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  • Articles  (3,341)
  • Hindawi  (3,341)
  • Irkutsk : Ross. Akad. Nauk, Sibirskoe Otd., Inst. Zemnoj Kory
  • Krefeld : Geologischer Dienst Nordhein-Westfalen
  • Public Library of Science (PLoS)
  • 2010-2014  (3,029)
  • 2005-2009  (312)
  • Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering  (3,341)
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  • Articles  (3,341)
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  • 1
    Publication Date: 2014-12-15
    Description: The combination of inorganic nanoparticles semiconductor, conjugated polymer, and dye-sensitized in a layer of solar cell is now recognized as potential application in developing flexible, large area, and low cost photovoltaic devices. Several conjugated low bandgap polymers, dyes, and underlayer materials based on the previous studies are quoted in this paper, which can provide guidelines in designing low cost photovoltaic solar cells. All of these materials are designed to help harvest more sunlight in a wider range of the solar spectrum besides enhancing the rate of charge transfer in a device structure. This review focuses on developing solid-state dye-synthesized, polymer, and hybrid solar cells.
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2014-11-07
    Description: Near infrared radiation (NIR) has been used to enable the sintering of TiO2 films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass in 12.5 s. The 9 µm thick TiO2 films were constructed into working electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) achieving similar photovoltaic performance to TiO2 films prepared by heating for 30 min in a convection oven. The ability of the FTO glass to heat upon 12.5 s exposure of NIR radiation was measured using an IR camera and demonstrated a peak temperature of 680°C; glass without the 600 nm FTO layer reached 350°C under identical conditions. In a typical DSC heating step, a TiO2 based paste is heated until the polymeric binder is removed leaving a mesoporous film. The weight loss associated with this step, as measured using thermogravimetric analysis, has been used to assess the efficacy of the FTO glass to heat sufficiently. Heat induced interparticle connectivity in the TiO2 film has also been assessed using optoelectronic transient measurements that can identify electron lifetime through the TiO2 film. An NIR treated device produced in 12.5 seconds shows comparable binder removal, electron lifetime, and efficiency to a device manufactured over 30 minutes in a conventional oven.
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  • 3
    Publication Date: 2014-11-07
    Description: Band gap engineering provides an opportunity to not only provide higher overall conversion efficiencies of the reference AM1.5 spectra but also customize PV device design for specific geographic locations and microenvironments based on atmospheric conditions characteristic to that particular location. Indium gallium nitride and other PV materials offer the opportunity for limited bandgap engineering to match spectra. The effects of atmospheric conditions such as aerosols, cloud cover, water vapor, and air mass have been shown to cause variations in spectral radiance that alters PV system performance due to both overrating and underrating. Designing PV devices optimized for spectral radiance of a particular region can result in improved PV system performance. This paper presents a new method for designing geographically optimized PV cells with using a numerical model for bandgap optimization. The geographic microclimate spectrally resolved solar flux for twelve representative atmospheric conditions for the incident radiation angle (zenith angle) of 48.1° and fixed array angle of 40° is used to iteratively optimize the band gap for tandem, triple, and quad-layer of InGaN-based multijunction cells. The results of this method are illustrated for the case study of solar farms in the New York region and discussed.
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  • 4
    Publication Date: 2014-12-09
    Description: A number of commercially available art protection products have been compared and assessed for their suitability as UV blocking filters in the application of “visible light” photocatalytic research. Many groups claiming visible light photocatalytic success employ filters to block out stray UV radiation in order to justify that their photocatalysts are indeed visible light photocatalysts and not UV light photocatalysts. These filters come in varying degrees of ability and price and many authors fail to correctly characterise their filters in individual papers. The use of effective filters to prevent both false positive and false negative results is important to maintain scientific rigor and create accurate understanding of the subject. The optimum UV filter would have the highest UV blocking properties (
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2014-12-01
    Description: Disordered intermolecular interaction carbon nitride precursor prepared by water-assisted grinding of dicyandiamide was used for synthesis of g-C3N4. The final sample possesses much looser structure and provides a broadening optical window for effective light harvesting and charge separation efficiency, which exhibits significantly improved H2 evolution by photocatalytic water splitting. The bottom-up mechanochemistry method opens new vistas towards the potential applications of weak interactions in the photocatalysis field and may also stimulate novel ideas completely different from traditional ones for the design and optimization of photocatalysts.
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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2014-01-13
    Description: Cu2+ ions were successfully loaded into TiO2 nanotubes using wet impregnation technique in 0.6 M Cu(NO3)2·3H2O solution. The effect of reaction temperatures on the nanotube’s morphology, crystal structure, and their photocatalytic reduction of Pb(II) ions were investigated. The high reaction temperature could improve the crystallinity of anatase phase. However, irregular and corrugated nanotubular surface covered with Cu precipitates was observed. In the present study, incorporation of an optimum content of Cu element (1.3 at%) into TiO2 nanotubes at room temperature has an important function in enhancing the photocatalytic reduction of Pb(II) ions in alkaline condition (pH 11) due to the higher synergistic effects of photocatalytic reaction under UV illumination. The optimum concentration of Pb(II) ions for effective Pb(II) ions removal performance was found in between 20 and 60 ppm.
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  • 7
    Publication Date: 2014-01-13
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  • 8
    Publication Date: 2014-01-24
    Description: The updraft gasifier is a simple type of reactor for the gasification of biomass that is easy to operate and has high conversion efficiency, although it produces high levels of tar. This study attempts to observe the performance of a modified updraft gasifier. A modified updraft gasifier that recirculates the pyrolysis gases from drying zone back to the combustion zone and gas outlet at reduction zone was used. In this study, the level of pyrolysis gases that returned to the combustion zone was varied, and as well as measurements of gas composition, lower heating value and tar content. The results showed that an increase in the amount of pyrolysis gases that returned to the combustion zone resulted in a decrease in the amount of tar produced. An increase in the amount of recirculated gases tended to increase the concentrations of H2 and CH4 and reduce the concentration of CO with the primary (gasification) air flow held constant. Increasing the primary air flow tended to increase the amount of CO and decrease the amount of H2. The maximum of lower heating value was 4.9 MJ/m3.
    Print ISSN: 2090-1968
    Electronic ISSN: 2090-1976
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2014-01-20
    Description: The photovoltaic energy can become competitive by the conjugate effort of the researchers and manufacturers. Increasing the amount of electricity supplied by photovoltaic panels is a challenge. The paper briefly presents some methods which can lead to achieving this goal. A simple method to increase the quantity of the electrical energy delivered by the photovoltaic panels is also presented in this paper alongside the experimental setup and the software created in LabVIEW for monitoring the output of the panels.
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2014-01-21
    Description: With the objective of exploring the potential of bioethanol production from lignocellulosic wastes from major agro-based industries in Nepal, four types of major industries using raw materials from agriculture are selected as sources of lignocellulosic residues. They include a sugar industry, a paper industry, a tobacco industry, and a beer industry. Data from secondary/primary sources were used to record organic residues from these industries and estimates were made of potential production of bioethanol from them. About 494892.263 tons of dry bagasse could be produced if the total production of sugarcane in Nepal is taken to the sugar industry which means that about 138569.833 KL of bioethanol could be produced (in the year 2011/12). Similarly, the dry biomass residue produced from the paper mill is 86.668 ton/year that could produce 24.267 KL of bioethanol. The lignocellulosic residue from tobacco field in Nepal is approximately 18.826 ton/year that has potential to produce 5.836 KL of bioethanol. The dry biomass residue produced in beer industry amounts to 155.0596 ton/year that can yield about 63.5744 KL of bioethanol. It is estimated that about 57,841.3754 KL of bioethanol could be produced when these residues are fully utilized in producing bioethanol. If E10 is used in total import of petrol, about 20246.7 KL of bioethanol could be utilized, and the rest 37,594.6754 KL of bioethanol could be utilized for many other purposes.
    Print ISSN: 2090-7451
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  • 11
    Publication Date: 2014-01-22
    Description: Phase change material (PCM) based thermal energy storage (TES) systems are gaining increasing importance in recent years in order to reduce the gap between energy supply and demand in solar thermal applications. The present work investigates the effect of PCM capsule material on the performance of TES system during charging and discharging processes. The TES unit contains paraffin as PCM filled in spherical capsules and is integrated with flat plate solar collector. Water is used as sensible heat material as well as heat transfer fluid (HTF). The PCM capsules are of 68 mm diameter and are made using three different materials, namely, (i) high density polyethylene (HDPE), (ii) aluminum (Al), and (iii) mild steel (MS). The experimental investigation showed that the charging and recovery of stored energy are less affected by the spherical capsules material. The variables, like charging time and discharging quantity, are varied around 5% for the different capsule materials. Even though aluminum thermal conductivity is much higher than HDPE and mild steel, its influence on the performance of TES system is very low due to the very high internal heat resistance of PCM material stored in the spherical capsules.
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  • 12
    Publication Date: 2014-01-23
    Description: One of the key issues of thin-film silicon solar cells is their limited optical absorptance due to the thin absorber layer and the low absorption coefficient for near-infrared wavelengths. Texturing of one or more interfaces in the layered structure of these cells is an important technique to scatter light and enhance the optical pathlength. This in turn enhances the optical absorption of the solar radiation in the absorber layer and improves the solar cell efficiency. In this paper we investigate the effects of textured glass superstrate surfaces on the optical absorptance of intrinsic a-Si:H films and a-Si:H p-i-n thin-film solar cell precursors deposited onto them. The silicon-facing surface of the glass sheets was textured with the aluminium-induced glass texturing method (AIT method). Absorption in both intrinsic silicon films and solar cell precursor structures is found to increase strongly due to the textured glass superstrate. The increased absorption due to the AIT glass opens up the possibility to reduce the absorber layer thickness of a-Si:H solar cells.
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  • 13
    Publication Date: 2014-01-24
    Description: We have prepared Ag back electrode by screen printing technique and developed MOCVD ZnO/screen printed Ag back reflector for flexible thin film silicon solar cell application. A discontinuity and poor contact interface between the MOCVD ZnO and screen printed Ag layers caused poor open circuit voltage () and low fill factor (FF); however, an insertion of a thin sputtered ZnO layer at the interface could solve this problem. The n type hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film is preferable for the deposition on the surface of MOCVD ZnO film rather than the microcrystalline film due to its less sensitivity to textured surface, and this allowed an improvement in the FF. The n-i-p flexible amorphous silicon solar cell using the MOCVD ZnO/screen printed Ag back reflector showed an initial efficiency of 6.2% with  V,  mA/cm2, and FF = 0.58 (1 cm2). The identical quantum efficiency and comparable performance to the cells using conventional sputtered Ag back electrode have verified the potential of the MOCVD ZnO/screen printed Ag back reflector and possible opportunity to use the screen printed Ag thick film for flexible thin film silicon solar cells.
