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At least 55 records · Page 3

The oxygen content of ocean bottom waters, the burial efficiency of organic carbon, and the regulation of atmospheric oxygen

Data for the burial efficiency of organic carbon with marine sediments have been compiled for 69 locations. The burial efficiency as here defined is the ratio of the quantity of organic carbon which is ultimately buried to that which reaches the sediment-water interface. As noted previously, the sedimentation rate exerts a dominant influence on the burial efficiency. The logarithm of the burial efficiency is linearly related to the logarithm of the sedimentation rate at low sedimentation rates. At high sedimentation rates the burial efficiency can exceed 50% and becomes nearly independent of the sedimentation rate. The residual of the burial efficiency after the effect of the sedimentation rate has been subtracted is a weak function of the O2 concentration in bottom waters. The scatter is sufficiently large, so that the effect of the O2 concentration in bottom waters on the burial efficiency of organic matter could be either negligible or a minor but significant part of the mechanism that controls the level of O2 in the atmosphere.

Non-NASA Center

Performance of Single-Stage Turbine of Mark 25 Torpedo Power Plant with Two Special Nozzles: Efficiency with Standard Rotor Blades - III

A Mark 25 torpedo power plant modified to operate as a single-stage turbine was investigated to determine the performance with two nozzle designs and a standard first-stage rotor having 0.40-inch blades with a 17O met-air angle. Both nozzles had smaller port cross-sectional areas than those nozzles of similar design, which were previously investigated. The performance of the two nozzles was compared on the basis of blade, rotor, and brake efficiencies as a function of blade-jet speed ratio for pressure ratios of 8, 15 (design), and 20. At pressure ratios of 15 and 20, the blade efficiency obtained with the nozzle having circular passages (K) was higher than that obtained with the nozzle having rectangular passages (J). At a pressure ratio of 8, the efficiencies obtained with the two nozzles were comparable for blade-jet speed ratios of less than 0.260. For blade-jet speed ratios exceeding this value, nozzle K yielded slightly higher efficiencies. The maximum blade efficiency of 0.569 was obtained with nozzle K at a pressure ratio of 8 and a blade-jet speed ratio of 0.295. At design speed and pressure ratio, nozzle K yielded a maximum blade efficiency of 0.534, an increase of 0.031 over that obtained with nozzle J. When the blade efficiencies of the two nozzles were compared with those of four other nozzles previously investigated, the maximum difference for the six nozzles with this rotor was 0.050. From, this comparison, no specific effect of nozzles size or shape on over-all performance was discernible.

Schum, Harold J.

Highly Efficient Amplifier for Ka-Band Communications

An amplifier developed under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract will have applications for both satellite and terrestrial communications. This power amplifier uses an innovative series bias arrangement of active devices to achieve over 40-percent efficiency at Ka-band frequencies with an output power of 0.66 W. The amplifier is fabricated on a 2.0- by 3.8-square millimeter chip through the use of Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) technology, and it uses state-of-the-art, Pseudomorphic High-Electron-Mobility Transistor (PHEMT) devices. Although the performance of the MMIC chip depends on these high-performance devices, the real innovations here are a unique series bias scheme, which results in a high-voltage chip supply, and careful design of the on-chip planar output stage combiner. This design concept has ramifications beyond the chip itself because it opens up the possibility of operation directly from a satellite power bus (usually 28 V) without a dc-dc converter. This will dramatically increase the overall system efficiency. Conventional microwave power amplifier designs utilize many devices all connected in parallel from the bias supply. This results in a low-bias voltage, typically 5 V, and a high bias current. With this configuration, substantial I(sup 2) R losses (current squared times resistance) may arise in the system bias-distribution network. By placing the devices in a series bias configuration, the total current is reduced, leading to reduced distribution losses. Careful design of the on-chip planar output stage power combiner is also important in minimizing losses. Using these concepts, a two-stage amplifier was designed for operation at 33 GHz and fabricated in a standard MMIC foundry process with 0.20-m PHEMT devices. Using a 20-V bias supply, the amplifier achieved efficiencies of over 40 percent with an output power of 0.66 W and a 16-dB gain over a 2-GHz bandwidth centered at 33 GHz. With a 28-V bias, a power level of 1.1 W was achieved with a 12-dB gain and a 36-percent efficiency. This represents the best reported combination of power and efficiency at this frequency. In addition to delivering excellent power and gain, this Ka-band MMIC power amplifier has an efficiency that is 10 percent greater than existing designs. The unique design offers an excellent match for spacecraft applications since the amplifier supply voltage is closely matched to the typical value of spacecraft bus voltage. These amplifiers may be used alone in applications of 1 W or less, or several may be combined or used in an array to produce moderate power, Ka-band transmitters with minimal power combining and less thermal stress owing to the combination of excellent efficiency and power output. The higher voltage operation of this design may also save mass and power because the dc-dc power converter is replaced with a simpler voltage regulator.

