Shaping of the axial power density distribution in the core to minimize the vapor volume fraction at the outlet of the VVER-1200 fuel assemblies

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

Savander, V. I.; Shumskiy, B. E., E-mail: borisshumskij@yandex.ru; Pinegin, A. A.

The possibility of decreasing the vapor fraction at the VVER-1200 fuel assembly outlet by shaping the axial power density field is considered. The power density field was shaped by axial redistribution of the concentration of the burnable gadolinium poison in the Gd-containing fuel rods. The mathematical modeling of the VVER-1200 core was performed using the NOSTRA computer code.

High-performance supercapacitors based on vertically aligned carbon nanotubes and nonaqueous electrolytes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Byungwoo; Chung, Haegeun; Kim, Woong

2012-04-01

We demonstrate the high performance of supercapacitors fabricated with vertically aligned carbon nanotubes and nonaqueous electrolytes such as ionic liquids and conventional organic electrolytes. Specific capacitance, maximum power and energy density of the supercapacitor measured in ionic liquid were ˜75 F g-1, ˜987 kW kg-1 and ˜27 W h kg-1, respectively. The high power performance was consistently indicated by a fast relaxation time constant of 0.2 s. In addition, electrochemical oxidation of the carbon nanotubes improved the specific capacitance (˜158 F g-1) and energy density (˜53 W h kg-1). Both high power and energy density could be attributed to the fast ion transport realized by the alignment of carbon nanotubes and the wide operational voltage defined by the ionic liquid. The demonstrated carbon-nanotube- and nonaqueous-electrolyte-based supercapacitors show great potential for the development of high-performance energy storage devices.

High-performance supercapacitors based on vertically aligned carbon nanotubes and nonaqueous electrolytes.

PubMed

Kim, Byungwoo; Chung, Haegeun; Kim, Woong

2012-04-20

We demonstrate the high performance of supercapacitors fabricated with vertically aligned carbon nanotubes and nonaqueous electrolytes such as ionic liquids and conventional organic electrolytes. Specific capacitance, maximum power and energy density of the supercapacitor measured in ionic liquid were ~75 F g(-1), ~987 kW kg(-1) and ~27 W h kg(-1), respectively. The high power performance was consistently indicated by a fast relaxation time constant of 0.2 s. In addition, electrochemical oxidation of the carbon nanotubes improved the specific capacitance (~158 F g(-1)) and energy density (~53 W h kg(-1)). Both high power and energy density could be attributed to the fast ion transport realized by the alignment of carbon nanotubes and the wide operational voltage defined by the ionic liquid. The demonstrated carbon-nanotube- and nonaqueous-electrolyte-based supercapacitors show great potential for the development of high-performance energy storage devices. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd

High charge-discharge performance of Pb{sub 0.98}La{sub 0.02}(Zr{sub 0.35}Sn{sub 0.55}Ti{sub 0.10}){sub 0.995}O{sub 3} antiferroelectric ceramics

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

Xu, Chenhong; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049; Liu, Zhen

2016-08-21

The energy storage performance and charge-discharge properties of Pb{sub 0.98}La{sub 0.02}(Zr{sub 0.35}Sn{sub 0.55}Ti{sub 0.10}){sub 0.995}O{sub 3} (PLZST) antiferroelectric ceramics were investigated through directly measuring the hysteresis loops and pulse discharge current-time curves. The energy density only varies 0.2% per degree from 25 °C to 85 °C, and the energy efficiency maintains at about 90%. Furthermore, an approximate calculating model of maximum power density p{sub max} was established for the discharge process. Under a relatively high working electric field (8.2 kV/mm), this ceramics possess a greatly enhanced power density of 18 MW/cm{sup 3}. Moreover, the pulse power properties did not show degradation until 1500 timesmore » of charge-discharge cycling. The large released energy density, high energy efficiency, good temperature stability, greatly enhanced power density, and excellent fatigue endurance combined together make this PLZST ceramics an ideal candidate for pulse power applications.« less

Performance Analysis of the Automotive TEG with Respect to the Geometry of the Modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, C. G.; Zheng, S. J.; Deng, Y. D.; Su, C. Q.; Wang, Y. P.

2017-05-01

Recently there has been increasing interest in applying thermoelectric technology to recover waste heat in automotive exhaust gas. Due to the limited space in the vehicle, it's meaningful to improve the TEG (thermoelectric generator) performance by optimizing the module geometry. This paper analyzes the performance of bismuth telluride modules for two criteria (power density and power output per area), and researches the relationship between the performance and the geometry of the modules. A geometry factor is defined for the thermoelectric element to describe the module geometry, and a mathematical model is set up to study the effects of the module geometry on its performance. It has been found out that the optimal geometry factors for maximum output power, power density and power output per unit area are different, and the value of the optimal geometry factors will be affected by the volume of the thermoelectric material and the thermal input. The results can be referred to as the basis for optimizing the performance of the thermoelectric modules.

Hybrid Power Management Program Evaluated Fuel Cell/Ultracapacitor Combinations and Developed Other New Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichenberg, Dennis J.

2004-01-01

In fiscal year 2003, the continuation of the Hybrid Power Management (HPM) Program through NASA Glenn Research Center's Commercial Technology Office resulted in several new successful applications of this pioneering technology. HPM is the innovative integration of diverse, state-of-the-art power devices in an optimal configuration for space and terrestrial applications. The appropriate application and control of the various power devices significantly improves overall system performance and efficiency. The advanced power devices include ultracapacitors, fuel cells, and photovoltaics. HPM has extremely wide potential, with applications from nanowatts to megawatts--including power generation, transportation systems, biotechnology systems, and space power systems. HPM has the potential to significantly alleviate global energy concerns, improve the environment, and stimulate the economy. Fuel cells provide excellent efficiency and energy density, but do not have good power density. In contrast, ultracapacitors have excellent power density and virtually unlimited cycle life. To improve the power density of the fuel cell, the combination of fuel cells and ultracapacitors was evaluated.

Supercapacitors based on 3D network of activated carbon nanowhiskers wrapped-on graphitized electrospun nanofibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Shuijian; Chen, Linlin; Xie, Chencheng; Hu, Huan; Chen, Shuiliang; Hanif, Muddasir; Hou, Haoqing

2013-12-01

Due to their cycling stability and high power density, the supercapacitors bridge the power/energy gap between traditional dielectric capacitors and batteries/fuel cells. Electrode materials are key components for making high performance supercapacitors. An activated carbon nanowhiskers (ACNWs) wrapped-on graphitized electrospun nanofiber (GENF) network (ACNWs/GENFN) with 3D porous structure is prepared as a new type of binder-free electrode material for supercapacitors. The supercapacitor based on the ACNWs/GENFN composite material displays an excellent performance with a specific capacitance of 176.5 F g-1 at current density of 0.5 A g-1, an ultrahigh power density of 252.8 kW kg-1 at current density of 800 A g-1 and an outstanding cycling stability of no capacitance loss after 10,000 charge/discharge cycles.

High volumetric power density, non-enzymatic, glucose fuel cells.

PubMed

Oncescu, Vlad; Erickson, David

2013-01-01

The development of new implantable medical devices has been limited in the past by slow advances in lithium battery technology. Non-enzymatic glucose fuel cells are promising replacement candidates for lithium batteries because of good long-term stability and adequate power density. The devices developed to date however use an "oxygen depletion design" whereby the electrodes are stacked on top of each other leading to low volumetric power density and complicated fabrication protocols. Here we have developed a novel single-layer fuel cell with good performance (2 μW cm⁻²) and stability that can be integrated directly as a coating layer on large implantable devices, or stacked to obtain a high volumetric power density (over 16 μW cm⁻³). This represents the first demonstration of a low volume non-enzymatic fuel cell stack with high power density, greatly increasing the range of applications for non-enzymatic glucose fuel cells.

High volumetric power density, non-enzymatic, glucose fuel cells

PubMed Central

Oncescu, Vlad; Erickson, David

2013-01-01

The development of new implantable medical devices has been limited in the past by slow advances in lithium battery technology. Non-enzymatic glucose fuel cells are promising replacement candidates for lithium batteries because of good long-term stability and adequate power density. The devices developed to date however use an “oxygen depletion design” whereby the electrodes are stacked on top of each other leading to low volumetric power density and complicated fabrication protocols. Here we have developed a novel single-layer fuel cell with good performance (2 μW cm−2) and stability that can be integrated directly as a coating layer on large implantable devices, or stacked to obtain a high volumetric power density (over 16 μW cm−3). This represents the first demonstration of a low volume non-enzymatic fuel cell stack with high power density, greatly increasing the range of applications for non-enzymatic glucose fuel cells. PMID:23390576

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.

Achieving high power factor and output power density in p-type half-Heuslers Nb1-xTixFeSb.

PubMed

He, Ran; Kraemer, Daniel; Mao, Jun; Zeng, Lingping; Jie, Qing; Lan, Yucheng; Li, Chunhua; Shuai, Jing; Kim, Hee Seok; Liu, Yuan; Broido, David; Chu, Ching-Wu; Chen, Gang; Ren, Zhifeng

2016-11-29

Improvements in thermoelectric material performance over the past two decades have largely been based on decreasing the phonon thermal conductivity. Enhancing the power factor has been less successful in comparison. In this work, a peak power factor of ∼106 μW⋅cm -1 ⋅K -2 is achieved by increasing the hot pressing temperature up to 1,373 K in the p-type half-Heusler Nb 0.95 Ti 0.05 FeSb. The high power factor subsequently yields a record output power density of ∼22 W⋅cm -2 based on a single-leg device operating at between 293 K and 868 K. Such a high-output power density can be beneficial for large-scale power generation applications.

Achieving high power factor and output power density in p-type half-Heuslers Nb1-xTixFeSb

PubMed Central

He, Ran; Kraemer, Daniel; Mao, Jun; Zeng, Lingping; Jie, Qing; Lan, Yucheng; Li, Chunhua; Shuai, Jing; Kim, Hee Seok; Liu, Yuan; Broido, David; Chu, Ching-Wu; Chen, Gang; Ren, Zhifeng

2016-01-01

Improvements in thermoelectric material performance over the past two decades have largely been based on decreasing the phonon thermal conductivity. Enhancing the power factor has been less successful in comparison. In this work, a peak power factor of ∼106 μW⋅cm−1⋅K−2 is achieved by increasing the hot pressing temperature up to 1,373 K in the p-type half-Heusler Nb0.95Ti0.05FeSb. The high power factor subsequently yields a record output power density of ∼22 W⋅cm−2 based on a single-leg device operating at between 293 K and 868 K. Such a high-output power density can be beneficial for large-scale power generation applications. PMID:27856743

Performance limitations of a white light extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric displacement sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moro, Erik A.; Todd, Michael D.; Puckett, Anthony D.

2012-06-01

Non-contacting interferometric fiber optic sensors offer a minimally invasive, high-accuracy means of measuring a structure's kinematic response to loading. The performance of interferometric sensors is often dictated by the technique employed for demodulating the kinematic measurand of interest from phase in the observed optical signal. In this paper a white-light extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer is implemented, offering robust displacement sensing performance. Displacement data is extracted from an estimate of the power spectral density, calculated from the interferometer's received optical power measured as a function of optical transmission frequency, and the sensor's performance is dictated by the details surrounding the implementation of this power spectral density estimation. One advantage of this particular type of interferometric sensor is that many of its control parameters (e.g., frequency range, frequency sampling density, sampling rate, etc.) may be chosen to so that the sensor satisfies application-specific performance needs in metrics such as bandwidth, axial displacement range, displacement resolution, and accuracy. A suite of user-controlled input values is investigated for estimating the spectrum of power versus wavelength data, and the relationships between performance metrics and input parameters are described in an effort to characterize the sensor's operational performance limitations. This work has been approved by Los Alamos National Laboratory for unlimited public release (LA-UR 12-01512).

Baseline Testing of Ultracapacitors for the Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT) Project. Revised

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichenberg, Dennis J.

2005-01-01

The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center initiated baseline testing of ultracapacitors for the Next Generation Launch Transportation (NGLT) project to obtain empirical data for determining the feasibility of using ultracapacitors for the project. There are large transient loads associated with NGLT that require either a very large primary energy source or an energy storage system. The primary power source used for these tests is a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The energy storage system can consist of devices such as batteries, flywheels, or ultracapacitors. Ultracapacitors were used for these tests. Ultracapacitors are ideal for applications such as NGLT where long life, maintenance-free operation, and excellent low-temperature performance is essential. State-of-the-art symmetric ultracapacitors were used for these tests. The ultracapacitors were interconnected in an innovative configuration to minimize interconnection impedance. PEM fuel cells provide excellent energy density, but not good power density. Ultracapacitors provide excellent power density, but not good energy density. The combination of PEM fuel cells and ultracapacitors provides a power source with excellent energy density and power density. The life of PEM fuel cells is shortened significantly by large transient loads. Ultracapacitors used in conjunction with PEM fuel cells reduce the transient loads applied to the fuel cell, and thus appreciably improves its life. PEM fuel cells were tested with and without ultracapacitors, to determine the benefits of ultracapacitors. The report concludes that the implementation of symmetric ultracapacitors in the NGLT power system can provide significant improvements in power system performance and reliability.

Baseline Testing of Ultracapacitors for the Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT) Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichenberg, Dennis J.

2004-01-01

The NASA John H. Glenn Research Center initiated baseline testing of ultracapacitors for the Next Generation Launch Transportation (NGLT) project to obtain empirical data for determining the feasibility of using ultracapacitors for the project. There are large transient loads associated with NGLT that require either a very large primary energy source or an energy storage system. The primary power source used for these tests is a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The energy storage system can consist of devices such as batteries, flywheels, or ultracapacitors. Ultracapacitors were used for these tests. Ultracapacitors are ideal for applications such as NGLT where long life, maintenance-free operation, and excellent low-temperature performance is essential. State-of-the-art symmetric ultracapacitors were used for these tests. The ultracapacitors were interconnected in an innovative configuration to minimize interconnection impedance. PEM fuel cells provide excellent energy density, but not good power density. Ultracapacitors provide excellent power density, but not good energy density. The combination of PEM fuel cells and ultracapacitors provides a power source with excellent energy density and power density. The life of PEM fuel cells is shortened significantly by large transient loads. Ultracapacitors used in conjunction with PEM fuel cells reduce the transient loads applied to the fuel cell, and thus appreciably improves its life. PEM fuel cells were tested with and without ultracapacitors, to determine the benefits of ultracapacitors. The report concludes that the implementation of symmetric ultracapacitors in the NGLT power system can provide significant improvements in power system performance and reliability.

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

Wierer, Jonathan J.; Tsao, Jeffrey Y.; Sizov, Dmitry S.

Solid-state lighting (SSL) is now the most efficient source of high color quality white light ever created. Nevertheless, the blue InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are the light engine of SSL still have significant performance limitations. Foremost among these is the decrease in efficiency at high input current densities widely known as “efficiency droop.” Efficiency droop limits input power densities, contrary to the desire to produce more photons per unit LED chip area and to make SSL more affordable. Pending a solution to efficiency droop, an alternative device could be a blue laser diode (LD). LDs, operated in stimulated emission,more » can have high efficiencies at much higher input power densities than LEDs can. In this article, LEDs and LDs for future SSL are explored by comparing: their current state-of-the-art input-power-density-dependent power-conversion efficiencies; potential improvements both in their peak power-conversion efficiencies and in the input power densities at which those efficiencies peak; and their economics for practical SSL.« less

Extended operating range of the 30-cm ion thruster with simplified power processor requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rawlin, V. K.

1981-01-01

A two grid 30 cm diameter mercury ion thruster was operated with only six power supplies over the baseline J series thruster power throttle range with negligible impact on thruster performance. An analysis of the functional model power processor showed that the component mass and parts count could be reduced considerably and the electrical efficiency increased slightly by only replacing power supplies with relays. The input power, output thrust, and specific impulse of the thruster were then extended, still using six supplies, from 2660 watts, 0.13 newtons, and 2980 seconds to 9130 watts, 0.37 newtons, and 3820 seconds, respectively. Increases in thrust and power density enable reductions in the number of thrusters and power processors required for most missions. Preliminary assessments of the impact of thruster operation at increased thrust and power density on the discharge characteristics, performance, and lifetime of the thruster were also made.

Influence of diligent disintegration on anaerobic biomass and performance of microbial fuel cell.

PubMed

Divyalakshmi, Palanisamy; Murugan, Devaraj; Rai, Chockalingam Lajapathi

2017-12-01

To enhance the performance of microbial fuel cells (MFC) by increasing the surface area of cathode and diligent mechanical disintegration of anaerobic biomass. Tannery effluent and anaerobic biomass were used. The increase in surface area of the cathode resulted in 78% COD removal, with the potential, current density, power density and coulombic efficiency of 675 mV, 147 mA m -2 , 33 mW m -2 and 3.5%, respectively. The work coupled with increased surface area of the cathode with diligent mechanical disintegration of the biomass, led to a further increase in COD removal of 82% with the potential, current density, power density and coulombic efficiency of 748 mV, 229 mA m -2 , 78 mW m -2 and 6% respectively. Mechanical disintegration of the biomass along with increased surface area of cathode enhances power generation in vertical MFC reactors using tannery effluent as fuel.

The Effect of COD Concentration Containing Leaves Litter, Canteen and Composite Waste to the Performance of Solid Phase Microbial Fuel Cell (SMFC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samudro, Ganjar; Syafrudin; Nugraha, Winardi Dwi; Sutrisno, Endro; Priyambada, Ika Bagus; Muthi'ah, Hilma; Sinaga, Glory Natalia; Hakiem, Rahmat Tubagus

2018-02-01

This research is conducted to analyze and determine the optimum of COD concentration containing leaves litter, canteen and composite waste to power density and COD removal efficiency as the indicator of SMFC performance. COD as the one of organic matter parameters perform as substrate, nutrient and dominating the whole process of SMFC. Leaves litter and canteen based food waste were obtained from TPST UNDIP in Semarang and treated in SMFC reactor. Its reactor was designed 2 liter volume and equipped by homemade graphene electrodes that were utilized at the surface of organic waste as cathode and in a half of reactor height as anode. COD concentration was initially characterized and became variations of initial COD concentration. Waste volume was maintained 2/3 of volume of reactor. Bacteria sources as the important process factor in SMFC were obtained from river sediment which contain bacteroides and exoelectrogenic bacteria. Temperature and pH were not maintained while power density and COD concentration were periodically observed and measured during 44 days. The results showed that power density up to 4 mW/m2 and COD removal efficiency performance up to 70% were reached by leaves litter, canteen and composite waste at days 11 up to days 44 days. Leaves litter contain 16,567 mg COD/l providing higher COD removal efficiency reached approximately 87.67%, more stable power density reached approximately 4.71 mW/m2, and faster optimum time in the third day than canteen based food waste and composite waste. High COD removal efficiency has not yet resulted in high power density.

Single chamber microbial fuel cell with spiral anode for dairy wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Mardanpour, Mohammad Mahdi; Nasr Esfahany, Mohsen; Behzad, Tayebeh; Sedaqatvand, Ramin

2012-01-01

This study reports on the fabrication of a novel annular single chamber microbial fuel cell (ASCMFC) with spiral anode. The stainless steel mesh anode with graphite coating was used as anode. Dairy wastewater, containing complex organic matter, was used as substrate. ASCMFC had been operated for 450 h and results indicated a high open circuit voltage (about 810 mV) compared with previously published results. The maximum power density of 20.2 W/m(3) obtained in this study is significantly greater than the power densities reported in previous studies. Besides, a maximum coulombic efficiency of 26.87% with 91% COD removal was achieved. Good bacterial adhesion on the spiral anode is clearly shown in SEM micrographs. High power density and a successful performance in wastewater treatment in ASCMFC suggest it as a promising alternative to conventional MFCs for power generation and wastewater treatment. ASCMFC performance as a power generator was characterized based on polarization behavior and cell potentials. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Improved confinement in highly powered high performance scenarios on DIII-D

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

Petrie, Thomas W.; Osborne, Thomas; Fenstermacher, Max E.

DIII-D has recently demonstrated improved energy confinement by injecting neutral deuterium gas into high performance near-double null divertor (DND) plasmas during high power operation. Representative parameters for these plasmas are: q 95 = 6, P IN up to 15 MW, H 98 = 1.4–1.8, and β N = 2.5–4.0. The ion B xmore » $$\\triangledown$$B direction is away from the primary X-point. While plasma conditions at lower to moderate power input (e.g., 11 MW) are shown to be favorable to successful puff-and-pump radiating divertor applications, particularly when using argon seeds, plasma behavior at higher powers (e.g., ≥14 MW) may make successful puff-and-pump operation more problematic. In contrast to lower powered high performance plasmas, both $$\\tau$$ E and β N in the high power cases (≥14 MW) increased and ELM frequency decreased, as density was raised by deuterium gas injection. Improved performance in the higher power plasmas was tied to higher pedestal pressure, which according to peeling-ballooning mode stability analysis using the ELITE code could increase with density along the kink/peeling stability threshold, while the pedestal pressure gradient in the lower power discharges were limited by the ballooning threshold. This resulted in improved fueling efficiency and ≈10% higher $$\\tau$$ E and β N than is normally observed in comparable high performance plasmas on DIII-D. Applying the puff-and-pump radiating divertor approach at moderate versus high power input is shown to result in a much different evolution in core and pedestal plasma behavior. In conclusion, we find that injecting deuterium gas into these highly powered DND plasmas may open up a new avenue for achieving elevated plasma performance, including better fueling, but the resulting higher density may also complicate application of a radiating divertor approach to heat flux reduction in present-day tokamaks, if scenarios involving second-harmonic electron cyclotron heating are used.« less

Improved confinement in highly powered high performance scenarios on DIII-D

DOE PAGES

Petrie, Thomas W.; Osborne, Thomas; Fenstermacher, Max E.; ...

2017-06-09

DIII-D has recently demonstrated improved energy confinement by injecting neutral deuterium gas into high performance near-double null divertor (DND) plasmas during high power operation. Representative parameters for these plasmas are: q 95 = 6, P IN up to 15 MW, H 98 = 1.4–1.8, and β N = 2.5–4.0. The ion B xmore » $$\\triangledown$$B direction is away from the primary X-point. While plasma conditions at lower to moderate power input (e.g., 11 MW) are shown to be favorable to successful puff-and-pump radiating divertor applications, particularly when using argon seeds, plasma behavior at higher powers (e.g., ≥14 MW) may make successful puff-and-pump operation more problematic. In contrast to lower powered high performance plasmas, both $$\\tau$$ E and β N in the high power cases (≥14 MW) increased and ELM frequency decreased, as density was raised by deuterium gas injection. Improved performance in the higher power plasmas was tied to higher pedestal pressure, which according to peeling-ballooning mode stability analysis using the ELITE code could increase with density along the kink/peeling stability threshold, while the pedestal pressure gradient in the lower power discharges were limited by the ballooning threshold. This resulted in improved fueling efficiency and ≈10% higher $$\\tau$$ E and β N than is normally observed in comparable high performance plasmas on DIII-D. Applying the puff-and-pump radiating divertor approach at moderate versus high power input is shown to result in a much different evolution in core and pedestal plasma behavior. In conclusion, we find that injecting deuterium gas into these highly powered DND plasmas may open up a new avenue for achieving elevated plasma performance, including better fueling, but the resulting higher density may also complicate application of a radiating divertor approach to heat flux reduction in present-day tokamaks, if scenarios involving second-harmonic electron cyclotron heating are used.« less

Anomalous pH-Dependent Nanofluidic Salinity Gradient Power.

PubMed

Yeh, Li-Hsien; Chen, Fu; Chiou, Yu-Ting; Su, Yen-Shao

2017-12-01

Previous studies on nanofluidic salinity gradient power (NSGP), where energy associated with the salinity gradient can be harvested with ion-selective nanopores, all suggest that nanofluidic devices having higher surface charge density should have higher performance, including osmotic power and conversion efficiency. In this manuscript, this viewpoint is challenged and anomalous counterintuitive pH-dependent NSGP behaviors are reported. For example, with equal pH deviation from its isoelectric point (IEP), the nanopore at pH < IEP is shown to have smaller surface charge density but remarkably higher NSGP performance than that at pH > IEP. Moreover, for sufficiently low pH, the NSGP performance decreases with lowering pH (increasing nanopore charge density). As a result, a maximum osmotic power density as high as 5.85 kW m -2 can be generated along with a conversion efficiency of 26.3% achieved for a single alumina nanopore at pH 3.5 under a 1000-fold concentration ratio. Using the rigorous model with considering the surface equilibrium reactions on the pore wall, it is proved that these counterintuitive surface-charge-dependent NSGP behaviors result from the pH-dependent ion concentration polarization effect, which yields the degradation in effective concentration ratio across the nanopore. These findings provide significant insight for the design of next-generation, high-performance NSGP devices. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Quantitative Comparison of Minimum Inductance and Minimum Power Algorithms for the Design of Shim Coils for Small Animal Imaging

PubMed Central

HUDSON, PARISA; HUDSON, STEPHEN D.; HANDLER, WILLIAM B.; SCHOLL, TIMOTHY J.; CHRONIK, BLAINE A.

2010-01-01

High-performance shim coils are required for high-field magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. Complete sets of high-power and high-performance shim coils were designed using two different methods: the minimum inductance and the minimum power target field methods. A quantitative comparison of shim performance in terms of merit of inductance (ML) and merit of resistance (MR) was made for shim coils designed using the minimum inductance and the minimum power design algorithms. In each design case, the difference in ML and the difference in MR given by the two design methods was <15%. Comparison of wire patterns obtained using the two design algorithms show that minimum inductance designs tend to feature oscillations within the current density; while minimum power designs tend to feature less rapidly varying current densities and lower power dissipation. Overall, the differences in coil performance obtained by the two methods are relatively small. For the specific case of shim systems customized for small animal imaging, the reduced power dissipation obtained when using the minimum power method is judged to be more significant than the improvements in switching speed obtained from the minimum inductance method. PMID:20411157

Flexible, transparent and high-power triboelectric generator with asymmetric graphene/ITO electrodes.

PubMed

Song, Xinbo; Chen, Yuanfu; Li, Pingjian; Liu, Jingbo; Qi, Fei; Zheng, Binjie; Zhou, Jinhao; Hao, Xin; Zhang, Wanli

2016-07-29

The reported flexible and transparent triboelectric generator (FTTG) can only output ultralow power density (∼2 μW cm(-2)), which has seriously hindered its further development and application. The low power density of FTTG is mainly limited by the transparent material and the electrode structure. Herein, for the first time, a FTTG with a superior power density of 60.7 μW cm(-2) has been fabricated by designing asymmetric electrodes where graphene and indium tin oxide (ITO) act as top and bottom electrodes respectively. Moreover, the performance of FTTG with graphene/ITO (G/I) asymmetric electrodes (GI-FTTG) almost remains unchanged even after 700 cycles, indicating excellent mechanical stability. The excellent performance of GI-FTTG can be attributed to the suitable materials and unique asymmetric electrode structure: the extraordinary flexibility of the graphene top electrode ensures the GI-FTTG excellent mechanical robustness and stability even after longer cycles, and the bottom electrode with very low sheet resistance guarantees lower internal resistance and higher production rate of induction charges to obtain higher output power density. It shows that light-emitting diodes (LED) can be easily powered by GI-FTTG, which demonstrates that the GI-FTTG is very promising for harvesting electrical energy from human activities by using flexible and transparent devices.

Space Vehicle Power System Comprised of Battery/Capacitor Combinations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Camarotte, C.; Lancaster, G. S.; Eichenberg, D.; Butler, S. M.; Miller, J. R.

2002-01-01

Recent improvements in energy densities of batteries open the possibility of using electric rather that hydraulic actuators in space vehicle systems. However, the systems usually require short-duration, high-power pulses. This power profile requires the battery system to be sized to meet the power requirements rather than stored energy requirements, often resulting in a large and inefficient energy storage system. Similar transient power applications have used a combination of two or more disparate energy storage technologies. For instance, placing a capacitor and a battery side-by-side combines the high energy density of a battery with the high power performance of a capacitor and thus can create a lighter and more compact system. A parametric study was performed to identify favorable scenarios for using capacitors. System designs were then carried out using equivalent circuit models developed for five commercial electrochemical capacitor products. Capacitors were sized to satisfy peak power levels and consequently "leveled" the power requirement of the battery, which can then be sized to meet system energy requirements. Simulation results clearly differentiate the performance offered by available capacitor products for the space vehicle applications.

A figure of merit for AMTEC electrodes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Underwood, M. L.; Williams, R. M.; Jeffries-Nakamura, B.; Ryan, M. A.

1991-01-01

As a method to compare the results of alkali metal thermoelectric converter (AMTEC) electrode performance measured under different conditions, an AMTEC figure of merit called ZA is proposed. This figure of merit is the ratio of the experimental maximum power for an electrode to a calculated maximum power density as determined from a recently published electrode performance model. The calculation of a maximum power density assumes that certain loss terms in the electrode can be reduced to essentially zero by improved cell design and construction, and that the electrochemical exchange current is determined from a standard value. Other losses in the electrode are considered inherent to the electrode performance. Thus, these terms remain in the determination of the calculated maximum power. A value of ZA near one, then, indicates an electrode performance near the maximum possible performance. The primary limitation of this calculation is that the small electrode effect cannot be included. This effect leads to anomalously high values of ZA. Thus, the electrode area should be reported along with the figure of merit.

Raising the Bar: Increased Hydraulic Pressure Allows Unprecedented High Power Densities in Pressure-Retarded Osmosis

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

Straub, AP; Yip, NY; Elimelech, M

2014-01-01

Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) has the potential to generate sustainable energy from salinity gradients. PRO is typically considered for operation with river water and seawater, but a far greater energy of mixing can be harnessed from hypersaline solutions. This study investigates the power density that can be obtained in PRO from such concentrated solutions. Thin-film composite membranes with an embedded woven mesh were supported by tricot fabric feed spacers in a specially designed crossflow cell to maximize the operating pressure of the system, reaching a stable applied hydraulic pressure of 48 bar (700 psi) for more than 10 h. Operation atmore » this increased hydraulic pressure allowed unprecedented power densities, up to 60 W/m(2) with a 3 M (180 g/L) NaCl draw solution. Experimental power densities demonstrate reasonable agreement with power densities modeled using measured membrane properties, indicating high-pressure operation does not drastically alter membrane performance. Our findings exhibit the promise of the generation of power from high-pressure PRO with concentrated solutions.« less

Si nanowires/Cu nanowires bilayer fabric as a lithium ion capacitor anode with excellent performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, Chien-Ming; Kao, Tzu-Lun; Tuan, Hsing-Yu

2018-03-01

A light and binder-free bilayer fabric electrode composed of silicon nanowires and copper nanowires for lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) is reported. A lithium ion capacitor is proposed employing pre-lithiated silicon/copper nanowire fabric and activated carbon as the anode and the cathode, respectively. These LICs show remarkable performance with a specific capacitance of 156 F g-1 at 0.1 A g-1, which is approximately twice of that of activated carbon in electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), and still exhibit a fine specific capacitance of 68 F g-1 even at a high current density of 20 A g-1. At a low power density of 193 W kg-1, the Si/Cu fabric//AC LIC can achieve high energy density of 210 W h kg-1. As the power density is increased to 99 kW kg-1, the energy density still remains at 43 W h kg-1, showing the prominent rate performance.

A computer program for estimating the power-density spectrum of advanced continuous simulation language generated time histories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, H. J.

1981-01-01

A computer program for performing frequency analysis of time history data is presented. The program uses circular convolution and the fast Fourier transform to calculate power density spectrum (PDS) of time history data. The program interfaces with the advanced continuous simulation language (ACSL) so that a frequency analysis may be performed on ACSL generated simulation variables. An example of the calculation of the PDS of a Van de Pol oscillator is presented.

Rapid Assemblers for Voxel-Based VLSI Robotics

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-02-12

relied on coin- cell batteries with high energy density, but low power density. Each of the actuators presented requires relatively high power...The device consists of a low power DC- DC low to high voltage converter operated by 4A cell batteries and an assembler, which is a grid of electrodes...design, simulate and fabricate complex 3D machines, as well as to repair, adapt and recycle existing machines, and to perform rigorous design

All-solid state symmetric supercapacitors based on compressible and flexible free-standing 3D carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) sponge electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Xin; Yang, Wenyao; Mao, Xiling; Xu, Lu; Zhou, Yujiu; Chen, Yan; Zhao, Yuetao; Yang, Yajie; Xu, Jianhua

2018-02-01

Flexible supercapacitors that maintain electrochemical performance under deformation have attracted much attention for the potential application in the flexible electronics market. A compressible and flexible free-standing electrodes sponge and all-solid-state symmetric supercapacitors based on as-prepared electrodes are presented. The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) framework is synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, and then composited with poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) PEDOT by the electrodeposition. This CNTs/PEDOT sponge electrode shows highest mass-specific capacitance of 147 Fg-1 at 0.5 A g-1, tuned by the PEDOT mass loading, and exhibits good cyclic stability with the evidence that more than 95% of capacitance is remained after 3000 cycles. Furthermore, the symmetric supercapacitor shows the highest energy density of 12.6 Wh kg-1 under the power density of 1 kW kg-1 and highest power density of 10.2 kW kg-1 with energy density of 8 Wh kg-1, which exhibits both high energy density and power density. The electrochemical performance of composite electrode also indicates that the operate voltage of device could be extend to 1.4 V by the n-doping and p-doping process in different potential of PEDOT component. This flexible supercapacitor maintains stable electrochemical performance working on different bending condition, which shows promising prospect for wearable energy storage applications.

Active learning for noisy oracle via density power divergence.

PubMed

Sogawa, Yasuhiro; Ueno, Tsuyoshi; Kawahara, Yoshinobu; Washio, Takashi

2013-10-01

The accuracy of active learning is critically influenced by the existence of noisy labels given by a noisy oracle. In this paper, we propose a novel pool-based active learning framework through robust measures based on density power divergence. By minimizing density power divergence, such as β-divergence and γ-divergence, one can estimate the model accurately even under the existence of noisy labels within data. Accordingly, we develop query selecting measures for pool-based active learning using these divergences. In addition, we propose an evaluation scheme for these measures based on asymptotic statistical analyses, which enables us to perform active learning by evaluating an estimation error directly. Experiments with benchmark datasets and real-world image datasets show that our active learning scheme performs better than several baseline methods. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparation of 3D Architecture Graphdiyne Nanosheets for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries and Capacitors.

PubMed

Wang, Kun; Wang, Ning; He, Jianjiang; Yang, Ze; Shen, Xiangyan; Huang, Changshui

2017-11-22

Here, we apply three-dimensional (3D) architecture graphdiyne nanosheet (GDY-NS) as anode materials for sodium-ion storage devices achieving high energy and power performance along with excellent cyclic ability. The contribution of 3D architecture nanostructure and intramolecular pores of the GDY-NS can substantially optimize the sodium storage behavior through the accommodated intramolecular pore, 3D interconnective porous structure, and increased activity sites to facilitate a fast sodium-ion-diffusion channel. The contribution of butadiyne linkages and the formation of a stable solid electrolyte interface layer are directly confirmed through the in situ Raman measurement. The GDY-NS-based sodium-ion batteries exhibit a stable reversible capacity of approximately 812 mAh g -1 at a current density of 0.05 A g -1 ; they maintain more than 405 mAh g -1 over 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A g -1 . Furthermore, the sodium-ion capacitors could deliver a capacitance more than 200 F g -1 over 3000 cycles at 1 A g -1 and display an initial specific energy as high as 182.3 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 300 W kg -1 and maintain specific energy of 166 Wh kg -1 even at a power density of 15 000 W kg -1 . The high energy and power density along with excellent cyclic performance based on the GDY-NS anode offers a great potential toward application on next-generation energy storage devices.

The Stretched Lens Array (SLA): An Ultra-Light Photovoltaic Concentrator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

ONeill, Mark J.; Pisczor, Michael F.; Eskenazi, Michael I.; McDanal, A. J.; George, Patrick J.; Botke, Matthew M.; Brandhorst, Henry W.; Edwards, David L.; Jaster, Paul A.

2002-01-01

A high-performance, ultralight, photovoltaic concentrator array is being developed for space power. The stretched lens array (SLA) uses stretched-membrane, silicone Fresnel lenses to concentrate sunlight onto triple-junction photovoltaic cells. The cells are mounted to a composite radiator structure. The entire solar array wing, including lenses, photovoltaic cell flex circuits, composite panels, hinges, yoke, wiring harness, and deployment mechanisms, has a mass density of 1.6 kg/sq.m. NASA Glenn has measured 27.4% net SLA panel efficiency, or 375 W/sq.m. power density, at room temperature. At GEO operating cell temperature (80 C), this power density will be 300 W/sq.m., resulting in more than 180 W/kg specific power at the full wing level. SLA is a direct ultralight descendent of the successful SCARLET array on NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft. This paper describes the evolution from SCARLET to SLA, summarizes the SLA's key features, and provides performance and mass data for this new concentrator array.

JET DT Scenario Extrapolation and Optimization with METIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urban, Jakub; Jaulmes, Fabien; Artaud, Jean-Francois

2017-10-01

Prospective JET (Joint European Torus) DT operation scenarios are modelled by the fast integrated code METIS. METIS combines scaling laws, e.g. for global and pedestal energy or density peaking, with simplified transport and source models, while retaining fundamental nonlinear couplings, in particular in the fusion power. We have tuned METIS parameters to match JET-ILW high performance experiments, including baseline and hybrid. Based on recent observations, we assume a weaker input power scaling than IPB98 and a 10% confinement improvement due to the higher ion mass. The rapidity of METIS is utilized to scan the performance of JET DT scenarios with respect to fundamental parameters, such as plasma current, magnetic field, density or heating power. Simplified, easily parameterized waveforms are used to study the effect the ramp-up speed or heating timing. Finally, an efficient Bayesian optimizer is employed to seek the most performant scenarios in terms of the fusion power or gain.

Nickel-foam-supported ruthenium oxide/graphene sandwich composite constructed via one-step electrodeposition route for high-performance aqueous supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Meng; He, Hanwei

2018-05-01

A high-performance supercapacitor both considered high power and high energy density is needed for its applications such as portable electronics and electric vehicles. Herein, we construct a high-performance ruthenium oxide/graphene (RuO2-ERG) composite directly grown on Ni foam through cyclic voltammetric deposition process. The RuO2-ERG composite with sandwich structure is achieved effectively from a mixed solution of graphene oxide and ruthenium trichloride in the -1.4 V to 1.0 V potential range at a scan rate of 5 mV s-1. The electrochemical performance is optimized by tuning the concentration of the ruthenium trichloride. This integrative RuO2-ERG composite electrode can effectively maintains the accessible surface for redox reaction and stable channels for electrolyte penetration, leading to an improved electrochemical performance. Symmetrical aqueous supercapacitors based on RuO2-ERG electrodes exhibit a wider operational voltage window of 1.5 V. The optimized RuO2-ERG electrode displays a superior specific capacitance with 89% capacitance retention upon increasing the current density by 50 times. A high energy density of 43.8 W h kg-1 at a power density of 0.75 kW kg-1 is also obtained, and as high as 39.1 W h kg-1 can be retained at a power density of 37.5 kW kg-1. In addition, the capacitance retention is still maintained at 92.8% even after 10,000 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance, long-term cycle stability, and the ease of preparation demonstrate that this typical RuO2-ERG electrode has great potentialities to develop high-performance supercapacitors.

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.

Novel operation and control of an electric vehicle aluminum/air battery system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xin; Yang, Shao Hua; Knickle, Harold

The objective of this paper is to create a method to size battery subsystems for an electric vehicle to optimize battery performance. Optimization of performance includes minimizing corrosion by operating at a constant current density. These subsystems will allow for easy mechanical recharging. A proper choice of battery subsystem will allow for longer battery life, greater range and performance. For longer life, the current density and reaction rate should be nearly constant. The control method requires control of power by controlling electrolyte flow in battery sub modules. As power is increased more sub modules come on line and more electrolyte is needed. Solenoid valves open in a sequence to provide the required power. Corrosion is limited because there is no electrolyte in the modules not being used.

Application of a high-energy-density permanent magnet material in underwater systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, C. P.; Egan, C.; Krol, W. P.

1996-06-01

This paper addresses the application of high-energy-density permanent magnet (PM) technology to (1) the brushless, axial-field PM motor and (2) the integrated electric motor/pump system for under-water applications. Finite-element analysis and lumped parameter magnetic circuit analysis were used to calculate motor parameters and performance characteristics and to conduct tradeoff studies. Compact, efficient, reliable, and quiet underwater systems are attainable with the development of high-energy-density PM material, power electronic devices, and power integrated-circuit technology.

Nonimaging optical designs for maximum-power-density remote irradiation.

PubMed

Feuermann, D; Gordon, J M; Ries, H

1998-04-01

Designs for flexible, high-power-density, remote irradiation systems are presented. Applications include industrial infrared heating such as in semiconductor processing, alternatives to laser light for certain medical procedures, and general remote high-brightness lighting. The high power densities in herent to the small active radiating regions of conventional metal-halide, halogen, xenon, microwave-sulfur, and related lamps can be restored with nonimaging concentrators with little loss of power. These high fluxlevels can then be transported at high transmissivity with light channels such as optical fibers or lightpipes, and reshaped into luminaires that can deliver prescribed angular and spatial flux distributions onto desired targets. Details for nominally two- and three-dimensional systems are developed, along with estimates ofoptical performance.

Power And Propulsion Systems For Mobile Robotic Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Layuan, Li; Haiming, Zou

1987-02-01

Choosing the best power and propulsion systems for mobile robotic land vehicle applications requires consideration of technologies. The electric power requirements for onboard electronic and auxiliary equipment include 110/220 volt 60 Hz ac power as well as low voltage dc power. Weight and power are saved by either direct dc power distribution, or high frequency (20 kHz) ac power distribution. Vehicle control functions are performed electronically but steering, braking and traction power may be distributed electrically, mechanically or by fluid (hydraulic) means. Electric drive is practical, even for small vehicles, provided that advanced electric motors are used. Such electric motors have demonstrated power densities of 3.1 kilowatts per kilogram with devices in the 15 kilowatt range. Electric motors have a lower torque, but higher power density as compared to hydraulic or mechanical transmission systems. Power density being comparable, electric drives were selected to best meet the other requirements for robotic vehicles. Two robotic vehicle propulsion system designs are described to illustrate the implementation of electric drive over a vehicle size range of 250-7500 kilograms.

Effect of the thickness of the anode electrode catalyst layers on the performance in direct methanol fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glass, Dean E.; Olah, George A.; Prakash, G. K. Surya

2017-06-01

For the large scale fuel cell manufacture, the catalyst loading and layer thickness are critical factors affecting the performance and cost of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). The influence of catalyst layer thicknesses at the anode of a PEM based direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) has been investigated. Catalysts were applied with the drawdown method with varied thicknesses ranging from 1 mil to 8 mils (1 mil = 25.4 μm) with a Pt/Ru anode loading of 0.25 mg cm-2 to 2.0 mg cm-2. The MEAs with the thicker individual layers (8 mils and 4 mils) performed better overall compared to the those with the thinner layers (1 mil and painted). The peak power densities for the different loading levels followed an exponential decrease of Pt/Ru utilization at the higher loading levels. The highest power density achieved was 49 mW cm-2 with the 4 mil layers at 2.0 mg cm-2 catalyst loading whereas the highest normalized power density was 116 mW mg-1 with the 8 mil layers at 0.25 mg cm-2 loading. The 8 mil drawdowns displayed a 50% and 23% increase in normalized power density compared to the 1 mil drawdowns at 0.25 mg cm-2 and 0.5 mg cm-2 loadings, respectively.

High-performance finite-difference time-domain simulations of C-Mod and ITER RF antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Thomas G.; Smithe, David N.

2015-12-01

Finite-difference time-domain methods have, in recent years, developed powerful capabilities for modeling realistic ICRF behavior in fusion plasmas [1, 2, 3, 4]. When coupled with the power of modern high-performance computing platforms, such techniques allow the behavior of antenna near and far fields, and the flow of RF power, to be studied in realistic experimental scenarios at previously inaccessible levels of resolution. In this talk, we present results and 3D animations from high-performance FDTD simulations on the Titan Cray XK7 supercomputer, modeling both Alcator C-Mod's field-aligned ICRF antenna and the ITER antenna module. Much of this work focuses on scans over edge density, and tailored edge density profiles, to study dispersion and the physics of slow wave excitation in the immediate vicinity of the antenna hardware and SOL. An understanding of the role of the lower-hybrid resonance in low-density scenarios is emerging, and possible implications of this for the NSTX launcher and power balance are also discussed. In addition, we discuss ongoing work centered on using these simulations to estimate sputtering and impurity production, as driven by the self-consistent sheath potentials at antenna surfaces.

High-performance finite-difference time-domain simulations of C-Mod and ITER RF antennas

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

Jenkins, Thomas G., E-mail: tgjenkins@txcorp.com; Smithe, David N., E-mail: smithe@txcorp.com

Finite-difference time-domain methods have, in recent years, developed powerful capabilities for modeling realistic ICRF behavior in fusion plasmas [1, 2, 3, 4]. When coupled with the power of modern high-performance computing platforms, such techniques allow the behavior of antenna near and far fields, and the flow of RF power, to be studied in realistic experimental scenarios at previously inaccessible levels of resolution. In this talk, we present results and 3D animations from high-performance FDTD simulations on the Titan Cray XK7 supercomputer, modeling both Alcator C-Mod’s field-aligned ICRF antenna and the ITER antenna module. Much of this work focuses on scansmore » over edge density, and tailored edge density profiles, to study dispersion and the physics of slow wave excitation in the immediate vicinity of the antenna hardware and SOL. An understanding of the role of the lower-hybrid resonance in low-density scenarios is emerging, and possible implications of this for the NSTX launcher and power balance are also discussed. In addition, we discuss ongoing work centered on using these simulations to estimate sputtering and impurity production, as driven by the self-consistent sheath potentials at antenna surfaces.« less

Recent advances in solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell technology with low platinum loading electrodes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Srinivasan, Supramaniam; Manko, David J.; Koch, Hermann; Enayetullah, Mohammad A.; Appleby, A. John

1989-01-01

Of all the fuel cell systems only alkaline and solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells are capable of achieving high power densities (greater than 1 W/sq cm) required for terrestrial and extraterrestrial applications. Electrode kinetic criteria for attaining such high power densities are discussed. Attainment of high power densities in solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells has been demonstrated earlier by different groups using high platinum loading electrodes (4 mg/sq cm). Recent works at Los Alamos National Laboratory and at Texas A and M University (TAMU) demonstrated similar performance for solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells with ten times lower platinum loading (0.45 mg/sq cm) in the electrodes. Some of the results obtained are discussed in terms of the effects of type and thickness of membrane and of the methods platinum localization in the electrodes on the performance of a single cell.

Effect of Divalent Cations on RED Performance and Cation Exchange Membrane Selection to Enhance Power Densities.

PubMed

Rijnaarts, Timon; Huerta, Elisa; van Baak, Willem; Nijmeijer, Kitty

2017-11-07

Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is a membrane-based renewable energy technology that can harvest energy from salinity gradients. The anticipated feed streams are natural river and seawater, both of which contain not only monovalent ions but also divalent ions. However, RED using feed streams containing divalent ions experiences lower power densities because of both uphill transport and increased membrane resistance. In this study, we investigate the effects of divalent cations (Mg 2+ and Ca 2+ ) on RED and demonstrate the mitigation of those effects using both novel and existing commercial cation exchange membranes (CEMs). Monovalent-selective Neosepta CMS is known to block divalent cations transport and can therefore mitigate reductions in stack voltage. The new multivalent-permeable Fuji T1 is able to transport divalent cations without a major increase in resistance. Both strategies significantly improve power densities compared to standard-grade CEMs when performing RED using streams containing divalent cations.

Road simulation for four-wheel vehicle whole input power spectral density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jiangbo; Qiang, Baomin

2017-05-01

As the vibration of running vehicle mainly comes from road and influence vehicle ride performance. So the road roughness power spectral density simulation has great significance to analyze automobile suspension vibration system parameters and evaluate ride comfort. Firstly, this paper based on the mathematical model of road roughness power spectral density, established the integral white noise road random method. Then in the MATLAB/Simulink environment, according to the research method of automobile suspension frame from simple two degree of freedom single-wheel vehicle model to complex multiple degrees of freedom vehicle model, this paper built the simple single incentive input simulation model. Finally the spectrum matrix was used to build whole vehicle incentive input simulation model. This simulation method based on reliable and accurate mathematical theory and can be applied to the random road simulation of any specified spectral which provides pavement incentive model and foundation to vehicle ride performance research and vibration simulation.

Full synergistic effect of hydrothermal NiCo2O4 nanosheets/CuCo2O4 nanocones supported on Ni foam for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Shiyang; Liu, Yu; Bai, Hongye; Shao, Rong; Xu, Wei; Shi, Weidong

2018-06-01

In this work, a series of NiCo2O4/CuCo2O4 composites were prepared by a two-step hydrothermal method. The optimized NiCo2O4/CuCo2O4 electrode shows more than 5 times area capacitance (4.97 F cm-2) than pure NiCo2O4 at the current density of 1 mA cm-2. The best performance of sample assembled an asymmetric supercapacitor could reach up to 42 F g-1 at the current density of 1 A g-1. In addition, the maximum energy density of 15 W h kg-1 was achieved with the power density of 814 W kg-1. The as-prepared active electrode material also reveals excellent cycling stability with 90.6% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles. These results indicate potential application in developing energy storage devices with high energy density power density.

Low Temperature Performance of High Power Density DC/DC Converter Modules

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elbuluk, Malik E.; Hammond, Ahmad; Gerber, Scott; Patterson, Richard L.; Overton, Eric

2001-01-01

In this paper, two second-generation high power density DC/DC converter modules have been evaluated at low operating temperatures. The power rating of one converter (Module 1) was specified at 150 W with an input voltage range of 36 to 75 V and output voltage of 12 V. The other converter (Module 2) was specified at 100 W with the same input voltage range and an output voltage of 3.3 V. The converter modules were evaluated in terms of their performance as a function of operating temperature in the range of 25 to -140 C. The experimental procedures along with the experimental data obtained are presented and discussed in this paper.

A High Performance H2-Cl2 Fuel Cell for Space Power Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Everett B.; Taylor, E. Jennings; Wilemski, Gerald; Gelb, Alan

1993-01-01

NASA has numerous airborne/spaceborne applications for which high power and energy density power sources are needed. The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is an attractive candidate for such a power source. PEMFC's offer many advantages for airborne/spaceborne applications. They have high power and energy densities, convert fuel to electrical power with high efficiency at both part and full load, and can rapidly startup and shutdown. In addition, PEMFC's are lightweight and operate silently. A significant impediment to the attainment of very high power and energy densities by PEMFC's is their current exclusive reliance on oxygen as the oxidant. Conventional PEMFC's oxidize hydrogen at the anode and reduce oxygen at the cathode. The electrode kinetics of oxygen reduction are known to be highly irreversible, incurring large overpotential losses. In addition, the modest open circuit potential of 1.2V for the H2-O2 fuel cell is unattainable due to mixed potential effects at the oxygen electrode. Because of the high overpotential losses, cells using H2 and O2 are capable of achieving high current densities only at very low cell voltages, greatly curtailing their power output. Based on experimental work on chlorine reduction in a gas diffusion electrode, we believe significant increases in both the energy and power densities of PEMFC systems can be achieved by employing chlorine as an alternative oxidant.

A study of increasing radical density and etch rate using remote plasma generator system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jaewon; Kim, Kyunghyun; Cho, Sung-Won; Chung, Chin-Wook

2013-09-01

To improve radical density without changing electron temperature, remote plasma generator (RPG) is applied. Multistep dissociation of the polyatomic molecule was performed using RPG system. RPG is installed to inductively coupled type processing reactor; electrons, positive ions, radicals and polyatomic molecule generated in RPG and they diffused to processing reactor. The processing reactor dissociates the polyatomic molecules with inductively coupled power. The polyatomic molecules are dissociated by the processing reactor that is operated by inductively coupled power. Therefore, the multistep dissociation system generates more radicals than single-step system. The RPG was composed with two cylinder type inductively coupled plasma (ICP) using 400 kHz RF power and nitrogen gas. The processing reactor composed with two turn antenna with 13.56 MHz RF power. Plasma density, electron temperature and radical density were measured with electrical probe and optical methods.

Power density of piezoelectric transformers improved using a contact heat transfer structure.

PubMed

Shao, Wei Wei; Chen, Li Juan; Pan, Cheng Liang; Liu, Yong Bin; Feng, Zhi Hua

2012-01-01

Based on contact heat transfer, a novel method to increase power density of piezoelectric transformers is proposed. A heat transfer structure is realized by directly attaching a dissipater to the piezoelectric transformer plate. By maintaining the vibration mode of the transformer and limiting additional energy losses from the contact interface, an appropriate design can improve power density of the transformer on a large scale, resulting from effective suppression of its working temperature rise. A prototype device was fabricated from a rectangular piezoelectric transformer, a copper heat transfer sheet, a thermal grease insulation pad, and an aluminum heat radiator. The experimental results show the transformer maintains a maximum power density of 135 W/cm(3) and an efficiency of 90.8% with a temperature rise of less than 10 °C after more than 36 h, without notable changes in performance. © 2012 IEEE

Current drive at plasma densities required for thermonuclear reactors.

PubMed

Cesario, R; Amicucci, L; Cardinali, A; Castaldo, C; Marinucci, M; Panaccione, L; Santini, F; Tudisco, O; Apicella, M L; Calabrò, G; Cianfarani, C; Frigione, D; Galli, A; Mazzitelli, G; Mazzotta, C; Pericoli, V; Schettini, G; Tuccillo, A A

2010-08-10

Progress in thermonuclear fusion energy research based on deuterium plasmas magnetically confined in toroidal tokamak devices requires the development of efficient current drive methods. Previous experiments have shown that plasma current can be driven effectively by externally launched radio frequency power coupled to lower hybrid plasma waves. However, at the high plasma densities required for fusion power plants, the coupled radio frequency power does not penetrate into the plasma core, possibly because of strong wave interactions with the plasma edge. Here we show experiments performed on FTU (Frascati Tokamak Upgrade) based on theoretical predictions that nonlinear interactions diminish when the peripheral plasma electron temperature is high, allowing significant wave penetration at high density. The results show that the coupled radio frequency power can penetrate into high-density plasmas due to weaker plasma edge effects, thus extending the effective range of lower hybrid current drive towards the domain relevant for fusion reactors.

Coated Porous Si for High Performance On-Chip Supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigoras, K.; Keskinen, J.; Grönberg, L.; Ahopelto, J.; Prunnila, M.

2014-11-01

High performance porous Si based supercapacitor electrodes are demonstrated. High power density and stability is provided by ultra-thin TiN coating of the porous Si matrix. The TiN layer is deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD), which provides sufficient conformality to reach the bottom of the high aspect ratio pores. Our porous Si supercapacitor devices exhibit almost ideal double layer capacitor characteristic with electrode volumetric capacitance of 7.3 F/cm3. Several orders of magnitude increase in power and energy density is obtained comparing to uncoated porous silicon electrodes. Good stability of devices is confirmed performing several thousands of charge/discharge cycles.

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.

Controlling the Laser Guide Star power density distribution at Sodium layer by combining Pre-correction and Beam-shaping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Jian; Wei, Kai; Jin, Kai; Li, Min; Zhang, YuDong

2018-06-01

The Sodium laser guide star (LGS) plays a key role in modern astronomical Adaptive Optics Systems (AOSs). The spot size and photon return of the Sodium LGS depend strongly on the laser power density distribution at the Sodium layer and thus affect the performance of the AOS. The power density distribution is degraded by turbulence in the uplink path, launch system aberrations, the beam quality of the laser, and so forth. Even without any aberrations, the TE00 Gaussian type is still not the optimal power density distribution to obtain the best balance between the measurement error and temporal error. To optimize and control the LGS power density distribution at the Sodium layer to an expected distribution type, a method that combines pre-correction and beam-shaping is proposed. A typical result shows that under strong turbulence (Fried parameter (r0) of 5 cm) and for a quasi-continuous wave Sodium laser (power (P) of 15 W), in the best case, our method can effectively optimize the distribution from the Gaussian type to the "top-hat" type and enhance the photon return flux of the Sodium LGS; at the same time, the total error of the AOS is decreased by 36% with our technique for a high power laser and poor seeing.

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.

Drastically Enhanced High-Rate Performance of Carbon-Coated LiFePO4 Nanorods Using a Green Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Method for Lithium Ion Battery: A Selective Carbon Coating Process.

PubMed

Tian, Ruiyuan; Liu, Haiqiang; Jiang, Yi; Chen, Jiankun; Tan, Xinghua; Liu, Guangyao; Zhang, Lina; Gu, Xiaohua; Guo, Yanjun; Wang, Hanfu; Sun, Lianfeng; Chu, Weiguo

2015-06-03

Application of LiFePO4 (LFP) to large current power supplies is greatly hindered by its poor electrical conductivity (10(-9) S cm(-1)) and sluggish Li+ transport. Carbon coating is considered to be necessary for improving its interparticle electronic conductivity and thus electrochemical performance. Here, we proposed a novel, green, low cost and controllable CVD approach using solid glucose as carbon source which can be extended to most cathode and anode materials in need of carbon coating. Hydrothermally synthesized LFP nanorods with optimized thickness of carbon coated by this recipe are shown to have superb high-rate performance, high energy, and power densities, as well as long high-rate cycle lifetime. For 200 C (18s) charge and discharge, the discharge capacity and voltage are 89.69 mAh g(-1) and 3.030 V, respectively, and the energy and power densities are 271.80 Wh kg(-1) and 54.36 kW kg(-1), respectively. The capacity retention of 93.0%, and the energy and power density retention of 93.6% after 500 cycles at 100 C were achieved. Compared to the conventional carbon coating through direct mixing with glucose (or other organic substances) followed by annealing (DMGA), the carbon phase coated using this CVD recipe is of higher quality and better uniformity. Undoubtedly, this approach enhances significantly the electrochemical performance of high power LFP and thus broadens greatly the prospect of its applications to large current power supplies such as electric and hybrid electric vehicles.

Scalable high-power redox capacitors with aligned nanoforests of crystalline MnO₂ nanorods by high voltage electrophoretic deposition.

PubMed

Santhanagopalan, Sunand; Balram, Anirudh; Meng, Dennis Desheng

2013-03-26

It is commonly perceived that reduction-oxidation (redox) capacitors have to sacrifice power density to achieve higher energy density than carbon-based electric double layer capacitors. In this work, we report the synergetic advantages of combining the high crystallinity of hydrothermally synthesized α-MnO2 nanorods with alignment for high performance redox capacitors. Such an approach is enabled by high voltage electrophoretic deposition (HVEPD) technology which can obtain vertically aligned nanoforests with great process versatility. The scalable nanomanufacturing process is demonstrated by roll-printing an aligned forest of α-MnO2 nanorods on a large flexible substrate (1 inch by 1 foot). The electrodes show very high power density (340 kW/kg at an energy density of 4.7 Wh/kg) and excellent cyclability (over 92% capacitance retention over 2000 cycles). Pretreatment of the substrate and use of a conductive holding layer have also been shown to significantly reduce the contact resistance between the aligned nanoforests and the substrates. High areal specific capacitances of around 8500 μF/cm(2) have been obtained for each electrode with a two-electrode device configuration. Over 93% capacitance retention was observed when the cycling current densities were increased from 0.25 to 10 mA/cm(2), indicating high rate capabilities of the fabricated electrodes and resulting in the very high attainable power density. The high performance of the electrodes is attributed to the crystallographic structure, 1D morphology, aligned orientation, and low contact resistance.

High-Performance Li-Ion Capacitor Based on an Activated Carbon Cathode and Well-Dispersed Ultrafine TiO2 Nanoparticles Embedded in Mesoporous Carbon Nanofibers Anode.

PubMed

Yang, Cheng; Lan, Jin-Le; Liu, Wen-Xiao; Liu, Yuan; Yu, Yun-Hua; Yang, Xiao-Ping

2017-06-07

A novel Li-ion capacitor based on an activated carbon cathode and a well-dispersed ultrafine TiO 2 nanoparticles embedded in mesoporous carbon nanofibers (TiO 2 @PCNFs) anode was reported. A series of TiO 2 @PCNFs anode materials were prepared via a scalable electrospinning method followed by carbonization and a postetching method. The size of TiO 2 nanoparticles and the mesoporous structure of the TiO 2 @PCNFs were tuned by varying amounts of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) to increase the energy density and power density of the LIC significantly. Such a subtle designed LIC displayed a high energy density of 67.4 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 75 W kg -1 . Meanwhile, even when the power density was increased to 5 kW kg -1 , the energy density can still maintain 27.5 Wh kg -1 . Moreover, the LIC displayed a high capacitance retention of 80.5% after 10000 cycles at 10 A g -1 . The outstanding electrochemical performance can be contributed to the synergistic effect of the well-dispersed ultrafine TiO 2 nanoparticles, the abundant mesoporous structure, and the conductive carbon networks.

Hybrid Power Management-Based Vehicle Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichenberg, Dennis J.

2011-01-01

Hybrid Power Management (HPM) is the integration of diverse, state-of-the-art power devices in an optimal configuration for space and terrestrial applications (s ee figure). The appropriate application and control of the various power devices significantly improves overall system performance and efficiency. The basic vehicle architecture consists of a primary power source, and possibly other power sources, that provides all power to a common energy storage system that is used to power the drive motors and vehicle accessory systems. This architecture also provides power as an emergency power system. Each component is independent, permitting it to be optimized for its intended purpose. The key element of HPM is the energy storage system. All generated power is sent to the energy storage system, and all loads derive their power from that system. This can significantly reduce the power requirement of the primary power source, while increasing the vehicle reliability. Ultracapacitors are ideal for an HPM-based energy storage system due to their exceptionally long cycle life, high reliability, high efficiency, high power density, and excellent low-temperature performance. Multiple power sources and multiple loads are easily incorporated into an HPM-based vehicle. A gas turbine is a good primary power source because of its high efficiency, high power density, long life, high reliability, and ability to operate on a wide range of fuels. An HPM controller maintains optimal control over each vehicle component. This flexible operating system can be applied to all vehicles to considerably improve vehicle efficiency, reliability, safety, security, and performance. The HPM-based vehicle architecture has many advantages over conventional vehicle architectures. Ultracapacitors have a much longer cycle life than batteries, which greatly improves system reliability, reduces life-of-system costs, and reduces environmental impact as ultracapacitors will probably never need to be replaced and disposed of. The environmentally safe ultracapacitor components reduce disposal concerns, and their recyclable nature reduces the environmental impact. High ultracapacitor power density provides high power during surges, and the ability to absorb high power during recharging. Ultracapacitors are extremely efficient in capturing recharging energy, are rugged, reliable, maintenance-free, have excellent lowtemperature characteristic, provide consistent performance over time, and promote safety as they can be left indefinitely in a safe, discharged state whereas batteries cannot.

High performance batteries with carbon nanomaterials and ionic liquids

DOEpatents

Lu, Wen [Littleton, CO

2012-08-07

The present invention is directed to lithium-ion batteries in general and more particularly to lithium-ion batteries based on aligned graphene ribbon anodes, V.sub.2O.sub.5 graphene ribbon composite cathodes, and ionic liquid electrolytes. The lithium-ion batteries have excellent performance metrics of cell voltages, energy densities, and power densities.

Development status of a sealed bipolar lead/acid battery for high-power battery applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arias, J. L.; Rowlette, J. J.; Drake, E. D.

A sealed bipolar lead/acid (SBLA) battery is being developed by Arias Research Associates (ARA) which will offer a number of important advantages in applications requiring high power densities. These applications include electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles, uninterruptable power supplies (UPS), electrically-heated catalysts (EHCs) for automobiles, utility-power peak-shaving, and others. The advantages of the SBLA over other types of batteries will by significantly higher power density, together with good energy density, high cycle life, high voltage density, low production cost and zero maintenance. In addition, the lead/acid battery represents a technology which is familiar and accepted by Society, is recyclable within the existing infrastructure, and does not raise the safety concerns of many other new batteries (e.g., fire, explosion and toxic gases). This paper briefly reviews the basic design concepts and issues of the SBLA battery technology, various quasi-bipolar approaches and the results of ARA's development work during the past four years. Performance data are given based on both in-house and independent testing of ARA laboratory test batteries. In addition, performance projections and other characteristics are given for three ARA SBLA battery designs, which are compared with other batteries in three example applications: UPS, EHCs, and EVs. The most notable advantages of the SBLA battery are substantial reductions in product size and weight for the UPS, smaller packaging and longer life for the EHC, and higher vehicle performance and lower cost for the EV, compared to both existing and advanced EV batteries.

High-Performance Supercapacitors from Niobium Nanowire Yarns.