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  • 14
    Publication Date: 2014-01-24
    Description: The paper illustrates an adaptive approach based on different topologies of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the power energy output forecasting of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The analysis of the PV module’s power output needed detailed local climate data, which was collected by a dedicated weather monitoring system. The Department of Energy, Information Engineering, and Mathematical Models of the University of Palermo (Italy) has built up a weather monitoring system that worked together with a data acquisition system. The power output forecast is obtained using three different types of ANNs: a one hidden layer Multilayer perceptron (MLP), a recursive neural network (RNN), and a gamma memory (GM) trained with the back propagation. In order to investigate the influence of climate variability on the electricity production, the ANNs were trained using weather data (air temperature, solar irradiance, and wind speed) along with historical power output data available for the two test modules. The model validation was performed by comparing model predictions with power output data that were not used for the network's training. The results obtained bear out the suitability of the adopted methodology for the short-term power output forecasting problem and identified the best topology.
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  • 15
    Publication Date: 2014-01-24
    Description: The numerical study of the natural convection loss occurring from cylindrical solar cavity receivers is reported in this communication. These cavity receivers can be used with solar dish concentrators for process heat applications at medium temperature levels. Three cylindrical cavity receivers of diameter 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 m with aspect ratio equal to one and opening ratios of 1 and 0.5 are used for the analysis. Fluent CFD software is used for the analysis of the three-dimensional (3D) receiver models. In this study the receiver tubes within the cylindrical cavity are modeled as a helical coil similar to those existing in actual systems. The flow of the working fluid within the helical coil is also modeled. The simulations are performed for fluid inlet temperatures of 150°C and 250°C and for receiver inclination angles of 0 (sideways-facing cavity), 30, 45, 60, and 90 degree (vertically downward-facing receiver). It is found that the convective loss increases with increasing mean fluid temperature and decreases with, increase in receiver inclination. The convective loss is found to increase with, opening ratio. These observations are true for all cavity receivers analysed here. A Nusselt number correlation involving Rayleigh numbers, receiver inclinations, and opening ratios is proposed for the convective loss.
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  • 16
    Publication Date: 2014-03-11
    Description: Super-Critical water-cooled Fast Reactor (SCFR) is a feasible option for the Gen-IV SCWR designs, in which much less moderator and thus coolant are needed for transferring the fission heat from the core compared with the traditional LWRs. The fast spectrum of SCFR is useful for fuel breeding and thorium utilization, which is then beneficial for enhancing the sustainability of the nuclear fuel cycle. A SCFR core is constructed in this work, with the aim of simplifying the mechanical structure and keeping negative coolant void reactivity during the whole core life. A core burnup simulation scheme based on Monte Carlo lattice homogenization is adopted in this study, and the reactor physics analysis has been performed with DU-MOX and Th-MOX fuel. The main issues discussed include the fuel conversion ratio and the coolant void reactivity. The analysis shows that thorium-based fuel can provide inherent safety for SCFR without use of blanket, which is favorable for the mechanical design of SCFR.
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  • 17
    Publication Date: 2014-03-13
    Description: The oriented (002) ZnO films were grown on a- and c-face sapphire by pulsed laser deposition. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the oriented (002) ZnO films were epitaxially grown on the substrate successfully. The sample on a-face sapphire had higher crystal quality. However, the photocatalytic activity for Rhodamine B degradation of ZnO film on c-face sapphire was higher than that on a-face sapphire. The Raman spectrum and XPS analysis suggested that the sample on a-face sapphire had higher concentration of defects. The result of the contact angle measurement revealed that the sample on c-face sapphire had higher surface energy. And the investigation of the surface conductance implied that the higher light conductance was helpful for the photocatalytic activity.
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  • 18
    Publication Date: 2014-03-13
    Description: This work is aimed to design and evaluate different achromatic Fresnel lens solutions capable of operating as concentrators aimed at photovoltaic cells systems. Throughout this study, the theoretical parametric design of the achromatic lens will be shown together with a series of simulations to verify the performance of each lens topology. The results will be compared with a standard Fresnel lens to ascertain the validity and effectiveness of the obtained design. Finally, a novel kind of hybrid lens is proposed, which combines the advantages of each type of lens (standard and Fresnel) according to the optimal operating region of each design. Efficiency and concentration ratios of each particular lens are shown, regarding lens dimension, light’s incidence angle, or wavelength. Through this innovative achromatic design concentration ratios above 1000 suns, which hardly reach standard Fresnel lenses. Furthermore chromatic dispersion is minimized and the efficiency rate is over 85% of efficiency for a wide spectral range (from 350 nm to 1100 nm).
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  • 19
    Publication Date: 2014-03-13
    Description: As it is important to obtain accurate analytical result in an experimental research, this required quality control of the experimental system. Gamma spectrometry system can be used in a variety of different fields such as radiation and medical physics. In this paper the absolute efficiency, peak to valley ratio, and energy resolution of a NaI(Tl) detector were determined experimentally for 511, 662, 835, 1173, 1275, and 1332 keV photon energies obtained from 22Na, 54Mn, 60Co, and 137Cs radioactive sources.
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  • 20
    Publication Date: 2014-03-14
    Description: Design and utilization of a Virtual Photovoltaic Systems Laboratory for undergraduate curriculum are introduced in this paper. The laboratory introduced in this study is developed to teach students the basics and design steps of photovoltaic solar energy systems in a virtual environment before entering the field. The users of the proposed virtual lab will be able to determine the sizing by selecting related parameters of the photovoltaic system to meet DC and AC loading conditions. Besides, the user will be able to analyze the effect of changing solar irradiation and temperature levels on the operating characteristics of the photovoltaic systems. Common DC bus concept and AC loading conditions are also included in the system by utilizing a permanent magnet DC motor and an RLC load as DC and AC loading examples, respectively. The proposed Virtual Photovoltaic Systems Laboratory is developed in Matlab/Simulink GUI environment. The proposed virtual lab has been used in Power Systems Lab in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Karadeniz Technical University as a part of undergraduate curriculum. A survey on the students who took the lab has been carried out and responses are included in this paper.
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  • 21
    Publication Date: 2014-05-01
    Description: A new multiphase hybrid boost converter, with wide conversion ratio as a solution for photovoltaic energy system, is presented in this paper. To ensure that all the phases of the converter operate at the same switching frequency we use interleaving topology. The proposed converter can be used as an interface between the PV system and the DC load/inverter. This multiphase converter has the advantage of reduced value and physical size of the input and output capacitor as well as the effort for the inductors. To validate the operation of the converter we provide the analyses and the simulation results of the converter.
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  • 22
    Publication Date: 2014-05-05
    Description: 1.5 wt% zinc fluoride (ZnF2) was mixed with zinc oxide powder to form the F-doped ZnO (FZO) composition. At first, the FZO thin films were deposited at room temperature and Torr in pure Ar under different deposition power. Hall measurements of the as-deposited FZO thin films were investigated, and then the electrical properties were used to find the deposition power causing the FZO thin films with minimum resistance. The FZO thin films with minimum resistance were further treated by H2 plasma and then found their variations in the electrical properties by Hall measurements. Hydrochloric (HCl) acid solutions with different concentrations (0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.5%) were used to etch the surfaces of the FZO thin films. Finally, the as-deposited, HCl-etched as-deposited, and HCl-etched H2-plasma-treated FZO thin films were used as transparent electrodes to fabricate the p-i-n α-Si:H thin film solar cells and their characteristics were compared in this study. We would show that using H2-plasma-treated and HCl-etched FZO thin films as transparent electrodes would improve the efficiency of the fabricated thin film solar cells.
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  • 23
    Publication Date: 2014-05-06
    Description: This paper addresses recent developments in the design, evaluation, and characterization of flexible, uniform polyethylene-TiO2 (PE-TiO2), TiO2-In2O3, and TiO2-polyester able to inactivate bacteria under band gap irradiation and in the dark. The preparation of these bactericide films by sol-gel or by sputtering techniques is reported. The E. coli loss of viability kinetics under low intensity and actinic light is evaluated. Evidence for kinetics of the major steps leading to bacterial disinfection in the dark is presented by electron microscopy (TEM). The film surface properties were characterized by surface techniques like EM, DRS, XPS, ATR-IR, CA, AFM, XRD, and XRF. The surface characterization allows the correlation of the film surface morphology with the self-disinfection performance. The events taking place at the cell wall leading to bacterial inactivation when in contact with the TiO2 films are presented and the steps related to the bond stretching preceding bond scission identified by ATR-IR.
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  • 24
    Publication Date: 2014-05-06
    Description: A number of important but little-investigated problems connected with III-V/Ge heterostructure in the GaInP/GaInAs/Ge multijunction solar cells grown by MOVPE are considered in the paper. The opportunity for successfully applying the combination of reflectance and reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy in situ methods for investigating III-V structure growth on a Ge substrate has been demonstrated. Photovoltaic properties of the III-V/Ge narrow-band subcell of the triple-junction solar cells have been investigated. It has been shown that there are excess currents in the Ge photovoltaic p-n junctions, and they have the tunneling or thermotunneling character. The values of the diode parameters for these current flow mechanisms have been determined. The potential barrier at the III-V/Ge interface was determined and the origin of this barrier formation during MOVPE heterogrowth was suggested.
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  • 25
    Publication Date: 2014-05-07
    Description: Zinc aluminum alloy nanowire was fabricated by the vacuum die casting. Zinc aluminum alloy was melted, injected into nanomold under a hydraulic pressure, and solidified as nanowire shape. Nanomold was prepared by etching aluminum sheet with a purity of 99.7 wt.% in oxalic acid solution. A nanochannel within nanomold had a pore diameter of 80 nm and a thickness of 40 μm. Microstructure and characteristic analysis of the alumina nanomold and zinc-aluminum nanowire were performed by scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction analysis, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Zinc aluminum oxide nanowire array was produced using the thermal oxidation method and designed for the photoelectrode application.
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  • 26
    Publication Date: 2014-05-07
    Description: Structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of TiO2 and TiO2:Nd nanopowders and thin films composed of those materials have been compared. Titania nanoparticles with 1, 3, and 6 at. % of Nd-dopant were synthesized by sol-gel method. Additionally, thin films with the same material composition were prepared with the aid of spin-coating method. The analysis of structural investigations revealed that all as-prepared nanopowders were nanocrystalline and had TiO2-anatase structure. The average size of crystallites was ca. 4-5 nm and the correlation between the amount of neodymium and the size of TiO2 crystallites was observed. It was shown that the dopant content influenced the agglomeration of the nanoparticles. The results of photocatalytic decomposition of MO showed that doping with Nd (especially in the amount of 3 at. %) increased self-cleaning activity of the prepared titania nanopowder. Similar effect was received in case of the thin films, but the decomposition rate was lower due to their smaller active surface area. However, the as-prepared TiO2:Nd photocatalyst in the form of thin films or nanopowders seems to be a very attractive material for various applications.
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  • 27
    Publication Date: 2014-05-06
    Description: Te and Se layers were deposited on 〈glass/FTO/flat-TiO2〉 by electrochemical deposition. The Te-Se-stacked layer was annealed at 200°C, and then, the migration of Te into the Se layer by annealing was confirmed using auger electron spectroscopy (AES), which was performed by Te doping on the Se layer. Au back contact was coated by vacuum deposition on the Te-doped Se layer, resulting in superstrate-structured solar cells of 〈glass/FTO/flat-TiO2/Se-doped Te/Au〉 with a 0.50 V open-circuit voltage, 6.4 mA/cm2 photocurrent density, 0.36 fill factor, and 1.17% conversion efficiency.