Source record

Power and Efficiency Optimized in Traveling-Wave Tubes Over a Broad Frequency Bandwidth

A traveling-wave tube (TWT) is an electron beam device that is used to amplify electromagnetic communication waves at radio and microwave frequencies. TWT's are critical components in deep space probes, communication satellites, and high-power radar systems. Power conversion efficiency is of paramount importance for TWT's employed in deep space probes and communication satellites. A previous effort was very successful in increasing efficiency and power at a single frequency (ref. 1). Such an algorithm is sufficient for narrow bandwidth designs, but for optimal designs in applications that require high radiofrequency power over a wide bandwidth, such as high-density communications or high-resolution radar, the variation of the circuit response with respect to frequency must be considered. This work at the NASA Glenn Research Center is the first to develop techniques for optimizing TWT efficiency and output power over a broad frequency bandwidth (ref. 2). The techniques are based on simulated annealing, which has the advantage over conventional optimization techniques in that it enables the best possible solution to be obtained (ref. 3). Two new broadband simulated annealing algorithms were developed that optimize (1) minimum saturated power efficiency over a frequency bandwidth and (2) simultaneous bandwidth and minimum power efficiency over the frequency band with constant input power. The algorithms were incorporated into the NASA coupled-cavity TWT computer model (ref. 4) and used to design optimal phase velocity tapers using the 59- to 64-GHz Hughes 961HA coupled-cavity TWT as a baseline model. In comparison to the baseline design, the computational results of the first broad-band design algorithm show an improvement of 73.9 percent in minimum saturated efficiency (see the top graph). The second broadband design algorithm (see the bottom graph) improves minimum radiofrequency efficiency with constant input power drive by a factor of 2.7 at the high band edge (64 GHz) and increases simultaneous bandwidth by 500 MHz.

Wilson, Jeffrey D.

High-Efficiency Multi-Junction Space Solar Development Utilizing Lattice Grading

Progress towards achieving a high one-sun air mass 0 (AM0) efficiency in a monolithic dual junction solar cell comprised of a 1.62 eV InGaP top cell and a 1.1 eV InGaAs bottom cell grown on buffered GaAs is reported. The performance of stand-alone 1.62 eV InGaP and 1.1 eV InGaAs cells is compared to that of the dual junction cell. Projected AM0 efficiencies of 15.7% and 16.5% are expected for the 1.62 eV InGaP and 1.1 eV InGaAs cells grown on buffered GaAs. The dual junction cell has a projected one-sun AM0 conversion efficiency of 17%. The projected efficiencies are based upon the application of an optimized anti-reflective coating (ARC) to the as-grown cells. Quantum efficiency (QE) data obtained from the dual junction cell indicate that is is bottom cell current limited with the top cell generating 50% more current than the bottom cell. A comparison of the QE data for the stand-alone 1.1 eV InGaAs cell to that of the 1.1 eV InGaAs bottom cell in the tandem configuration indicates a degradation of the bottom cell conversion efficiency in the tandem configuration. The origin of this performance degradation is at present unknown. If the present limitation can be overcome, then a one-sun AM0 efficiency of 26% is achievable with the 1.62 eV/1.1 eV dual junction cell grown lattice-mismatched to GaAs.

Stan, Mark A.

