacks to dietary intake in Norwegian adults and to investigate whether the composition of snacks differed according to where they were eaten. Dietary data were collected in 2010 and 2011 using two telephone administered 24 h recalls about four weeks apart. In total, 1787 participants aged 18-70 years completed two recalls. The recorded eating locations were at home, other private household, work/school, restaurant/cafe/fast-food outlet and travel/meeting. Snacks contributed to 17% and 21% of the energy intake in men and women, respectively. Compared with main meals, snacks had a higher fiber density (g/MJ) and contained a higher percentage of energy from carbohydrates, added sugars and alcohol, while the percentages of energy from fat and protein were lower. The top five energy-contributing food groups from snacks were cakes, fruits, sugar/sweets, bread and alcoholic beverages. Snacks were mostly eaten at home (58% of all snacks) or at work/school (23% of all snacks). Snacks consumed at work/school contained less energy, had a higher percentage of energy from carbohydrates and had lower percentages of energy from added sugars, alcohol and fat than snacks consumed at home. Snacks consumed during visits to private households and at restaurants/cafe/fast-food outlets contained more energy, had a higher percentage of energy from fat and had a lower fiber density than snacks consumed at home. We conclude that snacks are an important part of the diet and involve the consumption of both favorable and less favorable foods. Snacks eaten at home or at work/school were generally healthier than snacks consumed during visits to other private households or at restaurants/cafe/fast-food outlets. Nutritional educators should recommend healthy snack options and raise awareness of the association between eating location and snack composition.

High energy and power density asymmetric supercapacitors using electrospun cobalt oxide nanowire anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidyadharan, Baiju; Aziz, Radhiyah Abd; Misnon, Izan Izwan; Anil Kumar, Gopinathan M.; Ismail, Jamil; Yusoff, Mashitah M.; Jose, Rajan

2014-12-01

Electrochemical materials are under rigorous search for building advanced energy storage devices. Herein, supercapacitive properties of highly crystalline and ultrathin cobalt oxide (Co3O4) nanowires (diameter ∼30-60 nm) synthesized using an aqueous polymeric solution based electrospinning process are reported. These nanowire electrodes show a specific capacitance (CS) of ∼1110 F g-1 in 6 M KOH at a current density of 1 A g-1 with coulombic efficiency ∼100%. Asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) (CS ∼175 F g-1 at 2 A g-1 galvanostatic cycling) are fabricated using the Co3O4 as anode and commercial activated carbon (AC) as cathode and compared their performance with symmetric electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) fabricated using AC (CS ∼31 F g-1 at 2 A g-1 galvanostatic cycling). The Co3O4//AC ASCs deliver specific energy densities (ES) of 47.6, 35.4, 20 and 8 Wh kg-1 at specific power densities (PS) 1392, 3500, 7000 and 7400 W kg-1, respectively. The performance of ASCs is much superior to the control EDLCs, which deliver ES of 9.2, 8.9, 8.4 and 6.8 Wh kg-1 at PS 358, 695, 1400 and 3500 W kg-1, respectively. The ASCs show nearly six times higher energy density (∼47.6 Wh kg-1) than EDLC (8.4 Wh kg-1) without compromising its power density (∼1400 W kg-1) at similar galvanostatic cycling conditions (2 A g-1).

Study of Volumetrically Heated Ultra-High Energy Density Plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rocca, Jorge J.

2016-10-27

Heating dense matter to millions of degrees is important for applications, but requires complex and expensive methods. The major goal of the project was to demonstrate using a compact laser the creation of a new ultra-high energy density plasma regime characterized by simultaneous extremely high temperature and high density, and to study it combining experimental measurements and advanced simulations. We have demonstrated that trapping of intense femtosecond laser pulses deep within ordered nanowire arrays can heat near solid density matter into a new ultra hot plasma regime. Extreme electron densities, and temperatures of several tens of million degrees were achievedmore » using laser pulses of only 0.5 J energy from a compact laser. Our x-ray spectra and simulations showed that extremely highly ionized plasma volumes several micrometers in depth are generated by irradiation of gold and Nickel nanowire arrays with femtosecond laser pulses of relativistic intensities. We obtained extraordinarily high degrees of ionization (e.g. we peeled 52 electrons from gold atoms, and up to 26 electrons from nickel atoms). In the process we generated Gigabar pressures only exceeded in the central hot spot of highly compressed thermonuclear fusion plasmas.. The plasma created after the dissolved wires expand, collide, and thermalize, is computed to have a thermal energy density of 0.3 GJ cm -3 and a pressure of 1-2 Gigabar. These are pressures only exceeded in highly compressed thermonuclear fusion plasmas. Scaling these results to higher laser intensities promises to create plasmas with temperatures and pressures exceeding those in the center of the sun.« less

Recent progress in supercapacitors: from materials design to system construction.

PubMed

Wang, Yonggang; Xia, Yongyao

2013-10-04

Supercapacitors are currently attracting intensive attention because they can provide energy density by orders of magnitude higher than dielectric capacitors, greater power density, and longer cycling ability than batteries. The main challenge for supercapacitors is to develop them with high energy density that is close to that of a current rechargeable battery, while maintaining their inherent characteristics of high power and long cycling life. Consequently, much research has been devoted to enhance the performance of supercapacitors by either maximizing the specific capacitance and/or increasing the cell voltage. The latest advances in the exploration and development of new supercapacitor systems and related electrode materials are highlighted. Also, the prospects and challenges in practical application are analyzed, aiming to give deep insights into the material science and electrochemical fields. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A summary of transition probabilities for atomic absorption lines formed in low-density clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morton, D. C.; Smith, W. H.

1973-01-01

A table of wavelengths, statistical weights, and excitation energies is given for 944 atomic spectral lines in 221 multiplets whose lower energy levels lie below 0.275 eV. Oscillator strengths were adopted for 635 lines in 155 multiplets from the available experimental and theoretical determinations. Radiation damping constants also were derived for most of these lines. This table contains the lines most likely to be observed in absorption in interstellar clouds, circumstellar shells, and the clouds in the direction of quasars where neither the particle density nor the radiation density is high enough to populate the higher levels. All ions of all elements from hydrogen to zinc are included which have resonance lines longward of 912 A, although a number of weaker lines of neutrals and first ions have been omitted.

Investigation of mechanism of anode plasma formation in ion diode with dielectric anode

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pushkarev, A., E-mail: aipush@mail.ru

The results of investigation of the anode plasma formation in a diode with a passive anode in magnetic insulation mode are presented. The experiments have been conducted using the BIPPAB-450 ion accelerator (350–400 kV, 6–8 kA, 80 ns) with a focusing conical diode with B{sub r} external magnetic field (a barrel diode). For analysis of plasma formation at the anode and the distribution of the ions beam energy density, infrared imaging diagnostics (spatial resolution of 1–2 mm) is used. For analysis of the ion beam composition, time-of-flight diagnostics (temporal resolution of 1 ns) were used. Our studies have shown that when the magnetic induction inmore » the A-C gap is much larger than the critical value, the ion beam energy density is close to the one-dimensional Child-Langmuir limit on the entire working surface of the diode. Formation of anode plasma takes place only by the flashover of the dielectric anode surface. In this mode, the ion beam consists primarily of singly ionized carbon ions, and the delay of the start of formation of the anode plasma is 10–15 ns. By reducing the magnetic induction in the A-C gap to a value close to the critical one, the ion beam energy density is 3–6 times higher than that calculated by the one-dimensional Child-Langmuir limit, but the energy density of the ion beam is non-uniform in cross-section. In this mode, the anode plasma formation occurs due to ionization of the anode material with accelerated electrons. In this mode, also, the delay in the start of the formation of the anode plasma is much smaller and the degree of ionization of carbon ions is higher. In all modes occurred effective suppression of the electronic component of the total current, and the diode impedance was 20–30 times higher than the values calculated for the mode without magnetic insulation of the electrons. The divergence of the ion beam was 4.5°–6°.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, H.; Li, X.; Baker, D. N.

Based on comprehensive measurements from Helium, Oxygen, Proton, and Electron Mass Spectrometer Ion Spectrometer, Relativistic Electron-Proton Telescope, and Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment instruments on the Van Allen Probes, comparative studies of ring current electrons and ions are performed and the role of energetic electrons in the ring current dynamics is investigated. The deep injections of tens to hundreds of keV electrons and tens of keV protons into the inner magnetosphere occur frequently; after the injections the electrons decay slowly in the inner belt but protons in the low L region decay very fast. Intriguing similarities between lowermore » energy protons and higher-energy electrons are also found. The evolution of ring current electron and ion energy densities and energy content are examined in detail during two geomagnetic storms, one moderate and one intense. Here, the results show that the contribution of ring current electrons to the ring current energy content is much smaller than that of ring current ions (up to ~12% for the moderate storm and ~7% for the intense storm), and <35 keV electrons dominate the ring current electron energy content at the storm main phases. Though the electron energy content is usually much smaller than that of ions, the enhancement of ring current electron energy content during the moderate storm can get to ~30% of that of ring current ions, indicating a more dynamic feature of ring current electrons and important role of electrons in the ring current buildup. Lastly, the ring current electron energy density is also shown to be higher at midnight and dawn while lower at noon and dusk.« less

Decorating TiO2 Nanowires with BaTiO3 Nanoparticles: A New Approach Leading to Substantially Enhanced Energy Storage Capability of High-k Polymer Nanocomposites.

PubMed

Kang, Da; Wang, Guanyao; Huang, Yanhui; Jiang, Pingkai; Huang, Xingyi

2018-01-31

The urgent demand of high energy density and high power density devices has triggered significant interest in high dielectric constant (high-k) flexible nanocomposites comprising dielectric polymer and high-k inorganic nanofiller. However, the large electrical mismatch between polymer and nanofiller usually leads to earlier electric failure of the nanocomposites, resulting in an undesirable decrease of electrical energy storage capability. A few studies show that the introduction of moderate-k shell onto a high-k nanofiller surface can decrease the dielectric constant mismatch, and thus, the corresponding nanocomposites can withstand high electric field. Unfortunately, the low apparent dielectric enhancement of the nanocomposites and high electrical conductivity mismatch between matrix and nanofiller still result in low energy density and low efficiency. In this study, it is demonstrated that encapsulating moderate-k nanofiller with high-k but low electrical conductivity shell is effective to significantly enhance the energy storage capability of dielectric polymer nanocomposites. Specifically, using BaTiO 3 nanoparticles encapsulated TiO 2 (BaTiO 3 @TiO 2 ) core-shell nanowires as filler, the corresponding poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropylene) nanocomposites exhibit superior energy storage capability in comparison with the nanocomposites filled by either BaTiO 3 or TiO 2 nanowires. The nanocomposite film with 5 wt % BaTiO 3 @TiO 2 nanowires possesses an ultrahigh discharged energy density of 9.95 J cm -3 at 500 MV m -1 , much higher than that of commercial biaxial-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) (3.56 J cm -3 at 600 MV m -1 ). This new strategy and corresponding results presented here provide new insights into the design of dielectric polymer nanocomposites with high electrical energy storage capability.

Double sided grating fabrication for high energy X-ray phase contrast imaging

DOE PAGES

Hollowell, Andrew E.; Arrington, Christian L.; Finnegan, Patrick; ...

2018-04-19

State of the art grating fabrication currently limits the maximum source energy that can be used in lab based x-ray phase contrast imaging (XPCI) systems. In order to move to higher source energies, and image high density materials or image through encapsulating barriers, new grating fabrication methods are needed. In this work we have analyzed a new modality for grating fabrication that involves precision alignment of etched gratings on both sides of a substrate, effectively doubling the thickness of the grating. Furthermore, we have achieved a front-to-backside feature alignment accuracy of 0.5 µm demonstrating a methodology that can be appliedmore » to any grating fabrication approach extending the attainable aspect ratios allowing higher energy lab based XPCI systems.« less

Double sided grating fabrication for high energy X-ray phase contrast imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hollowell, Andrew E.; Arrington, Christian L.; Finnegan, Patrick

State of the art grating fabrication currently limits the maximum source energy that can be used in lab based x-ray phase contrast imaging (XPCI) systems. In order to move to higher source energies, and image high density materials or image through encapsulating barriers, new grating fabrication methods are needed. In this work we have analyzed a new modality for grating fabrication that involves precision alignment of etched gratings on both sides of a substrate, effectively doubling the thickness of the grating. Furthermore, we have achieved a front-to-backside feature alignment accuracy of 0.5 µm demonstrating a methodology that can be appliedmore » to any grating fabrication approach extending the attainable aspect ratios allowing higher energy lab based XPCI systems.« less

Branched-chain higher alcohols.

PubMed

Wang, Bao-Wei; Shi, Ai-Qin; Tu, Ran; Zhang, Xue-Li; Wang, Qin-Hong; Bai, Feng-Wu

2012-01-01

China's energy requirements and environmental concerns have stimulated efforts toward developing alternative liquid fuels. Compared with fuel ethanol, branched-chain higher alcohols (BCHAs), including isopropanol, isobutanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, and 3-methyl-1-butanol, exhibit significant advantages, such as higher energy density, lower hygroscopicity, lower vapor pressure, and compatibility with existing transportation infrastructures. However, BCHAs have not been synthesized economically using native organisms, and thus their microbial production based on metabolic engineering and synthetic biology offers an alternative approach, which presents great potential for improving production efficiency. We review the current status of production and consumption of BCHAs and research progress regarding their microbial production in China, especially with the combination of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology.

SUPRATHERMAL ELECTRONS IN TITAN’S SUNLIT IONOSPHERE: MODEL–OBSERVATION COMPARISONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vigren, E.; Edberg, N. J. T.; Wahlund, J.-E.

2016-08-01

The dayside ionosphere of the Saturnian satellite Titan is generated mainly from photoionization of N{sub 2} and CH{sub 4}. We compare model-derived suprathermal electron intensities with spectra measured by the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer/Electron Spectrometer (CAPS/ELS) in Titan's sunlit ionosphere (altitudes of 970–1250 km) focusing on the T40, T41, T42, and T48 Titan flybys by the Cassini spacecraft. The model accounts only for photoelectrons and associated secondary electrons, with a main input being the impinging solar EUV spectra as measured by the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energy and Dynamics/Solar EUV Experiment and extrapolated to Saturn. Associated electron-impact electron production rates have beenmore » derived from ambient number densities of N{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} (measured by the Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer/Closed Source Neutral mode) and related energy-dependent electron-impact ionization cross sections. When integrating up to electron energies of 60 eV, covering the bulk of the photoelectrons, the model-based values exceed the observationally based values typically by factors of ∼3 ± 1. This finding is possibly related to current difficulties in accurately reproducing the observed electron number densities in Titan's dayside ionosphere. We compare the utilized dayside CAPS/ELS spectra with ones measured in Titan's nightside ionosphere during the T55–T59 flybys. The investigated nightside locations were associated with higher fluxes of high-energy (>100 eV) electrons than the dayside locations. As expected, for similar neutral number densities, electrons with energies <60 eV give a higher relative contribution to the total electron-impact ionization rates on the dayside (due to the contribution from photoelectrons) than on the nightside.« less

Associated Factors of Bone Mineral Density and Osteoporosis in Elderly Males

PubMed Central

Heidari, Behzad; Muhammadi, Abdollah; Javadian, Yahya; Bijani, Ali; Hosseini, Reza; Babaei, Mansour

2016-01-01

Background Low bone mineral density and osteoporosis is prevalent in elderly subjects. This study aimed to determine the associated factors of bone mineral density and osteoporosis in elderly males. Methods All participants of the Amirkola health and ageing project cohort aged 60 years and older entered the study. Bone mineral density at femoral neck and lumbar spine was assessed by the dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) method. Osteoporosis was diagnosed by the international society for clinical densitometry criteria and the association of bone mineral density and osteoporosis with several clinical, demographic and biochemical parameters. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine independent associations. Results A total of 553 patients were studied and 90 patients (16.2%) had osteoporosis at either femoral neck or lumbar spine. Diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, overweight, and quadriceps muscle strength > 30 kg, metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity and education level were associated with higher bone mineral density and lower prevalence of osteoporosis, whereas age, anemia, inhaled corticosteroids and fracture history were associated with lower bone mineral density and higher prevalence of osteoporosis (P = 0.001). After adjustment for all covariates, osteoporosis was negatively associated only with diabetes, obesity, overweight, and QMS > 30 kg and positively associated with anemia and fracture history. The association of osteoporosis with other parameters did not reach a statistical level. Conclusions The findings of the study indicate that in elderly males, diabetes, obesity and higher muscle strength was associated with lower prevalence of osteoporosis and anemia, and prior fracture with higher risk of osteoporosis. This issue needs further longitudinal studies. PMID:28835759

Electrodeposited nickel-cobalt sulfide nanosheet on polyacrylonitrile nanofibers: a binder-free electrode for flexible supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamran Sami, Syed; Siddiqui, Saqib; Tajmeel Feroze, Muhammad; Chung, Chan-Hwa

2017-11-01

To pursue high-performance energy storage devices with both high energy density and power density, one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures play a key role in the development of functional devices including energy conversion, energy storage, and environmental devices. The polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers were obtained by the versatile electrospinning method. An ultra-thin nickel-cobalt sulfide (NiCoS) layer was conformably electrodeposited on a self-standing PAN nanofibers by cyclic voltammetry to fabricate the light-weighted porous electrodes for supercapacitors. The porous web of PAN nanofibers acts as a high-surface-area scaffold with significant electrochemical performance, while the electrodeposition of metal sulfide nanosheet further enhances the specific capacitance. The fabricated NiCoS on PAN (NiCoS/PAN) nanofibers exhibits a very high capacitance of 1513 F g-1 at 5 A g-1 in 1 M potassium chloride (KCl) aqueous electrolyte with superior rate capability and excellent electrochemical stability as a hybrid electrode. The high capacitance of the NiCoS is attributed to the large surface area of the electrospun PAN nanofibers scaffold, which has offered a large number of active sites for possible redox reaction of ultra-thin NiCoS layer. Benefiting from the compositional features and electrode architectures, the hybrid electrode of NiCoS/PAN nanofibers shows greatly improved electrochemical performance with an ultra-high capacitance (1124 F g-1 at 50 A g-1). Moreover, a binder-free asymmetric supercapacitor device is also fabricated by using NiCoS/PAN nanofibers as the positive electrode and activated carbon (MSP-20) on PAN nanofibers as the negative electrode; this demonstrates high energy density of 56.904 W h kg-1 at a power density of 1.445 kW kg-1, and it still delivers the energy density of 33.3923 W h kg-1 even at higher power density of 16.5013 kW kg-1.

Effects of caloric restriction with varying energy density and aerobic exercise on weight change and satiety in young female adults.

PubMed

Song, Sae Won; Bae, Yoon Jung; Lee, Dae Taek

2010-10-01

This study examines the combined effects of caloric restriction on body composition, blood lipid, and satiety in slightly overweight women by varying food density and aerobic exercise. Twenty-three women were randomly assigned to one of two groups for a four-week weight management program: the high-energy density diet plus exercise (HDE: n = 12, 22 ± 2 yrs, 65 ± 7 kg, 164 ± 5 cm, 35 ± 4 % fat) and low-energy density diet plus exercise (LDE: n = 11, 22 ± 1 yrs, 67 ± 7 kg, 161 ± 2 cm, 35 ± 4 % fat) groups. Subjects maintained a low-calorie diet (1,500 kcal/day) during the program. Isocaloric (483 ± 26 for HDE, 487 ± 27 kcal for LDE) but different weight (365 ± 68 for HDE, 814 ± 202 g for LDE) of lunch was provided. After lunch, they biked at 60% of maximum capacity for 40 minutes, five times per week. The hunger level was scaled (1: extremely hungry; 9: extremely full) at 17:30 each day. Before and after the program, the subjects' physical characteristics were measured, and fasting blood samples were drawn. The daily energy intake was 1,551 ± 259 for HDE and 1,404 ± 150 kcal for LDE (P > 0.05). After four weeks, the subjects' weights and % fat decreased for both LDE (-1.9 kg and -1.5%, P < 0.05) and HDE (-1.6 kg and -1.4%, respectively, P < 0.05). The hunger level was significantly higher for HDE (2.46 ± 0.28) than for LDE (3.10 ± 0.26) (P < 0.05). The results suggest that a low-energy density diet is more likely to be tolerated than a high-energy density diet for a weight management program combining a low-calorie diet and exercise, mainly because of a reduced hunger sensation.

The effect of energy and momentum transfer during magnetron sputter deposition of yttrium oxide thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Jinjiao; Liang, Wenping; Miao, Qiang; Depla, Diederik

2018-05-01

The influence of the ratio between the energy and the deposition flux, or the energy per arriving atom, on the growth of Y2O3 sputter deposited thin films has been studied. The energy per arriving atom has been varied by the adjustment of the discharge power, and/or the target-to-substrate distance. The relationship between the energy per arriving atom and the phase evolution, grain size, microstructure, packing density and residual stress was investigated in detail. At low energy per arriving atom, the films consist of the monoclinic B phase with a preferential (1 1 1) orientation. A minority cubic C phase appears at higher energy per arriving atom. A study of the thin film cross sections showed for all films straight columns throughout the thickness, typically for a zone II microstructure. The intrinsic stress is compressive, and increases with increasing energy per atom. The same trend is observed for the film density. Simulations show that the momentum transfer per arriving atom also scales with the energy per arriving atom. Hence, the interpretation of the observed trends as a function of the energy per arriving atom must be treated with care.

Responses of energy balance, physiology, and production for transition dairy cows fed with a low-energy prepartum diet during hot season.

PubMed

Su, Huawei; Wang, Yachun; Zhang, Qian; Wang, Fuwei; Cao, Zhijun; Rahman, Muhammad Aziz Ur; Cao, Binghai; Li, Shengli

2013-10-01

Twenty multiparous Chinese Holstein dairy cows calving in hot summer (S group), were compared with 20 similar control cows calving in cool autumn (C group). Diets were the same for both groups; prepartum diets had relatively low energy density. Average temperature-humidity index was 76.5 and 53.0 in summer and autumn, respectively. S group cows had significantly higher rectal temperatures (39.6 vs. 39.0 °C) and respiration rates (79.0 vs. 31.3 breaths/min) than C group, and consumed less feed (prepartum 8.0 vs. 12.3 kg/day, postpartum 16.3 vs. 21.2 kg/day). Calculated energy balance (EB) was -7.98 vs. -5.15 Mcal/day for S group prepartum and postpartum, respectively. In contrast, EB was 1.36 vs. -2.03 Mcal/day for C group prepartum and postpartum, respectively. S group produced significantly less milk than C group by 15.4 % (5.2 kg/day) and 26.8 % (10.2 kg/d) for milk yield and energy-corrected milk, respectively. Percentages of milk fat (3.28 vs. 4.29 %), protein (3.08 vs. 3.33 %), and solids-not-fat (8.46 vs. 8.78 %) were significantly lower for S group. Milk urea nitrogen (19.54 vs. 13.31 mg/dL) was significantly higher in S group. Significantly lower feed efficiency was observed in S group (1.56 vs. 1.66). During the entire transition period, S group had significantly lower circulating glucose levels. S group had significantly higher levels of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) prepartum, but after 14 days in milk, NEFA was significantly lower. We conclude that increasing dietary energy density during transition period (especially prepartum) is necessary to minimize adverse effects of hot season.

Effect of distribution, interface property and density of hydrogel-embedded vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays on the properties of a flexible solid state supercapacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qi; Yuan, Xietao; Zhu, Yihao; Ni, Jiangfeng; Zhang, Xiaohua; Yang, Zhaohui

2018-05-01

In this paper we fabricate a robust flexible solid-state supercapacitor (FSC) device by embedding a conductive poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel into aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays. We carefully investigate the effect of distribution, interface properties and densification of CNTs in the gel matrix on the electrochemical properties of an FSC. The total electrochemical capacitance of the device is measured to be 227 mF cm‑3 with a maximum energy density of 0.02 mWh cm‑3, which is dramatically enhanced compared with a similar device composed of non-parallel CNTs. Additionally, controllable in situ electrochemical oxidation greatly improved the compatibility between the hydrophobic CNTs and the hydrophilic hydrogel, which decreased the resistance of the device and introduced extra pseudocapacitance. After such oxidation treatment the energy storage ability further doubled to 430 mF cm‑3 with a maximum energy density of 0.04 mWh cm‑3 . The FSCs based on densified CNT arrays exhibited a much higher volumetric capacitance of 1140 mF cm‑3 and a larger energy density of 0.1 mWh cm‑3, with a large power density of 14 mW cm‑3. All devices show excellent stability of capacitance after at least 10 000 charge–discharge cycles with a loss of less than 2%. These easy-to-assemble hybrid arrays thus potentially provide a new method for manufacturing wearable devices and implantable medical devices.

Effect of distribution, interface property and density of hydrogel-embedded vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays on the properties of a flexible solid state supercapacitor.

PubMed

Zhu, Qi; Yuan, Xietao; Zhu, Yihao; Ni, Jiangfeng; Zhang, Xiaohua; Yang, Zhaohui

2018-05-11

In this paper we fabricate a robust flexible solid-state supercapacitor (FSC) device by embedding a conductive poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel into aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays. We carefully investigate the effect of distribution, interface properties and densification of CNTs in the gel matrix on the electrochemical properties of an FSC. The total electrochemical capacitance of the device is measured to be 227 mF cm -3 with a maximum energy density of 0.02 mWh cm -3 , which is dramatically enhanced compared with a similar device composed of non-parallel CNTs. Additionally, controllable in situ electrochemical oxidation greatly improved the compatibility between the hydrophobic CNTs and the hydrophilic hydrogel, which decreased the resistance of the device and introduced extra pseudocapacitance. After such oxidation treatment the energy storage ability further doubled to 430 mF cm -3 with a maximum energy density of 0.04 mWh cm -3 . The FSCs based on densified CNT arrays exhibited a much higher volumetric capacitance of 1140 mF cm -3 and a larger energy density of 0.1 mWh cm -3 , with a large power density of 14 mW cm -3 . All devices show excellent stability of capacitance after at least 10 000 charge-discharge cycles with a loss of less than 2%. These easy-to-assemble hybrid arrays thus potentially provide a new method for manufacturing wearable devices and implantable medical devices.

Dependence of mobility on shallow localized gap states in single-crystal organic field-effect-transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butko, V. Y.; So, W.; Lang, D. V.; Chi, X.; Lashley, J. C.; Ramirez, A. P.