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  • 28
    Publication Date: 2014-03-20
    Description: The spallation target is the component coupling the accelerator and the reactor and is regarded as the “heart” of the accelerator driven system (ADS). Heavy liquid metal lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) is served as core coolant and spallation material to carry away heat deposition of spallation reaction and produce high flux neutron. So it is very important to study the heat transfer process in the target. In this paper, the steady-state flow pattern has been numerically obtained and taken as the input for the nuclear physics calculation, and then the distribution of the extreme large power density of the heat load is imported back to the computational fluid dynamics as the source term in the energy equation. Through the coupling, the transient and steady-state temperature distribution in the windowless spallation target is obtained and analyzed based on the flow process and heat transfer. Comparison of the temperature distribution with the different beam intensity shows that its shape is the same as broken wing of the butterfly. Nevertheless, the maximum temperature as well as the temperature gradient is different. The results play an important role and can be applied to the further design and optimization of the ADS windowless spallation target.
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  • 29
    Publication Date: 2014-04-30
    Description: Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films were deposited on top of Molybdenum (Mo) coated soda lime glass (SLG) substrates using a single target rf magnetron sputtering technique. The sputtering parameters such as base pressure, working pressure, rf power, argon (Ar) gas flow rate, and deposition time were kept consistent throughout the experiment. The effect of different substrate temperatures, for example, room temperature (RT), 300°C, 350°C, 370°C, 400°C, and 450°C, was analyzed by studying their structural, electrical, and optical properties. As-sputtered films were then annealed at 460°C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement revealed the structure to be kesterite with peak of (112) plane in both annealed and as-sputtered CZTS thin films. The crystallinity of the films improved with the increasing substrate temperature until 370°C. Secondary phases of MoS2, , , , and Cu6MoSnS8 (hemusite) were also observed in the annealed CZTS films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows crystallite size of deposited CZTS thin film to be proportionally related to deposition temperature. The highest surface roughness of 67.318 nm is observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The conductivity type of the films was found to be p-type by Hall effect measurement system.
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  • 30
    Publication Date: 2014-04-30
    Description: Mainly because of the movement in the age pyramid, one can assume that the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia in general will increase in the coming decades. This paper employs a database analysis to examine the profile of publication activity related to this topic. Two databases were searched: PubMed and Cochrane Library. About 600 papers related to the research area “dementia and laser” and about 450 papers related to the search terms “Alzheimer and laser” were found in these two most commonly used databases. Ten plus one papers are described in detail and are discussed in the context of the laser research performed at the Medical University of Graz. First results concerning the measurement of the transmission factor (TF) through the human skull of a new LED- (light emitting diode-) based system are presented (TF = 0.0434 ± 0.0104 (SD)). The measurements show that this LED system (using the QIT (quantum optical induced transparency) effect) might be used in the treatment of dementia.
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  • 31
    Publication Date: 2014-05-01
    Description: Alkali digestion of titanium nanoparticles leads, after neutralization, to the formation of titanate nanotubes with long aspect ratio. One salient change in the formation of titanate nanotubes is the observation of an extended visible absorption band up to 550 nm, responsible for their brown colour. Combination of titanate nanotubes with commercial titanium dioxide nanoparticles, either Evonik P25 or Millennium PC500, results in an enhanced photocatalytic activity for hydrogen generation from water-methanol mixtures. This synergy between the two titanium semiconductors has an optimum for a certain proportion of the two components and is observed in both the absence and the presence of platinum or gold nanoparticles. The best efficiency under simulated sunlight irradiation was for a combination of 12 wt.% titanate nanotubes containing 0.32 wt.% platinum in 88 wt.% Millennium PC500, where a two-time increase in the hydrogen generation is observed versus the activity of Millennium PC500 containing platinum. This synergy is proposed to derive from the interfacial electron transfer from titanate nanotubes undergoing photoexcitation at wavelengths in which Millennium PC500 does not absorb this form of titania nanoparticles. Our results illustrate how the combination of several titanium semiconductors can result in an enhancement efficiency with respect to their individual components.
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  • 32
    Publication Date: 2014-04-30
    Description: Nanostructured porous TiO2 paste was deposited on the FTO conductive glass using squeeze printing technique in order to obtain a TiO2 thin film with a thickness of 10 μm and an area of 4 cm2. Gardenia blue (GB) extracted from Gardenia jasminode Ellis was employed as the natural dye for a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). Adsorption studies indicated that the maximum adsorption capacity of GB on the surface of TiO2 thin film was approximately 417 mg GB/g TiO2 photoelectrode. The commercial and natural dyes, N-719 and GB, respectively, were employed to measure the adsorption kinetic data, which were analyzed by pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. The energy conversion efficiency of the TiO2 electrode with successive adsorptions of GB dye was about 0.2%.
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  • 33
    Publication Date: 2014-04-30
    Description: This study aims to develop professional competency indices and their subindices as needed by the solar energy industry, to establish a basis for development of the engineering education curriculum. The methodologies adopted by the study are literature analysis, expert advisories, and focus groups. The study focuses on the establishment of competency indices by experts at stock market-listed companies and then confirms these competencies with focus groups. The study found that the competencies required by the solar industry consist of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the areas of materials development and applications, photovoltaic technology, cell manufacturing technology, biotechnology, chemical technology, power generation and electricity, process development and improvement, data collection and analysis, industry regulation, green energy beliefs, and working attitudes and values. The results of this study can be used as the basis for the cultivation, selection, and employment of industry professionals.
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  • 34
    Publication Date: 2014-04-30
    Description: We had successfully fabricated ZnO-based nanowires by vapor transport method in the furnace tube. ZnO nanowire arrays grown in 600°C for 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 120 minutes had applied to the dye-sensitized solar cells. The dye loading is proportional to the total equivalent surface area of ZnO nanowire arrays in the cells and plays an important role in improving power conversion efficiency. The highest efficiency was observed in DSSC sample with ZnO nanowires grown for 90 minutes, which had the largest equivalent surface area and also the highest dye loading. According to our experimental results, the enhancement in power conversion efficiency is attributed to the higher light harvesting and reduction of carrier recombination. In addition, ZnO nanowires also contribute to the photocurrent in the UV region.
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  • 35
    Publication Date: 2014-03-20
    Description: The photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B dye was successfully carried out under UV irradiation over porous TiO2-SnO2 nanocomposites with various molar ratios of Ti/Sn (4–12) synthesized by hydrothermal method using polystyrene microspheres as template. The combination of TiO2 with SnO2 can obtain high quantum yield of TiO2, and then achieve the high photocatalytic activity. And its porous structure can provide large surface area, leading to more adsorption and fast transfer of dye pollutant. Structural and textural features of the samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and N2 sorption techniques. Both adsorption and UV irradiation contribute to decolorization of about 100% of Rhodamine B dye over the sample TiSn10 after 30 min of the photocatalytic reaction, while the decomposition of Rhodamine B dye is only 62% over pure titania (Degussa P25).
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  • 36
    Publication Date: 2014-03-03
    Description: A three-port converter suitable for standalone applications is proposed in this paper. Each port is used for specific input or output, and its functions depend on the port; they are the renewable source, the battery set, and the output port. This proposed converter is considered for standalone operation, but it is not limited to it. Not only the system is able to deliver energy independently from each input source or in a mixed way for the output, but also the battery system may be charged from the renewable source just in case it is required. The battery port is only used when it is required; this allows increasing battery lifetime. Another important feature is that, in case of a renewable source failure, the energy is automatically demanded from the battery set, like an uninterruptible power supply. The system is able to track the maximum power of the renewable source when it is required. Operation, analysis, simulation, and experimental results are described in detail.
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  • 37
    Publication Date: 2014-03-03
    Description: In the framework of the nodalization qualification process and quality guarantee procedures and following the guidelines of Kv-scaled analysis and UMAE methodology, further development has been performed by UPC team resulting in a scaling-up methodology. Such methodology has been applied in this paper for analyzing discrepancies that appear between the simulations of two counterpart tests. It allows the analysis of scaling-down criterion used for the design of an ITF and also the investigation of the differences of configuration between an ITF and a particular NPP. For analyzing both, it applies two concepts “scaled-up nodalizations” and “hybrid nodalizations.” The result of this activity is the explanation of appeared distortions and its final goal is to qualify nodalizations for their use in the analysis of equivalent scenarios at an NPP scale. In this sense, the experimental data obtained in the OECD/NEA PKL-2 and ROSA-2 projects as counterpart test are of a great value for the testing of the present methodology. The results of the posttest calculations of LSTF-PKL counterpart tests have allowed the analyst to define which phenomena could be well reproduced by their nodalizations and which not, in this way establishing the basis for a future extrapolation to an NPP scaled calculation. The application of the UPC scaling up methodology has demonstrated that selected phenomena can be scaled-up and explained between counterpart simulations by carefully considering the differences in scale and design.
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  • 38
    Publication Date: 2014-04-28
    Description: First principles calculations were used to evaluate the electronic structure and optical properties of N/Si-monodoped and N/Si-codoped TiO2 to further understand their photocatalytic mechanisms. In accordance with the atomic distance between N and Si dopants, this study considered three N/Si codoping configurations, in which the N dopant had a tendency to bond with the Si dopant. The calculations showed that the bandgaps of the N/Si codoping models were narrow, in the range 3.01–3.05 eV, redshifting the intrinsic absorption edge. The Si 3p orbital of N/Si-codoped TiO2 plays a key role in widening the valence band (VB), thereby increasing carrier mobility. In addition, the N-induced impurity energy level in the forbidden band appears in all three N/Si codoping models, strengthening absorption in the visible region. The bandgap narrowing, VB widening, and impurity energy levels in the forbidden band are beneficial for improving the photocatalytic activity of N/Si-codoped TiO2.
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  • 39
    Publication Date: 2014-04-28
    Description: Mesoporous nanocrystalline anatase was prepared via EISA employing CTAB as structure directing agent. The drying rate was used as a key synthesis parameter to increase the average pore diameter. The resultant mesoporous crystalline phases exhibited specific surface areas between 55 and 150 m2 g−1, average unimodal pore sizes of about 3.4 to 5.6 nm, and average crystallite size of around 7 to 13 nm. These mesophases were used as photocatalysts for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol (4CP) with UV light. Under the studied conditions, the mesoporous anatase degraded 100% 4CP. This was twice faster than Degussa P-25. 57% reduction of chemical oxygen demand (COD) value was achieved.
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  • 40
    Publication Date: 2014-04-28
    Description: We demonstrated a fabrication technique to reduce the driving voltage, increase the current efficiency, and extend the operating lifetime of an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) by simply controlling the deposition rate of bis(10-hydroxybenzo[h]qinolinato) beryllium (Bebq2) used as the emitting layer and the electron-transport layer. In our optimized device, 55 nm of Bebq2 was first deposited at a faster deposition rate of 1.3 nm/s, followed by the deposition of a thin Bebq2 (5 nm) layer at a slower rate of 0.03 nm/s. The Bebq2 layer with the faster deposition rate exhibited higher photoluminescence efficiency and was suitable for use in light emission. The thin Bebq2 layer with the slower deposition rate was used to modify the interface between the Bebq2 and cathode and hence improve the injection efficiency and lower the driving voltage. The operating lifetime of such a two-step deposition OLED was 1.92 and 4.6 times longer than that of devices with a single deposition rate, that is, 1.3 and 0.03 nm/s cases, respectively.