High-Efficiency Nested Hall Thrusters for Robotic Solar System Exploration

This work describes the scaling and design attributes of Nested Hall Thrusters (NHT) with extremely large operational envelopes, including a wide range of throttleability in power and specific impulse at high efficiency (>50%). NHTs have the potential to provide the game changing performance, powerprocessing capabilities, and cost effectiveness required to enable missions that cannot otherwise be accomplished. NHTs were first identified in the electric propulsion community as a path to 100- kW class thrusters for human missions. This study aimed to identify the performance capabilities NHTs can provide for NASA robotic and human missions, with an emphasis on 10-kW class thrusters well-suited for robotic exploration. A key outcome of this work has been the identification of NHTs as nearly constant-efficiency devices over large power throttling ratios, especially in direct-drive power systems. NHT systems sized for robotic solar system exploration are predicted to be capable of high-efficiency operation over nearly their entire power throttling range. A traditional Annular Hall Thruster (AHT) consists of a single annular discharge chamber where the propellant is ionized and accelerated. In an NHT, multiple annular channels are concentrically stacked. The channels can be operated in unison or individually depending on the available power or required performance. When throttling an AHT, performance must be sacrificed since a single channel cannot satisfy the diverse design attributes needed to maintain high thrust efficiency. NHTs can satisfy these requirements by varying which channels are operated and thereby offer significant benefits in terms of thruster performance, especially under deep power throttling conditions where the efficiency of an AHT suffers since a single channel can only operate efficiently (>50%) over a narrow power throttling ratio (3:1). Designs for 10-kW class NHTs were developed and compared with AHT systems. Power processing systems were considered using either traditional Power Processing Units (PPU) or Direct Drive Units (DDU). In a PPU-based system, power from the solar arrays is transformed from the low voltage of the arrays to the high voltage needed by the thruster. In a DDU-based system, power from the solar arrays is fed to the thruster without conversion. DDU-based systems are attractive for their simplicity since they eliminate the most complex and expensive part of the propulsion system. The results point to the strong potential of NHTs operating with either PPUs or DDUs to benefit robotic and human missions through their unprecedented power and specific impulse throttling capabilities. NHTs coupled to traditional PPUs are predicted to offer high-efficiency (>50%) power throttling ratios 320% greater than present capabilities, while NHTs with direct-drive power systems (DDU) could exceed existing capabilities by 340%. Because the NHT-DDU approach is implicitly low-cost, NHT-DDU technology has the potential to radically reduce the cost of SEP-enabled NASA missions while simultaneously enabling unprecedented performance capability.

Hofer, Richard R.

Simulation of Fluid Flow and Collection Efficiency for an SEA Multi-element Probe

Numerical simulations of fluid flow and collection efficiency for a Science Engineering Associates (SEA) multi-element probe are presented. Simulation of the flow field was produced using the Glenn-HT Navier-Stokes solver. Three-dimensional unsteady results were produced and then time averaged for the heat transfer and collection efficiency results. Three grid densities were investigated to enable an assessment of grid dependence. Simulations were completed for free stream velocities ranging from 85-135 meters per second, and free stream total pressure of 44.8 and 93.1 kilopascals (6.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch absolute). In addition, the effect of angle of attack and yaw were investigated by including 5 degree deviations from straight for one of the flow conditions. All but one of the cases simulated a probe in isolation (i.e. in a very large domain without any support strut). One case is included which represents a probe mounted on a support strut within a finite sized wind tunnel. Collection efficiencies were generated, using the LEWICE3D code, for four spherical particle sizes, 100, 50, 20, and 5 micron in diameter. It was observed that a reduction in velocity of about 20% occurred, for all cases, as the flow entered the shroud of the probe. The reduction in velocity within the shroud is not indicative of any error in the probe measurement accuracy. Heat transfer results are presented which agree quite well with a correlation for the circular cross section heated elements. Collection efficiency results indicate a reduction in collection efficiency as particle size is reduced. The reduction with particle size is expected, however, the results tended to be lower than the previous results generated for isolated two-dimensional elements. The deviation from the two-dimensional results is more pronounced for the smaller particles and is likely due to the reduced flow within the protective shroud. As particle size increases differences between the two-dimensional and three dimensional results become negligible. Taken as a group, the total collection efficiency of the elements including the effects of the shroud has been shown to be in the range of 0.93 to 0.99 for particles above 20 microns. The 3D model has improved the estimated collection efficiency for smaller particles where errors in previous estimates were more significant.

