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At least 1,027 records · Page 57

Integrated device architectures for electrochromic devices

This disclosure describes systems and methods for creating monolithically integrated electrochromic devices which may be a flexible electrochromic device. Monolithic integration of thin film electrochromic devices may involve the electrical interconnection of multiple individual electrochromic devices through the creation of specific structures such as conductive pathway or insulating isolation trenches.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Electronically conductive perovskite-based oxide nanoparticles and films for optical sensing applications

The disclosure relates to a method of detecting a change in a chemical composition by contacting a electronically conducting perovskite-based metal oxide material with a monitored stream, illuminating the electronically conducting perovskite-based metal oxide with incident light, collecting exiting light, monitoring an optical signal based on a comparison of the incident light and the exiting light, and detecting a shift in the optical signal. The electronically conducting perovskite-based metal oxide has a perovskite-based crystal structure and an electronic conductivity of at least 10.sup.-1 S/cm, where parameters are specified at the gas stream temperature. The electronically conducting perovskite-based metal oxide has an empirical formula A.sub.xB.sub.yO.sub.3-.delta., where A is at least a first element at the A-site, B is at least a second element at the B-site, and where 0.8<x<1.2, 0.8<y<1.2. Exemplary electronically conducting perovskite-based oxides include but are not limited to La.sub.1-xSr.sub.xCoO.sub.3, La.sub.1-xSr.sub.xMnO.sub.3, LaCrO.sub.3, LaNiO.sub.3, La.sub.1-xSr.sub.xMn.sub.1-yCr.sub.yO.sub.3, SrFeO.sub.3, SrVO.sub.3, La-doped SrTiO.sub.3, Nb-doped SrTiO.sub.3, and SrTiO.sub.3-.delta..

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Graphene device and method of using graphene device

An embodiment of a graphene device includes a layered structure, first and second electrodes, and a dopant island. The layered structure includes a conductive layer, an insulating layer, and a graphene layer. The electrodes are coupled to the graphene layer. The dopant island is coupled to an exposed surface of the graphene layer between the electrodes. An embodiment of a method of using a graphene device includes providing the graphene device. A voltage is applied to the conductive layer of the graphene device. Another embodiment of a method of using a graphene device includes providing the graphene device without the dopant island. A dopant island is placed on an exposed surface of the graphene layer between the electrodes. A voltage is applied to the conductive layer of the graphene device. A response of the dopant island to the voltage is observed.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Modeling of the High Temperature Test Facility PG-26 Transient Using RELAP-7

The High Temperature Test Facility (HTTF) is an electrically heated, helium cooled, experimental facility located at Oregon State University (OSU). Modeling of the HTTF PG-26 transient using a multi-app approach utilizing MOOSE and RELAP-7 was conducted. A 3-D model of the HTTF core, reflector, core barrel, and RPV was generated, and 3-D heat conduction throughout the structure was coupled to 1-D fluid flow results from RELAP-7. The model was able to accurately predict peak ceramic core temperatures experienced during the transient which helps validate the capability of RELAP-7 to model advanced gas-cooled nuclear reactors.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Conducting Field Validations of Commercial Energy Efficiency Technologies with Underserved Communities: Preprint

Underserved communities in the United States often experience the negative impacts of climate change and environmental degradation but enjoy few of the benefits of technological and environmental advances. The White House has addressed this inequity through the Justice40 initiative, which requires 40% of the benefits of select federal investments to be directed to underserved communities (The White House, 2022). Clean energy and energy efficiency are two highlighted investment categories, so the U.S. Department of Energy will guide implementation of the Justice40 initiative by, among other things, decreasing energy burdens, increasing parity in clean energy technology access and adoption, and increasing energy resiliency. A strategy for reaching these goals is to evaluate and validate new energy efficiency technologies in commercial buildings in underserved communities, where buildings may be older, smaller, and have deferred maintenance due to historical underinvestment. This paper assesses the proficiency of the technologies under these conditions and increases awareness of the benefits to the communities. In addition, historical redlining and past negative experiences with government and large institutions may make residents wary of participating in these field validations. Researchers, therefore, may need to spend more time building relationships and matching technologies to buildings. In this paper, we analyzed technical reports to identify common required and desired field validation building characteristics, and conducted semi-structured expert conversations to identify key stages and major themes of engaging underserved communities. Our results indicate that the benefits to both the community and energy efficiency research justify the effort. The White House. (2022). Justice40. https://www.whitehouse.gov/environmentaljustice/justice40/

