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At least 127 records · Page 7

Numerical study of the effect of propped surface area and fracture conductivity on shale gas production: Application for multi-size proppant pumping schedule design

Hydraulic fracturing is a technique extensively used in the oil and gas industry, where water, proppant (sand) and additives are injected into unconventional reservoirs to enhance the recovery of shale hydrocarbon. Although some previous studies have developed pumping schedules that maximize gas production for a single-size proppant, there are very few studies that consider the effect of varying proppant diameters across pumping stages on shale gas production. Motivated by this, we carried out an extensive sensitivity analysis to determine the effect of different proppant diameters on the average fracture conductivity (FC), average propped surface area (PSA) and cumulative shale gas production volume. We found out that the cumulative shale gas production volume depends on both the average PSA and average FC. We also found out that small-diameter proppant resulted in higher average PSA and lower average FC, whereas large-diameter proppant resulted in lower average PSA and higher average FC. Hence, we designed a multi-size proppant pumping schedule considering both of these parameters into account for simultaneously propagating multiple fractures to maximize shale gas production from unconventional reservoirs. Since the size of injected proppant particles determines the average PSA and average FC for the propped hydraulic fractures, we developed a novel framework called Sequentially Interlinked Modeling Structure (SIMS) to predict the average PSA, average FC and cumulative shale gas production volume at the end of 10 years for a given pumping schedule. Then, we used this SIMS framework to obtain a multi-size proppant pumping schedule that maximizes shale gas production. In closing, we demonstrated that the obtained pumping schedule gives a cumulative shale gas production volume greater than the values obtained from the existing pumping schedules.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Friction consolidation of gas-atomized Fe−Si powders for soft magnetic applications

Soft magnetic materials are often limited in scalability due to conventional processes that do not retain beneficial microstructures, and their associated physical properties, during densification. In this work, friction consolidation (FC) has been studied to fabricate Fe−Si soft magnetic materials from gas-atomized powder precursors. Fe−Si powder is consolidated using variable pressure and tool rotation speed in an effort to evaluate this unique densification approach for potential improvements in magnetic properties. FC, due to the high shear deformation involved, is shown to result in uniform gradual grain structure refinement across the consolidated workpiece from the center nearest the tool to the edge. Magnetic properties along different orientations indicate little, if any, textural orientation in the refined grain structure. The effect of annealing on the magnetic properties is evaluated and shown to decrease coercivity. FC processing was able to retain the magnetization of the original gas-atomized powders but further process optimization is needed to reach the optimal coercivity for the soft magnetic materials applications. - Highlights: •Friction stir processing was utilized to consolidate Fe−Si soft magnetic powders. •The resultant microstructure and magnetic properties were correlated to the processing conditions. •Friction consolidation refined the grain size of the materials by ~ 40%. •Annealing successfully reduced the coercivity induced by the stress during processing. •The results shine light on the possible scaling up of nanostructured materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Interference between Franck–Condon and Herzberg–Teller Terms in the Condensed-Phase Molecular Spectra of Metal-Based Tetrapyrrole Derivatives

The commonly used Franck-Condon (FC) approximation is inadequate for explaining the electronic spectra of compounds that possess vibrations with substantial Herzberg-Teller (HT) couplings. Metal-based tetrapyrrole derivatives, which are ubiquitous natural pigments, often exhibit prominent HT activity. In this paper, we compare the condensed phase spectra of zinc-tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) and zinc-phthalocyanine (ZnPc), which exhibit vastly different spectral features in spite of sharing a common tetrapyrrole backbone. The absorption and emission spectra of ZnTPP are characterized by a lack of mirror symmetry and nontrivial temperature dependence. In contrast, mirror symmetry is restored, and the nontrivial temperature-dependent features disappear in ZnPc. We attribute these differences to FC-HT interference, which is less pronounced in ZnPc because of a larger FC component in the dipole moment that leads to FC-dominated transitions. A single minimalistic FC-HT vibronic model reproduces all the experimental spectral features of these molecules. These observations suggest that FC-HT interference is highly susceptible to chemical modification.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Diffusional motion of redox centers in carbonate electrolytes