Water Content

Photosystem Trap Energies and Spectrally-Dependent Energy-Storage Efficiencies in the Chl d-Utilizing Cyanobacterium, Acaryochloris Marina

Acaryochloris marina is the only species known to utilize chlorophyll (Chl) d as a principal photopigment. The peak absorption wavelength of Chl d is redshifted approx. 40 nm in vivo relative to Chl a, enabling this cyanobacterium to perform oxygenic phototrophy in niche environments enhanced in far-red light. We present measurements of the in vivo energy-storage (E-S) efficiency of photosynthesis in A. marina, obtained using pulsed photoacoustics (PA) over a 90-nm range of excitation wavelengths in the red and far-red. Together with modeling results, these measurements provide the first direct observation of the trap energies of PSI and PSII, and also the photosystem-specific contributions to the total E-S efficiency. We find the maximum observed efficiency in A. marina (40+/-1% at 735 nm) is higher than in the Chl a cyanobacterium Synechococcus leopoliensis (35+/-1% at 690 nm). The efficiency at peak absorption wavelength is also higher in A. marina (36+/-1% at 710 nm vs. 31+/-1% at 670 nm). In both species, the trap efficiencies are approx. 40% (PSI) and approx. 30% (PSII). The PSI trap in A. marina is found to lie at 740+/-5 nm, in agreement with the value inferred from spectroscopic methods. The best fit of the model to the PA data identifies the PSII trap at 723+/-3 nm, supporting the view that the primary electron-donor is Chl d, probably at the accessory (ChlD1) site. A decrease in efficiency beyond the trap wavelength, consistent with uphill energy transfer, is clearly observed and fit by the model. These results demonstrate that the E-S efficiency in A. marina is not thermodynamically limited, suggesting that oxygenic photosynthesis is viable in even redder light environments.

Mielke, Steven P.

Luminous Efficiency of Hypervelocity Meteoroid Impacts on the Moon Derived from the 2015 Geminid Meteor Shower

Meteoroids cannot be observed directly because of their small size. In-situ measurements of the meteoroid environment are rare and have very small collecting areas. The Moon, in contrast, has a large collecting area and therefore can be used as a large meteoroid detector for gram-kilogram sized particles. Meteoroids striking the Moon create an impact flash observable by Earth-based telescopes. Their kinetic energy is converted to luminous energy with some unknown luminous efficiency η(v), which is likely a function of meteoroid velocity (among other factors). This luminous efficiency is imperative to calculating the kinetic energy and mass of the meteoroid, as well as meteoroid fluxes, and it cannot be determined in the laboratory at meteoroid speeds and sizes due to mechanical constraints. Since laboratory simulations fail to resolve the luminous efficiency problem, observations of the impact flash itself must be utilized. Meteoroids associated with specific meteor showers have known speed and direction, which simplifies the determination of the luminous efficiency. NASA has routinely monitored the Moon for impact flashes since early 2006 [1]. During this time, several meteor showers have produced multiple impact flashes on the Moon, yielding a sufficient sample of impact flashes with which to perform a luminous efficiency analysis similar to that outlined in Bellot Rubio et al. [2, 3] and further described by Moser et al. [4], utilizing Earth-based measurements of the shower flux and mass index. The Geminid meteor shower has produced the most impact flashes in the NASA dataset to date with over 80 detections. More than half of these Geminids were recorded in 2015 (locations pictured in Fig. 1), and may represent the largest single-shower impact flash sample known. This work analyzes the 2015 Geminid lunar impacts and calculates their luminous efficiency. The luminous efficiency is then applied to calculate the kinetic energies and mass-es of these shower meteoroids.

Moser, D. E.

Efficient Mirrorlet Array Based Integral Field Spectrometer (IFS) for HWO

Habitable World Observatory (HWO) is a NASA strategic mission recommended by 2020 astronomical decadal survey. Integral field spectrometers play an important role to verify if the observed exoplanet is habitable. The traditional lenslet array based IFS has the advantage of simplicity and compactness. However, it does not use detector pixels efficiently in order to prevent wavelength crosstalk among adjacent spectra. The efficient lenslet/mirrorlet IFS combines the advantages from both lenslet based and imager slicer based IFSes—keeping lenslet IFS’s simplicity and compactness, and adding slicer IFS’s detector efficiency. This paper discusses the principle of efficient lenslet/mirrorlet IFS, design philosophy, and efficient spectral trace layout ideals. It uses HWO NIR IFS requirement as an example to provide an efficiency mirrorlet IFS optical design. The high detector efficiency not only reduces needed detector pixel numbers, but also reduces the high communication rate demanding for such a large multiple instrument mission.