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  • 41
    Publication Date: 2014-04-29
    Description: In optogenetics, targeted illumination is used to control the functions of cells expressing exogenous light-activated proteins. Adoption of the optogenetic methods has expanded rapidly in recent years. In this review, we describe the photosensitive channel proteins involved in these methods, describe techniques for their targeting to neurons and other cell types both within and outside the nervous system, and discuss their applications in the field of neuroscience and beyond. We focus especially on the channelrhodopsin protein ChR2, the photosensitive protein most commonly employed in optogenetics. ChR2 has been used by many groups to control neuronal activity, both in vitro and in vivo, on short time scales and with exquisite anatomical precision. In addition, we describe more recently developed tools such as opsin/G protein-coupled receptor chimeric molecules and a light-activated transgene system. In addition, we discuss the potential significance of optogenetics in the development of clinical therapeutics. Although less than a decade old, optogenetics is already responsible for enormous progress in disparate fields, and its future is unquestionably bright.
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  • 42
    Publication Date: 2014-03-03
    Description: Nowadays a hot topic among the research community is the harnessing energy from the free sunlight which is abundant and pollution-free. The availability of cheap solar photovoltaic (PV) modules has to harvest solar energy with better efficiency. The nature of solar modules is nonlinear and therefore the proper impedance matching is essential. The proper impedance matching ensures the extraction of the maximum power from solar PV module. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is acting as a significant part in solar power generating system because it varies in the output power from a PV generating set for various climatic conditions. This paper suggested a new improved work for MPPT of PV energy system by using the optimized novel improved fractional order variable step size (FOVSS) incremental conductance (Inc-Cond) algorithm. The new proposed controller combines the merits of both improved fractional order (FO) and variable step size (VSS) Inc-Cond which is well suitable for design control and execution. The suggested controller results in attaining the desired transient reaction under changing operating points. MATLAB simulation effort shows MPPT controller and a DC to DC Luo converter feeding a battery load is achieved. The laboratory experimental results demonstrate that the new proposed MPPT controller in the photovoltaic generating system is valid.
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  • 43
    Publication Date: 2014-03-03
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  • 44
    Publication Date: 2014-03-03
    Description: Copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) thin films were fabricated using precursor nanoparticle ink and sintering technology. The precursor was a Cu-poor quaternary compound with constituent ratios of , , and . Cu-poor CIGS nanoparticles of chalcopyrite for solar cells were successfully synthesized using a relatively simple and convenient elemental solvothermal route. After a fixed reaction time of 36 h at 180°C, CIGS nanocrystals with diameters in the range of 20–70 nm were observed. The nanoparticle ink was fabricated by mixing CIGS nanoparticles, a solvent, and an organic polymer. Analytical results reveal that the Cu-poor CIGS absorption layer prepared from a nanoparticle-ink polymer by sintering has a chalcopyrite structure and a favorable composition. For this kind of sample, its mole ratio of Cu : In : Ga : Se is equal to 0.617 : 0.410 : 0.510 : 2.464 and related ratios of and are 0.554 and 0.671, respectively. Under the condition of standard air mass 1.5 global illumination, the conversion efficiency of the solar cell fabricated by this kind of sample is 4.05%.
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  • 45
    Publication Date: 2014-03-03
    Description: Sn- or Ge-doped hematite thin films were fabricated by annealing alloyed films for the purpose of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The alloyed films were deposited on FTO glass by magnetron sputtering and their compositions were controlled by the target. The morphology, crystalline structure, optical properties, and photocatalytic activities have been investigated. The SEM observation showed that uniform, large area arrays of nanoflakes formed after thermal oxidation. The incorporation of doping elements into the hematite structure was confirmed by XRD. The photocurrent density-voltage characterization illustrated that the nanoflake films of Sn-doped hematite exhibited high PEC performance and the Sn concentration was optimized about 5%. The doped ions were proposed to occupy the empty octahedral holes and their effect on PEC performance of hematite is smaller than that of tin ions.
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  • 46
    Publication Date: 2014-01-30
    Description: Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structure based active layers of PCDTBT/PC71BM were prepared by using different organic solvents for fabrication of organic solar cell (OSC) devices. Mixture of precursor solutions of PCDTBT/PC71BM in three different organic solvents was prepared to fabricate composite active layers by spin-coating process: chloroform; chlorobenzene; o-dichlorobenzene. Four different blend ratios (1 : 3–1 : 6) of PCDTBT: PC71BM were adopted for each organic solvent to clarify the effect on the resulting OSC device characteristics. Surface morphology of the active layers was distinctively affected by the blend ratio of PCDTBT/PC71BM in organic solvents. Influence of the blend ratio of PCDTBT/PC71BM on the OSC device parameters was discussed. Performance parameters of the resulting OSC devices with different composite active layers were comparatively investigated. Appropriate blend ratio and organic solvent to achieve better OSC device performance were proposed. Furthermore, from the UV-Vis spectrum of each active layer prepared using the PCDTBT/PC71BM mixed solution dissolved with different organic solvents, a possibility that the nanophase separation structure inside their active layer could appear was suggested.
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  • 47
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: The standard air density of 1.225 kg m−3 is often used in determining the energy output of a wind turbine although the energy output is dependent on a site's air density. By using measurements of temperature, dew-point temperature, and pressure, we calculate the monthly air density of moist tropical climates at two sites in the small-island state of Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, we calculate the energy output of a BOREAS 30 kW small wind turbine using the 10 m level wind speed distribution extrapolated to hub height. The average air densities at Crown Point and Piarco were 1.156 kg m−3 and 1.159 kg m−3, respectively, and monthly air densities at both sites were at most 6% less than standard air density. The difference in energy output of the BOREAS 30 kW calculated using standard air density over that using the local site's air density could provide electrical energy for the continuous monthly operation of 6 light bulbs rated at 50 W at Crown Point and 4 light bulbs at Piarco. Thus, communities interested in implementing wind turbine technologies must use the local air density of the site when sizing a wind turbine system for its needs.
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  • 48
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: We present 11.7% efficient p-type crystalline silicon solar cells with a nanoscale textured surface and no dielectric antireflection coating. We propose nanocrystalline-like textured surface consisting of nanocrystalline columnar structures of diameters from 50 to 100 nm and depth of about 500 nm formed by reactive-ion etching (RIE) in multihollow cathode system. This novel nano textured surface acts as an antireflective absorbing surface of c-Si abbreviate as ARNAB (antireflective nanoabsorber). Light shining on the surface of RIE-etched silicon bounces back and forth between the spikes in such a way that most of it never comes back. Radio frequency (RF) hollow cathode discharge allows an improvement of plasma density by an order of magnitude in comparison to standard RF parallel-plate discharge. Desirable black silicon layer has been achieved when RF power of about 20 Watt per one hollow cathode glow is applied for our multihollow cathode system. The RF power frequency was 13.56 MHz. The antireflection property of ARNAB textured surface has been investigated and compared with wet-textured and PECVD coated silicon samples. Solar cell using low-cost spin-on coating technique has been demonstrated in this paper. We have successfully achieved 11.7% efficient large area (98 cm2) ARNAB textured crystalline silicon solar cell using low-cost spin-on coating (SOD) doping.
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  • 49
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: The present rate of economic growth is unsustainable without saving of fossil energy like crude oil, natural gas, or coal. There are many alternatives to fossil energy such as biomass, hydropower, and wind energy. Also, suitable waste management strategy is another important aspect. Development and modernization have brought about a huge increase in the production of all kinds of commodities, which indirectly generate waste. Plastics have been one of the materials because of their wide range of applications due to versatility and relatively low cost. The paper presents the current scenario of the plastic consumption. The aim is to provide the reader with an in depth analysis regarding the recycling techniques of plastic solid waste (PSW). Recycling can be divided into four categories: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. As calorific value of the plastics is comparable to that of fuel, so production of fuel would be a better alternative. So the methods of converting plastic into fuel, specially pyrolysis and catalytic degradation, are discussed in detail and a brief idea about the gasification is also included. Thus, we attempt to address the problem of plastic waste disposal and shortage of conventional fuel and thereby help in promotion of sustainable environment.
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  • 50
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: A key objective of this paper is to provide an assessment of the current and future situation on the “food versus fuel” debate and to contribute to possible alternatives to minimise or avoid future conflict. The debate has centred on three main areas: (i) food versus biofuel production, (ii) their positive and negative effects (i.e., GHG, climate change, and the broader environment), and (iii) a socioeconomic impact. The debate has been controversial because it has largely been driven by politics, ethical/moral considerations, and vested interests rather than by science. The paper focuses on food prices, land competition, GHG, energy balance, and energy subsidies and concerns with the rapid expansion of bioenergy for electricity and heat, climatic changes, the role of agriculture as a key factor, the potential of biomass energy resources, and the various alternatives to minimize or avoid conflict between food and fuel production. Biomass for energy is both “part of the problem and part of the solution.” It proposes a holistic approach: a new paradigm that takes full account of the diverse and complex nature of biomass energy sources and states that the fundamental underlying causes are social injustice, inequality, waste, and so forth, rather than land competition for food and fuel.
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  • 51
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: Oscillating water column plants are one of the most popular wave energy device types. Prototype OWC units have been operating in various parts of the world since the mid-1980s and such developers have more field experience of this technology than any other relevant plant. The most common turbine used is the self-rectifying Well's turbine which has a rather low peak efficiency if compared to other designs but was preferred in terms of its simplicity and cycle performance. The present study exploits the merits of a new concept for the power extraction process, that of an encaged turbine for OWC plants, which allows conventional high-efficiency turbines to be employed in such plants. This is achieved by guiding the pressurized air into a sequence of three chambers, creating a unidirectional closed air circuit through the turbine. A theoretical model is deployed simulating the operation of the plant and a sensitivity analysis is carried out for the design and working parameters. Results indicate that the power extraction efficiency may exceed the 50% level in a real plant.
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  • 52
    Publication Date: 2014-02-28
    Description: A mathematical simulation method was developed for visualization of the diffuse reflected light on a surface of 3-layered models of urinary bladder wall. Five states, from normal to precancerous, of the urinary bladder epithelium were simulated. With the use of solutions of classical electrodynamics equations, scattering coefficients and asymmetry parameters of the bladder epithelium were found in order to perform Monte Carlo calculations. The results, compared with the experimental studies, has revealed the influence of the changes in absorption and scattering properties on diffuse-reflectance signal distributions on the surfaces of the modelled media.
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  • 53
    Publication Date: 2014-02-10
    Description: Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted numerous research, especially in the context of enhancing their efficiency and durability, due to the low-cost and environmentally friendly nature of photovoltaic (PV) technology. The materials in DSSCs are vital towards the realization of these goals, since many of the important components are influenced by their respective preparation and deposition methods. This review aims to detail the research and development aspects of the different physical methods with the purpose of evaluating their prospects and corresponding limitations. The diversity of consideration and criteria includes thin film applications, material characteristics, and process technology that need to be taken into account when selecting a specific deposition method. Choosing a deposition method is not as simple as it seems and is rendered quite complicated due to various factors. Usually, a researcher will evaluate techniques based on factors such as the different preparations and deposition technology with materials’ and substrates’ type, specified applications, costs, and efficiencies.