2009-12-01

In order to optimize the performance of molecular organic electronic devices it is important to study the intermolecular density of states and charge transport mechanisms in the environment of crystalline organic material. Using this approach in Field Effect Transistors (FETs) we show that material purification improves carrier mobility and decreases density of the deep localized electronic state. We also report a general exponential energy dependence of the density of localized states in a vicinity of the mobility edge (Fermi energies up to ∼7 times higher than the thermal energy (kT)) in a variety of the extensively purified molecular organic crystal FETs. This observation and the low activation energy of the order of ∼kT suggest that molecular structural misplacements of the sizes that are comparable with thermal molecular modes rather than impurity deep traps play a role in formation of these shallow states. We find that the charge carrier mobility in the FET nanochannels, μeff, is parameterized by two factors, the free-carrier mobility, μ0, and the ratio of the free carrier density to the total carrier density induced by gate bias. Crystalline FETs fabricated from rubrene, pentacene, and tetracene have a high free-carrier mobility, μ0∼50 cm2/Vs, at 300 K with lower device μeff dominated by localized shallow gap states. This relationship suggests that further improvements in electronic performance could be possible with enhanced device quality.

Complementary and compensatory dietary changes associated with consumption or omission of plain water by US adults.

PubMed

Kant, Ashima K; Graubard, Barry I

2018-06-18

We examined within-person and between-person differences in self-selected diets of free-living individuals when they choose to consume or not to consume plain water. We used 2-days of dietary data from the NHANES 2005-2012 for this study. For within-person analyses, we compared recalls of respondents who reported water in one of the two available recalls (n = 1875 men and 1479 women). For between-person analysis, we compared dietary recalls of respondents who reported water in two, one of two, or zero of two recalls (n = 8632 men and 8907 women). The outcomes examined included reported intakes of 24-h energy from foods, beverages, and dietary and eating pattern attributes. We used covariate-adjusted regression methods for both types of analyses. For within-person analyses, the regression models included separate person-level fixed effects. Relative to the water day, on the no-water day, amount of beverages and energy contribution of beverages were significantly higher in both men (106 kcal) and women (43 kcal) (P ≤ 0.002). However, the water and the no-water days did not differ in 24-h energy intake, or the amount and energy from reported foods (P > 0.05). Energy density of foods, servings of fruits or vegetables and eating patterns did not differ between the water and the no-water day in both men and women (P > 0.05). For between-person analysis, however, intakes of energy and energy density of foods were higher, but density of sodium, potassium, and magnesium were lower among those who reported no water in both recalls. Overall, beverages partially substituted for plain water on the no-water day but qualitative dietary characteristics and eating patterns, which may relate to habitual food intake and personal preferences, were not appreciably different within individuals. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Indirect Energy Conversion Isotope (IDEC) Design Structure and Power Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS. 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) December 2014 2. REPORT TYPE Final 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 4. TITLE AND...must last the lifetime of the sensor. Unlike chemical batteries, the higher energy densities of radioisotopes allow the sensors to operate for...because they are self-contained energy sources using radioisotope decay. The minimum power needed to fully accomplish a wide range of duties would be

Relaxation of a High-Energy Quasiparticle in a One-Dimensional Bose Gas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tan, Shina; Glazman, Leonid I.; Pustilnik, Michael

2010-08-27

We evaluate the relaxation rate of high-energy quasiparticles in a weakly interacting one-dimensional Bose gas. Unlike in higher dimensions, the rate is a nonmonotonic function of temperature, with a maximum at the crossover to the state of suppressed density fluctuations. At the maximum, the relaxation rate may significantly exceed its zero-temperature value. We also find the dependence of the differential inelastic scattering rate on the transferred energy. This rate yields information about temperature dependence of local pair correlations.

New Content Addressable Memory (CAM) Technologies for Big Data and Intelligent Electronics Enabled by Magneto-Electric Ternary CAM

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-11

provides ultra-low energy search operations. To improve throughput, the in-array pipeline scheme has been developed, allowing the MeTCAM to operate at a...controlled magnetic tunnel junction (VC-MTJ), which not only reduces cell area (thus achieving higher density) but also eliminates standby energy . This...Variations of the cell design are presented and evaluated. The results indicated a potential 90x improvement in the energy efficiency and a 50x

Ab initio study of charge transfer between lithium and aromatic hydrocarbons. Can the results be directly transferred to the lithium-graphene interaction?

PubMed

Sadlej-Sosnowska, N

2014-08-28

We have used electronic density calculations to study neutral complexes of Li with aromatic hydrocarbons. The charge transferred between a Li atom and benzene, coronene, circumcoronene, and circumcircumcoronene has been studied by ab initio methods (at the HF and MP2 level). Toward this aim, the method of integrating electron density in two cuboid fragments of space was applied. One of the fragments was constructed so that it enclosed the bulk of the electron density of lithium; the second, the bulk of the electron density of hydrocarbon. It was found that for each complex two conformations were identified: the most stable with a greater vertical Li-hydrocarbon distance, on the order of 2.5 Å, and another of higher energy with a corresponding distance less than 2 Å. In all cases the transfer of a fractional number, 0.1-0.3 electrons, between Li and hydrocarbon was found; however, the direction of the transfer was not the same in all complexes investigated. The structures of complexes of the first configuration could be represented as Li(σ-)···AH(σ+), whereas the opposite direction of charge transfer was found for complexes of the second configuration, with higher energy. The directions of the dipole moments in the complexes supported these conclusions because they directly measure the redistribution of electron density in a complex with respect to substrates.

Dietary patterns by reduced rank regression are associated with obesity and hypertension in Australian adults.

PubMed

Livingstone, Katherine M; McNaughton, Sarah A

2017-01-01

Evidence linking dietary patterns (DP) and obesity and hypertension prevalence is inconsistent. We aimed to identify DP derived from energy density, fibre and sugar intakes, as well as Na, K, fibre, SFA and PUFA, and investigate associations with obesity and hypertension. Adults (n 4908) were included from the cross-sectional Australian Health Survey 2011-2013. Two 24-h dietary recalls estimated food and nutrient intakes. Reduced rank regression derived DP with dietary energy density (DED), fibre density and total sugar intake as response variables for obesity and Na:K, SFA:PUFA and fibre density as variables for hypertension. Poisson regression investigated relationships between DP and prevalence ratios (PR) of overweight/obesity (BMI≥25 kg/m2) and hypertension (blood pressure≥140/90 mmHg). Obesity-DP1 was positively correlated with fibre density and sugars and inversely with DED. Obesity-DP2 was positively correlated with sugars and inversely with fibre density. Individuals in the highest tertile of Obesity-DP1 and Obesity-DP2, compared with the lowest, had lower (PR 0·88; 95 % CI 0·81, 0·95) and higher (PR 1·09; 95 % CI 1·01, 1·18) prevalence of obesity, respectively. Na:K and SFA:PUFA were positively correlated with Hypertension-DP1 and inversely correlated with Hypertension-DP2, respectively. There was a trend towards higher hypertension prevalence in the highest tertile of Hypertension-DP1 compared with the lowest (PR 1·18; 95 % CI 0·99, 1·41). Hypertension-DP2 was not associated with hypertension. Obesity prevalence was inversely associated with low-DED, high-fibre and high-sugar (natural sugars) diets and positively associated with low-fibre and high-sugar (added sugars) diets. Hypertension prevalence was higher on low-fibre and high-Na and SFA diets.

Materials for electrochemical capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Patrice; Gogotsi, Yury

2008-11-01

Electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, store energy using either ion adsorption (electrochemical double layer capacitors) or fast surface redox reactions (pseudo-capacitors). They can complement or replace batteries in electrical energy storage and harvesting applications, when high power delivery or uptake is needed. A notable improvement in performance has been achieved through recent advances in understanding charge storage mechanisms and the development of advanced nanostructured materials. The discovery that ion desolvation occurs in pores smaller than the solvated ions has led to higher capacitance for electrochemical double layer capacitors using carbon electrodes with subnanometre pores, and opened the door to designing high-energy density devices using a variety of electrolytes. Combination of pseudo-capacitive nanomaterials, including oxides, nitrides and polymers, with the latest generation of nanostructured lithium electrodes has brought the energy density of electrochemical capacitors closer to that of batteries. The use of carbon nanotubes has further advanced micro-electrochemical capacitors, enabling flexible and adaptable devices to be made. Mathematical modelling and simulation will be the key to success in designing tomorrow's high-energy and high-power devices.

Materials for electrochemical capacitors.

PubMed

Simon, Patrice; Gogotsi, Yury

2008-11-01

Electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, store energy using either ion adsorption (electrochemical double layer capacitors) or fast surface redox reactions (pseudo-capacitors). They can complement or replace batteries in electrical energy storage and harvesting applications, when high power delivery or uptake is needed. A notable improvement in performance has been achieved through recent advances in understanding charge storage mechanisms and the development of advanced nanostructured materials. The discovery that ion desolvation occurs in pores smaller than the solvated ions has led to higher capacitance for electrochemical double layer capacitors using carbon electrodes with subnanometre pores, and opened the door to designing high-energy density devices using a variety of electrolytes. Combination of pseudo-capacitive nanomaterials, including oxides, nitrides and polymers, with the latest generation of nanostructured lithium electrodes has brought the energy density of electrochemical capacitors closer to that of batteries. The use of carbon nanotubes has further advanced micro-electrochemical capacitors, enabling flexible and adaptable devices to be made. Mathematical modelling and simulation will be the key to success in designing tomorrow's high-energy and high-power devices.

Disk-accreting magnetic neutron stars as high-energy particle accelerators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamilton, Russell J.; Lamb, Frederick K.; Miller, M. Coleman

1994-01-01

Interaction of an accretion disk with the magnetic field of a neutron star produces large electromotive forces, which drive large conduction currents in the disk-magnetosphere-star circuit. Here we argue that such large conduction currents will cause microscopic and macroscopic instabilities in the magnetosphere. If the minimum plasma density in the magnetosphere is relatively low is less than or aproximately 10(exp 9)/cu cm, current-driven micro-instabilities may cause relativistic double layers to form, producing voltage differences in excess of 10(exp 12) V and accelerating charged particles to very high energies. If instead the plasma density is higher (is greater than or approximately = 10(exp 9)/cu cm, twisting of the stellar magnetic field is likely to cause magnetic field reconnection. This reconnection will be relativistic, accelerating plasma in the magnetosphere to relativistic speeds and a small fraction of particles to very high energies. Interaction of these high-energy particles with X-rays, gamma-rays, and accreting plasma may produce detectable high-energy radiation.

Sodium-ion hybrid electrolyte battery for sustainable energy storage applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senthilkumar, S. T.; Abirami, Mari; Kim, Junsoo; Go, Wooseok; Hwang, Soo Min; Kim, Youngsik

2017-02-01

Sustainable, safe, and low-cost energy storage systems are essential for large-scale electrical energy storage. Herein, we report a sodium (Na)-ion hybrid electrolyte battery with a replaceable cathode system, which is separated from the Na metal anode by a Na superionic conducting ceramic. By using a fast Na-ion-intercalating nickel hexacyanoferrate (NiHCF) cathode along with an eco-friendly seawater catholyte, we demonstrate good cycling performance with an average discharge voltage of 3.4 V and capacity retention >80% over 100 cycles and >60% over 200 cycle. Remarkably, such high capacity retention is observed for both the initial as well as replaced cathodes. Moreover, a Na-metal-free hybrid electrolyte battery containing hard carbon as the anode exhibits an energy density of ∼146 Wh kg-1 at a current density of 10 mA g-1, which is comparable to that of lead-acid batteries and much higher than that of conventional aqueous Na-ion batteries. These results pave the way for further advances in sustainable energy storage technology.

Excitation of higher lying energy states in a rubidium DPAL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallerstein, A. J.; Perram, Glen; Rice, Christopher A.

2018-02-01

The spontaneous emission in a cw rubidium diode dumped alkali laser (DPAL) system was analyzed. The fluorescence from higher lying states decreases with additional buffer gas. The intermediate states (7S, 6P, 5D) decay more slowly with buffer gas and scale super-linearly with alkali density. A detailed kinetic model has been constructed, where the dominant mechanisms are energy pooling and single photon ionization. It also includes pumping into the non-Lorentzian wings of absorption profiles, fine structure mixing, collisional de-excitation, and Penning ionization. Effects of ionization in a high powered CW rubidium DPAL were assessed.

Using Phase Space Density Profiles to Investigate the Radiation Belt Seed Population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyd, A. J.; Spence, H.; Reeves, G. D.; Blake, J. B.; Fennell, J. F.; Claudepierre, S. G.; Turner, D. L.

2013-12-01

It is believed that particles with energies of 100s of keV play a critical role in the acceleration of electrons within the radiation belt. Through wave particle interactions, these so called 'seed electrons' can be accelerated up to energies greater than 1 MeV. Using data from the MagEIS (Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer) Instrument onboard the Van Allen Probes we calculate phase space density within the radiation belts over a wide range of mu and K values. These phase space density profiles are combined with those from THEMIS, in order to see how the phase space density evolves over a large range of L*. In this presentation we examine how the seed electron population evolves in both time and L* during acceleration events. Comparing this to the evolution of the higher mu electron population allows us to determine what role the seed electrons played in the acceleration process. Finally, we compare several of these storms to examine the importance of the seed population to the acceleration process.

Electron-impact vibrational excitation of the hydroxyl radical in the nighttime upper atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Laurence; Brunger, Michael J.

2018-02-01

Chemical processes produce vibrationally excited hydroxyl (OH) in a layer centred at an altitude of about 87 km in the Earth's atmosphere. Observations of this layer are used to deduce temperatures in the mesosphere and to observe the passage of atmospheric gravity waves. Due to the low densities and energies at night of electrons at the relevant altitude, it is not expected that electron-impact excitation of OH would be significant. However, there are unexplained characteristics of OH densities and radiative emissions that might be explained by electron impact. These are measurements of higher than expected densities of OH above 90 km and of emissions at higher energies that cannot be explained by the chemical production processes. This study simulates the role of electron impact in these processes, using theoretical cross sections for electron-impact excitation of OH. The simulations show that electron impact, even in a substantial aurora, cannot fully explain these phenomena. However, in the process of this investigation, apparent inconsistencies in the theoretical cross sections and reaction rates were found, indicating that measurements of electron-impact excitation of OH are needed to resolve these problems and scale the theoretical predictions to allow more accurate simulations.

A Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Catalyst for Electrochemical CO2 Conversion to CO with High Selectivity and Current Density.

PubMed

Jhong, Huei-Ru Molly; Tornow, Claire E; Smid, Bretislav; Gewirth, Andrew A; Lyth, Stephen M; Kenis, Paul J A

2017-03-22

We report characterization of a non-precious metal-free catalyst for the electrochemical reduction of CO 2 to CO; namely, a pyrolyzed carbon nitride and multiwall carbon nanotube composite. This catalyst exhibits a high selectivity for production of CO over H 2 (approximately 98 % CO and 2 % H 2 ), as well as high activity in an electrochemical flow cell. The CO partial current density at intermediate cathode potentials (V=-1.46 V vs. Ag/AgCl) is up to 3.5× higher than state-of-the-art Ag nanoparticle-based catalysts, and the maximum current density is 90 mA cm -2 . The mass activity and energy efficiency (up to 48 %) were also higher than the Ag nanoparticle reference. Moving away from precious metal catalysts without sacrificing activity or selectivity may significantly enhance the prospects of electrochemical CO 2 reduction as an approach to reduce atmospheric CO 2 emissions or as a method for load-leveling in relation to the use of intermittent renewable energy sources. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Adaptive noise correction of dual-energy computed tomography images.

PubMed

Maia, Rafael Simon; Jacob, Christian; Hara, Amy K; Silva, Alvin C; Pavlicek, William; Mitchell, J Ross

2016-04-01

Noise reduction in material density images is a necessary preprocessing step for the correct interpretation of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) images. In this paper we describe a new method based on a local adaptive processing to reduce noise in DECT images An adaptive neighborhood Wiener (ANW) filter was implemented and customized to use local characteristics of material density images. The ANW filter employs a three-level wavelet approach, combined with the application of an anisotropic diffusion filter. Material density images and virtual monochromatic images are noise corrected with two resulting noise maps. The algorithm was applied and quantitatively evaluated in a set of 36 images. From that set of images, three are shown here, and nine more are shown in the online supplementary material. Processed images had higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) than the raw material density images. The average improvements in SNR and CNR for the material density images were 56.5 and 54.75%, respectively. We developed a new DECT noise reduction algorithm. We demonstrate throughout a series of quantitative analyses that the algorithm improves the quality of material density images and virtual monochromatic images.

Novel Molten Salts Thermal Energy Storage for Concentrating Solar Power Generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reddy, Ramana G.

2013-10-23

The explicit UA program objective is to develop low melting point (LMP) molten salt thermal energy storage media with high thermal energy storage density for sensible heat storage systems. The novel Low Melting Point (LMP) molten salts are targeted to have the following characteristics: 1. Lower melting point (MP) compared to current salts (<222ºC) 2. Higher energy density compared to current salts (>300 MJ/m3) 3. Lower power generation cost compared to current salt In terms of lower power costs, the program target the DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Program year 2020 goal to create systems that have the potential to reducemore » the cost of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) to less than $15/kWh-th and achieve round trip efficiencies greater than 93%. The project has completed the experimental investigations to determine the thermo-physical, long term thermal stability properties of the LMP molten salts and also corrosion studies of stainless steel in the candidate LMP molten salts. Heat transfer and fluid dynamics modeling have been conducted to identify heat transfer geometry and relative costs for TES systems that would utilize the primary LMP molten salt candidates. The project also proposes heat transfer geometry with relevant modifications to suit the usage of our molten salts as thermal energy storage and heat transfer fluids. The essential properties of the down-selected novel LMP molten salts to be considered for thermal storage in solar energy applications were experimentally determined, including melting point, heat capacity, thermal stability, density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, vapor pressure, and corrosion resistance of SS 316. The thermodynamic modeling was conducted to determine potential high temperature stable molten salt mixtures that have thermal stability up to 1000 °C. The thermo-physical properties of select potential high temperature stable (HMP) molten salt mixtures were also experimentally determined. All the salt mixtures align with the go/no-go goals stipulated by the DOE for this project. Energy densities of all salt mixtures were higher than that of the current solar salt. The salt mixtures costs have been estimated and TES system costs for a 2 tank, direct approach have been estimated for each of these materials. All estimated costs are significantly below the baseline system that used solar salt. These lower melt point salts offer significantly higher energy density per volume than solar salt – and therefore attractively smaller inventory and equipment costs. Moreover, a new TES system geometry has been recommended A variety of approaches were evaluated to use the low melting point molten salt. Two novel changes are recommended that 1) use the salt as a HTF through the solar trough field, and 2) use the salt to not only create steam but also to preheat the condensed feedwater for Rankine cycle. The two changes enable the powerblock to operate at 500°C, rather than the current 400°C obtainable using oil as the HTF. Secondly, the use of salt to preheat the feedwater eliminates the need to extract steam from the low pressure turbine for that purpose. Together, these changes result in a dramatic 63% reduction required for 6 hour salt inventory, a 72% reduction in storage volume, and a 24% reduction in steam flow rate in the power block. Round trip efficiency for the Case 5 - 2 tank “direct” system is estimated at >97%, with only small losses from time under storage and heat exchange, and meeting RFP goals. This attractive efficiency is available because the major heat loss experienced in a 2 tank “indirect” system - losses by transferring the thermal energy from oil HTF to the salt storage material and back to oil to run the steam generator at night - is not present for the 2 tank direct system. The higher heat capacity values for both LMP and HMP systems enable larger storage capacities for concentrating solar power.« less

Sealed aerospace metal-hydride batteries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coates, Dwaine

1992-01-01

Nickel metal hydride and silver metal hydride batteries are being developed for aerospace applications. There is a growing market for smaller, lower cost satellites which require higher energy density power sources than aerospace nickel-cadmium at a lower cost than space nickel-hydrogen. These include small LEO satellites, tactical military satellites and satellite constellation programs such as Iridium and Brilliant Pebbles. Small satellites typically do not have the spacecraft volume or the budget required for nickel-hydrogen batteries. NiCd's do not have adequate energy density as well as other problems such as overcharge capability and memory effort. Metal hydride batteries provide the ideal solution for these applications. Metal hydride batteries offer a number of advantages over other aerospace battery systems.

Expected thermal deformation and wavefront preservation of a cryogenic Si monochromator for Cornell ERL beamlines

PubMed Central

Huang, Rong; Bilderback, Donald H.; Finkelstein, Kenneth

2014-01-01

Cornell energy-recovery linac (ERL) beamlines will have higher power density and higher fractional coherence than those available at third-generation sources; therefore the capability of a monochromator for ERL beamlines has to be studied. A cryogenic Si monochromator is considered in this paper because the perfect atomic structure of Si crystal is needed to deliver highly coherent radiation. Since neither the total heat load nor the power density alone can determine the severity of crystal deformation, a metric called modified linear power density is used to gauge the thermal deformation. For all ERL undulator beamlines, crystal thermal deformation profiles are simulated using the finite-element analysis tool ANSYS, and wavefront propagations are simulated using Synchrotron Radiation Workshop. It is concluded that cryogenic Si monochromators will be suitable for ERL beamlines in general. PMID:24562557

A systematic review of compliance to oral nutritional supplements.

PubMed

Hubbard, Gary P; Elia, Marinos; Holdoway, Anne; Stratton, Rebecca J

2012-06-01

Oral nutritional supplements (ONS) play a key role in the management of malnutrition. This systematic review examined patients' compliance with ONS across healthcare settings and the influence of patient and ONS-related factors. A systematic review identified 46 studies (n = 4328) of ONS in which data on compliance (% of prescribed quantity of ONS consumed) was available. Pooled mean %compliance was assessed overall and according to study design and healthcare setting. Inter-relationships between compliance and ONS-related and patient-related factors, and total energy intake were assessed. Overall mean compliance with ONS was 78% (37%-100%; 67% hospital, 81% community; overall mean ONS intake 433 kcal/d). Percentage compliance was similar in randomised (79%) and non-randomised (77%) trials, with little variation between diagnostic groups. Compliance across a heterogeneous group of unmatched studies was positively associated with higher energy-density ONS and greater ONS and total energy intakes, negatively associated with age, and unrelated to amount or duration of ONS prescription. This systematic review suggests that compliance to ONS is good, especially with higher energy-density ONS, resulting in improvements in patients' total energy intakes that have been linked with clinical benefits. Further research is required to address the compliance and effectiveness of other common methods of oral nutritional support. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

Applying Recovery Biomarkers to Calibrate Self-Report Measures of Energy and Protein in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

PubMed Central

Mossavar-Rahmani, Yasmin; Shaw, Pamela A.; Wong, William W.; Sotres-Alvarez, Daniela; Gellman, Marc D.; Van Horn, Linda; Stoutenberg, Mark; Daviglus, Martha L.; Wylie-Rosett, Judith; Siega-Riz, Anna Maria; Ou, Fang-Shu; Prentice, Ross L.

2015-01-01

We investigated measurement error in the self-reported diets of US Hispanics/Latinos, who are prone to obesity and related comorbidities, by background (Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and South American) in 2010–2012. In 477 participants aged 18–74 years, doubly labeled water and urinary nitrogen were used as objective recovery biomarkers of energy and protein intakes. Self-report was captured from two 24-hour dietary recalls. All measures were repeated in a subsample of 98 individuals. We examined the bias of dietary recalls and their associations with participant characteristics using generalized estimating equations. Energy intake was underestimated by 25.3% (men, 21.8%; women, 27.3%), and protein intake was underestimated by 18.5% (men, 14.7%; women, 20.7%). Protein density was overestimated by 10.7% (men, 11.3%; women, 10.1%). Higher body mass index and Hispanic/Latino background were associated with underestimation of energy (P < 0.05). For protein intake, higher body mass index, older age, nonsmoking, Spanish speaking, and Hispanic/Latino background were associated with underestimation (P < 0.05). Systematic underreporting of energy and protein intakes and overreporting of protein density were found to vary significantly by Hispanic/Latino background. We developed calibration equations that correct for subject-specific error in reporting that can be used to reduce bias in diet-disease association studies. PMID:25995289

Inelastic X-ray Scattering Studies of Plasmons in Carbon Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Upton, M. H.; Casa, D.; Gog, T.; Misewich, J.; Hill, J. P.; Lowndes, D.; Eres, G.

2006-03-01

We report preliminary inelastic x-ray scattering measurements of the plasmon dispersions in oriented multi- and single- walled carbon nanotubes (M- and S- WCNT) and compare them to the plasmon dispersion in graphite. Two plasmon bands are observed dispersing along the nanotubes' axes: the π and π+σ plasmon bands. The π+σ plasmon band exhibits an apparent systematic variation in energy. Specifically, it has a lower energy in MWCNT than in graphite, and a still lower energy in SWCNT. The energy of the π+σ plasmon band is determined by the plasma frequency of the material, which is proportional to the square root of the electron density. We postulate that the energy shift is a result of a surface effect -- the electron wave function extends past the surface, lowering the average electron density in the bulk. The higher surface-to-volume ratio of the mostly SW sample would then lower the plasmon frequency with respect to the MWCNT sample and graphite. Thus, the systematic variation in plasmon frequency may be explained by a lowering of the net electron density by the surfaces in S- and M-WCNT. Work performed at BNL and the Advanced Photon Source was supported by the US DOE under contracts No. DE-AC02-98CH10886 and No. W-31-109-Eng-38 respectively.

Study of Pulsed vs. RF Plasma Properties for Surface Processing Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Ricky; Hopkins, Matthew; Barnat, Edward; Miller, Paul

2015-09-01

The ability to manipulate the plasma parameters (density, E/N) was previously demonstrated using a double-pulsed column discharge. Experiments extending this to large-surface plasmas of interest to the plasma processing community were conducted. Differences between an audio-frequency pulsed plasma and a radio-frequency (rf) discharge, both prevalent in plasma processing applications, were studied. Optical emission spectroscopy shows higher-intensity emission in the UV/visible range for the pulsed plasma comparing to the rf plasma at comparable powers. Data suggest that the electron energy is higher for the pulsed plasma leading to higher ionization, resulting in increased ion density and ion flux. Diode laser absorption measurements of the concentration of the 1S5 metastable and 1S4 resonance states of argon (correlated with the plasma E/N) provide comparisons between the excitation/ionization states of the two plasmas. Preliminary modeling efforts suggest that the low-frequency polarity switch causes a much more abrupt potential variation to support interesting transport phenomena, generating a ``wave'' of higher temperature electrons leading to more ionization, as well as ``sheath capture'' of a higher density bolus of ions that are then accelerated during polarity switch.