Qian Gong

Improving Computational Efficiency of Prognostics Algorithms in Resource-Constrained Settings

In engineering and aerospace applications, it is vital to operational success to have insight into the expected performance and health of physical systems. The field of prognostics and health management provides quantitative methods for monitoring, predicting, and managing system health. Prognostics algorithms can be employed to assess the current state of a system, propagate the system throughout time, and predict potential anomalies or failures that may occur. While they can provide accurate prediction results, effective prognostics algorithms can be challenging to use in resource-constrained settings due to computational limitations and high computational latency, leading to obsolete predictions. Thus, computationally efficient and accurate algorithms are necessary for future remaining useful life predictions. In this work, we implement new algorithmic approaches for prediction, quantitatively compare them via a battery degradation use-case, and provide recommendations of potential improvements to a prognostics framework. One approach to prediction is through sampling, whereby the current state of a physical system is sampled many times and each sample is propagated forward until failure is reached, resulting in a distribution of failure values. To improve the efficiency of this process, we implemented five new algorithmic approaches to prediction, including three distinct sampling methods (standard Monte Carlo, Quasi-Monte Carlo, and Latin Hypercube Sampling), a variable time step algorithm, and a variable sample size algorithm. To compare the algorithms, we employ a variety of metrics designed specifically to analyze both computational efficiency and model accuracy. Our metrics include accuracy to compare the average predicted value to ground truth, mean absolute deviation to illustrate dispersion, specific percentile error to describe accuracy within a user-defined risk tolerance, and code run-time. To quantitatively analyze our results, we employ a use-case of degradation of a Lithium-ion battery. We use an electrochemistry-based model to describe the current health state of the battery, and implement our prediction algorithms to propagate forward in time until end-of-discharge (EOD) is reached. Notably, through this work it was found that none of our sampling approaches had a significant impact on computational efficiency or model accuracy in predicting EOD of the battery. We find that while the sampling methods are unique, the distributions they generate are similar, ultimately producing final predictions that are nearly identical. In exploring the effect of the time step within the prediction algorithm, we found that prediction accuracy was highly dependent on the time step used, and that implementing a variable time step within a particular prediction may provide an increase in computational efficiency while also maintaining prediction accuracy. Finally, implementing a variable sample size also affected prediction, and our results show that tuning both the magnitude and timing of the sample size adjustment can result in improved computation speed and maintained prediction accuracy. Taken together, our findings highlight the challenge of performing prognostics in resource-constrained settings, and illustrate the potential of developing new prediction algorithms to improve computational efficiency.

prognostics

Specific Power and Efficiency Projections of Electric Machines and Circuit Protection Exploration for Aircraft Applications

The purpose of this paper is to generate specific power and efficiency projections through the year 2050 for electric machines for aircraft applications. A general literature review was performed to identify the types of electric machines that are commonly used and which types have the biggest potential for future aircraft applications due to their high specific power and efficiency. A database with historical data was built to include parameters such as weight [kg], rated power [kW], specific power [kW/kg], RPM, efficiency, year, motor cooling type, application type and motor type to allow for trend identification and accurate projections. Once the data was gathered, multiple curve fits on the historical data were generated and extrapolated to produce the projections for specific power according to conservative, nominal and aggressive projection scenarios. A different process was followed for the efficiency projections due to the scattered nature of the data. A state of the art (SoA) value for efficiency was identified through literature review and was used to create the conservative, nominal and aggressive projections for the time frames of 2030, 2040, and 2050. The efficiency and the specific power projections of EMs for 2050 are 0.989 and 50kW/kg respectively. This paper will also be examining circuit protection as it is an additional component of electric powertrains.

electric machines

Radiated microwave power transmission system efficiency measurements

The measured and calculated results from determining the operating efficiencies of a laboratory version of a system for transporting electric power from one point to another via a wireless free space radiated microwave beam are reported. The system's overall end-to-end efficiency as well as intermediated conversion efficiencies were measured. The maximum achieved end-to-end dc-to-ac system efficiency was 54.18% with a probable error of + or - 0.94%. The dc-to-RF conversion efficiency was measured to be 68.87% + or - 1.0% and the RF-to-dc conversion efficiency was 78.67 + or - 1.1%. Under these conditions a dc power of 495.62 + or - 3.57 W was received with a free space transmitter antenna receiver antenna separation of 170.2 cm (67 in).

Dickinson, R. M.