PubMed

Mirvakili, Seyed M; Mirvakili, Mehr Negar; Englezos, Peter; Madden, John D W; Hunter, Ian W

2015-07-01

The large-ion-accessible surface area of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene sheets formed as yarns, forests, and films enables miniature high-performance supercapacitors with power densities exceeding those of electrolytics while achieving energy densities equaling those of batteries. Capacitance and energy density can be enhanced by depositing highly pseudocapacitive materials such as conductive polymers on them. Yarns formed from carbon nanotubes are proposed for use in wearable supercapacitors. In this work, we show that high power, energy density, and capacitance in yarn form are not unique to carbon materials, and we introduce niobium nanowires as an alternative. These yarns show higher capacitance and energy per volume and are stronger and 100 times more conductive than similarly spun carbon multiwalled nanotube (MWNT) and graphene yarns. The long niobium nanowires, formed by repeated extrusion and drawing, achieve device volumetric peak power and energy densities of 55 MW·m(-3) (55 W·cm(-3)) and 25 MJ·m(-3) (7 mWh·cm(-3)), 2 and 5 times higher than that for state-of-the-art CNT yarns, respectively. The capacitance per volume of Nb nanowire yarn is lower than the 158 MF·m(-3) (158 F·cm(-3)) reported for carbon-based materials such as reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and CNT wet-spun yarns, but the peak power and energy densities are 200 and 2 times higher, respectively. Achieving high power in long yarns is made possible by the high conductivity of the metal, and achievement of high energy density is possible thanks to the high internal surface area. No additional metal backing is needed, unlike for CNT yarns and supercapacitors in general, saving substantial space. As the yarn is infiltrated with pseudocapacitive materials such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), the energy density is further increased to 10 MJ·m(-3) (2.8 mWh·cm(-3)). Similar to CNT yarns, niobium nanowire yarns are highly flexible and show potential for weaving into textiles and use in wearable devices.

Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes as anode and air-cathode in single chamber microbial fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amade, R.; Moreno, H. A.; Hussain, S.; Vila-Costa, M.; Bertran, E.

2016-10-01

Electrode optimization in microbial fuel cells is a key issue to improve the power output and cell performance. Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) grown on low cost stainless-steel mesh present an attractive approach to increase the cell performance while avoiding the use of expensive Pt-based materials. In comparison with non-aligned carbon nanotubes (NACNTs), VACNTs increase the oxygen reduction reaction taking place at the cathode by a factor of two. In addition, vertical alignment also increases the power density up to 2.5 times with respect to NACNTs. VACNTs grown at the anode can further improve the cell performance by increasing the electrode surface area and thus the electron transfer between bacteria and the electrode. The maximum power density obtained using VACNTs was 14 mW/m2 and 160 mV output voltage.

Symmetric Sodium-Ion Capacitor Based on Na0.44MnO2 Nanorods for Low-Cost and High-Performance Energy Storage.

PubMed

Chen, Zhongxue; Yuan, Tianci; Pu, Xiangjun; Yang, Hanxi; Ai, Xinping; Xia, Yongyao; Cao, Yuliang

2018-04-11

Batteries and electrochemical capacitors play very important roles in the portable electronic devices and electric vehicles and have shown promising potential for large-scale energy storage applications. However, batteries or capacitors alone cannot meet the energy and power density requirements because rechargeable batteries have a poor power property, whereas supercapacitors offer limited capacity. Here, a novel symmetric sodium-ion capacitor (NIC) is developed based on low-cost Na 0.44 MnO 2 nanorods. The Na 0.44 MnO 2 with unique nanoarchitectures and iso-oriented feature offers shortened diffusion path lengths for both electronic and Na + transport and reduces the stress associated with Na + insertion and extraction. Benefiting from these merits, the symmetric device achieves a high power density of 2432.7 W kg -1 , an improved energy density of 27.9 Wh kg -1 , and a capacitance retention of 85.2% over 5000 cycles. Particularly, the symmetric NIC based on Na 0.44 MnO 2 permits repeatedly reverse-polarity characteristics, thus simplifying energy management system and greatly enhancing the safety under abuse condition. This cost-effective, high-safety, and high-performance symmetric NIC can balance the energy and power density between batteries and capacitors and serve as an electric power source for future low-maintenance large-scale energy storage systems.

High-Performance Chemically Regenerative Redox Fuel Cells Using a NO3- /NO Regeneration Reaction.

PubMed

Han, Sang-Beom; Kwak, Da-Hee; Park, Hyun Suk; Choi, In-Ae; Park, Jin-Young; Kim, Si-Jin; Kim, Min-Cheol; Hong, Seongho; Park, Kyung-Won

2017-03-06

In this study, we proposed high-performance chemically regenerative redox fuel cells (CRRFCs) using NO 3 - /NO with a nitrogen-doped carbon-felt electrode and a chemical regeneration reaction of NO to NO 3 - via O 2 . The electrochemical cell using the nitrate reduction to NO at the cathode on the carbon felt and oxidation of H 2 as a fuel at the anode showed a maximal power density of 730 mW cm -2 at 80 °C and twofold higher power density of 512 mW cm -2 at 0.8 V, than the target power density of 250 mW cm -2 at 0.8 V in the H 2 /O 2 proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). During the operation of the CRRFCs with the chemical regeneration reactor for 30 days, the CRRFCs maintained 60 % of the initial performance with a regeneration efficiency of about 92.9 % and immediately returned to the initial value when supplied with fresh HNO 3 . © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High performance direct methanol fuel cell with thin electrolyte membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Nianfang

2017-06-01

A high performance direct methanol fuel cell is achieved with thin electrolyte membrane. 320 mW cm-2 of peak power density and over 260 mW cm-2 at 0.4 V are obtained when working at 90 °C with normal pressure air supply. It is revealed that the increased anode half-cell performance with temperature contributes primarily to the enhanced performance at elevated temperature. From the comparison of iR-compensated cathode potential of methanol/air with that of H2/air fuel cell, the impact of methanol crossover on cathode performance decreases with current density and becomes negligible at high current density. Current density is found to influence fuel efficiency and methanol crossover significantly from the measurement of fuel efficiency at different current density. At high current density, high fuel efficiency can be achieved even at high temperature, indicating decreased methanol crossover.

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

Kung, C. C.; Kramer, G. J.; Johnson, E.

Reflectometry, which uses the microwave radar technique to probe the magnetically confined fusion plasmas, is a very powerful tool to observe the density fluctuations in the fusion plasmas. Typically, two or more microwave beams of different frequencies are used to study the plasma density fluctuations. The frequency separation between these two beams of the PPPL designed reflectometer system upgrade on the DIII-D tokamak can be varied over 18 GHz. Due to the performance of the associated electronics, the local oscillator (LO) power level at the LO port of the I/Q demodulator suffers more than 12 dB of power fluctuations whenmore » the frequency separation is varied. Thus, the I/Q demodulator performance is impaired. In order to correct this problem, a power leveling circuit is introduced in the PPPL upgrade. According to the test results, the LO power fluctuation was regulated to be within 1 dB for greater than 16 dB of input power variation over the full dynamic bandwidth of the receiver.« less

3D Freeze-Casting of Cellular Graphene Films for Ultrahigh-Power-Density Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Shao, Yuanlong; El-Kady, Maher F; Lin, Cheng-Wei; Zhu, Guanzhou; Marsh, Kristofer L; Hwang, Jee Youn; Zhang, Qinghong; Li, Yaogang; Wang, Hongzhi; Kaner, Richard B

2016-08-01

3D cellular graphene films with open porosity, high electrical conductivity, and good tensile strength, can be synthesized by a method combining freeze-casting and filtration. The resulting supercapacitors based on 3D porous reduced graphene oxide (RGO) film exhibit extremely high specific power densities and high energy densities. The fabrication process provides an effective means for controlling the pore size, electronic conductivity, and loading mass of the electrode materials, toward devices with high energy-storage performance. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Development Status of High-Thrust Density Electrostatic Engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson, Michael J.; Haag, Thomas W.; Foster, John E.; Young, Jason A.; Crofton, Mark W.

2017-01-01

Ion thruster technology offers the highest performance and efficiency of any mature electric propulsion thruster. It has by far the highest demonstrated total impulse of any technology option, demonstrated at input power levels appropriate for primary propulsion. It has also been successfully implemented for primary propulsion in both geocentric and heliocentric environments, with excellent ground/in-space correlation of both its performance and life. Based on these attributes there is compelling reasoning to continue the development of this technology: it is a leading candidate for high power applications; and it provides risk reduction for as-yet unproven alternatives. As such it is important that the operational limitations of ion thruster technology be critically examined and in particular for its application to primary propulsion its capabilities relative to thrust the density and thrust-to-power ratio be understood. This publication briefly addresses some of the considerations relative to achieving high thrust density and maximizing thrust-to-power ratio with ion thruster technology, and discusses the status of development work in this area being executed under a collaborative effort among NASA Glenn Research Center, the Aerospace Corporation, and the University of Michigan.

Effects of hydraulic pressure on the performance of single chamber air-cathode microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Cheng, Shaoan; Liu, Weifeng; Guo, Jian; Sun, Dan; Pan, Bin; Ye, Yaoli; Ding, Weijun; Huang, Haobin; Li, Fujian

2014-06-15

Scaling up of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) without losing power density requires a thorough understanding of the effect of hydraulic pressure on MFC performance. In this work, the performance of an activated carbon air-cathode MFC was evaluated under different hydraulic pressures. The MFC under 100 mmH2O hydraulic pressure produced a maximum power density of 1260 ± 24 mW m(-2), while the power density decreased by 24.4% and 44.7% as the hydraulic pressure increased to 500 mmH2O and 2000 mmH2O, respectively. Notably, the performance of both the anode and the cathode had decreased under high hydraulic pressures. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests of the cathode indicated that both charge transfer resistance and diffusion transfer resistance increased with the increase in hydraulic pressure. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of PCR-amplified partial 16S rRNA genes demonstrated that the similarity among anodic biofilm communities under different hydraulic pressures was ≥ 90%, and the communities of all MFCs were dominated by Geobacter sp. These results suggested that the reduction in power output of the single chamber air-cathode MFC under high hydraulic pressures can be attributed to water flooding of the cathode and suppression the metabolism of anodic exoelectrogenic bacteria. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Asymmetric carbon nanotube-MnO2 two-ply yarn supercapacitors for wearable electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Fenghua; Miao, Menghe

2014-04-01

Strong and flexible two-ply carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors are electrical double layer capacitors that possess relatively low energy storage capacity. Pseudocapacitance metal oxides such as MnO2 are well known for their high electrochemical performance and can be coated on carbon nanotube yarns to significantly improve the performance of two-ply carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors. We produced a high performance asymmetric two-ply yarn supercapacitor from as-spun CNT yarn and CNT@MnO2 composite yarn in aqueous electrolyte. The as-spun CNT yarn serves as negative electrode and the CNT@MnO2 composite yarn as positive electrode. This asymmetric architecture allows the operating potential window to be extended from 1.0 to 2.0 V and results in much higher energy and power densities than the reference symmetric two-ply yarn supercapacitors, reaching 42.0 Wh kg-1 at a lower power density of 483.7 W kg-1, and 28.02 Wh kg-1 at a higher power density of 19 250 W kg-1. The asymmetric supercapacitor can sustain cyclic charge-discharge and repeated folding/unfolding actions without suffering significant deterioration of specific capacitance. The combination of high strength, flexibility and electrochemical performance makes the asymmetric two-ply yarn supercapacitor a suitable power source for flexible electronic devices for applications that require high durability and wearer comfort.

Asymmetric carbon nanotube-MnO₂ two-ply yarn supercapacitors for wearable electronics.

PubMed

Su, Fenghua; Miao, Menghe

2014-04-04

Strong and flexible two-ply carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors are electrical double layer capacitors that possess relatively low energy storage capacity. Pseudocapacitance metal oxides such as MnO₂ are well known for their high electrochemical performance and can be coated on carbon nanotube yarns to significantly improve the performance of two-ply carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors. We produced a high performance asymmetric two-ply yarn supercapacitor from as-spun CNT yarn and CNT@Mn₂2 composite yarn in aqueous electrolyte. The as-spun CNT yarn serves as negative electrode and the CNT@MnO₂ composite yarn as positive electrode. This asymmetric architecture allows the operating potential window to be extended from 1.0 to 2.0 V and results in much higher energy and power densities than the reference symmetric two-ply yarn supercapacitors, reaching 42.0 Wh kg(-1) at a lower power density of 483.7 W kg(-1), and 28.02 Wh kg(-1) at a higher power density of 19,250 W kg(-1). The asymmetric supercapacitor can sustain cyclic charge-discharge and repeated folding/unfolding actions without suffering significant deterioration of specific capacitance. The combination of high strength, flexibility and electrochemical performance makes the asymmetric two-ply yarn supercapacitor a suitable power source for flexible electronic devices for applications that require high durability and wearer comfort.

Design of Supercapacitor Electrodes Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bo, Zheng; Li, Changwen; Yang, Huachao; Ostrikov, Kostya; Yan, Jianhua; Cen, Kefa

2018-06-01

Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) are advanced electrochemical devices for energy storage and have attracted strong interest due to their outstanding properties. Rational optimization of electrode-electrolyte interactions is of vital importance to enhance device performance for practical applications. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations could provide theoretical guidelines for the optimal design of electrodes and the improvement of capacitive performances, e.g., energy density and power density. Here we discuss recent MD simulation studies on energy storage performance of electrode materials containing porous to nanostructures. The energy storage properties are related to the electrode structures, including electrode geometry and electrode modifications. Altering electrode geometry, i.e., pore size and surface topography, can influence EDL capacitance. We critically examine different types of electrode modifications, such as altering the arrangement of carbon atoms, doping heteroatoms and defects, which can change the quantum capacitance. The enhancement of power density can be achieved by the intensified ion dynamics and shortened ion pathway. Rational control of the electrode morphology helps improve the ion dynamics by decreasing the ion diffusion pathway. Tuning the surface properties (e.g., the affinity between the electrode and the ions) can affect the ion-packing phenomena. Our critical analysis helps enhance the energy and power densities of EDLCs by modulating the corresponding electrode structures and surface properties.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Workshop on High Power ICH Antenna Designs for High Density Tokamaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aamodt, R. E.

1990-02-01

A workshop in high power ICH antenna designs for high density tokamaks was held to: (1) review the data base relevant to the high power heating of high density tokamaks; (2) identify the important issues which need to be addressed in order to ensure the success of the ICRF programs on CIT and Alcator C-MOD; and (3) recommend approaches for resolving the issues in a timely realistic manner. Some specific performance goals for the antenna system define a successful design effort. Simply stated these goals are: couple the specified power per antenna into the desired ion species; produce no more than an acceptable level of RF auxiliary power induced impurities; and have a mechanical structure which safely survives the thermal, mechanical and radiation stresses in the relevant environment. These goals are intimately coupled and difficult tradeoffs between scientific and engineering constraints have to be made.

Cost and performance model for redox flow batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viswanathan, Vilayanur; Crawford, Alasdair; Stephenson, David; Kim, Soowhan; Wang, Wei; Li, Bin; Coffey, Greg; Thomsen, Ed; Graff, Gordon; Balducci, Patrick; Kintner-Meyer, Michael; Sprenkle, Vincent

2014-02-01

A cost model is developed for all vanadium and iron-vanadium redox flow batteries. Electrochemical performance modeling is done to estimate stack performance at various power densities as a function of state of charge and operating conditions. This is supplemented with a shunt current model and a pumping loss model to estimate actual system efficiency. The operating parameters such as power density, flow rates and design parameters such as electrode aspect ratio and flow frame channel dimensions are adjusted to maximize efficiency and minimize capital costs. Detailed cost estimates are obtained from various vendors to calculate cost estimates for present, near-term and optimistic scenarios. The most cost-effective chemistries with optimum operating conditions for power or energy intensive applications are determined, providing a roadmap for battery management systems development for redox flow batteries. The main drivers for cost reduction for various chemistries are identified as a function of the energy to power ratio of the storage system. Levelized cost analysis further guide suitability of various chemistries for different applications.

High Power MPD Thruster Performance Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaPointe, Michael R.; Strzempkowski, Eugene; Pencil, Eric

2004-01-01

High power magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters are being developed as cost effective propulsion systems for cargo transport to lunar and Mars bases, crewed missions to Mars and the outer planets, and robotic deep space exploration missions. Electromagnetic MPD thrusters have demonstrated, at the laboratory level, the ability to process megawatts of electrical power while providing significantly higher thrust densities than electrostatic electric propulsion systems. The ability to generate higher thrust densities permits a reduction in the number of thrusters required to perform a given mission, and alleviates the system complexity associated with multiple thruster arrays. The specific impulse of an MPD thruster can be optimized to meet given mission requirements, from a few thousand seconds with heavier gas propellants up to 10,000 seconds with hydrogen propellant. In support of programs envisioned by the NASA Office of Exploration Systems, Glenn Research Center is developing and testing quasi-steady MW-class MPD thrusters as a prelude to steady state high power thruster tests. This paper provides an overview of the GRC high power pulsed thruster test facility, and presents preliminary performance data for a quasi-steady baseline MPD thruster geometry.

Investigating the Effect of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Pollution on the Performance of the Mono-crystalline Solar Module

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed Darwish, Zeki; Sopian, K.; Kazem, Hussein A.; Alghoul, M. A.; Alawadhi, Hussain

2017-11-01

This paper presents a study of titanium oxide TiO2 as one of the components of dust pollution affecting the PV performance. This pollutant can be found in various quantities in different locations around the world. The production of energy by different types of photovoltaic systems is very sensitive and depends on various environmental factors. Dust is one of the main contributing factors, yet the type of the dust is often neglected when studying the behaviour of the solar panel. In this experimental work we have studied the performance of the monocrystalline solar module as affected by the density of TiO2. The reduction of the PV module power caused by titanium dioxide under various mass densities was investigated. The results showed that the TiO2 has a significant effect on the PV output power. The dust density varied between 0-125 g.m-2. The corresponding reduction of the PV output power increased from 0 to 86.7%. This is based on various influencing parameters such as: short circuit current (Isc), maximum current (Im), open circuit voltage (Voc), maximum voltage (Vm), maximum power (Pm) and efficiency (E). Two functions are proposed as a mathematical model in order to explain this behaviour, namely the exponential and Fourier functions. The coefficients of all general models are valid for this type of dust with a density value ranging from 0-125 g.m-2.

Energetic Combustion Devices for Aerospace Propulsion and Power

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Litchford, Ron J.

2000-01-01

Chemical reactions have long been the mainstay thermal energy source for aerospace propulsion and power. Although it is widely recognized that the intrinsic energy density limitations of chemical bonds place severe constraints on maximum realizable performance, it will likely be several years before systems based on high energy density nuclear fuels can be placed into routine service. In the mean time, efforts to develop high energy density chemicals and advanced combustion devices which can utilize such energetic fuels may yield worthwhile returns in overall system performance and cost. Current efforts in this vein are being carried out at NASA MSFC under the direction of the author in the areas of pulse detonation engine technology development and light metals combustion devices. Pulse detonation engines are touted as a low cost alternative to gas turbine engines and to conventional rocket engines, but actual performance and cost benefits have yet to be convincingly demonstrated. Light metal fueled engines also offer potential benefits in certain niche applications such as aluminum/CO2 fueled engines for endo-atmospheric Martian propulsion. Light metal fueled MHD generators also present promising opportunities with respect to electric power generation for electromagnetic launch assist. This presentation will discuss the applications potential of these concepts with respect to aero ace propulsion and power and will review the current status of the development efforts.

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.

Improving the aluminum-air battery system for use in electrical vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Shaohua

The objectives of this study include improvement of the efficiency of the aluminum/air battery system and demonstration of its ability for vehicle applications. The aluminum/air battery system can generate enough energy and power for driving ranges and acceleration similar to that of gasoline powered cars. Therefore has the potential to be a power source for electrical vehicles. Aluminum/air battery vehicle life cycle analysis was conducted and compared to that of lead/acid and nickel-metal hydride vehicles. Only the aluminum/air vehicles can be projected to have a travel range comparable to that of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE). From this analysis, an aluminum/air vehicle is a promising candidate compared to ICE vehicles in terms of travel range, purchase price, fuel cost, and life cycle cost. We have chosen two grades of Al alloys (Al alloy 1350, 99.5% and Al alloy 1199, 99.99%) in our study. Only Al 1199 was studied extensively using Na 2SnO3 as an electrolyte additive. We then varied concentration and temperature, and determined the effects on the parasitic (corrosion) current density and open circuit potential. We also determined cell performance and selectivity curves. To optimize the performance of the cell based on our experiments, the recommended operating conditions are: 3--4 N NaOH, about 55°C, and a current density of 150--300 mA/cm2. We have modeled the cell performance using the equations we developed. The model prediction of cell performance shows good agreement with experimental data. For better cell performance, our model studies suggest use of higher electrolyte flow rate, smaller cell gap, higher conductivity and lower parasitic current density. We have analyzed the secondary current density distributions in a two plane, parallel Al/air cell and a wedge-type Al/air cell. The activity of the cathode has a large effect on the local current density. With increases in the cell gap, the local current density increases, but the increase is not as significant as the increase in the current density away from the entrance. By extending the cathode below the anode, the high local current density can be reduced.

A high energy and power sodium-ion hybrid capacitor based on nitrogen-doped hollow carbon nanowires anode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dongdong; Ye, Chao; Chen, Xinzhi; Wang, Suqing; Wang, Haihui

2018-04-01

The sodium ion hybrid capacitor (SHC) has been attracting much attention. However, the SHC's power density is significantly confined to a low level due to the sluggish ion diffusion in the anode. Herein, we propose to use an electrode with a high double layer capacitance as the anode in the SHC instead of insertion anodes. To this aim, nitrogen doped hollow carbon nanowires (N-HCNWs) with a high specific surface area are prepared, and the high capacitive contribution during the sodium ion storage process is confirmed by a series of electrochemical measurements. A new SHC consisting of a N-HCNW anode and a commercial active carbon (AC) cathode is fabricated for the first time. Due to the hybrid charge storage mechanism combining ion insertion and capacitive process, the as-fabricated SHC strikes a balance between the energy density and power density, a energy density of 108 Wh kg-1 and a power density of 9 kW kg-1 can be achieved, which overwhelms the electrochemical performances of most reported AC-based SHCs.

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.

Aligned carbon nanotube/zinc oxide nanowire hybrids as high performance electrodes for supercapacitor applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Asadi, Ahmed S.; Henley, Luke Alexander; Wasala, Milinda; Muchharla, Baleeswaraiah; Perea-Lopez, Nestor; Carozo, Victor; Lin, Zhong; Terrones, Mauricio; Mondal, Kanchan; Kordas, Krisztian; Talapatra, Saikat

2017-03-01

Carbon nanotube/metal oxide based hybrids are envisioned as high performance electrochemical energy storage electrodes since these systems can provide improved performances utilizing an electric double layer coupled with fast faradaic pseudocapacitive charge storage mechanisms. In this work, we show that high performance supercapacitor electrodes with a specific capacitance of ˜192 F/g along with a maximum energy density of ˜3.8 W h/kg and a power density of ˜ 28 kW/kg can be achieved by synthesizing zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO NWs) directly on top of aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). In comparison to pristine MWCNTs, these constitute a 12-fold of increase in specific capacitance as well as corresponding power and energy density values. These electrodes also possess high cycling stability and were able to retain ˜99% of their specific capacitance value over 2000 charging discharging cycles. These findings indicate potential use of a MWCNT/ZnO NW hybrid material for future electrochemical energy storage applications.

Advanced Power Electronics Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwarze, Gene E.

2004-01-01

This paper will give a description and status of the Advanced Power Electronics Materials and Components Technology program being conducted by the NASA Glenn Research Center for future aerospace power applications. The focus of this research program is on the following: 1) New and/or significantly improved dielectric materials for the development of power capacitors with increased volumetric efficiency, energy density, and operating temperature. Materials being investigated include nanocrystalline and composite ceramic dielectrics and diamond-like carbon films; 2) New and/or significantly improved high frequency, high temperature, low loss soft magnetic materials for the development of transformers/inductors with increased power/energy density, electrical efficiency, and operating temperature. Materials being investigated include nanocrystalline and nanocomposite soft magnetic materials; 3) Packaged high temperature, high power density, high voltage, and low loss SiC diodes and switches. Development of high quality 4H- and 6H- SiC atomically smooth substrates to significantly improve device performance is a major emphasis of the SiC materials program; 4) Demonstration of high temperature (> 200 C) circuits using the components developed above.

Particle visualization in high-power impulse magnetron sputtering. II. Absolute density dynamics

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

Britun, Nikolay, E-mail: nikolay.britun@umons.ac.be; Palmucci, Maria; Konstantinidis, Stephanos

2015-04-28

Time-resolved characterization of an Ar-Ti high-power impulse magnetron sputtering discharge has been performed. The present, second, paper of the study is related to the discharge characterization in terms of the absolute density of species using resonant absorption spectroscopy. The results on the time-resolved density evolution of the neutral and singly-ionized Ti ground state atoms as well as the metastable Ti and Ar atoms during the discharge on- and off-time are presented. Among the others, the questions related to the inversion of population of the Ti energy sublevels, as well as to re-normalization of the two-dimensional density maps in terms ofmore » the absolute density of species, are stressed.« less

Initial Results in Using a Self-Coherence Method for Detecting Sustained Oscillations

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

Zhou, Ning; Dagle, Jeffery E.

2015-01-01

This paper develops a self-coherence method for detecting sustained oscillations using phasor measurement unit (PMU) data. Sustained oscillations decrease system performance and introduce potential reliability issues. Timely detection of the oscillations at an early stage provides the opportunity for taking remedial reaction. Using high-speed time-synchronized PMU data, this paper details a self-coherence method for detecting sustained oscillation, even when the oscillation amplitude is lower than ambient noise. Simulation and field measurement data are used to evaluate the proposed method’s performance. It is shown that the proposed method can detect sustained oscillations and estimate oscillation frequencies with a low signal-to-noise ratio.more » Comparison with a power spectral density method also shows that the proposed self-coherence method performs better. Index Terms—coherence, power spectral density, phasor measurement unit (PMU), oscillations, power system dynamics« less

Power spectral density analysis of the electromyogram from a work task performed in a full pressure suit. Ph.D. Thesis - Houston Univ.; [for determining muscular fatigue

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lafevers, E. V.

1974-01-01

Surface electromyograms (EMG) taken from three upper torso muscles during a push-pull task were analyzed by a power spectral density technique to determine the utility of the spectral analysis for identifying changes in the EMG caused by muscular fatigue. The results confirmed the value of the frequency analysis for identifying fatigue producing muscular performance. Data revealed reliable differences between muscles in fatigue induced responses to various locations in the reach envelope at which the subjects were required to perform the push-pull exercise, and the differential sensitivity of individual muscles to the various reach positions; i.e., certain reach positions imposed more fatigue related shifts in EMG power than did others. It was found that a pressurized space suit changed the pattern of normal shirtsleeve muscle fatigue responses in all three of the muscles.

Modeling of a resonant heat engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preetham, B. S.; Anderson, M.; Richards, C.

2012-12-01

A resonant heat engine in which the piston assembly is replaced by a sealed elastic cavity is modeled and analyzed. A nondimensional lumped-parameter model is derived and used to investigate the factors that control the performance of the engine. The thermal efficiency predicted by the model agrees with that predicted from the relation for the Otto cycle based on compression ratio. The predictions show that for a fixed mechanical load, increasing the heat input results in increased efficiency. The output power and power density are shown to depend on the loading for a given heat input. The loading condition for maximum output power is different from that required for maximum power density.

Fuel Pin Behavior Under the Slow Power Ramp Transients in the CABRI-2 Experiments

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

Charpenel, Jean; Lemoine, Francette; Sato, Ikken

Slow ramp-type transient-overpower tests were performed within the framework of the international CABRI-2 experimental program. The implemented power transients of {approx}1% nominal power/s correspond to a control rod withdrawal-type accident in a liquid-metal-cooled fast breeder reactor (FBR). The analysis of the tests includes the information elements derived from the hodoscope signals, which were assessed quantitatively and supported by destructive and nondestructive posttest examinations. These tests, performed with fuels of various geometries, demonstrated the high margin to failure of such FBR fuel pins within the expected power level before the emergency reactor shutdown. At the same time, these tests performed withmore » high- and low-smear-density industrial pins led to clarification of the influence of pellet design on fuel pin behavior under high overpower condition. With the high-smear-density solid fuel pellet pin of high burnup level, the retained gaseous fission products played an important role in the solid fuel swelling, leading to clad deformation and failure at a maximum heating rate of 81 kW.m{sup -1}, which is much greater than the end-of-life (EOL) linear rating of the pin. With the low smear-density annular pellet pin, an important fuel swelling takes place, leading to degradation of the fuel thermal conductivity. This effect was detected at the power level around 73 kW.m{sup -1}, which is also much higher than the EOL value of the pin. Furthermore, the absence of clad deformation, and consequently of failure even at the power level going up to 134.7 kW.m{sup -1}, confirmed the very high margin to failure. In consequence, it was clarified that gaseous fission products have significant effects on failure threshold as well as on thermal performance during overpower condition, and such effects are significantly dependent on fuel design and power operation conditions.« less

Density matrix embedding in an antisymmetrized geminal power bath

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

Tsuchimochi, Takashi; Welborn, Matthew; Van Voorhis, Troy, E-mail: tvan@mit.edu

2015-07-14

Density matrix embedding theory (DMET) has emerged as a powerful tool for performing wave function-in-wave function embedding for strongly correlated systems. In traditional DMET, an accurate calculation is performed on a small impurity embedded in a mean field bath. Here, we extend the original DMET equations to account for correlation in the bath via an antisymmetrized geminal power (AGP) wave function. The resulting formalism has a number of advantages. First, it allows one to properly treat the weak correlation limit of independent pairs, which DMET is unable to do with a mean-field bath. Second, it associates a size extensive correlationmore » energy with a given density matrix (for the models tested), which AGP by itself is incapable of providing. Third, it provides a reasonable description of charge redistribution in strongly correlated but non-periodic systems. Thus, AGP-DMET appears to be a good starting point for describing electron correlation in molecules, which are aperiodic and possess both strong and weak electron correlation.« less

Heart Rate Variability Can Be Used to Estimate Sleepiness-related Decrements in Psychomotor Vigilance during Total Sleep Deprivation

PubMed Central

Chua, Eric Chern-Pin; Tan, Wen-Qi; Yeo, Sing-Chen; Lau, Pauline; Lee, Ivan; Mien, Ivan Ho; Puvanendran, Kathiravelu; Gooley, Joshua J.

2012-01-01

Study Objectives: To assess whether changes in psychomotor vigilance during sleep deprivation can be estimated using heart rate variability (HRV). Design: HRV, ocular, and electroencephalogram (EEG) measures were compared for their ability to predict lapses on the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT). Setting: Chronobiology and Sleep Laboratory, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore. Participants: Twenty-four healthy Chinese men (mean age ± SD = 25.9 ± 2.8 years). Interventions: Subjects were kept awake continuously for 40 hours under constant environmental conditions. Every 2 hours, subjects completed a 10-minute PVT to assess their ability to sustain visual attention. Measurements and Results: During each PVT, we examined the electrocardiogram (ECG), EEG, and percentage of time that the eyes were closed (PERCLOS). Similar to EEG power density and PERCLOS measures, the time course of ECG RR-interval power density in the 0.02- 0.08-Hz range correlated with the 40-hour profile of PVT lapses. Based on receiver operating characteristic curves, RR-interval power density performed as well as EEG power density at identifying a sleepiness-related increase in PVT lapses above threshold. RR-interval power density (0.02-0.08 Hz) also classified subject performance with sensitivity and specificity similar to that of PERCLOS. Conclusions: The ECG carries information about a person's vigilance state. Hence, HRV measures could potentially be used to predict when an individual is at increased risk of attentional failure. Our results suggest that HRV monitoring, either alone or in combination with other physiologic measures, could be incorporated into safety devices to warn drowsy operators when their performance is impaired. Citation: Chua ECP; Tan WQ; Yeo SC; Lau P; Lee I; Mien IH; Puvanendran K; Gooley JJ. Heart rate variability can be used to estimate sleepiness-related decrements in psychomotor vigilance during total sleep deprivation. SLEEP 2012;35(3):325-334. PMID:22379238

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.

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.

Task-oriented comparison of power spectral density estimation methods for quantifying acoustic attenuation in diagnostic ultrasound using a reference phantom method.

PubMed

Rosado-Mendez, Ivan M; Nam, Kibo; Hall, Timothy J; Zagzebski, James A

2013-07-01

Reported here is a phantom-based comparison of methods for determining the power spectral density (PSD) of ultrasound backscattered signals. Those power spectral density values are then used to estimate parameters describing α(f), the frequency dependence of the acoustic attenuation coefficient. Phantoms were scanned with a clinical system equipped with a research interface to obtain radiofrequency echo data. Attenuation, modeled as a power law α(f)= α0 f (β), was estimated using a reference phantom method. The power spectral density was estimated using the short-time Fourier transform (STFT), Welch's periodogram, and Thomson's multitaper technique, and performance was analyzed when limiting the size of the parameter-estimation region. Errors were quantified by the bias and standard deviation of the α0 and β estimates, and by the overall power-law fit error (FE). For parameter estimation regions larger than ~34 pulse lengths (~1 cm for this experiment), an overall power-law FE of 4% was achieved with all spectral estimation methods. With smaller parameter estimation regions as in parametric image formation, the bias and standard deviation of the α0 and β estimates depended on the size of the parameter estimation region. Here, the multitaper method reduced the standard deviation of the α0 and β estimates compared with those using the other techniques. The results provide guidance for choosing methods for estimating the power spectral density in quantitative ultrasound methods.

A comparative study of radiofrequency antennas for Helicon plasma sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melazzi, D.; Lancellotti, V.

2015-04-01

Since Helicon plasma sources can efficiently couple power and generate high-density plasma, they have received interest also as spacecraft propulsive devices, among other applications. In order to maximize the power deposited into the plasma, it is necessary to assess the performance of the radiofrequency (RF) antenna that drives the discharge, as typical plasma parameters (e.g. the density) are varied. For this reason, we have conducted a comparative analysis of three Helicon sources which feature different RF antennas, namely, the single-loop, the Nagoya type-III and the fractional helix. These antennas are compared in terms of input impedance and induced current density; in particular, the real part of the impedance constitutes a measure of the antenna ability to couple power into the plasma. The results presented in this work have been obtained through a full-wave approach which (being hinged on the numerical solution of a system of integral equations) allows computing the antenna current and impedance self-consistently. Our findings indicate that certain combinations of plasma parameters can indeed maximize the real part of the input impedance and, thus, the deposited power, and that one of the three antennas analyzed performs best for a given plasma. Furthermore, unlike other strategies which rely on approximate antenna models, our approach enables us to reveal that the antenna current density is not spatially uniform, and that a correlation exists between the plasma parameters and the spatial distribution of the current density.

Optimization of the Working Cycle for an Underwater Propulsion System Based on Aluminium-Water Combustion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xianhe; Xia, Zhixun; Huang, Liya; Hu, Jianxin

2017-05-01

The working cycle of a novel underwater propulsion system based on aluminium combustion with water is researched in order to evaluate the best performance. The system exploits the exothermic reaction between aluminium and water which will produce high temperature, pressure steam and hydrogen mixture that can be used to drive turbine to generate power. Several new system configurations corresponding to different working cycles are investigated, and their performance parameters in terms of net power, energy density and global efficiency are discussed. The results of the system simulation show that using the recirculation steam rather than hydrogen as the carrier gas, the system net power, energy density and efficiency of the system are greatly increased compared, however the system performance is close either using adiabatic compression or isothermal compression. And if an evaporator component is added into system in order to take full use of the solid product heat, the system performance will be improved.

Analysis and Design Considerations of a High-Power Density, Dual Air Gap, Axial-Field Brushless, Permanent Magnet Motor.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Chahee Peter

1995-01-01

Until recently, brush dc motors have been the dominant drive system because they provide easily controlled motor speed over a wide range, rapid acceleration and deceleration, convenient control of position, and lower product cost. Despite these capabilities, the brush dc motor configuration does not satisfy the design requirements for the U.S. Navy's underwater propulsion applications. Technical advances in rare-earth permanent magnet materials, in high-power semiconductor transistor technology, and in various rotor position-sensing devices have made using brushless permanent magnet motors a viable alternative. This research investigates brushless permanent magnet motor technology, studying the merits of dual-air gap, axial -field, brushless, permanent magnet motor configuration in terms of power density, efficiency, and noise/vibration levels. Because the design objectives for underwater motor applications include high-power density, high-performance, and low-noise/vibration, the traditional, simplified equivalent circuit analysis methods to assist in meeting these goals were inadequate. This study presents the development and verification of detailed finite element analysis (FEA) models and lumped parameter circuit models that can calculate back electromotive force waveforms, inductance, cogging torque, energized torque, and eddy current power losses. It is the first thorough quantification of dual air-gap, axial -field, brushless, permanent magnet motor parameters and performance characteristics. The new methodology introduced in this research not only facilitates the design process of an axial field, brushless, permanent magnet motor but reinforces the idea that the high-power density, high-efficiency, and low-noise/vibration motor is attainable.

Novel iron oxyhydroxide lepidocrocite nanosheet as ultrahigh power density anode material for asymmetric supercapacitors.

PubMed

Chen, Ying-Chu; Lin, Yan-Gu; Hsu, Yu-Kuei; Yen, Shi-Chern; Chen, Kuei-Hsien; Chen, Li-Chyong

2014-09-24

A simple one-step electroplating route is proposed for the synthesis of novel iron oxyhydroxide lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) nanosheet anodes with distinct layered channels, and the microstructural influence on the pseudocapacitive performance of the obtained γ-FeOOH nanosheets is investigated via in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and electrochemical measurement. The in situ XAS results regarding charge storage mechanisms of electrodeposited γ-FeOOH nanosheets show that a Li(+) can reversibly insert/desert into/from the 2D channels between the [FeO6 ] octahedral subunits depending on the applied potential. This process charge compensates the Fe(2+) /Fe(3+) redox transition upon charging-discharging and thus contributes to an ideal pseudocapacitive behavior of the γ-FeOOH electrode. Electrochemical results indicate that the γ-FeOOH nanosheet shows the outstanding pseudocapacitive performance, which achieves the extraordinary power density of 9000 W kg(-1) with good rate performance. Most importantly, the asymmetric supercapacitors with excellent electrochemical performance are further realized by using 2D MnO2 and γ-FeOOH nanosheets as cathode and anode materials, respectively. The obtained device can be cycled reversibly at a maximum cell voltage of 1.85 V in a mild aqueous electrolyte, further delivering a maximum power density of 16 000 W kg(-1) at an energy density of 37.4 Wh kg(-1). © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

One-step electrodeposited nickel cobalt sulfide nanosheet arrays for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors.

PubMed

Chen, Wei; Xia, Chuan; Alshareef, Husam N

2014-09-23

A facile one-step electrodeposition method is developed to prepare ternary nickel cobalt sulfide interconnected nanosheet arrays on conductive carbon substrates as electrodes for supercapacitors, resulting in exceptional energy storage performance. Taking advantages of the highly conductive, mesoporous nature of the nanosheets and open framework of the three-dimensional nanoarchitectures, the ternary sulfide electrodes exhibit high specific capacitance (1418 F g(-1) at 5 A g(-1) and 1285 F g(-1) at 100 A g(-1)) with excellent rate capability. An asymmetric supercapacitor fabricated by the ternary sulfide nanosheet arrays as positive electrode and porous graphene film as negative electrode demonstrates outstanding electrochemical performance for practical energy storage applications. Our asymmetric supercapacitors show a high energy density of 60 Wh kg(-1) at a power density of 1.8 kW kg(-1). Even when charging the cell within 4.5 s, the energy density is still as high as 33 Wh kg(-1) at an outstanding power density of 28.8 kW kg(-1) with robust long-term cycling stability up to 50,000 cycles.

Controllable synthesis of CuS hollow microflowers hierarchical structures for asymmetric supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yanxia; Zhou, Zhaoxiao; Zhang, Shengping; Luo, Wenhao; Zhang, Guofeng

2018-06-01

One of the major challenges of high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors is engineering electrode materials with high capacitance and good cycling stability. Hence, we have successfully prepared different CuS hierarchical structures including CuS tubular structures (T-CuS), CuS hollow microspheres (S-CuS) and CuS hollow microflowers (H-CuS) by adjusting the solvents, all of which are investigated as electrode materials for supercapacitors. Among them, the H-CuS electrode exhibits the best electrochemical performance involving a high capacitance of 536.7 F g-1 at a current density of 8 A g-1 and excellent cycling stability with 83.6% capacitance retention for 20,000 continuous cycles at a current density of 5 A g-1. In addition, an asymmetric supercapacitor has assembled with H-CuS as positive electrode and activated carbon (AC) as negative electrode, which exhibits a desirable energy density of 15.97 W h kg-1 when the power density is 185.4 W kg-1. These desirable electrochemical performances powerfully demonstrate that the H-CuS electrode has promising potential for applications in energy storage fields.

Facilitated charge transport in ternary interconnected electrodes for flexible supercapacitors with excellent power characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wanjun; He, Yongmin; Li, Xiaodong; Zhou, Jinyuan; Zhang, Zhenxing; Zhao, Changhui; Gong, Chengshi; Li, Shuankui; Pan, Xiaojun; Xie, Erqing

2013-11-01

Flexible and high performance supercapacitors are very critical in modern society. In order to develop the flexible supercapacitors with high power density, free-standing and flexible three-dimensional graphene/carbon nanotubes/MnO2 (3DG/CNTs/MnO2) composite electrodes with interconnected ternary 3D structures were fabricated, and the fast electron and ion transport channels were effectively constructed in the rationally designed electrodes. Consequently, the obtained 3DG/CNTs/MnO2 composite electrodes exhibit superior specific capacitance and rate capability compared to 3DG/MnO2 electrodes. Furthermore, the 3DG/CNTs/MnO2 based asymmetric supercapacitor demonstrates the maximum energy and power densities of 33.71 W h kg-1 and up to 22 727.3 W kg-1, respectively. Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits excellent cycling stability with 95.3% of the specific capacitance maintained after 1000 cycle tests. Our proposed synthesis strategy to construct the novel ternary 3D structured electrodes can be efficiently applied to other high performance energy storage/conversion systems.Flexible and high performance supercapacitors are very critical in modern society. In order to develop the flexible supercapacitors with high power density, free-standing and flexible three-dimensional graphene/carbon nanotubes/MnO2 (3DG/CNTs/MnO2) composite electrodes with interconnected ternary 3D structures were fabricated, and the fast electron and ion transport channels were effectively constructed in the rationally designed electrodes. Consequently, the obtained 3DG/CNTs/MnO2 composite electrodes exhibit superior specific capacitance and rate capability compared to 3DG/MnO2 electrodes. Furthermore, the 3DG/CNTs/MnO2 based asymmetric supercapacitor demonstrates the maximum energy and power densities of 33.71 W h kg-1 and up to 22 727.3 W kg-1, respectively. Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits excellent cycling stability with 95.3% of the specific capacitance maintained after 1000 cycle tests. Our proposed synthesis strategy to construct the novel ternary 3D structured electrodes can be efficiently applied to other high performance energy storage/conversion systems. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Additional experimental details; calculations of the specific capacitances, and energy and power densities; additional SEM and optical images; XPS results; additional electrochemical results. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr03923d

Recovery Act: Advanced Direct Methanol Fuel Cell for Mobile Computing

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

Fletcher, James H.; Cox, Philip; Harrington, William J

2013-09-03

ABSTRACT Project Title: Recovery Act: Advanced Direct Methanol Fuel Cell for Mobile Computing PROJECT OBJECTIVE The objective of the project was to advance portable fuel cell system technology towards the commercial targets of power density, energy density and lifetime. These targets were laid out in the DOE’s R&D roadmap to develop an advanced direct methanol fuel cell power supply that meets commercial entry requirements. Such a power supply will enable mobile computers to operate non-stop, unplugged from the wall power outlet, by using the high energy density of methanol fuel contained in a replaceable fuel cartridge. Specifically this project focusedmore » on balance-of-plant component integration and miniaturization, as well as extensive component, subassembly and integrated system durability and validation testing. This design has resulted in a pre-production power supply design and a prototype that meet the rigorous demands of consumer electronic applications. PROJECT TASKS The proposed work plan was designed to meet the project objectives, which corresponded directly with the objectives outlined in the Funding Opportunity Announcement: To engineer the fuel cell balance-of-plant and packaging to meet the needs of consumer electronic systems, specifically at power levels required for mobile computing. UNF used existing balance-of-plant component technologies developed under its current US Army CERDEC project, as well as a previous DOE project completed by PolyFuel, to further refine them to both miniaturize and integrate their functionality to increase the system power density and energy density. Benefits of UNF’s novel passive water recycling MEA (membrane electrode assembly) and the simplified system architecture it enabled formed the foundation of the design approach. The package design was hardened to address orientation independence, shock, vibration, and environmental requirements. Fuel cartridge and fuel subsystems were improved to ensure effective fuel containment. PROJECT OVERVIEW The University of North Florida (UNF), with project partner the University of Florida, recently completed the Department of Energy (DOE) project entitled “Advanced Direct Methanol Fuel Cell for Mobile Computing”. The primary objective of the project was to advance portable fuel cell system technology towards the commercial targets as laid out in the DOE R&D roadmap by developing a 20-watt, direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), portable power supply based on the UNF innovative “passive water recovery” MEA. Extensive component, sub-system, and system development and testing was undertaken to meet the rigorous demands of the consumer electronic application. Numerous brassboard (nonpackaged) systems were developed to optimize the integration process and facilitating control algorithm development. The culmination of the development effort was a fully-integrated, DMFC, power supply (referred to as DP4). The project goals were 40 W/kg for specific power, 55 W/l for power density, and 575 Whr/l for energy density. It should be noted that the specific power and power density were for the power section only, and did not include the hybrid battery. The energy density is based on three, 200 ml, fuel cartridges, and also did not include the hybrid battery. The results show that the DP4 system configured without the methanol concentration sensor exceeded all performance goals, achieving 41.5 W/kg for specific power, 55.3 W/l for power density, and 623 Whr/l for energy density. During the project, the DOE revised its technical targets, and the definition of many of these targets, for the portable power application. With this revision, specific power, power density, specific energy (Whr/kg), and energy density are based on the total system, including fuel tank, fuel, and hybridization battery. Fuel capacity is not defined, but the same value is required for all calculations. Test data showed that the DP4 exceeded all 2011 Technical Status values; for example, the DP4 energy density was 373 Whr/l versus the DOE 2011 status of 200 Whr/l. For the DOE 2013 Technical Goals, the operation time was increased from 10 hours to 14.3 hours. Under these conditions, the DP4 closely approached or surpassed the technical targets; for example, the DP4 achieved 468 Whr/l versus the goal of 500 Whr/l. Thus, UNF has successfully met the project goals. A fully-operational, 20-watt DMFC power supply was developed based on the UNF passive water recovery MEA. The power supply meets the project performance goals and advances portable power technology towards the commercialization targets set by the DOE.« less

The coupling of the neutron transport application RATTLESNAKE to the nuclear fuels performance application BISON under the MOOSE framework

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

Gleicher, Frederick N.; Williamson, Richard L.; Ortensi, Javier

The MOOSE neutron transport application RATTLESNAKE was coupled to the fuels performance application BISON to provide a higher fidelity tool for fuel performance simulation. This project is motivated by the desire to couple a high fidelity core analysis program (based on the self-adjoint angular flux equations) to a high fidelity fuel performance program, both of which can simulate on unstructured meshes. RATTLESNAKE solves self-adjoint angular flux transport equation and provides a sub-pin level resolution of the multigroup neutron flux with resonance treatment during burnup or a fast transient. BISON solves the coupled thermomechanical equations for the fuel on a sub-millimetermore » scale. Both applications are able to solve their respective systems on aligned and unaligned unstructured finite element meshes. The power density and local burnup was transferred from RATTLESNAKE to BISON with the MOOSE Multiapp transfer system. Multiple depletion cases were run with one-way data transfer from RATTLESNAKE to BISON. The eigenvalues are shown to agree well with values obtained from the lattice physics code DRAGON. The one-way data transfer of power density is shown to agree with the power density obtained from an internal Lassman-style model in BISON.« less

The role of nanomaterials in redox-based supercapacitors for next generation energy storage devices.

PubMed

Zhao, Xin; Sánchez, Beatriz Mendoza; Dobson, Peter J; Grant, Patrick S

2011-03-01

The development of more efficient electrical storage is a pressing requirement to meet future societal and environmental needs. This demand for more sustainable, efficient energy storage has provoked a renewed scientific and commercial interest in advanced capacitor designs in which the suite of experimental techniques and ideas that comprise nanotechnology are playing a critical role. Capacitors can be charged and discharged quickly and are one of the primary building blocks of many types of electrical circuit, from microprocessors to large-sale power supplies, but usually have relatively low energy storage capability when compared with batteries. The application of nanostructured materials with bespoke morphologies and properties to electrochemical supercapacitors is being intensively studied in order to provide enhanced energy density without comprising their inherent high power density and excellent cyclability. In particular, electrode materials that exploit physical adsorption or redox reactions of electrolyte ions are foreseen to bridge the performance disparity between batteries with high energy density and capacitors with high power density. In this review, we present some of the novel nanomaterial systems applied for electrochemical supercapacitors and show how material morphology, chemistry and physical properties are being tailored to provide enhanced electrochemical supercapacitor performance.

3D macroporous graphene frameworks for supercapacitors with high energy and power densities.

PubMed

Choi, Bong Gill; Yang, Minho; Hong, Won Hi; Choi, Jang Wook; Huh, Yun Suk

2012-05-22

In order to develop energy storage devices with high power and energy densities, electrodes should hold well-defined pathways for efficient ionic and electronic transport. Herein, we demonstrate high-performance supercapacitors by building a three-dimensional (3D) macroporous structure that consists of chemically modified graphene (CMG). These 3D macroporous electrodes, namely, embossed-CMG (e-CMG) films, were fabricated by using polystyrene colloidal particles as a sacrificial template. Furthermore, for further capacitance boost, a thin layer of MnO(2) was additionally deposited onto e-CMG. The porous graphene structure with a large surface area facilitates fast ionic transport within the electrode while preserving decent electronic conductivity and thus endows MnO(2)/e-CMG composite electrodes with excellent electrochemical properties such as a specific capacitance of 389 F/g at 1 A/g and 97.7% capacitance retention upon a current increase to 35 A/g. Moreover, when the MnO(2)/e-CMG composite electrode was asymmetrically assembled with an e-CMG electrode, the assembled full cell shows remarkable cell performance: energy density of 44 Wh/kg, power density of 25 kW/kg, and excellent cycle life.

Fabrication of manganese dioxide nanoplates anchoring on biomass-derived cross-linked carbon nanosheets for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yiju; Yu, Neng; Yan, Peng; Li, Yuguang; Zhou, Xuemei; Chen, Shuangling; Wang, Guiling; Wei, Tong; Fan, Zhuangjun

2015-12-01

In this paper, MnO2 nanoplates loading on biomass-derived cross-linked carbon nanosheets have been prepared by a two-step synthesis. At first, the cross-linked carbon nanosheets derived from willow catkin are synthesized by one-step pyrolysis and activation method, then the MnO2 anchored cross-linked carbon nanosheets is prepared via in-situ hydrothermal deposition. The asymmetric supercapacitor with terrific energy and power density is assembled by employing the MnO2 anchored cross-linked carbon nanosheets as the positive electrode and the cross-linked carbon nanosheets as the negative electrode in a 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. The asymmetric supercapacitor displays a high energy density of 23.6 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 188.8 W kg-1 within a wide voltage rage of 0-1.9 V. In addition, the asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits excellent cycling stability with only 1.4% capacitance loss after 10000 cycles at 1 A g-1. These discoveries open up the prospect of biomass/biowaste derived carbon-based composites for high-voltage asymmetric supercapacitors with superb energy and power density performance.

Plasmonically enhanced electromotive force of narrow bandgap PbS QD-based photovoltaics.

PubMed

Li, Xiaowei; McNaughter, Paul D; O'Brien, Paul; Minamimoto, Hiro; Murakoshi, Kei

2018-05-30

Electromotive force of photovoltaics is a key to define the output power density of photovoltaics. Multiple exciton generation (MEG) exhibited by semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) has great potential to enhance photovoltaic performance owing to the ability to generate more than one electron-hole pairs when absorbing a single photon. However, even in MEG-based photovoltaics, limitation of modifying the electromotive force exists due to the intrinsic electrochemical potential of the conduction band-edges of QDs. Here we report a pronouncedly improved photovoltaic performance by constructing a PbS QD-sensitized electrode that comprises plasmon-active Au nanoparticles embedded in a titanium dioxide thin film. Significant enhancement on electromotive force is characterized by the onset potential of photocurrent generation using MEG-effective PbS QDs with a narrow bandgap energy (Eg = 0.9 eV). By coupling with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), such QDs exhibit improved photoresponses and the highest output power density over the other QDs with larger bandgap energies (Eg = 1.1 and 1.7 eV) under visible light irradiation. The wavelength-dependent onset potential and the output power density suggest effective electron injection owing to the enhanced density of electrons excited by energy overlapping between MEG and LSPR.

The role of nanomaterials in redox-based supercapacitors for next generation energy storage devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xin; Sánchez, Beatriz Mendoza; Dobson, Peter J.; Grant, Patrick S.

2011-03-01

The development of more efficient electrical storage is a pressing requirement to meet future societal and environmental needs. This demand for more sustainable, efficient energy storage has provoked a renewed scientific and commercial interest in advanced capacitor designs in which the suite of experimental techniques and ideas that comprise nanotechnology are playing a critical role. Capacitors can be charged and discharged quickly and are one of the primary building blocks of many types of electrical circuit, from microprocessors to large-sale power supplies, but usually have relatively low energy storage capability when compared with batteries. The application of nanostructured materials with bespoke morphologies and properties to electrochemical supercapacitors is being intensively studied in order to provide enhanced energy density without comprising their inherent high power density and excellent cyclability. In particular, electrode materials that exploit physical adsorption or redox reactions of electrolyte ions are foreseen to bridge the performance disparity between batteries with high energy density and capacitors with high power density. In this review, we present some of the novel nanomaterial systems applied for electrochemical supercapacitors and show how material morphology, chemistry and physical properties are being tailored to provide enhanced electrochemical supercapacitor performance.

Direct thermal to electrical energy conversion using 9.5/65/35 PLZT ceramics in the ergodic relaxor phase.

PubMed

Chin, Thomas K; Lee, Felix Y; McKinley, Ian M; Goljahi, Sam; Lynch, Christopher S; Pilon, Laurent

2012-11-01

This paper reports on direct thermal to electrical energy conversion by performing the Olsen cycle on 9.5/65/35 lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT). The Olsen cycle consists of two isothermal and two isoelectric field processes in the electric displacement versus electric field diagram. It was performed by alternatively dipping the material in hot and cold dielectric fluid baths under specified electric fields. The effects of applied electric field, sample thickness, electrode material, operating temperature, and cycle frequency on the energy and power densities were investigated. A maximum energy density of 637 ± 20 J/L/cycle was achieved at 0.054 Hz with a 250-μm-thick sample featuring Pt electrodes and coated with a silicone conformal coating. The operating temperatures varied between 3°C and 140°C and the electric field was cycled between 0.2 and 6.0 MV/m. A maximum power density of 55 ± 8 W/L was obtained at 0.125 Hz under the same operating temperatures and electric fields. The dielectric strength of the material, and therefore the energy and power densities generated, increased when the sample thickness decreased from 500 to 250 μm. Furthermore, the electrode material was found to have no significant effect on the energy and power densities for samples subject to the same operating temperatures and electric fields. However, samples with electrode material possessing thermal expansion coefficients similar to that of PLZT were capable of withstanding larger temperature swings. Finally, a fatigue test showed that the power generation gradually degraded when the sample was subject to repeated thermoelectrical loading.

Influence of reactivation on the electrochemical performances of activated carbon based on coconut shell.

PubMed

Geng, Xin; Li, Lixiang; Zhang, Meiling; An, Baigang; Zhu, Xiaoming

2013-12-01

Coconut shell-based activated carbon (AC) were prepared by CO2 activation, and then the ACs with higher mesopore ratio were obtained by steam activation and by impregnating iron catalyst followed by steam activation, respectively. The AC with the highest mesopore ratio (AChmr) shows superior capacitive behavior, power output and high-frequency performance in supercapacitors. The results should attribute to the connection of its wide micropores and mesopores larger than 3 nm, which is more favorable for fast ionic transportation. The pore size distribution exhibits that the mesopore ratios of the ACs are significantly increased by reactivation of steam or catalyst up to 75% and 78%, respectively. As evidenced by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and galvanostatic measurements, the AChmr shows superior capacitive behaviors, conductivity and performance of electrolytic ionic transportation. The response current densities are evidently enhanced through the cyclic voltammery test at 50 mV/sec scan rate. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy demonstrates that the conductivity and ion transport performance of the ACs are improved. The specific capacitances of the ACs were increased from 140 to 240 F/g at 500 mA/g current density. The AChmr can provide much higher power density while still maintaining good energy density, and demonstrate excellent high-frequency performances. The pore structure and conductivity of the AChmr also improve the cycleability and self-discharge of supercapacitors. Such AChmr exhibits a great potential in supercapacitors, particularly for applications where high power output and good high-frequency capacitive performances are required. Copyright © 2013 The Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of the hybrid ANFIS models for long term wind power density prediction with extrapolation capability.

PubMed

Hossain, Monowar; Mekhilef, Saad; Afifi, Firdaus; Halabi, Laith M; Olatomiwa, Lanre; Seyedmahmoudian, Mehdi; Horan, Ben; Stojcevski, Alex

2018-01-01

In this paper, the suitability and performance of ANFIS (adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system), ANFIS-PSO (particle swarm optimization), ANFIS-GA (genetic algorithm) and ANFIS-DE (differential evolution) has been investigated for the prediction of monthly and weekly wind power density (WPD) of four different locations named Mersing, Kuala Terengganu, Pulau Langkawi and Bayan Lepas all in Malaysia. For this aim, standalone ANFIS, ANFIS-PSO, ANFIS-GA and ANFIS-DE prediction algorithm are developed in MATLAB platform. The performance of the proposed hybrid ANFIS models is determined by computing different statistical parameters such as mean absolute bias error (MABE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R2). The results obtained from ANFIS-PSO and ANFIS-GA enjoy higher performance and accuracy than other models, and they can be suggested for practical application to predict monthly and weekly mean wind power density. Besides, the capability of the proposed hybrid ANFIS models is examined to predict the wind data for the locations where measured wind data are not available, and the results are compared with the measured wind data from nearby stations.

Application of the hybrid ANFIS models for long term wind power density prediction with extrapolation capability

PubMed Central

Mekhilef, Saad; Afifi, Firdaus; Halabi, Laith M.; Olatomiwa, Lanre; Seyedmahmoudian, Mehdi; Stojcevski, Alex

2018-01-01

In this paper, the suitability and performance of ANFIS (adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system), ANFIS-PSO (particle swarm optimization), ANFIS-GA (genetic algorithm) and ANFIS-DE (differential evolution) has been investigated for the prediction of monthly and weekly wind power density (WPD) of four different locations named Mersing, Kuala Terengganu, Pulau Langkawi and Bayan Lepas all in Malaysia. For this aim, standalone ANFIS, ANFIS-PSO, ANFIS-GA and ANFIS-DE prediction algorithm are developed in MATLAB platform. The performance of the proposed hybrid ANFIS models is determined by computing different statistical parameters such as mean absolute bias error (MABE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R2). The results obtained from ANFIS-PSO and ANFIS-GA enjoy higher performance and accuracy than other models, and they can be suggested for practical application to predict monthly and weekly mean wind power density. Besides, the capability of the proposed hybrid ANFIS models is examined to predict the wind data for the locations where measured wind data are not available, and the results are compared with the measured wind data from nearby stations. PMID:29702645

A pulser-sustainer carbon monoxide electric-discharge supersonic laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monson, D. J.; Srinivasan, G.

1977-01-01

Operation of a CW CO electric-discharge supersonic laser with a pulser-sustainer discharge is described. High-power operation as well as independent control over electron energy and density are demonstrated. Maximum input power achieved to date is 100 kW. The maximum output power is 6 kW or 10% of the sustainer positive-column power. Much improved performance appears possible.

Power Peaking Effect of OTTO Fuel Scheme Pebble Bed Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setiadipura, T.; Suwoto; Zuhair; Bakhri, S.; Sunaryo, G. R.

2018-02-01

Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) type of Hight Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) is a very interesting nuclear reactor design to fulfill the growing electricity and heat demand with a superior passive safety features. Effort to introduce the PBR design to the market can be strengthen by simplifying its system with the Once-through-then-out (OTTO) cycle PBR in which the pebble fuel only pass the core once. Important challenge in the OTTO fuel scheme is the power peaking effect which limit the maximum nominal power or burnup of the design. Parametric survey is perform in this study to investigate the contribution of different design parameters to power peaking effect of OTTO cycle PBR. PEBBED code is utilized in this study to perform the equilibrium PBR core analysis for different design parameter and fuel scheme. The parameters include its core diameter, height-per-diameter (H/D), power density, and core nominal power. Results of this study show that diameter and H/D effectsare stronger compare to the power density and nominal core power. Results of this study might become an importance guidance for design optimization of OTTO fuel scheme PBR.

Modeling of indirect carbon fuel cell systems with steam and dry gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ong, Katherine M.; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.

2016-05-01

An indirect carbon fuel cell (ICFC) system that couples coal gasification to a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a promising candidate for high efficiency stationary power. This study couples an equilibrium gasifier model to a detailed 1D MEA model to study the theoretical performance of an ICFC system run on steam or carbon dioxide. Results show that the fuel cell in the ICFC system is capable of power densities greater than 1.0 W cm-2 with H2O recycle, and power densities ranging from 0.2 to 0.4 W cm-2 with CO2 recycle. This result indicates that the ICFC system performs better with steam than with CO2 gasification as a result of the faster electro-oxidation kinetics of H2 relative to CO. The ICFC system is then shown to reach higher current densities and efficiencies than a thermally decoupled gasifier + fuel cell (G + FC) system because it does not include combustion losses associated with autothermal gasification. 55-60% efficiency is predicted for the ICFC system coupled to a bottoming cycle, making this technology competitive with other state-of-the-art stationary power candidates.

The Stretched Lens Array SquareRigger (SLASR) for Space Power

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Piszczor, Michael F.; O'Neill, Mark J.; Eskenazi, Michael I.; Brandhorst, Henry W.

2006-01-01

For the past three years, our team has been developing, refining, and maturing a unique solar array technology known as Stretched Lens Array SquareRigger (SLASR). SLASR offers an unprecedented portfolio of state-of-the-art performance metrics, including areal power density, specific power, stowed power density, high-voltage capability, radiation hardness, modularity, scalability, mass-producibility, and cost-effectiveness. SLASR is particularly well suited to high-power space missions, including solar electric propulsion (SEP) space tugs, major exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and power-intensive military spacecraft. SLASR is also very well suited to high-radiation missions, since the cell shielding mass penalty is 85% less for the SLASR concentrator array than for one-sun planar arrays. The paper describes SLASR technology and presents significant results of developments to date in a number of key areas, from advances in the key components to full-scale array hardware fabrication and evaluation. A summary of SLASR s unprecedented performance metrics, both near-term and longer term, will be presented. Plans for future SLASR developments and near-term space applications will also be outlined.

Study to determine and improve design for lithium-doped solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brucker, G.; Faith, T. J.; Holmes-Siedle, A.

1971-01-01

Solar cell experiments show that a single lithium density parameter, the lithium density gradient, calculated from nondestructive capacitance measurements, provides the basis for accurate predictions of lithium cell behavior in a 1-MeV electron environment for fluences ranging between 3 X 10 to the 13th power e/sq cm and 3 X 10 to the 15th power/e sq cm. The oxygen-rich (quartz crucible) lithium cell with phosphorous starting dopant and lithium gradient between approximately 5 X 10 to the 18th power and 1.5 x 10 to the 19th power/cm to the 4th power was found superior in performance to the commercial 10 ohm-cm n/p control cells. Post-recovery stability of oxygen-rich cells was satisfactory. An average post-recovery current drop of approximately 1 mA was observed for 70 crucible cells after 1 year-equivalent storage time at 80 C. In contrast the oxygen-poor (float zone and Lopex) lithium cells displayed spotty initial performance and stability problems at room temperature.

Shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave phononic device with high density filling material for ultra-low power sensing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, M.; Sankaranarayanan, S. K. R. S.; Bhethanabotla, V. R.