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION↗

Decarbonizing the Building Sector: A Human-Centered Study Focused on Small/Light Commercial Building Energy Equity

Decarbonization of the building sector is no small feat; buildings account for 40% of primary energy consumption, and fossil-fuel combustion in buildings leads to roughly 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Energy efficiency, electrification and smart technologies are fundamental strategies to reduce consumption and shift away from fossil-fuel use in buildings. This energy transition carries significant societal risks unless the shift is carried out with equity and justice as a top priority. Low-income, vulnerable and communities of color have higher energy burdens compared to affluent populations. Furthermore, systemic racism and historic exclusionary policies have resulted in increased risks (environmental, climatic, economic, and social) to low-income and communities of color, and underserved communities often do not have financial resources for, or access to, advanced building technologies. The U.S. Department of Energy is funding research to characterize and develop solutions to the challenges of equity and justice that complicate the ability of communities to contribute to goals for decarbonization. Our project has a specific focus on small commercial buildings and the businesses that occupy them. Significantly less is known about the burdens and risks these businesses experience or the challenges they face in pursuing decarbonization, or how those are affected by income and race, in comparison to research on energy equity and justice for diverse households. The project team includes the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Arizona State University and Clark Atlanta University. Researchers are conducting semi-structured interviews with small business owners in underserved communities in Phoenix and Atlanta, followed by a survey distributed to the larger community to learn more about the equity and justice issues that communities with different racial, economic, and cultural backgrounds face. Results will help inform an actionable and replicable framework for engaging small commercial building owners/operators to catalyze the reduction of energy burdens and increase equity.

Antonopoulos, Chrissi A.↗

Electronics module with raceway and submodules

Systems and methods for providing an electronics module including a raceway for mounting submodules and establishing electrical communication with said submodules. The raceway comprises a base structure and a conductive trace formed by a conductive plating process. Connection pads on the raceway are configured to receive connection nodes of the submodules for providing a continuous electrical connection between the raceway and the submodules for electrical communication and power transmission.

Eickbush, Ryan J.↗

Low-temperature anharmonicity and the thermal conductivity of cesium iodide

Cesium halide has a simple cubic crystal structure and hosts low thermal conductivity, but its microscopic mechanism has not been fully understood. Here, we took cesium iodide (CsI) single crystal as an example, to investigate the lattice dynamics and thermal conductivity by performing inelastic neutron scattering (INS), heat transport measurements, and first-principles calculations. The temperature dependent phonon dispersions of CsI were obtained from INS and the low temperature anharmonicity of transverse optic (o) and transverse acoustic (a) phonon modes in CsI was observed. By performing the thermal conductivity measurement and first-principles calculations, it is shown that the low thermal conductivity of CsI originates from the combined effect of the small phonon group velocities and the large phonon scattering rates, which is dominated by the (a,a,a) and (a,a,o) phonon scattering processes. Lastly, this work highlights the importance of phonon anharmonicity in lattice dynamics, which sheds light on the design of materials with low thermal conductivity.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fuel cell components and systems having carbon-containing electrically-conductive hollow fibers

A method, according to one embodiment, includes acquiring a structure having an ionically-conductive, electrically-resistive electrolyte/separator layer covering an inner or outer surface of a carbon-containing electrically-conductive hollow fiber and a catalyst along one side thereof, adding an anode that extends along at least part of a length of the structure, and adding a cathode that extends along at least part of the length of the structure, the cathode being on an opposite side of the hollow fiber as the anode.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Molten salt flux synthesis and crystal structure of a new open-framework uranyl phosphate Cs{sub 3}(UO{sub 2}){sub 2}(PO{sub 4})O{sub 2}: Spectroscopic characterization and cationic mobility studies