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  • 54
    Publication Date: 2014-02-11
    Description: System codes along with necessary nodalizations are valuable tools for thermal hydraulic safety analysis. Qualifying both codes and nodalizations is an essential step prior to their use in any significant study involving code calculations. Since most existing experimental data come from tests performed on the small scale, any qualification process must therefore address scale considerations. This paper describes the methodology developed at the Technical University of Catalonia in order to contribute to the qualification of Nuclear Power Plant nodalizations by means of scale disquisitions. The techniques that are presented include the so-called -scaled calculation approach as well as the use of “hybrid nodalizations” and “scaled-up nodalizations.” These methods have revealed themselves to be very helpful in producing the required qualification and in promoting further improvements in nodalization. The paper explains both the concepts and the general guidelines of the method, while an accompanying paper will complete the presentation of the methodology as well as showing the results of the analysis of scaling discrepancies that appeared during the posttest simulations of PKL-LSTF counterpart tests performed on the PKL-III and ROSA-2 OECD/NEA Projects. Both articles together produce the complete description of the methodology that has been developed in the framework of the use of NPP nodalizations in the support to plant operation and control.
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  • 55
    Publication Date: 2014-02-12
    Description: The research for technological improvement and innovation in sodium-cooled fast reactor is a matter of concern in fuel handling systems in a view to perform a better load factor of the reactor thanks to a quicker fuelling/defueling process. An optimized fuel handling route will also limit its investment cost. In that field, CEA has engaged some innovation study either of complete FHR or on the optimization of some specific components. This paper presents the study of three SFR fuel handling route fully described and compared to a reference FHR option. In those three FHR, two use a gas corridor to transfer spent and fresh fuel assembly and the third uses two casks with a sodium pot to evacuate and load an assembly in parallel. All of them are designed for the ASTRID reactor (1500 MWth) but can be extrapolated to power reactors and are compatible with the mutualisation of one FHS coupled with two reactors. These three concepts are then intercompared and evaluated with the reference FHR according to four criteria: performances, risk assessment, investment cost, and qualification time. This analysis reveals that the “mixed way” FHR presents interesting solutions mainly in terms of design simplicity and time reduction. Therefore its study will be pursued for ASTRID as an alternative option.
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  • 56
    Publication Date: 2014-02-12
    Description: The outer strap as a typical structure of a spacer grid enhances the mechanical strength, decreases hang-up susceptibility, and also influences thermal hydraulic performance, for example, pressure loss, mixing performance, and flow distribution. In the present study, a typical grid spacer with different outer strap designs is adopted to investigate the influence of outer strap design on fuel assembly thermal hydraulic performance by using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, ANSYS CFX, and a subchannel analysis code, FLICA. To simulate the outer straps’ influence between fuel assemblies downstream, four quarter-bundles from neighboring fuel assemblies are constructed to form the computational domain. The results show that the outer strap design has a major impact on cross-flow between fuel assemblies and temperature distribution within the fuel assembly.
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  • 57
    Publication Date: 2014-02-13
    Description: We describe the performance of a notebook PC under a high dose-rate gamma ray irradiation test. A notebook PC, which is small and light weight, is generally used as the control unit of a robot system and loaded onto the robot body. Using TEPCO’s CAMS (containment atmospheric monitoring system) data, the gamma ray dose rate before and after a hydrogen explosion in reactor units 1–3 of the Fukushima nuclear power plant was more than 150 Gy/h. To use a notebook PC as the control unit of a robot system entering a reactor building to mitigate the severe accident situation of a nuclear power plant, the performance of the notebook PC under such intense gamma-irradiation fields should be evaluated. Under a similar dose-rate (150 Gy/h) gamma ray environment, the performances of different notebook PCs were evaluated. In addition, a simple method for a performance evaluation of a notebook PC under a high dose-rate gamma ray irradiation test is proposed. Three notebook PCs were tested to verify the method proposed in this paper.
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  • 58
    Publication Date: 2014-02-14
    Description: The photosensitizing ability of C60/2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CyD) nanoparticles under visible light irradiation was studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) and phototoxicity on cancer cells. In addition, the photoinduced antitumor effect to the tumor-bearing mice was evaluated. C60 nanoparticles were prepared by grinding a mixture of HP-β-CyD. The resulting C60/HP-β-CyD nanoparticles were highly-sensitive to visible light and generated higher levels of 1O2 than protoporphyrin IX (PpIX). C60/HP-β-CyD reduced the viability of cancer cells (HeLa cells and A549 cells) in response to irradiation by visible light in a dose-dependent manner. The IC50 values of the C60/HP-β-CyD nanoparticles was 10 μM for HeLa cells and 60 μM for A549 cells at an irradiation level of 35 mW/cm2. The photodynamic effect of C60/HP-β-CyD nanoparticles on the in vivo growth of mouse sarcoma S-180 cells was evaluated after intratumor injection. The outcome of PDT by C60/HP-β-CyD was directly dependent on the dose of irradiated light. Treatment with C60/HP-β-CyD nanoparticles at a C60 dose of 2.0 mg/kg under visible light irradiation at 350 mW/cm2 (63 J/cm2) markedly suppressed tumor growth, whereas that at 30 J/cm2 was less effective. These findings suggest that C60/HP-β-CyD nanoparticles represent a promising candidate for use in cancer treatment by PDT.
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  • 59
    Publication Date: 2014-02-24
    Description: Application of wire wrap spacers in SCWR can reduce pressure drop and obtain better mixing capability. As a consequence, the required coolant pumping power is decreased and the coolant temperature profile inside the fuel bundle is flattened which will obviously decrease the peak cladding temperature. The distributed resistance model for wire wrap was developed and implemented in ATHAS subchannel analysis code. The HPLWR wire wrapped assembly was analyzed. The results show that: (1) the assembly with wire wrap can obtain a more uniform coolant temperature profile than the grid spaced assembly, which will result in a lower peak cladding temperature; (2) the pressure drop in a wire wrapped assembly is less than that in a grid spaced assembly, which can reduce the operating power of pump effectively; (3) the wire wrap pitch has significant effect on the flow in the assembly. Smaller will result in stronger cross flow a more uniform coolant temperature profile, and also a higher pressure drop.
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  • 60
    Publication Date: 2014-02-24
    Description: Theoretical calculations of mass attenuation coefficients, partial interactions, atomic cross-section, and effective atomic numbers of PbO-based silicate, borate, and phosphate glass systems have been investigated at 662 keV. PbO-based silicate glass has been found with the highest total mass attenuation coefficient and then phosphate and borate glasses, respectively. Compton scattering has been the dominate interaction contributed to the different total attenuation coefficients in each of the glass matrices. The silicate and phosphate glass systems are more appropriate choices as lead-based radiation shielding glass than the borate glass system. Moreover, comparison of results has shown that the glasses possess better shielding properties than standard shielding concretes, suggesting a smaller size requirement in addition to transparency in the visible region.
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  • 61
    Publication Date: 2014-02-26
    Description: In this paper, nitrogen-doped TiO2 thin films were deposited by DC reactive sputtering at different doping levels for the development of dye-sensitized solar cells. The mechanism of film growth during the sputtering process and the effect of the nitrogen doping on the structural, optical, morphological, chemical, and electronic properties of the TiO2 were investigated by numerical modeling and experimental methods. The influence of the nitrogen doping on the working principle of the prototypes was investigated by current-voltage relations measured under illuminated and dark conditions. The results indicate that, during the film deposition, the control of the oxidation processes of the nitride layers plays a fundamental role for an effective incorporation of substitutional nitrogen in the film structure and cells built with nitrogen-doped TiO2 have higher short-circuit photocurrent in relation to that obtained with conventional DSSCs. On the other hand, DSSCs built with nondoped TiO2 have higher open-circuit voltage. These experimental observations indicate that the incorporation of nitrogen in the TiO2 lattice increases simultaneously the processes of generation and destruction of electric current.
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  • 62
    Publication Date: 2014-02-26
    Description: Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) using multiwalled carbon nanotube/titanium dioxide (MWCNT/TiO2) was successfully synthesized using sol-gel method. In this method, it has been performed under various acid treatments MWCNT concentration level at (a) 0.00 g, (b) 0.01 g, (c) 0.02 g, and (d) 0.03 g. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study surface roughness of the MWCNT/TiO2 thin films. The average roughness results for 0.00 g, 0.01 g, 0.02 g, and 0.03 g were 10.995, 18.308, 24.322, and 25.723 nm, respectively. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) analysis showned the inner structural design of the MWCNT/TiO2 particles. The TiO2 nanoparticles covered almost all the area of MWCNT particles. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) gave the morphological surface structure of the thin films. The thin films formed in good distribution with homogenous design. The DSSC with MWCNT/TiO2 electrode containing 0.03 g MWCNT were resulted in the highest efficiency of 2.80% with short-circuit current density of 9.42 mA/cm2 and open-circuit voltage of 0.65 V.
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  • 63
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: This paper reports on recent developments in homogeneous Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for the treatment of water and wastewater. It has already been established that AOPs are very efficient compared to conventional treatment methods for degradation and mineralization of recalcitrant pollutants present in water and wastewater. AOPs generate a powerful oxidizing agent, hydroxyl radical, which can react with most of the pollutants present in wastewater. Therefore, it is important to discuss recent developments in AOPs. The homogeneous AOPs such as O3, UV/O3, UV/O3/H2O2, and UV/H2O2, Fe2+/H2O2, UV/Fe2+/H2O2 on the degradation of pollutants are discussed in this paper. The influence on the process efficiency of various experimental parameters such as solution pH, temperature, oxidant concentration, and the dosage of the light source is discussed. A list of contaminants used for degradation by various AOPs and the experimental conditions used for the treatment are discussed in detail.
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  • 64
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: The numerical study of the natural convection loss occurring from cylindrical solar cavity receivers is reported in this communication. These cavity receivers can be used with solar dish concentrators for process heat applications at medium temperature levels. Three cylindrical cavity receivers of diameter 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 m with aspect ratio equal to one and opening ratios of 1 and 0.5 are used for the analysis. Fluent CFD software is used for the analysis of the three-dimensional (3D) receiver models. In this study the receiver tubes within the cylindrical cavity are modeled as a helical coil similar to those existing in actual systems. The flow of the working fluid within the helical coil is also modeled. The simulations are performed for fluid inlet temperatures of 150°C and 250°C and for receiver inclination angles of 0 (sideways-facing cavity), 30, 45, 60, and 90 degree (vertically downward-facing receiver). It is found that the convective loss increases with increasing mean fluid temperature and decreases with, increase in receiver inclination. The convective loss is found to increase with, opening ratio. These observations are true for all cavity receivers analysed here. A Nusselt number correlation involving Rayleigh numbers, receiver inclinations, and opening ratios is proposed for the convective loss.