2014-06-01

Finite element simulations of a phononic shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor based on ST 90°-X Quartz reveal a dramatic reduction in power consumption. The phononic sensor is realized by artificially structuring the delay path to form an acoustic meta-material comprised of a periodic microcavity array incorporating high-density materials such as tantalum or tungsten. Constructive interference of the scattered and secondary reflected waves at every microcavity interface leads to acoustic energy confinement in the high-density regions translating into reduced power loss. Tantalum filled cavities show the best performance while tungsten inclusions create a phononic bandgap. Based on our simulation results, SAW devices with tantalum filled microcavities were fabricated and shown to significantly decrease insertion loss. Our findings offer encouraging prospects for designing low power, highly sensitive portable biosensors.

Thermal Management and Reliability of Automotive Power Electronics and Electric Machines

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

Narumanchi, Sreekant V; Bennion, Kevin S; Cousineau, Justine E

Low-cost, high-performance thermal management technologies are helping meet aggressive power density, specific power, cost, and reliability targets for power electronics and electric machines. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is working closely with numerous industry and research partners to help influence development of components that meet aggressive performance and cost targets through development and characterization of cooling technologies, and thermal characterization and improvements of passive stack materials and interfaces. Thermomechanical reliability and lifetime estimation models are important enablers for industry in cost-and time-effective design.

Understanding limiting factors in thick electrode performance as applied to high energy density Li-ion batteries

DOE PAGES

Du, Zhijia; Wood, David L.; Daniel, Claus; ...

2017-02-09

We present that increasing electrode thickness, thus increasing the volume ratio of active materials, is one effective method to enable the development of high energy density Li-ion batteries. In this study, an energy density versus power density optimization of LiNi 0.8Co 0.15Al 0.05O 2 (NCA)/graphite cell stack was conducted via mathematical modeling. The energy density was found to have a maximum point versus electrode thickness (critical thickness) at given discharging C rates. The physics-based factors that limit the energy/power density of thick electrodes were found to be increased cell polarization and underutilization of active materials. The latter is affected bymore » Li-ion diffusion in active materials and Li-ion depletion in the electrolyte phase. Based on those findings, possible approaches were derived to surmount the limiting factors. Finally, the improvement of the energy–power relationship in an 18,650 cell was used to demonstrate how to optimize the thick electrode parameters in cell engineering.« less

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

Gleicher, Frederick; Ortensi, Javier; DeHart, Mark

Accurate calculation of desired quantities to predict fuel behavior requires the solution of interlinked equations representing different physics. Traditional fuels performance codes often rely on internal empirical models for the pin power density and a simplified boundary condition on the cladding edge. These simplifications are performed because of the difficulty of coupling applications or codes on differing domains and mapping the required data. To demonstrate an approach closer to first principles, the neutronics application Rattlesnake and the thermal hydraulics application RELAP-7 were coupled to the fuels performance application BISON under the master application MAMMOTH. A single fuel pin was modeledmore » based on the dimensions of a Westinghouse 17x17 fuel rod. The simulation consisted of a depletion period of 1343 days, roughly equal to three full operating cycles, followed by a station blackout (SBO) event. The fuel rod was depleted for 1343 days for a near constant total power loading of 65.81 kW. After 1343 days the fission power was reduced to zero (simulating a reactor shut-down). Decay heat calculations provided the time-varying energy source after this time. For this problem, Rattlesnake, BISON, and RELAP-7 are coupled under MAMMOTH in a split operator approach. Each system solves its physics on a separate mesh and, for RELAP-7 and BISON, on only a subset of the full problem domain. Rattlesnake solves the neutronics over the whole domain that includes the fuel, cladding, gaps, water, and top and bottom rod holders. Here BISON is applied to the fuel and cladding with a 2D axi-symmetric domain, and RELAP-7 is applied to the flow of the circular outer water channel with a set of 1D flow equations. The mesh on the Rattlesnake side can either be 3D (for low order transport) or 2D (for diffusion). BISON has a matching ring structure mesh for the fuel so both the power density and local burn up are copied accurately from Rattlesnake. At each depletion time step, Rattlesnake calculates a power density, fission density rate, burn-up distribution and fast flux based on the current water density and fuel temperature. These are then mapped to the BISON mesh for a fuels performance solve. BISON calculates the fuel temperature and cladding surface temperature based upon the current power density and bulk fluid temperature. RELAP-7 then calculates the fluid temperature, water density fraction and water phase velocity based upon the cladding surface temperature. The fuel temperature and the fluid density are then passed back to Rattlesnake for another neutronics calculation. Six Picard or fixed-point style iterations are preformed in this manner to obtain consistent tightly coupled and stable results. For this paper a set of results from the detailed calculation are provided for both during depletion and the SBO event. We demonstrate that a detailed calculation closer to first principles can be done under MAMMOTH between different applications on differing domains.« less

High-volumetric performance aligned nano-porous microwave exfoliated graphite oxide-based electrochemical capacitors.

PubMed

Ghaffari, Mehdi; Zhou, Yue; Xu, Haiping; Lin, Minren; Kim, Tae Young; Ruoff, Rodney S; Zhang, Q M

2013-09-20

Ultra-high volumetric performance electrochemical double layer capacitors based on high density aligned nano-porous microwave exfoliated graphite oxide have been studied. Elimination of macro-, meso-, and larger micro-pores from electrodes and controlling the nano-morphology results in very high volumetric capacitance, energy, and power density values. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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.

The influence of magnetic fields on the wake field and stopping power of an ion-beam pulse in plasmas

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

Zhao, Xiao-ying; Zhang, Ya-ling; Duan, Wen-shan

2015-09-15

We performed two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations to investigate how a magnetic field affects the wake field and stopping power of an ion-beam pulse moving in plasmas. The corresponding density of plasma electrons is investigated. At a weak magnetic field, the wakes exhibit typical V-shaped cone structures. As the magnetic field strengthens, the wakes spread and lose their typical V-shaped structures. At a sufficiently strong magnetic field, the wakes exhibit conversed V-shaped structures. Additionally, strengthening the magnetic field reduces the stopping power in regions of low and high beam density. However, the influence of the magnetic field becomes complicated in regions ofmore » moderate beam density. The stopping power increases in a weak magnetic field, but it decreases in a strong magnetic field. At high beam density and moderate magnetic field, two low-density channels of plasma electrons appear on both sides of the incident beam pulse trajectory. This is because electrons near the beam pulses will be attracted and move along with the beam pulses, while other electrons nearby are restricted by the magnetic field and cannot fill the gap.« less

Thermal treatment effects on charge storage performance of graphene-based materials for supercapacitors.

PubMed

Zhang, Hongxin; Bhat, Vinay V; Gallego, Nidia C; Contescu, Cristian I

2012-06-27

Graphene materials were synthesized by reduction of exfoliated graphite oxide and then thermally treated in nitrogen to improve the surface area and their electrochemical performance as electrical double-layer capacitor electrodes. The structural and surface properties of the prepared reduced graphite oxide (RGO) were investigated using atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction pattern analysis, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption studies. RGO forms a continuous network of crumpled sheets, which consist of large amounts of few-layer and single-layer graphenes. Electrochemical studies were conducted by cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements. The modified RGO materials showed enhanced electrochemical performance, with maximum specific capacitance of 96 F/g, energy density of 12.8 Wh/kg, and power density of 160 kW/kg. These results demonstrate that thermal treatment of RGO at selected conditions is a convenient and efficient method for improving its specific capacitance, energy, and power density.

The TELEC - A plasma type of direct energy converter. [Thermo-Electronic Laser Energy Converter for electric power generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Britt, E. J.

1978-01-01

The Thermo-Electronic Laser Energy Converter (TELEC) is a high-power density plasma device designed to convert a 10.6-micron CO2 laser beam into electric power. Electromagnetic radiation is absorbed in plasma electrons, creating a high-electron temperature. Energetic electrons diffuse from the plasma and strike two electrodes having different areas. The larger electrode collects more electrons and there is a net transport of current. An electromagnetic field is generated in the external circuit. A computer program has been designed to analyze TELEC performance allowing parametric variation for optimization. Values are presented for TELEC performance as a function of cesium pressure and for current density and efficiency as a function of output voltage. Efficiency is shown to increase with pressure, reaching a maximum over 45%.

High-Performance Multi-Fuel AMTEC Power System

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-12-01

AMTEC technology has demonstrated thermal to electric conversion efficiencies and power densities which make it an attractive option for meso-scaic...power generation. This report details development of an integrated, logistics-fueled, 500 W AMTEC power supply. The development targeted 2O% AMTEC ...cylindrical multi-tube/single cell AMTEC configuration with effective management of alkali metal flow; scaling down and integrating a multi-fuel micro-combustor

Investigation of traveling ionospheric disturbances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grossi, M.; Estes, R. D.

1981-01-01

Maximum entropy power spectra of the ionospheric electron density were constructed to enable PINY to compare them with the power independently obtained by PINY with in situ measurements of ionospheric electron density and neutral species performed with instrumentation carried by the Atmospheric Explorer (AE) satellite. This comparison corroborated evidence on the geophysical reality of the alleged electron density irregularities detected by the ASTP dual frequency Doppler link. Roughly half of the localized wave structures which are confined to dimensions of 1800 km or less (as seen by an orbiting Doppler baseline) were found to be associated with the larger crest of the geomagnetic anomaly in the Southern (winter) Hemisphere in the morning. The observed nighttime structures are also associated with local peaks in the electron density.

Particle visualization in high-power impulse magnetron sputtering. I. 2D density mapping

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

Britun, Nikolay, E-mail: nikolay.britun@umons.ac.be; Palmucci, Maria; Konstantinidis, Stephanos

2015-04-28

Time-resolved characterization of an Ar-Ti high-power impulse magnetron sputtering discharge has been performed. This paper deals with two-dimensional density mapping in the discharge volume obtained by laser-induced fluorescence imaging. The time-resolved density evolution of Ti neutrals, singly ionized Ti atoms (Ti{sup +}), and Ar metastable atoms (Ar{sup met}) in the area above the sputtered cathode is mapped for the first time in this type of discharges. The energetic characteristics of the discharge species are additionally studied by Doppler-shift laser-induced fluorescence imaging. The questions related to the propagation of both the neutral and ionized discharge particles, as well as to theirmore » spatial density distributions, are discussed.« less

NASA Non-Flow-Through PEM Fuel Cell System for Aerospace Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Araghi, Koorosh R.

2011-01-01

NASA is researching passive NFT Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell technologies for primary fuel cell power plants in air-independent applications. NFT fuel cell power systems have a higher power density than flow through systems due to both reduced parasitic loads and lower system mass and volume. Reactant storage still dominates system mass/volume considerations. NFT fuel cell stack testing has demonstrated equivalent short term performance to flow through stacks. More testing is required to evaluate long-term performance.

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.

Bacterial-cellulose-derived carbon nanofiber@MnO₂ and nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber electrode materials: an asymmetric supercapacitor with high energy and power density.

PubMed

Chen, Li-Feng; Huang, Zhi-Hong; Liang, Hai-Wei; Guan, Qing-Fang; Yu, Shu-Hong

2013-09-14

A new kind of high-performance asymmetric supercapacitor is designed with pyrolyzed bacterial cellulose (p-BC)-coated MnO₂ as a positive electrode material and nitrogen-doped p-BC as a negative electrode material via an easy, efficient, large-scale, and green fabrication approach. The optimal asymmetric device possesses an excellent supercapacitive behavior with quite high energy and power density. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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.

Automatic Layout Design for Power Module

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

Ning, Puqi; Wang, Fei; Ngo, Khai

The layout of power modules is one of the most important elements in power module design, especially for high power densities, where couplings are increased. In this paper, an automatic design process using a genetic algorithm is presented. Some practical considerations are introduced in the optimization of the layout design of the module. This paper presents a process for automatic layout design for high power density modules. Detailed GA implementations are introduced both for outer loop and inner loop. As verified by a design example, the results of the automatic design process presented here are better than those from manualmore » design and also better than the results from a popular design software. This automatic design procedure could be a major step toward improving the overall performance of future layout design.« less

A single-walled carbon nanotubes/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate)/copper hexacyanoferrate hybrid film for high-volumetric performance flexible supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jianmin; Li, Haizeng; Li, Jiahui; Wu, Guiqing; Shao, Yuanlong; Li, Yaogang; Zhang, Qinghong; Wang, Hongzhi

2018-05-01

Volumetric energy density is generally considered to be detrimental to the actual application of supercapacitors, which has provoked a range of research work on increasing the packing density of electrodes. Herein, we fabricate a free-standing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)/copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCF) nanoparticles (NPs) composite supercapacitor electrode, with a high packing density of 2.67 g cm-3. The pseudocapacitive CuHCF NPs are decorated onto the SWCNTs/PEDOT:PSS networks and filled in interspace to increase both of packing density and specific capacitance. This hybrid electrode exhibits a series of outstanding performances, such as high electric conductivity, ultrahigh areal and volumetric capacitances (969.8 mF cm-2 and 775.2 F cm-3 at scan rate of 5 mV s-1), long cycle life and superior rate capability. The asymmetric supercapacitor built by using the SWCNTs/PEDOT:PSS/CuHCF film as positive electrode and Mo-doped WO3/SWCNTs film as negative electrode, can deliver a high energy density of 30.08 Wh L-1 with a power density of 4.25 kW L-1 based on the total volume of the device. The approach unveiled in this study could provide important insights to improving the volumetric performance of energy storage devices and help to reach the critical targets for high rate and high power density demand applications.

Hybrid thermionic-photovoltaic converter

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

Datas, A.

2016-04-04

A conceptual device for the direct conversion of heat into electricity is presented. This concept hybridizes thermionic (TI) and thermophotovoltaic (TPV) energy conversion in a single thermionic-photovoltaic (TIPV) solid-state device. This device transforms into electricity both the electron and photon fluxes emitted by an incandescent surface. This letter presents an idealized analysis of this device in order to determine its theoretical potential. According to this analysis, the key advantage of this converter, with respect to either TPV or TI, is the higher power density in an extended temperature range. For low temperatures, TIPV performs like TPV due to the negligiblemore » electron flux. On the contrary, for high temperatures, TIPV performs like TI due to the great enhancement of the electron flux, which overshadows the photon flux contribution. At the intermediate temperatures, ∼1650 K in the case of this particular study, I show that the power density potential of TIPV converter is twice as great as that of TPV and TI. The greatest impact concerns applications in which the temperature varies in a relatively wide range, for which averaged power density enhancement above 500% is attainable.« less

Review on α-Fe2O3 based negative electrode for high performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nithya, V. D.; Arul, N. Sabari

2016-09-01

Supercapacitor is an electrochemical energy storage device which has drawn attention of the researchers in recent years due to its high power density and long cycle life. Recently, an enormous effort has been imposed to improve the energy density of supercapacitor and might be attained through asymmetric cell configuration that offer wider potential window. Until now, a significant advancement has been achieved in the fabrication of positive electrodes for asymmetric cell. Nevertheless, the electrochemical performance of negative electrode materials is less explored, especially Hematite (α-Fe2O3). The α-Fe2O3 has been proved to be a promising negative electrode in supercapacitor application due to its wide operating potential, high redox activity, low cost, abundant availability and eco-friendliness. In this review, we have chosen α-Fe2O3 as the negative electrode and discussed its latest research progress with emphasis on various surface engineering synthesis strategies such as, carbon, polymer, metal-metal oxide, and ternary based α-Fe2O3 composites for supercapacitor. Besides, the importance of their synergistic effects over the supercapacitive performance in terms of specific capacitance, energy density, power density, cycling life and rate capability are highlighted. Also, an extensive analysis of the literature about its symmetric/asymmetric cell performance is explored.

Current induced perpendicular-magnetic-anisotropy racetrack memory with magnetic field assistance

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

Zhang, Y.; Klein, J.-O.; Chappert, C.

2014-01-20

High current density is indispensable to shift domain walls (DWs) in magnetic nanowires, which limits the using of racetrack memory (RM) for low power and high density purposes. In this paper, we present perpendicular-magnetic-anisotropy (PMA) Co/Ni RM with global magnetic field assistance, which lowers the current density for DW motion. By using a compact model of PMA RM and 40 nm design kit, we perform mixed simulation to validate the functionality of this structure and analyze its density potential. Stochastic DW motion behavior has been taken into account and statistical Monte-Carlo simulations are carried out to evaluate its reliability performance.

Influence of power density on polymerization behavior and bond strengths of dual-cured resin direct core foundation systems.

PubMed

Oto, Tatsuki; Yasuda, Genta; Tsubota, Keishi; Kurokawa, Hiroyasu; Miyazaki, Masashi; Platt, Jeffrey A

2009-01-01

This study examined the influence of power density on dentin bond strength and polymerization behavior of dual-cured direct core foundation resin systems. Two commercially available dual-cured direct core foundation resin systems, Clearfil DC Core Automix with Clearfil DC Bond and UniFil Core with Self-Etching Bond, were studied. Bovine mandibular incisors were mounted in autopolymerizing resin and the facial dentin surfaces were ground wet on 600-grit SiC paper. Dentin surfaces were treated according to manufacturer's recommendations. The resin pastes were condensed into the mold and cured with the power densities of 0 (no irradiation), 100, 200, 400 and 600 mW/cm2. Ten specimens per group were stored in 37 degrees C water for 24 hours, then shear tested at a crosshead speed of 1.0 mm/minute in a universal testing machine. An ultrasonic measurement device was used to measure the ultrasonic velocities through the core foundation resins. The power densities selected were 0 (no irradiation), 200, and 600 mW/cm2, and ultrasonic velocity was calculated. ANOVA and Tukey HSD tests were performed at a level of 0.05. The highest bond strengths were obtained when the resin pastes were cured with the highest power density for both core foundation systems (16.8 +/- 1.9 MPa for Clearfil DC Core Automix, 15.6 +/- 2.9 MPa for UniFil Core). When polymerized with the power densities under 200 mW/cm2, significantly lower bond strengths were observed compared to those obtained with the power density of 600 mW/cm2. As the core foundation resins hardened, the sonic velocities increased and this tendency differed among the power density of the curing unit. When the sonic velocities at three minutes after the start of measurements were compared, there were no significant differences among different irradiation modes for UniFil Core, while a significant decrease in sonic velocity was obtained when the resin paste was chemically polymerized compared with dual-polymerization for Clearfil DC Core Automix. The data suggests that the dentin bond strengths and polymerization behavior of the dual-cured, direct core foundation systems are still affected by the power density of the curing unit. With a careful choice of the core foundation systems and power density of the curing unit, the benefit of using resin composites to endodontically-treated teeth might be acceptable.

Co(OH)2/RGO/NiO sandwich-structured nanotube arrays with special surface and synergistic effects as high-performance positive electrodes for asymmetric supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Han; Zhang, Chi; Zhou, Wen; Li, Gao-Ren

2015-10-01

High power density, high energy density and excellent cycling stability are the main requirements for high-performance supercapacitors (SCs) that will be widely used for portable consumer electronics and hybrid electric vehicles. Here we investigate novel types of hybrid Co(OH)2/reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/NiO sandwich-structured nanotube arrays (SNTAs) as positive electrodes for asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs). The synthesized Co(OH)2/RGO/NiO SNTAs exhibit a significantly improved specific capacity (~1470 F g-1 at 5 mV s-1) and excellent cycling stability with ~98% Csp retention after 10 000 cycles because of the fast transport and short diffusion paths for electroactive species, the high utilization rate of electrode materials, and special synergistic effects among Co(OH)2, RGO, and NiO. The high-performance ASCs are assembled using Co(OH)2/RGO/NiO SNTAs as positive electrodes and active carbon (AC) as negative electrodes, and they exhibit a high energy density (115 Wh kg-1), a high power density (27.5 kW kg-1) and an excellent cycling stability (less 5% Csp loss after 10 000 cycles). This study shows an important breakthrough in the design and fabrication of multi-walled hybrid nanotube arrays as positive electrodes for ASCs.High power density, high energy density and excellent cycling stability are the main requirements for high-performance supercapacitors (SCs) that will be widely used for portable consumer electronics and hybrid electric vehicles. Here we investigate novel types of hybrid Co(OH)2/reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/NiO sandwich-structured nanotube arrays (SNTAs) as positive electrodes for asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs). The synthesized Co(OH)2/RGO/NiO SNTAs exhibit a significantly improved specific capacity (~1470 F g-1 at 5 mV s-1) and excellent cycling stability with ~98% Csp retention after 10 000 cycles because of the fast transport and short diffusion paths for electroactive species, the high utilization rate of electrode materials, and special synergistic effects among Co(OH)2, RGO, and NiO. The high-performance ASCs are assembled using Co(OH)2/RGO/NiO SNTAs as positive electrodes and active carbon (AC) as negative electrodes, and they exhibit a high energy density (115 Wh kg-1), a high power density (27.5 kW kg-1) and an excellent cycling stability (less 5% Csp loss after 10 000 cycles). This study shows an important breakthrough in the design and fabrication of multi-walled hybrid nanotube arrays as positive electrodes for ASCs. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: SEM images, XPS spectra, equivalent circuit, and CVs. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr04449a

Generation of ultra high-power thermal plasma jet and its application to crystallization of amorphous silicon films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakashima, Ryosuke; Shin, Ryota; Hanafusa, Hiroaki; Higashi, Seiichiro

2017-06-01

We have successfully generated ultra high-power thermal plasma jet (Super TPJ: s-TPJ) by increasing the Ar gas supply pressure to 0.4 MPa and the flow rate to 18 L/min. DC arc discharge was stably performed under a supply power of 4.6 kW. The peak power density of s-TPJ reached 64.1 kW/cm2 and enabled us to melt and recrystallize amorphous silicon (a-Si) films on quartz substrates with a scanning speed as high as 8000 mm/s. Under ultra high-speed scanning faster than 3000 mm/s, we observed granular crystal growth (GCG) competing with conventional high-speed lateral crystallization (HSLC). When further high speed scanning was performed, we observed a significant increase in grain density, which suggests spontaneous nucleation in undercooled molten Si as the origin of GCG. When we crystallized an isolated pattern of 6 × 6 µm2 under GCG conditions, single crystalline growth was successfully achieved.

Development and validation of chemistry agnostic flow battery cost performance model and application to nonaqueous electrolyte systems: Chemistry agnostic flow battery cost performance model

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

Crawford, Alasdair; Thomsen, Edwin; Reed, David

2016-04-20

A chemistry agnostic cost performance model is described for a nonaqueous flow battery. The model predicts flow battery performance by estimating the active reaction zone thickness at each electrode as a function of current density, state of charge, and flow rate using measured data for electrode kinetics, electrolyte conductivity, and electrode-specific surface area. Validation of the model is conducted using a 4kW stack data at various current densities and flow rates. This model is used to estimate the performance of a nonaqueous flow battery with electrode and electrolyte properties used from the literature. The optimized cost for this system ismore » estimated for various power and energy levels using component costs provided by vendors. The model allows optimization of design parameters such as electrode thickness, area, flow path design, and operating parameters such as power density, flow rate, and operating SOC range for various application duty cycles. A parametric analysis is done to identify components and electrode/electrolyte properties with the highest impact on system cost for various application durations. A pathway to 100$kWh -1 for the storage system is identified.« less

Comparative study on power generation of dual-cathode microbial fuel cell according to polarization methods.

PubMed

Lee, Kang-yu; Ryu, Wyan-seuk; Cho, Sung-il; Lim, Kyeong-ho

2015-11-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) exist in various forms depending on the type of pollutant to be removed and the expected performance. Dual-cathode MFCs, with their simple structure, are capable of removing both organic matter and nitrogen. Moreover, various methods are available for the collection of polarization data, which can be used to calculate the maximum power density, an important factor of MFCs. Many researchers prefer the method of varying the external resistance in a single-cycle due to the short measurement time and high accuracy. This study compared power densities of dual-cathode MFCs in a single-cycle with values calculated over multi-cycles to determine the optimal polarization method. External resistance was varied from high to low and vice versa in the single-cycle, to calculate power density. External resistance was organized in descending order with initial start-up at open circuit voltage (OCV), and then it was organized in descending order again after the initial start-up at 1000 Ω. As a result, power density was underestimated at the anoxic cathode when the external resistance was varied from low to high, and overestimated at the aerobic cathode and anoxic cathode when external resistance at OCV was reduced following initial start-up. In calculating the power densities of dual-cathode MFCs, this paper recommends the method of gradually reducing the external resistance after initial start-up with high external resistance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Full scale hover test of a 25 foot tilt rotor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helf, S.; Broman, E.; Gatchel, S.; Charles, B.

1973-01-01

The tilt rotor underwent a hover performance test on the Aero Propulsion Laboratory whirl stand at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The maximum thrust over density ratio measured at the design tip speed of 740 feet per second was 10,016 pounds. This occurred when the power over density ratio was 1721 horsepower. At the hover overspeed rpm, the thrust and power, over density ratio, were 11,008 pounds and 1866 horsepower. During the test, the maximum measured thrust coefficient was 0.177, and the rotor figure of merit exceeded 0.81. Measured lifting efficiency was 8.35 pounds per horsepower at the thrust a 13,000-pound aircraft would require for hover at sea level on a standard day. No effect of compressibility on performance is discernible in the test results (the range of tip Mach numbers tested was 0.55 to 0.71).

Uniform Incorporation of Flocculent Molybdenum Disulfide Nanostructure into Three-Dimensional Porous Graphene as an Anode for High-Performance Lithium Ion Batteries and Hybrid Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Zhang, Fan; Tang, Yongbing; Liu, Hui; Ji, Hongyi; Jiang, Chunlei; Zhang, Jing; Zhang, Xiaolong; Lee, Chun-Sing

2016-02-01

Hybrid supercapacitors (HSCs) with lithium-ion battery-type anodes and electric double layer capacitor-type cathodes are attracting extensive attention and under wide investigation because of their combined merits of both high power and energy density. However, the performance of most HSCs is limited by low kinetics of the battery-type anode which cannot match the fast kinetics of the capacitor-type cathode. In this study, we have synthesized a three-dimensional (3D) porous composite with uniformly incorporated MoS2 flocculent nanostructure onto 3D graphene via a facile solution-processed method as an anode for high-performance HSCs. This composite shows significantly enhanced electrochemical performance due to the synergistic effects of the conductive graphene sheets and the interconnected porous structure, which exhibits a high rate capability of 688 mAh/g even at a high current density of 8 A/g and a stable cycling performance (997 mAh/g after 700 cycles at 2 A/g). Furthermore, by using this composite as the anode for HSCs, the HSC shows a high energy density of 156 Wh/kg at 197 W/kg, which also remains at 97 Wh/kg even at a high power density of 8314 W/kg with a stable cycling life, among the best results of the reported HSCs thus far.

Linearized image reconstruction method for ultrasound modulated electrical impedance tomography based on power density distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Xizi; Xu, Yanbin; Dong, Feng

2017-04-01

Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) is a promising measurement technique with important industrial and clinical applications. However, with limited effective measurements, it suffers from poor spatial resolution due to the ill-posedness of the inverse problem. Recently, there has been an increasing research interest in hybrid imaging techniques, utilizing couplings of physical modalities, because these techniques obtain much more effective measurement information and promise high resolution. Ultrasound modulated electrical impedance tomography (UMEIT) is one of the newly developed hybrid imaging techniques, which combines electric and acoustic modalities. A linearized image reconstruction method based on power density is proposed for UMEIT. The interior data, power density distribution, is adopted to reconstruct the conductivity distribution with the proposed image reconstruction method. At the same time, relating the power density change to the change in conductivity, the Jacobian matrix is employed to make the nonlinear problem into a linear one. The analytic formulation of this Jacobian matrix is derived and its effectiveness is also verified. In addition, different excitation patterns are tested and analyzed, and opposite excitation provides the best performance with the proposed method. Also, multiple power density distributions are combined to implement image reconstruction. Finally, image reconstruction is implemented with the linear back-projection (LBP) algorithm. Compared with ERT, with the proposed image reconstruction method, UMEIT can produce reconstructed images with higher quality and better quantitative evaluation results.

A High-Performing Direct Carbon Fuel Cell with a 3D Architectured Anode Operated Below 600 °C.

PubMed

Wu, Wei; Zhang, Yunya; Ding, Dong; He, Ting

2018-01-01

Direct carbon fuel cells (DCFCs) are highly efficient power generators fueled by abundant and cheap solid carbons. However, the limited triple-phase boundaries (TPBs) in the fuel electrode, due to the lack of direct contact among carbon, electrode, and electrolyte, inhibit the performance and result in poor fuel utilization. To address the challenges of low carbon oxidation activity and low carbon utilization, a highly efficient, 3D solid-state architected anode is developed to enhance the performance of DCFCs below 600 °C. The cell with the 3D textile anode framework, Gd:CeO 2 -Li/Na 2 CO 3 composite electrolyte, and Sm 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 cathode demonstrates excellent performance with maximum power densities of 143, 196, and 325 mW cm -2 at 500, 550, and 600 °C, respectively. At 500 °C, the cells can be operated steadily with a rated power density of ≈0.13 W cm -2 at a constant current density of 0.15 A cm -2 with a carbon utilization over 85.5%. These results, for the first time, demonstrate the feasibility of directly electrochemical oxidation of solid carbon at 500-600 °C, representing a promising strategy in developing high-performing fuel cells and other electrochemical systems via the integration of 3D architected electrodes. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Space-to-earth power transmission system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stevens, G. H.; Schuh, R.

1976-01-01

A preliminary analysis was conducted to establish the requirements of a space-to-earth microwave power transmission system. The need for accurate phase control on the transmitter was established and methods for assessing the impact of power density and thermal constraints on system performance were demonstrated. Potential radio frequency interference was considered. The sensitivity of transmission system scale to variations in power source, transportation and orbital fabrication and assembly costs was also determined.

Detection of the power spectrum of cosmic microwave background lensing by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope.

PubMed

Das, Sudeep; Sherwin, Blake D; Aguirre, Paula; Appel, John W; Bond, J Richard; Carvalho, C Sofia; Devlin, Mark J; Dunkley, Joanna; Dünner, Rolando; Essinger-Hileman, Thomas; Fowler, Joseph W; Hajian, Amir; Halpern, Mark; Hasselfield, Matthew; Hincks, Adam D; Hlozek, Renée; Huffenberger, Kevin M; Hughes, John P; Irwin, Kent D; Klein, Jeff; Kosowsky, Arthur; Lupton, Robert H; Marriage, Tobias A; Marsden, Danica; Menanteau, Felipe; Moodley, Kavilan; Niemack, Michael D; Nolta, Michael R; Page, Lyman A; Parker, Lucas; Reese, Erik D; Schmitt, Benjamin L; Sehgal, Neelima; Sievers, Jon; Spergel, David N; Staggs, Suzanne T; Swetz, Daniel S; Switzer, Eric R; Thornton, Robert; Visnjic, Katerina; Wollack, Ed

2011-07-08

We report the first detection of the gravitational lensing of the cosmic microwave background through a measurement of the four-point correlation function in the temperature maps made by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. We verify our detection by calculating the levels of potential contaminants and performing a number of null tests. The resulting convergence power spectrum at 2° angular scales measures the amplitude of matter density fluctuations on comoving length scales of around 100 Mpc at redshifts around 0.5 to 3. The measured amplitude of the signal agrees with Lambda cold dark matter cosmology predictions. Since the amplitude of the convergence power spectrum scales as the square of the amplitude of the density fluctuations, the 4σ detection of the lensing signal measures the amplitude of density fluctuations to 12%.

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.

Hierarchically porous Li3VO4/C nanocomposite as an advanced anode material for high-performance lithium-ion capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Xuena; Niu, Feier; Zhang, Dapeng; Chu, Chenxiao; Wang, Chunsheng; Yang, Jian; Qian, Yitai

2018-04-01

Lithium-ion capacitors, as a hybrid electrochemical energy storage device, realize high specific energy and power density within one device, thus attracting extensive attention. Here, hierarchically porous Li3VO4/C nanocomposite is prepared by a solvo-thermal reaction, followed with a post-annealing process. This composite has macropores at the center and mesopores in the wall, thus effectively promoting electrolyte penetration and structure stability upon cycling simultaneously. Compared to mesoporous Li3VO4, the enhanced rate capability and specific capacity of hierarchically porous Li3VO4/C indicate the synergistic effect of mesopores and macropores. Inspired by these results, this composite is coupled with mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) for lithium-ion capacitors, generating a specific energy density of 105 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 188 W kg-1. Even if the power density increases to 9.3 kW kg-1, the energy density still remains 62 Wh kg-1. All these results demonstrate the promising potential of hierarchically porous Li3VO4 in lithium ion capacitors.

Design of Iron(II) Phthalocyanine-Derived Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts for High-Power-Density Microbial Fuel Cells.

PubMed

Santoro, Carlo; Gokhale, Rohan; Mecheri, Barbara; D'Epifanio, Alessandra; Licoccia, Silvia; Serov, Alexey; Artyushkova, Kateryna; Atanassov, Plamen

2017-08-24

Iron(II) phthalocyanine (FePc) deposited onto two different carbonaceous supports was synthesized through an unconventional pyrolysis-free method. The obtained materials were studied in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in neutral media through incorporation in an air-breathing cathode structure and tested in an operating microbial fuel cell (MFC) configuration. Rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) analysis revealed high performances of the Fe-based catalysts compared with that of activated carbon (AC). The FePc supported on Black-Pearl carbon black [Fe-BP(N)] exhibits the highest performance in terms of its more positive onset potential, positive shift of the half-wave potential, and higher limiting current as well as the highest power density in the operating MFC of (243±7) μW cm -2 , which was 33 % higher than that of FePc supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (Fe-CNT(N); 182±5 μW cm -2 ). The power density generated by Fe-BP(N) was 92 % higher than that of the MFC utilizing AC; therefore, the utilization of platinum group metal-free catalysts can boost the performances of MFCs significantly. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Enhancing the performance of NaNbO3 triboelectric nanogenerators by dielectric modulation and electronegative modification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, Meihui; Cheng, Lu; Xi, Yi; Wu, Yinghui; Hu, Chengguo; Guo, Hengyu; Du, Bolun; Liu, Guanlin; Liu, Qipeng; Liu, Ruchuan

2018-01-01

Increasing the triboelectric charge density on the friction layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a basic approach towards improving the output performance of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG). Most previous work focuses on the surface structure or dielectric properties, nonetheless, a few studies have focused on electronegative modification. NaNbO3-PDMS TENG (N-TENG) devices are fabricated by dispersing cubic NaNbO3, which is a lead-free piezoelectric material with molecular oxygen dangling bonds on the surface of the crystal, into the PDMS at different mass ratios. When the mass ratio is 7 wt%, the maximum output performance of the N-TENG is obtained. The open-circuit voltage is 550 V, the short-circuit current is 16 µA, and the effective power densities reach up to 5.5 W m-2 at a load resistance of ~100 MΩ. The N-TENG has been used to assemble self-powered electronic watches and illuminate commercial light-emitting diodes, respectively. Its fundamental mechanism has also been discussed in detail from the perspective of dielectric modulation and electronegative modification. This N-TENG technology is revealed to be a splendid candidate for application in large-scale device fabrication, flexible sensors and biological devices thanks to its easy fabrication process, low consumption, high output power density and biocompatibility.

Lithium-Sulfur Capacitors.

PubMed

Kim, Mok-Hwa; Kim, Hyun-Kyung; Xi, Kai; Kumar, R Vasant; Jung, Dae Soo; Kim, Kwang-Bum; Roh, Kwang Chul

2018-02-21

Although many existing hybrid energy storage systems demonstrate promising electrochemical performances, imbalances between the energies and kinetics of the two electrodes must be resolved to allow their widespread commercialization. As such, the development of a new class of energy storage systems is a particular challenge, since future systems will require a single device to provide both a high gravimetric energy and a high power density. In this context, we herein report the design of novel lithium-sulfur capacitors. The resulting asymmetric systems exhibited energy densities of 23.9-236.4 Wh kg -1 and power densities of 72.2-4097.3 W kg -1 , which are the highest reported values for an asymmetric system to date. This approach involved the use of a prelithiated anode and a hybrid cathode material exhibiting anion adsorption-desorption in addition to the electrochemical reduction and oxidation of sulfur at almost identical rates. This novel strategy yielded both high energy and power densities, and therefore establishes a new benchmark for hybrid systems.

Quasi-Lagrangian measurements of density surface fluctuations and power spectra in the stratosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quinn, Elizabeth P.; Holzworth, Robert H.

1987-01-01

Pressure and temperature data from eight superpressure balloon flights at 26 km in the southern hemisphere stratosphere are analyzed. The balloons, which float on a constant density surface, travel steadily westward during summer and eastward during winter, as expected from local climatology. Two types of fluctuations are observed: neutral buoyancy oscillations (NBO) of around 4 min, and 0.1- to 1-hour oscillations that are characterized as small-amplitude density surface fluctuations. Lapse rates and densities are calculated and found to agree well with the expected values. Examples of wave damping and simultaneous fluctuation at two nearby balloons are presented. Spectral analysis is performed clearly showing the NBO and that the majority of the power is in the mesoscale range. Spectral slopes of power versus frequency are measured to be on the average -2.18 + or - 0.24 for pressure and -1.72 + or - 0.24 for temperature. These slopes are compared to the predictions of turbulence theories and the theory of a universal gravity wave spectrum.

Redwing: A MOOSE application for coupling MPACT and BISON

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

Frederick N. Gleicher; Michael Rose; Tom Downar

Fuel performance and whole core neutron transport programs are often used to analyze fuel behavior as it is depleted in a reactor. For fuel performance programs, internal models provide the local intra-pin power density, fast neutron flux, burnup, and fission rate density, which are needed for a fuel performance analysis. The fuel performance internal models have a number of limitations. These include effects on the intra-pin power distribution by nearby assembly elements, such as water channels and control rods, and the further limitation of applicability to a specified fuel type such as low enriched UO2. In addition, whole core neutronmore » transport codes need an accurate intra-pin temperature distribution in order to calculate neutron cross sections. Fuel performance simulations are able to model the intra-pin fuel displacement as the fuel expands and densifies. These displacements must be accurately modeled in order to capture the eventual mechanical contact of the fuel and the clad; the correct radial gap width is needed for an accurate calculation of the temperature distribution of the fuel rod. Redwing is a MOOSE-based application that enables coupling between MPACT and BISON for transport and fuel performance coupling. MPACT is a 3D neutron transport and reactor core simulator based on the method of characteristics (MOC). The development of MPACT began at the University of Michigan (UM) and now is under the joint development of ORNL and UM as part of the DOE CASL Simulation Hub. MPACT is able to model the effects of local assembly elements and is able calculate intra-pin quantities such as the local power density on a volumetric mesh for any fuel type. BISON is a fuel performance application of Multi-physics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE), which is under development at Idaho National Laboratory. BISON is able to solve the nonlinearly coupled mechanical deformation and heat transfer finite element equations that model a fuel element as it is depleted in a nuclear reactor. Redwing couples BISON and MPACT in a single application. Redwing maps and transfers the individual intra-pin quantities such as fission rate density, power density, and fast neutron flux from the MPACT volumetric mesh to the individual BISON finite element meshes. For a two-way coupling Redwing maps and transfers the individual pin temperature field and axially dependent coolant densities from the BISON mesh to the MPACT volumetric mesh. Details of the mapping are given. Redwing advances the simulation with the MPACT solution for each depletion time step and then advances the multiple BISON simulations for fuel performance calculations. Sub-cycle advancement can be applied to the individual BISON simulations and allows multiple time steps to be applied to the fuel performance simulations. Currently, only loose coupling where data from a previous time step is applied to the current time step is performed.« less

Lower Hybrid wave edge power loss quantification on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faust, I. C.

2015-11-01

For the first time, the power deposition of Lower Hybrid RF waves into the edge plasma of a diverted tokamak has been systematically quantified. Edge deposition represents a parasitic loss of power that can greatly impact the use and efficiency of Lower Hybrid Current Drive (LHCD) at reactor-relevant densities. Through the use of a unique set of fast time resolution edge diagnostics, including innovative fast-thermocouples, an extensive set of Langmuir probes, and a Lyα ionization camera, the toroidal, poloidal and radial structure of the power deposition has been simultaneously determined. Power modulation was used to directly isolate the RF effects due to the prompt (t <τE) response of the scrape-off-layer (SOL) plasma to LHRF power. LHRF power was found to absorb more strongly in the edge at higher densities. It is found that a majority of this edge-deposited power is promptly conducted to the divertor. This correlates with the loss of current drive efficiency at high density previously observed on Alcator C-Mod, and displaying characteristics that contrast with the local RF edge absorption seen on other tokamaks. Measurements of ionization in the active divertor show dramatic changes due to LHRF power, implying that divertor region can be key for the LHRF edge power deposition physics. These observations support the existence a loss mechanism near the edge for LHRF at high density (ne > 1 . 0 .1020 [m-3]). Results will be shown addressing the distribution of power within the SOL, including the toroidal symmetry and radial distribution. These characteristics are important for deducing the cause of the reduced LHCD efficiency at high density and motivates the tailoring of wave propagation to minimize SOL interaction, for example, through the use of high-field-side launch. This work was performed on the Alcator C-Mod tokamak, a DoE Office of Science user facility, and is supported by USDoE award DE-FC02-99ER54512.

Generation of electrical power under human skin by subdermal solar cell arrays for implantable bioelectronic devices.

PubMed

Song, Kwangsun; Han, Jung Hyun; Yang, Hyung Chae; Nam, Kwang Il; Lee, Jongho

2017-06-15

Medical electronic implants can significantly improve people's health and quality of life. These implants are typically powered by batteries, which usually have a finite lifetime and therefore must be replaced periodically using surgical procedures. Recently, subdermal solar cells that can generate electricity by absorbing light transmitted through skin have been proposed as a sustainable electricity source to power medical electronic implants in bodies. However, the results to date have been obtained with animal models. To apply the technology to human beings, electrical performance should be characterized using human skin covering the subdermal solar cells. In this paper, we present electrical performance results (up to 9.05mW/cm 2 ) of the implantable solar cell array under 59 human skin samples isolated from 10 cadavers. The results indicate that the power densities depend on the thickness and tone of the human skin, e.g., higher power was generated under thinner and brighter skin. The generated power density is high enough to operate currently available medical electronic implants such as pacemakers that require tens of microwatt. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Development and Characterization of Gas Diffusion Layer Using Carbon Slurry Dispersed by Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate for Proton Exchange Member Fuel Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villacorta, Rashida

Gas diffusion layers (GDLs) are a critical and essential part of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). They carry out various important functions such as transportation of reactants to and from the reaction sites. The material properties and structural characteristics of the substrate and the microporous layer strongly influence fuel cell performance. The microporous layer of the GDLs was fabricated with the carbon slurry dispersed in water containing ammonium lauryl sulfate (ALS) using the wire rod coating method. GDLs were fabricated with different materials to compose the microporous layer and evaluated the effects on PEMFC power output performance. The consistency of the carbon slurry was achieved by adding 25 wt. % of PTFE, a binding agent with a 75:25 ratio of carbon (Pureblack and vapor grown carbon fiber). The GDLs were investigated in PEMFC under various relative humidity (RH) conditions using H2/O2 and H2/Air. GDLs were also fabricated with the carbon slurry dispersed in water containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) based for fuel cell performance comparison. MWCNTs and SDS exhibits the highest performance at 60% and 70% RH with a peak power density of 1100 mW.cm-2 and 850 mW.cm-2 using air and oxygen as an oxidant. This means that the gas diffusion characteristics of these two samples were optimum at 60 and 70 % RH with high limiting current density range. It was also found that the composition of the carbon slurry, specifically ALS concentration has the highest peak power density of 1300 and 500mW.cm-2 for both H2/O 2 and H2/Air at 100% RH. However, SDS and MWCNTs demonstrates the lowest power density using air and oxygen as an oxidants at 100% RH.

A flexible triboelectric-piezoelectric hybrid nanogenerator based on P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers and PDMS/MWCNT for wearable devices

PubMed Central

Wang, Xingzhao; Yang, Bin; Liu, Jingquan; Zhu, Yanbo; Yang, Chunsheng; He, Qing

2016-01-01

This paper studied and realized a flexible nanogenerator based on P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers and PDMS/MWCNT thin composite membrane, which worked under triboelectric and piezoelectric hybrid mechanisms. The P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers as a piezoelectric functional layer and a triboelectric friction layer are formed by electrospinning process. In order to improve the performance of triboelectric nanogenerator, the multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) is doped into PDMS patterned films as the other flexible friction layer to increase the initial capacitance. The flexible nanogenerator is fabricated by low cost MEMS processes. Its output performance is characterized in detail and structural optimization is performed. The device’s output peak-peak voltage, power and power density under triboelectric mechanism are 25 V, 98.56 μW and 1.98 mW/cm3 under the pressure force of 5 N, respectively. The output peak-peak voltage, power and power density under piezoelectric working principle are 2.5 V, 9.74 μW, and 0.689 mW/cm3 under the same condition, respectively. We believe that the proposed flexible, biocompatible, lightweight, low cost nanogenerator will supply effective power energy sustainably for wearable devices in practical applications. PMID:27805065

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).

Generating short-term probabilistic wind power scenarios via nonparametric forecast error density estimators: Generating short-term probabilistic wind power scenarios via nonparametric forecast error density estimators

DOE PAGES

Staid, Andrea; Watson, Jean -Paul; Wets, Roger J. -B.; ...

2017-07-11

Forecasts of available wind power are critical in key electric power systems operations planning problems, including economic dispatch and unit commitment. Such forecasts are necessarily uncertain, limiting the reliability and cost effectiveness of operations planning models based on a single deterministic or “point” forecast. A common approach to address this limitation involves the use of a number of probabilistic scenarios, each specifying a possible trajectory of wind power production, with associated probability. We present and analyze a novel method for generating probabilistic wind power scenarios, leveraging available historical information in the form of forecasted and corresponding observed wind power timemore » series. We estimate non-parametric forecast error densities, specifically using epi-spline basis functions, allowing us to capture the skewed and non-parametric nature of error densities observed in real-world data. We then describe a method to generate probabilistic scenarios from these basis functions that allows users to control for the degree to which extreme errors are captured.We compare the performance of our approach to the current state-of-the-art considering publicly available data associated with the Bonneville Power Administration, analyzing aggregate production of a number of wind farms over a large geographic region. Finally, we discuss the advantages of our approach in the context of specific power systems operations planning problems: stochastic unit commitment and economic dispatch. Here, our methodology is embodied in the joint Sandia – University of California Davis Prescient software package for assessing and analyzing stochastic operations strategies.« less

Generating short-term probabilistic wind power scenarios via nonparametric forecast error density estimators: Generating short-term probabilistic wind power scenarios via nonparametric forecast error density estimators

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

Staid, Andrea; Watson, Jean -Paul; Wets, Roger J. -B.

Forecasts of available wind power are critical in key electric power systems operations planning problems, including economic dispatch and unit commitment. Such forecasts are necessarily uncertain, limiting the reliability and cost effectiveness of operations planning models based on a single deterministic or “point” forecast. A common approach to address this limitation involves the use of a number of probabilistic scenarios, each specifying a possible trajectory of wind power production, with associated probability. We present and analyze a novel method for generating probabilistic wind power scenarios, leveraging available historical information in the form of forecasted and corresponding observed wind power timemore » series. We estimate non-parametric forecast error densities, specifically using epi-spline basis functions, allowing us to capture the skewed and non-parametric nature of error densities observed in real-world data. We then describe a method to generate probabilistic scenarios from these basis functions that allows users to control for the degree to which extreme errors are captured.We compare the performance of our approach to the current state-of-the-art considering publicly available data associated with the Bonneville Power Administration, analyzing aggregate production of a number of wind farms over a large geographic region. Finally, we discuss the advantages of our approach in the context of specific power systems operations planning problems: stochastic unit commitment and economic dispatch. Here, our methodology is embodied in the joint Sandia – University of California Davis Prescient software package for assessing and analyzing stochastic operations strategies.« less

A miniaturized microbial fuel cell with three-dimensional graphene macroporous scaffold anode demonstrating a record power density of over 10,000 W m(-3) .

PubMed

Ren, Hao; Tian, He; Gardner, Cameron L; Ren, Tian-Ling; Chae, Junseok

2016-02-14

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a bio-inspired renewable energy converter which directly converts biomass into electricity. This is accomplished via the unique extracellular electron transfer (EET) of a specific species of microbe called the exoelectrogen. Many studies have attempted to improve the power density of MFCs, yet the reported power density is still nearly two orders of magnitude lower than other power sources/converters. Such a low performance can primarily be attributed to two bottlenecks: (i) ineffective electron transfer from microbes located far from the anode and (ii) an insufficient buffer supply to the biofilm. This work takes a novel approach to mitigate these two bottlenecks by integrating a three-dimensional (3D) macroporous graphene scaffold anode in a miniaturized MFC. This implementation has delivered the highest power density reported to date in all MFCs of over 10,000 W m(-3). The miniaturized configuration offers a high surface area to volume ratio and improved mass transfer of biomass and buffers. The 3D graphene macroporous scaffold warrants investigation due to its high specific surface area, high porosity, and excellent conductivity and biocompatibility which facilitates EET and alleviates acidification in the biofilm. Consequently, the 3D scaffold houses an extremely thick and dense biofilm from the Geobacter-enriched culture, delivering an areal/volumetric current density of 15.51 A m(-2)/31,040 A m(-3) and a power density of 5.61 W m(-2)/11,220 W m(-3), a 3.3 fold increase when compared to its planar two-dimensional (2D) control counterparts.

Supercapacitors based on highly dispersed polypyrrole-reduced graphene oxide composite with a folded surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Anqi; Zhou, Xi; Qian, Tao; Yu, Chenfei; Wu, Shishan; Shen, Jian

2015-08-01

Highly dispersed polypyrrole particles were decorated on reduced graphene oxide sheets using a facile in situ synthesis route. The prepared composite, which obtained a folded surface, shows remarkable performance as the electrode material of supercapacitors. The specific capacitance reaches 564.1 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 and maintains 86.4 % after 1000 charging-discharging cycles at a current density of 20 A g-1, which indicates a good cycling stability. Furthermore, the prepared supercapacitor demonstrates an ultrahigh energy density of 50.13 Wh kg-1 at power density of 0.40 kW kg-1, and remains of 45.33 Wh kg-1 even at high power density of 8.00 kW kg-1, which demonstrate that the hybrid supercapacitor can be a promising energy storage system for fast and efficient energy storage in the future.

Microwave synthesis of three-dimensional nickel cobalt sulfide nanosheets grown on nickel foam for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors.

PubMed

Wang, Fangping; Li, Guifang; Zheng, Jinfeng; Ma, Jing; Yang, Caixia; Wang, Qizhao

2018-04-15

A facile and cost-effective microwave method is developed to prepare ternary nickel cobalt sulfide (NiCo 2 S 4 ) interconnected nanosheet arrays on nickel foam (NF). When acting as an electrochemical supercapacitor electrode material, the as-prepared NiCo 2 S 4 /NF shows a high specific capacitance of 1502 F g -1 at a current density of 1 A g -1 , and outstanding cycling stability of 91% capacitance retention after 8000 cycles. In addition, a asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) is composed of NiCo 2 S 4 /NF as positive electrode and activated carbon as negative electrode, which exhibits a high energy density of 34.7 W h kg -1 at a power density of 750 W kg -1 and long-term cyclic stability (83.7% capacity retention after 8000 cycles). Even at a high power density of 15 kW kg -1 , it still remains an energy density of 17.9 W h kg -1 , which is able to light up a light-emitting diode. These findings provide a new and facile approach to fabricate high-performance electrode for supercapacitors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Substrate Engineered Interconnected Graphene Electrodes with Ultrahigh Energy and Power Densities for Energy Storage Applications.

PubMed

Chaichi, Ardalan; Wang, Ying; Gartia, Manas Ranjan

2018-06-27

Supercapacitors combine the advantages of electrochemical storage technologies such as high energy density batteries and high power density capacitors. At 5-10 W h kg -1 , the energy densities of current supercapacitors are still significantly lower than the energy densities of lead acid (20-35 W h kg -1 ), Ni-metal hydride (40-100 W h kg -1 ), and Li-ion (120-170 W h kg -1 ) batteries. Recently, graphene-based supercapacitors have shown an energy density of 40-80 W h kg -1 . However, their performance is mainly limited because of the reversible agglomeration and restacking of individual graphene layers caused by π-π interactions. The restacking of graphene layers leads to significant decrease of ion-accessible surface area and the low capacitance of graphene-based supercapacitors. Here, we introduce a microstructure substrate-based method to produce a fully delaminated and stable interconnected graphene structure using flash reduction of graphene oxide in a few seconds. With this structure, we achieve the highest amount of volumetric capacitance obtained so far by any type of a pure carbon-based material. The affordable and scalable production method is capable of producing electrodes with an energy density of 0.37 W h cm -3 and a power density of 416.6 W cm -3 . This electrode maintained more than 91% of its initial capacitance after 5000 cycles. Moreover, combining with ionic liquid, this solvent-free graphene electrode material is highly promising for on-chip electronics, micro-supercapacitors, as well as high-power applications.

Thermal Performance of Cryogenic Multilayer Insulation at Various Layer Spacings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Wesley Louis

2010-01-01

Multilayer insulation (MLI) has been shown to be the best performing cryogenic insulation system at high vacuum (less that 10 (exp 3) torr), and is widely used on spaceflight vehicles. Over the past 50 years, many investigations into MLI have yielded a general understanding of the many variables that are associated with MLI. MLI has been shown to be a function of variables such as warm boundary temperature, the number of reflector layers, and the spacer material in between reflectors, the interstitial gas pressure and the interstitial gas. Since the conduction between reflectors increases with the thickness of the spacer material, yet the radiation heat transfer is inversely proportional to the number of layers, it stands to reason that the thermal performance of MLI is a function of the number of layers per thickness, or layer density. Empirical equations that were derived based on some of the early tests showed that the conduction term was proportional to the layer density to a power. This power depended on the material combination and was determined by empirical test data. Many authors have graphically shown such optimal layer density, but none have provided any data at such low densities, or any method of determining this density. Keller, Cunnington, and Glassford showed MLI thermal performance as a function of layer density of high layer densities, but they didn't show a minimal layer density or any data below the supposed optimal layer density. However, it was recently discovered that by manipulating the derived empirical equations and taking a derivative with respect to layer density yields a solution for on optimal layer density. Various manufacturers have begun manufacturing MLI at densities below the optimal density. They began this based on the theory that increasing the distance between layers lowered the conductive heat transfer and they had no limitations on volume. By modifying the circumference of these blankets, the layer density can easily be varied. The simplest method of determining the thermal performance of MLI at cryogenic temperature is by boil-off calorimetry. Several blankets were procured and tested at various layer densities at the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center. The densities that the blankets were tested over covered a wide range of layer densities including the analytical minimum. Several of the blankets were tested at the same insulation thickness while changing the layer density (thus a different number of reflector layers). Optimizing the layer density of multilayer insulation systems for heat transfer would remove a layer density from the complex method of designing such insulation systems. Additional testing was performed at various warm boundary temperatures and pressures. The testing and analysis was performed to simplify the analysis of cryogenic thermal insulation systems. This research was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Exploration Technology Development Program's Cryogenic Fluid Management Project

High power and high energy electrodes using carbon nanotubes

DOEpatents

Martini, Fabrizio; Brambilla, Nicolo Michele; Signorelli, Riccardo

2015-04-07

An electrode useful in an energy storage system, such as a capacitor, includes an electrode that includes at least one to a plurality of layers of compressed carbon nanotube aggregate. Methods of fabrication are provided. The resulting electrode exhibits superior electrical performance in terms of gravimetric and volumetric power density.

Boosting the Recoverable Energy Density of Lead-Free Ferroelectric Ceramic Thick Films through Artificially Induced Quasi-Relaxor Behavior.

PubMed

Peddigari, Mahesh; Palneedi, Haribabu; Hwang, Geon-Tae; Lim, Kyung Won; Kim, Ga-Yeon; Jeong, Dae-Yong; Ryu, Jungho

2018-06-20

Dielectric ceramic film capacitors, which store energy in the form of electric polarization, are promising for miniature pulsed power electronic device applications. For a superior energy storage performance of the capacitors, large recoverable energy density, along with high efficiency, high power density, fast charge/discharge rate, and good thermal/fatigue stability, is desired. Herein, we present highly dense lead-free 0.942[Na 0.535 K 0.480 NbO 3 ]-0.058LiNbO 3 (KNNLN) ferroelectric ceramic thick films (∼5 μm) demonstrating remarkable energy storage performance. The nanocrystalline KNNLN thick film fabricated by aerosol deposition (AD) process and annealed at 600 °C displayed a quasi-relaxor ferroelectric behavior, which is in contrast to the typical ferroelectric nature of the KNNLN ceramic in its bulk form. The AD film exhibited a large recoverable energy density of 23.4 J/cm 3 , with an efficiency of over 70% under the electric field of 1400 kV/cm. Besides, an ultrahigh power density of 38.8 MW/cm 3 together with a fast discharge speed of 0.45 μs, good fatigue endurance (up to 10 6 cycles), and thermal stability in a wide temperature range of 20-160 °C was also observed. Using the AD process, we could make a highly dense microstructure of the film containing nano-sized grains, which gave rise to the quasi-relaxor ferroelectric characteristics and the remarkable energy storage properties.

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

Seljak, Uroš; McDonald, Patrick, E-mail: useljak@berkeley.edu, E-mail: pvmcdonald@lbl.gov

We develop a phase space distribution function approach to redshift space distortions (RSD), in which the redshift space density can be written as a sum over velocity moments of the distribution function. These moments are density weighted and have well defined physical interpretation: their lowest orders are density, momentum density, and stress energy density. The series expansion is convergent if kμu/aH < 1, where k is the wavevector, H the Hubble parameter, u the typical gravitational velocity and μ = cos θ, with θ being the angle between the Fourier mode and the line of sight. We perform an expansionmore » of these velocity moments into helicity modes, which are eigenmodes under rotation around the axis of Fourier mode direction, generalizing the scalar, vector, tensor decomposition of perturbations to an arbitrary order. We show that only equal helicity moments correlate and derive the angular dependence of the individual contributions to the redshift space power spectrum. We show that the dominant term of μ{sup 2} dependence on large scales is the cross-correlation between the density and scalar part of momentum density, which can be related to the time derivative of the matter power spectrum. Additional terms contributing to μ{sup 2} and dominating on small scales are the vector part of momentum density-momentum density correlations, the energy density-density correlations, and the scalar part of anisotropic stress density-density correlations. The second term is what is usually associated with the small scale Fingers-of-God damping and always suppresses power, but the first term comes with the opposite sign and always adds power. Similarly, we identify 7 terms contributing to μ{sup 4} dependence. Some of the advantages of the distribution function approach are that the series expansion converges on large scales and remains valid in multi-stream situations. We finish with a brief discussion of implications for RSD in galaxies relative to dark matter, highlighting the issue of scale dependent bias of velocity moments correlators.« less

Experimental study of ELM-like heat loading on beryllium under ITER operational conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spilker, B.; Linke, J.; Pintsuk, G.; Wirtz, M.

2016-02-01

The experimental fusion reactor ITER, currently under construction in Cadarache, France, is transferring the nuclear fusion research to the power plant scale. ITER’s first wall (FW), armoured by beryllium, is subjected to high steady state and transient power loads. Transient events like edge localized modes not only deposit power densities of up to 1.0 GW m-2 for 0.2-0.5 ms in the divertor of the machine, but also affect the FW to a considerable extent. Therefore, a detailed study was performed, in which transient power loads with absorbed power densities of up to 1.0 GW m-2 were applied by the electron beam facility JUDITH 1 on beryllium specimens at base temperatures of up to 300 °C. The induced damage was evaluated by means of scanning electron microscopy and laser profilometry. As a result, the observed damage was highly dependent on the base temperatures and absorbed power densities. In addition, five different classes of damage, ranging from ‘no damage’ to ‘crack network plus melting’, were defined and used to locate the damage, cracking, and melting thresholds within the tested parameter space.

Spectrum sensing based on cumulative power spectral density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasser, A.; Mansour, A.; Yao, K. C.; Abdallah, H.; Charara, H.

2017-12-01

This paper presents new spectrum sensing algorithms based on the cumulative power spectral density (CPSD). The proposed detectors examine the CPSD of the received signal to make a decision on the absence/presence of the primary user (PU) signal. Those detectors require the whiteness of the noise in the band of interest. The false alarm and detection probabilities are derived analytically and simulated under Gaussian and Rayleigh fading channels. Our proposed detectors present better performance than the energy (ED) or the cyclostationary detectors (CSD). Moreover, in the presence of noise uncertainty (NU), they are shown to provide more robustness than ED, with less performance loss. In order to neglect the NU, we modified our algorithms to be independent from the noise variance.

Agent-based power sharing scheme for active hybrid power sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Zhenhua

The active hybridization technique provides an effective approach to combining the best properties of a heterogeneous set of power sources to achieve higher energy density, power density and fuel efficiency. Active hybrid power sources can be used to power hybrid electric vehicles with selected combinations of internal combustion engines, fuel cells, batteries, and/or supercapacitors. They can be deployed in all-electric ships to build a distributed electric power system. They can also be used in a bulk power system to construct an autonomous distributed energy system. An important aspect in designing an active hybrid power source is to find a suitable control strategy that can manage the active power sharing and take advantage of the inherent scalability and robustness benefits of the hybrid system. This paper presents an agent-based power sharing scheme for active hybrid power sources. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed agent-based power sharing scheme, simulation studies are performed for a hybrid power source that can be used in a solar car as the main propulsion power module. Simulation results clearly indicate that the agent-based control framework is effective to coordinate the various energy sources and manage the power/voltage profiles.

Effect of aqueous electrolytes on the electrochemical behaviors of supercapacitors based on hierarchically porous carbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaoyan; Wang, Xianyou; Jiang, Lanlan; Wu, Hao; Wu, Chun; Su, Jingcang

2012-10-01

Hierarchically porous carbons (HPCs) have been prepared by sol-gel self-assembly technology with nickel oxide and surfactant as the dual template. The porous carbons are further activated by nitric acid. The electrochemical behaviors of supercapacitors using HPCs as electrode material in different aqueous electrolytes, e.g., (NH4)2SO4, Na2SO4, H2SO4 and KOH are studied by cyclic voltametry, galvanostatic charge/discharge, cyclic life, leakage current, self-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that the supercapacitors in various electrolytes perform definitely capacitive behaviors; especially in 6 M KOH electrolyte the supercapacitor represents the best electrochemical performance, the shortest relaxation time, and nearly ideal polarisability. The energy density of 8.42 Wh kg-1 and power density of 17.22 kW kg-1 are obtained at the operated voltage window of 1.0 V. Especially, the energy density of 11.54 Wh kg-1 and power density of 10.58 kW kg-1 can be achieved when the voltage is up to 1.2 V.

Quasi-Solid-State Sodium-Ion Full Battery with High-Power/Energy Densities.

PubMed

Guo, Jin-Zhi; Yang, Ai-Bo; Gu, Zhen-Yi; Wu, Xing-Long; Pang, Wei-Lin; Ning, Qiu-Li; Li, Wen-Hao; Zhang, Jing-Ping; Su, Zhong-Min

2018-05-30

Developing a high-performance, low-cost, and safer rechargeable battery is a primary challenge in next-generation electrochemical energy storage. In this work, a quasi-solid-state (QSS) sodium-ion full battery (SIFB) is designed and fabricated. Hard carbon cloth derived from cotton cloth and Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 2 O 2 F (NVPOF) are employed as the anode and the cathode, respectively, and a sodium ion-conducting gel-polymer membrane is used as both the QSS electrolyte and separator, accomplishing the high energy and power densities in the QSS sodium-ion batteries. The energy density can reach 460 W h kg -1 according to the mass of the cathode materials. Moreover, the fabricated QSS SIFB also exhibits an excellent rate performance (e.g., about 78.1 mA h g -1 specific capacity at 10 C) and a superior cycle performance (e.g., ∼90% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 10 C). These results show that the developed QSS SIFB is a hopeful candidate for large-scale energy storage.

High-power, kilojoule laser interactions with near-critical density plasma

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

Willingale, L.; Thomas, A. G. R.; Maksimchuk, A.