Phonons and elasticity of cementite through the Curie temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mauger, L.; Herriman, J. E.; Hellman, O.; Tracy, S. J.; Lucas, M. S.; Muñoz, J. A.; Xiao, Yuming; Li, J.; Fultz, B.

2017-01-01

Phonon partial densities of states (pDOS) of Fe573C were measured from cryogenic temperatures through the Curie transition at 460 K using nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. The cementite pDOS reveal that low-energy acoustic phonons shift to higher energies (stiffen) with temperature before the magnetic transition. This unexpected stiffening suggests strongly nonharmonic vibrational behavior that impacts the thermodynamics and elastic properties of cementite. Density functional theory calculations reproduced the anomalous stiffening observed experimentally in cementite by accounting for phonon-phonon interactions at finite temperatures. The calculations show that the low-energy acoustic phonon branches with polarizations along the [010] direction are largely responsible for the anomalous thermal stiffening. The effect was further localized to the motions of the FeII site within the orthorhombic structure, which participates disproportionately in the anomalous phonon stiffening.

High-performance Supercapacitors Based on Electrochemical-induced Vertical-aligned Carbon Nanotubes and Polyaniline Nanocomposite Electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Guan; Tan, Pengfeng; Wang, Dongxing; Li, Zhe; Peng, Lu; Hu, Ying; Wang, Caifeng; Zhu, Wei; Chen, Su; Chen, Wei

2017-03-01

Supercapacitors, which store electrical energy through reversible ion on the surface of conductive electrodes have gained enormous attention for variously portable energy storage devices. Since the capacitive performance is mainly determined by the structural and electrochemical properties of electrodes, the electrodes become more crucial to higher performance. However, due to the disordered microstructure and low electrochemical activity of electrode for ion tortuous migration and accumulation, the supercapacitors present relatively low capacitance and energy density. Here we report a high-performance supercapacitor based on polyaniline/vertical-aligned carbon nanotubes (PANI/VA-CNTs) nanocomposite electrodes where the vertical-aligned-structure is formed by the electrochemical-induction (0.75 V). The supercapacitor displays large specific capacitance of 403.3 F g-1, which is 6 times higher than disordered CNTs in HClO4 electrolyte. Additionally, the supercapacitor can also present high specific capacitance (314.6 F g-1), excellent cycling stability (90.2% retention after 3000 cycles at 4 A g-1) and high energy density (98.1 Wh kg-1) in EMIBF4 organic electrolyte. The key to high-performance lies in the vertical-aligned-structure providing direct path channel for ion faster diffusion and high electrochemical capacitance of polyaniline for ion more accommodation.

Fuel cells for low power applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinzel, A.; Hebling, C.; Müller, M.; Zedda, M.; Müller, C.

Electronic devices show an ever-increasing power demand and thus, require innovative concepts for power supply. For a wide range of power and energy capacity, membrane fuel cells are an attractive alternative to conventional batteries. The main advantages are the flexibility with respect to power and capacity achievable with different devices for energy conversion and energy storage, the long lifetime and long service life, the good ecological balance, very low self-discharge. Therefore, the development of fuel cell systems for portable electronic devices is an attractive, although also a challenging, goal. The fuel for a membrane fuel cell might be hydrogen from a hydride storage system or methanol/water as a liquid alternative. The main differences between the two systems are the much higher power density for hydrogen fuel cells, the higher energy density per weight for the liquid fuel, safety aspects and infrastructure for fuel supply for hydride materials. For different applications, different system designs are required. High power cells are required for portable computers, low power methanol fuel cells required for mobile phones in hybrid systems with batteries and micro-fuel cells are required, e.g. for hand held PCs in the sub-Watt range. All these technologies are currently under development. Performance data and results of simulations and experimental investigations will be presented.

Bending-Tolerant Anodes for Lithium-Metal Batteries.

PubMed

Wang, Aoxuan; Tang, Shan; Kong, Debin; Liu, Shan; Chiou, Kevin; Zhi, Linjie; Huang, Jiaxing; Xia, Yong-Yao; Luo, Jiayan

2018-01-01

Bendable energy-storage systems with high energy density are demanded for conformal electronics. Lithium-metal batteries including lithium-sulfur and lithium-oxygen cells have much higher theoretical energy density than lithium-ion batteries. Reckoned as the ideal anode, however, Li has many challenges when directly used, especially its tendency to form dendrite. Under bending conditions, the Li-dendrite growth can be further aggravated due to bending-induced local plastic deformation and Li-filaments pulverization. Here, the Li-metal anodes are made bending tolerant by integrating Li into bendable scaffolds such as reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) films. In the composites, the bending stress is largely dissipated by the scaffolds. The scaffolds have increased available surface for homogeneous Li plating and minimize volume fluctuation of Li electrodes during cycling. Significantly improved cycling performance under bending conditions is achieved. With the bending-tolerant r-GO/Li-metal anode, bendable lithium-sulfur and lithium-oxygen batteries with long cycling stability are realized. A bendable integrated solar cell-battery system charged by light with stable output and a series connected bendable battery pack with higher voltage is also demonstrated. It is anticipated that this bending-tolerant anode can be combined with further electrolytes and cathodes to develop new bendable energy systems. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High-performance Supercapacitors Based on Electrochemical-induced Vertical-aligned Carbon Nanotubes and Polyaniline Nanocomposite Electrodes.

PubMed

Wu, Guan; Tan, Pengfeng; Wang, Dongxing; Li, Zhe; Peng, Lu; Hu, Ying; Wang, Caifeng; Zhu, Wei; Chen, Su; Chen, Wei

2017-03-08

Supercapacitors, which store electrical energy through reversible ion on the surface of conductive electrodes have gained enormous attention for variously portable energy storage devices. Since the capacitive performance is mainly determined by the structural and electrochemical properties of electrodes, the electrodes become more crucial to higher performance. However, due to the disordered microstructure and low electrochemical activity of electrode for ion tortuous migration and accumulation, the supercapacitors present relatively low capacitance and energy density. Here we report a high-performance supercapacitor based on polyaniline/vertical-aligned carbon nanotubes (PANI/VA-CNTs) nanocomposite electrodes where the vertical-aligned-structure is formed by the electrochemical-induction (0.75 V). The supercapacitor displays large specific capacitance of 403.3 F g -1 , which is 6 times higher than disordered CNTs in HClO 4 electrolyte. Additionally, the supercapacitor can also present high specific capacitance (314.6 F g -1 ), excellent cycling stability (90.2% retention after 3000 cycles at 4 A g -1 ) and high energy density (98.1 Wh kg -1 ) in EMIBF 4 organic electrolyte. The key to high-performance lies in the vertical-aligned-structure providing direct path channel for ion faster diffusion and high electrochemical capacitance of polyaniline for ion more accommodation.

High-performance Supercapacitors Based on Electrochemical-induced Vertical-aligned Carbon Nanotubes and Polyaniline Nanocomposite Electrodes

PubMed Central

Wu, Guan; Tan, Pengfeng; Wang, Dongxing; Li, Zhe; Peng, Lu; Hu, Ying; Wang, Caifeng; Zhu, Wei; Chen, Su; Chen, Wei

2017-01-01

Supercapacitors, which store electrical energy through reversible ion on the surface of conductive electrodes have gained enormous attention for variously portable energy storage devices. Since the capacitive performance is mainly determined by the structural and electrochemical properties of electrodes, the electrodes become more crucial to higher performance. However, due to the disordered microstructure and low electrochemical activity of electrode for ion tortuous migration and accumulation, the supercapacitors present relatively low capacitance and energy density. Here we report a high-performance supercapacitor based on polyaniline/vertical-aligned carbon nanotubes (PANI/VA-CNTs) nanocomposite electrodes where the vertical-aligned-structure is formed by the electrochemical-induction (0.75 V). The supercapacitor displays large specific capacitance of 403.3 F g−1, which is 6 times higher than disordered CNTs in HClO4 electrolyte. Additionally, the supercapacitor can also present high specific capacitance (314.6 F g−1), excellent cycling stability (90.2% retention after 3000 cycles at 4 A g−1) and high energy density (98.1 Wh kg−1) in EMIBF4 organic electrolyte. The key to high-performance lies in the vertical-aligned-structure providing direct path channel for ion faster diffusion and high electrochemical capacitance of polyaniline for ion more accommodation. PMID:28272474

Exposing high-energy surfaces by rapid-anneal solid phase epitaxy

DOE PAGES

Wang, Y.; Song, Y.; Peng, R.; ...

2017-08-08

The functional design of nanoscale transition metal oxide heterostructures depends critically on the growth of atomically flat epitaxial thin films. Much of the time, improved functionality is expected for heterostructures and surfaces with orientations that do not have the lowest surface free energy. For example, crystal faces with a high surface free energy, such as rutile (001) planes, frequently exhibit higher catalytic activities but are correspondingly harder to synthesize due to energy-lowering faceting transitions. We propose a broadly applicable rapid-anneal solid phase epitaxial synthesis approach for the creation of atomically flat, high surface free energy oxide heterostructures. We also demonstratemore » its efficacy via the synthesis of atomically flat, epitaxial RuO 2(001) films with a superior oxygen evolution activity, quantified by their lower onset potential and higher current density, relative to that of more common RuO 2(110) films.« less

Enhancing hair follicle regeneration by nonablative fractional laser: Assessment of irradiation parameters and tissue response.

PubMed

Wu, Yueh-Feng; Wang, Shiou-Han; Wu, Pei-Shan; Fan, Sabrina Mai-Yi; Chiu, Hsien-Yi; Tsai, Tsung-Hua; Lin, Sung-Jan

2015-04-01

Identification of methods to enhance anagen entry can be helpful for alopecia. Recently, nonablative laser has been proposed as a potential treatment for alopecia. However, how the laser parameters affect stem cell activity, hair cycles and the associated side effects have not been well characterized. Here we examine the effects of irradiation parameters of 1,550-nm fractional laser on hair cycles. The dorsal skin of eight-week-old female C57BL/6 mice with hair follicles in synchronized telogen was shaved and irradiated with a 1,550-nm fractional erbium-glass laser (Fraxel RE:STORE (SR1500) Laser System, Solta Medical, U.S.A.) with varied beam energies (5-35 mJ) and beam densities (500-3500 microthermal zones/cm(2) ). The cutaneous changes were evaluated both grossly and histologically. Hair follicle stem cell activity was detected by BrdU incorporation and changes in gene expression were quantified by real-time PCR. Direct thermal injury to hair follicles could be observed early after irradiation, especially at higher beam energy. Anagen induction in the irradiated skin showed an all-or-non change. Anagen induction and ulcer formation were affected by the combination of beam energy and density. The lowest beam energy of 5 mJ failed to promote anagen entry at all beam densities tested. As beam energy increased from 10 mJ to 35 mJ, we found a decreasing trend of beam density that could induce anagen entry within 7-9 days with activation of hair follicle stem cells. Beam density above the pro-regeneration density could lead to ulcers and scarring followed by anagen entry in adjacent skin. Analysis of inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, revealed that transient moderate inflammation was associated with anagen induction and intense prolonged inflammation preceded ulcer formation. To avoid side effects of hair follicle injury and scarring, appropriate combination of beam energy and density is required. Parameters outside the therapeutic window can result in either no anagen promotion or ulcer formation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Foldable, High Energy Density Lithium Ion Batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suresh, Shravan

Lithium Ion Batteries (LIBs) have become ubiquitous owing to its low cost, high energy density and, power density. Due to these advantages, LIBs have garnered a lot of attention as the primary energy storage devices in consumer electronics and electric vehicles. Recent advances in the consumer electronics research and, the drive to reduce greenhouse gases have created a demand for a shape conformable, high energy density batteries. This thesis focuses on the aforementioned two aspects of LIBs: (a) shape conformability (b) energy density and provides potential solutions to enhance them. This thesis is divided into two parts viz. (i) achieving foldability in batteries and, (ii) improving its energy density. Conventional LIBs are not shape conformable due to two limitations viz. inelasticity of metallic foils, and delamination of the active materials while bending. In the first part of the thesis (in Chapter 3), this problem is solved by replacing metallic current collector with Carbon Nanotube Macrofilms (CNMs). CNMs are superelastic films comprising of porous interconnected nanotube network. Using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation, we found that in the presence of an interconnected nanotube network CNMs can be fully folded. This is because the resultant stress due to bending and, the effective bending angle at the interface is reduced due to the network of nanotubes. Hence, unlike an isolated nanotube (which ruptures beyond 120 degrees of bending), a network of nanotubes can be completely folded. Thus, by replacing metallic current collector foils with CNMs, the flexibility limitation of a conventional LIB can be transcended. The second part of this thesis focusses on enhancing the energy density of LIBs. Two strategies adopted to achieve this goal are (a) removing the dead weight of the batteries, and (b) incorporating high energy density electrode materials. By incorporating CNMs, the weight of the batteries was reduced by 5-10 times due to low mass loading of CNMs (0.7 mg/cm2) as compared to metallic foils (5-10 mg/cm2). We show that the energy density of the fully foldable battery with CMF current collectors can be up to 2-fold higher than conventional LIBs at realistic mass loading (5mg/cm2) of the electrode materials. Therefore, not only does the CMF impart shape conformability, it also significantly boosts the energy density of the device by removing the dead weight of the batteries. Silicon (Si) shows enormous potential as the next generation anode material in Lithium-ion batteries due to its high energy denisty. However, Si is highly brittle, and in an effort to prevent Si from fracturing, the research community has migrated from the use of Si films to Si nanoparticle based electrodes. Such a strategy significantly reduces volumetric energy density due to the porosity of Si nanoparticle electrodes. In Chapters 4 and 5, we propose two solutions to incorporate Si films in foldable batteries. We show that contrary to conventional wisdom, Si films can be stabilized by two strategies: (a) anchoring the Si films to a carbon nanotube macrofilm (CNM) current-collector and (b) draping the films with a graphene monolayer. After electrochemical cycling, the graphene-coated Si films on CNM resembled a tough mud-cracked surface in which the graphene capping layer suppresses delamination and stabilizes the solid electrolyte interface by creating a slippery interface and reducing the stress transfer across the interface. The graphene-draped Si films on CNM exhibit long cycle life (> 1000 charge/discharge steps) with an average specific capacity of 806 mAh/g. The volumetric capacity averaged over 1000 cycles of charge/discharge is 2821 mAh/cm3 which is 2 to 5 times higher than what is reported in the literature for Si nanoparticle based electrodes. The graphene-draped Si anode could also be successfully cycled against commercial cathodes in a full-cell configuration. In Chapter 5, an alternate strategy has been explored to stabilize Si films by utilizing the role of a slippery interface in stabilizing Si. In this study, graphene films were used as a buffer layer on which Si films were deposited. Here, instead of a highly elastic matrix (as seen in Chapter 4), a slippery interface was used to stabilize Si. It was observed that due to the slippery interface, the Si films were stable and could retain a capacity of 900 mAh/g. These Si films also possessed a volumetric capacity of 5462 mAh/cm3. On the other hand, Si films with a rigid interface were completely eviscerated with a capacity retention of only 180 mAh/g. Thus, this thesis presents new ideas to achieve foldable high energy density Lithium Ion Battery. We also hope that this thesis serves as a platform for researchers to further explore this field.

Occurrence of high-beta superthermal plasma events in the close environment of Jupiter's bow shock as observed by Ulysses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marhavilas, P. K.; Sarris, E. T.; Anagnostopoulos, G. C.

2011-01-04

The ratio of the plasma pressure to the magnetic field pressure (or of their energy densities) which is known as the plasma parameter 'beta'({beta}) has important implications to the propagation of energetic particles and the interaction of the solar wind with planetary magnetospheres. Although in the scientific literature the contribution of the superthermal particles to the plasma pressure is generally assumed negligible, we deduced, by analyzing energetic particles and magnetic field measurements recorded by the Ulysses spacecraft, that in a series of events, the energy density contained in the superthermal tail of the particle distribution is comparable to or evenmore » higher than the energy density of the magnetic field, creating conditions of high-beta plasma. More explicitly, in this paper we analyze Ulysses/HI-SCALE measurements of the energy density ratio (parameter {beta}{sub ep}) of the energetic ions'(20 keV to {approx}5 MeV) to the magnetic field's in order to find occurrences of high-beta ({beta}{sub ep}>1) superthermal plasma conditions in the environment of the Jovian magnetosphere, which is an interesting plasma laboratory and an important source of emissions in our solar system. In particular, we examine high-beta ion events close to Jupiter's bow shock, which are produced by two processes: (a) bow shock ion acceleration and (b) ion leakage from the magnetosphere.« less

Laser-driven relativistic electron dynamics in a cylindrical plasma channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geng, Pan-Fei; Lv, Wen-Juan; Li, Xiao-Liang; Tang, Rong-An; Xue, Ju-Kui

2018-03-01

The energy and trajectory of the electron, which is irradiated by a high-power laser pulse in a cylindrical plasma channel with a uniform positive charge and a uniform negative current, have been analyzed in terms of a single-electron model of direct laser acceleration. We find that the energy and trajectory of the electron strongly depend on the positive charge density, the negative current density, and the intensity of the laser pulse. The electron can be accelerated significantly only when the positive charge density, the negative current density, and the intensity of the laser pulse are in suitable ranges due to the dephasing rate between the wave and electron motion. Particularly, when their values satisfy a critical condition, the electron can stay in phase with the laser and gain the largest energy from the laser. With the enhancement of the electron energy, strong modulations of the relativistic factor cause a considerable enhancement of the electron transverse oscillations across the channel, which makes the electron trajectory become essentially three-dimensional, even if it is flat at the early stage of the acceleration. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11475027, 11765017, 11764039, 11305132, and 11274255), the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province, China (Grant No. 17JR5RA076), and the Scientific Research Project of Gansu Higher Education, China (Grant No. 2016A-005).

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Runaway Electron Momentum Distributions in Tokamaks

DOE PAGES

Paz-Soldan, Carlos; Cooper, Christopher M.; Aleynikov, Pavel; ...

2017-06-22

Novel spatial, temporal, and energetically resolved measurements of bremsstrahlung hard-x-ray (HXR) emission from runaway electron (RE) populations in tokamaks reveal nonmonotonic RE distribution functions whose properties depend on the interplay of electric field acceleration with collisional and synchrotron damping. Measurements are consistent with theoretical predictions of momentum-space attractors that accumulate runaway electrons. RE distribution functions are measured to shift to a higher energy when the synchrotron force is reduced by decreasing the toroidal magnetic field strength. Increasing the collisional damping by increasing the electron density (at a fixed magnetic and electric field) reduces the energy of the nonmonotonic feature andmore » reduces the HXR growth rate at all energies. Higher-energy HXR growth rates extrapolate to zero at the expected threshold electric field for RE sustainment, while low-energy REs are anomalously lost. The compilation ofHXR emission from different sight lines into the plasma yields energy and pitch-angle-resolved RE distributions and demonstrates increasing pitch-angle and radial gradients with energy.« less

Determination of molecular spectroscopic parameters and energy-transfer rates by double-resonance spectroscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steinfeld, J. I.; Foy, B.; Hetzler, J.; Flannery, C.; Klaassen, J.; Mizugai, Y.; Coy, S.

1990-01-01

The spectroscopy of small to medium-size polyatomic molecules can be extremely complex, especially in higher-lying overtone and combination vibrational levels. The high density of levels also complicates the understanding of inelastic collision processes, which is required to model energy transfer and collision broadening of spectral lines. Both of these problems can be addressed by double-resonance spectroscopy, i.e., time-resolved pump-probe measurements using microwave, infrared, near-infrared, and visible-wavelength sources. Information on excited-state spectroscopy, transition moments, inelastic energy transfer rates and propensity rules, and pressure-broadening parameters may be obtained from such experiments. Examples are given for several species of importance in planetary atmospheres, including ozone, silane, ethane, and ammonia.

Calf muscle density is independently associated with physical function in overweight and obese older adults.

PubMed

Scott, David; Shore-Lorenti, Catherine; McMillan, Lachlan B; Mesinovic, Jakub; Clark, Ross A; Hayes, Alan; Sanders, Kerrie M; Duque, Gustavo; Ebeling, Peter R

2018-03-01

To determine whether associations of calf muscle density with physical function are independent of other determinants of functional decline in overweight and obese older adults. This was a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study of 85 community-dwelling overweight and obese adults (mean±SD age 62.8±7.9 years; BMI 32.3±6.1 kg/m2; 58% women). Peripheral quantitative computed tomography assessed mid-calf muscle density (66% tibial length) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry determined visceral fat area. Fasting glucose, Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were analysed. Physical function assessments included hand grip and knee extension strength, balance path length (computerised posturography), stair climb test, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and self-reported falls efficacy (Modified Falls Efficacy Scale; M-FES). Visceral fat area, not muscle density, was independently associated with CRP and fasting glucose (B=0.025; 95% CI 0.009-0.042 and B=0.009; 0.001-0.017, respectively). Nevertheless, higher muscle density was independently associated with lower path length and stair climb time, and higher SPPB and M-FES scores (all P⟨0.05). Visceral fat area, fasting glucose and CRP did not mediate these associations. Higher calf muscle density predicts better physical function in overweight and obese older adults independent of insulin resistance, visceral adiposity or inflammation.

Formation of intra-island grain boundaries in pentacene monolayers.

PubMed

Zhang, Jian; Wu, Yu; Duhm, Steffen; Rabe, Jürgen P; Rudolf, Petra; Koch, Norbert

2011-12-21

To assess the formation of intra-island grain boundaries during the early stages of pentacene film growth, we studied sub-monolayers of pentacene on pristine silicon oxide and silicon oxide with high pinning centre density (induced by UV/O(3) treatment). We investigated the influence of the kinetic energy of the impinging molecules on the sub-monolayer growth by comparing organic molecular beam deposition (OMBD) and supersonic molecular beam deposition (SuMBD). For pentacene films fabricated by OMBD, higher pentacene island-density and higher polycrystalline island density were observed on UV/O(3)-treated silicon oxide as compared to pristine silicon oxide. Pentacene films deposited by SuMBD exhibited about one order of magnitude lower island- and polycrystalline island densities compared to OMBD, on both types of substrates. Our results suggest that polycrystalline growth of single islands on amorphous silicon oxide is facilitated by structural/chemical surface pinning centres, which act as nucleation centres for multiple grain formation in a single island. Furthermore, the overall lower intra-island grain boundary density in pentacene films fabricated by SuMBD reduces the number of charge carrier trapping sites specific to grain boundaries and should thus help achieving higher charge carrier mobilities, which are advantageous for their use in organic thin-film transistors.

Interconnected carbon nanosheets derived from hemp for ultrafast supercapacitors with high energy.

PubMed

Wang, Huanlei; Xu, Zhanwei; Kohandehghan, Alireza; Li, Zhi; Cui, Kai; Tan, Xuehai; Stephenson, Tyler James; King'ondu, Cecil K; Holt, Chris M B; Olsen, Brian C; Tak, Jin Kwon; Harfield, Don; Anyia, Anthony O; Mitlin, David

2013-06-25

We created unique interconnected partially graphitic carbon nanosheets (10-30 nm in thickness) with high specific surface area (up to 2287 m(2) g(-1)), significant volume fraction of mesoporosity (up to 58%), and good electrical conductivity (211-226 S m(-1)) from hemp bast fiber. The nanosheets are ideally suited for low (down to 0 °C) through high (100 °C) temperature ionic-liquid-based supercapacitor applications: At 0 °C and a current density of 10 A g(-1), the electrode maintains a remarkable capacitance of 106 F g(-1). At 20, 60, and 100 °C and an extreme current density of 100 A g(-1), there is excellent capacitance retention (72-92%) with the specific capacitances being 113, 144, and 142 F g(-1), respectively. These characteristics favorably place the materials on a Ragone chart providing among the best power-energy characteristics (on an active mass normalized basis) ever reported for an electrochemical capacitor: At a very high power density of 20 kW kg(-1) and 20, 60, and 100 °C, the energy densities are 19, 34, and 40 Wh kg(-1), respectively. Moreover the assembled supercapacitor device yields a maximum energy density of 12 Wh kg(-1), which is higher than that of commercially available supercapacitors. By taking advantage of the complex multilayered structure of a hemp bast fiber precursor, such exquisite carbons were able to be achieved by simple hydrothermal carbonization combined with activation. This novel precursor-synthesis route presents a great potential for facile large-scale production of high-performance carbons for a variety of diverse applications including energy storage.

Toward chemical accuracy in the description of ion-water interactions through many-body representations. Alkali-water dimer potential energy surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riera, Marc; Mardirossian, Narbe; Bajaj, Pushp; Götz, Andreas W.; Paesani, Francesco

2017-10-01

This study presents the extension of the MB-nrg (Many-Body energy) theoretical/computational framework of transferable potential energy functions (PEFs) for molecular simulations of alkali metal ion-water systems. The MB-nrg PEFs are built upon the many-body expansion of the total energy and include the explicit treatment of one-body, two-body, and three-body interactions, with all higher-order contributions described by classical induction. This study focuses on the MB-nrg two-body terms describing the full-dimensional potential energy surfaces of the M+(H2O) dimers, where M+ = Li+, Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+. The MB-nrg PEFs are derived entirely from "first principles" calculations carried out at the explicitly correlated coupled-cluster level including single, double, and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)-F12b] for Li+ and Na+ and at the CCSD(T) level for K+, Rb+, and Cs+. The accuracy of the MB-nrg PEFs is systematically assessed through an extensive analysis of interaction energies, structures, and harmonic frequencies for all five M+(H2O) dimers. In all cases, the MB-nrg PEFs are shown to be superior to both polarizable force fields and ab initio models based on density functional theory. As previously demonstrated for halide-water dimers, the MB-nrg PEFs achieve higher accuracy by correctly describing short-range quantum-mechanical effects associated with electron density overlap as well as long-range electrostatic many-body interactions.

High density fuel qualification for a gas turbine engine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Macleod, J.D.; Orbanski, B.; Hastings, P.R.