Ferrocene (Fc) and N-(ferrocenylmethyl)-N,N-dimethyl-N-ethylammonium bistrifluoromethyl-sulfonimide (Fc1N112-TFSI) were dissolved in carbonate solvents and self-diffusion coefficients (D) of solutes and solvents were measured by {sup 1}H and {sup 19}F pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The organic solvents were propylene carbonate (PC), ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), and a ternary mixture that also includes ethylene carbonate (EC). Results from NMR studies over the temperature range of 0–50 °C and for various concentrations (0.25–1.7 M) of Fc1N112-TFSI are compared to values of D simulated with classical molecular dynamics (MD). The measured self-diffusion coefficients gradually decreased as the Fc1N112-TFSI concentration increased in all solvents. Since TFSI{sup −} has fluoromethyl groups (CF{sub 3}), D{sub TFSI} could be measured separately and the values found are larger than those for D{sub Fc1N112} in all samples measured. The EC, PC, and EMC have the same D in the neat solvent mixture and when Fc is dissolved in EC/PC/EMC at a concentration of 0.2 M, probably due to the interactions between common carbonyl structures within EC, PC, and EMC. A difference in D (D{sub PC} < D{sub EC} < D{sub EMC}), and both a higher E{sub a} for translational motion and higher effective viscosity for PC in the mixture containing Fc1N112-TFSI reflect the interaction between PC and Fc1N112{sup +}, which is a relatively stronger interaction than that between Fc1N112{sup +} and other solvent species. In the EC/PC/EMC solution that is saturated with Fc1N112-TFSI, we find that D{sub PC} = D{sub EC} = D{sub EMC} and Fc1N112{sup +} and all components of the EC/PC/EMC solution have the same E{sub a} for translational motion, while the ratio D{sub EC/PC/EMC}/D{sub Fc1N112} is approximately 3. These results reflect the lack of available free volume for independent diffusion in the saturated solution. The Fc1N112{sup +} transference numbers lie around 0.4 and increase slightly as the temperature is increased in the PC and EMC solvents. The trends observed for D from simulations are in good agreement with experimental results and provide molecular level understanding of the solvation structure of Fc1N112-TFSI dissolved in EC/PC/EMC.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Free-complement local-Schrödinger-equation method for solving the Schrödinger equation of atoms and molecules: Basic theories and features

The free-complement (FC) method is a general method for solving the Schrödinger equation (SE): The produced wave function has the potentially exact structure as the solution of the Schrödinger equation. The variables included are determined either by using the variational principle (FC-VP) or by imposing the local Schrödinger equations (FC-LSE) at the chosen set of the sampling points. The latter method, referred to as the local Schrödinger equation (LSE) method, is integral-free and therefore applicable to any atom and molecule. The purpose of this paper is to formulate the basic theories of the LSE method and explain their basic features. First, we formulate three variants of the LSE method, the AB, HS, and H{sup T}Q methods, and explain their properties. Then, the natures of the LSE methods are clarified in some detail using the simple examples of the hydrogen atom and the Hooke’s atom. Finally, the ideas obtained in this study are applied to solving the SE of the helium atom highly accurately with the FC-LSE method. The results are very encouraging: we could get the world’s most accurate energy of the helium atom within the sampling-type methodologies, which is comparable to those obtained with the FC-VP method. Thus, the FC-LSE method is an easy and yet a powerful integral-free method for solving the Schrödinger equation of general atoms and molecules.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Hyperfine interactions for small systems including transition-metal elements using self-interaction corrected density-functional theory

The interactions between the electronic magnetic moment and the nuclear spin moment, i.e., magnetic hyperfine (HF) interactions, play an important role in understanding electronic properties of magnetic systems and in realizing platforms for quantum information science applications. We investigate the HF interactions for atomic systems and small molecules, including Ti or Mn, by using Fermi–Löwdin orbital (FLO) based self-interaction corrected (SIC) density-functional theory. We calculate the Fermi contact (FC) and spin-dipole terms for the systems within the local density approximation (LDA) in the FLO-SIC method and compare them with the corresponding values without SIC within the LDA and generalized-gradient approximation (GGA), as well as experimental data. For the moderately heavy atomic systems (atomic number Z ≤ 25), we find that the mean absolute error of the FLO-SIC FC term is about 27 MHz (percentage error is 6.4%), while that of the LDA and GGA results is almost double that. Therefore, in this case, the FLO-SIC results are in better agreement with the experimental data. For the non-transition-metal molecules, the FLO-SIC FC term has the mean absolute error of 68 MHz, which is comparable to both the LDA and GGA results without SIC. For the seven transition-metal-based molecules, the FLO-SIC mean absolute error is 59 MHz, whereas the corresponding LDA and GGA errors are 101 and 82 MHz, respectively. Therefore, for the transition-metal-based molecules, the FLO-SIC FC term agrees better with experiment than the LDA and GGA results. We observe that the FC term from the FLO-SIC calculation is not necessarily larger than that from the LDA or GGA for all the considered systems due to the core spin polarization, in contrast to the expectation that SIC would increase the spin density near atomic nuclei, leading to larger FC terms.

