Engineering topics

Qiu, Feng

Publications and source records attributed to Qiu, Feng.

60 records · Page 4

DOE OSTI2015

Analysis based on global model of nitrogen plasma produced by pulsed microwave at low pressure

This paper analyzes certain evolution processes in nitrogen plasmas discharged using pulsed microwaves at low pressure. Comparing the results obtained from the global model incorporating diffusion and the microwave transmission method, the temporal variation of the electron density is analyzed. With a discharge pressure of 300 Pa, the results obtained from experiments and the global model calculation show that when the discharge begins the electron density in the plasma rises quickly, to a level above the critical density corresponding to the discharge microwave frequency, but falls slowly when the discharge microwave pulse is turned off. The results from the global model also show that the electron temperature increases rapidly to a peak, then decays after the electron density reaches the critical density, and finally decreases quickly to room temperature when the discharge microwave pulse is turned off. In the global model, the electron density increases because the high electron temperature induces a high ionization rate. The decay of the electron density mainly comes from diffusion effect.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2015

Chance-Constrained Transmission Switching With Guaranteed Wind Power Utilization

Due to the significant variability and uncertainty of wind power over short time scales, high penetration of wind power can be problematic in an electric grid. One of the critical issues is how to keep increasing wind penetration without jeopardizing grid security and reliability. This paper explores the possibility of changing transmission network topology, by transmission switching, to accommodate higher utilization of wind power and reduce the generation costs of thermal units. Considering the uncertainty in wind power output, we use chance constraints to ensure that the wind energy utilized exceeds a minimal usage level at a certain probability. We develop a deterministic approximation approach using sample average approximation and provide a strong extended formulation. Numerical results show the potential benefit the proposed model can achieve.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2015

Excluded volume effects in compressed polymer brushes: A density functional theory

A classical density functional theory (DFT) is applied to investigate the behavior of compressed polymer brushes composed of hard-sphere chains. The excluded volume interactions among the chain segments are explicitly treated. Two compression systems are used to study the behavior of brush-wall and brush-brush interactions. For the brush-brush systems, an obvious interpenetration zone has been observed. The extent of the interpenetration depends strongly on the grafting density. Furthermore, the repulsive force between the brush and wall or between the two brushes has been obtained as a function of the compression distance. Compared to the prediction of the analytic self-consistent field theory, such force increases more rapidly in the brush-wall compression with high polymer grafting densities or at higher compressions. In the brush-brush compression system, the interpenetration between the two compressed brushes creates a “softer” interaction. The influence of hard-sphere solvents on the behavior of compressed brushes is also discussed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2013

Age hardening and creep resistance of cast Al–Cu alloy modified by praseodymium

The effects of praseodymium on age hardening behavior and creep resistance of cast Al–Cu alloy were investigated. The results indicated that praseodymium facilitated the formation of the θ′ precipitates during the age process and improved the hardness of the Al–Cu alloy. Besides, praseodymium resulted in the formation of the Al{sub 11}Pr{sub 3} phase in the grain boundaries and among the dendrites of the modified alloy. Because of the good thermal stability of Al{sub 11}Pr{sub 3} phase, it inhibits grain boundary migration and dislocation movement during the creep process, which contributes to the improvement in the creep resistance of the modified alloy at elevated temperatures. - Highlights: • Pr addition enhances the hardness and creep resistance of the Al–Cu alloy. • Pr addition facilitates the formation of the θ′ precipitates. • Pr addition results in the formation of the Al11Pr3 phase in the Al–Cu alloy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2013

Binary mixed homopolymer brushes grafted on nanorod particles: A self-consistent field theory study

We employ the self-consistent field theory to study phase structures of brush-rod systems composed of two chemically distinct linear homopolymers. The polymer chains are uniformly grafted on the surface of a nanorod particle of finite length and comparable radius to the polymer radius of gyration. A “masking” technique treating the cylindrical boundary is introduced to solve the modified diffusion equations with an efficient and high-order accurate pseudospectral method involving fast Fourier transform on an orthorhombic cell. A rich variety of structures for the phase separated brushes is predicted. Phase diagrams involving a series of system parameters, such as the aspect ratio of the nanorod, the grafting density, and the chain length are constructed. The results indicate that the phase structure of the mixed brush-rod system can be tailored by varying the grafted chain length and/or the aspect ratio of the rod to benefit the fabrication of polymeric nanocomposites.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2013

Construction and immunological evaluation of truncated hepatitis B core particles carrying HBsAg amino acids 119–152 in the major immunodominant region (MIR)

Highlights: •The conformational HBV neutralization antigen domain was successfully displayed on the surface of truncated HBc particles. •Appropriate dialysis procedures to support the renaturing environment for the protein refolding. •Efficient purification procedures to obtain high purity and icosahedral particles of mosaic HBV antigen. •Strong immune responses not only including neutralization antibody response but also Th1 cell response were induced in mice. -- Abstract: Hepatitis B capsid protein expressed in Escherichia coli can reassemble into icosahedral particles, which could strongly enhance the immunogenicity of foreign epitopes, especially those inserted into its major immunodominant region. Herein, we inserted the entire ‘α’ antigenic determinant amino acids (aa) 119–152 of HBsAg into the truncated HBc (aa 1–144), between Asp{sup 78} and Pro{sup 79}. Prokaryotic expression showed that the mosaic HBc was mainly in the form of inclusion bodies. After denaturation with urea, it was dialyzed progressively for protein renaturation. We observed that before and after renaturation, mosaic HBc was antigenic as determined by HBsAg ELISA and a lot of viruslike particles were observed after renaturation. Thus, we further purified the mosaic viruslike particles by (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}SO{sub 4} precipitation, DEAE chromatography, and Sepharose 4FF chromatography. Negative staining electron microscopy demonstrated the morphology of the viruslike particles. Immunization of Balb/c mice with mosaic particles induced the production of anti-HBs antibody and Th1 cell immune response supported by ELISPOT and CD4/CD8 proportions assay. In conclusion, we constructed mosaic hepatitis core particles displaying the entire ‘α’ antigenic determinant on the surface and laid a foundation for researching therapeutic hepatits B vaccines.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