1992-01-01

A program for the evaluation of gas turbine engine performance, carried out in the Engine Laboratory of the National Research Council of Canada, is described. Problems under consideration include performance alteration between JP-4 fuel and a high energy density fuel, called strategic military fuel (SMF); performance deterioration during the accelerated endurance test; and emission analysis. The T56 fuel control system is found to be capable of operation on the higher energy density fuel with no detrimental effects regarding control of the engine's normal operating regime. The deterioration of the engine performance during 150-hour endurance tests on SMF was very high,more » which was caused by an increase in turbine nozzle effective flow area and turbine blade untwist. The most significant performance losses during the endurance tests were on corrected output power, fuel flow, specific fuel consumption and compressor and turbine presure ratio. 9 refs.« less

Effects of prey density, temperature and predator diversity on nonconsumptive predator-driven mortality in a freshwater food web.

PubMed

Veselý, Lukáš; Boukal, David S; Buřič, Miloš; Kozák, Pavel; Kouba, Antonín; Sentis, Arnaud

2017-12-22

Nonconsumptive predator-driven mortality (NCM), defined as prey mortality due to predation that does not result in prey consumption, is an underestimated component of predator-prey interactions with possible implications for population dynamics and ecosystem functioning. However, the biotic and abiotic factors influencing this mortality component remain largely unexplored, leaving a gap in our understanding of the impacts of environmental change on ecological communities. We investigated the effects of temperature, prey density, and predator diversity and density on NCM in an aquatic food web module composed of dragonfly larvae (Aeshna cyanea) and marbled crayfish (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis) preying on common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fry. We found that NCM increased with prey density and depended on the functional diversity and density of the predator community. Warming significantly reduced NCM only in the dragonfly larvae but the magnitude depended on dragonfly larvae density. Our results indicate that energy transfer across trophic levels is more efficient due to lower NCM in functionally diverse predator communities, at lower resource densities and at higher temperatures. This suggests that environmental changes such as climate warming and reduced resource availability could increase the efficiency of energy transfer in food webs only if functionally diverse predator communities are conserved.

In Situ Growth of Free-Standing All Metal Oxide Asymmetric Supercapacitor.

PubMed

Yin, Bo-Si; Wang, Zhen-Bo; Zhang, Si-Wen; Liu, Chang; Ren, Qing-Qing; Ke, Ke

2016-10-05

Metal oxides have attracted renewed interest in applications as energy storage and conversion devices. Here, a new design is reported to acquire an asymmetric supercapacitor assembled by all free-standing metal oxides. The positive electrode is made of 3D NiO open porous nanoribbons network on nickel foam and the negative electrode is composed of SnO 2 /MnO 2 nanoflakes grown on carbon cloth (CC) substrate. The combination of two metal oxide electrodes which replaced the traditional group of carbon materials together with metal oxide has achieved a higher energy density. The self-supported 3D NiO nanoribbons network demonstrates a high specific capacitance and better cycle performance without obvious mechanical deformation despite of undergoing harsh bulk redox reactions. The SnO 2 /MnO 2 nanoflakes as the pseudocapacitive electrode exhibit a wide range of voltage window (-1 to 1 V), which is conducive to electrochemical energy storage. The (CC/SnO 2 /MnO 2 )(-)//(NiO/Ni foam)(+) asymmetric supercapacitor device delivers an energy density of 64.4 Wh kg -1 (at a power density of 250 W kg -1 ) and two devices in series are applied to light up 24 red LEDs for about 60 s. The outstanding electrochemical properties of the device hold great promise for long-life, high-energy, and high-power energy storage/conversion applications.

Ultra-Intense Short-Pulse Pair Creation Using the Texas Petawatt Laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Edison; Henderson, Alexander; Clarke, Taylor; Taylor, Devin; Chaguine, Petr; Serratto, Kristina; Riley, Nathan; Dyer, Gilliss; Donovan, Michael; Ditmire, Todd

2013-10-01

We report results from the 2012 pair creation experiment using the Texas Petawatt Laser. Up to 1011 positrons per steradian were detected using 100 Joule pulses from the Texas Petawatt Laser to irradiate gold targets, with peak laser intensities up to 1.9 × 1021W/cm2 and pulse durations as short as 130 fs. Positron-to-electron ratios exceeding 20% were measured on some shots. The positron energy, positron yield per unit laser energy, and inferred positron density are significantly higher than those reported in previous experiments. This confirms that, for a given laser energy, higher intensity and shorter pulses irradiating thicker targets are more favorable for pair creation. Narrow-band high-energy positrons up to 23 MeV were observed from thin targets. Supported by DOE Grant DE-SC-0001481 and Rice FIF.

High dietary phosphorus intake is associated with all-cause mortality: results from NHANES III.

PubMed

Chang, Alex R; Lazo, Mariana; Appel, Lawrence J; Gutiérrez, Orlando M; Grams, Morgan E

2014-02-01

Elevated serum phosphorus is associated with all-cause mortality, but little is known about risk associated with dietary phosphorus intake. We investigated the association between phosphorus intake and mortality in a prospective cohort of healthy US adults (NHANES III; 1998-1994). Study participants were 9686 nonpregnant adults aged 20-80 y without diabetes, cancer, or kidney or cardiovascular disease. Exposure to dietary phosphorus, which was assessed by using a 24-h dietary recall, was expressed as the absolute intake and phosphorus density (phosphorus intake divided by energy intake). All-cause and cardiovascular mortality was assessed through 31 December 2006. Median phosphorus intake was 1166 mg/d (IQR: 823-1610 mg/d); median phosphorus density was 0.58 mg/kcal (0.48-0.70 mg/kcal). Individuals who consumed more phosphorus-dense diets were older, were less often African American, and led healthier lifestyles (smoking, physical activity, and Healthy Eating Index). In analyses adjusted for demographics, cardiovascular risk factors, kidney function, and energy intake, higher phosphorus intake was associated with higher all-cause mortality in individuals who consumed >1400 mg/d [adjusted HR (95% CI): 2.23 (1.09, 4.5) per 1-unit increase in ln(phosphorus intake); P = 0.03]. At <1400 mg/d, there was no association. A similar association was seen between higher phosphorus density and all-cause mortality at a phosphorus density amount >0.35 mg/kcal [adjusted HR (95% CI): 2.27 (1.19, 4.33) per 0.1-mg/kcal increase in phosphorus density; P = 0.01]. At <0.35 mg/kcal (approximately the fifth percentile), lower phosphorus density was associated with increased mortality risk. Phosphorus density was associated with cardiovascular mortality [adjusted HR (95% CI): 3.39 (1.43, 8.02) per 0.1 mg/kcal at >0.35 mg/kcal; P = 0.01], whereas no association was shown in analyses with phosphorus intake. Results were similar by subgroups of diet quality and in analyses adjusted for sodium and saturated fat intakes. High phosphorus intake is associated with increased mortality in a healthy US population. Because of current patterns in phosphorus consumption in US adults, these findings may have important public health implications.

The effect of ambient pressure on well chamber response: Monte Carlo calculated results for the HDR 1000 plus.

PubMed

Bohm, Tim D; Griffin, Sheridan L; DeLuca, Paul M; DeWerd, Larry A

2005-04-01

The determination of the air kerma strength of a brachytherapy seed is necessary for effective treatment planning. Well ionization chambers are used on site at therapy clinics to determine the air kerma strength of seeds. In this work, the response of the Standard Imaging HDR 1000 Plus well chamber to ambient pressure is examined using Monte Carlo calculations. The experimental work examining the response of this chamber as well as other chambers is presented in a companion paper. The Monte Carlo results show that for low-energy photon sources, the application of the standard temperature pressure PTP correction factor produces an over-response at the reduced air densities/pressures corresponding to high elevations. With photon sources of 20 to 40 keV, the normalized PTP corrected chamber response is as much as 10% to 20% over unity for air densities/pressures corresponding to an elevation of 3048 m (10000 ft) above sea level. At air densities corresponding to an elevation of 1524 m (5000 ft), the normalized PTP-corrected chamber response is 5% to 10% over unity for these photon sources. With higher-energy photon sources (>100 keV), the normalized PTP corrected chamber response is near unity. For low-energy beta sources of 0.25 to 0.50 MeV, the normalized PTP-corrected chamber response is as much as 4% to 12% over unity for air densities/pressures corresponding to an elevation of 3048 m (10000 ft) above sea level. Higher-energy beta sources (>0.75 MeV) have a normalized PTP corrected chamber response near unity. Comparing calculated and measured chamber responses for common 103Pd- and 125I-based brachytherapy seeds show agreement to within 2.7% and 1.9%, respectively. Comparing MCNP calculated chamber responses with EGSnrc calculated chamber responses show agreement to within 3.1% at photon energies of 20 to 40 keV. We conclude that Monte Carlo transport calculations accurately model the response of this well chamber. Further, applying the standard PTP correction factor for this well chamber is insufficient in accounting for the change in chamber response with air pressure for low-energy (<100 keV) photon and low-energy (<0.75 MeV)beta sources.

Constructing Ultrahigh-Capacity Zinc-Nickel-Cobalt Oxide@Ni(OH)2 Core-Shell Nanowire Arrays for High-Performance Coaxial Fiber-Shaped Asymmetric Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Zhang, Qichong; Xu, Weiwei; Sun, Juan; Pan, Zhenghui; Zhao, Jingxin; Wang, Xiaona; Zhang, Jun; Man, Ping; Guo, Jiabin; Zhou, Zhenyu; He, Bing; Zhang, Zengxing; Li, Qingwen; Zhang, Yuegang; Xu, Lai; Yao, Yagang

2017-12-13

Increased efforts have recently been devoted to developing high-energy-density flexible supercapacitors for their practical applications in portable and wearable electronics. Although high operating voltages have been achieved in fiber-shaped asymmetric supercapacitors (FASCs), low specific capacitance still restricts the further enhancement of their energy density. This article specifies a facile and cost-effective method to directly grow three-dimensionally well-aligned zinc-nickel-cobalt oxide (ZNCO)@Ni(OH) 2 nanowire arrays (NWAs) on a carbon nanotube fiber (CNTF) with an ultrahigh specific capacitance of 2847.5 F/cm 3 (10.678 F/cm 2 ) at a current density of 1 mA/cm 2 , These levels are approximately five times higher than those of ZNCO NWAs/CNTF electrodes (2.10 F/cm 2 ) and four times higher than Ni(OH) 2 /CNTF electrodes (2.55 F/cm 2 ). Benefiting from their unique features, we successfully fabricated a prototype coaxial FASC (CFASC) with a maximum operating voltage of 1.6 V, which was assembled by adopting ZNCO@Ni(OH) 2 NWAs/CNTF as the core electrode and a thin layer of carbon coated vanadium nitride (VN@C) NWAs on a carbon nanotube strip (CNTS) as the outer electrode with KOH poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as the gel electrolyte. A high specific capacitance of 94.67 F/cm 3 (573.75 mF/cm 2 ) and an exceptional energy density of 33.66 mWh/cm 3 (204.02 μWh/cm 2 ) were achieved for our CFASC device, which represent the highest levels of fiber-shaped supercapacitors to date. More importantly, the fiber-shaped ZnO-based photodetector is powered by the integrated CFASC, and it demonstrates excellent sensitivity in detecting UV light. Thus, this work paves the way to the construction of ultrahigh-capacity electrode materials for next-generation wearable energy-storage devices.

Interactive effects of dietary restraint and adiposity on stress-induced eating and the food choice of children.

PubMed

Roemmich, James N; Lambiase, Maya J; Lobarinas, Christina L; Balantekin, Katherine N

2011-12-01

The Individual Differences Model posits that individual differences in physiological and psychological factors explain eating behaviors in response to stress. The purpose was to determine the effects of individual differences in adiposity, dietary restraint and stress reactivity on children's energy intake and food choices. A total of 40 boys and girls, age 8-12 years, with wide ranges of dietary restraint, adiposity, and stress reactivity were measured for total energy intake and choice of energy dense 'comfort' and lower density 'healthy' foods following reading and speech stressor manipulations. When exploring the interaction of dietary restraint and stress reactivity, lower restraint/lower reactivity and lower restraint/higher reactivity were associated with reductions in energy intake (37-62 kcal) and comfort food (33-89 kcal). Higher restraint/lower reactivity was associated with consuming 86 fewer total kcal and 45 fewer kcal of comfort food. Only higher restraint/higher reactivity predicted increased energy intake (104 kcal) and comfort food (131 kcal). The interaction of dietary restraint and percentage body fat revealed that lower restraint/lower adiposity was associated with consuming 123 fewer kcal after being stressed with the entire reduction due to a decrease in comfort food. Lower restraint/higher adiposity was associated with consuming 116 kcal more after being stressed with 70% (81 kcal) of the increase in the form of comfort foods. Higher restraint/lower adiposity and higher restraint/higher adiposity were associated with smaller changes in total energy intake of 22 kcal and 1 kcal; respectively. Both restraint and adiposity moderated the effect of stress on energy intake and food choice. Children with greater adiposity may be at risk for stress-induced eating to contribute to their obesity. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dramatically enhanced non-Ohmic properties and maximum stored energy density in ceramic-metal nanocomposites: CaCu3Ti4O12/Au nanoparticles

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Non-Ohmic and dielectric properties of a novel CaCu3Ti4O12/Au nanocomposite were investigated. Introduction of 2.5 vol.% Au nanoparticles in CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics significantly reduced the loss tangent while its dielectric permittivity remained unchanged. The non-Ohmic properties of CaCu3Ti4O12/Au (2.5 vol.%) were dramatically improved. A nonlinear coefficient of ≈ 17.7 and breakdown electric field strength of 1.25 × 104 V/m were observed. The maximum stored energy density was found to be 25.8 kJ/m3, which is higher than that of pure CaCu3Ti4O12 by a factor of 8. Au addition at higher concentrations resulted in degradation of dielectric and non-Ohmic properties, which is described well by percolation theory. PMID:24257060

Silicon/copper dome-patterned electrodes for high-performance hybrid supercapacitors

PubMed Central

Liu, Xuyan; Jung, Hun-Gi; Kim, Sang-Ok; Choi, Ho-Suk; Lee, Sangwha; Moon, Jun Hyuk; Lee, Joong Kee

2013-01-01

This study proposes a method for manufacturing high-performance electrode materials in which controlling the shape of the current collector and electrode material for a Li-ion capacitor (LIC). In particular, the proposed LIC manufacturing method maintains the high voltage of a cell by using a microdome-patterned electrode material, allowing for reversible reactions between the Li-ion and the active material for an extended period of time. As a result, the LICs exhibit initial capacities of approximately 42 F g−1, even at 60 A g−1. The LICs also exhibit good cycle performance up to approximately 15,000 cycles. In addition, these advancements allow for a considerably higher energy density than other existing capacitor systems. The energy density of the proposed LICs is approximately nine, two, and 1.5 times higher than those of the electrochemical double layer capacitor (EDLC), AC/LiMn2O4 hybrid capacitor, and intrinsic Si/AC LIC, respectively. PMID:24292725

Dietary energy density and body weight changes after 3 years in the PREDIMED study.

PubMed

Razquin, Cristina; Sanchez-Tainta, Ana; Salas-Salvadó, Jordi; Buil-Cosiales, Pilar; Corella, Dolores; Fito, Montserrat; Ros, Emilio; Estruch, Ramón; Arós, Fernando; Gómez-Gracia, Enrique; Fiol, Miquel; Lapetra, José; Serra-Majem, Luis; Pinto, Xavier; Schröder, Helmut; Tur, Josep; Sorlí, José V; Lamuela-Raventós, Rosa M; Bulló, Mónica; Bes-Rastrollo, Maira; Martinez-Gonzalez, Miguel A

2017-11-01

The association of dietary energy density (ED) and overweight is not clear in the literature. Our aim was to study in 4259 of the PREDIMED trial whether an increase in dietary ED based on a higher adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern was associated with 3-year weight gain. A validated 137-item food-frequency questionnaire was administered. Multivariable-adjusted models were used to analyze the association between 3-year ED change and the subsequent 3-year body weight change. The most important weight reduction after 3-year follow-up was observed in the two lowest quintiles and the highest quintile of ED change. The highest ED increase was characterized by an increased intake of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and nuts and a decreased intake of other oils, vegetable and fruit consumption (p < .001). In conclusion, increased 3-year ED in the PREDIMED study, associated with a higher EVOO and nuts consumption, was not associated with weight gain.

High Energy Density Plasmas (HEDP) for studies of basic nuclear science relevant to Stellar and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frenje, Johan

2014-06-01

Thermonuclear reaction rates and nuclear processes have been explored traditionally by means of conventional accelerator experiments, which are difficult to execute at conditions relevant to stellar nucleosynthesis. Thus, nuclear reactions at stellar energies are often studied through extrapolations from higher-energy data or in low-background underground experiments. Even when measurements are possible using accelerators at relevant energies, thermonuclear reaction rates in stars are inherently different from those in accelerator experiments. The fusing nuclei are surrounded by bound electrons in accelerator experiments, whereas electrons occupy mainly continuum states in a stellar environment. Nuclear astrophysics research will therefore benefit from an enlarged toolkit for studies of nuclear reactions. In this presentation, we report on the first use of High Energy Density Plasmas for studies of nuclear reactions relevant to basic nuclear science, stellar and Big Bang nucleosynthesis. These experiments were carried out at the OMEGA laser facility at University of Rochester and the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in which spherical capsules were irradiated with powerful lasers to compress and heat the fuel to high enough temperatures and densities for nuclear reactions to occur. Four experiments will be highlighted in this presentation. In the first experiment, the differential cross section for the elastic neutron-triton (n-T) scattering at 14.1 MeV was measured with significantly higher accuracy than achieved in accelerator experiments. In the second experiment, the T(t,2n)4He reaction, a mirror reaction to the 3He(3He,2p)4He reaction that plays an important role in the proton-proton chain that transforms hydrogen into ordinary 4He in stars like our Sun, was studied at energies in the range 15-40 keV. In the third experiment, the 3He+3He solar fusion reaction was studied directly, and in the fourth experiment, we probed the T+3He reaction, possibly relevant to Big Bang nucleosynthesis.

Ring current electron dynamics during geomagnetic storms based on the Van Allen Probes measurements: Ring Current Electrons

DOE PAGES

Zhao, H.; Li, X.; Baker, D. N.; ...

2016-04-16

Based on comprehensive measurements from Helium, Oxygen, Proton, and Electron Mass Spectrometer Ion Spectrometer, Relativistic Electron-Proton Telescope, and Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment instruments on the Van Allen Probes, comparative studies of ring current electrons and ions are performed and the role of energetic electrons in the ring current dynamics is investigated. The deep injections of tens to hundreds of keV electrons and tens of keV protons into the inner magnetosphere occur frequently; after the injections the electrons decay slowly in the inner belt but protons in the low L region decay very fast. Intriguing similarities between lowermore » energy protons and higher-energy electrons are also found. The evolution of ring current electron and ion energy densities and energy content are examined in detail during two geomagnetic storms, one moderate and one intense. Here, the results show that the contribution of ring current electrons to the ring current energy content is much smaller than that of ring current ions (up to ~12% for the moderate storm and ~7% for the intense storm), and <35 keV electrons dominate the ring current electron energy content at the storm main phases. Though the electron energy content is usually much smaller than that of ions, the enhancement of ring current electron energy content during the moderate storm can get to ~30% of that of ring current ions, indicating a more dynamic feature of ring current electrons and important role of electrons in the ring current buildup. Lastly, the ring current electron energy density is also shown to be higher at midnight and dawn while lower at noon and dusk.« less

Determination of thermal physical properties of alkali fluoride/carbonate eutectic molten salt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Xue-Hui; Cheng, Jin-Hui; Su, Tao; Zhang, Peng

2017-06-01

Molten salts used in high temperatures are more and more interested in the CSP for higher energy conversion efficiency. Thermal physical properties are the basic engineering data of thermal hydraulic calculation and safety analysis. Therefore, the thermophysical performances involving density, specific heat capacity, viscosity and thermal conductivity of FLiNaK, (LiNaK)2CO3 and LiF(NaK)2CO3 molten salts are experimentally determined and through comparison the general rules can be summarized. Density measurement was performed on the basis of Archimedes theory; specific heat capacity was measured using the DSC technique; viscosity was tested based on the rotating method; and the thermal conductivity was gained by laser flash method with combination of the density, specific heat capacity and thermal diffusivity through a formula. Finally, the energy storage capacity and figures of merit are calculated to evaluate their feasibility as TES and HFT media. The results show that FLiNaK has the largest energy storage capacity and best heat transfer performance, LiF(NaK)2CO3 is secondary, and (LiNaK)2CO3 has the smallest.

Construction of high-energy-density supercapacitors from pine-cone-derived high-surface-area carbons.

PubMed

Karthikeyan, Kaliyappan; Amaresh, Samuthirapandiyan; Lee, Sol Nip; Sun, Xueliang; Aravindan, Vanchiappan; Lee, Young-Gi; Lee, Yun Sung

2014-05-01

Very high surface area activated carbons (AC) are synthesized from pine cone petals by a chemical activation process and subsequently evaluated as an electrode material for supercapacitor applications in a nonaqueous medium. The maximum specific surface area of ∼3950 m(2)  g(-1) is noted for the material treated with a 1:5 ratio of KOH to pine cone petals (PCC5), which is much higher than that reported for carbonaceous materials derived from various other biomass precursors. A symmetric supercapacitor is fabricated with PCC5 electrodes, and the results showed enhanced supercapacitive behavior with the highest energy density of ∼61 Wh kg(-1). Furthermore, outstanding cycling ability is evidenced for such a configuration, and ∼90 % of the initial specific capacitance after 20,000 cycles under harsh conditions was observed. This result revealed that the pine-cone-derived high-surface-area AC can be used effectively as a promising electrode material to construct high-energy-density supercapacitors. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

X-ray Spectroscopic Characterization of Plasma for a Charged-Particle Energy-Loss Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffman, Nm; Lee, Cl; Wilson, Dc; Barnes, Cris W.; Petrasso, Rd; Li, C.; Hicks, D.

2000-10-01

We are pursuing an approach to a charged-particle energy-loss experiment in which charged fusion products from an imploded ICF capsule travel through a well characterized, spatially separate plasma. For this purpose, a fully ionized, uniform, nearly steady-state carbon-hydrogen plasma will be created by laser irradiation of a plastic foil. The temperature and density structure of this plasma must be determined accurately in order to relate observed energy losses to predictions of theory. Various methods for diagnosing the plasma are possible, including Thomson scattering. Alternatively, if a small admixture of higher-Z material such as chlorine is included in the plastic, x-ray spectroscopic techniques will allow the plasma's temperature and density to be determined. Electron temperature is inferred from the ratios of line strengths of various chlorine ion stages, while electron density is determined from the spectra of lithium-like satellite lines near the He beta line of helium-like chlorine. We present results from detailed-configuration accounting (DCA) models of line emission from C+H+Cl plasmas, and estimate the accuracy with which such plasmas can be characterized.

Effect of operating conditions on yield and quality of biocrude during hydrothermal liquefaction of halophytic microalga Tetraselmis sp.

PubMed

Eboibi, B E; Lewis, D M; Ashman, P J; Chinnasamy, S

2014-10-01

The biomass of halophytic microalga Tetraselmis sp. with 16%w/w solids was converted into biocrude by a hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process in a batch reactor at different temperatures (310, 330, 350 and 370°C) and reaction times (5, 15, 30, 45 and 60min). The biocrude yield, elemental composition, energy density and severity parameter obtained at various reaction conditions were used to predict the optimum condition for maximum recovery of biocrude with improved quality. This study clearly indicated that the operating condition for obtaining maximum biocrude yield and ideal quality biocrude for refining were different. A maximum biocrude yield of ∼65wt% ash free dry weight (AFDW) was obtained at 350°C and 5min, with a severity parameter and energy density of 5.21 and ∼35MJ/kg, respectively. The treatment with 45min reaction time recorded ∼62wt% (AFDW) yield of biocrude with and energy density of ∼39MJ/kg and higher severity parameter of 7.53. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Initial solubility & density evaluation of Non-Aqueous system of amino acid salts for CO2 capture: potassium prolinate blended with ethanol and ethylene glycol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murshid, Ghulam; Garg, Sahil

2018-05-01

Amine scrubbing is the state of the art technology for CO2 capture, and solvent selection can significantly reduce the capital and energy cost of the process. Higher energy requirement for aqueous amine based CO2 removal process is still a most important downside preventive its industrial deployment. Therefore, in this study, novel non-aqueous based amino acid salt system consisting of potassium prolinate, ethanol and ethylene glycol has been studied. This work presents initial CO2 solubility study and important physical properties i.e. density of the studied solvent system. Previous work showed that non-aqueous system of potassium prolinate and ethanol has good absorption rates and requires lower energy for solvent regeneration. However, during regeneration, solvent loss issues were found due to lower boiling point of the ethanol. Therefore, ethylene glycol was added into current studied system for enhancing the overall boiling point of the system. The good initial CO2 solubility and low density of studied solvent system offers several advantages as compared to conventional amine solutions.

Effects of carbon dioxide, Nd:YAG and carbon dioxide-Nd:YAG combination lasers at high energy densities on synthetic hydroxyaptite.

PubMed

Meurman, J H; Voegel, J C; Rauhamaa-Mäkinen, R; Gasser, P; Thomann, J M; Hemmerle, J; Luomanen, M; Paunio, I; Frank, R M

1992-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the crystalline structure and chemical alterations of synthetic hydroxyapatite after irradiation with either CO2, Nd:YAG or CO2-Nd:YAG combination lasers at high energy densities of 500-3,230 J.cm2. Further, dissolution kinetics of the lased material were analysed and compared with those of unlased apatite. Electron microscopy showed that the lased material consisted of two kinds of crystals. From the micrographs their diameters varied from 600 to 1,200 A and from 3,000 to 6,000 A, respectively. The larger crystals showed 6.9-Angström periodic lattice fringes in the transmission electron microscope. alpha-Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) was identified by X-ray diffraction. Selective-area electron diffraction identified the large crystals to consist of tricalcium phosphate while the smaller crystals were probably hydroxyapatite. Assays of dissolution kinetics showed that at these high energy densities lased material dissolved more rapidly than unlased synthetic hydroxyapatite due to the higher solubility of TCP.

High-Energy-Density Electrolytic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yen, Shiao-Ping S.; Lewis, Carol R.

1993-01-01

Reductions in weight and volume make new application possible. Supercapacitors and improved ultracapacitors advanced electrolytic capacitors developed for use as electric-load-leveling devices in such applications as electric vehicle propulsion systems, portable power tools, and low-voltage pulsed power supplies. One primary advantage: offer power densities much higher than storage batteries. Capacitors used in pulse mode, with short charge and discharge times. Derived from commercially available ultracapacitors. Made of lightweight materials; incorporate electrode/electrolyte material systems capable of operation at voltages higher than previous electrode/electrolyte systems. By use of innovative designs and manufacturing processes, made in wide range of rated capacitances and in rated operating potentials ranging from few to several hundred volts.