The reaction of triuranyl diphosphate tetrahydrate precursor (UO{sub 2}){sub 3}(PO{sub 4}){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O){sub 4} with a CsI flux at 750 °C yields a yellow single crystals of new compound Cs{sub 3}(UO{sub 2}){sub 2}(PO{sub 4})O{sub 2}. The crystal structure (monoclinic, space group C2/c, a=13.6261 (13) Å, b=8.1081(8) Å, c=12.3983(12) Å, β=114.61(12)°, V=1245.41(20) Å{sup 3} with Z=4) has been solved using direct methods and Fourier difference techniques. A full-matrix least-squares refinement on the basis of F{sup 2} yielded R1=0.028 and wR2=0.071 for 79 parameters and 1352 independent reflections with I≥2σ(I) collected on a BRUKER AXS diffractometer with MoKα radiation and a charge-coupled device detector. The crystal structure is built by two independent uranium atoms in square bipyramidal coordination, connected by two opposite corners to form infinite chains {sup 1}{sub ∞}[UO{sub 5}] and by one phosphorus atom in a tetrahedral environment PO{sub 4}. The two last entities {sup 1}{sub ∞}[UO{sub 5}] and PO{sub 4} are linked by sharing corners to form a three-dimensional structure presenting different types of channels occupied by Cs{sup +} alkaline cations. Their mobility within the tunnels were studied between 280 and 800 °C and compared with other tunneled uranyl minerals. The infrared spectrum shows a good agreement with the values inferred from the single crystal structure analysis of uranyl phosphate compound. - Graphical abstract: Arrhenius plot of the electrical conductivity of tunneled compounds Cs{sub 3}U{sub 2}PO{sub 10} and CsU{sub 2}Nb{sub 2}O{sub 11.5}. Highlights: ► The reaction of (UO{sub 2}){sub 3}(PO{sub 4}){sub 2}(H{sub 2}O){sub 4} in excess of molten CsI leads to single-crystals of new tunneled compound Cs{sub 3}(UO{sub 2}){sub 2}(PO{sub 4})O{sub 2}. ► Ionic conductivity measurements and crystal structure analysis indicate a strong connection of the Cs{sup +} cations to the tunnels. ► A low symmetry in Cs{sub 3}(UO{sub 2}){sub 2}(PO{sub 4})O{sub 2} is the cause of IR activation and splitting of the bands in the IR spectrum.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Application of Lanczos vectors to control design of flexible structures

This report covers research conducted during the first year of the two-year grant. The research, entitled 'Application of Lanczos Vectors to Control Design of Flexible Structures' concerns various ways to obtain reduced-order mathematical models for use in dynamic response analyses and in control design studies. This report summarizes research described in several reports and papers that were written under this contract. Extended abstracts are presented for technical papers covering the following topics: controller reduction by preserving impulse response energy; substructuring decomposition and controller synthesis; model reduction methods for structural control design; and recent literature on structural modeling, identification, and analysis.

Craig, Roy R., Jr.↗

Structural control of mixed ionic and electronic transport in conducting polymers

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(styrenesulfonate), PEDOT:PSS, has been utilized for over two decades as a stable, solution-processable hole conductor. While its hole transport properties have been the subject of intense investigation, recent work has turned to PEDOT:PSS as a mixed ionic/electronic conductor in applications including bioelectronics, energy storage and management, and soft robotics. Conducting polymers can efficiently transport both holes and ions when sufficiently hydrated, however, little is known about the role of morphology on mixed conduction. Here, we show that bulk ionic and electronic mobilities are simultaneously affected by processing-induced changes in nano- and meso-scale structure in PEDOT:PSS films. We quantify domain composition, and find that domain purification on addition of dispersion co-solvents limits ion mobility, even while electronic conductivity improves. We show that an optimal morphology allows for the balanced ionic and electronic transport that is critical for prototypical mixed conductor devices. As a result, these findings may pave the way for the rational design of polymeric materials and processing routes to enhance devices reliant on mixed conduction.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Tunable transport through a quantum dot chain with side-coupled Majorana bound states

We investigate the transport properties of a quantum dot (QD) chain side-coupled to a pair of Majorana bound states (MBSs). It is found that the zero-bias conductance is tightly dependent on the parity of QD number. First, if a Majorana zero mode is introduced to couple to one QD of the odd-numbered QD structure, the zero-bias conductance is equal to (e{sup 2})/(2h) , but the zero-bias conductance will experience a valley-to-peak transition if the Majorana zero mode couples to the different QDs of the even-numbered QD structure. On the other hand, when the inter-MBS coupling is nonzero, the zero-bias conductance spectrum shows a peak in the odd-numbered QD structure, and in the even-numbered QD structure one conductance valley appears at the zero-bias limit. These results show the feasibility to manipulate the current in a multi-QD structure based on the QD-MBS coupling. Also, such a system can be a candidate for detecting the MBSs.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Conductive polymer and Si nanoparticles composite secondary particles and structured current collectors for high loading lithium ion negative electrode application