Rapid, efficient charging of lead-acid and nickel-zinc traction cells

Lead-acid and nickel-zinc traction cells were rapidly and efficiently charged using a high rate tapered direct current (HRTDC) charge method which could possibly be used for on-the-road service recharge of electric vehicles. The HRTDC method takes advantage of initial high cell charge acceptance and uses cell gassing rate and temperature as an indicator of charging efficiency. On the average, in these preliminary tests, 300 amp-hour nickel-zinc traction cells were given a HRTDC (initial current 500 amps, final current 100 amps) to 78 percent of rated amp-hour capacity within 53 minutes at an amp-hour efficiency of 92 percent and an energy efficiency of 52 percent. Three hundred amp-hour lead-acid traction cells were charged to 69 percent of rated amp-hour capacity within 46 minutes at an amp-hour efficiency of 91 percent with an energy efficiency of 64 percent. In order to find ways to further decrease the recharge times, the effect of periodically (0 to 400 Hz) pulse discharging cells during a constant current charging process (94% duty cycle) was investigated. Preliminary data indicate no significant effect of this type of pulse discharging during charge on charge acceptance of lead-acid or nickel-zinc cells.

Smithrick, J. J.

Efficiency enhancement of octave-bandwidth traveling wave tubes by use of multistage depressed collectors

Small, three- and five-stage depressed collectors were evaluated in conjunction with a 4.8- to 9.6-GHz TWT of 325- to 675-W power output and a beam of 0.5 microperv. The multistage depressed collector (MDC) performed well even though its design had been optimized for a TWT of identical design but considerably less output power. Despite large, fixed losses significant efficiency enhancement was demonstrated with both the three- and five-stage depressed collectors. At saturated rf power output, the improvement in the overall efficiency ranged from a factor of 2.5 to 3.0 for the three-stage collector and a factor of 3.0 to 3.5 for the five-stage collector. At saturation three-stage collector efficiencies of 77 to 80 percent and five-stage collector efficiencies of 81 to 84 percent were obtained across the frequency band. An overall efficiency of 37.0 to 44.3 percent across the frequency band of 4.8 to 9.6 GHz was demonstrated with the use of harmonic injection. For operation below saturation, even larger relative improvements in the overall TWT efficiency were demonstrated. Collector performance was relatively insensitive to the degree of regulation of the collector power supply.

Ramins, P.

Rapid, efficient charging of lead-acid and nickel-zinc traction cells

Lead-acid and nickel-zinc traction cells were rapidly and efficiently charged using a high rate taped dc charge (HRTDC) method which could possibly be used for on-the-road service recharge of electric vehicles. The HRTDC method takes advantage of initial high cell charge acceptance and uses cell gassing rate and temperature as an indicator of charging efficiency. On the average, 300 amp-hour nickel-zinc traction cells were given a HRTDC to 78% of rated amp-hour capacity within 53 minutes at an amp-hour efficiency of 92% and an energy efficiency of 52%. Three-hundred amp-hour lead-acid traction cells were charged to 69% of rated amp-hour capacity within 46 minutes at an amp-hour efficiency of 91% with an energy efficiency of 64%.

Smithrick, J. J.

Assessing solar energy and water use efficiencies in winter wheat

The water use and solar energy conversion efficiencies of two cultivars of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L., vars, Centurk and Newton) planted at three densities, were examined during a growing season. Water use, based on soil moisture depletion, was the lowest under the light, and the highest under the heavy planting densities of both cultivars. Water use efficiency of medium and heavy planting densities were greater than the light planting densities in both cultivars. The canopy radiation extinction coefficients of both cultivars increased with increases in planting density. Efficiency of operation interception of photosynthetically active radiation by both cultivars improved from the time of jointing until anthesis, and then decreased during senescence. The efficiency of the conversion of intercepted radiation to dry matter (biochemical efficiency) decreased throughout the growing season both cultivars. The interception, biochemical, and photosynthetic efficiencies improved as planting density increased.

Asrar, G.

Silicon solar cell efficiency improvement: Status and outlook

Efficiency and operating life is an economic attribute in silicon solar cells application. The efficiency improvements made during the 30 year existence of the silicon solar cells, from about 6% efficiency at the beginning to 19% in the most recent experimental cells is illustrated. In the more stationary periods, the effort was oriented towards improving radiation resistance and yields on the production lines, while, in other periods, the emphasis was on reaching new levels of efficiency through better cell design and improved material processing. First results were forthcoming from the recent efforts. Considerably more efficiency advancement in silicon solar cells is expected, and the anticipated attainment of efficiencies significantly above 20% is discussed. Major advances in material processing and in the resulting material perfection are required.

Wolf, M.