Chemistry↗

A Study of Ferrocene Diffusion in Toluene/Tween 20/1-Butanol/Water Microemulsions for Redox Flow Battery Applications

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) possess multiple advantages as a flexible energy storage solution. However, RFB researchers are still facing many challenges in finding an appropriate electrolyte. Microemulsions have recently been proposed as a promising alternative RFB electrolyte because of their ability to accommodate organic redox species with fast electron transfer rates that are not soluble in aqueous phase, while still offering the high conductivity of an aqueous salt electrolyte. In this work, we focused on understanding the transport of ferrocene (Fc) in a toluene/Tween 20/1-butanol/water model microemulsion and studied the compositional influence on Fc diffusion. The results show that Fc redistributes among the oil, surfactant, and water microenvironments, and the corresponding diffusion and partition coefficients are quantified. Thus, a tortuous path diffusion model is proposed to describe the mass transport of Fc to an electrode surface. Diffusion coefficients are also obtained by pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG NMR), while the values for Fc diffusion are substantially higher than those from electrochemical measurements, suggesting that they measure samples in different ways. The current contributions from each microenvironment indicate that the Fc permeability is much higher in the oil, even though the electron transfer reaction is likely occurring in the surfactant.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

flowVS: channel-specific variance stabilization in flow cytometry

Abstract Background Comparing phenotypes of heterogeneous cell populations from multiple biological conditions is at the heart of scientific discovery based on flow cytometry (FC). When the biological signal is measured by the average expression of a biomarker, standard statistical methods require that variance be approximately stabilized in populations to be compared. Since the mean and variance of a cell population are often correlated in fluorescence-based FC measurements, a preprocessing step is needed to stabilize the within-population variances. Results We present a variance-stabilization algorithm, called flowVS, that removes the mean-variance correlations from cell populations identified in each fluorescence channel. flowVS transforms each channel from all samples of a data set by the inverse hyperbolic sine (asinh) transformation. For each channel, the parameters of the transformation are optimally selected by Bartlett’s likelihood-ratio test so that the populations attain homogeneous variances. The optimum parameters are then used to transform the corresponding channels in every sample. flowVS is therefore an explicit variance-stabilization method that stabilizes within-population variances in each channel by evaluating the homoskedasticity of clusters with a likelihood-ratio test. With two publicly available datasets, we show that flowVS removes the mean-variance dependence from raw FC data and makes the within-population variance relatively homogeneous. We demonstrate that alternative transformation techniques such as flowTrans, flowScape, logicle, and FCSTrans might not stabilize variance. Besides flow cytometry, flowVS can also be applied to stabilize variance in microarray data. With a publicly available data set we demonstrate that flowVS performs as well as the VSN software, a state-of-the-art approach developed for microarrays. Conclusions The homogeneity of variance in cell populations across FC samples is desirable when extracting features uniformly and comparing cell populations with different levels of marker expressions. The newly developed flowVS algorithm solves the variance-stabilization problem in FC and microarrays by optimally transforming data with the help of Bartlett’s likelihood-ratio test. On two publicly available FC datasets, flowVS stabilizes within-population variances more evenly than the available transformation and normalization techniques. flowVS-based variance stabilization can help in performing comparison and alignment of phenotypically identical cell populations across different samples. flowVS and the datasets used in this paper are publicly available in Bioconductor.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Fibre Channel Development Final Report CRADA No. TC-0340-92-C