Geographical variation in oligochaete density and biomass in subtropical mangrove wetlands of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xinwei; Cai, Lizhe; Zhou, Xiping; Rao, Yiyong

2017-10-01

Oligochaetes play an important role in nutrient cycling and energy flow in benthic food webs as well as in mangrove wetlands. However, they have not been as extensively studied as other macrofaunal groups such as polychaetes, gastropods, bivalves, and crustaceans. Under the assumption that oligochaete density and biomass obey specific geographical distribution patterns in subtropical mangrove wetlands of China, we investigated these two parameters in the Luoyang Estuary of Quanzhou Bay, Zhangjiang Estuary and Gaoqiao mangrove wetlands. A geographical gradient in oligochaete density was present in Aegiceras corniculatum and Kandelia obovata habitats, whereby it decreased from lower latitudes to higher latitudes. Further, ANOVA tests on oligochaete distribution revealed that both oligochaete density and biomass were significantly influenced by region, season and region × season at the A. corniculatum and K. obovata habitats. The annual average oligochaete density and biomass at the A. corniculatum habitat were higher than that at the K. obovata habitat, in both the Luoyang and Zhangjiang estuaries. There were significant correlations between oligochaete density and biomass and sediment particle size parameters, confirming that sand, silt, and clay contents were the key environmental factors affecting oligochaete distribution.

SAFT VES180 SA High Specific Energy Cell Qualification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borthomieu, Y.; Semerie, J.-P.

2005-05-01

A « high specific energy Li-Ion cell» is under development in the frame of the Artes 8 (Alphabus) programme. The purpose of this cell is to reduce the battery weight for the Alphabus satellite by at least 50 kg. The objective is to increase the specific energy by more than 25 % compared to the existing 140 Wh cell. The specific energy target for the 180Wh is 170 Wh/kg.In addition to improving the energy density, this development aimed to introduce a design improvement of the cell, in order to sustain higher mechanical environments than the state of the art cells.

Mechanical properties and phase stability of monoborides using density functional theory calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyojung; Trinkle, Dallas R.

2017-06-01

We compute the structural energies, elastic constants, and stacking fault energies, and investigate the phase stability of monoborides with different compositions (" close=")X1-x 1Xx2)">X1-x 1Xx2B (X =Ti/Fe/Mo/Nb/V ) using density functional theory in order to search for Ti monoborides with improved mechanical properties. Our computed Young's modulus and Pugh's modulus ratio, which correlate with stiffness and toughness, agree well with predictions from Vegard's law with the exceptions of mixed monoborides containing Mo and Fe. Among all the monoborides considered in this paper, TiB has the smallest Pugh's ratio, which suggests that the addition of solutes can improve the toughness of a Ti matrix. When X1B and X2B are respectively most stable in the B27 and Bf structures, the mixed monoborides (X0.51X0.52)B , mixed (Ti0.5Mo0.5 )B and mixed (Ti0.5V0.5 )B have a higher Young's modulus, a higher Pugh's ratio, and a smaller stacking fault energy than TiB. We also construct phase diagrams and find large solubility limits for solid solutions containing Ti compared to those containing Fe.

BaTiO3/PVDF Nanocomposite Film with High Energy Storage Density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaohui

2016-03-01

A gradated multilayer BaTiO3/poly(vinylidenefluoride) thin film structure is presented to achieve both a higher breakdown strength and a superior energy-storage capability. Key to the process is the sequential deposition of uniform dispersions of the single component source, which generate a blended PVDF-BTO-PVDF structure prior to full evaporation of solvent, and thermal treatment of the dielectric. The result is like sandwich structure with partial 0-3 character. The central layer designed to provide the high electric displacement, is composed of high volume fraction 6-10 nm BTO nanocrystals produced by a TEG-sol method. The outer layers of the structure are predominantly PVDF, with a significantly lower volume fraction of BTO, taking advantage of the higher dielectric strength for pure PVDF at the electrode-nanocomposite interface. The film is mechanically flexible, and can be removed from the substrate, with total thicknesses in the range 1.2 - 1.5 μm. Parallel plate capacitance devices improved dielectric performances, compared to reported values for BTO-PVDF 0-3 nanocomposites, with a maximal discharged energy density of 19.4J/cm3 and dielectric breakdown strengths of up to 495 kV/mm.

Effects of Laser Frequency and Multiple Beams on Hot Electron Generation in Fast Ignition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Royle, Ryan B.

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is one approach to harnessing fusion power for the purpose of energy production in which a small deuterium-tritium capsule is imploded to about a thousand times solid density with ultra-intense lasers. In the fast ignition (FI) scheme, a picosecond petawatt laser pulse is used to deposit ˜10 kJ of energy in ˜10 ps into a small hot-spot at the periphery of the compressed core, igniting a fusion burn wave. FI promises a much higher energy gain over the conventional central hot-spot ignition scheme in which ignition is achieved through compression alone. Sufficient energy coupling between ignition laser and implosion core is critical for the feasibility of the FI scheme. Laser-core energy coupling is mediated by hot electrons which absorb laser energy near the critical density and propagate to the dense core, depositing their energy primarily through collisions. The hot electron energy distribution plays a large role in achieving efficient energy coupling since electrons with energy much greater than a few MeV will only deposit a small fraction of their energy into the hot-spot region due to reduced collisional cross section. It is understood that it may be necessary to use the second or third harmonic of the 1.05 mum Nd glass laser to reduce the average hot electron energy closer to the few-MeV range. Also, it is likely that multiple ignition beams will be used to achieve the required intensities. In this study, 2D particle-in-cell simulations are used to examine the effects of frequency doubling and tripling of a 1 mum laser as well as effects of using various dual-beam configurations. While the hot-electron energy spectrum is indeed shifted closer to the few-MeV range for higher frequency beams, the overall energy absorption is reduced, canceling the gain from higher efficiency. For a fixed total laser input energy, we find that the amount of hot electron energy able to be deposited into the core hot-spot is fairly insensitive to the laser configuration used. Our results hint that the more important issue at hand may be divergence and transport of the hot electrons, which tend to spray into 2pi radians due to instabilities and current filamentation present in the laser-plasma interaction region.

Indentability of conventional and negative Poisson's ratio foams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lakes, R. S.; Elms, K.

1992-01-01

The indentation resistance of foams, both of conventional structure and of re-entrant structure giving rise to negative Poisson's ratio, is studied using holographic interferometry. In holographic indentation tests, re-entrant foams had higher yield strengths sigma(sub y) and lower stiffness E than conventional foams of the same original relative density. Calculated energy absorption for dynamic impact is considerably higher for re-entrant foam than conventional foam.

Electron-phonon interaction model and prediction of thermal energy transport in SOI transistor.

PubMed

Jin, Jae Sik; Lee, Joon Sik

2007-11-01

An electron-phonon interaction model is proposed and applied to thermal transport in semiconductors at micro/nanoscales. The high electron energy induced by the electric field in a transistor is transferred to the phonon system through electron-phonon interaction in the high field region of the transistor. Due to this fact, a hot spot occurs, which is much smaller than the phonon mean free path in the Si-layer. The full phonon dispersion model based on the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) with the relaxation time approximation is applied for the interactions among different phonon branches and different phonon frequencies. The Joule heating by the electron-phonon scattering is modeled through the intervalley and intravalley processes for silicon by introducing average electron energy. The simulation results are compared with those obtained by the full phonon dispersion model which treats the electron-phonon scattering as a volumetric heat source. The comparison shows that the peak temperature in the hot spot region is considerably higher and more localized than the previous results. The thermal characteristics of each phonon mode are useful to explain the above phenomena. The optical mode phonons of negligible group velocity obtain the highest energy density from electrons, and resides in the hot spot region without any contribution to heat transport, which results in a higher temperature in that region. Since the acoustic phonons with low group velocity show the higher energy density after electron-phonon scattering, they induce more localized heating near the hot spot region. The ballistic features are strongly observed when phonon-phonon scattering rates are lower than 4 x 10(10) S(-1).

Low-cost flexible supercapacitors with high-energy density based on nanostructured MnO2 and Fe2O3 thin films directly fabricated onto stainless steel.

PubMed

Gund, Girish S; Dubal, Deepak P; Chodankar, Nilesh R; Cho, Jun Y; Gomez-Romero, Pedro; Park, Chan; Lokhande, Chandrakant D

2015-07-24

The facile and economical electrochemical and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) methods have been employed in order to prepare manganese oxide (MnO2) and iron oxide (Fe2O3) thin films, respectively with the fine optimized nanostructures on highly flexible stainless steel sheet. The symmetric and asymmetric flexible-solid-state supercapacitors (FSS-SCs) of nanostructured (nanosheets for MnO2 and nanoparticles for Fe2O3) electrodes with Na2SO4/Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) gel as a separator and electrolyte were assembled. MnO2 as positive and negative electrodes were used to fabricate symmetric SC, while the asymmetric SC was assembled by employing MnO2 as positive and Fe2O3 as negative electrode. Furthermore, the electrochemical features of symmetric and asymmetric SCs are systematically investigated. The results verify that the fabricated symmetric and asymmetric FSS-SCs present excellent reversibility (within the voltage window of 0-1 V and 0-2 V, respectively) and good cycling stability (83 and 91%, respectively for 3000 of CV cycles). Additionally, the asymmetric SC shows maximum specific capacitance of 92 Fg(-1), about 2-fold of higher energy density (41.8 Wh kg(-1)) than symmetric SC and excellent mechanical flexibility. Furthermore, the "real-life" demonstration of fabricated SCs to the panel of SUK confirms that asymmetric SC has 2-fold higher energy density compare to symmetric SC.

Cholesterol effect on water permeability through DPPC and PSM lipid bilayers: a molecular dynamics study.

PubMed

Saito, Hiroaki; Shinoda, Wataru

2011-12-29

Water permeability of two different lipid bilayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and palmitoylsphingomyelin (PSM) in the absence and presence of cholesterol (0-50 mol %) have been studied by molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the reduction in water leakage across the membranes by the addition of cholesterol. An enhanced free energy barrier was observed in these membranes with increased cholesterol concentration, and this was explained by the reduced cavity density around the cholesterol in the hydrophobic membrane core. There was an increase of trans conformers in the hydrophobic lipid chains adjacent to the cholesterol, which reduced the cavity density. The enhanced free energy barrier was found to be the main reason to reduce the water permeability with increased cholesterol concentration. At low cholesterol concentrations the PSM bilayer exhibited a higher free energy barrier than the DPPC bilayer for water permeation, while at greater than 30 mol % of cholesterol the difference became minor. This tendency for the PSM and DPPC bilayers to resemble each other at higher cholesterol concentrations was similar to commonly observed trends in several structural properties, such as order parameters, cross-sectional area per molecule, and cavity density profiles in the hydrophobic regions of bilayer membranes. These results demonstrate that DPPC and PSM bilayers with high cholesterol contents possess similar physical properties, which suggests that the solubility of cholesterol in these lipid bilayers has importance for an understanding of multicomponent lipid membranes with cholesterol. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Reduced vertebral bone density in hypercalciuric nephrolithiasis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pietschmann, F.; Breslau, N. A.; Pak, C. Y.

1992-01-01

Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and single-photon absorptiometry were used to determine bone density at the lumbar spine and radial shaft in 62 patients with absorptive hypercalciuria, 27 patients with fasting hypercalciuria, and 31 nonhypercalciuric stone formers. Lumbar bone density was significantly lower in patients with absorptive (-10%) as well as in those with fasting hypercalciuria (-12%), with 74 and 92% of patients displaying values below the normal mean, whereas only 48% of the nonhypercalciuric stone formers had bone density values below the normal mean. In contrast, radial bone density was similar in all three groups of renal stone formers investigated. The comparison of urinary chemistry in patients with absorptive hypercalciuria and low normal bone density compared to those with high normal bone density showed a significantly increased 24 h urinary calcium excretion on random diet and a trend toward a higher 24 h urinary uric acid excretion and a higher body mass index in patients with low normal bone density. Moreover, among the patients with absorptive hypercalciuria we found a statistically significant correlation between the spinal bone density and the 24 h sodium and sulfate excretion and the urinary pH. These results gave evidence for an additional role of environmental factors (sodium and animal proteins) in the pathogenesis of bone loss in absorptive hypercalciuria. In conclusion, our data suggest an osteopenia of trabecular-rich bone tissues in patients with fasting and absorptive hypercalciurias.

Energy Options for Wireless Sensor Nodes.

PubMed

Knight, Chris; Davidson, Joshua; Behrens, Sam

2008-12-08

Reduction in size and power consumption of consumer electronics has opened up many opportunities for low power wireless sensor networks. One of the major challenges is in supporting battery operated devices as the number of nodes in a network grows. The two main alternatives are to utilize higher energy density sources of stored energy, or to generate power at the node from local forms of energy. This paper reviews the state-of-the art technology in the field of both energy storage and energy harvesting for sensor nodes. The options discussed for energy storage include batteries, capacitors, fuel cells, heat engines and betavoltaic systems. The field of energy harvesting is discussed with reference to photovoltaics, temperature gradients, fluid flow, pressure variations and vibration harvesting.

Energy Options for Wireless Sensor Nodes

PubMed Central

Knight, Chris; Davidson, Joshua; Behrens, Sam

2008-01-01

Reduction in size and power consumption of consumer electronics has opened up many opportunities for low power wireless sensor networks. One of the major challenges is in supporting battery operated devices as the number of nodes in a network grows. The two main alternatives are to utilize higher energy density sources of stored energy, or to generate power at the node from local forms of energy. This paper reviews the state-of-the art technology in the field of both energy storage and energy harvesting for sensor nodes. The options discussed for energy storage include batteries, capacitors, fuel cells, heat engines and betavoltaic systems. The field of energy harvesting is discussed with reference to photovoltaics, temperature gradients, fluid flow, pressure variations and vibration harvesting. PMID:27873975

An Energy Dense-AI-NaBH4-PEMFC Based Power Generator for Unmanned Undersea Vehicles

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

1]. Although different types of batteries involving lithium , e.g., primary (Li-SOCb) and rechargeable (Li- ion , Li-polymer) batteries , potentially...development of innovative beyond battery -only technological capabilities would be necessary. The main objective of the proposed work is to develop an...increasing the endurance of UUVs. Lithium is commonly used in battery technology because it is the lightest metal , so higher energy densities are possible

Structural and electronic properties Te62+ and Te82+: A DFT study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Tamanna; Tamboli, Rohit; Kanhere, D. G.; Sharma, Raman

2018-05-01

Structural and electronic properties of Tellurium cluster (Ten) and their cations (Ten2+) (n = 6, 8) have been studied theoretically using VASP within generalized gradient approximation. Ground state geometries and higher energy isomers of these clusters have been examined on the basis of total free energy calculations. Lowest energy isomers of neutral clusters are ring like structures whereas the lowest energy isomers of cations are polyhedral cages. HOMO-LUMO gap in cationic clusters is small compared to its neutral clusters. Removal of two electrons from the neutral cluster raises the free energy. Analysis of free energy, HOMO-LUMO gap and density of states (DOS) show that neutral cluster are more stable than their cations.

Association of socioeconomic stratification with plasmatic markers of lipoperoxidation and antioxidants in Venezuelan school-age children.

PubMed

Ruiz-Fernández, Nelina; Bosch, Virgilio; Giacopini, Maria Isabel

2016-12-30

To establish association between socioeconomic status and plasmatic markers of lipoperoxidation and antioxidants in Venezuelan school-age children from the middle-class and in critical poverty. Cross-sectional study with a sample of 114 school-age children (aged 7-9). The socioeconomic status, dietary intake of macro and micro-nutrients, weight, height, lipid profile, indicators of lipid peroxidation and enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants were determined. The daily average intake of energy, carbohydrates and vitamin A, and the percentage of energy obtained from carbohydrates was significantly higher in middle-class children compared to critical poverty children ( p <0.05). The circulating oxidized low density lipoprotein ( p <0.001) and the susceptibility of low density lipoproteins and very low density lipoproteins to oxidation in vitro ( p <0.05) were significantly higher in middle-class children, while the critical poverty children showed significantly lower levels of Vitamin C and E in plasma ( p <0.05). Non-enzymatic antioxidant levels were frequently deficient in both strata. The concentrations of circulating oxidized low density lipoprotein (OR: 1.09, CI 95% : 1.016-1.179; p = 0.017) and Vitamin C (OR: 3.21, CI 95% : 1.104-9.938; p = 0.032) were associated to the socioeconomic status independently of gender, family history of premature coronary artery disease, triglicerides, Vitamin C and E dietary intake and count of white blood cells. The socioeconomic status was associated to circulating oxidized low density lipoprotein and Vitamin C in Venezuelan school-age children, The results suggested the need to improve the dietary intake of antioxidants in both studied socioeconomic groups.

A comparative study of all-vanadium and iron-chromium redox flow batteries for large-scale energy storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Y. K.; Zhao, T. S.; An, L.; Zhou, X. L.; Wei, L.

2015-12-01

The promise of redox flow batteries (RFBs) utilizing soluble redox couples, such as all vanadium ions as well as iron and chromium ions, is becoming increasingly recognized for large-scale energy storage of renewables such as wind and solar, owing to their unique advantages including scalability, intrinsic safety, and long cycle life. An ongoing question associated with these two RFBs is determining whether the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) or iron-chromium redox flow battery (ICRFB) is more suitable and competitive for large-scale energy storage. To address this concern, a comparative study has been conducted for the two types of battery based on their charge-discharge performance, cycle performance, and capital cost. It is found that: i) the two batteries have similar energy efficiencies at high current densities; ii) the ICRFB exhibits a higher capacity decay rate than does the VRFB; and iii) the ICRFB is much less expensive in capital costs when operated at high power densities or at large capacities.

Chemical-to-Electricity Carbon: Water Device.

PubMed

He, Sisi; Zhang, Yueyu; Qiu, Longbin; Zhang, Longsheng; Xie, Yun; Pan, Jian; Chen, Peining; Wang, Bingjie; Xu, Xiaojie; Hu, Yajie; Dinh, Cao Thang; De Luna, Phil; Banis, Mohammad Norouzi; Wang, Zhiqiang; Sham, Tsun-Kong; Gong, Xingao; Zhang, Bo; Peng, Huisheng; Sargent, Edward H

2018-05-01

The ability to release, as electrical energy, potential energy stored at the water:carbon interface is attractive, since water is abundant and available. However, many previous reports of such energy converters rely on either flowing water or specially designed ionic aqueous solutions. These requirements restrict practical application, particularly in environments with quiescent water. Here, a carbon-based chemical-to-electricity device that transfers the chemical energy to electrical form when coming into contact with quiescent deionized water is reported. The device is built using carbon nanotube yarns, oxygen content of which is modulated using oxygen plasma-treatment. When immersed in water, the device discharges electricity with a power density that exceeds 700 mW m -2 , one order of magnitude higher than the best previously published result. X-ray absorption and density functional theory studies support a mechanism of operation that relies on the polarization of sp 2 hybridized carbon atoms. The devices are incorporated into a flexible fabric for powering personal electronic devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

How does the Quark-Gluon Plasma know the collision energy?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McInnes, Brett

2018-02-01

Heavy ion collisions at the LHC facility generate a Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) which, for central collisions, has a higher energy density and temperature than the plasma generated in central collisions at the RHIC. But sufficiently peripheral LHC collisions give rise to plasmas which have the same energy density and temperature as the "central" RHIC plasmas. One might assume that the two versions of the QGP would have very similar properties (for example, with regard to jet quenching), but recent investigations have suggested that they do not: the plasma "knows" that the overall collision energy is different in the two cases. We argue, using a gauge-gravity analysis, that the strong magnetic fields arising in one case (peripheral collisions), but not the other, may be relevant here. If the residual magnetic field in peripheral LHC plasmas is of the order of at least eB ≈ 5mπ2, then the model predicts modifications of the relevant quenching parameter which approach those recently reported.

Piezo-Electrochemical Energy Harvesting with Lithium-Intercalating Carbon Fibers.

PubMed

Jacques, Eric; Lindbergh, Göran; Zenkert, Dan; Leijonmarck, Simon; Kjell, Maria Hellqvist

2015-07-01

The mechanical and electrochemical properties are coupled through a piezo-electrochemical effect in Li-intercalated carbon fibers. It is demonstrated that this piezo-electrochemical effect makes it possible to harvest electrical energy from mechanical work. Continuous polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fibers that can work both as electrodes for Li-ion batteries and structural reinforcement for composites materials are used in this study. Applying a tensile force to carbon fiber bundles used as Li-intercalating electrodes results in a response of the electrode potential of a few millivolts which allows, at low current densities, lithiation at higher electrode potential than delithiation. More electrical energy is thereby released from the cell at discharge than provided at charge, harvesting energy from the mechanical work of the applied force. The measured harvested specific electrical power is in the order of 1 μW/g for current densities in the order of 1 mA/g, but this has a potential of being increased significantly.

Squeeze strengthening of magnetorheological fluids using mixed mode operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becnel, A. C.; Sherman, S. G.; Hu, W.; Wereley, N. M.

2015-05-01

This research details a novel method of increasing the shear yield stress of magnetorheological fluids by combining shear and squeeze modes of operation to manipulate particle chain structures, so-called squeeze strengthening. Using a custom built Searle cell magnetorheometer, which is a model device emulating a rotary magnetorheological energy absorber (MREA), the contribution of squeeze strengthening to the total controllable yield force is experimentally investigated. Using an eccentric rotating inner cylinder, characterization data from large (1 mm) and small (0.25 mm) nominal gap geometries are compared to investigate the squeeze strengthening effect. Details of the experimental setup and method are presented, and a hybrid model is used to explain experimental trends. This study demonstrates that it is feasible, utilizing squeeze strengthening to increase yield stress, to either (1) design a rotary MREA of a given volume to achieve higher energy absorption density (energy absorbed normalized by active fluid volume), or (2) reduce the volume of a given rotary MREA to achieve the same energy absorption density.

Behavior of Compact Toroid Injected into C-2U Confinement Vessel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, Tadafumi; Roche, T.; Allrey, I.; Sekiguchi, J.; Asai, T.; Conroy, M.; Gota, H.; Granstedt, E.; Hooper, C.; Kinley, J.; Valentine, T.; Waggoner, W.; Binderbauer, M.; Tajima, T.; the TAE Team

2016-10-01

The compact toroid (CT) injector system has been developed for particle refueling on the C-2U device. A CT is formed by a magnetized coaxial plasma gun (MCPG) and the typical ejected CT/plasmoid parameters are as follows: average velocity 100 km/s, average electron density 1.9 ×1015 cm-3, electron temperature 30-40 eV, mass 12 μg . To refuel particles into FC plasma the CT must penetrate the transverse magnetic field that surrounds the FRC. The kinetic energy density of the CT should be higher than magnetic energy density of the axial magnetic field, i.e., ρv2 / 2 >=B2 / 2μ0 , where ρ, v, and B are mass density, velocity, and surrounded magnetic field, respectively. Also, the penetrated CT's trajectory is deflected by the transverse magnetic field (Bz 1 kG). Thus, we have to estimate CT's energy and track the CT trajectory inside the magnetic field, for which we adopted a fast-framing camera on C-2U: framing rate is up to 1.25 MHz for 120 frames. By employing the camera we clearly captured the CT/plasmoid trajectory. Comparisons between the fast-framing camera and some other diagnostics as well as CT injection results on C-2U will be presented.

Volumetric Heating of Ultra-High Energy Density Relativistic Plasmas by Ultrafast Laser Irradiation of Aligned Nanowire Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bargsten, Clayton; Hollinger, Reed; Shlyaptsev, Vyacheslav; Pukhov, Alexander; Keiss, David; Townsend, Amanda; Wang, Yong; Wang, Shoujun; Prieto, Amy; Rocca, Jorge

2014-10-01

We have demonstrated the volumetric heating of near-solid density plasmas to keV temperatures by ultra-high contrast femtosecond laser irradiation of arrays of vertically aligned nanowires with an average density up to 30% solid density. X-ray spectra show that irradiation of Ni and Au nanowire arrays with laser pulses of relativistic intensities ionizes plasma volumes several micrometers in depth to the He-like and Co-like (Au 52 +) stages respectively. The penetration depth of the heat into the nanowire array was measured monitoring He-like Co lines from irradiated arrays in which the nanowires are composed of a Co segment buried under a selected length of Ni. The measurement shows the ionization reaches He-like Co for depth of up to 5 μm within the target. This volumetric plasma heating approach creates a new laboratory plasma regime in which extreme plasma parameters can be accessed with table-top lasers. Scaling to higher laser intensities promises to create plasmas with temperatures and pressures approaching those in the center of the sun. Work supported by the U.S Department of Energy, Fusion Energy Sciences and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency grant HDTRA-1-10-1-0079. A.P was supported by of DFG-funded project TR18.

Scalable Fabrication of Photochemically Reduced Graphene-Based Monolithic Micro-Supercapacitors with Superior Energy and Power Densities.

PubMed

Wang, Sen; Wu, Zhong-Shuai; Zheng, Shuanghao; Zhou, Feng; Sun, Chenglin; Cheng, Hui-Ming; Bao, Xinhe

2017-04-25

Micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) hold great promise as highly competitive miniaturized power sources satisfying the increased demand of smart integrated electronics. However, single-step scalable fabrication of MSCs with both high energy and power densities is still challenging. Here we demonstrate the scalable fabrication of graphene-based monolithic MSCs with diverse planar geometries and capable of superior integration by photochemical reduction of graphene oxide/TiO 2 nanoparticle hybrid films. The resulting MSCs exhibit high volumetric capacitance of 233.0 F cm -3 , exceptional flexibility, and remarkable capacity of modular serial and parallel integration in aqueous gel electrolyte. Furthermore, by precisely engineering the interface of electrode with electrolyte, these monolithic MSCs can operate well in a hydrophobic electrolyte of ionic liquid (3.0 V) at a high scan rate of 200 V s -1 , two orders of magnitude higher than those of conventional supercapacitors. More notably, the MSCs show landmark volumetric power density of 312 W cm -3 and energy density of 7.7 mWh cm -3 , both of which are among the highest values attained for carbon-based MSCs. Therefore, such monolithic MSC devices based on photochemically reduced, compact graphene films possess enormous potential for numerous miniaturized, flexible electronic applications.