Experiments were performed using the Omega EP laser, which provided pulses containing 1kJ of energy in 9ps and was used to investigate high-power, relativistic intensity laser interactions with near-critical density plasmas, created from foam targets with densities of 3-100 mg/cm{sup 3}. The effect of changing the plasma density on both the laser light transmitted through the targets and the proton beam accelerated from the interaction was investigated. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations enabled the interaction dynamics and laser propagation to be studied in detail. The effect of the laser polarization and intensity in the two-dimensional simulations on the channel formation and electronmore » heating are discussed. In this regime, where the plasma density is above the critical density, but below the relativistic critical density, the channel formation speed and therefore length are inversely proportional to the plasma density, which is faster than the hole boring model prediction. A general model is developed to describe the channel length in this regime.« less

Space-dependent characterization of laser-induced plasma plume during fiber laser welding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Xianfeng; Song, Lijun; Xiao, Wenjia; Liu, Xingbo

2016-12-01

The role of a plasma plume in high power fiber laser welding is of considerable interest due to its influence on the energy transfer mechanism. In this study, the space-dependent plasma characteristics including spectrum intensity, plasma temperature and electron density were investigated using optical emission spectroscopy technique. The plasma temperature was calculated using the Boltzmann plot of atomic iron lines, whereas the electron density was determined from the Stark broadening of the Fe I line at 381.584 nm. Quantitative analysis of plasma characteristics with respect to the laser radiation was performed. The results show that the plasma radiation increases as the laser power increases during the partial penetration mode, and then decreases sharply after the initiation of full penetration. Both the plasma temperature and electron density increase with the increase of laser power until they reach steady state values after full penetration. Moreover, the hottest core of the plasma shifts toward the surface of the workpiece as the penetration depth increases, whereas the electron density is more evenly distributed above the surface of the workpiece. The results also indicate that the absorption and scattering of nanoparticles in the plasma plume is the main mechanism for laser power attenuation.

Pulse Power Capability Of High Energy Density Capacitors Based on a New Dielectric Material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winsor, Paul; Scholz, Tim; Hudis, Martin; Slenes, Kirk M.

1999-01-01

A new dielectric composite consisting of a polymer coated onto a high-density metallized Kraft has been developed for application in high energy density pulse power capacitors. The polymer coating is custom formulated for high dielectric constant and strength with minimum dielectric losses. The composite can be wound and processed using conventional wound film capacitor manufacturing equipment. This new system has the potential to achieve 2 to 3 J/cu cm whole capacitor energy density at voltage levels above 3.0 kV, and can maintain its mechanical properties to temperatures above 150 C. The technical and manufacturing development of the composite material and fabrication into capacitors are summarized in this paper. Energy discharge testing, including capacitance and charge-discharge efficiency at normal and elevated temperatures, as well as DC life testing were performed on capacitors manufactured using this material. TPL (Albuquerque, NM) has developed the material and Aerovox (New Bedford, MA) has used the material to build and test actual capacitors. The results of the testing will focus on pulse power applications specifically those found in electro-magnetic armor and guns, high power microwave sources and defibrillators.

Structural-electromagnetic bidirectional coupling analysis of space large film reflector antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xinghua; Zhang, Shuxin; Cheng, ZhengAi; Duan, Baoyan; Yang, Chen; Li, Meng; Hou, Xinbin; Li, Xun

2017-10-01

As used for energy transmission, a space large film reflector antenna (SLFRA) is characterized by large size and enduring high power density. The structural flexibility and the microwave radiation pressure (MRP) will lead to the phenomenon of structural-electromagnetic bidirectional coupling (SEBC). In this paper, the SEBC model of SLFRA is presented, then the deformation induced by the MRP and the corresponding far field pattern deterioration are simulated. Results show that, the direction of the MRP is identical to the normal of the reflector surface, and the magnitude is proportional to the power density and the square of cosine incident angle. For a typical cosine function distributed electric field, the MRP is a square of cosine distributed across the diameter. The maximum deflections of SLFRA linearly increase with the increasing microwave power densities and the square of the reflector diameters, and vary inversely with the film thicknesses. When the reflector diameter becomes 100 m large and the microwave power density exceeds 102 W/cm2, the gain loss of the 6.3 μm-thick reflector goes beyond 0.75 dB. When the MRP-induced deflection degrades the reflector performance, the SEBC should be taken into account.

Predicting Microbial Fuel Cell Biofilm Communities and Bioreactor Performance using Artificial Neural Networks.

PubMed

Lesnik, Keaton Larson; Liu, Hong

2017-09-19

The complex interactions that occur in mixed-species bioelectrochemical reactors, like microbial fuel cells (MFCs), make accurate predictions of performance outcomes under untested conditions difficult. While direct correlations between any individual waste stream characteristic or microbial community structure and reactor performance have not been able to be directly established, the increase in sequencing data and readily available computational power enables the development of alternate approaches. In the current study, 33 MFCs were evaluated under a range of conditions including eight separate substrates and three different wastewaters. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were used to establish mathematical relationships between wastewater/solution characteristics, biofilm communities, and reactor performance. ANN models that incorporated biotic interactions predicted reactor performance outcomes more accurately than those that did not. The average percent error of power density predictions was 16.01 ± 4.35%, while the average percent error of Coulombic efficiency and COD removal rate predictions were 1.77 ± 0.57% and 4.07 ± 1.06%, respectively. Predictions of power density improved to within 5.76 ± 3.16% percent error through classifying taxonomic data at the family versus class level. Results suggest that the microbial communities and performance of bioelectrochemical systems can be accurately predicted using data-mining, machine-learning techniques.

Fluorescence lifetime spectroscopy: potential for in-vivo estimation of skin fluorophores changes after low power laser treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferulova, Inesa; Lihachev, Alexey; Spigulis, Janis

2013-11-01

The impact of visible cwlaser irradiation on skin autofluorescence lifetimes was investigated in spectral range from 450 nm to 600 nm. Skin optical provocations were performed during 1 min by 405 nm low power cw laser with power density up to 20 mW/cm2. Autofluorescence lifetimes were measured before and immediately after the optical provocation.

Sulfonated Copper Phthalocyanine/Sulfonated Polysulfone Composite Membrane for Ionic Polymer Actuators with High Power Density and Fast Response Time.

PubMed

Kwon, Taehoon; Cho, Hyeongrae; Lee, Jang-Woo; Henkensmeier, Dirk; Kang, Youngjong; Koo, Chong Min

2017-08-30

Ionic polymer composite membranes based on sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES) and copper(II) phthalocyanine tetrasulfonic acid (CuPCSA) are assembled into bending ionic polymer actuators. CuPCSA is an organic filler with very high sulfonation degree (IEC = 4.5 mmol H + /g) that can be homogeneously dispersed on the molecular scale into the SPAES membrane, probably due to its good dispersibility in SPAES-containing solutions. SPAES/CuPCSA actuators exhibit larger ion conductivity (102 mS cm -1 ), tensile modulus (208 MPa), strength (101 MPa), and strain (1.21%), exceptionally faster response to electrical stimuli, and larger mechanical power density (3028 W m -3 ) than ever reported for ion-conducting polymer actuators. This outstanding actuation performance of SPAES/CuPCSA composite membrane actuators makes them attractive for next-generation transducers with high power density, which are currently developed, e.g., for underwater propulsion and endoscopic surgery.

WO3–x@Au@MnO2 core–shell nanowires on carbon fabric for high-performance flexible supercapacitors.

PubMed

Lu, Xihong; Zhai, Teng; Zhang, Xianghui; Shen, Yongqi; Yuan, Longyan; Hu, Bin; Gong, Li; Chen, Jian; Gao, Yihua; Zhou, Jun; Tong, Yexiang; Wang, Zhong Lin

2012-02-14

WO3–x@Au@MnO2 core–shell nanowires (NWs) are synthesized on a flexible carbon fabric and show outstanding electrochemical performance in supercapacitors such as high specific capacitance, good cyclic stability, high energy density, and high power density. These results suggest that the WO3–x@Au@MnO2 NWs have promising potential for use in high-performance flexible supercapacitors. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Investigation of low temperature solid oxide fuel cells for air-independent UUV applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moton, Jennie Mariko

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) will benefit greatly from high energy density (> 500 Wh/L) power systems utilizing high-energy-density fuels and air-independent oxidizers. Current battery-based systems have limited energy densities (< 400 Wh/L), which motivate development of alternative power systems such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). SOFC-based power systems have the potential to achieve the required UUV energy densities, and the current study explores how SOFCs based on gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) electrolytes with operating temperatures of 650°C and lower may operate in the unique environments of a promising UUV power plant. The plant would contain a H 2O2 decomposition reactor to supply humidified O2 to the SOFC cathode and exothermic aluminum/H2O combustor to provide heated humidified H2 fuel to the anode. To characterize low-temperature SOFC performance with these unique O2 and H2 source, SOFC button cells based on nickel/GDC (Gd0.1Ce0.9O 1.95) anodes, GDC electrolytes, and lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite (La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ or LSCF)/GDC cathodes were fabricated and tested for performance and stability with humidity on both the anode and the cathode. Cells were also tested with various reactant concentrations of H2 and O2 to simulate gas depletion down the channel of an SOFC stack. Results showed that anode performance depended primarily on fuel concentration and less on the concentration of the associated increase in product H2O. O 2 depletion with humidified cathode flows also caused significant loss in cell current density at a given voltage. With the humidified flows in either the anode or cathode, stability tests of the button cells at 650 °C showed stable voltage is maintained at low operating current (0.17 A/cm2) at up to 50 % by mole H2O, but at higher current densities (0.34 A/cm2), irreversible voltage degradation occurred at rates of 0.8-3.7 mV/hour depending on exposure time. From these button cell results, estimated average current densities over the length of a low-temperature SOFC stack were estimated and used to size a UUV power system based on Al/H 2O oxidation for fuel and H2O2 decomposition for O2. The resulting system design suggested that energy densities above 300 Wh/L may be achieved at neutral buoyancy with seawater if the cell is operated at high reactant utilizations in the SOFC stack for missions longer than 20 hours.

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

NREL developed a modeling and experimental strategy to characterize thermal performance of materials. The technique provides critical data on thermal properties with relevance for electronics packaging applications. Thermal contact resistance and bulk thermal conductivity were characterized for new high-performance materials such as thermoplastics, boron-nitride nanosheets, copper nanowires, and atomically bonded layers. The technique is an important tool for developing designs and materials that enable power electronics packaging with small footprint, high power density, and low cost for numerous applications.

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.

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.

Ni2P Makes Application of the PtRu Catalyst Much Stronger in Direct Methanol Fuel Cells.

PubMed

Chang, Jinfa; Feng, Ligang; Liu, Changpeng; Xing, Wei

2015-10-12

PtRu is regarded as the best catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells, but the performance decay resulting from the loss of Ru seriously hinders commercial applications. Herein, we demonstrated that the presence of Ni2 P largely reduces Ru loss, which thus makes the application of PtRu much stronger in direct methanol fuel cells. Outstanding catalytic activity and stability were observed by cyclic voltammetry. Upon integrating the catalyst material into a practical direct methanol fuel cell, the highest maximum power density was achieved on the PtRu-Ni2P/C catalyst among the reference catalysts at different temperatures. A maximum power density of 69.9 mW cm(-2) at 30 °C was obtained on PtRu-Ni2P/C, which is even higher than the power density of the state-of-the-art commercial PtRu catalyst at 70 °C (63.1 mW cm(-2)). Moreover, decay in the performance resulting from Ru loss was greatly reduced owing to the presence of Ni2 P, which is indicative of very promising applications. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Evaluation of single and stack membraneless enzymatic fuel cells based on ethanol in simulated body fluids.

PubMed

Galindo-de-la-Rosa, J; Arjona, N; Moreno-Zuria, A; Ortiz-Ortega, E; Guerra-Balcázar, M; Ledesma-García, J; Arriaga, L G

2017-06-15

The purpose of this work is to evaluate single and double-cell membraneless microfluidic fuel cells (MMFCs) that operate in the presence of simulated body fluids SBF, human serum and blood enriched with ethanol as fuels. The study was performed using the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme immobilised by covalent binding through an array composed of carbon Toray paper as support and a layer of poly(methylene blue)/tetrabutylammonium bromide/Nafion and glutaraldehyde (3D bioanode electrode). The single MMFC was tested in a hybrid microfluidic fuel cell using Pt/C as the cathode. A cell voltage of 1.035V and power density of 3.154mWcm -2 were observed, which is the highest performance reported to date. The stability and durability were tested through chronoamperometry and polarisation/performance curves obtained at different days, which demonstrated a slow decrease in the power density on day 10 (14%) and day 20 (26%). Additionally, the cell was tested for ethanol oxidation in simulated body fluid (SBF) with ionic composition similar to human blood plasma. Those tests resulted in 0.93V of cell voltage and a power density close to 1.237mWcm -2 . The double cell MMFC (Stack) was tested using serum and human blood enriched with ethanol. The stack operated with blood in a serial connection showed an excellent cell performance (0.716mWcm -2 ), demonstrating the feasibility of employing human blood as energy source. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Nonaqueous Potassium-Based Battery-Supercapacitor Hybrid Device.

PubMed

Fan, Ling; Lin, Kairui; Wang, Jue; Ma, Ruifang; Lu, Bingan

2018-05-01

A low cost nonaqueous potassium-based battery-supercapacitor hybrid device (BSH) is successfully established for the first time with soft carbon as the anode, commercialized activated carbon as the cathode, and potassium bis(fluoro-slufonyl)imide in dimethyl ether as the electrolyte. This BSH reconciles the advantages of potassium ion batteries and supercapacitors, achieving a high energy density of 120 W h kg -1 , a high power density of 599 W kg -1 , a long cycle life of 1500 cycles, and an ultrafast charge/slow discharge performance (energy density and power density are calculated based on the total mass of active materials in the anode and cathode). This work demonstrates a great potential of applying the nonaqueous BSH for low cost electric energy storage systems. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High-Energy/Power and Low-Temperature Cathode for Sodium-Ion Batteries: In Situ XRD Study and Superior Full-Cell Performance.

PubMed

Guo, Jin-Zhi; Wang, Peng-Fei; Wu, Xing-Long; Zhang, Xiao-Hua; Yan, Qingyu; Chen, Hong; Zhang, Jing-Ping; Guo, Yu-Guo

2017-09-01

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are still confronted with several major challenges, including low energy and power densities, short-term cycle life, and poor low-temperature performance, which severely hinder their practical applications. Here, a high-voltage cathode composed of Na 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 2 O 2 F nano-tetraprisms (NVPF-NTP) is proposed to enhance the energy density of SIBs. The prepared NVPF-NTP exhibits two high working plateaux at about 4.01 and 3.60 V versus the Na + /Na with a specific capacity of 127.8 mA h g -1 . The energy density of NVPF-NTP reaches up to 486 W h kg -1 , which is higher than the majority of other cathode materials previously reported for SIBs. Moreover, due to the low strain (≈2.56% volumetric variation) and superior Na transport kinetics in Na intercalation/extraction processes, as demonstrated by in situ X-ray diffraction, galvanostatic intermittent titration technique, and cyclic voltammetry at varied scan rates, the NVPF-NTP shows long-term cycle life, superior low-temperature performance, and outstanding high-rate capabilities. The comparison of Ragone plots further discloses that NVPF-NTP presents the best power performance among the state-of-the-art cathode materials for SIBs. More importantly, when coupled with an Sb-based anode, the fabricated sodium-ion full-cells also exhibit excellent rate and cycling performances, thus providing a preview of their practical application. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Improving performance of MFC by design alteration and adding cathodic electrolytes.

PubMed

Jadhav, G S; Ghangrekar, M M

2008-12-01

Performance of two microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was investigated under batch and continuous mode of operation using different cathodic electrolyte. The wastewater was supplied from the bottom port provided to the anode chamber in both the MFCs and the effluent left the anode chamber from the top port in MFC-1, whereas in MFC-2, the effluent exit was provided close to membrane. Stainless steel (SS) mesh anode was used in both the MFCs with surface area of 167 and 100 cm(2) in MFC-1 and MFC-2, respectively. Under batch mode and continuous mode of operation, these MFCs gave chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency more than 85% and about 68%, respectively. Under batch mode of operation, maximum power density of 39.95 and 56.87 mW/m(2) and maximum current density of 180.83 and 295 mA/m(2) were obtained in MFC-1 and MFC-2, respectively. Under continuous mode of operation, a reduction in power and current density was observed. Even with less surface area of the anode, MFC-2 produced more current (1.77 mA) than MFC-1 (1.40 mA). Among the cathodic electrolyte tested, these can be listed in decreasing order of power density as aerated KMnO(4) solution > KMnO(4) solution without aeration > aerated tap water > aerated tap water with NaCl.

Two-dimensional AXUV-based radiated power density diagnostics on NSTX-Ua)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faust, I.; Delgado-Aparicio, L.; Bell, R. E.; Tritz, K.; Diallo, A.; Gerhardt, S. P.; LeBlanc, B.; Kozub, T. A.; Parker, R. R.; Stratton, B. C.

2014-11-01

A new set of radiated-power-density diagnostics for the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) tokamak have been designed to measure the two-dimensional poloidal structure of the total photon emissivity profile in order to perform power balance, impurity transport, and magnetohydrodynamic studies. Multiple AXUV-diode based pinhole cameras will be installed in the same toroidal angle at various poloidal locations. The local emissivity will be obtained from several types of tomographic reconstructions. The layout and response expected for the new radially viewing poloidal arrays will be shown for different impurity concentrations to characterize the diagnostic sensitivity. The radiated power profile inverted from the array data will also be used for estimates of power losses during transitions from various divertor configurations in NSTX-U. The effect of in-out and top/bottom asymmetries in the core radiation from high-Z impurities will be addressed.

Two-dimensional AXUV-based radiated power density diagnostics on NSTX-U.

PubMed

Faust, I; Delgado-Aparicio, L; Bell, R E; Tritz, K; Diallo, A; Gerhardt, S P; LeBlanc, B; Kozub, T A; Parker, R R; Stratton, B C

2014-11-01

A new set of radiated-power-density diagnostics for the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade (NSTX-U) tokamak have been designed to measure the two-dimensional poloidal structure of the total photon emissivity profile in order to perform power balance, impurity transport, and magnetohydrodynamic studies. Multiple AXUV-diode based pinhole cameras will be installed in the same toroidal angle at various poloidal locations. The local emissivity will be obtained from several types of tomographic reconstructions. The layout and response expected for the new radially viewing poloidal arrays will be shown for different impurity concentrations to characterize the diagnostic sensitivity. The radiated power profile inverted from the array data will also be used for estimates of power losses during transitions from various divertor configurations in NSTX-U. The effect of in-out and top/bottom asymmetries in the core radiation from high-Z impurities will be addressed.

Application of the monolithic solid oxide fuel cell to space power systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myles, Kevin M.; Bhattacharyya, Samit K.

1991-01-01

The monolithic solid-oxide fuel cell (MSOFC) is a promising electrochemical power generation device that is currently under development at Argonne National Laboratory. The extremely high power density of the MSOFC leads to MSOFC systems that have sufficiently high energy densities that they are excellent candidates for a number of space missions. The fuel cell can also be operated in reverse, if it can be coupled to an external power source, to regenerate the fuel and oxidant from the water product. This feature further enhances the potential mission applications of the MSOFC. In this paper, the current status of the fuel cell development is presented—the focus being on fabrication and currently achievable performance. In addition, a specific example of a space power system, featuring a liquid metal cooled fast spectrum nuclear reactor and a monolithic solid oxide fuel cell, is presented to demonstrate the features of an integrated system.

Electrochemical behaviour of manganese & ruthenium mixed oxide@ reduced graphene oxide nanoribbon composite in symmetric and asymmetric supercapacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahuja, Preety; Ujjain, Sanjeev Kumar; Kanojia, Rajni

2018-01-01

This paper reports the interaction of 3d-4d transition metal mixed oxide as simultaneous existence of M(3d) and M(4d) expectedly enhance the electrochemical performance of the resulting composite. Electrochemical performance of MnO2-RuO2 nanoflakes reduced graphene oxide nanoribbon composite (MnO2-RuO2@GNR) is intensively explored in symmetric and asymmetric supercapacitor assembly. In situ incorporation of graphene oxide nanoribbon (GONR) during synthesis provides efficient binding sites for growth of MnO2-RuO2 nanoflakes via their surface functionalities. The interconnected MnO2-RuO2 nanoflakes via GNR form a network with enhanced diffusion kinetics leading to efficient supercapacitor performance. Fabricated asymmetric supercapacitor reveals energy density 60 Wh kg-1 at power density 14 kW kg-1. Based on the analysis of impedance data in terms of complex power, quick response time of supercapacitor reveals excellent power delivery of the device. Improved cycling stability after 7000 charge discharge cycles for symmetric and asymmetric supercapacitor highlights the buffering action of GNR and can be generalized for next generation high performance supercapacitor.

Performance testing of supercapacitors: Important issues and uncertainties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jingyuan; Gao, Yinghan; Burke, Andrew F.

2017-09-01

Supercapacitors are a promising technology for high power energy storage, which have been used in some industrial and vehicles applications. Hence, it is important that information concerning the performance of supercapacitors be detailed and reliable so system designers can make rational decisions regarding the selection of the energy storage components. This paper is concerned with important issues and uncertainties regarding the performance testing of supercapacitors. The effect of different test procedures on the measured characteristics of both commercial and prototype supercapacitors including hybrid supercapacitors have been studied. It was found that the test procedure has a relatively minor effect on the capacitance of carbon/carbon devices and a more significant effect on the capacitance of hybrid supercapacitors. The device characteristic with the greatest uncertainty is the resistance and subsequently the claimed power capability of the device. The energy density should be measured by performing constant power discharges between appropriate voltage limits. This is particularly important in the case of hybrid supercapacitors for which the energy density is rate dependent and the simple relationship E = ½CV2 does not yield accurate estimates of the energy stored. In general, most of the important issues for testing carbon/carbon devices become more serious for hybrid supercapacitors.

Toward high-energy-density, high-efficiency, and moderate-temperature chip-scale thermophotovoltaics

PubMed Central

Chan, Walker R.; Bermel, Peter; Pilawa-Podgurski, Robert C. N.; Marton, Christopher H.; Jensen, Klavs F.; Senkevich, Jay J.; Joannopoulos, John D.; Soljačić, Marin; Celanovic, Ivan

2013-01-01

The challenging problem of ultra-high-energy-density, high-efficiency, and small-scale portable power generation is addressed here using a distinctive thermophotovoltaic energy conversion mechanism and chip-based system design, which we name the microthermophotovoltaic (μTPV) generator. The approach is predicted to be capable of up to 32% efficient heat-to-electricity conversion within a millimeter-scale form factor. Although considerable technological barriers need to be overcome to reach full performance, we have performed a robust experimental demonstration that validates the theoretical framework and the key system components. Even with a much-simplified μTPV system design with theoretical efficiency prediction of 2.7%, we experimentally demonstrate 2.5% efficiency. The μTPV experimental system that was built and tested comprises a silicon propane microcombustor, an integrated high-temperature photonic crystal selective thermal emitter, four 0.55-eV GaInAsSb thermophotovoltaic diodes, and an ultra-high-efficiency maximum power-point tracking power electronics converter. The system was demonstrated to operate up to 800 °C (silicon microcombustor temperature) with an input thermal power of 13.7 W, generating 344 mW of electric power over a 1-cm2 area. PMID:23440220

Si@void@C Nanofibers Fabricated Using a Self-Powered Electrospinning System for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Han, Yu; Zou, Jingdian; Li, Zhen; Wang, Wenqiang; Jie, Yang; Ma, Jinming; Tang, Bin; Zhang, Qi; Cao, Xia; Xu, Shengming; Wang, Zhong Lin

2018-05-22

In recent years, research in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been focused on improving their performance in various ways, such as density, capacity, and lifetime, but little attention has been paid to the energy consumption cost in the manufacturing process. Herein, we report an energy-efficient preparation method of anode materials for LIBs based on a self-powered electrospinning system without an external power source, which consists of a rotatory triboelectric nanogenerator (r-TENG), a power management circuit, and an electrospinning unit. By harvesting kinetic energy from a handle rotation, the r-TENG is able to fully power the electrospinning system to fabricate nanofibers for LIBs. The as-obtained Si@void@C nanofibers present outstanding cyclic performance with a discharge capacity of 1045.2 mA h g -1 after 100 cycles and 88% capacity retention, along with an excellent high rate capacity of 400 mA h g -1 at a current density of 5 A g -1 , which are completely comparable with those made by commercial electrospinning equipment. Our study demonstrates an innovative and distinct approach toward an extremely low-cost preparation procedure of electrode materials, leading to a great breakthrough for the LIB production industry.

A High-Performance Lithium-Ion Capacitor Based on 2D Nanosheet Materials.

PubMed

Li, Shaohui; Chen, Jingwei; Cui, Mengqi; Cai, Guofa; Wang, Jiangxin; Cui, Peng; Gong, Xuefei; Lee, Pooi See

2017-02-01

Lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) are promising electrical energy storage systems for mid-to-large-scale applications due to the high energy and large power output without sacrificing long cycle stability. However, due to the different energy storage mechanisms between anode and cathode, the energy densities of LICs often degrade noticeably at high power density, because of the sluggish kinetics limitation at the battery-type anode side. Herein, a high-performance LIC by well-defined ZnMn 2 O 4 -graphene hybrid nanosheets anode and N-doped carbon nanosheets cathode is presented. The 2D nanomaterials offer high specific surface areas in favor of a fast ion transport and storage with shortened ion diffusion length, enabling fast charge and discharge. The fabricated LIC delivers a high specific energy of 202.8 Wh kg -1 at specific power of 180 W kg -1 , and the specific energy remains 98 Wh kg -1 even when the specific power achieves as high as 21 kW kg -1 . © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Compendium of Phase-I Mini-SHINE Experiments

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

Youker, Amanda J.; Chemerisov, Sergey D.; Tkac, Peter

Argonne National Laboratory is assisting SHINE Medical Technologies in their efforts to develop the technology to become a domestic Mo-99 producer using low-enriched uranium (LEU). Mini-SHINE experiments are being performed with the high-current electron linear accelerator (linac) at Argonne. The target solution is a 90-150 g-U/L LEU uranyl sulfate at pH 1. In Phase 1, the convertor was tantalum with a maximum beam power on the convertor of 10 kW, and the target solution was limited to 5 L. This configuration generated a peak fission power density of 0.05 W/mL. Nine experiments were performed between February and October 2015. Resultsmore » are reported and discussed for each experiment regarding the off-gas analysis system, the sampling and Mo-recovery operation, and the Mo-product concentration and purification system. In Phase 2, the convertor will be depleted uranium; beam power will increase to 20 kW; and the solution volume will be 18 L. This configuration will generate a fission power density of up to 1 W/mL.« less

A novel approach to detect respiratory phases from pulmonary acoustic signals using normalised power spectral density and fuzzy inference system.

PubMed

Palaniappan, Rajkumar; Sundaraj, Kenneth; Sundaraj, Sebastian; Huliraj, N; Revadi, S S

2016-07-01

Monitoring respiration is important in several medical applications. One such application is respiratory rate monitoring in patients with sleep apnoea. The respiratory rate in patients with sleep apnoea disorder is irregular compared with the controls. Respiratory phase detection is required for a proper monitoring of respiration in patients with sleep apnoea. To develop a model to detect the respiratory phases present in the pulmonary acoustic signals and to evaluate the performance of the model in detecting the respiratory phases. Normalised averaged power spectral density for each frame and change in normalised averaged power spectral density between the adjacent frames were fuzzified and fuzzy rules were formulated. The fuzzy inference system (FIS) was developed with both Mamdani and Sugeno methods. To evaluate the performance of both Mamdani and Sugeno methods, correlation coefficient and root mean square error (RMSE) were calculated. In the correlation coefficient analysis in evaluating the fuzzy model using Mamdani and Sugeno method, the strength of the correlation was found to be r = 0.9892 and r = 0.9964, respectively. The RMSE for Mamdani and Sugeno methods are RMSE = 0.0853 and RMSE = 0.0817, respectively. The correlation coefficient and the RMSE of the proposed fuzzy models in detecting the respiratory phases reveals that Sugeno method performs better compared with the Mamdani method. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Super-hierarchical porous carbons derived from mixed biomass wastes by a stepwise removal strategy for high-performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Lin; Liang, Yeru; Dong, Hanwu; Hu, Hang; Zhao, Xiao; Cai, Yijing; Xiao, Yong; Liu, Yingliang; Zheng, Mingtao

2018-02-01

The synthesis and energy storage application of hierarchical porous carbons with size ranging from nano-to micrometres has attracted considerable attention all over the world. Exploring eco-friendly and reliable synthesis of hierarchical porous carbons for supercapacitors with high energy density and high power is still of ongoing challenge. In this work, we report the design and synthesis of super-hierarchical porous carbons with highly developed porosity by a stepwise removal strategy for high-rate supercapacitors. The mixed biomass wastes of coconut shell and sewage sludge are employed as raw material. The as-prepared super-hierarchical porous carbons present high surface areas (3003 m2 g-1), large pore volume (2.04 cm3 g-1), appropriate porosity, and outstanding electrochemical performance. The dependence of electrochemical performance on structural, textural, and functional properties of carbons engineered by various synthesis strategies is investigated in detail. Moreover, the as-assembled symmetrical supercapacitor exhibits high energy density of 25.4 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 225 W kg-1 and retains 20.7 Wh kg-1 even at a very high power of 9000 W kg-1. This work provides an environmentally benign strategy and new insights to efficiently regulate the porosity of hierarchical porous carbons derived from biomass wastes for energy storage applications.

Synthesis of Three-Dimensional Nanoporous Li-Rich Layered Cathode Oxides for High Volumetric and Power Energy Density Lithium-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Qiu, Bao; Yin, Chong; Xia, Yonggao; Liu, Zhaoping

2017-02-01

As rechargeable Li-ion batteries have expanded their applications into on-board energy storage for electric vehicles, the energy and power must be increased to meet the new demands. Li-rich layered oxides are one of the most promising candidate materials; however, it is very difficult to make them compatible with high volumetric energy density and power density. Here, we develop an innovative approach to synthesize three-dimensional (3D) nanoporous Li-rich layered oxides Li[Li 0.144 Ni 0.136 Co 0.136 Mn 0.544 ]O 2 , directly occurring at deep chemical delithiation with carbon dioxide. It is found that the as-prepared material presents a micrometer-sized spherical structure that is typically composed of interconnected nanosized subunits with narrow distributed pores at 3.6 nm. As a result, this unique 3D micro-/nanostructure not only has a high tap density over 2.20 g cm -3 but also exhibits excellent rate capability (197.6 mA h g -1 at 1250 mA g -1 ) as an electrode. The excellent electrochemical performance is ascribed to the unique nanoporous micro-nanostructures, which facilitates the Li + diffusion and enhances the structural stability of the Li-rich layered cathode materials. Our work offers a comprehensive designing strategy to construct 3D nanoporous Li-rich layered oxides for both high volumetric energy density and power density in Li-ion batteries.

Fuel Cells for Space Science Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burke, Kenneth A.

2003-01-01

Fuel cell technology has been receiving more attention recently as a possible alternative to the internal combustion engine for our automobile. Improvements in fuel cell designs as well as improvements in lightweight high-pressure gas storage tank technology make fuel cell technology worth a look to see if fuel cells can play a more expanded role in space missions. This study looks at the specific weight density and specific volume density of potential fuel cell systems as an alternative to primary and secondary batteries that have traditionally been used for space missions. This preliminary study indicates that fuel cell systems have the potential for energy densities of greater than 500 W-hr/kg, greater than 500W/kg and greater than 400 W-hr/liter, greater than 200 W/liter. This level of performance makes fuel cells attractive as high-power density, high-energy density sources for space science probes, planetary rovers and other payloads. The power requirements for these space missions are, in general, much lower than the power levels where fuel cells have been used in the past. Adaptation of fuel cells for space science missions will require down-sizing the fuel cell stack and making the fuel cell operate without significant amounts of ancillary equipment.

High-Performance Microsupercapacitors Based on Bioinspired Graphene Microfibers.

PubMed

Pan, Hui; Wang, Dawei; Peng, Qingfa; Ma, Jun; Meng, Xin; Zhang, Yaopeng; Ma, Yuning; Zhu, Shenmin; Zhang, Di

2018-03-28

The miniaturization of portable electronic devices has fueled the development of microsupercapacitors that hold great potential to complement or even replace microbatteries and electrolytic capacitors. In spite of recent developments taking advantage of printing and lithography, it remains a great challenge to attain a high energy density without sacrificing the power density. Herein, a new protocol mimicking the spider's spinning process is developed to create highly oriented microfibers from graphene-based composites via a purpose-designed microfluidic chip. The orientation provides the microfibers with an electrical conductivity of ∼3 × 10 4 S m -1 , which leads to a high power density; the energy density is sustained by nanocarbons and high-purity metallic molybdenum disulfide. The microfibers are patterned in-plane to fabricate asymmetric microsupercapacitors for flexible and on-chip energy storage. The on-chip microsupercapacitor with a high pattern resolution of 100 μm delivers energy density up to the order of 10 -2 W h cm -3 and retains an ultrahigh power density exceeding 100 W cm -3 in an aqueous electrolyte. This work provides new design of flexible and on-chip asymmetric microsupercapacitors based on microfibers. The unique biomimetic microfluidic fabrication of graphene microfibers for energy storage may also stimulate thinking of the bionic design in many other fields.

Direct synthesis of highly porous interconnected carbon nanosheets and their application as high-performance supercapacitors.

PubMed

Sevilla, Marta; Fuertes, Antonio B

2014-05-27

An easy, one-step procedure is proposed for the synthesis of highly porous carbon nanosheets with an excellent performance as supercapacitor electrodes. The procedure is based on the carbonization of an organic salt, i.e., potassium citrate, at a temperature in the 750-900 °C range. In this way, carbon particles made up of interconnected carbon nanosheets with a thickness of <80 nm are obtained. The porosity of the carbon nanosheets consists essentially of micropores distributed in two pore systems of 0.7-0.85 nm and 0.95-1.6 nm. Importantly, the micropore sizes of both systems can be enlarged by simply increasing the carbonization temperature. Furthermore, the carbon nanosheets possess BET surface areas in the ∼1400-2200 m(2) g(-1) range and electronic conductivities in the range of 1.7-7.4 S cm(-1) (measured at 7.1 MPa). These materials behave as high-performance supercapacitor electrodes in organic electrolyte and exhibit an excellent power handling ability and a superb robustness over long-term cycling. Excellent results were obtained with the supercapacitor fabricated from the material synthesized at 850 °C in terms of both gravimetric and volumetric energy and power densities. This device was able to deliver ∼13 Wh kg(-1) (5.2 Wh L(-1)) at an extremely high power density of 78 kW kg(-1) (31 kW L(-1)) and ∼30 Wh kg(-1) (12 Wh L(-1)) at a power density of 13 kW kg(-1) (5.2 kW L(-1)) (voltage range of 2.7 V).

Design rules and reality check for carbon-based ultracapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eisenmann, Erhard T.

1995-04-01

Design criteria for carbon-based Ultracapacitors have been determined for specified energy and power requirements, using the geometry of the components and such material properties as density, porosity and conductivity as parameters, while also considering chemical compatibility. This analysis shows that the weights of active and inactive components of the capacitor structure must be carefully balanced for maximum energy and power density. When applied to nonaqueous electrolytes, the design rules for a 5 Wh/kg device call for porous carbon with a specific capacitance of about 30 F/cu cm. This performance is not achievable with pure, electrostatic double layer capacitance. Double layer capacitance is only 5 to 30% of that observed in aqueous electrolyte. Tests also showed that nonaqueous electrolytes have a diminished capability to access micropores in activated carbon, in one case yielding a capacitance of less than 1 F/cu cm for carbon that had 100 F/cu cm in aqueous electrolyte. With negative results on nonaqueous electrolytes dominating the present study, the obvious conclusion is to concentrate on aqueous systems. Only aqueous double layer capacitors offer adequate electrostatic charging characteristics which is the basis for high power performance. There arc many opportunities for further advancing aqueous double layer capacitors, one being the use of highly activated carbon films, as opposed to powders, fibers and foams. While the manufacture of carbon films is still costly, and while the energy and power density of the resulting devices may not meet the optimistic goals that have been proposed, this technology could produce true double layer capacitors with significantly improved performance and large commercial potential.

Design definition of a mechanical capacitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Michaelis, T. D.; Schlieban, E. W.; Scott, R. D.

1977-01-01

A design study and analyses of a 10 kW-hr, 15 kW mechanical capacitor system was studied. It was determined that magnetically supported wheels constructed of advanced composites have the potential for high energy density and high power density. Structural concepts are analyzed that yield the highest energy density of any structural design yet reported. Particular attention was paid to the problem of 'friction' caused by magnetic and I to the second power R losses in the suspension and motor-generator subsystems, and low design friction levels have been achieved. The potentially long shelf life of this system, and the absence of wearing parts, provide superior performance over conventional flywheels supported with mechanical bearings. Costs and economies of energy storage wheels were reviewed briefly.

Combined carbon mesh and small graphite fiber brush anodes to enhance and stabilize power generation in microbial fuel cells treating domestic wastewater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Shijia; He, Weihua; Yang, Wulin; Ye, Yaoli; Huang, Xia; Logan, Bruce E.

2017-07-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) need to have a compact architecture, but power generation using low strength domestic wastewater is unstable for closely-spaced electrode designs using thin anodes (flat mesh or small diameter graphite fiber brushes) due to oxygen crossover from the cathode. A composite anode configuration was developed to improve performance, by joining the mesh and brushes together, with the mesh used to block oxygen crossover to the brushes, and the brushes used to stabilize mesh potentials. In small, fed-batch MFCs (28 mL), the composite anode produced 20% higher power densities than MFCs using only brushes, and 150% power densities compared to carbon mesh anodes. In continuous flow tests at short hydraulic retention times (HRTs, 2 or 4 h) using larger MFCs (100 mL), composite anodes had stable performance, while brush anode MFCs exhibited power overshoot in polarization tests. Both configurations exhibited power overshoot at a longer HRT of 8 h due to lower effluent CODs. The use of composite anodes reduced biomass growth on the cathode (1.9 ± 0.2 mg) compared to only brushes (3.1 ± 0.3 mg), and increased coulombic efficiencies, demonstrating that they successfully reduced oxygen contamination of the anode and the bio-fouling of cathode.

Transforming Pristine Carbon Fiber Tows into High Performance Solid-State Fiber Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Yu, Dingshan; Zhai, Shengli; Jiang, Wenchao; Goh, Kunli; Wei, Li; Chen, Xudong; Jiang, Rongrong; Chen, Yuan

2015-09-02

A facile activation strategy can transform pristine carbon fiber tows into high-performance fiber electrodes with a specific capacitance of 14.2 F cm(-3) . The knottable fiber supercapacitor shows an energy density of 0.35 mW h cm(-3) , an ultrahigh power density of 3000 mW cm(-3) , and a remarkable capacitance retention of 68%, when the scan rate increases from 10 to 1000 mV s(-1) . © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

3D Integration for Wireless Multimedia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kimmich, Georg

The convergence of mobile phone, internet, mapping, gaming and office automation tools with high quality video and still imaging capture capability is becoming a strong market trend for portable devices. High-density video encode and decode, 3D graphics for gaming, increased application-software complexity and ultra-high-bandwidth 4G modem technologies are driving the CPU performance and memory bandwidth requirements close to the PC segment. These portable multimedia devices are battery operated, which requires the deployment of new low-power-optimized silicon process technologies and ultra-low-power design techniques at system, architecture and device level. Mobile devices also need to comply with stringent silicon-area and package-volume constraints. As for all consumer devices, low production cost and fast time-to-volume production is key for success. This chapter shows how 3D architectures can bring a possible breakthrough to meet the conflicting power, performance and area constraints. Multiple 3D die-stacking partitioning strategies are described and analyzed on their potential to improve the overall system power, performance and cost for specific application scenarios. Requirements and maturity of the basic process-technology bricks including through-silicon via (TSV) and die-to-die attachment techniques are reviewed. Finally, we highlight new challenges which will arise with 3D stacking and an outlook on how they may be addressed: Higher power density will require thermal design considerations, new EDA tools will need to be developed to cope with the integration of heterogeneous technologies and to guarantee signal and power integrity across the die stack. The silicon/wafer test strategies have to be adapted to handle high-density IO arrays, ultra-thin wafers and provide built-in self-test of attached memories. New standards and business models have to be developed to allow cost-efficient assembly and testing of devices from different silicon and technology providers.

Regenerative Performance of the NASA Symmetrical Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cable, Thomas L.; Setlock, John A.; Farmer, Serene C.; Eckel, Andy J.

2009-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center is developing both a novel cell design (BSC) and a novel ceramic fabrication technique to produce fuel cells predicted to exceed a specific power density of 1.0 kW/kg. The NASA Glenn cell design has taken a completely different approach among planar designs by removing the metal interconnect and returning to the use of a thin, doped LaCrO3 interconnect. The cell is structurally symmetrical. Both electrodes support the thin electrolyte and contain micro-channels for gas flow-- a geometry referred to as a bi-electrode supported cell or BSC. The cell characteristics have been demonstrated under both SOFC and SOE conditions. Electrolysis tests verify that this cell design operates at very high electrochemical voltage efficiencies (EVE) and high H2O conversion percentages, even at the low flow rates predicted for closed loop systems encountered in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications. For UAVs the volume, weight and the efficiency are critical as they determine the size of the water tank, the solar panel size, and other system requirements. For UAVs, regenerative solid oxide fuel cell stacks (RSOFC) use solar panels during daylight to generate power for electrolysis and then operate in fuel cell mode during the night to power the UAV and electronics. Recent studies, performed by NASA for a more electric commercial aircraft, evaluated SOFCs for auxiliary power units (APUs). System studies were also conducted for regenerative RSOFC systems. One common requirement for aerospace SOFCs and RSOFCs, determined independently in each application study, was the need for high specific power density and volume density, on the order of 1.0 kW/kg and greater than 1.0 kW/L. Until recently the best reported performance for SOFCs was 0.2 kW/kg or less for stacks. NASA Glenn is working to prototype the light weight, low volume BSC design for such high specific power aerospace applications.

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.

Calibration of ultrasonic power output in water, ethanol and sodium polytungstate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mentler, Axel; Schomakers, Jasmin; Kloss, Stefanie; Zechmeister-Boltenstern, Sophie; Schuller, Reinhard; Mayer, Herwig

2017-10-01

Ultrasonic power is the main variable that forms the basis for many soil disaggregation experiments. Thus, a procedure for the rapid determination of this variable has been developed and is described in this article. Calorimetric experiments serve to measure specific heat capacity and ultrasonic power. Ultrasonic power is determined experimentally for deionised water, 30% ethanol and sodium polytungstate with a density of 1.6 g cm-3 and 1.8 g cm-3. All experiments are performed with a pre-selected ultrasonic probe vibration amplitude. Under these conditions, it was found that the emitted ultrasonic power was comparable in the four fluids. It is suggested, however, to perform calibration experiments prior to dispersion experiments, since the used fluid, as well as the employed ultrasonic equipment, may influence the power output.

A Porphyrin Complex as a Self-Conditioned Electrode Material for High-Performance Energy Storage.

PubMed

Gao, Ping; Chen, Zhi; Zhao-Karger, Zhirong; Mueller, Jonathan E; Jung, Christoph; Klyatskaya, Svetlana; Diemant, Thomas; Fuhr, Olaf; Jacob, Timo; Behm, R Jürgen; Ruben, Mario; Fichtner, Maximilian

2017-08-21

The novel functionalized porphyrin [5,15-bis(ethynyl)-10,20-diphenylporphinato]copper(II) (CuDEPP) was used as electrodes for rechargeable energy-storage systems with an extraordinary combination of storage capacity, rate capability, and cycling stability. The ability of CuDEPP to serve as an electron donor or acceptor supports various energy-storage applications. Combined with a lithium negative electrode, the CuDEPP electrode exhibited a long cycle life of several thousand cycles and fast charge-discharge rates up to 53 C and a specific energy density of 345 Wh kg -1 at a specific power density of 29 kW kg -1 . Coupled with a graphite cathode, the CuDEPP anode delivered a specific power density of 14 kW kg -1 . Whereas the capacity is in the range of that of ordinary lithium-ion batteries, the CuDEPP electrode has a power density in the range of that of supercapacitors, thus opening a pathway toward new organic electrodes with excellent rate capability and cyclic stability. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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.

Proton-conducting Micro-solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Improved Cathode Reactions by a Nanoscale Thin Film Gadolinium-doped Ceria Interlayer

PubMed Central

Li, Yong; Wang, Shijie; Su, Pei-Chen

2016-01-01

An 8 nm-thick gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) layer was inserted as a cathodic interlayer between the nanoscale proton-conducting yttrium-doped barium zirconate (BZY) electrolyte and the porous platinum cathode of a micro-solid oxide fuel cell (μ-SOFC), which has effectively improved the cathode reaction kinetics and rendered high cell power density. The addition of the GDC interlayer significantly reduced the cathodic activation loss and increased the peak power density of the μ-SOFC by 33% at 400 °C. The peak power density reached 445 mW/cm2 at 425 °C, which is the highest among the reported μ-SOFCs using proton-conducting electrolytes. The impressive performance was attributed to the mixed protonic and oxygen ionic conducting properties of the nano-granular GDC, and also to the high densities of grain boundaries and lattice defects in GDC interlayer that favored the oxygen incorporation and transportation during the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the water evolution reaction at cathode. PMID:26928192

Pitting and Bending Fatigue Evaluations of a New Case-Carburized Gear Steel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krantz, Timothy; Tufts, Brian

2007-01-01

The power density of a gearbox is an important consideration for many applications and is especially important for gearboxes used on aircraft. One approach to improving power density of gearing is to improve the steel properties by design of the alloy. The alloy tested in this work was designed to be case-carburized with surface hardness of Rockwell C66 after hardening. Test gear performance was evaluated using surface fatigue tests and single-tooth bending fatigue tests. The performance of gears made from the new alloy was compared to the performance of gears made from two alloys currently used for aviation gearing. The new alloy exhibited significantly better performance in surface fatigue testing, demonstrating the value of the improved properties in the case layer. However, the alloy exhibited lesser performance in single-tooth bending fatigue testing. The fracture toughness of the tested gears was insufficient for use in aircraft applications as judged by the behavior exhibited during the single tooth bending tests. This study quantified the performance of the new alloy and has provided guidance for the design and development of next generation gear steels.

Electrochemical Performance of Glucose/Oxygen Biofuel Cells Based on Carbon Nanostructures.

PubMed

Koo, Min-Hye; Das, Gautam; Yoon, Hyon Hee

2016-03-01

The electrochemical performance of glucose/oxygen biofuel cells based on carbon nanostructures was investigated in the present study. Different types of carbon nanomaterials, including multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), functionalized MWCNT (f-MWCNT), carbon nanofibers (CNF), and functionalized CNF (f-CNF) were examined for electrode fabrications. The anode for glucose/oxygen biofuel cells were prepared by sequential coating of carbon nanomaterials, charge transfer complex (CTC), glucose oxidase (GOx) and nafion membrane. The anode was then integrated with a bilirubin oxidase-immobilized cathode for the biofuel cell test. It was found that the electrochemical performance of the enzyme electrodes was remarkably enhanced by the amalgamation of carbon nanomaterials with the CTC. The biofuel cell with anode comprising of f-CNF and the cathode with MWCNT exhibited the best electrochemical performance with a maximum power density of 210 μW/cm2 at a cell voltage of 0.44 V for 20 mM glucose concentration, which is comparable with the best power density value reported earlier.

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

Ferrario, Lorenzo, E-mail: lorenzo.ferrario@polimi.it; Little, Justin M., E-mail: jml@princeton.edu; Choueiri, Edgar Y., E-mail: choueiri@princeton.edu

The plasma flow in a finite-electron-temperature magnetic nozzle, under the influence of an applied azimuthal current at the throat, is modeled analytically to assess its propulsive performance. A correction to the nozzle throat boundary conditions is derived by modifying the radial equilibrium of a magnetized infinite two-population cylindrical plasma column with the insertion of an external azimuthal body force for the electrons. Inclusion of finite-temperature effects, which leads to a modification of the radial density profile, is necessary for calculating the propulsive performance, which is represented by nozzle divergence efficiency and thrust coefficient. The solutions show that the application ofmore » the azimuthal current enhances all the calculated performance parameters through the narrowing of the radial density profile at the throat, and that investing power in this beam focusing effect is more effective than using the same power to pre-heat the electrons. The results open the possibility for the design of a focusing stage between the plasma source and the nozzle that can significantly enhance the propulsive performance of electron-driven magnetic nozzles.« less

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

[Electricity generation from sweet potato fuel ethanol wastewater using microbial fuel cell technology].

PubMed

Cai, Xiao-Bo; Yang, Yi; Sun, Yan-Ping; Zhang, Liang; Xiao, Yao; Zhao, Hai

2010-10-01

Air cathode microbial fuel cell (MFC) were investigated for electricity production from sweet potato fuel ethanol wastewater containing 5000 mg/L of chemical oxygen demand (COD). Maximum power density of 334.1 mW/m2, coulombic efficiency (CE) of 10.1% and COD removal efficiency of 92.2% were approached. The effect of phosphate buffer solution (PBS) and COD concentration on the performance of MFC was further examined. The addition of PBS from 50 mmol/L to 200 mmol/L increased the maximum power density and CE by 33.4% and 26.0%, respectively. However, the COD removal efficiency was not relative to PBS concentration in the wastewater. When the COD increased from 625 mg/L to 10 000 mg/L, the maximum value of COD removal efficiency and the maximum power density were gained at the wastewater strength of 5 000 mg/L. But the CE ranged from 28.9% to 10.3% with a decreasing trend. These results demonstrate that sweet potato fuel ethanol wastewater can be used for electricity generation in MFC while at the same time achieving wastewater treatment. The increasing of PBS concentration can improve the power generation of MFC. The maximum power density of MFC increases with the rise of COD concentration, but the electricity generation will decrease for the acidification of high wastewater concentration.

Supervised segmentation of microelectrode recording artifacts using power spectral density.

PubMed

Bakstein, Eduard; Schneider, Jakub; Sieger, Tomas; Novak, Daniel; Wild, Jiri; Jech, Robert

2015-08-01

Appropriate detection of clean signal segments in extracellular microelectrode recordings (MER) is vital for maintaining high signal-to-noise ratio in MER studies. Existing alternatives to manual signal inspection are based on unsupervised change-point detection. We present a method of supervised MER artifact classification, based on power spectral density (PSD) and evaluate its performance on a database of 95 labelled MER signals. The proposed method yielded test-set accuracy of 90%, which was close to the accuracy of annotation (94%). The unsupervised methods achieved accuracy of about 77% on both training and testing data.

Cycling and floating performance of symmetric supercapacitor derived from coconut shell biomass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barzegar, Farshad; Khaleed, Abubakar A.; Ugbo, Faith U.; Oyeniran, Kabir O.; Momodu, Damilola Y.; Bello, Abdulhakeem; Dangbegnon, Julien K.; Manyala, Ncholu

2016-11-01

This work present two-step synthesizes route to low-cost mesoporous carbon from coconut shell. The electrochemical characterization of the coconut shell based activated carbon (CSAC) material as electrode for supercapacitor showed a specific capacitance of 186 F g-1, energy density of ˜11 Wh kg-1 and power density of 325 W kg-1 at a 0.5 A g-1 with an excellent stability after floating for 100 h and cycling for 10000 cycles in polymer gel electrolyte. The CSAC showed very good potential as a stable material for supercapacitors desirable for high power applications.

Electrochemical characterization of nanodimensional metal oxide materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Paul Enle

Energy storage devices have become a bottleneck in performance improvements for portable electronics. This research seeks to answer basic science questions that may lead to the necessary improvements. First, this work demonstrates that insertion of multivalent ions into vanadium oxide greatly exceeds the storage capacity of materials presently used. Second, this work demonstrates that potassium ferrate exhibits a uniquely large pseudocapacitive effect. This effect can be used to great advantage when high power density and high energy density are required. Lastly, this work proposes a model of pseudocapacitance that has a greater descriptive power than that of previous models.

Flexible and Lightweight Fuel Cell with High Specific Power Density.

PubMed

Ning, Fandi; He, Xudong; Shen, Yangbin; Jin, Hehua; Li, Qingwen; Li, Da; Li, Shuping; Zhan, Yulu; Du, Ying; Jiang, Jingjing; Yang, Hui; Zhou, Xiaochun

2017-06-27

Flexible devices have been attracting great attention recently due to their numerous advantages. But the energy densities of current energy sources are still not high enough to support flexible devices for a satisfactory length of time. Although proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) do have a high-energy density, traditional PEMFCs are usually too heavy, rigid, and bulky to be used in flexible devices. In this research, we successfully invented a light and flexible air-breathing PEMFC by using a new design of PEMFC and a flexible composite electrode. The flexible air-breathing PEMFC with 1 × 1 cm 2 working area can be as light as 0.065 g and as thin as 0.22 mm. This new PEMFC exhibits an amazing specific volume power density as high as 5190 W L -1 , which is much higher than traditional (air-breathing) PEMFCs. Also outstanding is that the flexible PEMFC retains 89.1% of its original performance after being bent 600 times, and it retains its original performance after being dropped five times from a height of 30 m. Moreover, the research has demonstrated that when stacked, the flexible PEMFCs are also useful in mobile applications such as mobile phones. Therefore, our research shows that PEMFCs can be made light, flexible, and suitable for applications in flexible devices. These innovative flexible PEMFCs may also notably advance the progress in the PEMFC field, because flexible PEMFCs can achieve high specific power density with small size, small volume, low weight, and much lower cost; they are also much easier to mass produce.

Impact of thermal energy storage properties on solar dynamic space power conversion system mass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juhasz, Albert J.; Coles-Hamilton, Carolyn E.; Lacy, Dovie E.

1987-01-01

A 16 parameter solar concentrator/heat receiver mass model is used in conjunction with Stirling and Brayton Power Conversion System (PCS) performance and mass computer codes to determine the effect of thermal energy storage (TES) material property changes on overall PCS mass as a function of steady state electrical power output. Included in the PCS mass model are component masses as a function of thermal power for: concentrator, heat receiver, heat exchangers (source unless integral with heat receiver, heat sink, regenerator), heat engine units with optional parallel redundancy, power conditioning and control (PC and C), PC and C radiator, main radiator, and structure. Critical TES properties are: melting temperature, heat of fusion, density of the liquid phase, and the ratio of solid-to-liquid density. Preliminary results indicate that even though overalll system efficiency increases with TES melting temperature up to 1400 K for concentrator surface accuracies of 1 mrad or better, reductions in the overall system mass beyond that achievable with lithium fluoride (LiF) can be accomplished only if the heat of fusion is at least 800 kJ/kg and the liquid density is comparable to that of LiF (1880 kg/cu m.

Impact of thermal energy storage properties on solar dynamic space power conversion system mass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juhasz, Albert J.; Coles-Hamilton, Carolyn E.; Lacy, Dovie E.

1987-01-01

A 16 parameter solar concentrator/heat receiver mass model is used in conjunction with Stirling and Brayton Power Conversion System (PCS) performance and mass computer codes to determine the effect of thermal energy storage (TES) material property changes on overall PCS mass as a function of steady state electrical power output. Included in the PCS mass model are component masses as a function of thermal power for: concentrator, heat receiver, heat exchangers (source unless integral with heat receiver, heat sink, regenerator), heat engine units with optional parallel redundancy, power conditioning and control (PC and C), PC and C radiator, main radiator, and structure. Critical TES properties are: melting temperature, heat of fusion, density of the liquid phase, and the ratio of solid-to-liquid density. Preliminary results indicate that even though overall system efficiency increases with TES melting temperature up to 1400 K for concentrator surface accuracies of 1 mrad or better, reductions in the overall system mass beyond that achievable with lithium fluoride (LiF) can be accomplished only if the heat of fusion is at least 800 kJ/kg and the liquid density is comparable to that of LiF (1800 kg/cu m).

VASIMR VX-200 thruster throttling optimization from 30 to 200 kW

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Squire, Jared; Olsen, Chris; Chang-Diaz, Franklin; Longmier, Benjamin; Ballenger, Maxwell; Carter, Mark; Glover, Tim; McCaskill, Greg

2012-10-01

The VASIMR^ VX-200 experimental plasma thruster incorporates a 40 kW helicon plasma source with a 180 kW Ion Cyclotron Heating (ICH) acceleration stage integrated in a superconducting magnet. Argon propellant mass flow is injected up to 140 mg/s. Rapid plasma start up (< 100 ms) and high pumping speed (> 10^5 liters/s) in a 150 m^3 vacuum chamber achieve performance measurements with the charge exchange mean-free-path greater than 1 m in the background neutral gas (pressure < 10-5 Torr). The thruster efficiency at 200 kW total power is 72 ± 9%, the ratio of effective jet power to input RF power, with an Isp = 4900 ± 300 seconds (flow velocity of 49 km/s), and an ion flux of 1.7 ± 0.1 x 10^21/s. The thrust increases steadily with power to 5.8 ± 0.4 N until the power is maximized and there is no indication of saturation. The plasma density near the device exit exceeds 10^18 m-3 with a power density over 5 MW/m^2. An extensive study of thruster performance, efficiency and thrust-to-power ratio, as a function of Ar propellant flow rate and ICH-to-helicon RF power ratio has been carried out over a total power range of 30 to 200 kW. Optimized throttling set points are determined. The experimental configuration and results of this study are presented.

Convergent development of anodic bacterial communities in microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Yates, Matthew D; Kiely, Patrick D; Call, Douglas F; Rismani-Yazdi, Hamid; Bibby, Kyle; Peccia, Jordan; Regan, John M; Logan, Bruce E

2012-11-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are often inoculated from a single wastewater source. The extent that the inoculum affects community development or power production is unknown. The stable anodic microbial communities in MFCs were examined using three inocula: a wastewater treatment plant sample known to produce consistent power densities, a second wastewater treatment plant sample, and an anaerobic bog sediment. The bog-inoculated MFCs initially produced higher power densities than the wastewater-inoculated MFCs, but after 20 cycles all MFCs on average converged to similar voltages (470±20 mV) and maximum power densities (590±170 mW m(-2)). The power output from replicate bog-inoculated MFCs was not significantly different, but one wastewater-inoculated MFC (UAJA3 (UAJA, University Area Joint Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant)) produced substantially less power. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiling showed a stable exoelectrogenic biofilm community in all samples after 11 cycles. After 16 cycles the predominance of Geobacter spp. in anode communities was identified using 16S rRNA gene clone libraries (58±10%), fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH) (63±6%) and pyrosequencing (81±4%). While the clone library analysis for the underperforming UAJA3 had a significantly lower percentage of Geobacter spp. sequences (36%), suggesting that a predominance of this microbe was needed for convergent power densities, the lower percentage of this species was not verified by FISH or pyrosequencing analyses. These results show that the predominance of Geobacter spp. in acetate-fed systems was consistent with good MFC performance and independent of the inoculum source.

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

Power control electronics for cryogenic instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Biswajit; Gerber, Scott S.; Patterson, Richard L.; Myers, Ira T.

1995-01-01

In order to achieve a high-efficiency high-density cryogenic instrumentation system, the power processing electronics should be placed in the cold environment along with the sensors and signal-processing electronics. The typical instrumentation system requires low voltage dc usually obtained from processing line frequency ac power. Switch-mode power conversion topologies such as forward, flyback, push-pull, and half-bridge are used for high-efficiency power processing using pulse-width modulation (PWM) or resonant control. This paper presents several PWM and multiresonant power control circuits, implemented using commercially available CMOS and BiCMOS integrated circuits, and their performance at liquid-nitrogen temperature (77 K) as compared to their room temperature (300 K) performance. The operation of integrated circuits at cryogenic temperatures results in an improved performance in terms of increased speed, reduced latch-up susceptibility, reduced leakage current, and reduced thermal noise. However, the switching noise increased at 77 K compared to 300 K. The power control circuits tested in the laboratory did successfully restart at 77 K.

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.

High to ultra-high power electrical energy storage.

PubMed

Sherrill, Stefanie A; Banerjee, Parag; Rubloff, Gary W; Lee, Sang Bok

2011-12-14

High power electrical energy storage systems are becoming critical devices for advanced energy storage technology. This is true in part due to their high rate capabilities and moderate energy densities which allow them to capture power efficiently from evanescent, renewable energy sources. High power systems include both electrochemical capacitors and electrostatic capacitors. These devices have fast charging and discharging rates, supplying energy within seconds or less. Recent research has focused on increasing power and energy density of the devices using advanced materials and novel architectural design. An increase in understanding of structure-property relationships in nanomaterials and interfaces and the ability to control nanostructures precisely has led to an immense improvement in the performance characteristics of these devices. In this review, we discuss the recent advances for both electrochemical and electrostatic capacitors as high power electrical energy storage systems, and propose directions and challenges for the future. We asses the opportunities in nanostructure-based high power electrical energy storage devices and include electrochemical and electrostatic capacitors for their potential to open the door to a new regime of power energy.

The effects of temperature dependent recombination rates on performance of InGaN/GaN blue superluminescent light emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moslehi Milani, N.; Mohadesi, V.; Asgari, A.

2015-07-01

The effects of temperature dependent radiative and nonradiative recombination (Shockley-Read-Hall, spontaneous radiative, and Auger coefficients) on the spectral and power characteristics of a blue multiple quantum well (MQW) superluminescent light emitting diode (SLD or SLED) have been studied. The study is based on the rate equations model, where three rate equations corresponding to MQW active region, separate confinement heterostructure (SCH) layer, and spectral density of optical power are solved self-consistently with no k-selection energy dependent gain and quasi-Fermi level functions at steady state. We have taken into account the temperature effects on Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH), spontaneous radiative, and Auger recombination in the rate equations and have investigated the effects of temperature rising from 300 K to 375 K at a fixed current density. We examine this procedure for a moderate current density and interpret the spectral radiation power and light output power diagrams. The investigation reveals that the main loss due to temperature is related to Auger coefficient.

Traditional Tracking with Kalman Filter on Parallel Architectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerati, Giuseppe; Elmer, Peter; Lantz, Steven; MacNeill, Ian; McDermott, Kevin; Riley, Dan; Tadel, Matevž; Wittich, Peter; Würthwein, Frank; Yagil, Avi

2015-05-01

Power density constraints are limiting the performance improvements of modern CPUs. To address this, we have seen the introduction of lower-power, multi-core processors, but the future will be even more exciting. In order to stay within the power density limits but still obtain Moore's Law performance/price gains, it will be necessary to parallelize algorithms to exploit larger numbers of lightweight cores and specialized functions like large vector units. Example technologies today include Intel's Xeon Phi and GPGPUs. Track finding and fitting is one of the most computationally challenging problems for event reconstruction in particle physics. At the High Luminosity LHC, for example, this will be by far the dominant problem. The most common track finding techniques in use today are however those based on the Kalman Filter. Significant experience has been accumulated with these techniques on real tracking detector systems, both in the trigger and offline. We report the results of our investigations into the potential and limitations of these algorithms on the new parallel hardware.

Recent Advances in Metal Chalcogenides (MX; X = S, Se) Nanostructures for Electrochemical Supercapacitor Applications: A Brief Review

PubMed Central

Theerthagiri, Jayaraman; Durai, Govindarajan; Rana, Abu ul Hassan Sarwar; Sangeetha, Kirubanandam; Kuppusami, Parasuraman; Kim, Hyun-Seok

2018-01-01

Supercapacitors (SCs) have received a great deal of attention and play an important role for future self-powered devices, mainly owing to their higher power density. Among all types of electrical energy storage devices, electrochemical supercapacitors are considered to be the most promising because of their superior performance characteristics, including short charging time, high power density, safety, easy fabrication procedures, and long operational life. An SC consists of two foremost components, namely electrode materials, and electrolyte. The selection of appropriate electrode materials with rational nanostructured designs has resulted in improved electrochemical properties for high performance and has reduced the cost of SCs. In this review, we mainly spotlight the non-metallic oxide, especially metal chalcogenides (MX; X = S, Se) based nanostructured electrode materials for electrochemical SCs. Different non-metallic oxide materials are highlighted in various categories, such as transition metal sulfides and selenides materials. Finally, the designing strategy and future improvements on metal chalcogenide materials for the application of electrochemical SCs are also discussed. PMID:29671823

Immobilization of a Metal-Nitrogen-Carbon Catalyst on Activated Carbon with Enhanced Cathode Performance in Microbial Fuel Cells.

PubMed

Yang, Wulin; Logan, Bruce E

2016-08-23

Applications of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are limited in part by low power densities mainly due to cathode performance. Successful immobilization of an Fe-N-C co-catalyst on activated carbon (Fe-N-C/AC) improved the oxygen reduction reaction to nearly a four-electron transfer, compared to a twoelectron transfer achieved using AC. With acetate as the fuel, the maximum power density was 4.7±0.2 W m(-2) , which is higher than any previous report for an air-cathode MFC. With domestic wastewater as a fuel, MFCs with the Fe-N-C/AC cathode produced up to 0.8±0.03 W m(-2) , which was twice that obtained with a Pt-catalyzed cathode. The use of this Fe-N-C/AC catalyst can therefore substantially increase power production, and enable broader applications of MFCs for renewable electricity generation using waste materials. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Association between power law coefficients of the anatomical noise power spectrum and lesion detectability in breast imaging modalities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Lin; Abbey, Craig K.; Boone, John M.