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  • 65
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: With the objective of exploring the potential of bioethanol production from lignocellulosic wastes from major agro-based industries in Nepal, four types of major industries using raw materials from agriculture are selected as sources of lignocellulosic residues. They include a sugar industry, a paper industry, a tobacco industry, and a beer industry. Data from secondary/primary sources were used to record organic residues from these industries and estimates were made of potential production of bioethanol from them. About 494892.263 tons of dry bagasse could be produced if the total production of sugarcane in Nepal is taken to the sugar industry which means that about 138569.833 KL of bioethanol could be produced (in the year 2011/12). Similarly, the dry biomass residue produced from the paper mill is 86.668 ton/year that could produce 24.267 KL of bioethanol. The lignocellulosic residue from tobacco field in Nepal is approximately 18.826 ton/year that has potential to produce 5.836 KL of bioethanol. The dry biomass residue produced in beer industry amounts to 155.0596 ton/year that can yield about 63.5744 KL of bioethanol. It is estimated that about 57,841.3754 KL of bioethanol could be produced when these residues are fully utilized in producing bioethanol. If E10 is used in total import of petrol, about 20246.7 KL of bioethanol could be utilized, and the rest 37,594.6754 KL of bioethanol could be utilized for many other purposes.
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  • 66
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: Torrefaction is a mild form of pyrolysis that, when applied to biomass, has the effect of improving the energy density of biomass-derived solid fuels. In this study, thermogravimetric analysis (coupled with mass spectrometry) was applied to two biomass fuels (pine wood and white maize ear) to investigate a potential representative torrefaction thermal treatment process. The mass loss from the torrefaction process was indicative of emission of aliphatic hydrocarbons, evidenced by mass spectroscopic data and it is evident that optimal torrefaction conditions are determined by the type of biomass to which torrefaction processing is applied.
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  • 67
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: This paper presents a novel approach for accurately modeling and ultimately predicting wind speed for selected sites when incomplete data sets are available. The application of a seasonal simulation for the synthetic generation of wind speed data is achieved using the Markov chain Monte Carlo technique with only one month of data from each season. This limited data model was used to produce synthesized data that sufficiently captured the seasonal variations of wind characteristics. The model was validated by comparing wind characteristics obtained from time series wind tower data from two countries with Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations, demonstrating that one month of wind speed data from each season was sufficient to generate synthetic wind speed data for the related season.
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  • 68
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: A recyclable energy cycle using a pulsed laser and base-metal nanoparticles is proposed. In this energy cycle, iron nanoparticles reduced from iron oxides by laser ablation in liquid are used for hydrogen generation. The laser energy can be stored in the base-metal nanoparticles as the difference between the chemical energies of iron oxide and iron. According to the results of an experiment on hydrogen production using the reduced iron nanoparticles, the reaction efficiency of the hydrogen generation at a temperature of 673 K was more than 94% for the ideal amount of generated hydrogen.
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  • 69
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: This paper presents new improvements and real result of a stand-alone photovoltaic power system for LED lighting that was developed previously. The actual system, during day, charges a lead acid battery using MPPT algorithm for power transfer optimization, and, during night, it supervises battery discharge and controls the current in the power LED array. The improvements are in hardware and software. The hardware was simplified using only one DC/DC converter and only one microcontroller making it more efficient. The system board uses an ATMEL ATTINY861V microcontroller, a single-ended primary inductance converter (SEPIC), and sensors to read input and output voltages and currents to control all system. The software improvements are made in the battery charging algorithm, battery discharging algorithm, and in current control of the power LED array adjusting the light intensity. Moreover, results are presented showing the balance of energy in a period of 24 hours: first results of the MPPT algorithm in bulk battery charge phase and then the over battery charge phase, both in a sunny day. The power LED current control results are also presented showing a very small error. It turns off at 00 : 00 at each day to reduce the waste of energy. Finally, the balance of energy is studied and presented to help the right projection of the PV power panel needed and the necessary battery capacity.
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  • 70
    Publication Date: 2014-02-27
    Description: Pine wood samples were used as model feedstock to study the properties of catalytic fast pyrolysis oils. The influence of two commercial zeolite catalysts (BASF and SudChem) and pretreatment of the pine wood with sodium hydroxide on pyrolysis products were investigated. The pyrolysis oils were first fractionated using column chromatography and characterized using GC-MS. Long chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, levoglucosan, aldehydes and ketones, guaiacols/syringols, and benzenediols were the major compounds identified in the pyrolysis oils. The catalytic pyrolysis increased the polycyclic hydrocarbons fraction. Significant decreases in phthalate derivatives using SudChem and long chain aliphatics using BASF catalyst were observed. Significant amounts of aromatic heterocyclic hydrocarbons and benzene derivatives were formed, respectively, using BASF and SudChem catalysts. Guaiacyl/syringyl and benzenediols derivatives were partly suppressed by the zeolite catalysts, while the sodium hydroxide treatment enriched phenolic derivatives. Zeolite catalyst and sodium hydroxide were employed together; they showed different results for each catalyst.
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  • 71
    Publication Date: 2014-02-28
    Description: This paper develops a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm to optimize photovoltaic (PV) array performance and make it more compatible to rapidly varying weather conditions. In particular, a novel extremum seeking controller (ESC), which uses a Bode ideal cutoff (BICO) filter in its structure, is designed and tested on a simulated PV array. The new algorithm is compared against the commonly used ESC MPPT algorithm with first-order filters. The BICO extremum seeking controller achieves transient rise to the MPP faster than the common extremum seeking MPPT, which is the faster and more robust method among all other methods. This claim has been discussed and proved mathematically in this paper, in addition to simulation illustrations. This faster extremum seeking algorithm enables PV systems to detect rapid variations in the environmental conditions like irradiation and temperature changes.
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  • 72
    Publication Date: 2014-02-28
    Description: Today, organic dyes are one of the largest groups of pollutants release into environment especially from textile industry. It is highly toxic and hazardous to the living organism; thus, the removal of these dyes prior to discharge into the environment is essential. Varieties of techniques have been employed to degrade organic dyes and heterogeneous photocatalysis involving titanium dioxide (TiO2) appears to be the most promising technology. In recent years, TiO2 nanotubes have attracted much attention due to their high surface area and extraordinary characteristics. This paper presents a critical review of recent achievements in the modification of TiO2 nanotubes for dye degradation. The photocatalytic activity on dye degradation can be further enhanced by doping with cationic or anionic dopant.
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  • 73
    Publication Date: 2014-02-28
    Description: Small-size PV cells have been used to power sensor nodes. These devices present limited computing resources and so low complexity methods have been used in order to extract the maximum power from the PV cells. Among them, the fractional open circuit voltage (FOCV) method has been widely proposed, where the maximum power point of the PV cell is estimated from a fraction of its open circuit voltage. Here, we show a generalization of the FOCV method that keeps its inherent simplicity and improves the tracking efficiency. First, a single-diode model for PV cells was used to compute the tracking efficiency versus irradiance. Computations were carried out for different values of the parameters involved in the PV cell model. The proposed approach clearly outperformed the FOCV method, specially at low irradiance, which is significant for powering sensor nodes. Experimental tests performed with a 500 mW PV panel agreed with these results.
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  • 74
    Publication Date: 2014-02-28
    Description: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment modality for tumours and other accessible lesions based on the combination of light and a photosensitizer (PS) accumulated in the target tissue. The main disadvantage of PDT is PS retention after treatment during long time periods that conduces to cutaneous damage. It is believed that singlet oxygen is responsible for that skin photosensitization. The aim of this work was to evaluate the photoprotective activity of the methanolic extract of the Argentinian plant Collaea argentina against PDT under several treatments and employing different PSs. C. argentina exhibited photoprotective activity against aminolevulinic acid- (ALA-) PDT in the LM2 murine adenocarcinoma cell line. The photoprotection was dependant on the extract concentration and the incubation time, being detectable from 40 μg/mL onwards and at least after 3 h exposure of the cells. C. argentina extract protects these mammalian tumor cells against PDT effects, and it interferes with the oxygen singlet production from PSs during PDT treatment. We propose that it will be a promising agent to protect cells against PDT-induced skin sensitivity.
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  • 75
    Publication Date: 2014-03-21
    Description: Integral type reactors may need to be grouped to produce as much energy as a utility demands due to the small electrical output of an individual reactor. Sharing of systems among modules at a nuclear plant site is economically beneficial. Operation of systems shared between modules in a multi-modular plant is an issue never met in current NPPs, which may impact human performance. A design of operation of the shared systems via a common control system is presented as a technical approach to solve the problem. Modules and shared systems are controlled in independent network domains, respectively. Different from current NPPs, a limitation of operation authorities corresponding to certain modules and shared systems is defined to minimize the operation confusion between modules by one operator and to minimize the operation confusion of shared systems by different operators. Different characteristics of the shared system are analyzed, and different operation and control strategies are presented. An example is given as an application of the operation strategies. The operation design of the multi-modular system is in the preliminary stage, and, as an concept design, more verification and validation is needed in further works.
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  • 76
    Publication Date: 2014-03-24
    Description: Crystalline Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized via a simple solvothermal route by using Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O and SnCl4·5H2O as source materials, NaOH as mineralizing agent, and water and ethanol as mixed solvents. The used amount of NaOH was found to have an important influence on the formation of Zn2SnO4. When the molar ratio of OH− : Zn2+ : Sn4+ was set in the range from 4 : 2 : 1 to 8 : 2 : 1, Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles with different shape and size were obtained. However, when the molar ratio of OH− : Zn2+ : Sn4+ was set as 10 : 2 : 1, a mixture phase of ZnO and ZnSn(OH)6 instead of Zn2SnO4 was obtained. Photodegradation measurements indicated that the Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles own better photocatalytic property to depredate methyl orange than the Zn2SnO4 nanopolyhedrons. The superior photocatalytic properties of Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles may be contributed to their small crystal size and high surface area.
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  • 77
    Publication Date: 2014-03-25
    Description: Vapour-phase and solid-phase epitaxy are used for thickening of a solid-phase crystallised silicon seed layer on glass. Cross-sectional transmission microscope images confirm that a transfer of crystallographic information has taken place from the seed layer into the epilayers. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the density of planar defects (mainly on 111 plains) in the vapour-phase epitaxial sample is much higher than in the solid-phase epitaxial sample. These planar defects can act as recombination centres for free-charge carriers. Consequently, PC1D modelled minority carrier diffusion length in the vapour-phase grown epilayer is 50% shorter than that in the solid-phase grown epilayer. As a result, a solar cell grown by solid-phase epitaxy achieves open circuit voltage of 468 mV, short circuit current of 9.17 mA/cm2, and photovoltaic conversion efficiency at 2.75% which are all higher than those of the solar cell grown by vapour-phase epitaxy on the same seed layer, 400 mV, 7.28 mA/cm2, 1.69%, respectively. It proves that solid-phase epitaxy is more suitable for the solar cell growth on the solid-phase crystallised silicon seed layer than vapour-phase epitaxy.
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  • 78
    Publication Date: 2014-03-25
    Description: In recent years several numerical methods have been proposed to identify the five-parameter model of photovoltaic panels from manufacturer datasheets also by introducing simplification or approximation techniques. In this paper we present a fast and accurate procedure for obtaining the parameters of the five-parameter model by starting from its reduced form. The procedure allows characterizing, in few seconds, thousands of photovoltaic panels present on the standard databases. It introduces and takes advantage of further important mathematical considerations without any model simplifications or data approximations. In particular the five parameters are divided in two groups, independent and dependent parameters, in order to reduce the dimensions of the search space. The partitioning of the parameters provides a strong advantage in terms of convergence, computational costs, and execution time of the present approach. Validations on thousands of photovoltaic panels are presented that show how it is possible to make easy and efficient the extraction process of the five parameters, without taking care of choosing a specific solver algorithm but simply by using any deterministic optimization/minimization technique.