Different Indices of Fetal Growth Predict Bone Size and Volumetric Density at 4 Years of Age

PubMed Central

Harvey, Nicholas C; Mahon, Pamela A; Robinson, Sian M; Nisbet, Corrine E; Javaid, M Kassim; Crozier, Sarah R; Inskip, Hazel M; Godfrey, Keith M; Arden, Nigel K; Dennison, Elaine M; Cooper, Cyrus

2011-01-01

We have demonstrated previously that higher birth weight is associated with greater peak and later-life bone mineral content and that maternal body build, diet, and lifestyle influence prenatal bone mineral accrual. To examine prenatal influences on bone health further, we related ultrasound measures of fetal growth to childhood bone size and density. We derived Z-scores for fetal femur length and abdominal circumference and conditional growth velocity from 19 to 34 weeks’ gestation from ultrasound measurements in participants in the Southampton Women’s Survey. A total of 380 of the offspring underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at age 4 years [whole body minus head bone area (BA), bone mineral content (BMC), areal bone mineral density (aBMD), and estimated volumetric BMD (vBMD)]. Volumetric bone mineral density was estimated using BMC adjusted for BA, height, and weight. A higher velocity of 19- to 34-week fetal femur growth was strongly associated with greater childhood skeletal size (BA: r = 0.30, p < .0001) but not with volumetric density (vBMD: r = 0.03, p = .51). Conversely, a higher velocity of 19- to 34-week fetal abdominal growth was associated with greater childhood volumetric density (vBMD: r = 0.15, p = .004) but not with skeletal size (BA: r = 0.06, p = .21). Both fetal measurements were positively associated with BMC and aBMD, indices influenced by both size and density. The velocity of fetal femur length growth from 19 to 34 weeks’ gestation predicted childhood skeletal size at age 4 years, whereas the velocity of abdominal growth (a measure of liver volume and adiposity) predicted volumetric density. These results suggest a discordance between influences on skeletal size and volumetric density. PMID:20437610

Proceedings of the twelfth target fabrication specialists` meeting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1999-04-01

Research in fabrication for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) comprises at least three broad categories: targets for high energy density physics on existing drivers, ignition capsule fabrication, and cryogenic fuel layer formation. The latter two are being pursued primarily for the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Scientists from over 14 laboratories, universities, and businesses contributed over 100 papers on all aspects of ICF target fabrication. The NIF is well along in construction and photos of poured concrete and exposed steel added to the technical excitement. It was clear from the meeting that there has been significant progress toward the fabrication of anmore » ignition target for NIF and that new techniques are resulting in higher quality targets for high energy density research.« less

The Molecular Density of States in Bacterial Nanowires

PubMed Central

El-Naggar, Mohamed Y.; Gorby, Yuri A.; Xia, Wei; Nealson, Kenneth H.

2008-01-01

The recent discovery of electrically conductive bacterial appendages has significant physiological, ecological, and biotechnological implications, but the mechanism of electron transport in these nanostructures remains unclear. We here report quantitative measurements of transport across bacterial nanowires produced by the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, whose electron transport system is being investigated for renewable energy recovery in microbial fuel cells and bioremediation of heavy metals and radionuclides. The Shewanella nanowires display a surprising nonlinear electrical transport behavior, where the voltage dependence of the conductance reveals peaks indicating discrete energy levels with higher electronic density of states. Our results indicate that the molecular constituents along the Shewanella nanowires possess an intricate electronic structure that plays a role in mediating transport. PMID:18441026

High electric breakdown strength and energy density in vinylidene fluoride oligomer/poly(vinylidene fluoride) blend thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahimabady, Mojtaba; Chen, Shuting; Yao, Kui; Eng Hock Tay, Francis; Lu, Li

2011-10-01

Dense α-phase blend films of vinylidene fluoride (VDF) oligomer and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) of various compositions were prepared from chemical solution deposition. The dielectric constant of the films was unexpectedly lower, and the mechanical strength was higher than either of the two components, leading to high electromechanical dielectric breakdown strength (>850 MV/m vs. 300˜500 MV/m for typical PVDF-based films). The properties were attributed to the unique blend structure with high crystallinity and densely packed rigid amorphous phase incorporating long and short chains. A maximum polarization of 162 mC/m2 and a large electric energy density up to 27.3 J/cm3 were obtained.

Energy storage properties and relaxor behavior of lead-free Ba1-xSm2x/3Zr0.15Ti0.85O3 ceramics.

PubMed

Sun, Zheng; Li, Lingxia; Yu, Shihui; Kang, Xinyu; Chen, Siliang

2017-10-24

Lead-free Ba 1-x Sm 2x/3 Zr 0.15 Ti 0.85 O 3 (BSZT) ceramics were synthesized by a solid state reaction route. The microstructure, dielectric relaxor behavior and energy storage properties of BSZT ceramics were studied. The growth of grain size was suppressed with the increase of Sm addition and kept in the submicrometer scale. Successive substitution of Sm 3+ for Ba 2+ disrupted the long-range dipole and promoted the increase of polar nano-region (PNR) size, resulting in the enhanced degree of relaxor behavior. The increasing PNR size also lead to the slimmer hysteresis loops and improved the energy storage efficiency. Furthermore, high saturated polarization (P max ) and low remnant polarization (P r ) were obtained due to the formation of defect dipoles, which facilitated the switch of PNRs and contributed to the enhancement of energy storage density. The x = 0.003 sample was found to exhibit a higher energy storage density of 1.15 J cm -3 and an energy storage efficiency of 92%. The result revealed that the BSZT ceramics may be a good candidate for energy storage application.

Generation of sub-gigabar-pressure shocks by a hyper-velocity impact in the collider driven by laser-induced cavity pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badziak, J.; Kucharik, M.; Liska, R.

2018-02-01

The generation of high-pressure shocks in the newly proposed collider in which the projectile impacting a solid target is driven by the laser-induced cavity pressure acceleration (LICPA) mechanism is investigated using two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. The dependence of parameters of the shock generated in the target by the impact of a gold projectile on the impacted target material and the laser driver energy is examined. It is found that both in case of low-density (CH, Al) and high-density (Au, Cu) solid targets the shock pressures in the sub-Gbar range can be produced in the LICPA-driven collider with the laser energy of only a few hundreds of joules, and the laser-to-shock energy conversion efficiency can reach values of 10 - 20 %, by an order of magnitude higher than the conversion efficiencies achieved with other laser-based methods used so far.

Revealing Extremely Low Energy Amplitude Modes in the Charge-Density-Wave Compound LaAgSb_{2}.

PubMed

Chen, R Y; Zhang, S J; Zhang, M Y; Dong, T; Wang, N L

2017-03-10

Using infrared spectroscopy and ultrafast pump probe measurement, we have studied the two charge-density-wave (CDW) instabilities in the layered compound LaAgSb_{2}. The development of CDW energy gaps was clearly observed by optical spectroscopy, which removed most of the free carrier spectral weight. More interestingly, our time-resolved measurements revealed two coherent oscillations that softened by approaching the two phase transition temperatures, respectively. We addressed that these two oscillations come from the amplitude modes of CDW collective excitations, the surprisingly low energies (0.12 THz and 0.34 THz for the higher and lower temperature ones, respectively) of which are associated with the extremely small nesting wave vectors. Additionally, the amplitude and relaxation time of photoinduced reflectivity of LaAgSb_{2} single crystals stayed unchanged across the CDW phase transitions, which is quite rare and deserves further investigation.

Experimental and theoretical investigation for the suppression of the plasma arc drop in the thermionic converter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaw, D. T.; Manikopoulos, C. N.; Chang, T.; Lee, C. H.; Chiu, N.

1977-01-01

Ion generation and recombination mechanisms in the cesium plasma as they pertain to the advanced mode thermionic energy converter were studied. The decay of highly ionized cesium plasma was studied in the near afterglow to examine the recombination processes. Very low recombination in such a plasma may prove to be of considerable importance in practical converters. The approaches of external cesium generation were vibrationally excited nitrogen as an energy source of ionization of cesium ion, and microwave power as a means of resonant sustenance of the cesium plasma. Experimental data obtained so far show that all three techniques - i.e., the non-LTE high-voltage pulsing, the energy transfer from vibrationally excited diatomic gases, and the external pumping with a microwave resonant cavity - can produce plasmas with their densities significantly higher than the Richardson density. The implication of these findings as related to Lam's theory is discussed.

The energy confinement response of DIII-D plasmas to Resonant Magnetic Perturbations

DOE PAGES

Cui, L.; Nazikian, Raffi; Grierson, B. A.; ...

2017-07-11

Here, Resonant Magnetic Perturbations (RMPs) are a leading method for edge localized modes (ELMs) Control in fusion plasmas. However they can also cause a rapid degradation in energy confinement. In this paper we show that the energy confinement in low collisionality (v* e < 0.3) DIII-D ITER Similar Shape (ISS) plasmas often recovers after several energy confinement times for RMP amplitudes up to the threshold for ELM suppression. Immediately following the application of the RMP, the plasma stored energy decreases in proportion to the decrease in the line-averaged density during density "pump-out". Later in the discharge confinement recovery is observedmore » in the thermal ion channel and is correlated with the increase in the ion temperature at the top of the H-mode pedestal. A correlation between the inverse scale length of the ion temperature (α/L Ti) and the E x B shearing rate at the top of the pedestal is seen during the confinement recovery phase. Transport analysis reveals that the confinement improvement in the ion channel results from the self-similarity in the ion temperature profiles in the plasma core combined with the observed increase in α/L Ti in the plasma edge following density pump-out. In contrast the electron temperature scale length (α/L Ti) remains essentially unchanged in response to the application of the RMP. At significantly higher RMP levels the edge EXB shearing rate and α/L Ti does not increase and the confinement does not recover following density pump-out.« less

Gravity or turbulence? IV. Collapsing cores in out-of-virial disguise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballesteros-Paredes, Javier; Vázquez-Semadeni, Enrique; Palau, Aina; Klessen, Ralf S.

2018-06-01

We study the dynamical state of massive cores by using a simple analytical model, an observational sample, and numerical simulations of collapsing massive cores. From the analytical model, we find that cores increase their column density and velocity dispersion as they collapse, resulting in a time evolution path in the Larson velocity dispersion-size diagram from large sizes and small velocity dispersions to small sizes and large velocity dispersions, while they tend to equipartition between gravity and kinetic energy. From the observational sample, we find that: (a) cores with substantially different column densities in the sample do not follow a Larson-like linewidth-size relation. Instead, cores with higher column densities tend to be located in the upper-left corner of the Larson velocity dispersion σv, 3D-size R diagram, a result explained in the hierarchical and chaotic collapse scenario. (b) Cores appear to have overvirial values. Finally, our numerical simulations reproduce the behavior predicted by the analytical model and depicted in the observational sample: collapsing cores evolve towards larger velocity dispersions and smaller sizes as they collapse and increase their column density. More importantly, however, they exhibit overvirial states. This apparent excess is due to the assumption that the gravitational energy is given by the energy of an isolated homogeneous sphere. However, such excess disappears when the gravitational energy is correctly calculated from the actual spatial mass distribution. We conclude that the observed energy budget of cores is consistent with their non-thermal motions being driven by their self-gravity and in the process of dynamical collapse.

Turbulence and sheared flow dynamics during q95 and density scans across the L-H transition on DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Zheng; McKee, George; Gohil, Punit; Schmitz, Lothar; Eldon, David; Grierson, Brian; Kriete, Matt; Rhodes, Terry; Petty, Craig

2017-10-01

Measurements of long wavelength density fluctuation characteristics have been obtained in the edge of Deuterium (D) plasmas across the L-H transition on DIII-D during density and q95 scans. The relative density fluctuation amplitude measured by Beam Emission Spectroscopy (BES) increases with higher q95. The power threshold is found to increase with plasma current (i.e., lower q95) but with complex density dependence: the largest increase of PLH is seen at ne 3.2e19 m-3. Interestingly, a dual counter-propagating mode is observed for cases when PLH is low. The existence of the dual mode is correlated with increasing flow shear. Estimation of the turbulence kinetic energy transfer from turbulence to the flow increases prior to the transition. The complex behaviors of the turbulence characteristics and dual frequency modes interactions impact the flow shear generation, the transition process and the power threshold scaling. Work supported by the US Department of Energy under DE-FG02-08ER54999, DE-AC02-09CH11466, DE-FC02-04ER54698, and DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Spatial and temporal variation in winter condition of juvenile Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) in Prince William Sound, Alaska: Oceanographic exchange with the Gulf of Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorman, Kristen B.; Kline, Thomas C.; Roberts, Megan E.; Sewall, Fletcher F.; Heintz, Ron A.; Pegau, W. Scott

2018-01-01

Spatial variability in early and late winter measures of whole body energy density of juvenile (age-0) Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) of Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska was examined over nine years of study. Pacific herring in this region remain considered as an injured resource over the 25 years following the Exxon Valdez oil spill, however factors responsible for the lack of recovery by herring in PWS are a source of ongoing debate. Given the species' key ecological role in energy transfer to higher predators, and its economic role in a historical commercial fishery within the region, significant research effort has focused on understanding environmental factors that shape nutritional processes and the quality of these young forage fish. During November (early winter), factors such as juvenile herring body size, hydrological region of PWS, year, and the interaction between carbon (δ13C‧) or nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotope signature and hydrological region were all important predictors of juvenile herring energy density. In particular, analyses indicated that in the northern and western regions of PWS, juvenile herring with more depleted δ13C‧ values (which reflect a Gulf of Alaska carbon source) were more energy dense. Results suggest that intrusion of water derived from the Gulf of Alaska enhances the condition of age-0 herring possibly through alterations in zooplankton community structure and abundance, particularly in the northern and western regions of PWS in the fall, which is consistent with regional circulation. During March (late winter), factors such as juvenile herring body size, year, and the interaction between δ13C‧ or δ15N isotope signature and year were all important predictors of juvenile herring energy density. Results differed for early and late winter regarding the interaction between stable isotope signatures and region or year, suggesting important seasonal aspects of circulation contribute to variation in PWS juvenile herring energy density. In addition, winter-feeding may enrich herring without considerable energy gain, removing any relationship between energy density and δ13C‧ isotope signature in late winter.

An Integrated, Layered-Spinel Composite Cathode for Energy Storage Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hagh, Nader; Skandan, Ganesh

2012-01-01

At low operating temperatures, commercially available electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries do not fully meet the energy and power requirements for NASA fs exploration activities. The composite cathode under development is projected to provide the required energy and power densities at low temperatures and its usage will considerably reduce the overall volume and weight of the battery pack. The newly developed composite electrode material can provide superior electrochemical performance relative to a commercially available lithium cobalt system. One advantage of using a composite cathode is its higher energy density, which can lead to smaller and lighter battery packs. In the current program, different series of layered-spinel composite materials with at least two different systems in an integrated structure were synthesized, and the volumetric and gravimetric energy densities were evaluated. In an integrated network of a composite electrode, the effect of the combined structures is to enhance the capacity and power capabilities of the material to levels greater than what is possible in current state-of-the-art cathode systems. The main objective of the current program is to implement a novel cathode material that meets NASA fs low temperature energy density requirements. An important feature of the composite cathode is that it has at least two components (e.g., layered and spinel) that are structurally integrated. The layered material by itself is electrochemically inactive; however, upon structural integration with a spinel material, the layered material can be electrochemically activated, thereby delivering a large amount of energy with stable cycling. A key aspect of the innovation has been the development of a scalable process to produce submicronand micron-scale particles of these composite materials. An additional advantage of using such a composite electrode material is its low irreversible loss (.5%), which is primarily due to the unique activation of the composite. High columbic efficiency (greater than 99%) upon cycling may indicate the formation of a stable SEI (solid-electrolyte interface) layer, which can contribute to long cycle life. The innovation in the current program, when further developed, will enable the system to maintain high energy and power densities at low temperatures, improve efficiency, and further stabilize and enhance the safety of the cell.

Modeling Calculation and Synthesis of Alumina Whiskers Based on the Vapor Deposition Process.

PubMed

Gong, Wei; Li, Xiangcheng; Zhu, Boquan

2017-10-17

This study simulated the bulk structure and surface energy of Al₂O₃ based on the density of states (DOS) and studied the synthesis and microstructure of one-dimensional Al₂O₃ whiskers. The simulation results indicate that the (001) surface has a higher surface energy than the others. The growth mechanism of Al₂O₃ whiskers follows vapor-solid (VS) growth. For the (001) surface with the higher surface energy, the driving force of crystal growth would be more intense in the (001) plane, and the alumina crystal would tend to grow preferentially along the direction of the (001) plane from the tip of the crystal. The Al₂O₃ grows to the shape of whisker with [001] orientation, which is proved both through modeling and experimentation.

Metal sulfide electrodes and energy storage devices thereof

DOEpatents

Chiang, Yet-Ming; Woodford, William Henry; Li, Zheng; Carter, W. Craig

2017-02-28

The present invention generally relates to energy storage devices, and to metal sulfide energy storage devices in particular. Some aspects of the invention relate to energy storage devices comprising at least one flowable electrode, wherein the flowable electrode comprises an electroactive metal sulfide material suspended and/or dissolved in a carrier fluid. In some embodiments, the flowable electrode further comprises a plurality of electronically conductive particles suspended and/or dissolved in the carrier fluid, wherein the electronically conductive particles form a percolating conductive network. An energy storage device comprising a flowable electrode comprising a metal sulfide electroactive material and a percolating conductive network may advantageously exhibit, upon reversible cycling, higher energy densities and specific capacities than conventional energy storage devices.

Bioinspired fractal electrodes for solar energy storages.

PubMed

Thekkekara, Litty V; Gu, Min

2017-03-31

Solar energy storage is an emerging technology which can promote the solar energy as the primary source of electricity. Recent development of laser scribed graphene electrodes exhibiting a high electrical conductivity have enabled a green technology platform for supercapacitor-based energy storage, resulting in cost-effective, environment-friendly features, and consequent readiness for on-chip integration. Due to the limitation of the ion-accessible active porous surface area, the energy densities of these supercapacitors are restricted below ~3 × 10 -3  Whcm -3 . In this paper, we demonstrate a new design of biomimetic laser scribed graphene electrodes for solar energy storage, which embraces the structure of Fern leaves characterized by the geometric family of space filling curves of fractals. This new conceptual design removes the limit of the conventional planar supercapacitors by significantly increasing the ratio of active surface area to volume of the new electrodes and reducing the electrolyte ionic path. The attained energy density is thus significantly increased to ~10 -1  Whcm -3 - more than 30 times higher than that achievable by the planar electrodes with ~95% coulombic efficiency of the solar energy storage. The energy storages with these novel electrodes open the prospects of efficient self-powered and solar-powered wearable, flexible and portable applications.

Bioinspired fractal electrodes for solar energy storages

PubMed Central

Thekkekara, Litty V.; Gu, Min

2017-01-01

Solar energy storage is an emerging technology which can promote the solar energy as the primary source of electricity. Recent development of laser scribed graphene electrodes exhibiting a high electrical conductivity have enabled a green technology platform for supercapacitor-based energy storage, resulting in cost-effective, environment-friendly features, and consequent readiness for on-chip integration. Due to the limitation of the ion-accessible active porous surface area, the energy densities of these supercapacitors are restricted below ~3 × 10−3 Whcm−3. In this paper, we demonstrate a new design of biomimetic laser scribed graphene electrodes for solar energy storage, which embraces the structure of Fern leaves characterized by the geometric family of space filling curves of fractals. This new conceptual design removes the limit of the conventional planar supercapacitors by significantly increasing the ratio of active surface area to volume of the new electrodes and reducing the electrolyte ionic path. The attained energy density is thus significantly increased to ~10−1 Whcm−3- more than 30 times higher than that achievable by the planar electrodes with ~95% coulombic efficiency of the solar energy storage. The energy storages with these novel electrodes open the prospects of efficient self-powered and solar-powered wearable, flexible and portable applications. PMID:28361924

The performance of 3-D graphite doped anodes in microbial electrolysis cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yasri, Nael G.; Nakhla, George

2017-02-01

This study investigated the use of granular activated carbon (GAC) as high surface area 3-dimensional (3-D) anode in MECs systems. The interfacial anodes' charge transfer resistance of the doped GAC did not impact the overall performance of MECs. Based on our finding, the 3-D anode packed with GAC-doped with nonconductive calcium sulfide (CaS) outperformed the more conductive iron (II) sulfide (FeS), magnetite (Fe3O4), or GAC without doping. The results showed higher current densities for 3-D CaS (40.1 A/m3), as compared with 3-D FeS (34.4 A/m3), 3-D Fe3O4 (29.8 A/m3), and 3-D GAC (23.1 A/m3). The higher current density in the 3-D CaS translated to higher coulombic efficiency (96.7%), hydrogen yield (3.6 mol H2/mol acetate), and attached biomass per anode mass (54.01 mg COD biomass/g GAC). Although the 3-D MEC achieved similar hydrogen yield, hydrogen recovery efficiency, and COD removal rate to a conventional sandwich type MEC, the current density, coulombic efficiency, and overall energy efficiency were higher.

Coaxial fiber supercapacitor using all-carbon material electrodes.

PubMed

Le, Viet Thong; Kim, Heetae; Ghosh, Arunabha; Kim, Jaesu; Chang, Jian; Vu, Quoc An; Pham, Duy Tho; Lee, Ju-Hyuck; Kim, Sang-Woo; Lee, Young Hee

2013-07-23

We report a coaxial fiber supercapacitor, which consists of carbon microfiber bundles coated with multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a core electrode and carbon nanofiber paper as an outer electrode. The ratio of electrode volumes was determined by a half-cell test of each electrode. The capacitance reached 6.3 mF cm(-1) (86.8 mF cm(-2)) at a core electrode diameter of 230 μm and the measured energy density was 0.7 μWh cm(-1) (9.8 μWh cm(-2)) at a power density of 13.7 μW cm(-1) (189.4 μW cm(-2)), which were much higher than the previous reports. The change in the cyclic voltammetry characteristics was negligible at 180° bending, with excellent cycling performance. The high capacitance, high energy density, and power density of the coaxial fiber supercapacitor are attributed to not only high effective surface area due to its coaxial structure and bundle of the core electrode, but also all-carbon materials electrodes which have high conductivity. Our coaxial fiber supercapacitor can promote the development of textile electronics in near future.

Scaling laws and deformation mechanisms of nanoporous copper under adiabatic uniaxial strain compression

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yuan, Fuping, E-mail: fpyuan@lnm.imech.ac.cn; Wu, Xiaolei, E-mail: xlwu@imech.ac.cn

2014-12-15

A series of large-scale molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the scaling laws and the related atomistic deformation mechanisms of Cu monocrystal samples containing randomly placed nanovoids under adiabatic uniaxial strain compression. At onset of yielding, plastic deformation is accommodated by dislocations emitted from void surfaces as shear loops. The collapse of voids are observed by continuous emissions of dislocations from void surfaces and their interactions with further plastic deformation. The simulation results also suggest that the effect modulus, the yield stress and the energy aborption density of samples under uniaxial strain are linearly proportional to the relative densitymore » ρ. Moreover, the yield stress, the average flow stress and the energy aborption density of samples with the same relative density show a strong dependence on the void diameter d, expressed by exponential relations with decay coefficients much higher than -1/2. The corresponding atomistic mechanisms for scaling laws of the relative density and the void diameter were also presented. The present results should provide insights for understanding deformation mechanisms of nanoporous metals under extreme conditions.« less

Light as an Energy Source in Continuous Cultures of Bacteriorhodopsin-Containing Halobacteria

PubMed Central

Rodriguez-Valera, F.; Nieto, J. J.; Ruiz-Berraquero, F.

1983-01-01

The role of light as an energy source for slightly aereated cultures of halobacteria was studied, using continuous cultures with low nutrient concentrations and a low oxygen supply. A series of experiments were carried out with non-illuminated and differently illuminated cultures and with different oxygen transfer rates. Under low oxygen availability, light proved to be a decisively important energy source that allowed the populations to reach higher growth rates and much higher population densities. Oxygen influenced the growth over only a minimal level, below which neither the illuminated nor the dark cultures were affected by the oxygen transfer rate. From these results, it appears that the bacteriorhodopsin-mediated energy supply could have a very important role for the ecology of halobacteria in their microaerophilic habitats. In the illuminated cultures, cells that originated purple colonies on plates appeared. These cells, which could be bacteriorhodopsin-constitutive mutants, are now being studied. PMID:16346250

Evolution of the properties of helium nanobubbles during in situ annealing probed by spectrum imaging in the transmission electron microscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alix, K.; David, M.-L.; Dérès, J.; Hébert, C.; Pizzagalli, L.

2018-03-01

The evolution of nanometric helium bubbles in silicon has been investigated using spatially resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy during in situ annealing in the transmission electron microscope. This approach allows the simultaneous determination of both the morphology and the helium density in the bubbles at each step of the annealing. Structural modification and helium emission from bubbles of various diameters in the range 7.5 to 20 nm and various aspect ratios of 1.1 to 1.9 have been studied. We clearly show that helium emission takes place at temperatures where bubble migration had hardly started. At higher temperatures, the migration (and coalescence) of voids is clearly revealed. For helium density lower than 150 He nm-3 , the Cerofolini's model taking into account the thermodynamical properties of an ultradense fluid reproduces well the helium emission from the bubbles, leading to an activation energy of 1.8 eV. When bubbles exhibit a higher initial helium density, the Cerofolini's model fails to reproduce the helium emission kinetics. We ascribe this to the fact that helium may be in the solid phase and we propose a tentative model to take into account the properties of the solid.

Alternative Explanations for Extreme Supersolar Iron Abundances Inferred from the Energy Spectrum of Cygnus X-1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomsick, John A.; Parker, Michael L.; García, Javier A.; Yamaoka, Kazutaka; Barret, Didier; Chiu, Jeng-Lun; Clavel, Maïca; Fabian, Andrew; Fürst, Felix; Gandhi, Poshak; Grinberg, Victoria; Miller, Jon M.; Pottschmidt, Katja; Walton, Dominic J.