2013-03-01

Previous research has demonstrated that a parameter extracted from a power function fit to the anatomical noise power spectrum, β, may be predictive of breast mass lesion detectability in x-ray based medical images of the breast. In this investigation, the value of β was compared with a number of other more widely used parameters, in order to determine the relationship between β and these other parameters. This study made use of breast CT data sets, acquired on two breast CT systems developed in our laboratory. A total of 185 breast data sets in 183 women were used, and only the unaffected breast was used (where no lesion was suspected). The anatomical noise power spectrum computed from two-dimensional region of interests (ROIs), was fit to a power function (NPS(f) = α f-β), and the exponent parameter (β) was determined using log/log linear regression. Breast density for each of the volume data sets was characterized in previous work. The breast CT data sets analyzed in this study were part of a previous study which evaluated the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve performance using simulated spherical lesions and a pre-whitened matched filter computer observer. This ROC information was used to compute the detectability index as well as the sensitivity at 95% specificity. The fractal dimension was computed from the same ROIs which were used for the assessment of β. The value of β was compared to breast density, detectability index, sensitivity, and fractal dimension, and the slope of these relationships was investigated to assess statistical significance from zero slope. A statistically significant non-zero slope was considered to be a positive association in this investigation. All comparisons between β and breast density, detectability index, sensitivity at 95% specificity, and fractal dimension demonstrated statistically significant association with p < 0.001 in all cases. The value of β was also found to be associated with patient age and breast diameter, parameters both related to breast density. In all associations between other parameters, lower values of β were associated with increased breast cancer detection performance. Specifically, lower values of β were associated with lower breast density, higher detectability index, higher sensitivity, and lower fractal dimension values. While causality was not and probably cannot be demonstrated, the strong, statistically significant association between the β metric and the other more widely used parameters suggest that β may be considered as a surrogate measure for breast cancer detection performance. These findings are specific to breast parenchymal patterns and mass lesions only.

Design and Simulation of Bistable Microsystem with Frequency-up conversion effect for Electrostatic Energy Harvesting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vysotskyi, Bogdan; Parrain, Fabien; Lefeuvre, Elie; Leroux, Xavier; Aubry, Denis; Gaucher, Philippe

2016-10-01

This work is dedicated for the study of energy harvesters implemented in form of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) used to harvest ambient vibrations for powering standalone electronic devices. The previewed application is to power a leadless pacemaker with mechanical energy of the heartbeat, which requires the amount of power typically more than 1μW. The target of the presented article is to combine the effect of bistability and nonlinear coupling by electrostatic effect in order to achieve the high value of bandwidth at the low frequency under the low accelerations. Such system is expected to bring high power density performance. This study is performed mostly by numerical simulation.

Hierarchical Mn₂O₃ Microspheres In-Situ Coated with Carbon for Supercapacitors with Highly Enhanced Performances.

PubMed

Gong, Feilong; Lu, Shuang; Peng, Lifang; Zhou, Jing; Kong, Jinming; Jia, Dianzeng; Li, Feng

2017-11-23

Porous Mn₂O₃ microspheres have been synthesized and in-situ coated with amorphous carbon to form hierarchical C@Mn₂O₃ microspheres by first producing MnCO₃ microspheres in solvothermal reactions, and then annealing at 500 °C. The self-assembly growth of MnCO₃ microspheres can generate hollow structures inside each of the particles, which can act as micro-reservoirs to store biomass-glycerol for generating amorphous carbon onto the surfaces of Mn₂O₃ nanorods consisting of microspheres. The C@Mn₂O₃ microspheres, prepared at 500 °C, exhibit highly enhanced pseudocapacitive performances when compared to the particles after annealed at 400 °C and 600 °C. Specifically, the C@Mn₂O₃ microspheres prepared at 500 °C show high specific capacitances of 383.87 F g -1 at current density of 0.5 A g -1 , and excellent cycling stability of 90.47% of its initial value after cycling for 5000 times. The asymmetric supercapacitors assembled with C@Mn₂O₃ microspheres after annealed at 500 °C and activated carbon (AC) show an energy density of up to 77.8 Wh kg -1 at power density of 500.00 W kg -1 , and a maximum power density of 20.14 kW kg -1 at energy density of 46.8 Wh kg -1 . We can attribute the enhanced electrochemical performances of the materials to their three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical structure in-situ coated with carbon.

Synthesis and characterization of transition metal oxide/sulfide nanostructures for electrochemical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yilmaz, Gamze

This thesis is essentially oriented to develop low-cost nanostructured transition metal (nickel and vanadium) oxides and sulfides with high energy density, power density and electrochemical stability via strategies of structural design, hybridization, functionalization and surface engineering. Metal oxide and metal oxide/sulfide hybrid nanostructures in several designs, including hierarchical porous nanostructures, hollow polyhedrons, nanocubes, nanoframes, octopod nanoframes, and nanocages, were synthesized to study the contribution of structural design, compositional engineering, functionalization and surface engineering to the electrochemical properties of the materials. Modulated compositional and structural features disclosed the opportunities of large accessible active sites, facile ion transport, robustness and enhanced electrical conductivity. The best electrochemical performance with merits of highest energy density (38.9 Wh kg-1), power density (7.4 kW kg-1) and electrochemical stability (90.9% after 10000 cycles) was obtained for nickel cobalt layered double hydroxide/cobalt sulfide (NiCo-LDH/Co9S8) hybrid hollow polyhedron structure.

Cr2O3 nanoparticles: Advanced electrode materials for high performance pseudocapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babu, I. Manohara; William, J. Johnson; Muralidharan, G.

2017-05-01

Cr2O3 nanoparticles have been synthesized via simple and facile microwave irradiation method. The structural, morphological and electrochemical performances of Cr2O3 nanoparticles have been studied. Electrochemical analysis indicates the Cr2O3 electrodes to be good pseudocapacitor material with a specific capacitance (122 F g-1 at a constant current of 1 A g-1), high energy density (6.08 W h kg-1), large power density (218.98 W kg-1). These results allow us to state with confidence that new class of electrode materials with good electrochemical performance has been identified.

Sacrificing power for more cost-effective treatment: A techno-economic approach for engineering microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Stoll, Zachary A; Ma, Zhaokun; Trivedi, Christopher B; Spear, John R; Xu, Pei

2016-10-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a promising energy-positive wastewater treatment technology, however, the system's cost-effectiveness has been overlooked. In this study, two new anode materials - hard felt (HF) and carbon foam (CF) - were evaluated against the standard graphite brush (GB) to determine if using inexpensive materials with less than ideal properties can achieve more cost-effective treatment than high-cost, high-performing materials. Using domestic wastewater as the substrate, power densities for the GB, HF and CF-MFCs were 393, 339 and 291 mW m(-2) normalized by cathodic surface area, respectively. Higher power densities correlated with larger anodic surface areas and anodic current densities but not with electrical conductivity. Cyclic voltammetry revealed that redox systems used for extracellular electron transport in the GB, HF and CF-MFCs were similar (-0.143 ± 0.046, -0.158 ± 0.004 and -0.100 ± 0.014 V vs. Ag/AgCl) and that the electrochemical kinetics of the MFCs showed no correlation with their respective electrical conductivity. 16S rRNA sequencing showed the GB, HF and CF microbial community compositions were not statistically different while organic removal rates were nearly identical for all MFCs. The HF-MFC generated a power output to electrode cost (W $(-1)) 1.9 times greater than the GB-MFC, despite producing 14% less power and 15% less anodic current, while having 2.6 times less anodic surface area, 2.1 times larger charge transfer resistance and an electrical conductivity three orders of magnitude lower. The results demonstrate that inexpensive materials are capable of achieving more cost-effective treatment than high-performing materials despite generating lower power when treating real wastewater. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MnO2 nanowires-decorated carbon fiber cloth as electrodes for aqueous asymmetric supercapacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Congcong; Wang, Xing; Yu, Houlin; Wu, Huaping; Wang, Jianshan; Liu, Aiping

Manganese dioxide nanowires (MnO2 NWs) anchored on carbon fiber cloth (CFC) were fabricated through a simple hydrothermal reaction and used as integrated electrodes for supercapacitor. The morphology-dependent electrochemical performance of MnO2 NWs was confirmed, yielding good capacitance performance with a high specific capacitance of 3.88Fṡcm‑2 at a charge-discharge current density of 5mAṡcm‑2 and excellent stability of 91.5% capacitance retention after 3000 cycles. Moreover, the composite electrodes were used to fabricate supercapacitors, which showed a high specific capacitance of 194mFṡcm‑2 at a charge-discharge current density of 2mAṡcm‑2 and high energy density of 0.108mWhṡcm‑2 at power density of 2mWṡcm‑2, foreboding its potential application for high-performance supercapacitor.

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

Free-Standing Conducting Polymer Films for High-Performance Energy Devices.

PubMed

Li, Zaifang; Ma, Guoqiang; Ge, Ru; Qin, Fei; Dong, Xinyun; Meng, Wei; Liu, Tiefeng; Tong, Jinhui; Jiang, Fangyuan; Zhou, Yifeng; Li, Ke; Min, Xue; Huo, Kaifu; Zhou, Yinhua

2016-01-18

Thick, uniform, easily processed, highly conductive polymer films are desirable as electrodes for solar cells as well as polymer capacitors. Here, a novel scalable strategy is developed to prepare highly conductive thick poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (HCT-PEDOT:PSS) films with layered structure that display a conductivity of 1400 S cm(-1) and a low sheet resistance of 0.59 ohm sq(-1). Organic solar cells with laminated HCT-PEDOT:PSS exhibit a performance comparable to the reference devices with vacuum-deposited Ag top electrodes. More importantly, the HCT-PEDOT:PSS film delivers a specific capacitance of 120 F g(-1) at a current density of 0.4 A g(-1). All-solid-state flexible symmetric supercapacitors with the HCT-PEDOT:PSS films display a high volumetric energy density of 6.80 mWh cm(-3) at a power density of 100 mW cm(-3) and 3.15 mWh cm(-3) at a very high power density of 16160 mW cm(-3) that outperforms previous reported solid-state supercapacitors based on PEDOT materials. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Enhancement in current density and energy conversion efficiency of 3-dimensional MFC anodes using pre-enriched consortium and continuous supply of electron donors

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

Borole, Abhijeet P; Hamilton, Choo Yieng; Vishnivetskaya, Tatiana A

2011-01-01

Using a pre-enriched microbial consortium as the inoculum and continuous supply of carbon source, improvement in performance of a three-dimensional, flow-through MFC anode utilizing ferricyanide cathode was investigated. The power density increased from 170 W/m3 (1800 mW/m2) to 580 W/m3 (6130 mW/m2), when the carbon loading increased from 2.5 g/l-day to 50 g/l-day. The coulombic efficiency (CE) decreased from 90% to 23% with increasing carbon loading. The CEs are among the highest reported for glucose and lactate as the substrate with the maximum current density reaching 15.1 A/m2. This suggests establishment of a very high performance exoelectrogenic microbial consortium atmore » the anode. A maximum energy conversion efficiency of 54% was observed at a loading of 2.5 g/l-day. Biological characterization of the consortium showed presence of Burkholderiales and Rhodocyclales as the dominant members. Imaging of the biofilms revealed thinner biofilms compared to the inoculum MFC, but a 1.9-fold higher power density.« less

Cobalt-Doped Nickel Phosphite for High Performance of Electrochemical Energy Storage.

PubMed

Li, Bing; Shi, Yuxin; Huang, Kesheng; Zhao, Mingming; Qiu, Jiaqing; Xue, Huaiguo; Pang, Huan

2018-03-01

Compared to single metallic Ni or Co phosphides, bimetallic Ni-Co phosphides own ameliorative properties, such as high electrical conductivity, remarkable rate capability, upper specific capacity, and excellent cycle performance. Here, a simple one-step solvothermal process is proposed for the synthesis of bouquet-like cobalt-doped nickel phosphite (Ni 11 (HPO 3 ) 8 (OH) 6 ), and the effect of the structure on the pseudocapacitive performance is investigated via a series of electrochemical measurements. It is found that when the cobalt content is low, the glycol/deionized water ratio is 1, and the reaction is under 200 °C for 20 h, the morphology of the sample is uniform and has the highest specific surface area. The cobalt-doped Ni 11 (HPO 3 ) 8 (OH) 6 electrode presents a maximum specific capacitance of 714.8 F g -1 . More significantly, aqueous and solid-state flexible electrochemical energy storage devices are successfully assembled. The aqueous device shows a high energy density of 15.48 mWh cm -2 at the power density of 0.6 KW cm -2 . The solid-state device shows a high energy density of 14.72 mWh cm -2 at the power density of 0.6 KW cm -2 . These excellent performances confirm that the cobalt-doped Ni 11 (HPO 3 ) 8 (OH) 6 are promising materials for applications in electrochemical energy storage devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High performance asymmetric supercapacitor based on polypyrrole/graphene composite and its derived nitrogen-doped carbon nano-sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jianbo; Feng, Tianyu; Du, Xianfeng; Wang, Jingping; Hu, Jun; Wei, LiPing

2017-04-01

Neutral aqueous medium is a promising electrolyte for supercapacitors because it is low-cost, environmental-friendly and can achieve rapid charging/discharging with high power density. However, the energy density of such supercapacitor is significantly limited by its narrow operational voltage window. Herein, we demonstrated an effective approach to broaden the operational voltage window by fabricating an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) with polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide (PPy/rGO) composite and its derived Nitrogen-doped carbon nano-sheets (NCs) as positive and negative electrode material, respectively. The homogeneous nano-sheet and mesoporous structure of PPy/rGO and NCs can facilitate rapid charge/ion migration and provide more active sites for ions adsorption/exchange to improve their electrochemical performance. Benefiting from high capacitance and good rate performance of PPy/rGO and NCs electrodes, the as-fabricated ASCs devices in a polyvinyl alcohol/LiCl gel electrolyte can realize a wide operational voltage of 1.6 V and deliver high energy density of 15.8 wh kg-1 (1.01 mWh cm-3) at 0.14 kW kg-1 (19.3 mW cm-3), which still remains 9.5 wh kg-1as power density increases to 6.56 kW kg-1, as well as excellent long-term cycling stability with about 88.7% capacitance retention after 10000 cycles. The remarkable performances suggest that the ASCs devices are promising for future energy storage applications.

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) supported cobalt- nickel sulfide (CoNi2S4) nanoparticles hybrid anode for high performance lithium ion capacitor.

PubMed

Jagadale, Ajay; Zhou, Xuan; Blaisdell, Douglas; Yang, Sen

2018-01-25

Lithium ion capacitors possess an ability to bridge the gap between lithium ion battery and supercapacitor. The main concern of fabricating lithium ion capacitors is poor rate capability and cyclic stability of the anode material which uses sluggish faradaic reactions to store an electric charge. Herein, we have fabricated high performance hybrid anode material based on carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and cobalt-nickel sulfide (CoNi 2 S 4 ) nanoparticles via simple electrospinning and electrodeposition methods. Porous and high conducting CNF@CoNi 2 S 4 electrode acts as an expressway network for electronic and ionic diffusion during charging-discharging processes. The effect of anode to cathode mass ratio on the performance has been studied by fabricating lithium ion capacitors with different mass ratios. The surface controlled contribution of CNF@CoNi 2 S 4 electrode was 73% which demonstrates its excellent rate capability. Lithium ion capacitor fabricated with CNF@CoNi 2 S 4 to AC mass ratio of 1:2.6 showed excellent energy density of 85.4 Wh kg -1 with the power density of 150 W kg -1 . Also, even at the high power density of 15 kW kg -1 , the cell provided the energy density of 35 Wh kg -1 . This work offers a new strategy for designing high-performance hybrid anode with the combination of simple and cost effective approaches.

Ternary Au/ZnO/rGO nanocomposites electrodes for high performance electrochemical storage devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaudhary, Manchal; Doong, Ruey-an; Kumar, Nagesh; Tseng, Tseung Yuen

2017-10-01

The combination of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles with reduced graphene oxides (rGO) is an active electrode material for electrochemical storage devices. Herein, we have, for the first time, reported the fabrication of ternary Au/ZnO/rGO nanocomposites by using a rapid and environmentally friendly microwave-assisted hydrothermal method for high performance supercapacitor applications. The ZnO/rGO provides excellent electrical conductivity and good macro/mesopore structures, which can facilitate the rapid electrons and ions transport. The Au nanoparticles with particle sizes of 7-12 nm are homogeneously distributed onto the ZnO/rGO surface to enhance the electrochemical performance by retaining the capacitance at high current density. The Au/ZnO/rGO nanocomposites, prepared with the optimized rGO amount of 100 mg exhibit a high specific capacitance of 875 and 424 F g-1 at current densities of 1 and 20 A g-1, respectively, in 2 M KOH. In addition, the energy and power densities of ternary Au/ZnO/rGO can be up to 17.6-36.5 Wh kg-1 and 0.27-5.42 kW kg-1, respectively. Results obtained in this study clearly demonstrate the excellence of ternary Au/ZnO/rGO nanocomposites as the active electrode materials for electrochemical pseudocapacitor performance and can open an avenue to fabricate metal/metal oxide/rGO nanocomposites for electrochemical storage devices with both high energy and power densities.

Prospects for steady-state scenarios on JET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Litaudon, X.; Bizarro, J. P. S.; Challis, C. D.; Crisanti, F.; DeVries, P. C.; Lomas, P.; Rimini, F. G.; Tala, T. J. J.; Akers, R.; Andrew, Y.; Arnoux, G.; Artaud, J. F.; Baranov, Yu F.; Beurskens, M.; Brix, M.; Cesario, R.; DeLa Luna, E.; Fundamenski, W.; Giroud, C.; Hawkes, N. C.; Huber, A.; Joffrin, E.; Pitts, R. A.; Rachlew, E.; Reyes-Cortes, S. D. A.; Sharapov, S. E.; Zastrow, K. D.; Zimmermann, O.; JET EFDA contributors, the

2007-09-01

In the 2006 experimental campaign, progress has been made on JET to operate non-inductive scenarios at higher applied powers (31 MW) and density (nl ~ 4 × 1019 m-3), with ITER-relevant safety factor (q95 ~ 5) and plasma shaping, taking advantage of the new divertor capabilities. The extrapolation of the performance using transport modelling benchmarked on the experimental database indicates that the foreseen power upgrade (~45 MW) will allow the development of non-inductive scenarios where the bootstrap current is maximized together with the fusion yield and not, as in present-day experiments, at its expense. The tools for the long-term JET programme are the new ITER-like ICRH antenna (~15 MW), an upgrade of the NB power (35 MW/20 s or 17.5 MW/40 s), a new ITER-like first wall, a new pellet injector for edge localized mode control together with improved diagnostic and control capability. Operation with the new wall will set new constraints on non-inductive scenarios that are already addressed experimentally and in the modelling. The fusion performance and driven current that could be reached at high density and power have been estimated using either 0D or 1-1/2D validated transport models. In the high power case (45 MW), the calculations indicate the potential for the operational space of the non-inductive regime to be extended in terms of current (~2.5 MA) and density (nl > 5 × 1019 m-3), with high βN (βN > 3.0) and a fraction of the bootstrap current within 60-70% at high toroidal field (~3.5 T).

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.

High-performance two-ply yarn supercapacitors based on carbon nanotube yarns dotted with Co3 O4 and NiO nanoparticles.

PubMed

Su, Fenghua; Lv, Xiaoming; Miao, Menghe

2015-02-18

Yarn supercapacitors are promising power sources for flexible electronic applications that require conventional fabric-like durability and wearer comfort. Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn is an attractive choice for constructing yarn supercapacitors used in wearable textiles because of its high strength and flexibility. However, low capacitance and energy density limits the use of pure CNT yarn in wearable high-energy density devices. Here, transitional metal oxide pseudocapacitive materials NiO and Co3 O4 are deposited on as-spun CNT yarn surface using a simple electrodeposition process. The Co3 O4 deposited on the CNT yarn surface forms a uniform hybridized CNT@Co3 O4 layer. The two-ply supercapacitors formed from the CNT@Co3 O4 composite yarns display excellent electrochemical properties with very high capacitance of 52.6 mF cm(-2) and energy density of 1.10 μWh cm(-2) . The high performance two-ply CNT@Co3 O4 yarn supercapacitors are mechanically and electrochemically robust to meet the high performance requirements of power sources for wearable electronics. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Pulse Wave Amplitude Drops during Sleep are Reliable Surrogate Markers of Changes in Cortical Activity

PubMed Central

Delessert, Alexandre; Espa, Fabrice; Rossetti, Andrea; Lavigne, Gilles; Tafti, Mehdi; Heinzer, Raphael

2010-01-01

Background: During sleep, sudden drops in pulse wave amplitude (PWA) measured by pulse oximetry are commonly associated with simultaneous arousals and are thought to result from autonomic vasoconstriction. In the present study, we determine whether PWA drops were associated with changes in cortical activity as determined by EEG spectral analysis. Methods: A 20% decrease in PWA was chosen as a minimum for a drop. A total of 1085 PWA drops from 10 consecutive sleep recordings were analyzed. EEG spectral analysis was performed over 5 consecutive epochs of 5 seconds: 2 before, 1 during, and 2 after the PWA drop. EEG spectral analysis was performed over delta, theta, alpha, sigma, and beta frequency bands. Within each frequency band, power density was compared across the five 5-sec epochs. Presence or absence of visually scored EEG arousals were adjudicated by an investigator blinded to the PWA signal and considered associated with PWA drop if concomitant. Results: A significant increase in EEG power density in all EEG frequency bands was found during PWA drops (P < 0.001) compared to before and after drop. Even in the absence of visually scored arousals, PWA drops were associated with a significant increase in EEG power density (P < 0.001) in most frequency bands. Conclusions: Drops in PWA are associated with a significant increase in EEG power density, suggesting that these events can be used as a surrogate for changes in cortical activity during sleep. This approach may prove of value in scoring respiratory events on limited-channel (type III) portable monitors. Citation: Delessert A; Espa F; Rossetti A; Lavigne G; Tafti M; Heinzer R. Pulse wave amplitude drops during sleep are reliable surrogate markers of changes in cortical activity. SLEEP 2010;33(12):1687-1692. PMID:21120131

Programmable neural processing on a smartdust for brain-computer interfaces.

PubMed

Yuwen Sun; Shimeng Huang; Oresko, Joseph J; Cheng, Allen C

2010-10-01

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer tremendous promise for improving the quality of life for disabled individuals. BCIs use spike sorting to identify the source of each neural firing. To date, spike sorting has been performed by either using off-chip analysis, which requires a wired connection penetrating the skull to a bulky external power/processing unit, or via custom application-specific integrated circuits that lack the programmability to perform different algorithms and upgrades. In this research, we propose and test the feasibility of performing on-chip, real-time spike sorting on a programmable smartdust, including feature extraction, classification, compression, and wireless transmission. A detailed power/performance tradeoff analysis using DVFS is presented. Our experimental results show that the execution time and power density meet the requirements to perform real-time spike sorting and wireless transmission on a single neural channel.

A Lithium/Polysulfide Battery with Dual-Working Mode Enabled by Liquid Fuel and Acrylate-Based Gel Polymer Electrolyte.

PubMed

Liu, Ming; Ren, Yuxun; Zhou, Dong; Jiang, Haoran; Kang, Feiyu; Zhao, Tianshou

2017-01-25

The low density associated with low sulfur areal loading in the solid-state sulfur cathode of current Li-S batteries is an issue hindering the development of this type of battery. Polysulfide catholyte as a recyclable liquid fuel was proven to enhance both the energy density and power density of the battery. However, a critical barrier with this lithium (Li)/polysulfide battery is that the shuttle effect, which is the crossover of polysulfides and side deposition on the Li anode, becomes much more severe than that in conventional Li-S batteries with a solid-state sulfur cathode. In this work, we successfully applied an acrylate-based gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) to the Li/polysulfide system. The GPE layer can effectively block the detrimental diffusion of polysulfides and protect the Li metal from the side passivation reaction. Cathode-static batteries utilizing 2 M catholyte (areal sulfur loading of 6.4 mg cm -2 ) present superior cycling stability (727.4 mAh g -1 after 500 cycles at 0.2 C) and high rate capability (814 mAh g -1 at 2 C) and power density (∼10 mW cm -2 ), which also possess replaceable and encapsulated merits for mobile devices. In the cathode-flow mode, the Li/polysulfide system with catholyte supplied from an external tank demonstrates further improved power density (∼69 mW cm -2 ) and stable cycling performance. This novel and simple Li/polysulfide system represents a significant advancement of high energy density sulfur-based batteries for future power sources.

Self-assembly formation of Bi-functional Co3O4/MnO2-CNTs hybrid catalysts for achieving both high energy/power density and cyclic ability of rechargeable zinc-air battery

PubMed Central

Xu, Nengneng; Liu, Yuyu; Zhang, Xia; Li, Xuemei; Li, Aijun; Qiao, Jinli; Zhang, Jiujun

2016-01-01

α-MnO2 nanotubes-supported Co3O4 (Co3O4/MnO2) and its carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-hybrids (Co3O4/MnO2-CNTs) have been successfully developed through a facile two-pot precipitation reaction and hydrothermal process, which exhibit the superior bi-functional catalytic activity for both ORR and OER. The high performance is believed to be induced by the hybrid effect among MnO2 nanotubes, hollow Co3O4 and CNTs, which can produce a synergetic enhancement. When integrated into the practical primary and electrochemically rechargeable Zn-air batteries, such a hybrid catalyst can give a discharge peak power density as high as 450 mW cm−2. At 1.0 V of cell voltage, a current density of 324 mA cm−2 is achieved. This performance is superior to all reported non-precious metal catalysts in literature for zinc-air batteries and significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art platinum-based catalyst. Particularly, the rechargeable Zn-air battery can be fabricated into all-solid-state one through a simple solid-state approach, which exhibits an excellent peak power density of 62 mW cm−2, and the charge and discharge potentials remain virtually unchanged during the overall cycles, which is comparable to the one with liquid electrolyte. PMID:27646032

Hybrid nanomembranes for high power and high energy density supercapacitors and their yarn application.

PubMed

Lee, Jae Ah; Shin, Min Kyoon; Kim, Shi Hyeong; Kim, Seon Jeong; Spinks, Geoffrey M; Wallace, Gordon G; Ovalle-Robles, Raquel; Lima, Márcio D; Kozlov, Mikhail E; Baughman, Ray H

2012-01-24

We report mechanically robust, electrically conductive, free-standing, and transparent hybrid nanomembranes made of densified carbon nanotube sheets that were coated with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) using vapor phase polymerization and their performance as supercapacitors. The hybrid nanomembranes with thickness of ~66 nm and low areal density of ~15 μg/cm(2)exhibited high mechanical strength and modulus of 135 MPa and 12.6 GPa, respectively. They also had remarkable shape recovery ability in liquid and at the liquid/air interface unlike previous carbon nanotube sheets. The hybrid nanomembrane attached on a current collector had volumetric capacitance of ~40 F/cm(3) at 100 V s(-1) (~40 and ~80 times larger than that of onion-like carbon measured at 100 V s(-1) and activated carbon measured at 20 V s(-1), respectively), and it showed rectangular shapes of cyclic voltammograms up to ~5 V s(-1). High mechanical strength and flexibility of the hybrid nanomembrane enabled twisting it into microsupercapacitor yarns with diameters of ~30 μm. The yarn supercapacitor showed stable cycling performance without a metal current collector, and its capacitance decrease was only ~6% after 5000 cycles. Volumetric energy and power density of the hybrid nanomembrane was ~70 mWh cm(-3) and ~7910 W cm(-3), and the yarn possessed the energy and power density of ~47 mWh cm(-3) and ~538 W cm(-3). © 2011 American Chemical Society

Electrochemical energy storage in montmorillonite K10 clay based composite as supercapacitor using ionic liquid electrolyte.

PubMed

Maiti, Sandipan; Pramanik, Atin; Chattopadhyay, Shreyasi; De, Goutam; Mahanty, Sourindra

2016-02-15

Exploring new electrode materials is the key to realize high performance energy storage devices for effective utilization of renewable energy. Natural clays with layered structure and high surface area are prospective materials for electrical double layer capacitors (EDLC). In this work, a novel hybrid composite based on acid-leached montmorillonite (K10), multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and manganese dioxide (MnO2) was prepared and its electrochemical properties were investigated by fabricating two-electrode asymmetric supercapacitor cells against activated carbon (AC) using 1.0M tetraethylammonium tetrafluroborate (Et4NBF4) in acetonitrile (AN) as electrolyte. The asymmetric supercapacitors, capable of operating in a wide potential window of 0.0-2.7V, showed a high energy density of 171Whkg(-1) at a power density of ∼1.98kWkg(-1). Such high EDLC performance could possibly be linked to the acid-base interaction of K10 through its surface hydroxyl groups with the tetraethylammonium cation [(C2H5)4N(+) or TEA(+)] of the ionic liquid electrolyte. Even at a very high power density of 96.4kWkg(-1), the cells could still deliver an energy density of 91.1Whkg(-1) exhibiting an outstanding rate capability. The present study demonstrates for the first time, the excellent potential of clay-based composites for high power energy storage device applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An oxygen-independent and membrane-less glucose biobattery/supercapacitor hybrid device.

PubMed

Xiao, Xinxin; Conghaile, Peter Ó; Leech, Dónal; Ludwig, Roland; Magner, Edmond

2017-12-15

Enzymatic biofuel cells can generate electricity directly from the chemical energy of biofuels in physiological fluids, but their power density is significantly limited by the performance of the cathode which is based on oxygen reduction for in vivo applications. An oxygen-independent and membrane-less glucose biobattery was prepared that consists of a dealloyed nanoporous gold (NPG) supported glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) bioanode, immobilised with the assistance of conductive polymer/Os redox polymer composites, and a solid-state NPG/MnO 2 cathode. In a solution containing 10mM glucose, a maximum power density of 2.3µWcm -2 at 0.21V and an open circuit voltage (OCV) of 0.49V were registered as a biobattery. The potential of the discharged MnO 2 could be recovered, enabling a proof-of-concept biobattery/supercapacitor hybrid device. The resulting device exhibited a stable performance for 50 cycles of self-recovery and galvanostatic discharge as a supercapacitor at 0.1mAcm -2 over a period of 25h. The device could be discharged at current densities up to 2mAcm -2 supplying a maximum instantaneous power density of 676 μW cm -2 , which is 294 times higher than that from the biobattery alone. A mechanism for the recovery of the potential of the cathode, analogous to that of RuO 2 (Electrochim. Acta 42(23), 3541-3552) is described. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Self-assembly formation of Bi-functional Co3O4/MnO2-CNTs hybrid catalysts for achieving both high energy/power density and cyclic ability of rechargeable zinc-air battery.

PubMed

Xu, Nengneng; Liu, Yuyu; Zhang, Xia; Li, Xuemei; Li, Aijun; Qiao, Jinli; Zhang, Jiujun

2016-09-20

α-MnO2 nanotubes-supported Co3O4 (Co3O4/MnO2) and its carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-hybrids (Co3O4/MnO2-CNTs) have been successfully developed through a facile two-pot precipitation reaction and hydrothermal process, which exhibit the superior bi-functional catalytic activity for both ORR and OER. The high performance is believed to be induced by the hybrid effect among MnO2 nanotubes, hollow Co3O4 and CNTs, which can produce a synergetic enhancement. When integrated into the practical primary and electrochemically rechargeable Zn-air batteries, such a hybrid catalyst can give a discharge peak power density as high as 450 mW cm(-2). At 1.0 V of cell voltage, a current density of 324 mA cm(-2) is achieved. This performance is superior to all reported non-precious metal catalysts in literature for zinc-air batteries and significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art platinum-based catalyst. Particularly, the rechargeable Zn-air battery can be fabricated into all-solid-state one through a simple solid-state approach, which exhibits an excellent peak power density of 62 mW cm(-2), and the charge and discharge potentials remain virtually unchanged during the overall cycles, which is comparable to the one with liquid electrolyte.

High-temperature passive direct methanol fuel cells operating with concentrated fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xuxin; Yuan, Wenxiang; Wu, Qixing; Sun, Hongyuan; Luo, Zhongkuan; Fu, Huide

2015-01-01

Conventionally, passive direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) are fed with diluted methanol solutions and can hardly be operated at elevated temperatures (>120 °C) because the ionic conductivity of Nafion-type proton exchange membranes depends strongly on water content. Such a system design would limit its energy density and power density in mobile applications. In this communication, a passive vapor feed DMFC capable of operating with concentrated fuels at high temperatures is reported. The passive DMFC proposed in this work consists of a fuel reservoir, a perforated silicone sheet, a vapor chamber, two current collectors and a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) based on a phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane. The experimental results reveal that the methanol crossover through a PBI membrane is substantially low when compared with the Nafion membranes and the PBI-based passive DMFC can yield a peak power density of 37.2 mW cm-2 and 22.1 mW cm-2 at 180 °C when 16 M methanol solutions and neat methanol are used respectively. In addition, the 132 h discharge test indicates that the performance of this new DMFC is quite stable and no obvious performance degradation is observed after activation, showing its promising applications in portable power sources.

Modeling of four-terminal solar photovoltaic systems for field application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vahanka, Harikrushna; Purohit, Zeel; Tripathi, Brijesh

2018-05-01

In this article a theoretical framework for mechanically stacked four-terminal solar photovoltaic (FTSPV) system has been proposed. In a mechanical stack arrangement, a semitransparent CdTe panel has been used as a top sub-module, whereas a μc-Si solar panel has been used as bottom sub-module. Theoretical modeling has been done to analyze the physical processes in the system and to estimate reliable prediction of the performance. To incorporate the effect of material, the band gap and the absorption coefficient data for CdTe and μc-Si panels have been considered. The electrical performance of the top and bottom panels operated in a mechanical stack has been obtained experimentally for various inter-panel separations in the range of 0-3 cm. Maximum output power density has been obtained for a separation of 0.75 cm. The mean value of output power density from CdTe (top panel) has been calculated as 32.3 Wm-2 and the mean value of output power density from μc-Si, the bottom panel of four-terminal photovoltaic system has been calculated as ˜3.5 Wm-2. Results reported in this study reveal the potential of mechanically stacked four-terminal tandem solar photovoltaic system towards an energy-efficient configuration.

Evaluation of power density on the bioethanol production using mesoscale oscillatory baffled reactor and stirred tank reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yussof, H. W.; Bahri, S. S.; Mazlan, N. A.

2018-03-01

A recent development in oscillatory baffled reactor technology is down-scaling the reactor, so that it can be used for production of small-scale bioproduct. In the present study, a mesoscale oscillatory baffled reactor (MOBR) with central baffle system was developed. The reactor performance of the MOBR was compared with conventional stirred tank reactor (STR) to evaluate the performance of bioethanol fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Evaluation was made at similar power density of 24.21, 57.38, 112.35 and 193.67 Wm-3 by varying frequency (f), amplitude (xo) and agitation speed (rpm). It was found that the MOBR improved the mixing intensity resulted in lower glucose concentration (0.988 gL-1) and higher bioethanol concentration (38.98 gL-1) after 12 hours fermentation at power density of 193.67 Wm-3. Based on the results, the bioethanol yield obtained using MOBR was 39% higher than the maximum achieved in STR. Bioethanol production using MOBR proved to be feasible as it is not only able to compete with conventional STR but also offers advantages of straight-forward scale-up, whereas it is complicated and difficult in STR. Overall, MOBR offers great prospective over the conventional STR.

Synthesis of carbon core–shell pore structures and their performance as supercapacitors

DOE PAGES

Ariyanto, Teguh; Dyatkin, Boris; Zhang, Gui-Rong; ...

2015-07-15

High-power supercapacitors require excellent electrolyte mobility within the pore network and high electrical conductivity for maximum capacitance and efficiency. Achieving high power typically requires sacrificing energy densities, as the latter demands a high specific surface area and narrow porosity that impedes ion transport. Here, we present a novel solution for this optimization problem: a nanostructured core–shell carbonaceous material that exhibits a microporous carbon core surrounded by a mesoporous, graphitic shell. The tunable synthesis parameters yielded a structure that features either a sharp or a gradual transition between the core and shell sections. Electrochemical supercapacitor testing using organic electrolyte revealed thatmore » these novel core–shell materials outperform carbons with homogeneous pore structures. The hybrid core–shell materials showed a combination of good capacitance retention, typical for the carbon present in the shell and high specific capacitance, typical for the core material. These materials achieved power densities in excess of 40 kW kg -1 at energy densities reaching 27 Wh kg -1.« less

13.1 micrometers hard X-ray focusing by a new type monocapillary X-ray optic designed for common laboratory X-ray source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Xuepeng; zhang, Xiaoyun; Zhu, Yu; Wang, Yabing; Shang, Hongzhong; Zhang, Fengshou; Liu, Zhiguo; Sun, Tianxi

2018-04-01

A new type of monocapillary X-ray optic, called 'two bounces monocapillary X-ray optics' (TBMXO), is proposed for generating a small focal spot with high power-density gain for micro X-ray analysis, using a common laboratory X-ray source. TBMXO is consists of two parts: an ellipsoidal part and a tapered part. Before experimental testing, the TBMXO was simulated by the ray tracing method in MATLAB. The simulated results predicted that the proposed TBMXO would produce a smaller focal spot with higher power-density gain than the ellipsoidal monocapillary X-ray optic (EMXO). In the experiment, the TBMXO performance was tested by both an optical device and a Cu target X-ray tube with focal spot of 100 μm. The results indicated that the TBMXO had a slope error of 57.6 μrad and a 13.1 μm focal spot and a 1360 gain in power density were obtained.

Vertically Aligned Niobium Nanowire Arrays for Fast-Charging Micro-Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Mirvakili, Seyed M; Hunter, Ian W

2017-07-01

Planar micro-supercapacitors are attractive for system on chip technologies and surface mount devices due to their large areal capacitance and energy/power density compared to the traditional oxide-based capacitors. In the present work, a novel material, niobium nanowires, in form of vertically aligned electrodes for application in high performance planar micro-supercapacitors is introduced. Specific capacitance of up to 1 kF m -2 (100 mF cm -2 ) with peak energy and power density of 2 kJ m -2 (6.2 MJ m -3 or 1.7 mWh cm -3 ) and 150 kW m -2 (480 MW m -3 or 480 W cm -3 ), respectively, is achieved. This remarkable power density, originating from the extremely low equivalent series resistance value of 0.27 Ω (2.49 µΩ m 2 or 24.9 mΩ cm 2 ) and large specific capacitance, is among the highest for planar micro-supercapacitors electrodes made of nanomaterials. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Improving the performance of lactate/oxygen biofuel cells using a microfluidic design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Escalona-Villalpando, Ricardo A.; Reid, Russell C.; Milton, Ross D.; Arriaga, L. G.; Minteer, Shelley D.; Ledesma-García, Janet

2017-02-01

Lactate/O2 biofuel cells (BFC) can have high theoretical energy densities due to high solubility and high fuel energy density; however, they are rarely studied in comparison to glucose BFCs. In this paper, lactate oxidase (LOx) was coupled with a ferrocene-based redox polymer (dimethylferrocene-modified linear polyethylenimine, FcMe2-LPEI) as the bioanode and laccase (Lc) connected to pyrene-anthracene modified carbon nanotubes (PyrAn-MWCNT) to facilitate the direct electron transfer (DET) at the biocathode. Both electrodes were evaluated in two BFC configurations using different concentrations of lactate, in the range found in sweat (0-40 mM). A single compartment BFC evaluated at pH 5.6 provided an open circuit potential (OCP) of 0.68 V with a power density of 61.2 μWcm-2. On the other hand, a microfluidic BFC operating under the same conditions resulted in an OCP of 0.67 V, although an increase in the power density, increasing to 305 μW cm-2, was observed. Upon changing the pH to 7.4 in only the anolyte, its performance was further increased to 0.73 V and 404 μW cm-2, respectively. This work reports the first microfluidic lactate/oxygen enzymatic BFC and shows the importance of microfluidic flow in high performing BFCs where lactate is utilized as the fuel and O2 is the final electron acceptor.

Co(OH)2/RGO/NiO sandwich-structured nanotube arrays with special surface and synergistic effects as high-performance positive electrodes for asymmetric supercapacitors.

PubMed

Xu, Han; Zhang, Chi; Zhou, Wen; Li, Gao-Ren

2015-10-28

High power density, high energy density and excellent cycling stability are the main requirements for high-performance supercapacitors (SCs) that will be widely used for portable consumer electronics and hybrid electric vehicles. Here we investigate novel types of hybrid Co(OH)2/reduced graphene oxide (RGO)/NiO sandwich-structured nanotube arrays (SNTAs) as positive electrodes for asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs). The synthesized Co(OH)2/RGO/NiO SNTAs exhibit a significantly improved specific capacity (∼1470 F g(-1) at 5 mV s(-1)) and excellent cycling stability with ∼98% Csp retention after 10 000 cycles because of the fast transport and short diffusion paths for electroactive species, the high utilization rate of electrode materials, and special synergistic effects among Co(OH)2, RGO, and NiO. The high-performance ASCs are assembled using Co(OH)2/RGO/NiO SNTAs as positive electrodes and active carbon (AC) as negative electrodes, and they exhibit a high energy density (115 Wh kg(-1)), a high power density (27.5 kW kg(-1)) and an excellent cycling stability (less 5% Csp loss after 10 000 cycles). This study shows an important breakthrough in the design and fabrication of multi-walled hybrid nanotube arrays as positive electrodes for ASCs.

Tungsten and beryllium armour development for the JET ITER-like wall project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maier, H.; Hirai, T.; Rubel, M.; Neu, R.; Mertens, Ph.; Greuner, H.; Hopf, Ch.; Matthews, G. F.; Neubauer, O.; Piazza, G.; Gauthier, E.; Likonen, J.; Mitteau, R.; Maddaluno, G.; Riccardi, B.; Philipps, V.; Ruset, C.; Lungu, C. P.; Uytdenhouwen, I.; EFDA contributors, JET

2007-03-01

For the ITER-like wall project at JET the present main chamber CFC tiles will be exchanged with Be tiles and in parallel a fully tungsten-clad divertor will be prepared. Therefore three R&D programmes were initiated: Be coatings on Inconel as well as Be erosion markers were developed for the first wall of the main chamber. High heat flux screening and cyclic loading tests carried out on the Be coatings on Inconel showed excellent performance, above the required power and energy density. For the divertor a conceptual design for a bulk W horizontal target plate was investigated, with the emphasis on minimizing electromagnetic forces. The design consisted of stacks of W lamellae of 6 mm width that were insulated in the toroidal direction. High heat flux tests of a test module were performed with an electron beam at an absorbed power density up to 9 MW m-2 for more than 150 pulses and finally with increasing power loads leading to surface temperatures in excess of 3000 °C. No macroscopic failure occurred during the test while SEM showed the development of micro-cracks on the loaded surface. For all other divertor parts R&D was performed to provide the technology to coat the 2-directional CFC material used at JET with thin tungsten coatings. The W-coated CFC tiles were subjected to heat loads with power densities ranging up to 23.5 MW m-2 and exposed to cyclic heat loading for 200 pulses at 10.5 MW m-2. All coatings developed cracks perpendicular to the CFC fibres due to the stronger contraction of the coating upon cool-down after the heat pulses.

Satellite power system concept development and evaluation program. Volume 2: System definition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The system level results of the system definition studies performed by NASA as a part of the Department of Energy/NASA satellite power system concept development and evaluation program are summarized. System requirements and guidelines are discussed as well as the major elements that comprise the reference system and its design options. Alternative system approaches including different system sizes, solid state amplifier (microwave) concepts, and laser power transmission system cost summaries are reviewed. An overview of the system analysis and planning efforts is included. The overall study led to the conclusion that the reference satellite power system concept is a feasible baseload source of electrical power and, within the assumed guidelines, the minimum cost per kilowatt is achieved at the maximum output of 5 gigawatts to the utility grid. Major unresolved technical issues include maximum allowable microwave power density in the ionosphere and performance/mass characteristics of laser power transmission systems.

Application of Low level Lasers in Dentistry (Endodontic)

PubMed Central

Asnaashari, Mohammad; Safavi, Nassimeh

2013-01-01

Low level lasers, cold or soft lasers: These lasers do not produce thermal effects on tissues and induce photoreactions in cells through light stimulation which is called photobiostimulation. Power of these lasers is usually under 250mW. The main point differentiating low level lasers and high power ones is the activation of photochemical reactions without heat formation. The most important factor to achieve this light characteristic in lasers is not their power, but their power density for each surfa ceunit (i.e cm2). Density lower than 670mW/cm2, can induce the stimulatory effects of low level lasers without thermal effects. Low level lasers (therapeutic) used today as treatment adjunctive devices in medicine and dentistry. Numerous studies have been performed on the applications of low level lasers in patient pain reduction. Mechanisms of pain reduction with therapeutic lasers and their application are expressed, and the studies realized in this field are presented. PMID:25606308

Optimization of power and energy densities in supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, David B.

Supercapacitors use nanoporous electrodes to store large amounts of charge on their high surface areas, and use the ions in electrolytes to carry charge into the pores. Their high power density makes them a potentially useful complement to batteries. However, ion transport through long, narrow channels still limits power and efficiency in these devices. Proper design can mitigate this. Current collector geometry must also be considered once this is done. Here, De Levie's model for porous electrodes is applied to quantitatively predict device performance and to propose optimal device designs for given specifications. Effects unique to nanoscale pores are considered, including that pores may not have enough salt to fully charge. Supercapacitors are of value for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and power conditioning in electrical grids with distributed renewable sources, and that value will increase as new device fabrication methods are developed and proper design accommodates those improvements. Example design outlines for vehicle applications are proposed and compared.

Experimental parametric study of servers cooling management in data centers buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nada, S. A.; Elfeky, K. E.; Attia, Ali M. A.; Alshaer, W. G.

2017-06-01

A parametric study of air flow and cooling management of data centers servers is experimentally conducted for different design conditions. A physical scale model of data center accommodating one rack of four servers was designed and constructed for testing purposes. Front and rear rack and server's temperatures distributions and supply/return heat indices (SHI/RHI) are used to evaluate data center thermal performance. Experiments were conducted to parametrically study the effects of perforated tiles opening ratio, servers power load variation and rack power density. The results showed that (1) perforated tile of 25% opening ratio provides the best results among the other opening ratios, (2) optimum benefit of cold air in servers cooling is obtained at uniformly power loading of servers (3) increasing power density decrease air re-circulation but increase air bypass and servers temperature. The present results are compared with previous experimental and CFD results and fair agreement was found.

High Performance Carbon Nanotube Yarn Supercapacitors with a Surface-Oxidized Copper Current Collector.

PubMed

Zhang, Daohong; Wu, Yunlong; Li, Ting; Huang, Yin; Zhang, Aiqing; Miao, Menghe

2015-11-25

Threadlike linear supercapacitors have demonstrated high potential for constructing fabrics to power electronic textiles (eTextiles). To improve the cyclic electrochemical performance and to produce power fabrics large enough for practical applications, a current collector has been introduced into the linear supercapcitors to transport charges produced by active materials along the length of the supercapacitor with high efficiency. Here, we first screened six candidate metal filaments (Pt, Au, Ag, AuAg, PtCu, and Cu) as current collectors for carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn-based linear supercapacitors. Although all of the metal filaments significantly improved the electrochemical performance of the linear supercapacitor, two supercapacitors constructed from Cu and PtCu filaments, respectively, demonstrate far better electrochemical performance than the other four supercapacitors. Further investigation shows that the surfaces of the two Cu-containing filaments are oxidized by the surrounding polymer electrolyte in the electrode. While the unoxidized core of the Cu-containing filaments remains highly conductive and functions as a current collector, the resulting CuO on the surface is an electrochemically active material. The linear supercapacitor architecture incorporating dual active materials CNT + Cu extends the potential window from 1.0 to 1.4 V, leading to significant improvement to the energy density and power density.

Surface-to-surface biofilm transfer: a quick and reliable startup strategy for mixed culture microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Vogl, Andreas; Bischof, Franz; Wichern, Marc

2016-01-01

The startup of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is known to be prone to failure or result in erratic performance impeding the research. The aim of this study was to advise a quick launch strategy for laboratory-scale MFCs that ensures steady operation performance in a short period of time. Different startup strategies were investigated and compared with membraneless single chamber MFCs. A direct surface-to-surface biofilm transfer (BFT) in an operating MFC proved to be the most efficient method. It provided steady power densities of 163 ± 13 mWm(-2) 4 days after inoculation compared to 58 ± 15 mWm(-2) after 30 days following a conventional inoculation approach. The in situ BFT eliminates the need for microbial acclimation during startup and reduces performance fluctuations caused by shifts in microbial biodiversity. Anaerobic pretreatment of the substrate and addition of suspended enzymes from an operating MFC into the new MFC proved to have a beneficial effect on startup and subsequent operation. Polarization methods were applied to characterize the startup phase and the steady state operation in terms of power densities, internal resistance and power overshoot during biofilm maturation. Applying this method a well-working MFC can be multiplied into an array of identically performing MFCs.

HENDRICS: High ENergy Data Reduction Interface from the Command Shell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachetti, Matteo

2018-05-01

HENDRICS, a rewrite and update to MaLTPyNT (ascl:1502.021), contains command-line scripts based on Stingray (ascl:1608.001) to perform a quick-look (spectral-)timing analysis of X-ray data, treating the gaps in the data due, e.g., to occultation from the Earth or passages through the SAA, properly. Despite its original main focus on NuSTAR, HENDRICS can perform standard aperiodic timing analysis on X-ray data from, in principle, any other satellite, and its features include power density and cross spectra, time lags, pulsar searches with the Epoch folding and the Z_n^2 statistics, color-color and color-intensity diagrams. The periodograms produced by HENDRICS (such as a power density spectrum or a cospectrum) can be saved in a format compatible with XSPEC (ascl:9910.005) or ISIS (ascl:1302.002)

Functional Carbon Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Huihui

The ability to harvest and convert solar energy has been associated with the evolution of human civilization. The increasing consumption of fossil fuels since the industrial revolution, however, has brought to concerns in ecological deterioration and depletion of the fossil fuels. Facing these challenges, humankind is forced to seek for clean, sustainable and renewable energy resources, such as biofuels, hydraulic power, wind power, geothermal energy and other kinds of alternative energies. However, most alternative energy sources, generally in the form of electrical energy, could not be made available on a continuous basis. It is, therefore, essential to store such energy into chemical energy, which are portable and various applications. In this context, electrochemical energy-storage devices hold great promises towards this goal. The most common electrochemical energy-storage devices are electrochemical capacitors (ECs, also called supercapacitors) and batteries. In comparison to batteries, ECs posses high power density, high efficiency, long cycling life and low cost. ECs commonly utilize carbon as both (symmetric) or one of the electrodes (asymmetric), of which their performance is generally limited by the capacitance of the carbon electrodes. Therefore, developing better carbon materials with high energy density has been emerging as one the most essential challenges in the field. The primary objective of this dissertation is to design and synthesize functional carbon materials with high energy density at both aqueous and organic electrolyte systems. The energy density (E) of ECs are governed by E = CV 2/2, where C is the total capacitance and V is the voltage of the devices. Carbon electrodes with high capacitance and high working voltage should lead to high energy density. In the first part of this thesis, a new class of nanoporous carbons were synthesized for symmetric supercapacitors using aqueous Li2SO4 as the electrolyte. A unique precursor was adopted to create uniformly distributed nanopores with large surface area, leading to high-performance electrodes with high capacitance, excellent rate performance and stable cycling, even under a high working voltage of 1.6V. The second part of this dissertation work further improved the capacitance of the carbon electrodes by fluorine doping. This doping process enhances the affinity of the carbon surface with organic electrolytes, leading to further improved capacitance and energy density. In the third part, carbon materials were synthesized with high surface area, capacitance and working voltage of 4V in organic electrolyte, leading to the construction of prototyped devices with energy density comparable to those of the current lead-acid batteries. Besides the abovementioned research, hierarchical graphitic carbons were also explored for lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors. Overall, through rational design of carbons with optimized pore configuration and surface chemistry, carbon electrodes with improved energy density and rate performance were improved significantly. Collectively, this thesis work systematically unveils simple yet effective strategies to achieve high performance carbon-based supercapacitors with high power density and high energy density, including the following aspects: 1) Constructed electrodes with high capacitance through building favorable ion/electron transportation pathways, tuning pore structure and pore size. 2) Improved the capacitance through enhancing the affinity between the carbon electrodes and electrolytes by doping the carbons with heteroatoms. 3) Explored and understand the roles of heteroatom doping in the capacitive behavior by both experimental measurement and computational modeling. 4) Improved energy density of carbon electrodes by enlarging their working voltage in aqueous and organic electrolyte. 5) Scalable and effective production of hierarchically porous graphite particles through aerosol process for use as the anode materials of lithium ion batteries. These strategies can be extended as a general design platform for other high-performance energy storage materials such as fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries.

Improving NIS Tunnel Junction Refrigerators: Modeling, Materials, and Traps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Neil, Galen Cascade

This thesis presents a systematic study of electron cooling with Normal-metal/insulator/superconductor (NIS) tunnel junctions. NIS refrigerators have an exciting potential to simplify 100 mK and 10 mK cryogenics. Rather than using an expensive dilution refrigerator, researchers will be able to use much simpler cryogenics to reach 300 mK and supplement them with mass fabricated thin-film NIS refrigerators to reach 100 mK and below. The mechanism enabling NIS refrigeration is energy selective tunneling. Due to the gap in the superconducting density of states, only hot electrons tunnel from the normal-metal. Power is removed from the normal-metal, that same power and the larger IV power are both deposited in the superconductor. NIS refrigerators often cool less than theory predicts because of the power deposited in the superconductor returns to the normal-metal. When the superconductor temperature is raised, or athermal phonons due to quasiparticle recombination are absorbed in the normal-metal, refrigerator performance will be reduced. I studied the quasiparticle excitations in superconductors to develop the most complete thermal model of NIS refrigerators to date. I introduced overlayer quasiparticle traps, a new method for heatsinking the superconductor. I present measurements on NIS refrigerators with and without quasiparticle traps, to determine their effectiveness. This includes an NIS refrigerator that cools from 300 mK to 115 mK or lower, a large improvement over previous designs. I also looked into reducing the power deposited in the superconductor, by choosing the transition temperature of the superconductor based upon the NIS refrigerator launch temperature. I performed a detailed study of the density of states of superconducting AlMn alloys, demonstrating that Mn impurities behave non-magnetically in Al due to resonant scattering. The density of states remains BCS-like, but my measurements show that the deviations from a BCS density of states harm cooling in NIS refrigerators.

Analysis of 2D Transport and Performance Characteristics for Lateral Power Devices Based on AlGaN Alloys

DOE PAGES

Coltrin, Michael E.; Baca, Albert G.; Kaplar, Robert J.

2017-10-26

In this paper, predicted lateral power device performance as a function of alloy composition is characterized by a standard lateral device figure-of-merit (LFOM) that depends on mobility, critical electric field, and sheet carrier density. The paper presents calculations of AlGaN electron mobility in lateral devices such as HEMTs across the entire alloy composition range. Alloy scattering and optical polar phonon scattering are the dominant mechanisms limiting carrier mobility. Due to the significant degradation of mobility from alloy scattering, at room temperature Al fractions greater than about 85% are required for improved LFOM relative to GaN using a conservative sheet chargemore » density of 1 × 10 13 cm –2. However, at higher temperatures at which AlGaN power devices are anticipated to operate, this “breakeven” composition decreases to about 65% at 500 K, for example. For high-frequency applications, the Johnson figure-of-merit (JFOM) is the relevant metric to compare potential device performance across materials platforms. At room temperature, the JFOM for AlGaN alloys is predicted to surpass that of GaN for Al fractions greater than about 40%.« less

Analysis of 2D Transport and Performance Characteristics for Lateral Power Devices Based on AlGaN Alloys

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

Coltrin, Michael E.; Baca, Albert G.; Kaplar, Robert J.

In this paper, predicted lateral power device performance as a function of alloy composition is characterized by a standard lateral device figure-of-merit (LFOM) that depends on mobility, critical electric field, and sheet carrier density. The paper presents calculations of AlGaN electron mobility in lateral devices such as HEMTs across the entire alloy composition range. Alloy scattering and optical polar phonon scattering are the dominant mechanisms limiting carrier mobility. Due to the significant degradation of mobility from alloy scattering, at room temperature Al fractions greater than about 85% are required for improved LFOM relative to GaN using a conservative sheet chargemore » density of 1 × 10 13 cm –2. However, at higher temperatures at which AlGaN power devices are anticipated to operate, this “breakeven” composition decreases to about 65% at 500 K, for example. For high-frequency applications, the Johnson figure-of-merit (JFOM) is the relevant metric to compare potential device performance across materials platforms. At room temperature, the JFOM for AlGaN alloys is predicted to surpass that of GaN for Al fractions greater than about 40%.« less

Results from core-edge experiments in high Power, high performance plasmas on DIII-D

DOE PAGES

Petrie, T. W.; Fenstermacher, M. E.; Holcomb, C. T.; ...

2016-12-24

Here, significant challenges to reducing divertor heat flux in highly powered near-double null divertor (DND) hybrid plasmas, while still maintaining both high performance metrics and low enough density for application of RF heating, are identified. For these DNDs on DIII-D, the scaling of the peak heat flux at the outer target (q ⊥ P) ∝ [P SOL x I P] 0.92 for P SOL = 8-19 MW and I P = 1.0–1.4 MA, and is consistent with standard ITPA scaling for single-null H-mode plasmas. Two divertor heat flux reduction methods were tested. First, applying the puff-and-pump radiating divertor to DIII-Dmore » plasmas may be problematical at high power and H98 (≥ 1.5) due to improvement in confinement time with deuterium gas puffing which can lead to unacceptably high core density under certain conditions. Second, q ⊥ P for these high performance DNDs was reduced by ≈35% when an open divertor is closed on the common flux side of the outer divertor target (“semi-slot”) but also that heating near the slot opening is a significant source for impurity contamination of the core.« less

Electrophoretic deposition of multi-walled carbon nanotube on a stainless steel electrode for use in sediment microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Song, Tian-Shun; Peng-Xiao; Wu, Xia-Yuan; Zhou, Charles C

2013-07-01

Sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) could be used as power sources and one type of new technology for the removal of organic matters in sediments. In order to improve electrode materials and enhance their effect on the performance, we deposited multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) on stainless steel net (SSN). Electrophoretic deposition technique as a method with low cost, process simplicity, and thickness control was used for this electrode modification and produced this novel SSN-MWNT electrode. The performances of SMFCs with SSN-MWNT as electrode were investigated. The results showed that the maximum power density of SMFC with SSN-MWNT cathode was 31.6 mW m(-2), which was 3.2 times that of SMFC with an uncoated stainless steel cathode. However, no significant increase in the maximum power density of SMFC with SSN-MWNT anode was detected. Further electrochemical analysis showed that when SSN-MWNT was used as the cathode, the cathodic electrochemical activity and oxygen reduction rate were significantly improved. This study demonstrates that the electrophoretic deposition of carbon nanotubes on conductive substrate can be applied for improving the performance of SMFC.

A novel pilot-scale stacked microbial fuel cell for efficient electricity generation and wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Wu, Shijia; Li, Hui; Zhou, Xuechen; Liang, Peng; Zhang, Xiaoyuan; Jiang, Yong; Huang, Xia

2016-07-01

A novel stacked microbial fuel cell (MFC) which had a total volume of 72 L with granular activated carbon (GAC) packed bed electrodes was constructed and verified to present remarkable power generation and COD removal performance due to its advantageous design of stack and electrode configuration. During the fed-batch operation period, a power density of 50.9 ± 1.7 W/m(3) and a COD removal efficiency of 97% were achieved within 48 h. Because of the differences among MFC modules in the stack, reversal current occurred in parallel circuit connection with high external resistances (>100 Ω). This reversal current consequently reduced the electrochemical performance of some MFC modules and led to a lower power density in parallel circuit connection than that in independent circuit connection. While increasing the influent COD concentrations from 200 to 800 mg/L at hydraulic retention time of 1.25 h in continuous operation mode, the power density of stacked MFC increased from 25.6 ± 2.5 to 42.1 ± 1.2 W/m(3) and the COD removal rates increased from 1.3 to 5.2 kg COD/(m(3) d). This study demonstrated that this novel MFC stack configuration coupling with GAC packed bed electrode could be a feasible strategy to effectively scale up MFC systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radiative Performance of Rare Earth Garnet Thin Film Selective Emitters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lowe, Roland A.; Chubb, Donald L.; Good, Brian S.

1994-01-01

In this paper we present the first emitter efficiency results for the thin film 40 percent Er-1.5 percent Ho YAG (Yttrium Aluminum Garnet, Y3Al5O12) and 25 percent Ho YAG selective emitter at 1500 K with a platinum substrate. Spectral emittance and emissive power measurements were made (1.2 less than lambda less than 3.2 microns). Emitter efficiency and power density are significantly improved with the addition of multiple rare earth dopants. Predicted efficiency results are presented for an optimized (equal power density in the Er, (4)I(sub 15/2)-(4)I(sub 13/2) at 1.5 microns, and Ho, (5)I(sub 7)-(5)I(sub 8) at 2.0 micron emission bands) Er-Ho YAG thin film selective emitter.

Simulation Study of Single-Event Burnout in Power Trench ACCUFETs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Cheng-Hao; Wang, Ying; Fei, Xin-Xing; Cao, Fei

2016-10-01

This paper presents 2-D numerical simulation results of single-event burnout (SEB) in power trench accumulation mode field effect transistor (ACCUFET) for the first time. In this device, a p+ base region is used to deplete the n- base region to achieve a low leakage current density, and the blocking voltage is supported by the n- drift region. We find that the depth of the p+ base region determines both the leakage current density and SEB performance, as a result, there is a tradeoff relationship between the two characteristics. The 60 V hardened power ACCUFET shown in this paper could demonstrate much better SEB performance without sacrificing the current handling capability compared with the standard UMOSFET. The hardened structure mentioned in this paper indicates that an n buffer layer is added between the epitaxial layer and substrate layer based on a basic power device. As a result, the safe operating area (SOA) of the 60 V, 80 V and 100 V hardened ACCUFET discussed in this paper could reach the value of breakdown voltage when the buffer layer is over a certain value, that can realize safety operation throughout entire LET range.

Structural Mechanics and Dynamics Branch

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stefko, George

2003-01-01

The 2002 annual report of the Structural Mechanics and Dynamics Branch reflects the majority of the work performed by the branch staff during the 2002 calendar year. Its purpose is to give a brief review of the branch s technical accomplishments. The Structural Mechanics and Dynamics Branch develops innovative computational tools, benchmark experimental data, and solutions to long-term barrier problems in the areas of propulsion aeroelasticity, active and passive damping, engine vibration control, rotor dynamics, magnetic suspension, structural mechanics, probabilistics, smart structures, engine system dynamics, and engine containment. Furthermore, the branch is developing a compact, nonpolluting, bearingless electric machine with electric power supplied by fuel cells for future "more electric" aircraft. An ultra-high-power-density machine that can generate projected power densities of 50 hp/lb or more, in comparison to conventional electric machines, which generate usually 0.2 hp/lb, is under development for application to electric drives for propulsive fans or propellers. In the future, propulsion and power systems will need to be lighter, to operate at higher temperatures, and to be more reliable in order to achieve higher performance and economic viability. The Structural Mechanics and Dynamics Branch is working to achieve these complex, challenging goals.

Exploring packaging strategies of nano-embedded thermoelectric generators

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

Singha, Aniket; Muralidharan, Bhaskaran, E-mail: bm@ee.iitb.ac.in; Mahanti, Subhendra D.

2015-10-15

Embedding nanostructures within a bulk matrix is an important practical approach towards the electronic engineering of high performance thermoelectric systems. For power generation applications, it ideally combines the efficiency benefit offered by low dimensional systems along with the high power output advantage offered by bulk systems. In this work, we uncover a few crucial details about how to embed nanowires and nanoflakes in a bulk matrix so that an overall advantage over pure bulk may be achieved. First and foremost, we point out that a performance degradation with respect to bulk is inevitable as the nanostructure transitions to a multimore » moded one. It is then shown that a nano embedded system of suitable cross-section offers a power density advantage over a wide range of efficiencies at higher packing fractions, and this range gradually narrows down to the high efficiency regime, as the packing fraction is reduced. Finally, we introduce a metric - the advantage factor, to elucidate quantitatively, the enhancement in the power density offered via nano-embedding at a given efficiency. In the end, we explore the maximum effective width of nano-embedding which serves as a reference in designing generators in the efficiency range of interest.« less

Li Anode Technology for Improved Performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Tuqiang

2011-01-01

A novel, low-cost approach to stabilization of Li metal anodes for high-performance rechargeable batteries was developed. Electrolyte additives are selected and used in Li cell electrolyte systems, promoting formation of a protective coating on Li metal anodes for improved cycle and safety performance. Li batteries developed from the new system will show significantly improved battery performance characteristics, including energy/power density, cycle/ calendar life, cost, and safety.