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a composition of matter comprising a silicon (Si) nanoparticle coated with a conductive polymer. Another embodiment discloses a method for preparing a composition of matter comprising a plurality of silicon (Si) nanoparticles coated with a conductive polymer comprising providing Si nanoparticles, providing a conductive polymer, preparing a Si nanoparticle, conductive polymer, and solvent slurry, spraying the slurry into a liquid medium that is a non-solvent of the conductive polymer, and precipitating the silicon (Si) nanoparticles coated with the conductive polymer. Another embodiment discloses an anode comprising a current collector, and a composition of matter comprising a silicon (Si) nanoparticle coated with a conductive polymer.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Conductive polymer and Si nanoparticles composite secondary particles and structured current collectors for high loading lithium ion negative electrode application

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a composition of matter comprising a silicon (Si) nanoparticle coated with a conductive polymer. Another embodiment discloses a method for preparing a composition of matter comprising a plurality of silicon (Si) nanoparticles coated with a conductive polymer comprising providing Si nanoparticles, providing a conductive polymer, preparing a Si nanoparticle, conductive polymer, and solvent slurry, spraying the slurry into a liquid medium that is a non-solvent of the conductive polymer, and precipitating the silicon (Si) nanoparticles coated with the conductive polymer. Another embodiment discloses an anode comprising a current collector, and a composition of matter comprising a silicon (Si) nanoparticle coated with a conductive polymer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

On the vertical thermal structure of Io's atmosphere

A radiative-thermal conduction model for the vertical thermal structure of Io's atmosphere is developed with solar heating by SO2 absorption in UV and near-IR bands and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) cooling by SO2 nu(sub 1), nu(sub 2), nu(sub 3), vibrational bands and rotational lines. The model predicts the existence of a mesopause in Io's atmosphere when the surface pressure exceeds approximately 10 nbar. The radiative time constant for establishing a mesosphere/mesopause on Io is only approximately 20 min, whereas the thermospheric radiative time constant is about 1 hr. These time constants are significantly shorter than the diurnal time scale and competitive with dynamic time scales. In the thermosphere when solar UV heating dominates, the asymptotic thermospheric temperature is approximately 270 K, only 140 K greater than the surface temperature because at high altiudes non-LTE cooling by SO2 rotation lines exceeds cooling in the nu(sub 2) virbrational band. Solar-heating-only modles are incapable of generating warm enough atmospheres to satisfy the observational inferences from UV and especially millimeter-wave meausrements. Joule heating driven by the penetration of Jupiter's corotational electric field into Io's conducting ionosphere is demonstrated to be the dominant heating mechanism in the subnanobar regions of Io's atmosphere with tempertures ranging from 150 to 1000 K as a function of decreasing pressure from 1 to 0.1 nbar, The asymoptotic thermospheric temperature can attain a value as high as 1800 K.

Strobel, Darrell F.↗

Acceleration ground test program to verify GAS payload No. 559 structure/support avionics and experiment structural integrity

Acceleration ground tests were conducted on the Get Away Special (GAS) payload 559 to verify the structural integrity of the structure/support avionics and two of the planned three flight experiments. The ITA (Integrated Test Area) Standardized Experiment Module (ISEM) structure was modified to accommodate the experiments for payload 559. The ISEM avionics consisted of a heavy duty sliver zinc power supply, three orthogonal-mounted low range microgravity accelerometers, a tri-axis high range accelerometer, a solid state recorder/programmer sequencer, and pressure and temperature sensors. The tests were conducted using the Gravitational Plant Physiology Laboratory Centrifuge of the University City Science Center in Philadelphia, PA. The launch-powered flight steady state acceleration profile of the shuttle was simulated from lift-off through jettison of the External Tank (3.0 g's). Additional tests were conducted at twice the nominal powered flight acceleration levels (6 g's) and an over-test condition of four times the powered flight loads to 12.6 g's. The present test program has demonstrated the value of conducting ground tests to verify GAS payload experiment integrity and operation before flying on the shuttle.

Cassanto, John M.↗