2018-03-01

Here we study a 1–200 keV energy spectrum of the black hole binary Cygnus X-1 taken with NuSTAR and Suzaku. This is the first report of a NuSTAR observation of Cyg X-1 in the intermediate state, and the observation was taken during the part of the binary orbit where absorption due to the companion’s stellar wind is minimal. The spectrum includes a multi-temperature thermal disk component, a cutoff power-law component, and relativistic and nonrelativistic reflection components. Our initial fits with publicly available constant density reflection models (relxill and reflionx) lead to extremely high iron abundances (>9.96 and {10.6}-0.9+1.6 times solar, respectively). Although supersolar iron abundances have been reported previously for Cyg X-1, our measurements are much higher and such variability is almost certainly unphysical. Using a new version of reflionx that we modified to make the electron density a free parameter, we obtain better fits to the spectrum even with solar iron abundances. We report on how the higher density ({n}e=({3.98}-0.25+0.12)× {10}20 cm‑3) impacts other parameters such as the inner radius and inclination of the disk.

Low-energy ion irradiation in HiPIMS to enable anatase TiO2 selective growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cemin, Felipe; Tsukamoto, Makoto; Keraudy, Julien; Antunes, Vinícius Gabriel; Helmersson, Ulf; Alvarez, Fernando; Minea, Tiberiu; Lundin, Daniel

2018-06-01

High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) has already demonstrated great potential for synthesizing the high-energy crystalline phase of titanium dioxide (rutile TiO2) due to large quantities of highly energetic ions present in the discharge. In this work, it is shown that the metastable anatase phase can also be obtained by HiPIMS. The required deposition conditions have been identified by systematically studying the phase formation, microstructure and chemical composition as a function of mode of target operation as well as of substrate temperature, working pressure, and peak current density. It is found that films deposited in the metal and transition modes are predominantly amorphous and contain substoichiometric TiO x compounds, while in compound mode they are well-crystallized and present only O2‑ ions bound to Ti4+, i.e. pure TiO2. Anatase TiO2 films are obtained for working pressures between 1 and 2 Pa, a peak current density of ~1 A cm‑2 and deposition temperatures lower than 300 °C. Rutile is favored at lower pressures (<1 Pa) and higher peak current densities (>2 A cm‑2), while amorphous films are obtained at higher pressures (5 Pa). Microstructural characterization of selected films is also presented.

Applying Recovery Biomarkers to Calibrate Self-Report Measures of Energy and Protein in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.

PubMed

Mossavar-Rahmani, Yasmin; Shaw, Pamela A; Wong, William W; Sotres-Alvarez, Daniela; Gellman, Marc D; Van Horn, Linda; Stoutenberg, Mark; Daviglus, Martha L; Wylie-Rosett, Judith; Siega-Riz, Anna Maria; Ou, Fang-Shu; Prentice, Ross L

2015-06-15

We investigated measurement error in the self-reported diets of US Hispanics/Latinos, who are prone to obesity and related comorbidities, by background (Central American, Cuban, Dominican, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and South American) in 2010-2012. In 477 participants aged 18-74 years, doubly labeled water and urinary nitrogen were used as objective recovery biomarkers of energy and protein intakes. Self-report was captured from two 24-hour dietary recalls. All measures were repeated in a subsample of 98 individuals. We examined the bias of dietary recalls and their associations with participant characteristics using generalized estimating equations. Energy intake was underestimated by 25.3% (men, 21.8%; women, 27.3%), and protein intake was underestimated by 18.5% (men, 14.7%; women, 20.7%). Protein density was overestimated by 10.7% (men, 11.3%; women, 10.1%). Higher body mass index and Hispanic/Latino background were associated with underestimation of energy (P<0.05). For protein intake, higher body mass index, older age, nonsmoking, Spanish speaking, and Hispanic/Latino background were associated with underestimation (P<0.05). Systematic underreporting of energy and protein intakes and overreporting of protein density were found to vary significantly by Hispanic/Latino background. We developed calibration equations that correct for subject-specific error in reporting that can be used to reduce bias in diet-disease association studies. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Silicon-Based Lithium-Ion Capacitor for High Energy and High Power Application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, James J.; Demattia, Brianne; Loyselle, Patricia; Reid, Concha; Kohout, Lisa

2017-01-01

Si-based Li-ion capacitor has been developed and demonstrated. The results show it is feasible to improve both power density and energy density in this configuration. The applied current density impacts the power and energy density: low current favors energy density while high current favors power density. Active carbon has a better rate capability than Si. Next StepsFuture Directions. Si electrode needs to be further studied and improved. Further optimization of SiAC ratio and evaluation of its impact on energy density and power density.

X-ray Emission Characteristics of Ultra-High Energy Density Relativistic Plasmas Created by Ultrafast Laser Irradiation of Nanowire Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hollinger, R. C.; Bargsten, C.; Shlyaptsev, V. N.; Pukhov, A.; Purvis, M. A.; Townsend, A.; Keiss, D.; Wang, Y.; Wang, S.; Prieto, A.; Rocca, J. J.

2014-10-01

Irradiation of ordered nanowire arrays with high contrast femtosecond laser pulses of relativistic intensity creates volumetrically heated near solid density plasmas characterized by multi-KeV temperatures and extreme degrees of ionization. The large hydrodynamic-to-radiative lifetime ratio of these plasmas results in very efficient X-ray generation. Au nanowire array plasmas irradiated at I 5×1018 Wcm-2 are measured to convert ~ 5 percent of the laser energy into h ν > 0.9 KeV X-rays, and >1 × 10-4 into h ν > 9 KeV photons, creating bright picosecond X-ray sources. The angular distribution of the higher energy photons is measured to change from isotropic into annular as the intensity increases, while softer X-ray emission (h ν >1 KeV) remains isotropic and nearly unchanged. Model simulations suggest the unexpected annular distribution of the hard X-rays might result from bremsstrahlung of fast electrons confined in a high aspect ratio near solid density plasma in which the electron-ion collision mean free-path is of the order of the plasma thickness. Work supported by the U.S Department of Energy, Fusion Energy Sciences and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency Grant HDTRA-1-10-1-0079. A.P was supported by of DFG-funded project TR18.

Equatorial distributions of energetic ion moments in Saturn's magnetosphere using Cassini/MIMI measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dialynas, K.; Roussos, E.; Regoli, L.; Paranicas, C.; Krimigis, S. M.; Kane, M.; Mitchell, D. G.; Hamilton, D. C.

2016-12-01

We use kappa distribution fits to combined Charge Energy Mass Spectrometer (CHEMS, 3 to 236 keV/e), Low Energy Magnetosphere Measurements System (LEMMS, 0.024 < E < 18 MeV), and Ion Neutral Camera (INCA, 5.2 to >220 keV for H+) proton and singly ionized energetic ion spectra to calculate the >20 keV energetic ion moments inside Saturn's magnetosphere. Using a realistic magnetic field model (Khurana et al. 2007) and data from the entire Cassini mission to date (2004-2016), we map the ion measurements to the equatorial plane and via the modeled kappa distribution spectra we produce the equatorial distributions of all ion integral moments, focusing on partial density, integral intensity, partial pressure, integral energy intensity; as well as the characteristic energy (EC=IE/In), Temperature and κ-index of these ions as a function of Local Time (00:00 to 24:00 hrs) and L-Shell (5-20). A modified version of the semi-empirical Roelof and Skinner [2000] model is then utilized to retrieve the equatorial H+ and O+ pressure, density and temperature in Saturn's magnetosphere in both local time and L-shell. We find that a) although the H+ and O+ partial pressures and densities are nearly comparable, the >20 keV protons have higher number and energy intensities at all radial distances (L>5) and local times; b) the 12

Parametric resonance energy exchange and induction phenomenon in a one-dimensional nonlinear oscillator chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshimura, K.

2000-11-01

We study analytically the induction phenomenon in the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam β oscillator chain under initial conditions consisting of single mode excitation. Our study is based on the analytical computation of the largest characteristic exponent of an approximate version of the variational equation. The main results can be summarized as follows: (1) the energy density ɛ scaling of the induction time T is given by T~ɛ-1, and T becomes smaller for higher-frequency mode excitation; (2) there is a threshold energy density ɛc such that the induction time diverges when ɛ<ɛc=π2/6βN2, where N is the system size and β the nonlinearity parameter, and this expression for ɛc is correct in the limit N-->∞ (3) the threshold ɛc vanishes as ɛc~N-2 in the limit N-->∞ (4) the threshold ɛc does not depend on the mode number k that is excited in the initial condition; (5) the two modes k+/-m have the largest exponential growth rate, and m increases with increasing ɛ as m/N=3βɛ/π. The above analytical results are thoroughly verified in numerical experiments. Moreover, we discuss the energy exchange process after the induction period in some energy density regimes, based on the numerical results.

Comparison of energy efficiency and power density in pressure retarded osmosis and reverse electrodialysis.

PubMed

Yip, Ngai Yin; Elimelech, Menachem

2014-09-16

Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) and reverse electrodialysis (RED) are emerging membrane-based technologies that can convert chemical energy in salinity gradients to useful work. The two processes have intrinsically different working principles: controlled mixing in PRO is achieved by water permeation across salt-rejecting membranes, whereas RED is driven by ion flux across charged membranes. This study compares the energy efficiency and power density performance of PRO and RED with simulated technologically available membranes for natural, anthropogenic, and engineered salinity gradients (seawater-river water, desalination brine-wastewater, and synthetic hypersaline solutions, respectively). The analysis shows that PRO can achieve both greater efficiencies (54-56%) and higher power densities (2.4-38 W/m(2)) than RED (18-38% and 0.77-1.2 W/m(2)). The superior efficiency is attributed to the ability of PRO membranes to more effectively utilize the salinity difference to drive water permeation and better suppress the detrimental leakage of salts. On the other hand, the low conductivity of currently available ion exchange membranes impedes RED ion flux and, thus, constrains the power density. Both technologies exhibit a trade-off between efficiency and power density: employing more permeable but less selective membranes can enhance the power density, but undesired entropy production due to uncontrolled mixing increases and some efficiency is sacrificed. When the concentration difference is increased (i.e., natural → anthropogenic → engineered salinity gradients), PRO osmotic pressure difference rises proportionally but not so for RED Nernst potential, which has logarithmic dependence on the solution concentration. Because of this inherently different characteristic, RED is unable to take advantage of larger salinity gradients, whereas PRO power density is considerably enhanced. Additionally, high solution concentrations suppress the Donnan exclusion effect of the charged RED membranes, severely reducing the permselectivity and diminishing the energy conversion efficiency. This study indicates that PRO is more suitable to extract energy from a range of salinity gradients, while significant advancements in ion exchange membranes are likely necessary for RED to be competitive with PRO.

Comparison of Energy Efficiency and Power Density in Pressure Retarded Osmosis and Reverse Electrodialysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yip, NY; Elimelech, M

Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) and reverse electrodialysis (RED) are emerging membrane-based technologies that can convert chemical energy in salinity gradients to useful work. The two processes have intrinsically different working principles: controlled mixing in PRO is achieved by water permeation across salt-rejecting membranes, whereas RED is driven by ion flux across charged membranes. This study compares the energy efficiency and power density performance of PRO and RED with simulated technologically available membranes for natural, anthropogenic, and engineered salinity gradients (seawater-river water, desalination brine-wastewater, and synthetic hypersaline solutions, respectively). The analysis shows that PRO can achieve both greater efficiencies (54-56%) andmore » higher power densities (2.4-38 W/m(2)) than RED (18-38% and 0.77-1.2 W/m(2)). The superior efficiency is attributed to the ability of PRO membranes to more effectively utilize the salinity difference to drive water permeation and better suppress the detrimental leakage of salts. On the other hand, the low conductivity of currently available ion exchange membranes impedes RED ion flux and, thus, constrains the power density. Both technologies exhibit a trade-off between efficiency and power density: employing more permeable but less selective membranes can enhance the power density, but undesired entropy production due to uncontrolled mixing increases and some efficiency is sacrificed. When the concentration difference is increased (i.e., natural -> anthropogenic -> engineered salinity gradients), PRO osmotic pressure difference rises proportionally but not so for RED Nernst potential, which has logarithmic dependence on the solution concentration. Because of this inherently different characteristic, RED is unable to take advantage of larger salinity gradients, whereas PRO power density is considerably enhanced. Additionally, high solution concentrations suppress the Donnan exclusion effect of the charged RED membranes, severely reducing the permselectivity and diminishing the energy conversion efficiency. This study indicates that PRO is more suitable to extract energy from a range of salinity gradients, while significant advancements in ion exchange membranes are likely necessary for RED to be competitive with PRO.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cui, L.; Nazikian, Raffi; Grierson, B. A.

Here, Resonant Magnetic Perturbations (RMPs) are a leading method for edge localized modes (ELMs) Control in fusion plasmas. However they can also cause a rapid degradation in energy confinement. In this paper we show that the energy confinement in low collisionality (v* e < 0.3) DIII-D ITER Similar Shape (ISS) plasmas often recovers after several energy confinement times for RMP amplitudes up to the threshold for ELM suppression. Immediately following the application of the RMP, the plasma stored energy decreases in proportion to the decrease in the line-averaged density during density "pump-out". Later in the discharge confinement recovery is observedmore » in the thermal ion channel and is correlated with the increase in the ion temperature at the top of the H-mode pedestal. A correlation between the inverse scale length of the ion temperature (α/L Ti) and the E x B shearing rate at the top of the pedestal is seen during the confinement recovery phase. Transport analysis reveals that the confinement improvement in the ion channel results from the self-similarity in the ion temperature profiles in the plasma core combined with the observed increase in α/L Ti in the plasma edge following density pump-out. In contrast the electron temperature scale length (α/L Ti) remains essentially unchanged in response to the application of the RMP. At significantly higher RMP levels the edge EXB shearing rate and α/L Ti does not increase and the confinement does not recover following density pump-out.« less

Relativistic theory of particles in a scattering flow III: photon transport.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Achterberg, A.; Norman, C. A.

2018-06-01

We use the theory developed in Achterberg & Norman (2018a) and Achterberg & Norman (2018b) to calculate the stress due to photons that are scattered elastically by a relativistic flow. We show that the energy-momentum tensor of the radiation takes the form proposed by Eckart (1940). In particular we show that no terms associated with a bulk viscosity appear if one makes the diffusion approximation for radiation transport and treats the radiation as a separate fluid. We find only shear (dynamic) viscosity terms and heat flow terms in our expression for the energy-momentum tensor. This conclusion holds quite generally for different forms of scattering: Krook-type integral scattering, diffusive (Fokker-Planck) scattering and Thomson scattering. We also derive the transport equation in the diffusion approximation that shows the effects of the flow on the photon gas in the form of a combination of adiabatic heating and an irreversible heating term. We find no diffusive changes to the comoving number density and energy density of the scattered photons, in contrast with some published results in Radiation Hydrodynamics. It is demonstrated that these diffusive corrections to the number- and energy density of the photons are in fact higher-order terms that can (and should) be neglected in the diffusion approximation. Our approach eliminates these terms at the root of the expansion that yields the anisotropic terms in the phase-space density of particles and photons, the terms responsible for the photon viscosity.

Observation of ionization shifts in K-shell emission from short-pulse laser irradiated micro-dot targets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neumayer, Paul; Kritcher, Andrea; Landen, Otto; Lee, Haeja; Offerman, Dustin; Shipton, Eric; Glenzer, Siegfried

2006-10-01

X-ray Thomson scattering using short pulse laser generated intense line radiation has a great potential as a time-resolved temperature and density diagnostic for high-energy density states of matter. We present recent results characterizing Chlorine K-alpha and K-beta line emission obtained by irradiating Saran foil with 50 Terawatt laser pulses from the Callisto laser (Jupiter Laser Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory). Spectra from front and rear side emission are recorded simultaneously with high resolution HOPG spectrometers employing imaging plate detectors. Conversion efficiencies of laser pulse energy into x-ray line emission of several 10-5 are achieved and are maintained throughout up to 7 J of laser energy, thus constituting a short pulsed narrow band x-ray source of more than 10^11 photons. When the target size is reduced to 50 micrometer (``micro-dot'') a significant blue-shift of up to 5 eV is clearly observed. This can be attributed to higher ionization states of the target atoms indicating achievement of a high-temperature solid density state. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. W-7405-ENG-48 and LDRD 05-ERI-003.

Structure evolution and thermal stability of high-energy density Li-ion battery cathode Li 2VO 2F

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Xiaoya; Huang, Yiqing; Ji, Dongsheng

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) provide high-energy-density electrochemical energy storage, which plays a central role in advancing technologies ranging from portable electronics to electric vehicles (EVs). However, a demand for lighter, more compact devices and for extended range EVs continues to fuel the need for higher energy density storage systems. Li 2VO 2F, which is synthesized in its lithiated state, allows two-electron transfer per formula during the electrochemical reaction providing a high theoretical capacity of 462 mAh/g. Herein, the synthesis and electrochemical performance of Li 2VO 2F are optimized. The thermal stability of Li 2VO 2F, which is related to the safetymore » of a battery is studied by thermal gravimetric analysis. The structure and vanadium oxidation state evolution along Li cycling are studied by ex-situ X-ray diffraction and absorption techniques. It is shown that the rock-salt structure of pristine Li 2VO 2F is stable up to at least 250°C, and is preserved upon Li cycling, which proceeds by the solid-solution mechanism. However, not all Li can be removed from the structure upon charge to 4.5 V, limiting the experimentally obtained capacity.« less

Polypropylene/Polyaniline Nanofiber/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite with Enhanced Electrical, Dielectric, and Ferroelectric Properties for a High Energy Density Capacitor.

PubMed

Cho, Sunghun; Kim, Minkyu; Lee, Jun Seop; Jang, Jyongsik

2015-10-14

This work demonstrates a ternary nanocomposite system, composed of polypropylene (PP), redoped PANI (r-PANI) nanofibers, and reduced graphene oxides (RGOs), for use in a high energy density capacitor. r-PANI nanofibers were fabricated by the combination methods of chemical oxidation polymerization and secondary doping processes, resulting in higher conductivity (σ≈156 S cm(-1)) than that of the primarily doped PANI nanofibers (σ≈16 S cm(-1)). RGO sheets with high electron mobility and thermal stability can enhance the conductivity of r-PANI/RGO (σ≈220 S cm(-1)) and thermal stability of PP matrix. These findings could be extended to combine the advantages of r-PANI nanofibers and RGO sheets for developing an efficient means of preparing PP/r-PANI/RGO nanocomposite. When the r-PANI/RGO cofillers (10 vol %) were added to PP matrix, the resulting PP/r-PANI/RGO nanocomposite exhibited high dielectric constant (ε'≈51.8) with small dielectric loss (ε″≈9.3×10(-3)). Furthermore, the PP/r-PANI/RGO nanocomposite was used for an energy-harvesting device, which demonstrated high energy density (Ue≈12.6 J cm(-3)) and breakdown strength (E≈5.86×10(3) kV cm(-1)).

Structure evolution and thermal stability of high-energy density Li-ion battery cathode Li 2VO 2F

DOE PAGES

Wang, Xiaoya; Huang, Yiqing; Ji, Dongsheng; ...

2017-05-24

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) provide high-energy-density electrochemical energy storage, which plays a central role in advancing technologies ranging from portable electronics to electric vehicles (EVs). However, a demand for lighter, more compact devices and for extended range EVs continues to fuel the need for higher energy density storage systems. Li 2VO 2F, which is synthesized in its lithiated state, allows two-electron transfer per formula during the electrochemical reaction providing a high theoretical capacity of 462 mAh/g. Herein, the synthesis and electrochemical performance of Li 2VO 2F are optimized. The thermal stability of Li 2VO 2F, which is related to the safetymore » of a battery is studied by thermal gravimetric analysis. The structure and vanadium oxidation state evolution along Li cycling are studied by ex-situ X-ray diffraction and absorption techniques. It is shown that the rock-salt structure of pristine Li 2VO 2F is stable up to at least 250°C, and is preserved upon Li cycling, which proceeds by the solid-solution mechanism. However, not all Li can be removed from the structure upon charge to 4.5 V, limiting the experimentally obtained capacity.« less

Development of a Hampton University Program for Novel Breast Cancer Imaging and Therapy Research

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

student ( Nanda Karthik) involved…. Should be able to give you some text!]. Aim 2 Develop and test a practical method for application of a magnetic field ...a Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear physics research facility operated by Jefferson Science Associates LLC. Jefferson Lab resources for this...minimally affected by breast density because of the higher energy photons of 99mTc. In a recent study that included patients who had inconclusive

Vertebral fractures assessed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in patients with Addison's disease on glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid replacement therapy.

PubMed

Camozzi, Valentina; Betterle, Corrado; Frigo, Anna Chiara; Zaccariotto, Veronica; Zaninotto, Martina; De Caneva, Erica; Lucato, Paola; Gomiero, Walter; Garelli, Silvia; Sabbadin, Chiara; Salvà, Monica; Costa, Miriam Dalla; Boscaro, Marco; Luisetto, Giovanni

2018-02-01

to assess bone damage and metabolic abnormalities in patients with Addison's disease given replacement doses of glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids. A total of 87 patients and 81 age-matched and sex-matched healthy controls were studied. The following parameters were measured: urinary cortisol, serum calcium, phosphorus, creatinine, 24-h urinary calcium excretion, bone alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, serum CrossLaps, 25 hydroxyvitamin D, and 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D. Clear vertebral images were obtained with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in 61 Addison's disease patients and 47 controls and assessed using Genant's classification. Nineteen Addison's disease patients (31.1%) had at least one morphometric vertebral fracture, as opposed to six controls (12.8%, odds ratio 3.09, 95% confidence interval 1.12-8.52). There were no significant differences in bone mineral density parameters at any site between patients and controls. In Addison's disease patients, there was a positive correlation between urinary cortisol and urinary calcium excretion. Patients with fractures had a longer history of disease than those without fractures. Patients taking fludrocortisone had a higher bone mineral density than untreated patients at all sites except the lumbar spine. Addison's disease patients have more fragile bones irrespective of any decrease in bone mineral density. Supra-physiological doses of glucocorticoids and longer-standing disease (with a consequently higher glucocorticoid intake) might be the main causes behind patients' increased bone fragility. Associated mineralocorticoid treatment seems to have a protective effect on bone mineral density.

OSIRIS Modeling of High Energy Electron Transport in Warm Dense Matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

May, J.; Yabuuchi, T.; McGuffey, C.; Wei, Ms; Beg, F.; Mori, Wb

2016-10-01

In experiments on the Omega EP laser, a high intensity laser beam (eA /me c > 1) is focused onto a gold foil, generating relativistic electrons. Behind the Au foil is a layer of plastic foam through which the electrons are allowed to transport, and on the far side of the CH from the gold is a copper foil; electron fluence is measured by recording the k- α from that foil. The foam layer is either pre-ionized via a shock launched from an ablator irradiated earlier with a beam perpendicular to the high intensity beam; or the foam is in the solid state when the high intensity beam is switched on. In the latter case the foam - which has an initial density of 200mg /cm3 - heats to a temperature of 40eV and rarifies to a density of 30mg /cm3 . Results show an order of magnitude decrease in k- α when the CH layer is pre-ionized compared to cold CH. OSIRIS simulations indicate that the primary explanation for the difference in transport seen in the experiment is the partial resistive collimation of the beam in the higher density material, caused by collisional resistivity. The effect seems to be mostly caused by the higher density itself, with temperature having minimal effect. The authors acknowledge the support of the Department of Energy under contract DE-NA 0001833 and the National Science Foundation under contract ACI 1339893.

Turbulent, Extreme Multi-zone Model for Simulating Flux and Polarization Variability in Blazars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marscher, Alan P.

2014-01-01

The author presents a model for variability of the flux and polarization of blazars in which turbulent plasma flowing at a relativistic speed down a jet crosses a standing conical shock. The shock compresses the plasma and accelerates electrons to energies up to γmax >~ 104 times their rest-mass energy, with the value of γmax determined by the direction of the magnetic field relative to the shock front. The turbulence is approximated in a computer code as many cells, each with a uniform magnetic field whose direction is selected randomly. The density of high-energy electrons in the plasma changes randomly with time in a manner consistent with the power spectral density of flux variations derived from observations of blazars. The variations in flux and polarization are therefore caused by continuous noise processes rather than by singular events such as explosive injection of energy at the base of the jet. Sample simulations illustrate the behavior of flux and linear polarization versus time that such a model produces. The variations in γ-ray flux generated by the code are often, but not always, correlated with those at lower frequencies, and many of the flares are sharply peaked. The mean degree of polarization of synchrotron radiation is higher and its timescale of variability shorter toward higher frequencies, while the polarization electric vector sometimes randomly executes apparent rotations. The slope of the spectral energy distribution exhibits sharper breaks than can arise solely from energy losses. All of these results correspond to properties observed in blazars.

Enhancement of high-speed flywheel energy storage via carbon-fiber composite reinforcement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conteh, Michael Abu

This study on the enhancement of high-speed flywheel energy storage is to investigate composite materials that are suitable for high-speed, high-energy density for energy storage and/or energy recovery. The main motivation of the study is to explore the application of the flywheel in the aviation industry for recovering some of the energy that is currently being lost at the wheel brakes of an aircraft due to the high temperature developed in the brake stack as a result of landing, frequent brake applications during taxiing in or out of heavy traffic airports and rejected take-off. Lamina and laminate mechanical properties of materials suitable for flywheel high-speed energy storage were investigated. Design and optimum stress analysis were used to determine the shape factor, maximum stress and energy density for a flywheel with a constant stress disk and a constant thickness rim. Analytical studies along with the use of the CADEC-online software were used to evaluate the lamina and laminate properties. This study found that the use of hybrid composite material with higher strength (based on first ply failure strength) and lower density and lower elastic moduli for the disk than the rim material will yield high-speed and high-energy density. The materials designed based on the results from this study show outperformance compared to previous published results of standard flywheel material combinations. The safe rotational velocity and energy density were found to be 166,000 RPM and 2.73 MJ/kg respectively. Therefore, results from this study will contribute to aiding further development of the flywheel that has recently re-emerged as a promising application for energy storage due to significant improvements in composite materials and technology. Further study on flywheel energy recovery from aircraft brakes revealed that more than half of the energy dissipated at the wheel brake as heat could be recovered and converted to some useful form. In this way, the operating life of the brakes can be prolonged. The total additional weight to the aircraft was found to be less than 0.2% of the maximum take-off weight. This additional weight can be offset by reducing the design payload while ensuring that the structural efficiency of the aircraft is not altered. It was also found that, applying this method of flywheel energy recovery to active commercial Boeing-777 aircraft will result in savings equivalent to the annual carbon emission of a 6 MW fossil fuel power plant. This will also contribute to the aviation industry climate change mitigation.