Graphene and carbon nanotube composite electrodes for supercapacitors with ultra-high energy density.

PubMed

Cheng, Qian; Tang, Jie; Ma, Jun; Zhang, Han; Shinya, Norio; Qin, Lu-Chang

2011-10-21

We describe a graphene and single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) composite film prepared by a blending process for use as electrodes in high energy density supercapacitors. Specific capacitances of 290.6 F g(-1) and 201.0 F g(-1) have been obtained for a single electrode in aqueous and organic electrolytes, respectively, using a more practical two-electrode testing system. In the organic electrolyte the energy density reached 62.8 Wh kg(-1) and the power density reached 58.5 kW kg(-1). The addition of single-walled carbon nanotubes raised the energy density by 23% and power density by 31% more than the graphene electrodes. The graphene/CNT electrodes exhibited an ultra-high energy density of 155.6 Wh kg(-1) in ionic liquid at room temperature. In addition, the specific capacitance increased by 29% after 1000 cycles in ionic liquid, indicating their excellent cyclicity. The SWCNTs acted as a conductive additive, spacer, and binder in the graphene/CNT supercapacitors. This work suggests that our graphene/CNT supercapacitors can be comparable to NiMH batteries in performance and are promising for applications in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2011

40 CFR 1042.140 - Maximum engine power, displacement, power density, and maximum in-use engine speed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Maximum engine power, displacement... Maximum engine power, displacement, power density, and maximum in-use engine speed. This section describes how to determine the maximum engine power, displacement, and power density of an engine for the...

40 CFR 1042.140 - Maximum engine power, displacement, power density, and maximum in-use engine speed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Maximum engine power, displacement... Maximum engine power, displacement, power density, and maximum in-use engine speed. This section describes how to determine the maximum engine power, displacement, and power density of an engine for the...

Performance study of sugar-yeast-ethanol bio-hybrid fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jahnke, Justin P.; Mackie, David M.; Benyamin, Marcus; Ganguli, Rahul; Sumner, James J.

2015-05-01

Renewable alternatives to fossil hydrocarbons for energy generation are of general interest for a variety of political, economic, environmental, and practical reasons. In particular, energy from biomass has many advantages, including safety, sustainability, and the ability to be scavenged from native ecosystems or from waste streams. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can take advantage of microorganism metabolism to efficiently use sugar and other biomolecules as fuel, but are limited by low power densities. In contrast, direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) take advantage of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) to generate electricity from alcohols at much higher power densities. Here, we investigate a novel bio-hybrid fuel cell design prepared using commercial off-the-shelf DAFCs. In the bio-hybrid fuel cells, biomass such as sugar is fermented by yeast to ethanol, which can be used to fuel a DAFC. A separation membrane between the fermentation and the DAFC is used to purify the fermentate while avoiding any parasitic power losses. However, shifting the DAFCs from pure alcohol-water solutions to filtered fermented media introduces complications related to how the starting materials, fermentation byproducts, and DAFC waste products affect both the fermentation and the long-term DAFC performance. This study examines the impact of separation membrane pore size, fermentation/fuel cell byproducts, alcohol and salt concentrations, and load resistance on fuel cell performance. Under optimized conditions, the performance obtained is comparable to that of a similar DAFC run with a pure alcohol-water mixture. Additionally, the modified DAFC can provide useable amounts of power for weeks.

Development of a hybrid battery system for an implantable biomedical device, especially a defibrillator/cardioverter (ICD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drews, Jürgen; Wolf, R.; Fehrmann, G.; Staub, R.

An implantable defibrillator battery has to provide pulse power capabilities as well as high energy density. Low self-discharge rates are mandatory and a way to check the remaining available capacity is necessary. These requirements are accomplished by a system consisting of a lithium/manganese dioxide 6 V battery, plus a lithium/iodine-cell. The use of a high rate 6 V double-cell design in combination with a high energy density cell reduces the total volume required by the power source within an implantable defibrillator. The design features and performance data of the hybrid system are described.

Fiber laser cleaning of metal mirror surfaces for optical diagnostic systems of the ITER

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

Kuznetsov, A. P., E-mail: APKuznetsov@mephi.ru; Alexandrova, A. S.; Buzhinsky, O. I.

2015-12-15

The results of experimental studies into efficiency of removal of films with a complex composition from metal mirrors by pulsed fiber laser irradiation are presented. It is shown that the initial reflectivity of optical elements can be restored by the selection of modes of irradiation impacting the surface with the sputtered film. Effective cleaning is performed by radiation with a power density lower than 10{sup 7} W/cm{sup 2}. The removal of contaminations at such a relatively low power density occurs in a solid phase, owing to which the thermal effect on the mirror is insignificant.

EEG sleep activities react topographically different to GABAergic sleep modulation by flunitrazepam: relationship to regional distribution of benzodiazepine receptor subtypes?

PubMed

Scheuler, W

Spectral analysis was performed to study the response of various EEG sleep activities to a modification of GABAergic sleep regulation by flunitrazepam. We observed sleep stage- and sleep cycle-dependent differences in the topographic distribution of the reactions. An increase in power density was found in the frontal regions for the alpha 2 and sigma 1 frequency band whereas a decrease in power density was emphasized in the posterior regions for the delta and alpha 1 frequency band. These topographic differences might be related to the regional distribution of benzodiazepine receptor subtypes.

Edge-localized mode avoidance and pedestal structure in I-mode plasmas

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

Walk, J. R., E-mail: jrwalk@psfc.mit.edu; Hughes, J. W.; Hubbard, A. E.

I-mode is a high-performance tokamak regime characterized by the formation of a temperature pedestal and enhanced energy confinement, without an accompanying density pedestal or drop in particle and impurity transport. I-mode operation appears to have naturally occurring suppression of large Edge-Localized Modes (ELMs) in addition to its highly favorable scalings of pedestal structure and overall performance. Extensive study of the ELMy H-mode has led to the development of the EPED model, which utilizes calculations of coupled peeling-ballooning MHD modes and kinetic-ballooning mode (KBM) stability limits to predict the pedestal structure preceding an ELM crash. We apply similar tools to themore » structure and ELM stability of I-mode pedestals. Analysis of I-mode discharges prepared with high-resolution pedestal data from the most recent C-Mod campaign reveals favorable pedestal scalings for extrapolation to large machines—pedestal temperature scales strongly with power per particle P{sub net}/n{sup ¯}{sub e}, and likewise pedestal pressure scales as the net heating power (consistent with weak degradation of confinement with heating power). Matched discharges in current, field, and shaping demonstrate the decoupling of energy and particle transport in I-mode, increasing fueling to span nearly a factor of two in density while maintaining matched temperature pedestals with consistent levels of P{sub net}/n{sup ¯}{sub e}. This is consistent with targets for increased performance in I-mode, elevating pedestal β{sub p} and global performance with matched increases in density and heating power. MHD calculations using the ELITE code indicate that I-mode pedestals are strongly stable to edge peeling-ballooning instabilities. Likewise, numerical modeling of the KBM turbulence onset, as well as scalings of the pedestal width with poloidal beta, indicates that I-mode pedestals are not limited by KBM turbulence—both features identified with the trigger for large ELMs, consistent with the observed suppression of large ELMs in I-mode.« less

Edge-localized mode avoidance and pedestal structure in I-mode plasmasa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walk, J. R.; Hughes, J. W.; Hubbard, A. E.; Terry, J. L.; Whyte, D. G.; White, A. E.; Baek, S. G.; Reinke, M. L.; Theiler, C.; Churchill, R. M.; Rice, J. E.; Snyder, P. B.; Osborne, T.; Dominguez, A.; Cziegler, I.

2014-05-01

I-mode is a high-performance tokamak regime characterized by the formation of a temperature pedestal and enhanced energy confinement, without an accompanying density pedestal or drop in particle and impurity transport. I-mode operation appears to have naturally occurring suppression of large Edge-Localized Modes (ELMs) in addition to its highly favorable scalings of pedestal structure and overall performance. Extensive study of the ELMy H-mode has led to the development of the EPED model, which utilizes calculations of coupled peeling-ballooning MHD modes and kinetic-ballooning mode (KBM) stability limits to predict the pedestal structure preceding an ELM crash. We apply similar tools to the structure and ELM stability of I-mode pedestals. Analysis of I-mode discharges prepared with high-resolution pedestal data from the most recent C-Mod campaign reveals favorable pedestal scalings for extrapolation to large machines—pedestal temperature scales strongly with power per particle Pnet/n ¯e, and likewise pedestal pressure scales as the net heating power (consistent with weak degradation of confinement with heating power). Matched discharges in current, field, and shaping demonstrate the decoupling of energy and particle transport in I-mode, increasing fueling to span nearly a factor of two in density while maintaining matched temperature pedestals with consistent levels of Pnet/n ¯e. This is consistent with targets for increased performance in I-mode, elevating pedestal βp and global performance with matched increases in density and heating power. MHD calculations using the ELITE code indicate that I-mode pedestals are strongly stable to edge peeling-ballooning instabilities. Likewise, numerical modeling of the KBM turbulence onset, as well as scalings of the pedestal width with poloidal beta, indicates that I-mode pedestals are not limited by KBM turbulence—both features identified with the trigger for large ELMs, consistent with the observed suppression of large ELMs in I-mode.

Minimizing performance degradation induced by interfacial recombination in perovskite solar cells through tailoring of the transport layer electronic properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Liang; Molaei Imenabadi, Rouzbeh; Vandenberghe, William G.; Hsu, Julia W. P.

2018-03-01

The performance of hybrid organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite solar cells is investigated using one-dimensional drift-diffusion device simulations. We study the effects of interfacial defect density, doping concentration, and electronic level positions of the charge transport layer (CTL). Choosing CTLs with a favorable band alignment, rather than passivating CTL-perovskite interfacial defects, is shown to be beneficial for maintaining high power-conversion efficiency, due to reduced minority carrier density arising from a favorable local electric field profile. Insights from this study provide theoretical guidance on practical selection of CTL materials for achieving high-performance perovskite solar cells.

Flexible Nb2O5 nanowires/graphene film electrode for high-performance hybrid Li-ion supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Hao; Fu, Jijiang; Ding, Kang; Huang, Chao; Wu, Kai; Zhang, Xuming; Gao, Biao; Huo, Kaifu; Peng, Xiang; Chu, Paul K.

2016-10-01

The hybrid Li-ion electrochemical supercapacitor (Li-HSC) combining the battery-like anode with capacitive cathode is a promising energy storage device boasting large energy and power densities. Orthorhombic Nb2O5 is a good anode material in Li-HSCs because of its large pseudocapacitive Li-ion intercalation capacity. Herein, we report a high-performance, binder-free and flexible anode consisting of long Nb2O5 nanowires and graphene (L-Nb2O5 NWs/rGO). The paper-like L-Nb2O5 NWs/rGO film electrode has a large mass loading of Nb2O5 of 93.5 wt% as well as short solid-state ion diffusion length, and enhanced conductivity (5.1 S cm-1). The hybrid L-Nb2O5 NWs/rGO paper electrode shows a high reversible specific capacity of 160 mA h g-1 at a current density of 0.2 A g-1, superior rate capability with capacitance retention of 60% when the current density increases from 0.2 to 5 A g-1, as well as excellent cycle stability. The Li-HSC device based on the L-Nb2O5/rGO anode and the cathode of biomass-derived carbon nanosheets delivers an energy density of 106 Wh kg-1 at 580 W kg-1 and 32 Wh kg-1 at a large power density of 14 kW kg-1. Moreover, the Li-HSC device exhibits excellent cycling performance without obvious capacitance decay after 1000 cycles.

Ni nanoparticles@Ni-Mo nitride nanorod arrays: a novel 3D-network hierarchical structure for high areal capacitance hybrid supercapacitors.

PubMed

Ruan, Yunjun; Lv, Lin; Li, Zhishan; Wang, Chundong; Jiang, Jianjun

2017-11-23

Because of the advanced nature of their high power density, fast charge/discharge time, excellent cycling stability, and safety, supercapacitors have attracted intensive attention for large-scale applications. Nevertheless, one of the obstacles for their further development is their low energy density caused by sluggish redox reaction kinetics, low electroactive electrode materials, and/or high internal resistance. Here, we develop a facile and simple nitridation process to successfully synthesize hierarchical Ni nanoparticle decorated Ni 0.2 Mo 0.8 N nanorod arrays on a nickel foam (Ni-Mo-N NRA/NF) from its NiMoO 4 precursor, which delivers a high areal capacity of 2446 mC cm -2 at a current density of 2 mA cm -2 and shows outstanding cycling stability. The superior performance of the Ni-Mo-N NRA/NF can be ascribed to the metallic conductive nature of the Ni-Mo nitride, the fast surface redox reactions for the electrolyte ions and electrode materials, and the low contacted resistance between the active materials and the current collectors. Furthermore, a hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) is assembled using the Ni-Mo-N NRA/NF as the positive electrode and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as the negative electrode. The optimized HSC exhibits excellent electrochemical performance with a high energy density of 40.9 W h kg -1 at a power density of 773 W kg -1 and a retention of 80.1% specific capacitance after 6000 cycles. These results indicate that the Ni-Mo-N NRA/NF have a promising potential for use in high-performance supercapacitors.

Hierarchical Mn2O3 Microspheres In-Situ Coated with Carbon for Supercapacitors with Highly Enhanced Performances

PubMed Central

Gong, Feilong; Lu, Shuang; Peng, Lifang; Zhou, Jing; Kong, Jinming; Jia, Dianzeng; Li, Feng

2017-01-01

Porous Mn2O3 microspheres have been synthesized and in-situ coated with amorphous carbon to form hierarchical C@Mn2O3 microspheres by first producing MnCO3 microspheres in solvothermal reactions, and then annealing at 500 °C. The self-assembly growth of MnCO3 microspheres can generate hollow structures inside each of the particles, which can act as micro-reservoirs to store biomass-glycerol for generating amorphous carbon onto the surfaces of Mn2O3 nanorods consisting of microspheres. The C@Mn2O3 microspheres, prepared at 500 °C, exhibit highly enhanced pseudocapacitive performances when compared to the particles after annealed at 400 °C and 600 °C. Specifically, the C@Mn2O3 microspheres prepared at 500 °C show high specific capacitances of 383.87 F g−1 at current density of 0.5 A g−1, and excellent cycling stability of 90.47% of its initial value after cycling for 5000 times. The asymmetric supercapacitors assembled with C@Mn2O3 microspheres after annealed at 500 °C and activated carbon (AC) show an energy density of up to 77.8 Wh kg−1 at power density of 500.00 W kg−1, and a maximum power density of 20.14 kW kg−1 at energy density of 46.8 Wh kg−1. We can attribute the enhanced electrochemical performances of the materials to their three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical structure in-situ coated with carbon. PMID:29168756

A Thin Film Flexible Supercapacitor Based on Oblique Angle Deposited Ni/NiO Nanowire Arrays.

PubMed

Ma, Jing; Liu, Wen; Zhang, Shuyuan; Ma, Zhe; Song, Peishuai; Yang, Fuhua; Wang, Xiaodong

2018-06-11

With high power density, fast charging-discharging speed, and a long cycling life, supercapacitors are a kind of highly developed novel energy-storage device that has shown a growing performance and various unconventional shapes such as flexible, linear-type, stretchable, self-healing, etc. Here, we proposed a rational design of thin film, flexible micro-supercapacitors with in-plane interdigital electrodes, where the electrodes were fabricated using the oblique angle deposition technique to grow oblique Ni/NiO nanowire arrays directly on polyimide film. The obtained electrodes have a high specific surface area and good adhesion to the substrate compared with other in-plane micro-supercapacitors. Meanwhile, the as-fabricated micro-supercapacitors have good flexibility and satisfactory energy-storage performance, exhibiting a high specific capacity of 37.1 F/cm³, a high energy density of 5.14 mWh/cm³, a power density of up to 0.5 W/cm³, and good stability during charge-discharge cycles and repeated bending-recovery cycles, respectively. Our micro-supercapacitors can be used as ingenious energy storage devices for future portable and wearable electronic applications.

Optimization of electrode characteristics for the Br₂/H₂ redox flow cell

DOE PAGES

Tucker, Michael C.; Cho, Kyu Taek; Weber, Adam Z.; ...

2014-10-17

The Br₂/H₂ redox flow cell shows promise as a high-power, low-cost energy storage device. The effect of various aspects of material selection, processing, and assembly of electrodes on the operation, performance, and efficiency of the system is determined. In particular, (+) electrode thickness, cell compression, hydrogen pressure, and (–) electrode architecture are investigated. Increasing hydrogen pressure and depositing the (–) catalyst layer on the membrane instead of on the carbon-paper backing layers have a large positive impact on performance, enabling a limiting current density above 2 A cm -2 and a peak power density of 1.4 W cm -2. Maximummore » energy efficiency of 79% is achieved. In addition, the root cause of limiting-current behavior in this system is elucidated, where it is found that Br - reversibly adsorbs at the Pt (–) electrode for potentials exceeding a critical value, and the extent of Br - coverage is potential-dependent. This phenomenon limits maximum cell current density and must be addressed in system modeling and design. These findings are expected to lower system cost and enable higher efficiency.« less

A spin transfer torque magnetoresistance random access memory-based high-density and ultralow-power associative memory for fully data-adaptive nearest neighbor search with current-mode similarity evaluation and time-domain minimum searching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Yitao; Miura, Sadahiko; Honjo, Hiroaki; Ikeda, Shoji; Hanyu, Takahiro; Ohno, Hideo; Endoh, Tetsuo

2017-04-01

A high-density nonvolatile associative memory (NV-AM) based on spin transfer torque magnetoresistive random access memory (STT-MRAM), which achieves highly concurrent and ultralow-power nearest neighbor search with full adaptivity of the template data format, has been proposed and fabricated using the 90 nm CMOS/70 nm perpendicular-magnetic-tunnel-junction hybrid process. A truly compact current-mode circuitry is developed to realize flexibly controllable and high-parallel similarity evaluation, which makes the NV-AM adaptable to any dimensionality and component-bit of template data. A compact dual-stage time-domain minimum searching circuit is also developed, which can freely extend the system for more template data by connecting multiple NM-AM cores without additional circuits for integrated processing. Both the embedded STT-MRAM module and the computing circuit modules in this NV-AM chip are synchronously power-gated to completely eliminate standby power and maximally reduce operation power by only activating the currently accessed circuit blocks. The operations of a prototype chip at 40 MHz are demonstrated by measurement. The average operation power is only 130 µW, and the circuit density is less than 11 µm2/bit. Compared with the latest conventional works in both volatile and nonvolatile approaches, more than 31.3% circuit area reductions and 99.2% power improvements are achieved, respectively. Further power performance analyses are discussed, which verify the special superiority of the proposed NV-AM in low-power and large-memory-based VLSIs.

Formation of novel hydrogel bio-anode by immobilization of biocatalyst in alginate/polyaniline/titanium-dioxide/graphite composites and its electrical performance.

PubMed

Szöllősi, Attila; Hoschke, Ágoston; Rezessy-Szabó, Judit M; Bujna, Erika; Kun, Szilárd; Nguyen, Quang D

2017-05-01

A new bio-anode containing gel-entrapped bacteria in alginate/polyaniline/TiO 2 /graphite composites was constructed and electrically investigated. Alginate as dopant and template as well as entrapped gel was used for immobilization of microorganism cells. Increase of polyaniline concentration resulted an increase in the conductivity in gels. Addition of 0.01 and 0.02 g/mL polyaniline caused 6-fold and 10-fold higher conductivity, respectively. Furthermore, addition of 0.05 g/mL graphite powder caused 10-fold higher conductivity and 4-fold higher power density, respectively. The combination of polyaniline and graphite resulted 105-fold higher conductivity and 7-fold higher power-density output. Optimized concentrations of polyaniline and graphite powder were determined to be 0.02 g/mL and 0.05 g/mL, respectively. Modified hydrogel anode was successfully used in microbial fuel cell systems both in semi- and continuous operations modes. In semi-continuous mode, about 7.88 W/m 3 power density was obtained after 13 h of fermentation. The glucose consumption rate was calculated to be about 7 mg glucose/h/1.2·10 7  CFU immobilized cells. Similar power density was observed in the continuous operation mode of the microbial fuel cell, and it was operated stably for more than 7 days. Our results are very promising for development of an improved microbial fuel cell with new type of bio-anode that have higher power density and can operate for long term. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rich-burn, flame-assisted fuel cell, quick-mix, lean-burn (RFQL) combustor and power generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milcarek, Ryan J.; Ahn, Jeongmin

2018-03-01

Micro-tubular flame-assisted fuel cells (mT-FFC) were recently proposed as a modified version of the direct flame fuel cell (DFFC) operating in a dual chamber configuration. In this work, a rich-burn, quick-mix, lean-burn (RQL) combustor is combined with a micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cell (mT-SOFC) stack to create a rich-burn, flame-assisted fuel cell, quick-mix, lean-burn (RFQL) combustor and power generation system. The system is tested for rapid startup and achieves peak power densities after only 35 min of testing. The mT-FFC power density and voltage are affected by changes in the fuel-lean and fuel-rich combustion equivalence ratio. Optimal mT-FFC performance favors high fuel-rich equivalence ratios and a fuel-lean combustion equivalence ratio around 0.80. The electrical efficiency increases by 150% by using an intermediate temperature cathode material and improving the insulation. The RFQL combustor and power generation system achieves rapid startup, a simplified balance of plant and may have applications for reduced NOx formation and combined heat and power.

Particle-In-Cell Simulations of Asymmetric Dual Frequency Capacitive Discharge Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Alan; Lichtenberg, A. J.; Lieberman, M. A.; Verboncoeur, J. P.

2003-10-01

Dual frequency capacitive discharges are finding increasing use for etching in the microelectronics industry. In the ideal case, the high frequency power (typically 27.1-160 MHz) controls the plasma density and the low frequency power (typically 2-13.56 MHz) controls the ion energy. The electron power deposition and the dynamics of dual frequency rf sheaths are not well understood. We report on particle-in-cell computer simulations of an asymmetric dual frequency argon discharge. The simulations are performed in 1D (radial) geometry using the bounded electrostatic code XPDP1. Operating parameters are 27.1/2 MHz high/low frequencies, 10/13 cm inner/outer radii, 3-200 mTorr pressures, and 10^9-10^11 cm-3 densities. We determine the power deposition and sheath dynamics for the high frequency power alone, and with various added low frequency powers. We compare the simulation results to simple global models of dual frequency discharges. Support provided by Lam Research, NSF Grant ECS-0139956, California industries, and UC-SMART Contract SM99-10051.

Theoretical modeling, simulation and experimental study of hybrid piezoelectric and electromagnetic energy harvester

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ping; Gao, Shiqiao; Cong, Binglong

2018-03-01

In this paper, performances of vibration energy harvester combined piezoelectric (PE) and electromagnetic (EM) mechanism are studied by theoretical analysis, simulation and experimental test. For the designed harvester, electromechanical coupling modeling is established, and expressions of vibration response, output voltage, current and power are derived. Then, performances of the harvester are simulated and tested; moreover, the power charging rechargeable battery is realized through designed energy storage circuit. By the results, it's found that compared with piezoelectric-only and electromagnetic-only energy harvester, the hybrid energy harvester can enhance the output power and harvesting efficiency; furthermore, at the harmonic excitation, output power of harvester linearly increases with acceleration amplitude increasing; while it enhances with acceleration spectral density increasing at the random excitation. In addition, the bigger coupling strength, the bigger output power is, and there is the optimal load resistance to make the harvester output the maximal power.

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

McKegg, A.

On February 6, 1987, Westinghouse Industry Services Queensland and Integrated Power Corporation (IPC) of Rockville, Maryland began their joint effort to design, build and install a hybrid photovoltaic/diesel power generation station. Installation began on June 1, 1987 and the system was operational on October 30, 1987. The system combines the quality, reliability and low operating costs of photovoltaics with the lower capital cost, high energy density and high efficiency at full load of diesel generators. The performance of the Coconut Island power system has been an unquestioned success. Power availability has exceeded 99 percent, a level comparable with local utilities.more » Energy capacity has not only met projections, but the system's flexibility has allowed energy output to be increased 40 percent beyond design level to accommodate the Islanders' enthusiastic demand for power. The power describes the design, performance, installation, and acceptance of the hybrid system. A table lists technical applications.« less

76 FR 80993 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-27

... option of obtaining several cabinet sizes and power densities. The co-located customer may obtain a half cabinet, a low density cabinet, a medium density cabinet, a medium-high density cabinet and a high density...-location customer may obtain more power by choosing a combination of lower power density cabinets. However...

76 FR 80995 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NASDAQ OMX PHLX LLC; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-27

... cabinet sizes and power densities. The co-located customer may obtain a half cabinet, a low density cabinet, a medium density cabinet, a medium-high density cabinet and a high density cabinet. Each cabinet... obtain more power by choosing a combination of lower power density cabinets. However, the Exchange is...

Integrating Reverse-Electrodialysis Stacks with Flow Batteries for Improved Energy Recovery from Salinity Gradients and Energy Storage.

PubMed

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

2017-02-22

Salinity gradient energy can be directly converted into electrical power by using reverse electrodialysis (RED) and other technologies, but reported power densities have been too low for practical applications. Herein, the RED stack performance was improved by using 2,6-dihydroxyanthraquinone and ferrocyanide as redox couples. These electrolytes were then used in a flow battery to produce an integrated RED stack and flow battery (RED-FB) system capable of capturing, storing, and discharging salinity gradient energy. Energy captured from the RED stack was discharged in the flow battery at a maximum power density of 3.0 kW m -2 -anode, which was similar to the flow batteries charged by electrical power and could be used for practical applications. Salinity gradient energy captured from the RED stack was recovered from the electrolytes as electricity with 30 % efficiency, and the maximum energy density of the system was 2.4 kWh m -3 -anolyte. The combined RED-FB system overcomes many limitations of previous approaches to capture, store, and use salinity gradient energy from natural or engineered sources. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effect of microbubble ligation to cells on ultrasound signal enhancement: implications for targeted imaging.

PubMed

Lankford, Miles; Behm, Carolyn Z; Yeh, James; Klibanov, Alexander L; Robinson, Peter; Lindner, Jonathan R

2006-10-01

Molecular imaging with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) relies on the detection of microbubbles retained in regions of disease. The aim of this study was to determine whether microbubble attachment to cells influences their acoustic signal generation and stability. Biotinylated microbubbles were attached to streptavidin-coated plates to derive density versus intensity relations during low- and high-power imaging. To assess damping from microbubble attachment to solid or cell surfaces, in vitro imaging was performed for microbubbles charge-coupled to methacrylate spheres and for vascular cell adhesion molecule-1-targeted microbubbles attached to endothelial cells. Signal enhancement on plates increased according to acoustic power and microbubble site density up to 300 mm. Microbubble signal was reduced by attachment to solid spheres during high- and low-power imaging but was minimally reduced by attachment to endothelial cells and only at low power. Attachment of targeted microbubbles to rigid surfaces results in damping and a reduction of their acoustic signal, which is not seen when microbubbles are attached to cells. A reliable concentration versus intensity relationship can be expected from microbubble attachment to 2-dimensional surfaces until a very high site density is reached.

Electrochemically exfoliated graphene anodes with enhanced biocurrent production in single-chamber air-breathing microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Najafabadi, Amin Taheri; Ng, Norvin; Gyenge, Előd

2016-07-15

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) present promising options for environmentally sustainable power generation especially in conjunction with waste water treatment. However, major challenges remain including low power density, difficult scale-up, and durability of the cell components. This study reports enhanced biocurrent production in a membrane-free MFC, using graphene microsheets (GNs) as anode and MnOx catalyzed air cathode. The GNs are produced by ionic liquid assisted simultaneous anodic and cathodic electrochemical exfoliation of iso-molded graphite electrodes. The GNs produced by anodic exfoliation increase the MFC peak power density by over 300% compared to plain carbon cloth (i.e., 2.85Wm(-2) vs 0.66Wm(-2), respectively), and by 90% compared to conventional carbon black (i.e., Vulcan XC-72) anode. These results exceed previously reported power densities for graphene-containing MFC anodes. The fuel cell polarization results are corroborated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy indicating three times lower charge transfer resistance for the GN anode. Material characterizations suggest that the best performing GN samples were of relatively smaller size (~500nm), with higher levels of ionic liquid induced surface functionalization during the electrochemical exfoliation process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

47 CFR 90.1215 - Power limits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... peak power spectral density of 21 dBm per one MHz. High power devices using channel bandwidths other than those listed above are permitted; however, they are limited to peak power spectral density of 21 d... conducted output power and the peak power spectral density should be reduced by the amount in decibels that...

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.

Parametric design criteria of an updated thermoradiative cell operating at optimal states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xin; Peng, Wanli; Lin, Jian; Chen, Xiaohang; Chen, Jincan

2017-11-01

An updated mode of the thermoradiative cell (TRC) with sub-band gap and non-radiative losses is proposed, which can efficiently harvest moderate-temperature heat energy and convert a part of heat into electricity. It is found that when the TRC is operated between the heat source at 800 K and the environment at 300 K , its maximum power output density and efficiency can attain 1490 W m-2 and 27.2 % , respectively. Moreover, the effects of some key parameters including the band gap and voltage output on the performance of the TRC are discussed. The optimally working regions of the power density, efficiency, band gap, and voltage output are determined. The maximum efficiency and power output density of the TRC operated at different temperatures are calculated and compared with those of thermophotovoltaic cells (TPVCs) and thermionic energy converters (TECs), and consequently, it is revealed that the maximum efficiency of the TRC operated at the moderate-temperature range is much higher than that of the TEC or the TPVC and the maximum power output density of the TRC is larger than that of the TEC but smaller than that of the TPVC. Particularly, the TRC is manufactured more easily than the near-field TPVC possessing a nanoscale vacuum gap. The results obtained will be helpful for engineers to choose the semiconductor materials, design and manufacture TRCs, and control operative conditions.

Experimental advances and preliminary mathematical modeling of the Swiss-roll mixed-reactant direct borohydride fuel cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aziznia, Amin; Oloman, Colin W.; Gyenge, Előd L.

2014-11-01

The Swiss-roll single-cell mixed reactant (SR-MRFC) borohydride - oxygen fuel cell equipped with Pt/carbon cloth 3D anode and either MnO2 or Ag gas-diffusion cathodes is investigated by a combination of experimental studies and preliminary mathematical modeling of the polarization curve. We investigate the effects of four variables: cathode side metallic mesh fluid distributor, separator type (Nafion 112® vs. Viledon®), cathode catalyst (MnO2 vs. Ag), and the hydrophilic pore volume fraction of the gas-diffusion cathode. Using a two-phase feed of alkaline borohydride solution (1 M NaBH4 - 2 M NaOH) and O2 gas in an SR-MRFC equipped with Pt/C 3D anode, MnO2 gas diffusion cathode, Viledon® porous diaphragm, expanded mesh cathode-side fluid distributor, the maximum superficial power density is 2230 W m-2 at 323 K and 105 kPa(abs). The latter superficial power density is almost 3.5 times higher than our previously reported superficial power density for the same catalyst combinations. Furthermore, with a Pt anode and Ag cathode catalyst combination, a superficial power density of 2500 W m-2 is achieved with superior performance durability compared to the MnO2 cathode. The fuel cell results are substantiated by impedance spectroscopy analysis and preliminary mathematical model predictions based on mixed potential theory.

Tidal Power Exploitation in Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Byung Ho; Kim, Kyeong Ok; Choi, Jae Cheon

The highest tides in South Korea are found along the northwest coast between latitudes 36-38 degrees and the number of possible sites for tidal range power barrages to create tidal basins is great due to irregular coastlines with numerous bays. At present Lake Sihwa tidal power plant is completed. The plant is consisted of 10 bulb type turbines with 8 sluice gates. The installed capacity of turbines and generators is 254MW and annual energy output expected is about 552.7 GWh taking flood flow generation scheme. Three other TPP projects are being progressed at Garolim Bay (20 turbines with 25.4MW capacity), Kangwha (28 turbines with 25.4MW capacity), Incheon (44 or 48 turbines with 30 MW capacity) and project features will be outlined here. The introduction of tidal barrages into four major TPP projects along the Kyeonggi bay will render wide range of potential impacts. Preliminary attempts were performed to quantify these impacts using 2 D hydrodynamic model demonstrating the changes in tidal amplitude and phase under mean tidal condition, associated changes in residual circulation (indicator for SPM and pollutant dispersion), bottom stress (indicator for bedload movement), and tidal front (positional indicator for bio-productivity) in both shelf scale and local context. Tidal regime modeling system for ocean tides in the seas bordering the Korean Peninsula is designed to cover an area that is broad in scope and size, yet provide a high degree of resolution in strong tidal current region including off southwestern tip of the Peninsula (Uldolmok , Jangjuk, Wando-Hoenggan), Daebang Sudo (Channel) and Kyeonggi Bay. With this simulation system, real tidal time simulation of extended springneap cycles was performed to estimate spatial distribution of tidal current power potentials in terms of power density, energy density and then extrapolated annual energy density.

A Terrestrial Microbial Fuel Cell for Powering a Single-Hop Wireless Sensor Network.

PubMed

Zhang, Daxing; Zhu, Yingmin; Pedrycz, Witold; Guo, Yongxian

2016-05-18

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are envisioned as one of the most promising alternative renewable energy sources because they can generate electric current continuously while treating waste. Terrestrial Microbial Fuel Cells (TMFCs) can be inoculated and work on the use of soil, which further extends the application areas of MFCs. Energy supply, as a primary influential factor determining the lifetime of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) nodes, remains an open challenge in sensor networks. In theory, sensor nodes powered by MFCs have an eternal life. However, low power density and high internal resistance of MFCs are two pronounced problems in their operation. A single-hop WSN powered by a TMFC experimental setup was designed and experimented with. Power generation performance of the proposed TMFC, the relationships between the performance of the power generation and the environment temperature, the water content of the soil by weight were measured by experiments. Results show that the TMFC can achieve good power generation performance under special environmental conditions. Furthermore, the experiments with sensor data acquisition and wireless transmission of the TMFC powering WSN were carried out. We demonstrate that the obtained experimental results validate the feasibility of TMFCs powering WSNs.

A Terrestrial Microbial Fuel Cell for Powering a Single-Hop Wireless Sensor Network

PubMed Central

Zhang, Daxing; Zhu, Yingmin; Pedrycz, Witold; Guo, Yongxian

2016-01-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are envisioned as one of the most promising alternative renewable energy sources because they can generate electric current continuously while treating waste. Terrestrial Microbial Fuel Cells (TMFCs) can be inoculated and work on the use of soil, which further extends the application areas of MFCs. Energy supply, as a primary influential factor determining the lifetime of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) nodes, remains an open challenge in sensor networks. In theory, sensor nodes powered by MFCs have an eternal life. However, low power density and high internal resistance of MFCs are two pronounced problems in their operation. A single-hop WSN powered by a TMFC experimental setup was designed and experimented with. Power generation performance of the proposed TMFC, the relationships between the performance of the power generation and the environment temperature, the water content of the soil by weight were measured by experiments. Results show that the TMFC can achieve good power generation performance under special environmental conditions. Furthermore, the experiments with sensor data acquisition and wireless transmission of the TMFC powering WSN were carried out. We demonstrate that the obtained experimental results validate the feasibility of TMFCs powering WSNs. PMID:27213346

A Numerical Simulation of the Energy Conversion Process in Microwave Rocket

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

Shibata, Teppei; Oda, Yasuhisa; Komurasaki, Kimiya

2008-04-28

In Microwave Rocket, a high power microwave beam ionizes atmospheric air inside of the thruster and the ionization front drives a shock wave. In this paper, CFD simulation was conducted using measured propagation velocity of the ionization front to evaluate the engine performance. As a result, maximum cycle efficiency was obtained at the power density of about 200 kW/m{sup 2} which is the transitional beam power condition between Microwave Supported Combustion and Microwave Supported Detonation regimes.

Automated crystallographic ligand building using the medial axis transform of an electron-density isosurface.

PubMed

Aishima, Jun; Russel, Daniel S; Guibas, Leonidas J; Adams, Paul D; Brunger, Axel T

2005-10-01

Automatic fitting methods that build molecules into electron-density maps usually fail below 3.5 A resolution. As a first step towards addressing this problem, an algorithm has been developed using an approximation of the medial axis to simplify an electron-density isosurface. This approximation captures the central axis of the isosurface with a graph which is then matched against a graph of the molecular model. One of the first applications of the medial axis to X-ray crystallography is presented here. When applied to ligand fitting, the method performs at least as well as methods based on selecting peaks in electron-density maps. Generalization of the method to recognition of common features across multiple contour levels could lead to powerful automatic fitting methods that perform well even at low resolution.

Bio-Nanobattery Development and Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

King, Glen C.; Choi, Sang H.; Chu, Sang-Hyon; Kim, Jae-Woo; Watt, Gerald D.; Lillehei, Peter T.; Park, Yeonjoon; Elliott, James R.

2005-01-01

A bio-nanobattery is an electrical energy storage device that utilizes organic materials and processes on an atomic, or nanometer-scale. The bio-nanobattery under development at NASA s Langley Research Center provides new capabilities for electrical power generation, storage, and distribution as compared to conventional power storage systems. Most currently available electronic systems and devices rely on a single, centralized power source to supply electrical power to a specified location in the circuit. As electronic devices and associated components continue to shrink in size towards the nanometer-scale, a single centralized power source becomes impractical. Small systems, such as these, will require distributed power elements to reduce Joule heating, to minimize wiring quantities, and to allow autonomous operation of the various functions performed by the circuit. Our research involves the development and characterization of a bio-nanobattery using ferritins reconstituted with both an iron core (Fe-ferritin) and a cobalt core (Co-ferritin). Synthesis and characterization of the Co-ferritin and Fe-ferritin electrodes were performed, including reducing capability and the half-cell electrical potentials. Electrical output of nearly 0.5 V for the battery cell was measured. Ferritin utilizing other metallic cores were also considered to increase the overall electrical output. Two dimensional ferritin arrays were produced on various substrates to demonstrate the feasibility of a thin-film nano-scaled power storage system for distributed power storage applications. The bio-nanobattery will be ideal for nanometerscaled electronic applications, due to the small size, high energy density, and flexible thin-film structure. A five-cell demonstration article was produced for concept verification and bio-nanobattery characterization. Challenges to be addressed include the development of a multi-layered thin-film, increasing the energy density, dry-cell bionanobattery development, and selection of ferritin core materials to allow the broadest range of applications. The potential applications for the distributed power system include autonomously-operating intelligent chips, flexible thin-film electronic circuits, nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS), ultra-high density data storage devices, nanoelectromagnetics, quantum electronic devices, biochips, nanorobots for medical applications and mechanical nano-fabrication, etc.

Faradic redox active material of Cu7S4 nanowires with a high conductance for flexible solid state supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javed, Muhammad Sufyan; Dai, Shuge; Wang, Mingjun; Xi, Yi; Lang, Qiang; Guo, Donglin; Hu, Chenguo

2015-08-01

The exploration of high Faradic redox active materials with the advantages of low cost and low toxicity has been attracting great attention for producing high energy storage supercapacitors. Here, the high Faradic redox active material of Cu7S4-NWs coated on a carbon fiber fabric (CFF) is directly used as a binder-free electrode for a high performance flexible solid state supercapacitor. The Cu7S4-NW-CFF supercapacitor exhibits excellent electrochemical performance such as a high specific capacitance of 400 F g-1 at the scan rate of 10 mV s-1 and a high energy density of 35 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 200 W kg-1, with the advantages of a light weight, high flexibility and long term cycling stability by retaining 95% after 5000 charge-discharge cycles at a constant current of 10 mA. The high Faradic redox activity and high conductance behavior of the Cu7S4-NWs result in a high pseudocapacitive performance with a relatively high specific energy and specific power. Such a new type of pseudocapacitive material of Cu7S4-NWs with its low cost is very promising for actual application in supercapacitors.The exploration of high Faradic redox active materials with the advantages of low cost and low toxicity has been attracting great attention for producing high energy storage supercapacitors. Here, the high Faradic redox active material of Cu7S4-NWs coated on a carbon fiber fabric (CFF) is directly used as a binder-free electrode for a high performance flexible solid state supercapacitor. The Cu7S4-NW-CFF supercapacitor exhibits excellent electrochemical performance such as a high specific capacitance of 400 F g-1 at the scan rate of 10 mV s-1 and a high energy density of 35 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 200 W kg-1, with the advantages of a light weight, high flexibility and long term cycling stability by retaining 95% after 5000 charge-discharge cycles at a constant current of 10 mA. The high Faradic redox activity and high conductance behavior of the Cu7S4-NWs result in a high pseudocapacitive performance with a relatively high specific energy and specific power. Such a new type of pseudocapacitive material of Cu7S4-NWs with its low cost is very promising for actual application in supercapacitors. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03363b

Scattering volume in the collective Thomson scattering measurement using high power gyrotron in the LHD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubo, S.; Nishiura, M.; Tanaka, K.; Moseev, D.; Ogasawara, S.; Shimozuma, T.; Yoshimura, Y.; Igami, H.; Takahashi, H.; Tsujimura, T. I.; Makino, R.

2016-06-01

High-power gyrotrons prepared for the electron cyclotron heating at 77 GHz has been used for a collective Thomson scattering (CTS) study in LHD. Due to the difficulty in removing fundamental and/or second harmonic resonance in the viewing line of sight, the subtraction of the background ECE from measured signal was performed by modulating the probe beam power from a gyrotron. The separation of the scattering component from the background has been performed successfully taking into account the response time difference between both high-energy and bulk components. The other separation was attempted by fast scanning the viewing beam across the probing beam. It is found that the intensity of the scattered spectrum corresponding to the bulk and high energy components were almost proportional to the calculated scattering volume in the relatively low density region, while appreciable background scattered component remains even in the off volume in some high density cases. The ray-trace code TRAVIS is used to estimate the change in the scattering volume due to probing and receiving beam deflection effect.

Facilitated charge transport in ternary interconnected electrodes for flexible supercapacitors with excellent power characteristics.

PubMed

Chen, Wanjun; He, Yongmin; Li, Xiaodong; Zhou, Jinyuan; Zhang, Zhenxing; Zhao, Changhui; Gong, Chengshi; Li, Shuankui; Pan, Xiaojun; Xie, Erqing

2013-12-07

Flexible and high performance supercapacitors are very critical in modern society. In order to develop the flexible supercapacitors with high power density, free-standing and flexible three-dimensional graphene/carbon nanotubes/MnO2 (3DG/CNTs/MnO2) composite electrodes with interconnected ternary 3D structures were fabricated, and the fast electron and ion transport channels were effectively constructed in the rationally designed electrodes. Consequently, the obtained 3DG/CNTs/MnO2 composite electrodes exhibit superior specific capacitance and rate capability compared to 3DG/MnO2 electrodes. Furthermore, the 3DG/CNTs/MnO2 based asymmetric supercapacitor demonstrates the maximum energy and power densities of 33.71 W h kg(-1) and up to 22,727.3 W kg(-1), respectively. Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits excellent cycling stability with 95.3% of the specific capacitance maintained after 1000 cycle tests. Our proposed synthesis strategy to construct the novel ternary 3D structured electrodes can be efficiently applied to other high performance energy storage/conversion systems.

Polydopamine as a new modification material to accelerate startup and promote anode performance in microbial fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Qing; An, Jingkun; Li, Junhui; Zhou, Lean; Li, Nan; Wang, Xin

2017-03-01

The bacterial anode material is important to the performance of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) because its characteristics affect the biofilm formation and extracellular electron transfer. Here we find that a superhydrophilic semiconductor, polydopamine (PDA), is an effective modification material for the anode to accelerate startup and improve power density. When the activated carbon anode is added with 50% (wt.) PDA, the startup time is 14% shorter than the control (from 88 h to 76 h), with a 31% increase in maximum power density from 613 ± 9 to 803 ± 6 mW m-2, and the Columbic efficiency increases from 19% to 48%. These can be primarily attributed to the abundant functional groups (such as amino group, and catechol functions) introduced by PDA that improve hydrophilicity and extracellular electron transfer. PDA also increases proportions of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes families, indicating that PDA has a selective effect on anode microbial community. Our findings provide a new approach to accelerate anode biofilm formation and enhance MFC power output by modification of biocompatible PDA.

Simulation of Flow Through Porous Anode in Mfc at Higher Power Density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, W. W.; Xu, Y. S.; Yan, W. W.; Liu, Y.

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a new environmental friendly energy device which has received greatly attention due to its technology for producing electricity directly from organic or inorganic matter using bacteria as catalyst. To date, many studies have been carried out on advective flow through porous anode in a continuous flow MFC. However, the precise mechanical mechanism of flow through porous anode and the quantified relationship between porous media and MFC performance are not yet clearly understood. It has been found experimentally the power density can be increased apparently at certain spacing configuration. Based on these available experimental data, we studied the effect of spacing between electrodes and the Darcy number of porous anode on the power generation performance of MFC using lattice Boltzmann method. The simulation results indicated that the spacing between electrodes significantly influence the flow velocity profile and residence time in the MFC. Moreover, it was found that the Darcy number of porous anode could regulate the output efficiency of MFC. Our results would be helpful to optimize MFC design.

Effects of Energy Density and Shielding Medium on Performance of Laser Beam Welding (LBW) Joints on SAF2205 Duplex Stainless Steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, W. W.; Cong, S.; Luo, S. B.; Fang, J. H.

2018-05-01

The corrosion resistance performance of SAF2205 duplex stainless steel depends on the amount of ferrite to austenite transformation, but the ferrite content after power beam welding is always excessively high. To obtain laser beam welding joints with better mechanical and corrosion resistance performance, the effects of the energy density and shielding medium on the austenite content, hardness distribution, and shear strength were investigated. The results showed that ferrite to austenite transformation was realized with increase in the energy density. When the energy density was increased from 120 J/mm to 200 J/mm, the austenite content of the welding joint changed from 2.6% to 38.5%. Addition of nitrogen gas to the shielding medium could promote formation of austenite. When the shielding medium contained 50% and 100% nitrogen gas, the austenite content of the welding joint was 42.7% and 47.2%, respectively. The hardness and shear strength were significantly improved by increase in the energy density. However, the shielding medium had less effect on the mechanical performance. Use of the optimal welding process parameters resulted in peak hardness of 375 HV and average shear strength of 670 MPa.

Pulsed power molten salt battery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Argade, Shyam D.

1992-01-01

It was concluded that carbon cathodes with chlorine work well. Lithium alloy chlorine at 450 C, 1 atm given high power capability, high energy density, DC + pulsing yields 600 pulses, no initial peak, and can go to red heat without burn-up. Electrochemical performance at the cell and cell stack level out under demanding test regime. Engineering and full prototype development for advancing this technology is warranted.

Ultrahigh-Energy Density Lithium-Ion Cable Battery Based on the Carbon-Nanotube Woven Macrofilms.

PubMed

Wu, Ziping; Liu, Kaixi; Lv, Chao; Zhong, Shengwen; Wang, Qinghui; Liu, Ting; Liu, Xianbin; Yin, Yanhong; Hu, Yingyan; Wei, Di; Liu, Zhongfan

2018-05-01

Moore's law predicts the performance of integrated circuit doubles every two years, lasting for more than five decades. However, the improvements of the performance of energy density in batteries lag far behind that. In addition, the poor flexibility, insufficient-energy density, and complexity of incorporation into wearable electronics remain considerable challenges for current battery technology. Herein, a lithium-ion cable battery is invented, which is insensitive to deformation due to its use of carbon nanotube (CNT) woven macrofilms as the charge collectors. An ultrahigh-tap density of 10 mg cm -2 of the electrodes can be obtained, which leads to an extremely high-energy density of 215 mWh cm -3 . The value is approximately seven times than that of the highest performance reported previously. In addition, the battery displays very stable rate performance and lower internal resistance than conventional lithium-ion batteries using metal charge collectors. Moreover, it demonstrates excellent convenience for connecting electronics as a new strategy is applied, in which both electrodes can be integrated into one end by a CNT macrorope. Such an ultrahigh-energy density lithium-ion cable battery provides a feasible way to power wearable electronics with commercial viability. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mechanical Computing Redux: Limitations at the Nanoscale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Tsu-Jae King

2014-03-01

Technology solutions for overcoming the energy efficiency limits of nanoscale complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology ultimately will be needed in order to address the growing issue of integrated-circuit chip power density. Off-state leakage current sets a fundamental lower limit in energy per operation for any voltage-level-based digital logic implemented with transistors (CMOS and beyond), which leads to practical limits for device density (i.e. cost) and operating frequency (i.e. system performance). Mechanical switches have zero off-state leakag and hence can overcome this fundamental limit. Contact adhesive force sets a lower limit for the switching energy of a mechanical switch, however, and also directly impacts its performance. This paper will review recent progress toward the development of nano-electro-mechanical relay technology and discuss remaining challenges for realizing the promise of mechanical computing for ultra-low-power computing. Supported by the Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science (NSF Award 0939514).

Nickel-cobalt bimetallic anode catalysts for direct urea fuel cell

PubMed Central

Xu, Wei; Zhang, Huimin; Li, Gang; Wu, Zucheng

2014-01-01

Nickel is an ideal non-noble metal anode catalyst for direct urea fuel cell (DUFC) due to its high activity. However, there exists a large overpotential toward urea electrooxidation. Herein, NiCo/C bimetallic nanoparticles were prepared with various Co contents (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 wt%) to improve the activity. The best Co ratio was 10% in the aspect of cell performance, with a maximum power density of 1.57 mW cm−2 when 0.33 M urea was used as fuel, O2 as oxidant at 60°C. The effects of temperature and urea concentration on DUFC performance were investigated. Besides, direct urine fuel cell reaches a maximum power density of 0.19 mW cm−2 with an open circuit voltage of 0.38 V at 60°C. PMID:25168632

A Double-Sided Linear Primary Permanent Magnet Vernier Machine

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present a new double-sided linear primary permanent magnet (PM) vernier (DSLPPMV) machine, which can offer high thrust force, low detent force, and improved power factor. Both PMs and windings of the proposed machine are on the short translator, while the long stator is designed as a double-sided simple iron core with salient teeth so that it is very robust to transmit high thrust force. The key of this new machine is the introduction of double stator and the elimination of translator yoke, so that the inductance and the volume of the machine can be reduced. Hence, the proposed machine offers improved power factor and thrust force density. The electromagnetic performances of the proposed machine are analyzed including flux, no-load EMF, thrust force density, and inductance. Based on using the finite element analysis, the characteristics and performances of the proposed machine are assessed. PMID:25874250

A double-sided linear primary permanent magnet vernier machine.

PubMed

Du, Yi; Zou, Chunhua; Liu, Xianxing

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present a new double-sided linear primary permanent magnet (PM) vernier (DSLPPMV) machine, which can offer high thrust force, low detent force, and improved power factor. Both PMs and windings of the proposed machine are on the short translator, while the long stator is designed as a double-sided simple iron core with salient teeth so that it is very robust to transmit high thrust force. The key of this new machine is the introduction of double stator and the elimination of translator yoke, so that the inductance and the volume of the machine can be reduced. Hence, the proposed machine offers improved power factor and thrust force density. The electromagnetic performances of the proposed machine are analyzed including flux, no-load EMF, thrust force density, and inductance. Based on using the finite element analysis, the characteristics and performances of the proposed machine are assessed.

High-energy green supercapacitor driven by ionic liquid electrolytes as an ultra-high stable next-generation energy storage device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thangavel, Ranjith; Kannan, Aravindaraj G.; Ponraj, Rubha; Thangavel, Vigneysh; Kim, Dong-Won; Lee, Yun-Sung

2018-04-01

Development of supercapacitors with high energy density and long cycle life using sustainable materials for next-generation applications is of paramount importance. The ongoing challenge is to elevate the energy density of supercapacitors on par with batteries, while upholding the power and cyclability. In addition, attaining such superior performance with green and sustainable bio-mass derived compounds is very crucial to address the rising environmental concerns. Herein, we demonstrate the use of watermelon rind, a bio-waste from watermelons, towards high energy, and ultra-stable high temperature green supercapacitors with a high-voltage ionic liquid electrolyte. Supercapacitors assembled with ultra-high surface area, hierarchically porous carbon exhibits a remarkable performance both at room temperature and at high temperature (60 °C) with maximum energy densities of ∼174 Wh kg-1 (25 °C), and 177 Wh kg-1 (60 °C) - based on active mass of both electrodes. Furthermore, an ultra-high specific power of ∼20 kW kg-1 along with an ultra-stable cycling performance with 90% retention over 150,000 cycles has been achieved even at 60 °C, outperforming supercapacitors assembled with other carbon based materials. These results demonstrate the potential to develop high-performing, green energy storage devices using eco-friendly materials for next generation electric vehicles and other advanced energy storage systems.

Spindt cold cathode electron gun development program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spindt, C. A.

1983-01-01

A thin film field emission cathode array and an electron gun based on this emitter array are summarized. Fabricating state of the art cathodes for testing at NASA and NRL, advancing the fabrication technology, developing wedge shaped emitters, and performing emission tests are covered. An anistropic dry etching process (reactive ion beam etching) developed that leads to increasing the packing density of the emitter tips to about 5 x 10 to the 6th power/square cm. Tests with small arrays of emitter tips having about 10 tips has demonstrated current densities of over 100 A/sq cm. Several times using cathodes having a packing density of 1.25 x 10 to the 6th power tips/sq cm. Indications are that the higher packing density achievable with the dry etch process may extend this capability to the 500 A/sq cm range and beyond. The wedge emitter geometry was developed and shown to produce emission. This geometry can (in principle) extend the current density capability of the cathodes beyond the 500 A/sq cm level. An emission microscope was built and tested for use with the cathodes.

Hierarchical MoS2 nanowires/NiCo2O4 nanosheets supported on Ni foam for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Shiyang; Liu, Yu; Zhu, Fangfang; Shao, Rong; Xu, Wei

2018-01-01

The hierarchical MoS2 nanowires/NiCo2O4 nanosheets (MS/NCO) supercapacitor electrode materials supported on Ni foam were synthesized by a two-step hydrothermal method. The capacitance was investigated by using various electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammetry, constant-current galvanostatic charge/discharge curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The MS/NCO networks show 7 times more capacitance (7.1 F cm-2) than pure NiCo2O4 nanosheets by CV at a scan rate of 2 mV s-1. The specific capacitance of the assembled MS/NCO//active carbon (AC) asymmetric supercapacitor could reach up to 51.7 F g-1 at a current density of 1.5 A g-1. Also, the maximum energy density of 18.4 W h kg-1 at a power density of 1200.2 W kg-1 was achieved, with 98.2% specific capacitance retention after 8000 cycles. These exciting results exhibit potential application in developing energy storage devices with high energy density and high power density.

47 CFR 25.208 - Power flux density limits.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... COMMUNICATIONS Technical Standards § 25.208 Power flux density limits. (a) In the band 3650-4200 MHz, the power flux density at the Earth's surface produced by emissions from a space station for all conditions and... and 10.7-11.7 GHz for NGSO FSS space stations, the power flux-density at the Earth's surface produced...

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

ADX: a high field, high power density, Advanced Divertor test eXperiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vieira, R.; Labombard, B.; Marmar, E.; Irby, J.; Shiraiwa, S.; Terry, J.; Wallace, G.; Whyte, D. G.; Wolfe, S.; Wukitch, S.; ADX Team

2014-10-01

The MIT PSFC and collaborators are proposing an advanced divertor experiment (ADX) - a tokamak specifically designed to address critical gaps in the world fusion research program on the pathway to FNSF/DEMO. This high field (6.5 tesla, 1.5 MA), high power density (P/S ~ 1.5 MW/m2) facility would utilize Alcator magnet technology to test innovative divertor concepts for next-step DT fusion devices (FNSF, DEMO) at reactor-level boundary plasma pressures and parallel heat flux densities while producing high performance core plasma conditions. The experimental platform would also test advanced lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) and ion-cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) actuators and wave physics at the plasma densities and magnetic field strengths of a DEMO, with the unique ability to deploy launcher structures both on the low-magnetic-field side and the high-field side - a location where energetic plasma-material interactions can be controlled and wave physics is most favorable for efficient current drive, heating and flow drive. This innovative experiment would perform plasma science and technology R&D necessary to inform the conceptual development and accelerate the readiness-for-deployment of FNSF/DEMO - in a timely manner, on a cost-effective research platform. Supported by DE-FC02-99ER54512.

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

Carbon-Nanotube-Based Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitor Technologies for Spaceflight Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arepalli, S.; Fireman, H.; Huffman, C.; Maloney, P.; Nikolaev, P.; Yowell, L.; Kim, K.; Kohl, P. A.; Higgins, C. D.; Turano, S. P.

2005-01-01

Electrochemical double-layer capacitors, or supercapacitors, have tremendous potential as high-power energy sources for use in low-weight hybrid systems for space exploration. Electrodes based on single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) offer exceptional power and energy performance due to the high surface area, high conductivity, and the ability to functionalize the SWCNTs to optimize capacitor properties. This paper will report on the preparation of electrochemical capacitors incorporating SWCNT electrodes and their performance compared with existing commercial technology. Preliminary results indicate that substantial increases in power and energy density are possible. The effects of nanotube growth and processing methods on electrochemical capacitor performance is also presented. The compatibility of different SWCNTs and electrolytes was studied by varying the type of electrolyte ions that accumulate on the high-surface-area electrodes.

Characterization of electrical noise limits in ultra-stable laser systems.

PubMed

Zhang, J; Shi, X H; Zeng, X Y; Lü, X L; Deng, K; Lu, Z H

2016-12-01

We demonstrate thermal noise limited and shot noise limited performance of ultra-stable diode laser systems. The measured heterodyne beat linewidth between such two independent diode lasers reaches 0.74 Hz. The frequency instability of one single laser approaches 1.0 × 10 -15 for averaging time between 0.3 s and 10 s, which is close to the thermal noise limit of the reference cavity. Taking advantage of these two ultra-stable laser systems, we systematically investigate the ultimate electrical noise contributions, and derive expressions for the closed-loop spectral density of laser frequency noise. The measured power spectral density of the beat frequency is compared with the theoretically calculated closed-loop spectral density of the laser frequency noise, and they agree very well. It illustrates the power and generality of the derived closed-loop spectral density formula of the laser frequency noise. Our result demonstrates that a 10 -17 level locking in a wide frequency range is feasible with careful design.

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.

Characterizing Complexity of Containerized Cargo X-ray Images

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

Wang, Guangxing; Martz, Harry; Glenn, Steven

X-ray imaging can be used to inspect cargos imported into the United States. In order to better understand the performance of X-ray inspection systems, the X-ray characteristics (density, complexity) of cargo need to be quantified. In this project, an image complexity measure called integrated power spectral density (IPSD) was studied using both DNDO engineered cargos and stream-of-commerce (SOC) cargos. A joint distribution of cargo density and complexity was obtained. A support vector machine was used to classify the SOC cargos into four categories to estimate the relative fractions.

High Specific Power Motors in LN2 and LH2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Gerald V.; Jansen, Ralph H.; Trudell, Jeffrey J.

2007-01-01

A switched reluctance motor has been operated in liquid nitrogen (LN2) with a power density as high as that reported for any motor or generator. The high performance stems from the low resistivity of Cu at LN2 temperature and from the geometry of the windings, the combination of which permits steady-state rms current density up to 7000 A/cm2, about 10 times that possible in coils cooled by natural convection at room temperature. The Joule heating in the coils is conducted to the end turns for rejection to the LN2 bath. Minimal heat rejection occurs in the motor slots, preserving that region for conductor. In the end turns, the conductor layers are spaced to form a heat-exchanger-like structure that permits nucleate boiling over a large surface area. Although tests were performed in LN2 for convenience, this motor was designed as a prototype for use with liquid hydrogen (LH2) as the coolant. End-cooled coils would perform even better in LH2 because of further increases in copper electrical and thermal conductivities. Thermal analyses comparing LN2 and LH2 cooling are presented verifying that end-cooled coils in LH2 could be either much longer or could operate at higher current density without thermal runaway than in LN2.

High Specific Power Motors in LN2 and LH2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Gerald V.; Jansen, Ralph H.; Trudell, Jeffrey J.

2007-01-01

A switched reluctance motor has been operated in liquid nitrogen (LN2) with a power density as high as that reported for any motor or generator. The high performance stems from the low resistivity of Cu at LN2 temperature and from the geometry of the windings, the combination of which permits steady-state rms current density up to 7000 A/sq cm, about 10 times that possible in coils cooled by natural convection at room temperature. The Joule heating in the coils is conducted to the end turns for rejection to the LN2 bath. Minimal heat rejection occurs in the motor slots, preserving that region for conductor. In the end turns, the conductor layers are spaced to form a heat-exchanger-like structure that permits nucleate boiling over a large surface area. Although tests were performed in LN2 for convenience, this motor was designed as a prototype for use with liquid hydrogen (LH2) as the coolant. End-cooled coils would perform even better in LH2 because of further increases in copper electrical and thermal conductivities. Thermal analyses comparing LN2 and LH2 cooling are presented verifying that end-cooled coils in LH2 could be either much longer or could operate at higher current density without thermal runaway than in LN2.

Optimization of Design Parameters and Operating Conditions of Electrochemical Capacitors for High Energy and Power Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ike, Innocent S.; Sigalas, Iakovos; Iyuke, Sunny E.

2017-03-01

Theoretical expressions for performance parameters of different electrochemical capacitors (ECs) have been optimized by solving them using MATLAB scripts as well as via the MATLAB R2014a optimization toolbox. The performance of the different kinds of ECs under given conditions was compared using theoretical equations and simulations of various models based on the conditions of device components, using optimal values for the coefficient associated with the battery-kind material ( K BMopt) and the constant associated with the electrolyte material ( K Eopt), as well as our symmetric electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) experimental data. Estimation of performance parameters was possible based on values for the mass ratio of electrodes, operating potential range ratio, and specific capacitance of electrolyte. The performance of asymmetric ECs with suitable electrode mass and operating potential range ratios using aqueous or organic electrolyte at appropriate operating potential range and specific capacitance was 2.2 and 5.56 times greater, respectively, than for the symmetric EDLC and asymmetric EC using the same aqueous electrolyte, respectively. This enhancement was accompanied by reduced cell mass and volume. Also, the storable and deliverable energies of the asymmetric EC with suitable electrode mass and operating potential range ratios using the proper organic electrolyte were 12.9 times greater than those of the symmetric EDLC using aqueous electrolyte, again with reduced cell mass and volume. The storable energy, energy density, and power density of the asymmetric EDLC with suitable electrode mass and operating potential range ratios using the proper organic electrolyte were 5.56 times higher than for a similar symmetric EDLC using aqueous electrolyte, with cell mass and volume reduced by a factor of 1.77. Also, the asymmetric EDLC with the same type of electrode and suitable electrode mass ratio, working potential range ratio, and proper organic electrolyte showed enhanced performance compared with the conventional symmetric EDLC using aqueous electrolyte, with reduced cell mass and volume. These results can obviously reduce the number of experiments required to determine the optimum manufacturing design for ECs and also demonstrate that use of an asymmetric electrode and organic electrolyte was very successful for improving the performance of the EC, with reduced cell mass and volume. These results can also act as guidelines for design, fabrication, and operation of electrochemical capacitors with outstanding storable energy, energy density, and power density.

High-power helium-neon laser irradiation inhibits the growth of traumatic scars in vitro and in vivo.

PubMed

Shu, Bin; Ni, Guo-Xin; Zhang, Lian-Yang; Li, Xiang-Ping; Jiang, Wan-Ling; Zhang, Li-Qun

2013-05-01

This study explored the inhibitory effect of the high-power helium-neon (He-Ne) laser on the growth of scars post trauma. For the in vitro study, human wound fibroblasts were exposed to the high-power He-Ne laser for 30 min, once per day with different power densities (10, 50, 100, and 150 mW/cm(2)). After 3 days of repeated irradiation with the He-Ne laser, fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis were evaluated. For in vivo evaluation, a wounded animal model of hypertrophic scar formation was established. At postoperative day 21, the high-power He-Ne laser irradiation (output power 120 mW, 6 mm in diameter, 30 min each session, every other day) was performed on 20 scars. At postoperative day 35, the hydroxyproline content, apoptosis rate, PCNA protein expression and FADD mRNA level were assessed. The in vitro study showed that the irradiation group that received the power densities of 100 and 150 mW/cm(2) showed decreases in the cell proliferation index, increases in the percentage of cells in the G0/G1 phase, and decreases in collagen synthesis and type I procollagen gene expression. In the in vivo animal studies, regions exposed to He-Ne irradiation showed a significant decrease in scar thickness as well as decreases in hydroxyproline levels and PCNA protein expression. Results from the in vitro and in vivo studies suggest that repeated irradiation with a He-Ne laser at certain power densities inhibits fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis, thereby inhibits the growth of hypertrophic scars.