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  • 79
    Publication Date: 2014-03-25
    Description: The intermediate bands (IBs) between the valence and conduction bands play an important role in solar cells. Because the smaller energy photons than the bandgap energy can be used to promote charge carriers transfer to the conduction band and thereby the total output current increases while maintaining a large open circuit voltage. In this paper, the influence of the new band on the power conversion efficiency for the structure of the quantum dots intermediate band solar cell (QDIBSC) is theoretically investigated and studied. The time-independent Schrödinger equation is used to determine the optimum width and location of the intermediate band. Accordingly, achievement of maximum efficiency by changing the width of quantum dots and barrier distances is studied. Theoretical determination of the power conversion efficiency under the two different ranges of QD width is presented. From the obtained results, the maximum power conversion efficiency is about 70.42% for simple cubic quantum dot crystal under full concentration light. It is strongly dependent on the width of quantum dots and barrier distances.
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  • 80
    Publication Date: 2014-03-26
    Description: Appropriate analysis of biological tissue deep regions is important for tumor targeting. This paper is concentrated on photons’ paths analysis in such biotissue as brain, because optical probing depth of fluorescent and excitation radiation differs. A method for photon track reconstruction was developed. Images were captured focusing on the transparent wall close and parallel to the source fibres, placed in brain tissue phantoms. The images were processed to reconstruct the photons most probable paths between two fibres. Results were compared with Monte Carlo simulations and diffusion approximation of the radiative transfer equation. It was shown that the excitation radiation optical probing depth is twice more than for the fluorescent photons. The way of fluorescent radiation spreading was discussed. Because of fluorescent and excitation radiation spreads in different ways, and the effective anisotropy factor, , was proposed for fluorescent radiation. For the brain tissue phantoms it were found to be and for the irradiation wavelengths 532 nm and 632.8 nm, respectively. These calculations give more accurate information about the tumor location in biotissue. Reconstruction of photon paths allows fluorescent and excitation probing depths determination. The can be used as simplified parameter for calculations of fluorescence probing depth.
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  • 81
    Publication Date: 2014-03-26
    Description: In this study, dose distributions and outputs of circular fields with dimensions of 5 cm and smaller, for 6 and 9 MeV nominal energies from the Siemens ONCOR Linac, were measured and compared with data from a treatment planning system using the pencil beam algorithm in electron beam calculations. All dose distribution measurements were performed using the GafChromic EBT film; these measurements were compared with data that were obtained from the Computerized Medical Systems (CMS) XiO treatment planning system (TPS). Output measurements were performed using GafChromic EBT film, an Advanced Markus ion chamber, and thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD). Although it is used in many clinics, there is not a substantial amount of detailed information in the literature about use of the pencil beam algorithm to model electron beams. Output factors were consistent; differences from the values obtained from the TPS were at maximum. When the dose distributions from the TPS were compared with the measurements from the ion chamber and GafChromic EBT films, it was observed that the results were consistent with 2 cm diameter fields and larger, but the outputs for 1 cm diameter fields and smaller were not consistent.
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  • 82
    Publication Date: 2014-03-27
    Description: A novel parabolic trough concentrating solar heating for cut tobacco drying system was established. The opening width effect of V type metal cavity absorber was investigated. A cut tobacco drying mathematical model calculated by fourth-order Runge-Kutta numerical solution method was used to simulate the cut tobacco drying process. And finally the orthogonal test method was used to optimize the parameters of cut tobacco drying process. The result shows that the heating rate, acquisition factor, and collector system efficiency increase with increasing the opening width of the absorber. The simulation results are in good agreement with experimental data for cut tobacco drying process. The relative errors between simulated and experimental values are less than 8%, indicating that this mathematical model is accurate for the cut tobacco airflow drying process. The optimum preparation conditions are an inlet airflow velocity of 15 m/s, an initial cut tobacco moisture content of 26%, and an inlet airflow temperature of 200°C. The thermal efficiency of the dryer and the final cut tobacco moisture content are 66.32% and 14.15%, respectively. The result shows that this parabolic trough concentrating solar heating will be one of the heat recourse candidates for cut tobacco drying system.
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  • 83
    Publication Date: 2014-03-27
    Description: Ultraviolet radiation (UV) contributes to a variety of skin diseases including inflammation, degenerative aging, and cancer. Historically, humans have been exposed to UV radiation mainly through occupational exposure; recreational UV exposure, however, has increased dramatically in recent years, because of outdoor leisure activities and to purposely tan for cosmetic purposes. Both UVB and UVA radiation have been shown to cause DNA damage and immunosuppression, the important forms of biological damage that lead to NMSC. Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common malignancy, whose public health significance is often unrecognized which continues to grow at an alarming rate, becoming an occupational disease. Available treatments alternative to surgery include photodynamic therapy, electrochemotherapy, cryotherapy, ablative lasers, 5-fluorouracil, imiquimod, ingenol mebutate, and diclofenac. Among these, photodynamic therapy is a noninvasive technique with excellent cosmetic outcome and good curative results, when used in initial stages of skin cancers for superficial lesions. It is administered under numerous and significantly varied regimens and there are a wide range of cure rates reported, permitting treatment of large and multiple lesions with excellent cosmetic results. This is an overview of photodynamic applications especially for the treatment of NMSC, with a short focus on daylight modality.
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  • 84
    Publication Date: 2014-03-27
    Description: One-dimensional calcium oxide (CaO-) based titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes were successfully synthesized through a rapid electrochemical anodization and chemical wet impregnation techniques. In this study, calcium nitrate solution was used as a calcium source precursor. The reaction time and concentration of calcium source on the formation of CaO-TiO2 nanotubes were investigated using field emission microscopy, energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The adsorption capacity of CO2 was determined by thermal gravimetric analyzer. A maximum of 4.45 mmol/g was achieved from the CaO-TiO2 nanotubes (6.64 at% of Ca). The finding was attributed to the higher active surface area for CaO to adsorb more CO2 gas and then formed CaCO3 compound during cyclic carbonation-calcination reaction.
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  • 85
    Publication Date: 2014-03-27
    Description: SCWR (Supercritical Water Reactor) is one of the promising Generation IV nuclear systems, which has higher thermal power efficiency than current pressurized water reactor. It is necessary to perform the thermal equilibrium and thermal power calculation for the conceptual design and further monitoring and calibration of the SCWR. One visual software named H-Power was developed to calculate thermal power and its uncertainty of SCWR, in which the advanced IAPWS-IF97 industrial formulation was used to calculate the thermodynamic properties of water and steam. The ISO-5167-4: 2003 standard was incorporated in the code as the basis of orifice plate to compute the flow rate. New heat balance model and uncertainty estimate have also been included in the code. In order to validate H-Power, an assessment was carried out by using data published by US and Qinshan Phase II. The results showed that H-Power was able to estimate the thermal power of SCWR.
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  • 86
    Publication Date: 2014-03-27
    Description: The containment is an ultimate and important barrier to mitigate the consequences after the release of mass and energy during such scenarios as loss of coolant accident (LOCA) or main steam line break (MSLB). In this investigation, a passive containment cooling system (PCCS) concept is proposed for a large dry concrete containment. The system is composed of series of heat exchangers, long connecting pipes with relatively large diameter, valves, and a water tank, which is located at the top of the system and serves as the final heat sink. The performance of the system is numerically studied in detail under different conditions. In addition, the influences of condensation heat transfer conditions and containment environment temperature conditions are also studied on the behaviors of the system. The results reveal that four distinct operating stages could be experienced as follows: startup stage, single phase quasisteady stage, flashing speed-up transient stage, and flashing dominated quasisteady operating stage. Furthermore, the mechanisms of system behaviors are thus analyzed. Moreover, the feasibility of the system is also discussed to meet the design purpose for the containment integrity requirement. Considering the passive feature and the compactness of the system, the proposed PCCS is promising for the advanced integral type reactor.
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  • 87
    Publication Date: 2014-03-28
    Description: The performance and characteristics of a hybrid heterojunction single-walled carbon nanotube and GaAs solar cell are modelled and numerically simulated using AMPS-1D device simulation tool. The device physics and performance with different junction parameters are analysed. The results suggest that the open-circuit voltage changes very slightly by changing the electron affinity, acceptor and donor density while the other electrical parameters reach an optimum value. Increasing the concentration of a discrete defect density in the absorber layer decreases the electrical parameters. The current-voltage characteristics, quantum efficiency, band gap, and thickness variation of the photovoltaic response will be quantitatively considered.
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  • 88
    Publication Date: 2014-03-28
    Description: This study presents a novel search algorithm of maximum power point tracking for photovoltaic power generation systems. The I-V characteristics and the P-V power output under specific irradiation and temperature conditions are simulated. The performance of the algorithm under fully shaded and sudden partially shaded conditions as well as variable insulations levels is investigated. The developed algorithm performs a wide-range search in order to detect rapidly changing weather conditions, and keeps the simulated stand-alone or grid-connected systems continuously operating close to the maximum power point. The performance of the developed algorithm, under extremely changing environmental conditions, is found to be superior compared to that of other conventional algorithms. The results of this study show that, under uniform radiations conditions, the developed algorithm takes only half of the time required by the Perturbation and Observe algorithms to reach maximum power point MMP. Furthermore, when PV is subjected to sudden partial shading conditions, the algorithm rapidly detects these changes and reaches the new MMP in less than a second.
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  • 89
    Publication Date: 2014-03-31
    Description: A practical optimization design is proposed, in which the solar direct light spectrum and multijunction cell response range are taken into account in combination, particularly for the Fresnel concentrators with a high concentration and a small aspect ratio. In addition, the change of refractive index due to temperature variation in outdoor operation conditions is also considered in the design stage. The calculation results show that this novel Fresnel lens achieves an enhancement of energy efficiency of about 10% compared with conventional Fresnel lens for a given solar spectrum, solar cell response, and corrected sunshine hours of different ambient temperature intervals.
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  • 90
    Publication Date: 2014-04-01
    Description: Flexible glass fiber-supported nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide (GF-N-TiO2) photocatalysts with different N/Ti ratio were prepared using a dip-coating method followed by a low-temperature heat-treatment process. In addition, their photocatalytic activities were evaluated for the degradation of aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under visible-light irradiation. The prepared GF-N-TiO2 photocatalysts were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, and UV-visible spectroscopy. A control photolysis test performed using an uncoated GF displayed no detectable degradation of the target compounds under visible-light irradiation. The outlet-to-inlet concentration ratios of the target pollutants obtained using the GF-N-TiO2 photocatalysts were lower than that obtained using the GF-TiO2 photocatalyst. The photocatalytic activity of GF-N-TiO2 photocatalyst increased as the N-to-Ti ratio increased from 0.06 to 0.08 but decreased gradually as the N-to-Ti ratio increased further to 0.12, suggesting the existence of optimal N/Ti ratios. The outlet-to-inlet concentration ratio of all the target compounds displayed an increasing trend as both air flow rate and inlet concentration increased. Overall, the GF-N-TiO2 photocatalysts could be applied effectively for the degradation of aromatic VOCs under visible-light irradiation when operation conditions are optimized.