Maximizing the performance of photothermal actuators by combining smart materials with supplementary advantages

PubMed Central

Wang, Tongyu; Torres, David; Fernández, Félix E.; Wang, Chuan; Sepúlveda, Nelson

2017-01-01

The search for higher-performance photothermal microactuators has typically involved unavoidable trade-offs that hinder the demonstration of ubiquitous devices with high energy density, speed, flexibility, efficiency, sensitivity, and multifunctionality. Improving some of these parameters often implies deterioration of others. Photothermal actuators are driven by the conversion of absorbed optical energy into thermal energy, which, by different mechanisms, can produce mechanical displacement of a structure. We present a device that has been strategically designed to show high performance in every metric and respond to optical radiation of selected wavelength bands. The device combines the large energy densities and sensitivity of vanadium dioxide (VO2)–based actuators with the wavelength-selective absorption properties of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) films of different chiralities. SWNT coatings increased the speed of VO2 actuators by a factor of 2 while decreasing the power consumption by approximately 50%. Devices coated with metallic SWNT were found to be 1.57 times more responsive to red light than to near-infrared, whereas semiconducting SWNT coatings resulted in 1.42 times higher responsivities to near-infrared light than to red light. The added functionality establishes a link between optical and mechanical domains of high-performance photoactuators and enables the future development of mechanical logic gates and electronic devices that are triggered by optical radiation from different frequency bands. PMID:28439553

Er(3+)/Yb(3+) upconverters for InGaP solar cells under concentrated broadband illumination.

PubMed

Feenstra, J; Six, I F; Asselbergs, M A H; van Leest, R H; de Wild, J; Meijerink, A; Schropp, R E I; Rowan, A E; Schermer, J J

2015-05-07

The inability of solar cell materials to convert all incident photon energy into electrical current, provides a fundamental limit to the solar cell efficiency; the so called Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit. A process termed upconversion provides a pathway to convert otherwise unabsorbed low energy photons passing through the solar cell into higher energy photons, which subsequently can be redirected back to the solar cell. The combination of a semi-transparent InGaP solar cell with lanthanide upconverters, consisting of ytterbium and erbium ions doped in three different host materials (Gd2O2S, Y2O3 and NaYF4) is investigated. Using sub-band gap light of wavelength range 890 nm to 1045 nm with a total accumulated power density of 2.7 kW m(-2), a distinct photocurrent was measured in the solar cell when the upconverters were applied whereas a zero current was measured without upconverter. Furthermore, a time delay between excitation and emission was observed for all upconverter systems which can be explained by energy transfer upconversion. Also, a quadratic dependence on the illumination intensity was observed for the NaYF4 and Y2O3 host material upconverters. The Gd2O2S host material upconverter deviated from the quadratic illumination intensity dependence towards linear behaviour, which can be attributed to saturation effects occurring at higher illumination power densities.

Formation of bimetallic metal-organic framework nanosheets and their derived porous nickel-cobalt sulfides for supercapacitors.

PubMed

Chen, Chen; Wu, Meng-Ke; Tao, Kai; Zhou, Jiao-Jiao; Li, Yan-Li; Han, Xue; Han, Lei

2018-04-24

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) show great advantages as new kinds of active materials for energy storage. In this study, bimetallic metal-organic frameworks (Ni/Co-MOFs) with nanosheet-assembled flower-like structures were synthesized by etching Ni-MOF microspheres in a cobalt nitrate solution. It can be clearly observed that the amount of Co(NO3)2 and etching time play crucial roles in the formation of Ni/Co-MOF nanosheets. The Ni/Co-MOFs were used as electrode materials for supercapacitors and the optimized Ni/Co-MOF-5 exhibited the highest capacitances of 1220.2 F g-1 and 986.7 F g-1 at current densities of 1 A g-1 and 10 A g-1, respectively. Ni/Co-MOF-5 was further sulfurized, and the derived Ni-Co-S electrode showed a higher specific capacitance of 1377.5 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 and a retention of 89.4% when the current density was increased to 10 A g-1, indicating superior rate capability. Furthermore, Ni/Co-MOF-5 and Ni-Co-S showed excellent cycling stability, i.e. about 87.8% and 93.7% of initial capacitance can be still maintained after 3000 cycles of charge-discharge. More interestingly, the Ni/Co-MOF-5//AC ASC shows an energy density of 30.9 W h kg-1 at a power density of 1132.8 W kg-1, and the Ni-Co-S//AC ASC displays a high energy density of 36.9 W h kg-1 at a power density of 1066.42 W kg-1. These results demonstrate that the as-synthesized bimetallic Ni/Co-MOF nanosheets and their derived nickel-cobalt sulfides have promising applications in electrochemical supercapacitors.

Multiple kinetic k-essence, phantom barrier crossing and stability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sur, Sourav; Das, Saurya, E-mail: sourav.sur@uleth.ca

We investigate models of dark energy with purely kinetic multiple k-essence sources that allow for the crossing of the phantom divide line, without violating the conditions of stability. It is known that with more than one kinetic k-field one can possibly construct dark energy models whose equation of state parameter w{sub X} crosses -1 (the phantom barrier) at recent red-shifts, as indicated by the Supernova Ia and other observational probes. However, such models may suffer from cosmological instabilities, as the effective speed of propagation c{sub X} of the dark energy density perturbations may become imaginary while the w{sub X} =more » -1 barrier is crossed. Working out the expression for c{sub X} we show that multiple kinetic k-essence fields do indeed lead to a w{sub X} = -1 crossing dark energy model, satisfying the stability criterion c{sub X}{sup 2} {>=} 0 as well as the condition c{sub X} {<=} 1 (in natural units), which implies that the dark energy is not super-luminal. As a specific example, we construct a phantom barrier crossing model involving three k-fields for which c{sub X} is a constant, lying between 0 and 1. The model fits well with the latest Supernova Ia Union data, and the best fit shows that w{sub X} crosses -1 at red-shift z {approx} 0.2, whereas the dark energy density nearly tracks the matter density at higher red-shifts.« less

Application of CORSIKA Simulation Code to Study Lateral and Longitudinal Distribution of Fluorescence Light in Cosmic Ray Extensive Air Showers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagheri, Zahra; Davoudifar, Pantea; Rastegarzadeh, Gohar; Shayan, Milad

2017-03-01

In this paper, we used CORSIKA code to understand the characteristics of cosmic ray induced showers at extremely high energy as a function of energy, detector distance to shower axis, number, and density of secondary charged particles and the nature particle producing the shower. Based on the standard properties of the atmosphere, lateral and longitudinal development of the shower for photons and electrons has been investigated. Fluorescent light has been collected by the detector for protons, helium, oxygen, silicon, calcium and iron primary cosmic rays in different energies. So we have obtained a number of electrons per unit area, distance to the shower axis, shape function of particles density, percentage of fluorescent light, lateral distribution of energy dissipated in the atmosphere and visual field angle of detector as well as size of the shower image. We have also shown that location of highest percentage of fluorescence light is directly proportional to atomic number of elements. Also we have shown when the distance from shower axis increases and the shape function of particles density decreases severely. At the first stages of development, shower axis distance from detector is high and visual field angle is small; then with shower moving toward the Earth, angle increases. Overall, in higher energies, the fluorescent light method has more efficiency. The paper provides standard calibration lines for high energy showers which can be used to determine the nature of the particles.

Cadmium recovery by coupling double microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Choi, Chansoo; Hu, Naixu; Lim, Bongsu

2014-10-01

Cr(VI)-MFC of the double microbial fuel cell (d-MFC) arrangement could successfully complement the insufficient voltage and power needed to recover cadmium metal from Cd(II)-MFC, which operated as a redox-flow battery. It was also possible to drain electrical energy from the d-MFC by an additional passage. The highest maximum utilization power density (22.5Wm(-2)) of Cr(VI)-MFC, with the cathode optimized with sulfate buffer, was 11.3times higher than the highest power density directly supplied to Cd(II)-MFC (2.0Wm(-2)). Cr(VI)-MFC could generate 3times higher power with the additional passage than without it; and the current density for the former was 4.2times higher than the latter at the same maximum power point (38.0Am(-2) vs. 9.0Am(-2)). This boosting phenomenon could be explained by the Le Chatelier's principle, which addresses the rate of electron-hole pair formation that can be accelerated by quickly removing electrons generated by microorganisms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

First quantitative measurements of charged-particle stopping and its dependence on electron temperature and density in Inertial-Confinement-Fusion plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frenje, J.; Li, C. K.; Séguin, F.; Zylstra, A.; Rinderknecht, H.; Petrasso, R.; Delettrez, J.; Glebov, V.; Sangster, T.

2013-10-01

We report on the first quantitative measurements of charged-particle stopping in Inertial-Confinement-Fusion (ICF) plasmas at various conditions. In these experiments, four charged fusion products from the DD and D3He reactions in D3He gas-filled filled implosions were used to determine the stopping power of ICF plasmas at electron temperatures (Te) , ion temperatures (Ti) , and areal densities (ρR) in the range of 0.6-4.0 keV, 3-14 keV and 2-10 mg/cm2, respectively. The resulting data, in the form of measured energy downshift of the charged fusion products, clearly indicate that the stopping-power function depends strongly on Te. It was also observed that the stopping-power function change in characteristics for higher-density implosions in which ions and electrons equilibrate faster, resulting in higher Te relative to Ti and higher ρR s. These results will be modelled by Landau-Spitzer theory and contrasted to different stopping-power models. This work was partially supported by the US DOE, NLUF, LLE, and GA.

Physical evaluations of Co-Cr-Mo parts processed using different additive manufacturing techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghani, Saiful Anwar Che; Mohamed, Siti Rohaida; Harun, Wan Sharuzi Wan; Noar, Nor Aida Zuraimi Md

2017-12-01

In recent years, additive manufacturing with highly design customization has gained an important technique for fabrication in aerospace and medical fields. Despite the ability of the process to produce complex components with highly controlled architecture geometrical features, maintaining the part's accuracy, ability to fabricate fully functional high density components and inferior surfaces quality are the major obstacles in producing final parts using additive manufacturing for any selected application. This study aims to evaluate the physical properties of cobalt chrome molybdenum (Co-Cr-Mo) alloys parts fabricated by different additive manufacturing techniques. The full dense Co-Cr-Mo parts were produced by Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) with default process parameters. The density and relative density of samples were calculated using Archimedes' principle while the surface roughness on the top and side surface was measured using surface profiler. The roughness average (Ra) for top surface for SLM produced parts is 3.4 µm while 2.83 µm for DMLS produced parts. The Ra for side surfaces for SLM produced parts is 4.57 µm while 9.0 µm for DMLS produced parts. The higher Ra values on side surfaces compared to the top faces for both manufacturing techniques was due to the balling effect phenomenon. The yield relative density for both Co-Cr-Mo parts produced by SLM and DMLS are 99.3%. Higher energy density has influence the higher density of produced samples by SLM and DMLS processes. The findings of this work demonstrated that SLM and DMLS process with default process parameters have effectively produced full dense parts of Co-Cr-Mo with high density, good agreement of geometrical accuracy and better surface finish. Despite of both manufacturing process yield that produced components with higher density, the current finding shows that SLM technique could produce components with smoother surface quality compared to DMLS process with default parameters.

Statistical hadronization with exclusive channels in e +e - annihilation

DOE PAGES

Ferroni, L.; Becattini, F.

2012-01-01

We present a systematic analysis of exclusive hadronic channels in e +e - collisions at centre-of-mass energies between 2.1 and 2.6 GeV within the statistical hadronization model. Because of the low multiplicities involved, calculations have been carried out in the full microcanonical ensemble, including conservation of energy-momentum, angular momentum, parity, isospin, and all relevant charges. We show that the data is in an overall good agreement with the model for an energy density of about 0.5 GeV/fm 3 and an extra strangeness suppression parameter γ S 0:7, essentially the same values found with fits to inclusive multiplicities at higher energy.

Observation of warm, higher energy electrons transiting a double layer in a helicon plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sung, Yung-Ta, E-mail: ysung2@wisc.edu; Li, Yan; Scharer, John E.

2015-03-15

Measurements of an inductive RF helicon argon plasma double layer with two temperature electron distributions including a fast (>80 eV) tail are observed at 0.17 mTorr Ar pressure. The fast, untrapped electrons observed downstream of the double layer have a higher temperature (13 eV) than the trapped (T{sub e} = 4 eV) electrons. The reduction of plasma potential and density observed in the double layer region would require an upstream temperature ten times the measured 4 eV if occurring via Boltzmann ambipolar expansion. The experimental observation in Madison helicon experiment indicates that fast electrons with substantial density fractions can be created at low helicon operating pressures.

Sex-related differences of bone properties of pelvic limb and bone metabolism indices in 14-month-old ostriches (Struthio camelus).

PubMed

Krupski, W; Tatara, M R; Charuta, A; Brodzki, A; Szpetnar, M; Jóźwik, A; Strzałkowska, N; Poławska, E; Łuszczewska-Sierakowska, I

2018-06-01

1. Sex-related differences of long pelvic limb bones and serum bone metabolism indices were evaluated in 14-month-old female (N = 7) and male (N = 7) ostriches of similar body weights. 2. Densitometric parameters of femur, tibia and tarsometatarsus were determined using quantitative computed tomography (volumetric bone mineral density, calcium hydroxyapatite density and mean volumetric bone mineral density) and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (bone mineral density and bone mineral content) methods. Geometrical parameters such as cortical bone area, cross-sectional area, second moment of inertia, mean relative wall thickness and cortical index were determined in the midshaft of bones. Mechanical properties of bones (maximum elastic strength and ultimate strength) were evaluated using three-point bending test. Serum concentrations of free amino acids, osteocalcin, N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen, C-terminal telopeptides of type II collagen and total antioxidative capacity were also determined. 3. Bone weight and relative bone weight of all bones were significantly higher in males than in females. Significantly lower values of trabecular bone mineral density and calcium hydroxyapatite density were found in the trabecular bone of tibia in males. The highest number of the sex-related differences was observed in the tarsometatarsus where bone length, bone mineral content, cortical bone area, cross-sectional area and ultimate strength were higher in males. Serum concentrations of taurine, hydroxyproline, valine and isoleucine were significantly higher in males. 4. Higher loading of the tarsometatarsus in comparison to femur and tibia may be an important factor interacting with sex hormones in regulation of bone formation and mineralisation processes. Sex-related differences of bone properties were associated with increased serum concentration of selected amino acids in males.

Substantial enhancement of energy storage capability in polymer nanocomposites by encapsulation of BaTiO3 NWs with variable shell thickness.

PubMed

Wang, Guanyao; Huang, Yanhui; Wang, Yuxin; Jiang, Pingkai; Huang, Xingyi

2017-08-09

Dielectric polymer nanocomposites have received keen interest due to their potential application in energy storage. Nevertheless, the large contrast in dielectric constant between the polymer and nanofillers usually results in a significant decrease of breakdown strength of the nanocomposites, which is unfavorable for enhancing energy storage capability. Herein, BaTiO 3 nanowires (NWs) encapsulated by TiO 2 shells of variable thickness were utilized to fabricate dielectric polymer nanocomposites. Compared with nanocomposites with bare BaTiO 3 NWs, significantly enhanced energy storage capability was achieved for nanocomposites with TiO 2 encapsulated BaTiO 3 NWs. For instance, an ultrahigh energy density of 9.53 J cm -3 at 440 MV m -1 could be obtained for nanocomposites comprising core-shell structured nanowires, much higher than that of nanocomposites with 5 wt% raw ones (5.60 J cm -3 at 360 MV m -1 ). The discharged energy density of the proposed nanocomposites with 5 wt% mTiO 2 @BaTiO 3 -1 NWs at 440 MV m -1 seems to rival or exceed those of some previously reported nanocomposites (mostly comprising core-shell structured nanofillers). More notably, this study revealed that the energy storage capability of the nanocomposites can be tailored by the TiO 2 shell thickness. Finite element simulations were employed to analyze the electric field distribution in the nanocomposites. The enhanced energy storage capability should be mainly attributed to the smoother gradient of dielectric constant between the nanofillers and polymer matrix, which alleviated the electric field concentration and leakage current in the polymer matrix. The methods and results herein offer a feasible approach to construct high-energy-density polymer nanocomposites with core-shell structured nanowires.

A radioluminescent nuclear battery using volumetric configuration: 63Ni solution/ZnS:Cu,Al/InGaP.

PubMed

Russo, Johnny; Litz, Marc; Ray, William; Smith, Brenda; Moyers, Richard

2017-12-01

Energy dense power sources are critical to the development of compact, remote sensors for terrestrial and space applications. Nuclear batteries using β - -emitting radioisotopes possess energy densities 1000 times greater than chemical batteries. Their power generation is a function of β - flux saturation point relative to the planar (2D) configuration, β - range, and semiconductor converter. An approach to increase power density in a beta-photovoltaic (β-PV) nuclear battery is described. By using volumetric (3D) configuration, the radioisotope, nickel-63 ( 63 Ni) in a chloride solution was integrated in a phosphor film (ZnS:Cu,Al) where the β - energy is converted into optical energy. The optical energy was converted to electrical energy via an indium gallium phosphate (InGaP) photovoltaic (PV) cell, which was optimized for low light illumination and closely matched to radioluminescence (RL) spectrum. With 15mCi of 63 Ni activity, the 3D configuration energy values surpassed 2D configuration results. The highest total power conversion efficiency (η t ) of 3D configuration was 0.289% at 200µm compared 0.0638% for 2D configuration at 50µm. The highest electrical power and η t for the 3D configuration were 3.35 nW e /cm 2 at an activity of 30mCi and 0.289% at an activity of 15mCi, respectively. By using 3D configuration, the interaction space between the radioisotope source and scintillation material increased, allowing for significant electrical energy output, relative to the 2D configuration. These initial results represent a first step to increase nuclear battery power density from microwatts to milliwatts per 1000cm 3 with the implementation of higher energy β - sources. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tumuluru, Jaya Shankar

In the present study a Box–Behnken experimental design was used to understand the effect of the moisture content of lodgepole pine grind (33–39%, w.b.), die speed (40–60 Hz) and preheating temperature (30–90 °C) on the pellet quality and specific energy consumption. The partially dried pellets produced had high-moisture content in the range of 19–28% (w.b.), and were further dried to <9% (w.b.) in a mechanical oven set at 70 °C for 3 h. Dried pellets were further evaluated for pellet moisture content, unit, bulk, tapped density, and durability. Response surface models developed for the product properties have adequately described themore » process based on coefficient of determination values. Surface plots developed indicated higher unit, bulk, and tapped density (1050, 520, 560 kg/m 3) are achievable at 33–35% (w.b.) moisture content of the lodgepole pine grind, die speed of 60 Hz and preheating temperature of 30–60 °C. Higher moisture content of 39% (w.b) reduced unit, bulk, and tapped density to <912, 396, and 452 kg/m 3. Higher durability values of >95% were obtained at 33–35% (w.b.) at lower preheating temperatures of 30–50 °C and higher die speed of >50 Hz. At 33% (w.b.) moisture content of the lodgepole pine grind, preheating temperature of 90 °C, and die speed of 60 Hz, the observed specific energy consumption was <116 kW h/ton. As a result, scanning electron microscope studies indicated that lignin crosslinking is the primary reason for binding of the lodgepole pine grind at high-moisture content.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tumuluru, Jaya Shankar

The quality and specific energy consumption (SEC) of the biomass pellets produced depend upon pelleting process conditions. The present study includes understanding the effect of feedstock moisture in the range of 28–38% (wet basis [w.b.]) and preheating in the range of 30–110°C at two die speeds of 40 and 60 Hz on the physical properties and SEC. A flat die pellet mill fitted with a 6 mm die was used in the present study. The physical properties of pellets such as moisture content, unit, bulk and tapped density, durability, and expansion ratio and SEC of the pelleting process are measured.more » The results indicate that the pellets produced have durability values in the range of 87–98%, and unit bulk and tapped density in the range of 670–1100, 375–575, and 420–620 kg/m³. Increasing the feedstock moisture content from 33% to 38% (w.b) decreased the unit, bulk and tapped density by about 30–40%. Increasing feedstock moisture content increased the expansion ratio and decreased the density values. A higher feedstock moisture content of 38% (w.b.) and higher preheating temperature of 110°C resulted in lower density and a higher expansion ratio, which can be attributed to flash off of moisture as the material extrudes out of the die. The SEC was in the range of 75–275 kWh/ton. Higher feedstock moisture content of 38% (w.b.) and a lower die speed of 40 Hz increased the SEC, whereas lower to medium preheating temperature (30–70°C), medium feedstock moisture content of 33% (w.b.), and a higher die speed of 60 Hz minimized the SEC to <100 kWh/ton.« less

Electron Density Distribution Changes of Magnesiowüstite With Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diamond, M. R.; Popov, D.; Shen, G.; Jeanloz, R.

2017-12-01

Magnesiowüstite is one of the dominant minerals in the earth's lower mantle; its density and elasticity, substantially altered by its spin crossover, have direct consequence to interpreting deep-earth geophysical data. High-resolution single-crystal x-ray diffraction data can portray the 3-dimensional distribution of electron density through the Fourier transform of measured form factors. Here we present experimentally measured changes in electron density distribution of single-crystal (Mg.85,Fe.15)O as it goes through its iron(II) high-spin to low-spin electronic transition between about 40 and 60 GPa [Lin and Tsuchiya, 2008], in a diamond-anvil cell. As (Mg,Fe)O undergoes a pressure induced spin crossover (from high spin at low pressure to low spin at high pressure) due to overlap of its eg orbitals, the t2g orbitals become more pronounced to due a higher population of electrons, while the eg orbitals diminish. The spin splitting energy becomes increasingly unfavorable compared to the spin orbital pairing energy. By looking at the population of electrons at different directions in real space, we directly observe these changes in orbital occupation leading up to and during the spin crossover. Since high-Mg magnesiowüstite has a high symmetry structure at these pressure conditions, detecting relative changes in electron density distribution (comparing subsequent pressure steps) is feasible by collecting high resolution data offered by high-energy X rays and wide opening-angle diamond-anvil cells.

Survey of Recent Results from the PHOBOS Experiment at RHIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roland, Christof; Back, B. B.; Baker, M. D.; Barton, D. S.; Betts, R. R.; Ballintijn, M.; Bickley, A. A.; Bindel, R.; Budzanowski, A.; Busza, W.; Carroll, A.; Decowski, M. P.; Garcia, E.; George, N.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gushue, S.; Halliwell, C.; Hamblen, J.; Heintzelman, G. A.; Henderson, C.; Hofman, D. J.; Hollis, R. S.; Hołyński, R.; Holzman, B.; Iordanova, A.; Johnson, E.; Kane, J. L.; Katzy, J.; Khan, N.; Kucewicz, W.; Kulinich, P.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W. T.; Manly, S.; McLeod, D.; Michałowski, J.; Mignerey, A. C.; Nouicer, R.; Olszewski, A.; Pak, R.; Park, I. C.; Pernegger, H.; Reed, C.; Remsberg, L. P.; Reuter, M.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rosenberg, L.; Sarin, P.; Sawicki, P.; Skulski, W.; Steadman, S. G.; Steinberg, P.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Stodulski, M.; Sukhanov, A.; Tang, J.-L.; Teng, R.; Trzupek, A.; Vale, C.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G. J.; Verdier, R.; Wadsworth, B.; Wolfs, F. L. H.; Wosiek, B.; Woźniak, K.; Wuosmaa, A. H.; Wysłouch, B.

2002-10-01

We present an overview of the latest results for interactions of Au+Au ions at center-of-mass energies of √SNN of 56, 130 and 200 GeV obtained by the PHOBOS collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). These data have allowed us to perform an extensive study of the pseudorapidity density of primary charged particles as a function of incident energy, centrality and pseudorapidity. Our results show a non-trivial evolution of particle densities with both centrality and collision energy, reaching significantly higher values per participating nucleon than at lower energies or in nucleon-nucleon collisions. Further we present results on the azimuthal asymmetry of particle production observed in the √SNN of 130 GeV data set. The observed strong event anisotropy of v2max > 0.06, reaching beyond the value predicted in hadronic cascade models, indicates a closer approach to local thermal equilibration than at lower collision energies. The measured antiparticle-particle ratios of production rates for pions kaons and protons in central Au+Au interactions at √SNN of 130 GeV are compatible with predictions from statistical models, showing an approach to a baryon free region in mid-rapidity with the increase in collision energy.

NEC violation in mimetic cosmology revisited

DOE PAGES

Ijjas, Anna; Ripley, Justin; Steinhardt, Paul J.

2016-06-28

In the context of Einstein gravity, if the null energy condition (NEC) is satisfied, the energy density in expanding space–times always decreases while in contracting space–times the energy density grows and the universe eventually collapses into a singularity. In particular, no non-singular bounce is possible. It is, though, an open question if this energy condition can be violated in a controlled way, i.e., without introducing pathologies, such as unstable negative-energy states or an imaginary speed of sound. In this letter, we will re-examine the claim that the recently proposed mimetic scenario can violate the NEC without pathologies. We show thatmore » mimetic cosmology is prone to gradient instabilities even in cases when the NEC is satisfied (except for trivial examples). Most interestingly, the source of the instability is always the Einstein–Hilbert term in the action. The matter stress-energy component does not contribute spatial gradient terms but instead makes the problematic curvature modes dynamical. Finally, we also show that mimetic cosmology can be understood as a singular limit of known, well-behaved theories involving higher-derivative kinetic terms and discuss ways of removing the instability.« less

NEC violation in mimetic cosmology revisited

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ijjas, Anna; Ripley, Justin; Steinhardt, Paul J.

In the context of Einstein gravity, if the null energy condition (NEC) is satisfied, the energy density in expanding space–times always decreases while in contracting space–times the energy density grows and the universe eventually collapses into a singularity. In particular, no non-singular bounce is possible. It is, though, an open question if this energy condition can be violated in a controlled way, i.e., without introducing pathologies, such as unstable negative-energy states or an imaginary speed of sound. In this letter, we will re-examine the claim that the recently proposed mimetic scenario can violate the NEC without pathologies. We show thatmore » mimetic cosmology is prone to gradient instabilities even in cases when the NEC is satisfied (except for trivial examples). Most interestingly, the source of the instability is always the Einstein–Hilbert term in the action. The matter stress-energy component does not contribute spatial gradient terms but instead makes the problematic curvature modes dynamical. Finally, we also show that mimetic cosmology can be understood as a singular limit of known, well-behaved theories involving higher-derivative kinetic terms and discuss ways of removing the instability.« less