Error-correcting codes on scale-free networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jung-Hoon; Ko, Young-Jo

2004-06-01

We investigate the potential of scale-free networks as error-correcting codes. We find that irregular low-density parity-check codes with the highest performance known to date have degree distributions well fitted by a power-law function p (k) ˜ k-γ with γ close to 2, which suggests that codes built on scale-free networks with appropriate power exponents can be good error-correcting codes, with a performance possibly approaching the Shannon limit. We demonstrate for an erasure channel that codes with a power-law degree distribution of the form p (k) = C (k+α)-γ , with k⩾2 and suitable selection of the parameters α and γ , indeed have very good error-correction capabilities.

Performance of High-Convergence, Layered DT Implosions on Power-Scaling Experiments at National Ignition Facility

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

Smalyuk, V. A.; Atherton, L. J.; Benedetti, L. R.

The radiation-driven, low-adiabat, cryogenic DT layered plastic capsule implosions were carried out on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to study the sensitivity of performance to peak power and drive duration. An implosion with extended drive and at reduced peak power of 350 TW achieved the highest compression with fuel areal density of ~1.3±0.1 g/cm 2, representing a significant step from previously measured ~1.0 g/cm 2 toward a goal of 1.5 g/cm 2. Moreover, for future experiments will focus on understanding and mitigating hydrodynamic instabilities and mix, and improving symmetry required to reach the threshold for thermonuclear ignition on NIF.

Performance of High-Convergence, Layered DT Implosions on Power-Scaling Experiments at National Ignition Facility

DOE PAGES

Smalyuk, V. A.; Atherton, L. J.; Benedetti, L. R.; ...

2013-10-19

The radiation-driven, low-adiabat, cryogenic DT layered plastic capsule implosions were carried out on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to study the sensitivity of performance to peak power and drive duration. An implosion with extended drive and at reduced peak power of 350 TW achieved the highest compression with fuel areal density of ~1.3±0.1 g/cm 2, representing a significant step from previously measured ~1.0 g/cm 2 toward a goal of 1.5 g/cm 2. Moreover, for future experiments will focus on understanding and mitigating hydrodynamic instabilities and mix, and improving symmetry required to reach the threshold for thermonuclear ignition on NIF.

Flexible asymmetric supercapacitors based upon Co9S8 nanorod//Co3O4@RuO2 nanosheet arrays on carbon cloth.

PubMed

Xu, Jing; Wang, Qiufan; Wang, Xiaowei; Xiang, Qingyi; Liang, Bo; Chen, Di; Shen, Guozhen

2013-06-25

We have successfully fabricated flexible asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs) based on acicular Co9S8 nanorod arrays as positive materials and Co3O4@RuO2 nanosheet arrays as negative materials on woven carbon fabrics. Co9S8 nanorod arrays were synthesized by a hydrothermal sulfuration treatment of acicular Co3O4 nanorod arrays, while the RuO2 was directly deposited on the Co3O4 nanorod arrays. Carbon cloth was selected as both the substrate and the current collector for its good conductivity, high flexibility, good physical strength, and lightweight architecture. Both aqueous KOH solutions and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/KOH were employed as electrolyte for electrochemical measurements. The as-fabricated ASCs can be cycled reversibly in the range of 0-1.6 V and exhibit superior electrochemical performance with an energy density of 1.21 mWh/cm(3) at a power density of 13.29 W/cm(3) in aqueous electrolyte and an energy density of 1.44 mWh/cm(3) at the power density of 0.89 W/cm(3) in solid-state electrolyte, which are almost 10-fold higher than those reported in early ASC work. Moreover, they present excellent cycling performance at multirate currents and large currents after thousands of cycles. The high-performance nanostructured ASCs have significant potential applications in portable electronics and electrical vehicles.

An Asymmetric Supercapacitor with Mesoporous NiCo2O4 Nanorod/Graphene Composite and N-Doped Graphene Electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, J. W.; He, C. H.; Qi, J. Q.; Zhang, A. B.; Sui, Y. W.; He, Y. Z.; Meng, Q. K.; Wei, F. X.

2018-01-01

In the present work, mesoporous NiCo2O4 nanorod/graphene oxide (NiCo2O4/GO) composite was prepared by a facile and cost-effective hydrothermal method and meanwhile, N-doped graphene (N-G) was fabricated also by a hydrothermal synthesis process. NiCo2O4/GO composite and N-G were used as positive and negative electrodes for the supercapacitor, respectively, which all displayed excellent electrochemical performances. The NiCo2O4/GO composite electrode exhibited a high specific capacitance of 709.7 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1 and excellent rate capability as well as good cycling performance with 84.7% capacitance retention at 6 A g-1 after 3000 cycles. A high-voltage asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) was successfully fabricated using NiCo2O4/GO composite and N-G as the positive and negative electrodes, respectively, in 1 M KOH aqueous electrolyte. The ASC delivered a high energy density of 34.4 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 800 W kg-1 and still maintained 28 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 8000 W kg-1. Furthermore, this ASC showed excellent cycling stability with 94.3% specific capacitance retained at 5 A g-1 after 5000 cycles. The impressive results can be ascribed to the positive synergistic effects of the two electrodes. Evidently, our work provides useful information for assembling high-performance supercapacitor devices.

Effect of mental fatigue on the central nervous system: an electroencephalography study

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Fatigue can be classified as mental and physical depending on its cause, and each type of fatigue has a multi-factorial nature. We examined the effect of mental fatigue on the central nervous system using electroencephalography (EEG) in eighteen healthy male volunteers. Methods After enrollment, subjects were randomly assigned to two groups in a single-blinded, crossover fashion to perform two types of mental fatigue-inducing experiments. Each experiment consisted of four 30-min fatigue-inducing 0- or 2-back test sessions and two evaluation sessions performed just before and after the fatigue-inducing sessions. During the evaluation session, the participants were assessed using EEG. Eleven electrodes were attached to the head skin, from positions F3, Fz, F4, C3, Cz, C4, P3, Pz, P4, O1, and O2. Results In the 2-back test, the beta power density on the Pz electrode and the alpha power densities on the P3 and O2 electrodes were decreased, and the theta power density on the Cz electrode was increased after the fatigue-inducing mental task sessions. In the 0-back test, no electrodes were altered after the fatigue-inducing sessions. Conclusions Different types of mental fatigue produced different kinds of alterations of the spontaneous EEG variables. Our findings provide new perspectives on the neural mechanisms underlying mental fatigue. PMID:22954020

Negative hydrogen ion production in a helicon plasma source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santoso, J.; Manoharan, R.; O'Byrne, S.; Corr, C. S.

2015-09-01

In order to develop very high energy (>1 MeV) neutral beam injection systems for applications, such as plasma heating in fusion devices, it is necessary first to develop high throughput negative ion sources. For the ITER reference source, this will be realised using caesiated inductively coupled plasma devices, containing either hydrogen or deuterium discharges, operated with high rf input powers (up to 90 kW per driver). It has been suggested that due to their high power coupling efficiency, helicon devices may be able to reduce power requirements and potentially obviate the need for caesiation due to the high plasma densities achievable. Here, we present measurements of negative ion densities in a hydrogen discharge produced by a helicon device, with externally applied DC magnetic fields ranging from 0 to 8.5 mT at 5 and 10 mTorr fill pressures. These measurements were taken in the magnetised plasma interaction experiment at the Australian National University and were performed using the probe-based laser photodetachment technique, modified for the use in the afterglow of the plasma discharge. A peak in the electron density is observed at ˜3 mT and is correlated with changes in the rf power transfer efficiency. With increasing magnetic field, an increase in the negative ion fraction from 0.04 to 0.10 and negative ion densities from 8 × 1014 m-3 to 7 × 1015 m-3 is observed. It is also shown that the negative ion densities can be increased by a factor of 8 with the application of an external DC magnetic field.

Topography, power, and current source density of θ oscillations during reward processing as markers for alcohol dependence.

PubMed

Kamarajan, Chella; Rangaswamy, Madhavi; Manz, Niklas; Chorlian, David B; Pandey, Ashwini K; Roopesh, Bangalore N; Porjesz, Bernice

2012-05-01

Recent studies have linked alcoholism with a dysfunctional neural reward system. Although several electrophysiological studies have explored reward processing in healthy individuals, such studies in alcohol-dependent individuals are quite rare. The present study examines theta oscillations during reward processing in abstinent alcoholics. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in 38 abstinent alcoholics and 38 healthy controls as they performed a single outcome gambling task, which involved outcomes of either loss or gain of an amount (10 or 50¢) that was bet. Event-related theta band (3.0-7.0 Hz) power following each outcome stimulus was computed using the S-transform method. Theta power at the time window of the outcome-related negativity (ORN) and positivity (ORP) (200-500 ms) was compared across groups and outcome conditions. Additionally, behavioral data of impulsivity and task performance were analyzed. The alcoholic group showed significantly decreased theta power during reward processing compared to controls. Current source density (CSD) maps of alcoholics revealed weaker and diffuse source activity for all conditions and weaker bilateral prefrontal sources during the Loss 50 condition when compared with controls who manifested stronger and focused midline sources. Furthermore, alcoholics exhibited increased impulsivity and risk-taking on the behavioral measures. A strong association between reduced anterior theta power and impulsive task-performance was observed. It is suggested that decreased power and weaker and diffuse CSD in alcoholics may be due to dysfunctional neural reward circuitry. The relationship among alcoholism, theta oscillations, reward processing, and impulsivity could offer clues to understand brain circuitries that mediate reward processing and inhibitory control. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Topography, Power and Current Source Density of Theta Oscillations during Reward Processing as Markers for Alcohol Dependence

PubMed Central

Kamarajan, Chella; Rangaswamy, Madhavi; Manz, Niklas; Chorlian, David B.; Pandey, Ashwini K.; Roopesh, Bangalore N.; Porjesz, Bernice

2013-01-01

Recent studies have linked alcoholism with a dysfunctional neural reward system. Although several electrophysiological studies have explored reward processing in healthy individuals, such studies in alcohol dependent individuals are quite rare. The present study examines theta oscillations during reward processing in abstinent alcoholics. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in 38 abstinent alcoholics and 38 healthy controls as they performed a single outcome gambling task which involved outcomes of either loss or gain of an amount (10¢ or 50¢) that was bet. Event-related theta band (3.0–7.0 Hz) power following each outcome stimulus was computed using the S-transform method. Theta power at the time window of the outcome-related negativity (ORN) and positivity (ORP) (200–500 ms) was compared across groups and outcome conditions. Additionally, behavioral data of impulsivity and task performance were analyzed. The alcoholic group showed significantly decreased theta power during reward processing compared to controls. Current Source Density (CSD) maps of alcoholics revealed weaker and diffuse source activity for all conditions and weaker bilateral prefrontal sources during the Loss 50 condition as compared to controls who manifested stronger and focused midline sources. Further, alcoholics exhibited increased impulsivity and risk-taking on the behavioral measures. A strong association between reduced anterior theta power and impulsive task-performance was observed. It is suggested that decreased power and weaker and diffuse CSD in alcoholics may be due to dysfunctional neural reward circuitry. The relationship among alcoholism, theta oscillations, reward processing and impulsivity could offer clues to understand brain circuitries that mediate reward processing and inhibitory control. PMID:21520344

A High Power Density Power System Electronics for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hernandez-Pellerano, A.; Stone, R.; Travis, J.; Kercheval, B.; Alkire, G.; Ter-Minassian, V.

2009-01-01

A high power density, modular and state-of-the-art Power System Electronics (PSE) has been developed for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission. This paper addresses the hardware architecture and performance, the power handling capabilities, and the fabrication technology. The PSE was developed by NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and is the central location for power handling and distribution of the LRO spacecraft. The PSE packaging design manages and distributes 2200W of solar array input power in a volume less than a cubic foot. The PSE architecture incorporates reliable standard internal and external communication buses, solid state circuit breakers and LiIon battery charge management. Although a single string design, the PSE achieves high reliability by elegantly implementing functional redundancy and internal fault detection and correction. The PSE has been environmentally tested and delivered to the LRO spacecraft for the flight Integration and Test. This modular design is scheduled to flight in early 2009 on board the LRO and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) spacecrafts and is the baseline architecture for future NASA missions such as Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) and Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS).

Micro-size spherical TiO2(B) secondary particles as anode materials for high-power and long-life lithium-ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takami, Norio; Harada, Yasuhiro; Iwasaki, Takuya; Hoshina, Keigo; Yoshida, Yorikazu

2015-01-01

Electrochemical properties of micro-size spherical TiO2(B) secondary particles have been investigated in order to develop TiO2(B) anodes for lithium-ion batteries with high-power and long-life performance. The spherical TiO2(B) electrodes with a small amount of a carbon conductor additive had a high electrode density of 2.2 g cm-3 and a volumetric reversible capacity of 475 mAh cm-3 comparable to that of graphite electrodes. Compared with nano-size needle-like TiO2(B) electrodes, the spherical TiO2(B) electrodes exhibited higher-rate discharge capability and longer-cycle life performance. The impedance of the TiO2(B)/electrolyte interface model indicated that the charge transfer resistance Rc and the passivating film resistance Rf of the spherical TiO2(B) were much smaller than those of the needle-like one. The high-rate discharge and the long-cycle performance of the spherical TiO2(B) electrode are attributed to the superior electronic connective property and Rc and Rf values smaller than those of the needle-like one. Lithium-ion cells using the spherical TiO2(B) anodes and LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode with a capacity of 2.8 Ah exhibited a high energy density of 100 Wh kg-1, a high output power density of 1800 W kg-1 for 10 s pulse, and a long cycle life of more than 3000 cycles.

Electrochemical properties of electrodes with different shapes and diffusion kinetic analysis of microbial fuel cells on ocean floor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Yubin; Liu, Jia; Su, Jia; Zhao, Zhongkai; Liu, Yang; Xu, Qian

2012-03-01

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) on the ocean floor is a kind of novel energy- harvesting device that can be developed to drive small instruments to work continuously. The shape of electrode has a great effect on the performance of the MFC. In this paper, several shapes of electrode and cell structure were designed, and their performance in MFC were compared in pairs: Mesh (cell-1) vs. flat plate (cell-2), branch (cell-3) vs. cylinder (cell-4), and forest (cell-5) vs. disk (cell-6) FC. Our results showed that the maximum power densities were 16.50, 14.20, 19.30, 15.00, 14.64, and 9.95 mWm-2 for cell-1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively. And the corresponding diffusion-limited currents were 7.16, 2.80, 18.86, 10.50, 18.00, and 6.900 mA. The mesh and branch anodes showed higher power densities and much higher diffusion-limited currents than the flat plate and the cylinder anodes respectively due to the low diffusion hindrance with the former anodes. The forest cathode improved by 47% of the power density and by 161% of diffusion-limited current than the disk cathode due to the former's extended solid/liquid/gas three-phase boundary. These results indicated that the shape of electrode is a major parameter that determining the diffusion-limited current of an MFC, and the differences in the electrode shape lead to the differences in cell performance. These results would be useful for MFC structure design in practical applications.

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.

Ternary nitrogen-doped graphene/nickel ferrite/polyaniline nanocomposites for high-performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wenjuan; Hao, Qingli; Lei, Wu; Xia, Xifeng; Wang, Xin

2014-12-01

The electrochemical property of graphene can be significantly enhanced due to the incorporating of heteroatoms into graphene. In this article, the ternary nitrogen-doped graphene/nickel ferrite/polyaniline (NGNP) nanocomposite is synthesized by a facile two-step approach and its electrochemical properties as electrodes for supercapacitors are studied by various electrochemical measurements. The specific capacitance of NGNP is 645.0 F g-1 at 1 mV s-1 and 667.0 F g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 in a three- and two-electrode system, respectively, much higher than other binary electrodes. In a two-electrode symmetric system, the energy density of the NGNP electrode is 92.7 W h kg-1 at a power density of 110.8 W kg-1, moreover, that of the supercapacitor based on NGNP can also reach 23.2 W h kg-1 at a power density of 27.7 W kg-1. In addition, the capacitance loses only 5% after repeating test for 5000 cycles, and about 10% after 10,000 cycles at a high current density 5 A g-1. The results demonstrate the novel ternary NGNP electrode produced by the current economical method will gain promising applications in supercapacitors and other devices by virtue of its outstanding characteristics (high specific capacitance, high power and energy density, excellent cycle life).

Frequency spectrum analysis of laser generated ultrasonic waves in ablative regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mi, Bao; Ume, I. Charles

2002-05-01

In this paper, laser ultrasonic signals generated in ablative regime are measured in a number of metal samples (2024 Al, 6061 Al, 7075 Al, mild steel, and copper) with a broadband laser interferometer. The frequency spectra are analyzed and compared for different thicknesses (50.8 mm, 25.4 mm, 12.7 mm, and 6.4 mm), and for different power densities. Hanning windowing is applied before frequency analysis is performed. The experimental data match the theoretical predictions very well. The results show that the frequency spectrum extends from 0 to 15 MHz, while the center frequency occurs near 2 MHz. The detailed distribution of the spectrum is dependent on the material, thickness, and laser power density.

High fusion performance at high T i/ T e in JET-ILW baseline plasmas with high NBI heating power and low gas puffing

DOE PAGES

Kim, Hyun-Tae; Sips, A. C. C.; Romanelli, M.; ...

2018-02-01

This article presents the transport analysis of high density baseline discharges in the 2016 experimental campaign of the Joint European Torus with the ITER-Like Wall (JET-ILW), where a significant increase in the deuterium–deuterium (D–D) fusion neutron rate (~2.8 × 10 16 s -1) was achieved with stable high neutral beam injection (NBI) powers of up to 28 MW and low gas puffing. Increase in T i exceeding T e were produced for the first time in baseline discharges despite the high electron density; this enabled a significant increase in the thermal fusion reaction rate. As a result, the new achievedmore » record in fusion performance was much higher than the previous record in the same heating power baseline discharges, where T i = T e. In addition to the decreases in collisionality and the increases in ion heating fraction in the discharges with high NBI power, T i > T e can also be attributed to positive feedback between the high T i/T e ratio and stabilisation of the turbulent heat flux resulting from the ion temperature gradient driven mode. The high T i/T e ratio was correlated with high rotation frequency. Among the discharges with identical beam heating power, higher rotation frequencies were observed when particle fuelling was provided by low gas puffing and pellet injection. Lastly, this reveals that particle fuelling played a key role for achieving high T i/T e, and the improved fusion performance.« less

High fusion performance at high T i/ T e in JET-ILW baseline plasmas with high NBI heating power and low gas puffing

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

Kim, Hyun-Tae; Sips, A. C. C.; Romanelli, M.

This article presents the transport analysis of high density baseline discharges in the 2016 experimental campaign of the Joint European Torus with the ITER-Like Wall (JET-ILW), where a significant increase in the deuterium–deuterium (D–D) fusion neutron rate (~2.8 × 10 16 s -1) was achieved with stable high neutral beam injection (NBI) powers of up to 28 MW and low gas puffing. Increase in T i exceeding T e were produced for the first time in baseline discharges despite the high electron density; this enabled a significant increase in the thermal fusion reaction rate. As a result, the new achievedmore » record in fusion performance was much higher than the previous record in the same heating power baseline discharges, where T i = T e. In addition to the decreases in collisionality and the increases in ion heating fraction in the discharges with high NBI power, T i > T e can also be attributed to positive feedback between the high T i/T e ratio and stabilisation of the turbulent heat flux resulting from the ion temperature gradient driven mode. The high T i/T e ratio was correlated with high rotation frequency. Among the discharges with identical beam heating power, higher rotation frequencies were observed when particle fuelling was provided by low gas puffing and pellet injection. Lastly, this reveals that particle fuelling played a key role for achieving high T i/T e, and the improved fusion performance.« less

High fusion performance at high T i/T e in JET-ILW baseline plasmas with high NBI heating power and low gas puffing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyun-Tae; Sips, A. C. C.; Romanelli, M.; Challis, C. D.; Rimini, F.; Garzotti, L.; Lerche, E.; Buchanan, J.; Yuan, X.; Kaye, S.; contributors, JET

2018-03-01

This paper presents the transport analysis of high density baseline discharges in the 2016 experimental campaign of the Joint European Torus with the ITER-Like Wall (JET-ILW), where a significant increase in the deuterium-deuterium (D-D) fusion neutron rate (~2.8  ×  1016 s-1) was achieved with stable high neutral beam injection (NBI) powers of up to 28 MW and low gas puffing. Increase in T i exceeding T e were produced for the first time in baseline discharges despite the high electron density; this enabled a significant increase in the thermal fusion reaction rate. As a result, the new achieved record in fusion performance was much higher than the previous record in the same heating power baseline discharges, where T i  =  T e. In addition to the decreases in collisionality and the increases in ion heating fraction in the discharges with high NBI power, T i  >  T e can also be attributed to positive feedback between the high T i/T e ratio and stabilisation of the turbulent heat flux resulting from the ion temperature gradient driven mode. The high T i/T e ratio was correlated with high rotation frequency. Among the discharges with identical beam heating power, higher rotation frequencies were observed when particle fuelling was provided by low gas puffing and pellet injection. This reveals that particle fuelling played a key role for achieving high T i/T e, and the improved fusion performance.

A High-Performance and Recyclable Al-Air Coin Cell Based on Eco-Friendly Chitosan Hydrogel Membranes.

PubMed

Liu, Yisi; Sun, Qian; Yang, Xiaofei; Liang, Jianneng; Wang, Biqiong; Koo, Alicia; Li, Ruying; Li, Jie; Sun, Xueliang

2018-05-18

Aluminum-air batteries are a promising power supply for electronics due to its low cost and high energy density. However, portable coin-type Al-air batteries operating under ambient air condition for small electronic appliances have rarely been reported. Herein, coin cell-type Al-air batteries using cost-effective and eco-friendly chitosan hydrogel membranes modified by SiO2, SnO2, and ZnO have been prepared and assembled. The Al-air coin cell employing chitosan hydrogel membrane containing 10 wt.% SiO2 as a separator exhibits better discharge performance with a higher flat voltage plateau, longer discharge duration, and higher power density than the cells using a chitosan hydrogel membrane containing SnO2 or ZnO. Moreover, we also demonstrate that the presented Al-air coin cell can be recycled by a series of eco-friendly procedures using food grade ingredients, resulting in recycled products that are environmentally safe and ready for reuse. The Al-air coin cell adopting a recycled cathode from a fully discharged Al-air coin cell using the above-mentioned procedure has shown comparable performance to cells assembled with a new cathode. With these merits of enhanced electrochemical performance and recyclability, this new Al-air coin cell with modified chitosan hydrogel membrane can find wide applications for powering portable and small-size electronics.

An Intensified Vibratory Milling Process for Enhancing the Breakage Kinetics during the Preparation of Drug Nanosuspensions.

PubMed

Li, Meng; Zhang, Lu; Davé, Rajesh N; Bilgili, Ecevit

2016-04-01

As a drug-sparing approach in early development, vibratory milling has been used for the preparation of nanosuspensions of poorly water-soluble drugs. The aim of this study was to intensify this process through a systematic increase in vibration intensity and bead loading with the optimal bead size for faster production. Griseofulvin, a poorly water-soluble drug, was wet-milled using yttrium-stabilized zirconia beads with sizes ranging from 50 to 1500 μm at low power density (0.87 W/g). Then, this process was intensified with the optimal bead size by sequentially increasing vibration intensity and bead loading. Additional experiments with several bead sizes were performed at high power density (16 W/g), and the results were compared to those from wet stirred media milling. Laser diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and dissolution tests were used for characterization. Results for the low power density indicated 800 μm as the optimal bead size which led to a median size of 545 nm with more than 10% of the drug particles greater than 1.8 μm albeit the fastest breakage. An increase in either vibration intensity or bead loading resulted in faster breakage. The most intensified process led to 90% of the particles being smaller than 300 nm. At the high power intensity, 400 μm beads were optimal, which enhanced griseofulvin dissolution significantly and signified the importance of bead size in view of the power density. Only the optimally intensified vibratory milling led to a comparable nanosuspension to that prepared by the stirred media milling.

Microwave decoration of Pt nanoparticles on entangled 3D carbon nanotube architectures as PEM fuel cell cathode.

PubMed

Sherrell, Peter C; Zhang, Weimin; Zhao, Jie; Wallace, Gordon G; Chen, Jun; Minett, Andrew I

2012-07-01

Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are expected to provide a complementary power supply to fossil fuels in the near future. The current reliance of fuel cells on platinum catalysts is undesirable. However, even the best-performing non-noble metal catalysts are not as efficient. To drive commercial viability of fuel cells forward in the short term, increased utilization of Pt catalysts is paramount. We have demonstrated improved power and energy densities in a single PEMFC using a designed cathode with a Pt loading of 0.1 mg cm(-2) on a mesoporous conductive entangled carbon nanotube (CNT)-based architecture. This electrode allows for rapid transfer of both fuel and waste to and from the electrode, respectively. Pt particles are bound tightly, directly to CNT sidewalls by a microwave-reduction technique, which provided increased charge transport at this interface. The Pt entangled CNT cathode, in combination with an E-TEK 0.2 mg cm(-2) anode, has a maximum power and energy density of 940 mW cm(-2) and 2700 mA cm(-2), respectively, and a power and energy density of 4.01 W mg(Pt)(-1) and 6.35 A mg(Pt)(-1) at 0.65 V. These power densities correspond to a specific mass activity of 0.81 g Pt per kW for the combined mass of both anode and cathode electrodes, approaching the current US Department of Energy efficiency target. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Efficient pre-ionization by direct X-B mode conversion in VEST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jo, JongGab; Lee, H. Y.; Kim, S. C.; Kim, S. H.; An, Y. H.; Hwang, Y. S.

2017-01-01

Pre-ionization experiments with pure toroidal field have been carried out in VEST (Versatile Experiment Spherical Torus) to investigate the feasibility of direct XB mode conversion from perpendicular LFS (Low Field Side) injection for efficient pre-ionization. Pre-ionization plasmas are studied by measuring the electron density and temperature profiles with respect to microwave power and toroidal field strength, and 2D full wave cold plasma simulation using the COMSOL Multiphysics is performed for the comparison. It is experimentally figured out that exceeding the threshold microwave power (>3 kW), the parametric decay and localized collisional heating is observed near the UHR (Upper Hybrid Resonance), and the efficient XB mode conversion can be achieved in both short density scale length (Ln) and magnetic scale length (LB) region positioned at outboard and inboard sides, respectively. From the 2D full wave simulations, the reflection and tunneling of X-wave near the R-cutoff layer according to the measured electron density profiles are analyzed with electric field polarization and power flow. Threshold electric field and wave power density for parametric decay are evaluated at least more than 4.8 × 104 V/m and 100 W/cm2, respectively. This study shows that efficient pre-ionization schemes using direct XB mode conversion can be realized by considering the key factors such as Ln, LB, and transmitted wave power at the UHR. Application to Ohmic start-up experiment is carried out to confirm the effect of the pre-ionization schemes on tokamak plasma start-up in VEST.

Achieving bioinspired flapping wing hovering flight solutions on Mars via wing scaling.

PubMed

Bluman, James E; Pohly, Jeremy; Sridhar, Madhu; Kang, Chang-Kwon; Landrum, David Brian; Fahimi, Farbod; Aono, Hikaru

2018-05-29

Achieving atmospheric flight on Mars is challenging due to the low density of the Martian atmosphere. Aerodynamic forces are proportional to the atmospheric density, which limits the use of conventional aircraft designs on Mars. Here, we show using numerical simulations that a flapping wing robot can fly on Mars via bioinspired dynamic scaling. Trimmed, hovering flight is possible in a simulated Martian environment when dynamic similarity with insects on earth is achieved by preserving the relevant dimensionless parameters while scaling up the wings three to four times its normal size. The analysis is performed using a well-validated two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation solver, coupled to a three-dimensional flight dynamics model to simulate free flight. The majority of power required is due to the inertia of the wing because of the ultra-low density. The inertial flap power can be substantially reduced through the use of a torsional spring. The minimum total power consumption is 188 W/kg when the torsional spring is driven at its natural frequency. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Ultrathin Coaxial Fiber Supercapacitors Achieving High Energy and Power Densities.

PubMed

Shen, Caiwei; Xie, Yingxi; Sanghadasa, Mohan; Tang, Yong; Lu, Longsheng; Lin, Liwei

2017-11-15

Fiber-based supercapacitors have attracted significant interests because of their potential applications in wearable electronics. Although much progress has been made in recent years, the energy and power densities, mechanical strength, and flexibility of such devices are still in need of improvement for practical applications. Here, we demonstrate an ultrathin microcoaxial fiber supercapacitor (μCFSC) with high energy and power densities (2.7 mW h/cm 3 and 13 W/cm 3 ), as well as excellent mechanical properties. The prototype with the smallest reported overall diameter (∼13 μm) is fabricated by successive coating of functional layers onto a single micro-carbon-fiber via a scalable process. Combining the simulation results via the electrochemical model, we attribute the high performance to the well-controlled thin coatings that make full use of the electrode materials and minimize the ion transport path between electrodes. Moreover, the μCFSC features high bending flexibility and large tensile strength (more than 1 GPa), which make it promising as a building block for various flexible energy storage applications.

Enhanced energy harvesting by concentration gradient-driven ion transport in SBA-15 mesoporous silica thin films.

PubMed

Hwang, Junho; Kataoka, Sho; Endo, Akira; Daiguji, Hirofumi

2016-09-21

Nanofluidic energy harvesting systems have attracted interest in the field of battery application, particularly for miniaturized electrical devices, because they possess excellent energy conversion capability for their size. In this study, a mesoporous silica (MPS)-based nanofluidic energy harvesting system was fabricated and selective ion transport in mesopores as a function of the salt gradient was investigated. Aqueous solutions with three different kinds of monovalent electrolytes-KCl, NaCl, and LiCl-with different diffusion coefficients (D + ) were considered. The highest power density was 3.90 W m -2 for KCl, followed by 2.39 W m -2 for NaCl and 1.29 W m -2 for LiCl. Furthermore, the dependency of power density on the type of cation employed indicates that the harvested energy increases as the cation mobility increases, particularly at high concentrations. This cation-specific dependency suggests that the maximum power density increases by increasing the diffusion coefficient ratio of cations to anions, making this ratio a critical parameter in enhancing the performance of nanofluidic energy harvesting systems with extremely small pores ranging from 2 to 3 nm.

Allan deviation computations of a linear frequency synthesizer system using frequency domain techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Andy

1995-01-01

Allan Deviation computations of linear frequency synthesizer systems have been reported previously using real-time simulations. Even though it takes less time compared with the actual measurement, it is still very time consuming to compute the Allan Deviation for long sample times with the desired confidence level. Also noises, such as flicker phase noise and flicker frequency noise, can not be simulated precisely. The use of frequency domain techniques can overcome these drawbacks. In this paper the system error model of a fictitious linear frequency synthesizer is developed and its performance using a Cesium (Cs) atomic frequency standard (AFS) as a reference is evaluated using frequency domain techniques. For a linear timing system, the power spectral density at the system output can be computed with known system transfer functions and known power spectral densities from the input noise sources. The resulting power spectral density can then be used to compute the Allan Variance at the system output. Sensitivities of the Allan Variance at the system output to each of its independent input noises are obtained, and they are valuable for design trade-off and trouble-shooting.

A Long Cycle Life, Self-Healing Zinc-Iodine Flow Battery with High Power Density.

PubMed

Xie, Congxin; Zhang, Huamin; Xu, Wenbin; Wang, Wei; Li, Xianfeng

2018-05-01

A zinc-iodine flow battery (ZIFB) with long cycle life, high energy, high power density, and self-healing behavior is prepared. The long cycle life was achieved by employing a low-cost porous polyolefin membrane and stable electrolytes. The pores in the membrane can be filled with a solution containing I 3 - that can react with zinc dendrite. Therefore, by consuming zinc dendrite, the battery can self-recover from micro-short-circuiting resulting from overcharging. By using KI, ZnBr 2 , and KCl as electrolytes and a high ion-conductivity porous membrane, a very high power density can be achieved. As a result, a ZIFB exhibits an energy efficiency (EE) of 82 % at 80 mA cm -2 , which is 8 times higher than the currently reported ZIFBs. Furthermore, a stack with an output of 700 W was assembled and continuously run for more than 300 cycles. We believe this ZIFB can lead the way to development of new-generation, high-performance flow batteries. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Homogeneous coating of ionomer on electrocatalyst assisted by polybenzimidazole as an adhesive layer and its effect on fuel cell performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zehui; Fujigaya, Tsuyohiko; Nakashima, Naotoshi

2015-12-01

The fabrication of homogeneous ionomer distribution in fuel cell catalyst layers is necessary and important to improve the platinum utilization as well as the power density. Here, we focus on the effect of poly[2,2‧-(2,6-pyridine)-5,5‧-bibenzimidazole] (PyPBI) wrapped on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) for anchoring Nafion ionomer to the electrocatalyst, in which PyPBI functions as the binding sites for platinum nanoparticles (Pt-NPs) used as a catalyst. Based on the result using a control composite without having PyPBI, a strong interaction of the Nafion onto the PyPBI layer is recognized. Importantly, we find that the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) shows a much higher maximum power density than that of the MEA without PyPBI. A homogeneous coating of Nafion on the electrocatalyst using the PyPBI forms a long-range network of the ionomer, leading to an improved Pt-NP utilization efficiency as well as an enhanced power density of the MEA.

The 77 K operation of a multi-resonant power converter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Biswajit; Gerber, Scott S.; Patterson, Richard L.; Myers, Ira T.

1995-01-01

The liquid-nitrogen temperature (77 K) operation of a 55 W, 200 kHz, 48/28 V zero-voltage switching multi-resonant dc/dc converter designed with commercially available components is reported. Upon dipping the complete converter (power and control circuits) into liquid-nitrogen, the converter performance improved as compared to the room-temperature operation. The switching frequency, resonant frequency, and the characteristic impedance did not change significantly. Accordingly, the zero-voltage switching was maintained from no-load to full-load for the specified line variations. Cryoelectronics can provide high density power converters, especially for high power applications.

High Areal Energy 3D-Interdigitated Micro-Supercapacitors in Aqueous and Ionic Liquid Electrolytes

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

Eustache, Etienne; Douard, Camille; Demortière, Arnaud

The fabrication of high performance on-chip 3D micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) based on MnO 2 pseudocapacitive binder-free thin film electrodes (< 500 nm thick) with interdigitated topology is reported. An original technological process easily scalable to pilot production line is proposed on 3-inch silicon wafers. High areal energy (> 10 μWh.cm -2) and power densities (> 10 mW.cm -2) are reached on small footprint micro-supercapacitors (4 mm 2) tested in aqueous electrolyte (0.8 V). Furthermore, the cell voltage of such MSC can be increased up to 1.5 V with EMI TFSI ionic liquids but at the expense of the areal capacitance. Themore » performance in ionic liquid is in the same order of magnitude than the one obtained for aqueous electrolyte. The benefit from the 3D topology is clearly demonstrated when the surface performance are normalized to the electrode thickness allowing to obtain an interesting energy vs power tradeoff (> 10 μWh.cm -2 μm -1 and > 1 mw.cm -2 μm -1). Here, this paper aims at improving the energy density of MSCs while keeping high power capability, by combining the use of ionic liquids and the deposition of MnO 2 thin film onto robust and efficient 3D scaffolds.« less

High Areal Energy 3D-Interdigitated Micro-Supercapacitors in Aqueous and Ionic Liquid Electrolytes

DOE PAGES

Eustache, Etienne; Douard, Camille; Demortière, Arnaud; ...

2017-08-21

The fabrication of high performance on-chip 3D micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) based on MnO 2 pseudocapacitive binder-free thin film electrodes (< 500 nm thick) with interdigitated topology is reported. An original technological process easily scalable to pilot production line is proposed on 3-inch silicon wafers. High areal energy (> 10 μWh.cm -2) and power densities (> 10 mW.cm -2) are reached on small footprint micro-supercapacitors (4 mm 2) tested in aqueous electrolyte (0.8 V). Furthermore, the cell voltage of such MSC can be increased up to 1.5 V with EMI TFSI ionic liquids but at the expense of the areal capacitance. Themore » performance in ionic liquid is in the same order of magnitude than the one obtained for aqueous electrolyte. The benefit from the 3D topology is clearly demonstrated when the surface performance are normalized to the electrode thickness allowing to obtain an interesting energy vs power tradeoff (> 10 μWh.cm -2 μm -1 and > 1 mw.cm -2 μm -1). Here, this paper aims at improving the energy density of MSCs while keeping high power capability, by combining the use of ionic liquids and the deposition of MnO 2 thin film onto robust and efficient 3D scaffolds.« less

Performance of a vanadium redox flow battery with tubular cell design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ressel, Simon; Laube, Armin; Fischer, Simon; Chica, Antonio; Flower, Thomas; Struckmann, Thorsten

2017-07-01

We present a vanadium redox flow battery with a tubular cell design which shall lead to a reduction of cell manufacturing costs and the realization of cell stacks with reduced shunt current losses. Charge/discharge cycling and polarization curve measurements are performed to characterize the single test cell performance. A maximum current density of 70 mAcm-2 and power density of 142 Wl-1 (per cell volume) is achieved and Ohmic overpotential is identified as the dominant portion of the total cell overpotential. Cycling displays Coulomb efficiencies of ≈95% and energy efficiencies of ≈55%. During 113 h of operation a stable Ohmic cell resistance is observed.

A hybrid electrochemical device based on a synergetic inner combination of Li ion battery and Li ion capacitor for energy storage.

PubMed

Zheng, Jun-Sheng; Zhang, Lei; Shellikeri, Annadanesh; Cao, Wanjun; Wu, Qiang; Zheng, Jim P

2017-02-07

Li ion battery (LIB) and electrochemical capacitor (EC) are considered as the most widely used energy storage systems (ESSs) because they can produce a high energy density or a high power density, but it is a huge challenge to achieve both the demands of a high energy density as well as a high power density on their own. A new hybrid Li ion capacitor (HyLIC), which combines the advantages of LIB and Li ion capacitor (LIC), is proposed. This device can successfully realize a potential match between LIB and LIC and can avoid the excessive depletion of electrolyte during the charge process. The galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling tests reveal that at low current, the HyLIC exhibits a high energy density, while at high current, it demonstrates a high power density. Ragone plot confirms that this device can make a synergetic balance between energy and power and achieve a highest energy density in the power density range of 80 to 300 W kg -1 . The cycle life test proves that HyLIC exhibits a good cycle life and an excellent coulombic efficiency. The present study shows that HyLIC, which is capable of achieving a high energy density, a long cycle life and an excellent power density, has the potential to achieve the winning combination of a high energy and power density.

A hybrid electrochemical device based on a synergetic inner combination of Li ion battery and Li ion capacitor for energy storage

PubMed Central

Zheng, Jun-Sheng; Zhang, Lei; Shellikeri, Annadanesh; Cao, Wanjun; Wu, Qiang; Zheng, Jim P.

2017-01-01

Li ion battery (LIB) and electrochemical capacitor (EC) are considered as the most widely used energy storage systems (ESSs) because they can produce a high energy density or a high power density, but it is a huge challenge to achieve both the demands of a high energy density as well as a high power density on their own. A new hybrid Li ion capacitor (HyLIC), which combines the advantages of LIB and Li ion capacitor (LIC), is proposed. This device can successfully realize a potential match between LIB and LIC and can avoid the excessive depletion of electrolyte during the charge process. The galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling tests reveal that at low current, the HyLIC exhibits a high energy density, while at high current, it demonstrates a high power density. Ragone plot confirms that this device can make a synergetic balance between energy and power and achieve a highest energy density in the power density range of 80 to 300 W kg−1. The cycle life test proves that HyLIC exhibits a good cycle life and an excellent coulombic efficiency. The present study shows that HyLIC, which is capable of achieving a high energy density, a long cycle life and an excellent power density, has the potential to achieve the winning combination of a high energy and power density. PMID:28169329

Directional power absorption in helicon plasma sources excited by a half-helix antenna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afsharmanesh, Mohsen; Habibi, Morteza

2017-10-01

This paper deals with the investigation of the power absorption in helicon plasma excited through a half-helix antenna driven at 13.56 {{MHz}}. The simulations were carried out by means of a code, HELIC. They were carried out by taking into account different inhomogeneous radial density profiles and for a wide range of plasma densities, from {10}11 {{{cm}}}-3 to {10}13 {{{cm}}}-3. The magnetic field was 200, 400, 600 and 1000 {{G}}. A three-parameter function was used for generating various density profiles with different volume gradients, edge gradients and density widths. The density profile had a large effect on the efficient Trivelpiece-Gould (TG) and helicon mode excitation and antenna coupling to the plasma. The fraction of power deposition via the TG mode was extremely dependent on the plasma density near the plasma boundary. Interestingly, the obtained efficient parallel helicon wavelength was close to the anticipated value for Gaussian radial density profile. Power deposition was considerably asymmetric when the \\tfrac{n}{{B}0} ratio was more than a specific value for a determined density width. The longitudinal power absorption was symmetric at approximately {n}0={10}11 {{{cm}}}-3, irrespective of the magnetic field supposed. The asymmetry became more pronounced when the plasma density was {10}12 {{{cm}}}-3. The ratio of density width to the magnetic field was an important parameter in the power coupling. At high magnetic fields, the maximum of the power absorption was reached at higher plasma density widths. There was at least one combination of the plasma density, magnetic field and density width for which the RF power deposition at both side of the tube reached its maximum value.

First prototypes of hybrid potassium-ion capacitor (KIC): An innovative, cost-effective energy storage technology for transportation applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Comte, Annaïg; Reynier, Yvan; Vincens, Christophe; Leys, Côme; Azaïs, Philippe

2017-09-01

Hybrid supercapacitors, combining capacitive carbon-based positive electrode with a Li-ion battery-type negative electrode have been developed in the pursuit of increasing the energy density of conventional supercapacitor without impacting the power density. However, lithium-ion capacitors yet hardly meet the specifications of automotive sector. Herein we report for the first time the development of new hybrid potassium-ion capacitor (KIC) technology. Compared to lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) all strategic materials (lithium and copper) have been replaced. Excellent electrochemical performance have been achieved at a pouch cell scale, with cyclability superior to 55 000 cycles at high charge/discharge regime. For the same cell scale, the energy density is doubled compared to conventional supercapacitor up to high power regime (>1.5 kW kg-1). Finally, the technology was successfully scaled up to 18650 format leading to very promising prospects for transportation applications.

Spatiotemporal and spectral characteristics of X-ray radiation emitted by the Z-pinch during the current implosion of quasispherical multiwire arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gritsuk, A. N.

2017-12-01

For the first time, a quasi-spherical current implosion has been experimentally realized on a multimegaampere facility with the peak current of up to 4 MA and a soft X-ray source has been created with high radiation power density on its surface of up to 3 TW/cm2. An increase in the energy density at the centre of the source of soft X-ray radiation (SXR) was experimentally observed upon compression of quasi-spherical arrays with the linear-mass profiling. In this case, the average power density on the surface of the SXR source is three times higher than for implosions of cylindrical arrays of the same mass and close values of the discharge current. Obtained experimental data are compared with the results of modelling the current implosion of multi-wire arrays performed with the help of a three-dimensional radiation-magneto-hydrodynamic code.

Development of a current collection loss management system for SDI homopolar power supplies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, D. W.

1991-04-01

High speed, high power density current collection systems have been identified as an enabling technology required to construct homopolar power supplies to meet SDI missions. This work is part of a three-year effort directed towards the analysis, experimental verification, and prototype construction of a current collection system designed to operate continuously at 2 kA/sq cm, at a rubbing speed of 200 m/s, and with acceptable losses in a space environment. To date, no system has achieved these conditions simultaneously. This is the final report covering the three year period of performance on DOE contract AC03-86SF-16518. Major areas covered include design, construction and operation of a cryogenically cooled brush test rig, design and construction of a high speed brush test rig, optimization study for homopolar machines, loss analysis of the current collection system, and an application study which defines the air-core homopolar construction necessary to achieve the goal of 80 kW/kg generator power density.

Exceptional power density and stability at intermediate temperatures in protonic ceramic fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Sihyuk; Kucharczyk, Chris J.; Liang, Yangang; Zhang, Xiaohang; Takeuchi, Ichiro; Ji, Ho-Il; Haile, Sossina M.

2018-03-01

Over the past several years, important strides have been made in demonstrating protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs). Such fuel cells offer the potential of environmentally sustainable and cost-effective electric power generation. However, their power outputs have lagged behind predictions based on their high electrolyte conductivities. Here we overcome PCFC performance and stability challenges by employing a high-activity cathode, PrBa0.5Sr0.5Co1.5Fe0.5O5+δ (PBSCF), in combination with a chemically stable electrolyte, BaZr0.4Ce0.4Y0.1Yb0.1O3 (BZCYYb4411). We deposit a thin dense interlayer film of the cathode material onto the electrolyte surface to mitigate contact resistance, an approach which is made possible by the proton permeability of PBSCF. The peak power densities of the resulting fuel cells exceed 500 mW cm-2 at 500 °C, while also offering exceptional, long-term stability under CO2.

Si--Au Schottky barrier nuclear battery

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

Tse, Anthony N.

1972-11-01

A long-life, high-power-density, high-reliability, compact microwatt battery is needed in many applications. In the field of medicine, for example, such a battery could power an artificial pacemaker which would greatly extend the residence time of the device. Various alternatives are analyzed and discussed. Betavoltaic conversion systems with Si-Au Schottky barrier cells coupled with 147Pm metal foil were selected for investigation. Characterization experiments were performed to obtain optimized silicon resistivity and promethium metal foil thickness. Radiation dose rates were measured and the safety aspects of the battery were analyzed. A prototype battery was assembled and tested. The economics of the batterymore » were demonstrated for special applications. It is concluded that a microwatt nuclear battery can be built with a conversion efficiency of 1 to 2%, a power density of 60 to 300 pW/cm 3 depending on the power level, and a useful life of 5 to 10 years. Further research areas are recommended.« less

Thermal Management and Reliability of Power Electronics and Electric Machines

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

Narumanchi, Sreekant

2016-09-19

Increasing the number of electric-drive vehicles (EDVs) on America's roads has been identified as a strategy with near-term potential for dramatically decreasing the nation's dependence on oil - by the U.S. Department of Energy, the federal cross-agency EV-Everywhere Challenge, and the automotive industry. Mass-market deployment will rely on meeting aggressive technical targets, including improved efficiency and reduced size, weight, and cost. Many of these advances will depend on optimization of thermal management. Effective thermal management is critical to improving the performance and ensuring the reliability of EDVs. Efficient heat removal makes higher power densities and lower operating temperatures possible, andmore » in turn enables cost and size reductions. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), along with DOE and industry partners is working to develop cost-effective thermal management solutions to increase device and component power densities. In this presentation, the activities in recent years related to thermal management and reliability of automotive power electronics and electric machines are presented.« less

Rebalancing of internally generated carriers for mid-infrared interband cascade lasers with very low power consumption.

PubMed

Vurgaftman, I; Bewley, W W; Canedy, C L; Kim, C S; Kim, M; Merritt, C D; Abell, J; Lindle, J R; Meyer, J R

2011-12-13

The interband cascade laser differs from any other class of semiconductor laser, conventional or cascaded, in that most of the carriers producing population inversion are generated internally, at semimetallic interfaces within each stage of the active region. Here we present simulations demonstrating that all previous interband cascade laser performance has suffered from a significant imbalance of electron and hole densities in the active wells. We further confirm experimentally that correcting this imbalance with relatively heavy n-type doping in the electron injectors substantially reduces the threshold current and power densities relative to all earlier devices. At room temperature, the redesigned devices require nearly two orders of magnitude less input power to operate in continuous-wave mode than the quantum cascade laser. The interband cascade laser is consequently the most attractive option for gas sensing and other spectroscopic applications requiring low output power and minimum heat dissipation at wavelengths extending from 3 μm to beyond 6 μm.

Thermal management methods for compact high power LED arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christensen, Adam; Ha, Minseok; Graham, Samuel

2007-09-01

The package and system level temperature distributions of a high power (>1W) light emitting diode (LED) array has been investigated using numerical heat flow models. For this analysis, a thermal resistor network model was combined with a 3D finite element submodel of an LED structure to predict system and die level temperatures. The impact of LED array density, LED power density, and active versus passive cooling methods on device operation were calculated. In order to help understand the role of various thermal resistances in cooling such compact arrays, the thermal resistance network was analyzed in order to estimate the contributions from materials as well as active and passive cooling schemes. An analysis of thermal stresses and residual stresses in the die are also calculated based on power dissipation and convection heat transfer coefficients. Results show that the thermal stress in the GaN layer are compressive which can impact the band gap and performance of the LEDs.

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion: Past, Present, and a Look Ahead

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borowski, Stanley K.

2014-01-01

NTR: High thrust high specific impulse (2 x LOXLH2 chemical) engine uses high power density fission reactor with enriched uranium fuel as thermal power source. Reactor heat is removed using H2 propellant which is then exhausted to produce thrust. Conventional chemical engine LH2 tanks, turbo pumps, regenerative nozzles and radiation-cooled shirt extensions used -- NTR is next evolutionary step in high performance liquid rocket engines.

Redox Additive-Improved Electrochemically and Structurally Robust Binder-Free Nickel Pyrophosphate Nanorods as Superior Cathode for Hybrid Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Sankar, Kalimuthu Vijaya; Seo, Youngho; Lee, Su Chan; Chan Jun, Seong

2018-03-07

For several decades, one of the great challenges for constructing a high-energy supercapacitor has been designing electrode materials with high performance. Herein, we report for the first time to our knowledge a novel hybrid supercapacitor composed of battery-type nickel pyrophosphate one-dimensional (1D) nanorods and capacitive-type N-doped reduced graphene oxide as the cathode and anode, respectively, in an aqueous redox-added electrolyte. More importantly, ex situ microscopic images of the nickel pyrophosphate 1D nanorods revealed that the presence of the battery-type redox additive enhanced the charge storage capacity and cycling life as a result of the microstructure stability. The nickel pyrophosphate 1D nanorods exhibited their maximum specific capacitance (8120 mF cm -2 at 5 mV s -1 ) and energy density (0.22 mWh cm -2 at a power density of 1.375 mW cm -2 ) in 1 M KOH + 75 mg K 3 [Fe(CN) 6 ] electrolyte. On the other side, the N-doped reduced graphene oxide delivered an excellent electrochemical performance, demonstrating that it was an appropriate anode. A hybrid supercapacitor showed a high specific capacitance (224 F g -1 at a current density of 1 A g -1 ) and high energy density (70 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 750 W kg -1 ), as well as a long cycle life (a Coulombic efficiency of 96% over 5000 cycles), which was a higher performance than most of those in recent reports. Our results suggested that the materials and redox additive in this novel design hold great promise for potential applications in a next-generation hybrid supercapacitor.

Simulation of high temperature thermal energy storage system based on coupled metal hydrides for solar driven steam power plants

DOE PAGES

d'Entremont, Anna; Corgnale, Claudio; Hardy, Bruce; ...

2018-01-11

Concentrating solar power plants can achieve low cost and efficient renewable electricity production if equipped with adequate thermal energy storage systems. Metal hydride based thermal energy storage systems are appealing candidates due to their demonstrated potential for very high volumetric energy densities, high exergetic efficiencies, and low costs. The feasibility and performance of a thermal energy storage system based on NaMgH 2F hydride paired with TiCr 1.6Mn 0.2 is examined, discussing its integration with a solar-driven ultra-supercritical steam power plant. The simulated storage system is based on a laboratory-scale experimental apparatus. It is analyzed using a detailed transport model accountingmore » for the thermochemical hydrogen absorption and desorption reactions, including kinetics expressions adequate for the current metal hydride system. The results show that the proposed metal hydride pair can suitably be integrated with a high temperature steam power plant. The thermal energy storage system achieves output energy densities of 226 kWh/m 3, 9 times the DOE SunShot target, with moderate temperature and pressure swings. Also, simulations indicate that there is significant scope for performance improvement via heat-transfer enhancement strategies.« less

Characterization of a novel strain phylogenetically related to Kocuria rhizophila and its chemical modification to improve performance of microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Luo, Jianmei; Li, Ming; Zhou, Minghua; Hu, Youshuang

2015-07-15

It is certainly an important research area to discovery new exoelectrogens for microbial fuel cells (MFCs), and how to effectively manipulate its cell property to improve power performance is still a great challenge. In this study, a new electrochemically active bacterium phylogenetically related to Kocuria rhizophila was first isolated and found electrogenic in MFCs, which was identified through the combination methods of molecular biology, physiological, biochemical and morphological characteristics. The MFCs inoculated with this strain generated power from a wide variety of substrates, reached a maximum power density of 75mW/m(2) in the substrate of 1g/L glucose. And the electron transfer mechanism was confirmed to be dominantly direct biofilm mechanism. Chemical treatment with five reagents was verified to be a feasible strategy to improve the power density of MFCs, increasing approximately 1.75 fold at most after treated with lysozyme. This enhancement was contributed to the significant enhancement on cell permeability, cell membrane fluidity and Coenzyme Q10 (the electron carrier). Thus this work offered a novel Gram-positive electrogenic bacterium and proved chemical treatment was a feasible strategy to improve electron transfer for application in MFCs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sol-gel derived electrode materials for supercapacitor applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Chuan

1998-12-01

Electrochemical capacitors have been receiving increasing interest in recent years for use in energy storage systems because of their high energy and power density and long cycle lifes. Possible applications of electrochemical capacitors include high power pulsed lasers, hybrid power system for electric vehicles, etc. In this dissertation, the preparation of electrode materials for use as electrochemical capacitors has been studied using the sol-gel process. The high surface area electrode materials explored in this work include a synthetic carbon xerogel for use in a double-layer capacitor, a cobalt oxide xerogel for use in a pseudocapacitor, and a carbon-ruthenium xerogel composite, which utilizes both double-layer and faradaic capacitances. The preparation conditions of these materials were investigated in detail to maximize the surface area and optimize the pore size so that more energy could be stored while minimizing mass transfer limitations. The microstructures of the materials were also correlated with their performance as electrochemical capacitors to improve their energy and power densities. Finally, an idealistic mathematical model, including both double-layer and faradaic processes, was developed and solved numerically. This model can be used to perform the parametric studies of an electrochemical capacitor so as to gain a better understanding of how the capacitor works and also how to improve cell operations and electrode materials design.

Simulation of high temperature thermal energy storage system based on coupled metal hydrides for solar driven steam power plants

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

d'Entremont, Anna; Corgnale, Claudio; Hardy, Bruce

Concentrating solar power plants can achieve low cost and efficient renewable electricity production if equipped with adequate thermal energy storage systems. Metal hydride based thermal energy storage systems are appealing candidates due to their demonstrated potential for very high volumetric energy densities, high exergetic efficiencies, and low costs. The feasibility and performance of a thermal energy storage system based on NaMgH 2F hydride paired with TiCr 1.6Mn 0.2 is examined, discussing its integration with a solar-driven ultra-supercritical steam power plant. The simulated storage system is based on a laboratory-scale experimental apparatus. It is analyzed using a detailed transport model accountingmore » for the thermochemical hydrogen absorption and desorption reactions, including kinetics expressions adequate for the current metal hydride system. The results show that the proposed metal hydride pair can suitably be integrated with a high temperature steam power plant. The thermal energy storage system achieves output energy densities of 226 kWh/m 3, 9 times the DOE SunShot target, with moderate temperature and pressure swings. Also, simulations indicate that there is significant scope for performance improvement via heat-transfer enhancement strategies.« less

Flexible and Robust Thermoelectric Generators Based on All-Carbon Nanotube Yarn without Metal Electrodes.

PubMed

Choi, Jaeyoo; Jung, Yeonsu; Yang, Seung Jae; Oh, Jun Young; Oh, Jinwoo; Jo, Kiyoung; Son, Jeong Gon; Moon, Seung Eon; Park, Chong Rae; Kim, Heesuk

2017-08-22

As practical interest in flexible/or wearable power-conversion devices increases, the demand for high-performance alternatives to thermoelectric (TE) generators based on brittle inorganic materials is growing. Herein, we propose a flexible and ultralight TE generator (TEG) based on carbon nanotube yarn (CNTY) with excellent TE performance. The as-prepared CNTY shows a superior electrical conductivity of 3147 S/cm due to increased longitudinal carrier mobility derived from a highly aligned structure. Our TEG is innovative in that the CNTY acts as multifunctions in the same device. The CNTY is alternatively doped into n- and p-types using polyethylenimine and FeCl 3 , respectively. The highly conductive CNTY between the doped regions is used as electrodes to minimize the circuit resistance, thereby forming an all-carbon TEG without additional metal deposition. A flexible TEG based on 60 pairs of n- and p-doped CNTY shows the maximum power density of 10.85 and 697 μW/g at temperature differences of 5 and 40 K, respectively, which are the highest values among reported TEGs based on flexible materials. We believe that the strategy proposed here to improve the power density of flexible TEG by introducing highly aligned CNTY and designing a device without metal electrodes shows great potential for the flexible/or wearable power-conversion devices.

Electrochemically synthesized nanocrystalline spinel thin film for high performance supercapacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Vinay; Gupta, Shubhra; Miura, Norio

Spinels are not known for their supercapacitive nature. Here, we have explored electrochemically synthesized nanostructured NiCo 2O 4 spinel thin-film electrode for electrochemical supercapacitors. The nanostructured NiCo 2O 4 spinel thin film exhibited a high specific capacitance value of 580 F g -1 and an energy density of 32 Wh kg -1 at the power density of 4 kW kg -1, accompanying with good cyclic stability.

Scale Up Considerations for Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

density calculations were made once WPs stabilized for each system. Linear sweep voltametry was then used on these systems to generate polarization and...power density curves. The systems were allowed to equilibrate under open circuit conditions (about 12 h) before a potential sweep was performed with a...reference. The potential sweep was set to begin at the anode potential under open circuit conditions (20.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl) and was raised to the

A magnesium–sodium hybrid battery with high operating voltage

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

Dong, Hui; Li, Yifei; Liang, Yanliang

2016-06-10

We report a high performance magnesium-sodium hybrid battery utilizing a magnesium-sodium dual-salt electrolyte, a magnesium anode, and a Berlin green cathode. The cell delivers an average discharge voltage of 2.2 V and a reversible capacity of 143 mAh g -1. We also demonstrate the cell with an energy density of 135 Wh kg -1 and a high power density of up to 1.67 kW kg -1.

Facile synthesis of ultrathin manganese dioxide nanosheets arrays on nickel foam as advanced binder-free supercapacitor electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Ming; Zhao, Xiao Li; Li, Fei; Zhang, Li Li; Zhang, Yu Xin

2015-03-01

Ultrathin MnO2 nanosheets arrays on Ni foam have been fabricated by a facile hydrothermal approach and further investigated as the binder-free electrode for high-performance supercapacitors. This unique well-designed binder-free electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance (595.2 F g-1 at a current density of 0.5 A g-1), good rate capability (64.1% retention), and excellent cycling stability (89% capacitance retention after 3000 cycles). Moreover, an asymmetric supercapacitor is constructed using the as-prepared MnO2 nanosheets arrays as the positive electrode and activated microwave exfoliated graphite oxide (MEGO) as the negative electrode. The optimized asymmetric supercapacitor displays excellent electrochemical performance with an energy density of 25.8 Wh kg-1 and a maximum power density of 223.2 kW kg-1. These impressive performances suggest that the MnO2 nanosheet array is a promising electrode material for supercapacitors.

High-Power Growth-Robust InGaAs/InAlAs Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

We report on high-power terahertz quantum cascade lasers based on low effective electron mass InGaAs/InAlAs semiconductor heterostructures with excellent reproducibility. Growth-related asymmetries in the form of interface roughness and dopant migration play a crucial role in this material system. These bias polarity dependent phenomena are studied using a nominally symmetric active region resulting in a preferential electron transport in the growth direction. A structure based on a three-well optical phonon depletion scheme was optimized for this bias direction. Depending on the sheet doping density, the performance of this structure shows a trade-off between high maximum operating temperature and high output power. While the highest operating temperature of 155 K is observed for a moderate sheet doping density of 2 × 1010 cm–2, the highest peak output power of 151 mW is found for 7.3 × 1010 cm–2. Furthermore, by abutting a hyperhemispherical GaAs lens to a device with the highest doping level a record output power of 587 mW is achieved for double-metal waveguide structures. PMID:28470028

High-Power Growth-Robust InGaAs/InAlAs Terahertz Quantum Cascade Lasers.

PubMed

Deutsch, Christoph; Kainz, Martin Alexander; Krall, Michael; Brandstetter, Martin; Bachmann, Dominic; Schönhuber, Sebastian; Detz, Hermann; Zederbauer, Tobias; MacFarland, Donald; Andrews, Aaron Maxwell; Schrenk, Werner; Beck, Mattias; Ohtani, Keita; Faist, Jérôme; Strasser, Gottfried; Unterrainer, Karl

2017-04-19

We report on high-power terahertz quantum cascade lasers based on low effective electron mass InGaAs/InAlAs semiconductor heterostructures with excellent reproducibility. Growth-related asymmetries in the form of interface roughness and dopant migration play a crucial role in this material system. These bias polarity dependent phenomena are studied using a nominally symmetric active region resulting in a preferential electron transport in the growth direction. A structure based on a three-well optical phonon depletion scheme was optimized for this bias direction. Depending on the sheet doping density, the performance of this structure shows a trade-off between high maximum operating temperature and high output power. While the highest operating temperature of 155 K is observed for a moderate sheet doping density of 2 × 10 10 cm -2 , the highest peak output power of 151 mW is found for 7.3 × 10 10 cm -2 . Furthermore, by abutting a hyperhemispherical GaAs lens to a device with the highest doping level a record output power of 587 mW is achieved for double-metal waveguide structures.

A microfabricated low cost enzyme-free glucose fuel cell for powering low-power implantable devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oncescu, Vlad; Erickson, David

In the past decade the scientific community has showed considerable interest in the development of implantable medical devices such as muscle stimulators, neuroprosthetic devices, and biosensors. Those devices have low power requirements and can potentially be operated through fuel cells using reactants present in the body such as glucose and oxygen instead of non-rechargeable lithium batteries. In this paper, we present a thin, enzyme-free fuel cell with high current density and good stability at a current density of 10 μA cm -2. A non-enzymatic approach is preferred because of higher long term stability. The fuel cell uses a stacked electrode design in order to achieve glucose and oxygen separation. An important characteristic of the fuel cell is that it has no membrane separating the electrodes, which results in low ohmic losses and small fuel cell volume. In addition, it uses a porous carbon paper support for the anodic catalyst layer which reduces the amount of platinum or other noble metal catalysts required for fabricating high surface area electrodes with good reactivity. The peak power output of the fuel cell is approximately 2 μW cm -2 and has a sustainable power density of 1.5 μW cm -2 at 10 μA cm -2. An analysis on the effects of electrode thickness and inter electrode gap on the maximum power output of the fuel cell is also performed.

Electrodeposited Nanolaminated CoNiFe Cores for Ultracompact DC-DC Power Conversion

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

Kim, J; Kim, M; Herrault, F

2015-09-01

Laminated metallic alloy cores (i.e., alternating layers of thin film metallic alloy and insulating material) of appropriate lamination thickness enable suppression of eddy current losses at high frequencies. Magnetic cores comprised of many such laminations yield substantial overall magnetic volume, thereby enabling high-power operation. Previously, we reported nanolaminated permalloy (Ni-80 Fe-20) cores based on a sequential electrodeposition technique, demonstrating negligible eddy current losses at peak flux densities up to 0.5 T and operating at megahertz frequencies. This paper demonstrates improved performance of nanolaminated cores comprising tens to hundreds of layers of 300-500-nm-thick CoNiFe films that exhibit superior magnetic properties (e.g.,more » higher saturation flux density and lower coercivity) than permalloy. Nanolaminated CoNiFe cores can be operated up to a peak flux density of 0.9 T, demonstrating improved power handling capacity and exhibiting 30% reduced volumetric core loss, attributed to lowered hysteresis losses compared to the nanolaminated permalloy core of the same geometry. Operating these cores in a buck dc-dc power converter at a switching frequency of 1 MHz, the nanolaminated CoNiFe cores achieved a conversion efficiency exceeding 90% at output power levels up to 7 W, compared to an achieved permalloy core conversion efficiency below 86% at 6 W.« less

Flexible superior electrode architectures based on three-dimensional porous spinous α-Fe2O3 with a high performance as a supercapacitor.