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  • 91
    Publication Date: 2014-04-01
    Description: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a novel and promising antitumor treatment. Our previous study showed that hydrophilic/lipophilic tetra-α-(4-carboxyphenoxy) phthalocyanine zinc- (TαPcZn-) mediated PDT (TαPcZn-PDT) inhibits the proliferation of human hepatocellular carcinoma Bel-7402 cells by triggering apoptosis and arresting cell cycle. However, mechanisms of TαPcZn-PDT-induced apoptosis of Bel-7402 cells have not been fully clarified. In the present study, therefore, effect of TαPcZn-PDT on apoptosis, P38MAPK, p-P38MAPK, Caspase-8, Caspase-3, Bcl-2, Bid, Cytochrome c, and mitochondria membrane potential in Bel-7402 cells without or with P38MAPK inhibitor SB203580 or Caspase-8 inhibitor Ac-IEFD-CHO was investigated by haematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining assay, flow cytometry analysis of annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide (PI) double staining cells and 5,5′,6,6′-tetrachloro-1,1′,3,3′-tetraethylbenzimidazolylcarbocyanine iodide (JC-1), and immunoblot assay. We found that TαPcZn-PDT resulted in apoptosis induction, activation of P38MAPK, Caspase-8, Caspase-3, and Bid, downregulation of Bcl-2, release of Cytochrome c from mitochondria, and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential in TαPcZn-PDT-treated Bel-7402 cells. In contrast, SB203580 or Ac-IEFD-CHO attenuated induction of apoptosis, activation of P38MAPK, Caspase-8, Caspase-3, and Bid, downregulation of Bcl-2, release of Cytochrome c from mitochondria, and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential in TαPcZn-PDT-treated Bel-7402 cells. Taken together, we conclude that Caspase-3, Bcl-2, Bid, and mitochondria are involved in autoregulatory feedback of P38MAPK/Caspase-8 during TαPcZn-PDT-induced apoptosis of Bel-7402 cells.
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  • 92
    Publication Date: 2014-04-02
    Description: Objective. The goal of this study was to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of 670 nm light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation on the diabetic retinopathy (DR) using hypoxic rhesus monkey choroid-retinal (RF/6A) cells as the model system. Background Data. Treatment with light in the spectrum from red to near-infrared region has beneficial effect on tissue injury and 670 nm LED is currently under clinical investigation for retinoprotective therapy. Methods. Studies were conducted in the cultured cells under hypoxia treated by cobalt chloride (CoCl2). After irradiation by 670 nm LED with different power densities, cell viability, cytochrome C oxidase activity, and ATP concentration were measured. Results. The irradiation of 670 nm LED significantly improved cell viability, cytochrome C oxidase activity, and ATP concentration in the hypoxia RF/6A cells. Conclusion. 670 nm LED irradiation could recover the hypoxia damage caused by CoCl2. Photobiomodulation of 670 nm LED plays a potential role for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
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  • 93
    Publication Date: 2014-04-02
    Description: The synthesis of immobilized catalyst on porous glass support material via the sol-gel route is reported. TiO2-P25-SiO2 + Pt, TiO2-P25-SiO2, TiOSO4_30.6 wt%, and ZnO + TiO2-P25-SiO2 catalysts were synthesized and a comparative study is done regarding morphology of coatings, degradation rates, reaction rates, dissolved carbon (DC), formation of peaks, and fluorescence of products formed from the photocatalytic degradation of lignin sulfonate obtained from a local paper plant. Through simultaneous reaction-extraction pathways applying dialysis filtration and highly porous polystyrene divinylbenzene adsorbent resin (HR-P) for solid phase extraction (SPE), an attempt has been made to isolate smaller molecules produced from photocatalytic degradation. Moreover relatively high lignin sulfonate (0.5 g/L) concentrations are used in the reactions. UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed a faster reduction in the concentration values for the aliphatic moiety compared to the aromatic moiety. Peaks were observed by both fluorescence spectroscopy and HPLC suggesting the production of new substances and fluorophores.
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  • 94
    Publication Date: 2014-04-02
    Description: During the reflood phase of a large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) in a pressurized-water reactor (PWR), the fuel rods can be ballooned or rearranged owing to an increase in the temperature and internal pressure of the fuel rods. In this study, an experimental study was performed to understand the thermal behavior and effect of the ballooned region on the coolability using a 2 × 2 rod bundle test facility. The electrically heated rod bundle was used and the ballooning shape of the rods was simulated by superimposing hollow sleeves, which have a 90% blockage ratio. Forced reflood tests were performed to examine the transient two-phase heat transfer behavior for different reflood rates and rod powers. The droplet behaviors were also investigated by measuring the velocity and size of droplets near the blockage region. The results showed that the heat transfer was enhanced in the downstream of the blockage region, owing to the reduced flow area of the subchannel, intensification of turbulence, and deposition of the droplet.
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  • 95
    Publication Date: 2014-04-03
    Description: In imaging, contrast agents are utilized to enhance sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic modalities. In ultrasound imaging, microbubbles (MBs)—a gas-core shell-encapsulated agent—are used clinically as contrast agents. The working hypothesis of this study is that microbubbles can be employed as an intravascular contrast agent in optical imaging systems. In this work, the interaction of light and microbubbles in a turbid medium (intralipid) was investigated, particularly, the effect of MBs on the reduced scattering and absorption coefficients. Diffuse reflectance (DR) and total transmittance (TT) measurements of highly scattering intralipid suspension (0.5–5%) were measured using spectroscopic integrating sphere system in the absence and presence of Definity microbubbles. The optical properties were computed using the inverse adding doubling (IAD) software. The presence of microbubbles increased DR and decreased TT of intralipid phantoms. In the presence of MBs (0.5% volume concentration), the reflectance of the intralipid phantom increased from 35% to 100%. The reduced scattering coefficient increased significantly (30%) indicating potential use of MBs as optical contrast agents in light based modalities.
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  • 96
    Publication Date: 2014-04-03
    Description: Recent uses of titanium dioxide (TiO2) have involved various applications which include the food industry. This study aims to develop TiO2 nanoparticle-coated film for potential food packaging applications due to the photocatalytic antimicrobial property of TiO2. The TiO2 nanoparticles with varying concentrations (0–0.11 g/ 100 mL organic solvent) were coated on food packaging film, particularly low density polyethylene (LDPE) film. The antimicrobial activity of the films was investigated by their capability to inactivate Escherichia coli (E. coli) in an actual food packaging application test under various conditions, including types of light (fluorescent and ultraviolet (UV)) and the length of time the film was exposed to light (one–three days). The antimicrobial activity of the TiO2 nanoparticle-coated films exposed under both types of lighting was found to increase with an increase in the TiO2 nanoparticle concentration and the light exposure time. It was also found that the antimicrobial activity of the films exposed under UV light was higher than that under fluorescent light. The developed film has the potential to be used as a food packaging film that can extend the shelf life, maintain the quality, and assure the safety of food.
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  • 97
    Publication Date: 2014-04-03
    Description: The role of UV-irradiation on oil and its derivatives is particularly important for analyzing the degradability of specific oil compounds. Also, nanostructured-TiO2 is one of the most promising photocatalysts so it is expected to be useful in their degradation. However the complexity of crude oil, as well as that of the reactions involved, is such that the effect of the presence of TiO2 under illumination is not well understood. In this paper, the influence of UV-Vis irradiation on vanadium etioporphyrins, extracted from crude oil from Dos Bocas, Tabasco, Mexico, is studied using UV-Vis spectrophotometry in the absence and presence of nanostructured TiO2 or nitrogen-doped TiO2 modified with copper (N-TiO2/Cu). It is shown that the addition of water shortens the time to start photodegradation. However, once this process has initiated, the system enters a second stage, that is very similar for samples with or without water. It is also shown that the use of N-TiO2/Cu induces an important delay in the initiation of the porphyrins’ photodegradation process. Additionally, it has been found that the presence of TiO2 in samples extracted with water induces a small reduction in the photodegradation duration and, hence, that TiO2 can catalyze the degradation of petroporphyrins.
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  • 98
    Publication Date: 2014-04-03
    Description: The natural radioactivity existed since creation of the universe due to the long life time of some radionuclides. This natural radioactivity is caused by γ-radiation originating from the uranium and thorium series and 40K. In this study, the gamma radiation has been measured to determine natural radioactivity of 238U, 232Th, and 40K in collected sedimentary rock samples in different places of Turkey. The measurements have been performed using γ-ray spectrometer containing NaI(Tl) detector and multichannel analyser (MCA). Absorbed dose rate (D), annual effective dose (AED), radium equivalent activities (), external hazard index (), and internal hazard index () associated with the natural radionuclide were calculated to assess the radiation hazard of the natural radioactivity in the sedimentary rock samples. The average values of absorbed dose rate in air (D), annual effective dose (AED), radium equivalent activity (), external hazard index (), and internal hazard index () were calculated and these were 45.425 nGy/h, 0.056 mSv/y, 99.014 Bq/kg, 0.267, and 0.361, respectively.
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  • 99
    Publication Date: 2014-04-04
    Description: Self-assembly has emerged as a powerful strategy for controlling the structure and physicochemical properties of ensembles of inorganic nanocrystals. Hierarchical structures from nanocrystal assembly show collective properties that differ from individual nanocrystals and bulk samples. Incorporation of structural hierarchy into nanostructures is of great importance as a result of enhancing mass transportation, reducing resistance to diffusion, and high surface areas for adsorption and reaction, and thus much effort has been devoted to the exploration of various novel organizing schemes through which inorganic porous structure with architectural design can be created. In this paper, the recent research progress in this field is reviewed. The general strategies for the synthesis of hierarchical structures assembled from nanobuilding blocks are elaborated. The well-defined hierarchical structures provide new opportunities for optimizing, tuning, and/or enhancing the properties and performance of these materials and have found applications in photoenergy utilization including photodegradation, photocatalytic H2 production, photocatalytic CO2 conversion, and sensitized solar cells, and these are discussed illustratively.
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  • 100
    Publication Date: 2014-04-04
    Description: The statistical behaviours of the instantaneous scalar dissipation rate of reaction progress variable in turbulent premixed flames have been analysed based on three-dimensional direct numerical simulation data of freely propagating statistically planar flame and V-flame configurations with different turbulent Reynolds number . The statistical behaviours of and different terms of its transport equation for planar and V-flames are found to be qualitatively similar. The mean contribution of the density-variation term is positive, whereas the molecular dissipation term acts as a leading order sink. The mean contribution of the strain rate term is predominantly negative for the cases considered here. The mean reaction rate contribution is positive (negative) towards the unburned (burned) gas side of the flame, whereas the mean contribution of the diffusivity gradient term assumes negative (positive) values towards the unburned (burned) gas side. The local statistical behaviours of , , , , , and have been analysed in terms of their marginal probability density functions (pdfs) and their joint pdfs with local tangential strain rate and curvature . Detailed physical explanations have been provided for the observed behaviour.
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