PubMed

Nan, Honghong; Yu, Liutao; Ma, Wenqin; Geng, Baoyou; Zhang, Xiaojun

2015-05-28

Flexible supercapacitors have recently attracted increasing attention as they show unique promising advantages, such as flexibility and shape diversity, and they are light-weight and so on. Herein, we designed a series of 3D porous spinous iron oxide materials synthesized on a thin iron plate through a facile method under mild conditions. The unique nanostructural features endow them with excellent electrochemical performance. The electrochemical properties of the integrated electrodes as active electrode materials for supercapacitors have been investigated using different electrochemical techniques including cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge-discharge in Na2SO4 and LiPF6/EC : DEC electrolyte solutions. These integrated electrodes showed high specific capacitance (as high as 524.6 F g(-1) at the current density of 1 A g(-1)) in 1.0 M Na2SO4 (see Table S1). Moreover, the integrated electrodes also show high power densities and high energy densities in a LiPF6/EC : DEC electrolyte solution; for example, the energy densities were 319.3, 252.5, 152.1, 74.13 and 38.6 W h kg(-1) at different power densities of 8.81, 21.59, 56.65, 92.09 and 152.64 kW kg(-1), respectively. Additionally, the flexible superior electrode exhibited excellent stability with capacitance retention of 92.9% after 5000 cycles. Therefore, such flexible integrated devices might be used in smart and portable electronics.

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.

Polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis: Restraining degradation in the presence of fluctuating power

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakousky, Christoph; Reimer, Uwe; Wippermann, Klaus; Kuhri, Susanne; Carmo, Marcelo; Lueke, Wiebke; Stolten, Detlef

2017-02-01

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis generates 'green' hydrogen when conducted with electricity from renewable - but fluctuating - sources like wind or solar photovoltaic. Unfortunately, the long-term stability of the electrolyzer performance is still not fully understood under these input power profiles. In this study, we contrast the degradation behavior of our PEM water electrolysis single cells that occurs under operation with constant and intermittent power and derive preferable operating states. For this purpose, five different current density profiles are used, of which two were constant and three dynamic. Cells operated at 1 A cm-2 show no degradation. However, degradation was observed for the remaining four profiles, all of which underwent periods of high current density (2 A cm-2). Hereby, constant operation at 2 A cm-2 led to the highest degradation rate (194 μV h-1). Degradation can be greatly reduced when the cells are operated with an intermittent profile. Current density switching has a positive effect on durability, as it causes reversible parts of degradation to recover and results in a substantially reduced degradation per mole of hydrogen produced. Two general degradation phenomena were identified, a decreased anode exchange current density and an increased contact resistance at the titanium porous transport layer (Ti-PTL).

Flow field design and optimization based on the mass transport polarization regulation in a flow-through type vanadium flow battery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Qiong; Xing, Feng; Li, Xianfeng; Ning, Guiling; Zhang, Huamin

2016-08-01

Vanadium flow battery holds great promise for use in large scale energy storage applications. However, the power density is relatively low, leading to significant increase in the system cost. Apart from the kinetic and electronic conductivity improvement, the mass transport enhancement is also necessary to further increase the power density and reduce the system cost. To better understand the mass transport limitations, in the research, the space-varying and time-varying characteristic of the mass transport polarization is investigated based on the analysis of the flow velocity and reactant concentration in the bulk electrolyte by modeling. The result demonstrates that the varying characteristic of mass transport polarization is more obvious at high SoC or high current densities. To soften the adverse impact of the mass transport polarization, a new rectangular plug flow battery with a plug flow and short flow path is designed and optimized based on the mass transport polarization regulation (reducing the mass transport polarization and improving its uniformity of distribution). The regulation strategy of mass transport polarization is practical for the performance improvement in VFBs, especially for high power density VFBs. The findings in the research are also applicable for other flow batteries and instructive for practical use.

An analytic model for limiting high density LH transition by the onset of the tertiary instability

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

Singh, Raghvendra, E-mail: rsingh129@gmail.com; Jhang, Hogun; Kaang, Helen H.

2016-07-15

We perform an analytic study of the tertiary instability driven by a strong excitation of zonal flows during high density low to high (LH) mode transition. The drift resistive ballooning mode is assumed to be a dominant edge turbulence driver. The analysis reproduces main qualitative features of early computational results [Rogers and Drake, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 4396 (1998); Guzdar et al., Phys. Plasmas 14, 020701 (2007)], as well as new characteristics of the maximum edge density due to the onset of the tertiary instability. An analytical scaling indicates that the density scaling of LH transition power may be determinedmore » by the onset condition of the tertiary instability when the operating density approaches to the Greenwald density.« less

Long-term performance of activated carbon air cathodes with different diffusion layer porosities in microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Zhang, Fang; Pant, Deepak; Logan, Bruce E

2011-12-15

Activated carbon (AC) air-cathodes are inexpensive and useful alternatives to Pt-catalyzed electrodes in microbial fuel cells (MFCs), but information is needed on their long-term stability for oxygen reduction. AC cathodes were constructed with diffusion layers (DLs) with two different porosities (30% and 70%) to evaluate the effects of increased oxygen transfer on power. The 70% DL cathode initially produced a maximum power density of 1214±123 mW/m(2) (cathode projected surface area; 35±4 W/m(3) based on liquid volume), but it decreased by 40% after 1 year to 734±18 mW/m(2). The 30% DL cathode initially produced less power than the 70% DL cathode, but it only decreased by 22% after 1 year (from 1014±2 mW/m(2) to 789±68 mW/m(2)). Electrochemical tests were used to examine the reasons for the degraded performance. Diffusion resistance in the cathode was found to be the primary component of the internal resistance, and it increased over time. Replacing the cathode after 1 year completely restored the original power densities. These results suggest that the degradation in cathode performance was due to clogging of the AC micropores. These findings show that AC is a cost-effective material for oxygen reduction that can still produce ~750 mW/m(2) after 1 year. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

O Electromagnetic Power Waves and Power Density Components.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petzold, Donald Wayne

1980-12-01

On January 10, 1884 Lord Rayleigh presented a paper entitled "On the Transfer of Energy in the Electromagnetic Field" to the Royal Society of London. This paper had been authored by the late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, Professor J. H. Poynting and in it he claimed that there was a general law for the transfer of electromagnetic energy. He argued that associated with each point in space is a quantity, that has since been called the Poynting vector, that is a measure of the rate of energy flow per unit area. His analysis was concerned with the integration of this power density vector at all points over an enclosing surface of a specific volume. The interpretation of this Poynting vector as a true measure of the local power density was viewed with great skepticism unless the vector was integrated over a closed surface, as the development of the concept required. However, within the last decade or so Shadowitz indicates that a number of prominent authors have argued that the criticism of the interpretation of Poynting's vector as a local power density vector is unjustified. The present paper is not concerned with these arguments but instead is concerned with a decomposition of Poynting's power density vector into two and only two components: one vector which has the same direction as Poynting's vector and which is called the forward power density vector, and another vector, directed opposite to the Poynting vector and called the reverse power density vector. These new local forward and reverse power density vectors will be shown to be dependent upon forward and reverse power wave vectors and these vectors in turn will be related to newly defined forward and reverse components of the electric and magnetic fields. The sum of these forward and reverse power density vectors, which is simply the original Poynting vector, is associated with the total electromagnetic energy traveling past the local point. Another vector which is the difference between the forward and reverse power density vectors and which will be shown to be associated with the total electric and magnetic field energy densities existing at a local point will also be introduced. These local forward and reverse power density vectors may be integrated over a surface to determine the forward and reverse powers and from these results problems related to maximum power transfer or efficiency of electromagnetic energy transmission in space may be studied in a manner similar to that presently being done with transmission lines, wave guides, and more recently with two port multiport lumped parameter systems. These new forward and reverse power density vectors at a point in space are analogous to the forward and revoltages or currents and power waves as used with the transmission line, waveguide, or port. These power wave vectors in space are a generalization of the power waves as developed by Penfield, Youla, and Kurokawa and used with the scattering parameters associated with transmission lines, waveguides and ports.

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.

MIMO-OFDM System's Performance Using LDPC Codes for a Mobile Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daoud, Omar; Alani, Omar

This work deals with the performance of a Sniffer Mobile Robot (SNFRbot)-based spatial multiplexed wireless Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) transmission technology. The use of Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO)-OFDM technology increases the wireless transmission rate without increasing transmission power or bandwidth. A generic multilayer architecture of the SNFRbot is proposed with low power and low cost. Some experimental results are presented and show the efficiency of sniffing deadly gazes, sensing high temperatures and sending live videos of the monitored situation. Moreover, simulation results show the achieved performance by tackling the Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR) problem of the used technology using Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes; and the effect of combating the PAPR on the bit error rate (BER) and the signal to noise ratio (SNR) over a Doppler spread channel.

Fully Coupled Simulation of Lithium Ion Battery Cell Performance

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

Trembacki, Bradley L.; Murthy, Jayathi Y.; Roberts, Scott Alan

Lithium-ion battery particle-scale (non-porous electrode) simulations applied to resolved electrode geometries predict localized phenomena and can lead to better informed decisions on electrode design and manufacturing. This work develops and implements a fully-coupled finite volume methodology for the simulation of the electrochemical equations in a lithium-ion battery cell. The model implementation is used to investigate 3D battery electrode architectures that offer potential energy density and power density improvements over traditional layer-by-layer particle bed battery geometries. Advancement of micro-scale additive manufacturing techniques has made it possible to fabricate these 3D electrode microarchitectures. A variety of 3D battery electrode geometries are simulatedmore » and compared across various battery discharge rates and length scales in order to quantify performance trends and investigate geometrical factors that improve battery performance. The energy density and power density of the 3D battery microstructures are compared in several ways, including a uniform surface area to volume ratio comparison as well as a comparison requiring a minimum manufacturable feature size. Significant performance improvements over traditional particle bed electrode designs are observed, and electrode microarchitectures derived from minimal surfaces are shown to be superior. A reduced-order volume-averaged porous electrode theory formulation for these unique 3D batteries is also developed, allowing simulations on the full-battery scale. Electrode concentration gradients are modeled using the diffusion length method, and results for plate and cylinder electrode geometries are compared to particle-scale simulation results. Additionally, effective diffusion lengths that minimize error with respect to particle-scale results for gyroid and Schwarz P electrode microstructures are determined.« less

Limiting factors for carbon based chemical double layer capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rose, M. Frank; Johnson, C.; Owens, T.; Stevens, B.

1993-01-01

The Chemical Double Layer (CDL) capacitor improves energy storage density dramatically when compared with conventional electrolytic capacitors. When compared to batteries, the CDL Capacitor is much less energy dense; however, the power density is orders of magnitude better. As a result, CDL-battery combinations present an interesting pulse power system with many potential applications. Due to the nature of the CDL it is inherently a low voltage device. The applications of the CDL can be tailored to auxiliary energy and burst mode storages which require fast charge/discharge cycles. Typical of the applications envisioned are power system backup, directed energy weapons concepts, electric automobiles, and electric actuators. In this paper, we will discuss some of the general characteristics of carbon-based CDL technology describing the structure, performance parameters, and methods of construction. Further, analytical and experimental results which define the state of the art are presented and described in terms of impact on applications.

Enhanced power generation and energy conversion of sewage sludge by CEA-microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Abourached, Carole; Lesnik, Keaton Larson; Liu, Hong

2014-08-01

The production of methane from sewage sludge through the use of anaerobic digestion has been able to effectively offset energy costs for wastewater treatment. However, significant energy reserves are left unrecovered and effluent standards are not met necessitating secondary processes such as aeration. In the current study a novel cloth-electrode assembly microbial fuel cell (CEA-MFC) was used to generate electricity from sewage sludge. Fermentation pretreatment of the sludge effectively increased the COD of the supernatant and improved reactor performance. Using the CEA-MFC design, a maximum power density of 1200 mW m(-2) was reached after a fermentation pre-treatment time of 96 h. This power density represents a 275% increase over those previously observed in MFC systems. Results indicate continued improvements are possible and MFCs may be a viable modification to existing wastewater treatment infrastructure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lithium Iron Phosphate Cell Performance Evaluations for Lunar Extravehicular Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reid, Concha

2007-01-01

Lithium-ion battery cells are being evaluated for their ability to provide primary power and energy storage for NASA s future Exploration missions. These missions include the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, the Ares Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage, Extravehicular Activities (EVA, the advanced space suit), the Lunar Surface Ascent Module (LSAM), and the Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program (LPRP), among others. Each of these missions will have different battery requirements. Some missions may require high specific energy and high energy density, while others may require high specific power, wide operating temperature ranges, or a combination of several of these attributes. EVA is one type of mission that presents particular challenges for today s existing power sources. The Portable Life Support System (PLSS) for the advanced Lunar surface suit will be carried on an astronaut s back during eight hour long sorties, requiring a lightweight power source. Lunar sorties are also expected to occur during varying environmental conditions, requiring a power source that can operate over a wide range of temperatures. Concepts for Lunar EVAs include a primary power source for the PLSS that can recharge rapidly. A power source that can charge quickly could enable a lighter weight system that can be recharged while an astronaut is taking a short break. Preliminary results of Al23 Ml 26650 lithium iron phosphate cell performance evaluations for an advanced Lunar surface space suit application are discussed in this paper. These cells exhibit excellent recharge rate capability, however, their specific energy and energy density is lower than typical lithium-ion cell chemistries. The cells were evaluated for their ability to provide primary power in a lightweight battery system while operating at multiple temperatures.

Effective of diode laser on teeth enamel in the teeth whitening treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klunboot, U.; Arayathanitkul, K.; Chitaree, R.; Emarat, N.

2011-12-01

This research purpose is to investigate the changing of teeth color and to study the surface of teeth after treatment by laser diode at different power densities for tooth whitening treatment. In the experiment, human-extracted teeth samples were divided into 7 groups of 6 teeth each. After that laser diode was irradiated to teeth, which were coated by 38% concentration of hydrogen peroxide, during for 20, 30 and 60 seconds at power densities of 10.9 and 52.1 W/cm2. The results of teeth color change were described by the CIEL*a*b* systems and the damage of teeth surface were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the power density of the laser diode could affect the whiteness of teeth. The high power density caused more luminous teeth than the low power density did, but on the other hand the high power density also caused damage to the teeth surface. Therefore, the laser diode at the low power densities has high efficiency for tooth whitening treatment and it has a potential for other clinical applications.

Development of new sealed bipolar lead-acid battery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Attia, Alan I.; Rowlette, J. J.

1987-01-01

New light weight composite bipolar plates which can withstand the corrosive environment of the lead acid battery have made possible the construction of a sealed bipolar lead acid battery that promises to achieve very high specific power levels and substantially higher energy densities than conventional lead acid batteries. Performance projections based on preliminary experimental results show that the peak specific power of the battery can be as high as 90 kW/kg, and that a specific power of 5 kW/kg can be sustained over several thousand pulses.

Development of SiC Large Tapered Crystal Growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, Phil

2010-01-01

Majority of very large potential benefits of wide band gap semiconductor power electronics have NOT been realized due in large part to high cost and high defect density of commercial wafers. Despite 20 years of development, present SiC wafer growth approach is yet to deliver majority of SiC's inherent performance and cost benefits to power systems. Commercial SiC power devices are significantly de-rated in order to function reliably due to the adverse effects of SiC crystal dislocation defects (thousands per sq cm) in the SiC wafer.

The development of a new sealed bipolar lead-acid battery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Attia, A. I.; Rowlette, J. J.

1988-01-01

New light weight composite bipolar plates which can withstand the corrosive environment of the lead acid battery have made possible the construction of a sealed bipolar lead acid battery that promises to achieve very high specific power levels and substantially higher energy densities than conventional lead acid batteries. Performance projections based on preliminary experimental results show that the peak specific power of the battery can be as high as 90 kW/kg, and that a specific power of 5 kW/kg can be sustained over several thousand pulses.

PROPULSION AND POWER RAPID RESPONSE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D) SUPPORT. Deliver Order 0002: Power-Dense, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems: High-Performance, High-Power-Density Solid Oxide Fuel Cells - Materials and Load Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

aluminum titanate has evolved from a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) lowering additive in traditional nickel/YSZ cermets to an anchoring...provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently...volumetric concentrations well below percolation for traditional cermets . The coarsening of nickel after high temperature thermal treatment poses

Fuel cell power plants for automotive applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McElroy, J. F.

1983-02-01

While the Solid Polymer Electrolyte (SPE) fuel cell has until recently not been considered competitive with such commercial and industrial energy systems as gas turbine generators and internal combustion engines, electrical current density improvements have markedly improved the capital cost/kW output rating performance of SPE systems. Recent studies of SPE fuel cell applicability to vehicular propulsion have indicated that with adequate development, a powerplant may be produced which will satisfy the performance, size and weight objectives required for viable electric vehicles, and that the cost for such a system would be competitive with alternative advanced power systems.

A 16K-bit static IIL RAM with 25-ns access time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inabe, Y.; Hayashi, T.; Kawarada, K.; Miwa, H.; Ogiue, K.

1982-04-01

A 16,384 x 1-bit RAM with 25-ns access time, 600-mW power dissipation, and 33 sq mm chip size has been developed. Excellent speed-power performance with high packing density has been achieved by an oxide isolation technology in conjunction with novel ECL circuit techniques and IIL flip-flop memory cells, 980 sq microns (35 x 28 microns) in cell size. Development results have shown that IIL flip-flop memory cell is a trump card for assuring achievement of a high-performance large-capacity bipolar RAM, in the above 16K-bit/chip area.

Soybean Root-Derived Hierarchical Porous Carbon as Electrode Material for High-Performance Supercapacitors in Ionic Liquids.

PubMed

Guo, Nannan; Li, Min; Wang, Yong; Sun, Xingkai; Wang, Feng; Yang, Ru

2016-12-14

Soybeans are extensively cultivated worldwide as human food. However, large quantities of soybean roots (SRs), which possess an abundant three-dimensional (3D) structure, remain unused and produce enormous pressure on the environment. Here, 3D hierarchical porous carbon was prepared by the facile carbonization of SRs followed by chemical activation. The as-prepared material, possessing large specific surface area (2143 m 2 g -1 ), good electrical conductivity, and unique 3D hierarchical porosity, shows outstanding electrochemical performance as an electrode material for supercapacitors, such as a high capacitance (276 F g -1 at 0.5 A g -1 ), superior cycle stability (98% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles at 5 A g -1 ), and good rate capability in a symmetric two-electrode supercapacitor in 6 M KOH. Furthermore, the maximum energy density of as-assembled symmetric supercapacitor can reach 100.5 Wh kg -1 in neat EMIM BF 4 . Moreover, a value of 40.7 Wh kg -1 is maintained at ultrahigh power density (63000 W kg -1 ). These results show that the as-assembled supercapacitor can simultaneously deliver superior energy and power density.

A Permutation-Randomization Approach to Test the Spatial Distribution of Plant Diseases.

PubMed

Lione, G; Gonthier, P

2016-01-01

The analysis of the spatial distribution of plant diseases requires the availability of trustworthy geostatistical methods. The mean distance tests (MDT) are here proposed as a series of permutation and randomization tests to assess the spatial distribution of plant diseases when the variable of phytopathological interest is categorical. A user-friendly software to perform the tests is provided. Estimates of power and type I error, obtained with Monte Carlo simulations, showed the reliability of the MDT (power > 0.80; type I error < 0.05). A biological validation on the spatial distribution of spores of two fungal pathogens causing root rot on conifers was successfully performed by verifying the consistency between the MDT responses and previously published data. An application of the MDT was carried out to analyze the relation between the plantation density and the distribution of the infection of Gnomoniopsis castanea, an emerging fungal pathogen causing nut rot on sweet chestnut. Trees carrying nuts infected by the pathogen were randomly distributed in areas with different plantation densities, suggesting that the distribution of G. castanea was not related to the plantation density. The MDT could be used to analyze the spatial distribution of plant diseases both in agricultural and natural ecosystems.

Morphology controlled synthesis of monodisperse cobalt hydroxide for supercapacitor with high performance and long cycle life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Yongfu; Liu, Yanyan; Yu, Shengxue; Mu, Shichun; Xiao, Shaohua; Zhao, Yufeng; Gao, Faming

2014-06-01

A facile hydrothermal process with hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as the soft template is proposed to tune the morphology and size of cobalt hydroxide (Co(OH)2). Monodisperse β-phase Co(OH)2 nanowires with uniform size are obtained by controlling the CTAB content and the reaction time. Due to the uniform well-defined morphology and stable structure, the Co(OH)2 nanowires material exhibits high capacitive performance and long cycle life. The specific capacitance of the Co(OH)2 nanowires electrode is 358 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1, and even 325 F g-1 at 10 A g-1. The specific capacitance retention is 86.3% after 5000 charge-discharge cycles at 2 A g-1. Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor is assembled with Co(OH)2 nanowires and nitrite acid treated activated carbon (NTAC), which shows an energy density of 13.6 Wh kg-1 at the power density of 153 W kg-1 under a high voltage of 1.6 V, and 13.1 Wh kg-1 even at the power density of 1.88 kW kg-1.

All-solid-state flexible supercapacitors based on papers coated with carbon nanotubes and ionic-liquid-based gel electrolytes.

PubMed

Kang, Yu Jin; Chung, Haegeun; Han, Chi-Hwan; Kim, Woong

2012-02-17

All-solid-state flexible supercapacitors were fabricated using carbon nanotubes (CNTs), regular office papers, and ionic-liquid-based gel electrolytes. Flexible electrodes were made by coating CNTs on office papers by a drop-dry method. The gel electrolyte was prepared by mixing fumed silica nanopowders with ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][NTf(2)]). This supercapacitor showed high power and energy performance as a solid-state flexible supercapacitor. The specific capacitance of the CNT electrodes was 135 F g(-1) at a current density of 2 A g(-1), when considering the mass of active materials only. The maximum power and energy density of the supercapacitors were 164 kW kg(-1) and 41 Wh kg(-1), respectively. Interestingly, the solid-state supercapacitor with the gel electrolyte showed comparable performance to the supercapacitors with ionic-liquid electrolyte. Moreover, the supercapacitor showed excellent stability and flexibility. The CNT/paper- and gel-based supercapacitors may hold great potential for low-cost and high-performance flexible energy storage applications.

All-solid-state flexible supercapacitors based on papers coated with carbon nanotubes and ionic-liquid-based gel electrolytes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Yu Jin; Chung, Haegeun; Han, Chi-Hwan; Kim, Woong

2012-02-01

All-solid-state flexible supercapacitors were fabricated using carbon nanotubes (CNTs), regular office papers, and ionic-liquid-based gel electrolytes. Flexible electrodes were made by coating CNTs on office papers by a drop-dry method. The gel electrolyte was prepared by mixing fumed silica nanopowders with ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][NTf2]). This supercapacitor showed high power and energy performance as a solid-state flexible supercapacitor. The specific capacitance of the CNT electrodes was 135 F g-1 at a current density of 2 A g-1, when considering the mass of active materials only. The maximum power and energy density of the supercapacitors were 164 kW kg-1 and 41 Wh kg-1, respectively. Interestingly, the solid-state supercapacitor with the gel electrolyte showed comparable performance to the supercapacitors with ionic-liquid electrolyte. Moreover, the supercapacitor showed excellent stability and flexibility. The CNT/paper- and gel-based supercapacitors may hold great potential for low-cost and high-performance flexible energy storage applications.

A review of emerging non-volatile memory (NVM) technologies and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, An

2016-11-01

This paper will review emerging non-volatile memory (NVM) technologies, with the focus on phase change memory (PCM), spin-transfer-torque random-access-memory (STTRAM), resistive random-access-memory (RRAM), and ferroelectric field-effect-transistor (FeFET) memory. These promising NVM devices are evaluated in terms of their advantages, challenges, and applications. Their performance is compared based on reported parameters of major industrial test chips. Memory selector devices and cell structures are discussed. Changing market trends toward low power (e.g., mobile, IoT) and data-centric applications create opportunities for emerging NVMs. High-performance and low-cost emerging NVMs may simplify memory hierarchy, introduce non-volatility in logic gates and circuits, reduce system power, and enable novel architectures. Storage-class memory (SCM) based on high-density NVMs could fill the performance and density gap between memory and storage. Some unique characteristics of emerging NVMs can be utilized for novel applications beyond the memory space, e.g., neuromorphic computing, hardware security, etc. In the beyond-CMOS era, emerging NVMs have the potential to fulfill more important functions and enable more efficient, intelligent, and secure computing systems.

Enhanced surface functionality and microbial fuel cell performance of chitosan membranes through phosphorylation.

PubMed

Holder, Shima L; Lee, Ching-Hwa; Popuri, Srinivasa R; Zhuang, Meng-Xin

2016-09-20

The effects of plasticization and cross-linking on the performance of chitosan as promising proton exchange membranes (PEMs) for bioelectricity generation in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) were investigated. The physico-chemical properties of chitosan (CS), sorbitol-chitosan (S-CS), phosphorylated-chitosan (CS-P) and phosphorylated-sorbitol-chitosan (S-CS-P) membranes were investigated by FESEM-EDS, FTIR-ATR, XRD, TGA, tensile strength and sorption studies. The performance of the fabricated PEMs was assessed by power density and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Maximum power densities achieved were 130.03, 20.76, 94.59 and 7.42mW/m(2) for CS-P, S-CS-P, S-CS and CS membranes respectively. Phosphorylation of the CS membranes increased CEC and tensile strength, attributed to an increase in bonded amide and phosphate ionic surface groups. Further, 49.07% COD removal from municipal wastewater was achieved with CS-P membranes. Thus, through chemical modifications, the physico-chemical and mechanical properties of natural abundant biopolymer chitosan can be enhanced for its use as an environmentally sustainable PEM in MFC technology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global power balance on high density field reversed configurations for use in magnetized target fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renneke, Richard M.

Field Reversed Configuration plasmas (FRCs) have been created in the Field Reversed Experiment-Liner (FRX-L) with density 2--6 x 10 22 m-3, total temperature 300--400 eV, and lifetime on the order of 10 micros. This thesis investigates global energy balance on high-density FRCs for the first time. The zero-dimensional approach to global energy balance developed by Rej and Tuszewski (Phys. Fluids 27, p. 1514, 1984) is utilized here. From the shots analyzed with this method, it is clear that energy loss from these FRCs is dominated by particle and thermal (collisional) losses. The percentage of radiative losses versus total loss is an order of magnitude lower than previous FRC experiments. This is reasonable for high density based on empirical scaling from the extensive database of tokamak plasma experiments. Ohmic dissipation, which heats plasma when trapped magnetic field decays to create electric field, is an important source of heating for the plasma. Ohmic heating shows a correlation with increasing the effective Lundquist number (S*). Empirical evidence suggest S* can be increased by lowering the density, which does not achieve the goals of FRX-L. A better way to improve ohmic heating is to trap more poloidal flux. This dissertation shows that FRX-L follows a semi-empirical scaling law which predicts plasma temperature gains for larger poloidal flux. Flux (tauφ) and particle (tauN) lifetimes for these FRCs were typically shorter than 10 micros. Approximately 1/3 of the particle and flux lifetimes for these FRCs did not scale with the usual tauN ≈ tauφ scaling of low-density FRCs, but instead showed tauN ≥ tau φ. However, scatter in the data indicates that the average performance of FRCs on FRX-L yields the typical (for FRCs) relationship tau N ≈ tauφ. Fusion energy gain Q was extrapolated for the shots analyzed in this study using a zero-dimensional scaling code with liner effects. The predicted Q is below the desired value of 0.1 (Schoenberg et al., LA-UR-98-2413, 1998). The situation predicted to lead to Q = 0.1 requires a larger plasma pressure than shown in the present data. This can be accomplished by increasing the plasma density (through larger fill pressure) and maintaining temperature with increased flux trapping. Larger Q and other benefits could be realized by raising the plasma pressure for future FRX-L shots. The innovation inherent in this work performed by the author is the extension of the global power balance model to include a time history of the plasma discharge. This extension required rigorous checking of the power balance model using internal density profiles provided by the multichord interferometer. Typical orders of the parameters calculated by the model are ˜500 MW total loss power, ˜100 MW ohmic heating power, and ˜200 MW total compression (input) power. Radiation was never measured above 5 MW, which is why it was deemed insignificant. It should be noted that these numbers are merely estimates and vary widely between shots.

Tofu wastewater treatment by sediment microbial fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rinaldi, W.; Abubakar; Rahmi, R. F.; Silmina

2018-03-01

This research aimed to measure power density generated by sediment microbial fuel cells (SMFCs) by varying anode position and wastewater concentration. Anode position was varied at 2 cm and 4 cm under the surface of sediment, while wastewater concentration varied into 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. The electrodes employed was stainless steel mesh, while the organic subtrate source was taken from wastewater of soybean washing and boiling process. The sediment was taken from the Lamnyong River around the outlet of tofu industry wastewater. SMFCs was run until the power density was relatively small. The produced electricity represented in power density. The results of this research showed that power density was decreased over time. Generated power density by varying 2 cm and 4 cm position of anode under the sediment surface was not significantly different, while the lowest wastewater concentration, 25%, gave the highest power density.

NiCo2S4 nanosheet-decorated 3D, porous Ni film@Ni wire electrode materials for all solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor applications.

PubMed

Saravanakumar, Balasubramaniam; Jayaseelan, Santhana Sivabalan; Seo, Min-Kang; Kim, Hak-Yong; Kim, Byoung-Suhk

2017-12-07

Wire type supercapacitors with high energy and power densities have generated considerable interest in wearable applications. Herein, we report a novel NiCo 2 S 4 -decorated 3D, porous Ni film@Ni wire electrode for high performance supercapacitor application. In this work, a facile method is introduced to fabricate a 3D, porous Ni film deposited on a Ni wire as a flexible electrode, followed by decoration with NiCo 2 S 4 as an electroactive material. The fabricated NiCo 2 S 4 -decorated 3D, porous Ni film@Ni wire electrode displays a superior performance with an areal and volumetric capacitance of 1.228 F cm -2 and 199.74 F cm -3 , respectively, at a current density of 0.2 mA cm -1 with a maximum volumetric energy and power density (E V : 6.935 mW h cm -3 ; P V : 1.019 W cm -3 ). Finally, the solid state asymmetric wire type supercapacitor is fabricated using the fabricated NiCo 2 S 4 -decorated 3D, porous Ni film@Ni wire as a positive electrode and N-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO) as a negative electrode and this exhibits good areal and volumetric capacitances of C A : 0.12 F cm -2 and C V : 19.57 F cm -2 with a higher rate capability (92%). This asymmetric wire type supercapacitor demonstrates a low leakage current and self-discharge with a maximum volumetric energy (E V : 5.33 mW h cm -3 ) and power (P V : 855.69 mW cm -3 ) density.

Densely-packed graphene/conducting polymer nanoparticle papers for high-volumetric-performance flexible all-solid-state supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Chao; Zhang, Liling; Hu, Nantao; Yang, Zhi; Wei, Hao; Xu, Zhichuan J.; Wang, Yanyan; Zhang, Yafei

2016-08-01

Graphene-based all-solid-state supercapacitors (ASSSCs) are one of the most ideal candidates for high-performance flexible power sources. The achievement of high volumetric energy density is highly desired for practical application of this type of ASSSCs. Here, we present a facile method to boost volumetric performances of graphene-based flexible ASSSCs through incorporation of ultrafine polyaniline-poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PANI-PSS) nanoparticles in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) papers. A compact structure is obtained via intimate contact and π-π interaction between PANI-PSS nanoparticles and rGO sheets. The hybrid paper electrode with the film thickness of 13.5 μm, shows an extremely high volumetric specific capacitance of 272 F/cm3 (0.37 A/cm3 in a three-electrode cell). The assembled ASSSCs show a large volumetric specific capacitance of 217 F/cm3 (0.37 A/cm3 in a two-electrode cell), high volumetric energy and power density, excellent capacitance stability, small leakage current as well as low self-discharge characteristics, revealing the usefulness of this robust hybrid paper for high-performance flexible energy storage devices.

High Performance and Cost-Effective Direct Methanol Fuel Cells: Fe-N-C Methanol-Tolerant Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalysts.

PubMed

Sebastián, David; Serov, Alexey; Artyushkova, Kateryna; Gordon, Jonathan; Atanassov, Plamen; Aricò, Antonino S; Baglio, Vincenzo

2016-08-09

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) offer great advantages for the supply of power with high efficiency and large energy density. The search for a cost-effective, active, stable and methanol-tolerant catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is still a great challenge. In this work, platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) catalysts based on Fe-N-C are investigated in acidic medium. Post-treatment of the catalyst improves the ORR activity compared with previously published PGM-free formulations and shows an excellent tolerance to the presence of methanol. The feasibility for application in DMFC under a wide range of operating conditions is demonstrated, with a maximum power density of approximately 50 mW cm(-2) and a negligible methanol crossover effect on the performance. A review of the most recent PGM-free cathode formulations for DMFC indicates that this formulation leads to the highest performance at a low membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) cost. Moreover, a 100 h durability test in DMFC shows suitable applicability, with a similar performance-time behavior compared to common MEAs based on Pt cathodes. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Negative hydrogen ion production in a helicon plasma source

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

Santoso, J., E-mail: Jesse.Santoso@anu.edu.au; Corr, C. S.; Manoharan, R.

2015-09-15

In order to develop very high energy (>1 MeV) neutral beam injection systems for applications, such as plasma heating in fusion devices, it is necessary first to develop high throughput negative ion sources. For the ITER reference source, this will be realised using caesiated inductively coupled plasma devices, containing either hydrogen or deuterium discharges, operated with high rf input powers (up to 90 kW per driver). It has been suggested that due to their high power coupling efficiency, helicon devices may be able to reduce power requirements and potentially obviate the need for caesiation due to the high plasma densities achievable. Here,more » we present measurements of negative ion densities in a hydrogen discharge produced by a helicon device, with externally applied DC magnetic fields ranging from 0 to 8.5 mT at 5 and 10 mTorr fill pressures. These measurements were taken in the magnetised plasma interaction experiment at the Australian National University and were performed using the probe-based laser photodetachment technique, modified for the use in the afterglow of the plasma discharge. A peak in the electron density is observed at ∼3 mT and is correlated with changes in the rf power transfer efficiency. With increasing magnetic field, an increase in the negative ion fraction from 0.04 to 0.10 and negative ion densities from 8 × 10{sup 14 }m{sup −3} to 7 × 10{sup 15 }m{sup −3} is observed. It is also shown that the negative ion densities can be increased by a factor of 8 with the application of an external DC magnetic field.« less

Residual Defect Density in Random Disks Deposits.

PubMed

Topic, Nikola; Pöschel, Thorsten; Gallas, Jason A C

2015-08-03

We investigate the residual distribution of structural defects in very tall packings of disks deposited randomly in large channels. By performing simulations involving the sedimentation of up to 50 × 10(9) particles we find all deposits to consistently show a non-zero residual density of defects obeying a characteristic power-law as a function of the channel width. This remarkable finding corrects the widespread belief that the density of defects should vanish algebraically with growing height. A non-zero residual density of defects implies a type of long-range spatial order in the packing, as opposed to only local ordering. In addition, we find deposits of particles to involve considerably less randomness than generally presumed.

Metal-Air Batteries: (Latest citations from the Aerospace Database)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

The bibliography contains citations concerning applications of metal-air batteries. Topics include systems that possess different practical energy densities at specific powers. Coverage includes the operation of air electrodes at different densities and performance results. The systems are used in electric vehicles as a cost-effective method to achieve reliability and efficiency. Zinc-air batteries are covered more thoroughly in a separate bibliography. (Contains 50-250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.)

One-step solvothermal synthesis of carnation flower-like SnS2 as superior electrodes for supercapacitor applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Rajneesh Kumar; Baek, Geun Woo; Kim, Kyuwon; Kwon, Hyuck-In; Jin, Sung Hun

2017-12-01

We report the synthesis of carnation flower-like SnS2 (CF-SnS2) via a one-step solvothermal method for potential application as supercapacitor electrodes in energy storage devices. The structural and morphological properties of CF-SnS2 were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman analysis, and field-emission scanning and transmission electron microscopies. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling electron microscopy with color mapping verified the distribution of Sn and S, and depicted the successful formation of SnS2. Electrochemical studies were performed to explore the supercapacitive nature of CF-SnS2. Supercapacitors with CF-SnS2 electrodes delivered excellent cyclic voltammetry performances, superior gravimetric specific capacitances, and high power densities. The evaluated specific capacitance and power density reached ∼524.5 F/g and 12.3 W/kg, respectively, at a current density of 0.08 A/g, and ∼215.9 F/g and 61.4 W/kg, respectively, at a current density of 0.38 A/g. These values are at least two times higher than those previously reported. The long-term cyclic stability was also tested to demonstrate the endurance of the CF-SnS2-based supercapacitor, with a 66% rate retention and galvanostatic charge/discharge reversibility. These electrochemical findings indicate that CF-SnS2 is a promising candidate for electrode materials in supercapacitor applications.

Facile and controllable synthesis of N/P co-doped graphene for high-performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Kaisheng; Huang, Zhiyuan; Zheng, Lin; Han, Bo; Gao, Qiang; Zhou, Chenggang; Wang, Hongquan; Wu, Jinping

2017-10-01

Improving the energy density of carbon-based supercapacitors is one of the most urgent demands for developing high-power energy supplies, which in general requires delicate engineering of the carbon composition and textures. By pre-functionalization of graphene nanosheets and successive one-step (NH4)3PO4 activation, we prepared a type of nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped graphene (NPG) with high specific surface areas, hierarchical pore structures as well as tunable N and P contents. The as-obtained NPG shows high specific capacitances of 219 F g-1 (123 F cm-3) at 0.25 A g-1 and 175 F g-1 (98 F cm-3) at 10 A g-1, respectively. Accordingly, the NPG-based symmetrical supercapacitor device, working at a potential window of 1.3 V, could deliver an enhanced energy density of 8.2 Wh kg-1 (4.6 Wh L-1) at a power density of 162 W kg-1 (91 W L-1), which still retains 6.7 Wh kg-1 at 6.5 kW kg-1. In particular, under a current density of 5 A g-1, the device endows an 86% capacitance retention of initial after 20,000 cycles, displaying superior cycle stability. Our results imply the feasibility of NPG as a promising candidate for high-performance supercapacitors.

Synthesis of Hierarchically Porous Sandwich-Like Carbon Materials for High-Performance Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Li, Yiju; Chen, Chaoji; Gao, Tingting; Zhang, Dongming; Huang, Xiaomei; Pan, Yue; Ye, Ke; Cheng, Kui; Cao, Dianxue; Wang, Guiling

2016-11-14

For the first time, hierarchically porous carbon materials with a sandwich-like structure are synthesized through a facile and efficient tri-template approach. The hierarchically porous microstructures consist of abundant macropores and numerous micropores embedded into the crosslinked mesoporous walls. As a result, the obtained carbon material with a unique sandwich-like structure has a relatively high specific surface (1235 m 2  g -1 ), large pore volume (1.30 cm 3  g -1 ), and appropriate pore size distribution. These merits lead to a comparably high specific capacitance of 274.8 F g -1 at 0.2 A g -1 and satisfying rate performance (87.7 % retention from 1 to 20 A g -1 ). More importantly, the symmetric supercapacitor with two identical as-prepared carbon samples shows a superior energy density of 18.47 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 179.9 W kg -1 . The asymmetric supercapacitor based on as-obtained carbon sample and its composite with manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) can reach up to an energy density of 25.93 Wh kg -1 at a power density of 199.9 W kg -1 . Therefore, these unique carbon material open a promising prospect for future development and utilization in the field of energy storage. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Hierarchical Ni-Co layered double hydroxide nanosheets on functionalized 3D-RGO films for high energy density asymmetric supercapacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Liyang; Sui, Yanwei; Qi, Jiqiu; Chang, Yuan; He, Yezeng; Meng, Qingkun; Wei, Fuxiang; Sun, Zhi; Jin, Yunxue

2017-12-01

In this paper, ultrathin reduced graphene oxide films on nickel foam were fabricated via a facile dip-coating method combined with thermal reduction. Hierarchical Ni-Co layered double hydroxide nanosheets with network structure were electrodeposited on the ultrathin reduced graphene oxide films in a simple three-electrode system. The thickness of Ni-Co layered double hydroxide nanosheets can be controlled through adjusting the deposition temperature. The as-prepared electrode exhibited excellent electrochemical performance with specific capacitance of 1454.2 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1. An asymmetric supercapacitor device was designed with the as-prepared composites as positive electrode material and Nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide as negative electrode material. This device could be operated in a working voltage range of 0-1.8 V in 1 M KOH aqueous electrolyte, delivering a high energy density of 56.4 W h kg-1 at a power density of 882.5 W kg-1. One supercapacitor can power two LEDs with rated voltage of 1.8-2.0 V. After 10,000 consecutive charge-discharge tests at 10 A g-1, this asymmetric supercapacitor revealed an excellent cycle life with 98.3% specific capacitance retention. These excellent electrochemical performances make it become one of most promising candidates for high energy supercapacitor device.

Investigation of key parameters for the development of reliable ITER baseline operation scenarios using CORSICA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, S. H.; Casper, T. A.; Snipes, J. A.

2018-05-01

ITER will demonstrate the feasibility of burning plasma operation by operating DT plasmas in the ELMy H-mode regime with a high ratio of fusion power gain Q ~ 10. 15 MA ITER baseline operation scenario has been studied using CORSICA, focusing on the entry to burn, flat-top burning plasma operation and exit from burn. The burning plasma operation for about 400 s of the current flat-top was achieved in H-mode within the various engineering constraints imposed by the poloidal field coil and power supply systems. The target fusion gain (Q ~ 10) was achievable in the 15 MA ITER baseline operation with a moderate amount of the total auxiliary heating power (~50 MW). It has been observed that the tungsten (W) concentration needs to be maintained low level (n w/n e up to the order of 1.0  ×  10-5) to avoid the radiative collapse and uncontrolled early termination of the discharge. The dynamic evolution of the density can modify the H-mode access unless the applied auxiliary heating power is significantly higher than the H-mode threshold power. Several qualitative sensitivity studies have been performed to provide guidance for further optimizing the plasma operation and performance. Increasing the density profile peaking factor was quite effective in increasing the alpha particle self-heating power and fusion power multiplication factor. Varying the combination of auxiliary heating power has shown that the fusion power multiplication factor can be reduced along with the increase in the total auxiliary heating power. As the 15 MA ITER baseline operation scenario requires full capacity of the coil and power supply systems, the operation window for H-mode access and shape modification was narrow. The updated ITER baseline operation scenarios developed in this work will become a basis for further optimization studies necessary along with the improvement in understanding the burning plasma physics.

Solid-State Thin-Film Supercapacitors with Ultrafast Charge/Discharge Based on N-Doped-Carbon-Tubes/Au-Nanoparticles-Doped-MnO2 Nanocomposites.

PubMed

Lv, Qiying; Wang, Shang; Sun, Hongyu; Luo, Jun; Xiao, Jian; Xiao, JunWu; Xiao, Fei; Wang, Shuai

2016-01-13

Although carbonaceous materials possess long cycle stability and high power density, their low-energy density greatly limits their applications. On the contrary, metal oxides are promising pseudocapacitive electrode materials for supercapacitors due to their high-energy density. Nevertheless, poor electrical conductivity of metal oxides constitutes a primary challenge that significantly limits their energy storage capacity. Here, an advanced integrated electrode for high-performance pseudocapacitors has been designed by growing N-doped-carbon-tubes/Au-nanoparticles-doped-MnO2 (NCTs/ANPDM) nanocomposite on carbon fabric. The excellent electrical conductivity and well-ordered tunnels of NCTs together with Au nanoparticles of the electrode cause low internal resistance, good ionic contact, and thus enhance redox reactions for high specific capacitance of pure MnO2 in aqueous electrolyte, even at high scan rates. A prototype solid-state thin-film symmetric supercapacitor (SSC) device based on NCTs/ANPDM exhibits large energy density (51 Wh/kg) and superior cycling performance (93% after 5000 cycles). In addition, the asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device assembled from NCTs/ANPDM and Fe2O3 nanorods demonstrates ultrafast charge/discharge (10 V/s), which is among the best reported for solid-state thin-film supercapacitors with both electrodes made of metal oxide electroactive materials. Moreover, its superior charge/discharge behavior is comparable to electrical double layer type supercapacitors. The ASC device also shows superior cycling performance (97% after 5000 cycles). The NCTs/ANPDM nanomaterial demonstrates great potential as a power source for energy storage devices.

Detection of Atrial Fibrillation Using Artifical Neural Network with Power Spectrum Density of RR Interval of Electrocardiogram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afdala, Adfal; Nuryani, Nuryani; Satrio Nugroho, Anto

2017-01-01

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a disorder of the heart with fairly high mortality in adults. AF is a common heart arrythmia which is characterized by a missing or irregular contraction of atria. Therefore, finding a method to detect atrial fibrillation is necessary. In this article a system to detect atrial fibrillation has been proposed. Detection system utilized backpropagation artifical neural network. Data input in this method includes power spectrum density of R-peaks interval of electrocardiogram which is selected by wrapping method. This research uses parameter learning rate, momentum, epoch and hidden layer. System produces good performance with accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 83.55%, 86.72 % and 81.47 %, respectively.

Low Density Parity Check Codes: Bandwidth Efficient Channel Coding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fong, Wai; Lin, Shu; Maki, Gary; Yeh, Pen-Shu

2003-01-01

Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) Codes provide near-Shannon Capacity performance for NASA Missions. These codes have high coding rates R=0.82 and 0.875 with moderate code lengths, n=4096 and 8176. Their decoders have inherently parallel structures which allows for high-speed implementation. Two codes based on Euclidean Geometry (EG) were selected for flight ASIC implementation. These codes are cyclic and quasi-cyclic in nature and therefore have a simple encoder structure. This results in power and size benefits. These codes also have a large minimum distance as much as d,,, = 65 giving them powerful error correcting capabilities and error floors less than lo- BER. This paper will present development of the LDPC flight encoder and decoder, its applications and status.

Effects of vibration and shock on the performance of gas-bearing space-power Brayton cycle turbomachinery. Part 3: Sinusoidal and random vibration data reduction and evaluation, and random vibration probability analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tessarzik, J. M.; Chiang, T.; Badgley, R. H.

1973-01-01

The random vibration response of a gas bearing rotor support system has been experimentally and analytically investigated in the amplitude and frequency domains. The NASA Brayton Rotating Unit (BRU), a 36,000 rpm, 10 KWe turbogenerator had previously been subjected in the laboratory to external random vibrations, and the response data recorded on magnetic tape. This data has now been experimentally analyzed for amplitude distribution and magnetic tape. This data has now been experimentally analyzed for amplitude distribution and frequency content. The results of the power spectral density analysis indicate strong vibration responses for the major rotor-bearing system components at frequencies which correspond closely to their resonant frequencies obtained under periodic vibration testing. The results of amplitude analysis indicate an increasing shift towards non-Gaussian distributions as the input level of external vibrations is raised. Analysis of axial random vibration response of the BRU was performed by using a linear three-mass model. Power spectral densities, the root-mean-square value of the thrust bearing surface contact were calculated for specified input random excitation.

Towards Enhanced Performance Thin-film Composite Membranes via Surface Plasma Modification

PubMed Central

Reis, Rackel; Dumée, Ludovic F.; Tardy, Blaise L.; Dagastine, Raymond; Orbell, John D.; Schutz, Jürg A.; Duke, Mikel C.

2016-01-01

Advancing the design of thin-film composite membrane surfaces is one of the most promising pathways to deal with treating varying water qualities and increase their long-term stability and permeability. Although plasma technologies have been explored for surface modification of bulk micro and ultrafiltration membrane materials, the modification of thin film composite membranes is yet to be systematically investigated. Here, the performance of commercial thin-film composite desalination membranes has been significantly enhanced by rapid and facile, low pressure, argon plasma activation. Pressure driven water desalination tests showed that at low power density, flux was improved by 22% without compromising salt rejection. Various plasma durations and excitation powers have been systematically evaluated to assess the impact of plasma glow reactions on the physico-chemical properties of these materials associated with permeability. With increasing power density, plasma treatment enhanced the hydrophilicity of the surfaces, where water contact angles decreasing by 70% were strongly correlated with increased negative charge and smooth uniform surface morphology. These results highlight a versatile chemical modification technique for post-treatment of commercial membrane products that provides uniform morphology and chemically altered surface properties. PMID:27363670

Mass transport enhancement in redox flow batteries with corrugated fluidic networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lisboa, Kleber Marques; Marschewski, Julian; Ebejer, Neil; Ruch, Patrick; Cotta, Renato Machado; Michel, Bruno; Poulikakos, Dimos

2017-08-01

We propose a facile, novel concept of mass transfer enhancement in flow batteries based on electrolyte guidance in rationally designed corrugated channel systems. The proposed fluidic networks employ periodic throttling of the flow to optimally deflect the electrolytes into the porous electrode, targeting enhancement of the electrolyte-electrode interaction. Theoretical analysis is conducted with channels in the form of trapezoidal waves, confirming and detailing the mass transport enhancement mechanism. In dilute concentration experiments with an alkaline quinone redox chemistry, a scaling of the limiting current with Re0.74 is identified, which compares favourably against the Re0.33 scaling typical of diffusion-limited laminar processes. Experimental IR-corrected polarization curves are presented for high concentration conditions, and a significant performance improvement is observed with the narrowing of the nozzles. The adverse effects of periodic throttling on the pumping power are compared with the benefits in terms of power density, and an improvement of up to 102% in net power density is obtained in comparison with the flow-by case employing straight parallel channels. The proposed novel concept of corrugated fluidic networks comes with facile fabrication and contributes to the improvement of the transport characteristics and overall performance of redox flow battery systems.

ADX: a high field, high power density, advanced divertor and RF tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LaBombard, B.; Marmar, E.; Irby, J.; Terry, J. L.; Vieira, R.; Wallace, G.; Whyte, D. G.; Wolfe, S.; Wukitch, S.; Baek, S.; Beck, W.; Bonoli, P.; Brunner, D.; Doody, J.; Ellis, R.; Ernst, D.; Fiore, C.; Freidberg, J. P.; Golfinopoulos, T.; Granetz, R.; Greenwald, M.; Hartwig, Z. S.; Hubbard, A.; Hughes, J. W.; Hutchinson, I. H.; Kessel, C.; Kotschenreuther, M.; Leccacorvi, R.; Lin, Y.; Lipschultz, B.; Mahajan, S.; Minervini, J.; Mumgaard, R.; Nygren, R.; Parker, R.; Poli, F.; Porkolab, M.; Reinke, M. L.; Rice, J.; Rognlien, T.; Rowan, W.; Shiraiwa, S.; Terry, D.; Theiler, C.; Titus, P.; Umansky, M.; Valanju, P.; Walk, J.; White, A.; Wilson, J. R.; Wright, G.; Zweben, S. J.

2015-05-01

The MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center and collaborators are proposing a high-performance Advanced Divertor and RF tokamak eXperiment (ADX)—a tokamak specifically designed to address critical gaps in the world fusion research programme on the pathway to next-step devices: fusion nuclear science facility (FNSF), fusion pilot plant (FPP) and/or demonstration power plant (DEMO). This high-field (⩾6.5 T, 1.5 MA), high power density facility (P/S ˜ 1.5 MW m-2) will test innovative divertor ideas, including an ‘X-point target divertor’ concept, at the required performance parameters—reactor-level boundary plasma pressures, magnetic field strengths and parallel heat flux densities entering into the divertor region—while simultaneously producing high-performance core plasma conditions that are prototypical of a reactor: equilibrated and strongly coupled electrons and ions, regimes with low or no torque, and no fuelling from external heating and current drive systems. Equally important, the experimental platform will test innovative concepts for lower hybrid current drive and ion cyclotron range of frequency actuators with the unprecedented ability to deploy launch structures both on the low-magnetic-field side and the high-magnetic-field side—the latter being a location where energetic plasma-material interactions can be controlled and favourable RF wave physics leads to efficient current drive, current profile control, heating and flow drive. This triple combination—advanced divertors, advanced RF actuators, reactor-prototypical core plasma conditions—will enable ADX to explore enhanced core confinement physics, such as made possible by reversed central shear, using only the types of external drive systems that are considered viable for a fusion power plant. Such an integrated demonstration of high-performance core-divertor operation with steady-state sustainment would pave the way towards an attractive pilot plant, as envisioned in the ARC concept (affordable, robust, compact) (Sorbom et al 2015 Fusion Eng. Des. submitted (arXiv:1409.3540)) that makes use of high-temperature superconductor technology—a high-field (9.25 T) tokamak the size of the Joint European Torus that produces 270 MW of net electricity.

High Performance Lithium-Ion Hybrid Capacitors Employing Fe3O4-Graphene Composite Anode and Activated Carbon Cathode.

PubMed

Zhang, Shijia; Li, Chen; Zhang, Xiong; Sun, Xianzhong; Wang, Kai; Ma, Yanwei

2017-05-24

Lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) are considered as promising energy storage devices to realize excellent electrochemical performance, with high energy-power output. In this work, we employed a simple method to synthesize a composite electrode material consisting of Fe 3 O 4 nanocrystallites mechanically anchored among the layers of three-dimensional arrays of graphene (Fe 3 O 4 -G), which exhibits several advantages compared with other traditional electrode materials, such as high Li storage capacity (820 mAh g -1 at 0.1 A g -1 ), high electrical conductivity, and improved electrochemical stability. Furthermore, on the basis of the appropriated charge balance between cathode and anode, we successfully fabricated Fe 3 O 4 -G//activated carbon (AC) soft-packaging LICs with a high energy density of 120.0 Wh kg -1 , an outstanding power density of 45.4 kW kg -1 (achieved at 60.5 Wh kg -1 ), and an excellent capacity retention of up to 94.1% after 1000 cycles and 81.4% after 10 000 cycles. The energy density of the Fe 3 O 4 -G//AC hybrid device is comparable with Ni-metal hydride batteries, and its capacitive power capability and cycle life is on par with supercapacitors (SCs). Therefore, this lithium-ion hybrid capacitor is expected to bridge the gap between Li-ion battery and SCs and gain bright prospects in next-generation energy storage fields.

Irradiation performance of U-Mo monolithic fuel

DOE PAGES

Meyer, M. K.; Gan, J.; Jue, J. F.; ...

2014-04-01

High-performance research reactors require fuel that operates at high specific power to high fission density, but at relatively low temperatures. Research reactor fuels are designed for efficient heat rejection, and are composed of assemblies of thin-plates clad in aluminum alloy. The development of low-enriched fuels to replace high-enriched fuels for these reactors requires a substantially increased uranium density in the fuel to offset the decrease in enrichment. Very few fuel phases have been identified that have the required combination of very-high uranium density and stable fuel behavior at high burnup. U-Mo alloys represent the best known tradeoff in these properties.more » Testing of aluminum matrix U-Mo aluminum matrix dispersion fuel revealed a pattern of breakaway swelling behavior at intermediate burnup, related to the formation of a molybdenum stabilized high aluminum intermetallic phase that forms during irradiation. In the case of monolithic fuel, this issue was addressed by eliminating, as much as possible, the interfacial area between U-Mo and aluminum. Based on scoping irradiation test data, a fuel plate system composed of solid U-10Mo fuel meat, a zirconium diffusion barrier, and Al6061 cladding was selected for development. Developmental testing of this fuel system indicates that it meets core criteria for fuel qualification, including stable and predictable swelling behavior, mechanical integrity to high burnup, and geometric stability. In addition, the fuel exhibits robust behavior during power-cooling mismatch events under irradiation at high power.« less

IRRADIATION PERFORMANCE OF U-Mo MONOLITHIC FUEL

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

M.K. Meyer; J. Gan; J.-F. Jue

2014-04-01

High-performance research reactors require fuel that operates at high specific power to high fission density, but at relatively low temperatures. Research reactor fuels are designed for efficient heat rejection, and are composed of assemblies of thin-plates clad in aluminum alloy. The development of low-enriched fuels to replace high-enriched fuels for these reactors requires a substantially increased uranium density in the fuel to offset the decrease in enrichment. Very few fuel phases have been identified that have the required combination of very-high uranium density and stable fuel behavior at high burnup. UMo alloys represent the best known tradeoff in these properties.more » Testing of aluminum matrix U-Mo aluminum matrix dispersion fuel revealed a pattern of breakaway swelling behavior at intermediate burnup, related to the formation of a molybdenum stabilized high aluminum intermetallic phase that forms during irradiation. In the case of monolithic fuel, this issue was addressed by eliminating, as much as possible, the interfacial area between U-Mo and aluminum. Based on scoping irradiation test data, a fuel plate system composed of solid U-10Mo fuel meat, a zirconium diffusion barrier, and Al6061 cladding was selected for development. Developmental testing of this fuel system indicates that it meets core criteria for fuel qualification, including stable and predictable swelling behavior, mechanical integrity to high burnup, and geometric stability. In addition, the fuel exhibits robust behavior during power-cooling mismatch events under irradiation at high power.« less

Effect of the target power density on high-power impulse magnetron sputtering of copper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozák, Tomáš

2012-04-01

We present a model analysis of high-power impulse magnetron sputtering of copper. We use a non-stationary global model based on the particle and energy conservation equations in two zones (the high density plasma ring above the target racetrack and the bulk plasma region), which makes it possible to calculate time evolutions of the averaged process gas and target material neutral and ion densities, as well as the fluxes of these particles to the target and substrate during a pulse period. We study the effect of the increasing target power density under conditions corresponding to a real experimental system. The calculated target current waveforms show a long steady state and are in good agreement with the experimental results. For an increasing target power density, an analysis of the particle densities shows a gradual transition to a metal dominated discharge plasma with an increasing degree of ionization of the depositing flux. The average fraction of target material ions in the total ion flux onto the substrate is more than 90% for average target power densities higher than 500 W cm-2 in a pulse. The average ionized fraction of target material atoms in the flux onto the substrate reaches 80% for a maximum average target power density of 3 kW cm-2 in a pulse.

Constructing Hierarchical Tectorum-like α-Fe2 O3 /PPy Nanoarrays on Carbon Cloth for Solid-State Asymmetric Supercapacitors.

PubMed

Wang, Libin; Yang, Huiling; Liu, Xiaoxiao; Zeng, Rui; Li, Ming; Huang, Yunhui; Hu, Xianluo

2017-01-19

The design of complex heterostructured electrode materials that deliver superior electrochemical performances to their individual counterparts has stimulated intensive research on configuring supercapacitors with high energy and power densities. Herein we fabricate hierarchical tectorum-like α-Fe 2 O 3 /polypyrrole (PPy) nanoarrays (T-Fe 2 O 3 /PPy NAs). The 3D, and interconnected T-Fe 2 O 3 /PPy NAs are successfully grown on conductive carbon cloth through an easy self-sacrificing template and in situ vapor-phase polymerization route under mild conditions. The electrode made of the T-Fe 2 O 3 /PPy NAs exhibits a high areal capacitance of 382.4 mF cm -2 at a current density of 0.5 mA cm -2 and excellent reversibility. The solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor consisting of T-Fe 2 O 3 /PPy NAs and MnO 2 electrodes achieves a high energy density of 0.22 mWh cm -3 at a power density of 165.6 mW cm -3 . © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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.

700 F hybrid capacitors cells composed of activated carbon and Li4Ti5O12 microspheres with ultra-long cycle life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruan, Dianbo; Kim, Myeong-Seong; Yang, Bin; Qin, Jun; Kim, Kwang-Bum; Lee, Sang-Hyun; Liu, Qiuxiang; Tan, Lei; Qiao, Zhijun

2017-10-01

To address the large-scale application demands of high energy density, high power density, and long cycle lifetime, 700-F hybrid capacitor pouch cells have been prepared, comprising ∼240-μm-thick activated carbon cathodes, and ∼60-μm-thick Li4Ti5O12 anodes. Microspherical Li4Ti5O12 (M-LTO) synthesized by spray-drying features 200-400 nm primary particles and interconnected nanopore structures. M-LTO half-cells exhibits high specific capacities (175 mAhh g-1), good rate capabilities (148 mAhh g-1 at 20 C), and ultra-long cycling stabilities (90% specific capacity retention after 10,000 cycles). In addition, the obtained hybrid capacitors comprising activated carbon (AC) and M-LTO shows excellent cell performances, achieving a maximum energy density of 51.65 Wh kg-1, a maximum power density of 2466 W kg-1, and ∼92% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles, thus meeting the demands for large-scale applications such as trolleybuses.

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.

Performance of polyacrylonitrile-carbon nanotubes composite on carbon cloth as electrode material for microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Kim, Sun-Il; Lee, Jae-Wook; Roh, Sung-Hee

2011-02-01

The performance of carbon nanotubes composite-modified carbon cloth electrodes in two-chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC) was investigated. The electrode modified with polyacrylonitrile-carbon nanotubes (PAN-CNTs) composite showed better electrochemical performance than that of plain carbon cloth. The MFC with the composite-modified anode containing 5 mg/cm2 PAN-CNTs exhibited a maximum power density of 480 mW/m2.

Low-crystalline iron oxide hydroxide nanoparticle anode for high-performance supercapacitors

PubMed Central

Owusu, Kwadwo Asare; Qu, Longbing; Li, Jiantao; Wang, Zhaoyang; Zhao, Kangning; Yang, Chao; Hercule, Kalele Mulonda; Lin, Chao; Shi, Changwei; Wei, Qiulong; Zhou, Liang; Mai, Liqiang

2017-01-01

Carbon materials are generally preferred as anodes in supercapacitors; however, their low capacitance limits the attained energy density of supercapacitor devices with aqueous electrolytes. Here, we report a low-crystalline iron oxide hydroxide nanoparticle anode with comprehensive electrochemical performance at a wide potential window. The iron oxide hydroxide nanoparticles present capacitances of 1,066 and 716 F g−1 at mass loadings of 1.6 and 9.1 mg cm−2, respectively, a rate capability with 74.6% of capacitance retention at 30 A g−1, and cycling stability retaining 91% of capacitance after 10,000 cycles. The performance is attributed to a dominant capacitive charge-storage mechanism. An aqueous hybrid supercapacitor based on the iron oxide hydroxide anode shows stability during float voltage test for 450 h and an energy density of 104 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 1.27 kW kg−1. A packaged device delivers gravimetric and volumetric energy densities of 33.14 Wh kg−1 and 17.24 Wh l−1, respectively. PMID:28262797

Anion- or Cation-Exchange Membranes for NaBH4/H2O2 Fuel Cells?

PubMed Central

Šljukić, Biljana; Morais, Ana L.; Santos, Diogo M. F.; Sequeira, César A. C.

2012-01-01

Direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFC), which operate on sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as the fuel, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the oxidant, are receiving increasing attention. This is due to their promising use as power sources for space and underwater applications, where air is not available and gas storage poses obvious problems. One key factor to improve the performance of DBFCs concerns the type of separator used. Both anion- and cation-exchange membranes may be considered as potential separators for DBFC. In the present paper, the effect of the membrane type on the performance of laboratory NaBH4/H2O2 fuel cells using Pt electrodes is studied at room temperature. Two commercial ion-exchange membranes from Membranes International Inc., an anion-exchange membrane (AMI-7001S) and a cation-exchange membrane (CMI-7000S), are tested as ionic separators for the DBFC. The membranes are compared directly by the observation and analysis of the corresponding DBFC’s performance. Cell polarization, power density, stability, and durability tests are used in the membranes’ evaluation. Energy densities and specific capacities are estimated. Most tests conducted, clearly indicate a superior performance of the cation-exchange membranes over the anion-exchange membrane. The two membranes are also compared with several other previously tested commercial membranes. For long term cell operation, these membranes seem to outperform the stability of the benchmark Nafion membranes but further studies are still required to improve their instantaneous power load. PMID:24958292

Anion- or Cation-Exchange Membranes for NaBH4/H2O2 Fuel Cells?

PubMed

Sljukić, Biljana; Morais, Ana L; Santos, Diogo M F; Sequeira, César A C

2012-07-19

Direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFC), which operate on sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as the fuel, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the oxidant, are receiving increasing attention. This is due to their promising use as power sources for space and underwater applications, where air is not available and gas storage poses obvious problems. One key factor to improve the performance of DBFCs concerns the type of separator used. Both anion- and cation-exchange membranes may be considered as potential separators for DBFC. In the present paper, the effect of the membrane type on the performance of laboratory NaBH4/H2O2 fuel cells using Pt electrodes is studied at room temperature. Two commercial ion-exchange membranes from Membranes International Inc., an anion-exchange membrane (AMI-7001S) and a cation-exchange membrane (CMI-7000S), are tested as ionic separators for the DBFC. The membranes are compared directly by the observation and analysis of the corresponding DBFC's performance. Cell polarization, power density, stability, and durability tests are used in the membranes' evaluation. Energy densities and specific capacities are estimated. Most tests conducted, clearly indicate a superior performance of the cation-exchange membranes over the anion-exchange membrane. The two membranes are also compared with several other previously tested commercial membranes. For long term cell operation, these membranes seem to outperform the stability of the benchmark Nafion membranes but further studies are still required to improve their instantaneous power load.