The Fibre Channel (FC) Development project was designed to enhance U.S. industrial competitiveness by accelerating the standardization and subsequent industrial acceptance of the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) Fibre Channel Standard (now X3T1 1). It was also intended to give the principal U.S. participants a one-to two-year lead in developing heterogeneous high-speed computer networks, distributed computing through clustering, scientific visualization techniques, and high speed channels. The project was proposed to benefit U.S. industry as these high performance computing methods became generally available. In 1992-93, during the initial project phases, Fibre Channel (FC) was emerging as a new ANSI standard. It was envisioned as becoming the mechanism for data transfer between the next generation of computers, and between these computers and their peripherals. Using this channel standard, U.S. computer vendors were expecting to be able to provide high-speed interoperatillity between heterogeneous computers and their storage devices, with data transfer rates greater than a GBit/sec. Our project was composed of key principal players in the FC standardization effort from both U.S. industry and the Department of Energy’s@OEs) Lawrence Liverrnore National Laboratory (LLNL). The industrial participants were developing individual FC interfaces to operate with their platform products. LLNL’s.role was to be a neutral testing site and a facilitator for helping to resolve conflicting interpretations of the embryonic Fibre Channel specification. LLNL anticipated that conflicts in the interpretation of such a standard would arise and require neutral resolution and that such resolutions would best be achieved in cooperation with the ANSI FC Working Group. Project plans included transferring to U.S. industry any resilient FC testing capabilities at the project conclusion.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Cross-species analysis of FcγRIIa/b (CD32a/b) polymorphisms at position 131: structural and functional insights into the mechanism of IgG- mediated phagocytosis in human and macaque

Introduction Antibodies play a critical role in immunity in part by mediating clearance of pathogens and infected cells by antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP) through engagement of Fc gamma receptors (FcγRs) on innate immune cells. Among these, FcγRIIa (CD32a) is a key activating receptor expressed on macrophages, dendritic cells, and other antigen-presenting cells. Its affinity for IgG and ability to mediate ADCP is influenced by allelic polymorphisms. In humans, a single amino acid polymorphism at position 131, where histidine (H) is substituted with arginine (R), leads to decreased IgG1 and IgG2 subclass binding affinity and, consequently, lower efficiency of phagocytic responses. Rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ), which are widely used as nonhuman primate models, exhibit a similar polymorphism at position 131 of FcγRIIa, but with arginine replaced by proline (P). Here, we investigated structure-function relationships associated with the FcγRIIa polymorphism at position 131 in both species, specifically with respect to IgG1 and IgG2. Methods We determined the structures of complexes formed by each variant with IgG1 Fc and those formed by the higher affinity variant with IgG2 Fc for both species by x-ray crystallography and linked these structures to affinity and activity using SPR and an ADCP assay. We also determined the structure of human inhibitory FcγRIIb (CD32b) in complex with IgG1 Fc by x-ray crystallography. Results Through analysis of these structures, our studies reveal that FcγRIIa engagement is minimally influenced by Fc glycan composition, distinguishing it from FcγRIIIa whose affinity is strongly influenced by glycan-composition. Comparative structures of human and macaque FcγRIIa variants demonstrate species- and allele-specific differences in Fc binding, but our functional assays showed only minimal allele-specific effects in humans. In contrast, allele-specific effects in macaques were highly significant; the macaque P 131 variant showing uniformly reduced IgG affinity. Conclusion These insights highlight fundamental interspecies and allelic distinctions that are critical for interpreting FcγRIIa-mediated effector functions in macaque models and for optimizing translational antibody and vaccine design.

Tolbert, William D.↗

4 Vesta in Color: High Resolution Mapping from Dawn Framing Camera Images

Rotational surface variations on asteroid 4 Vesta have been known from ground-based and HST observations, and they have been interpreted as evidence of compositional diversity. NASA s Dawn mission entered orbit around Vesta on July 16, 2011 for a year-long global characterization. The framing cameras (FC) onboard the Dawn spacecraft will image the asteroid in one clear (broad) and seven narrow band filters covering the wavelength range between 0.4-1.0 microns. We present color mapping results from the Dawn FC observations of Vesta obtained during Survey orbit (approx.3000 km) and High-Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) (approx.950 km). Our aim is to create global color maps of Vesta using multi spectral FC images to identify the spatial extent of compositional units and link them with other available data sets to extract the basic mineralogy. While the VIR spectrometer onboard Dawn has higher spectral resolution (864 channels) allowing precise mineralogical assessment of Vesta s surface, the FC has three times higher spatial resolution in any given orbital phase. In an effort to extract maximum information from FC data we have developed algorithms using laboratory spectra of pyroxenes and HED meteorites to derive parameters associated with the 1-micron absorption band wing. These parameters will help map the global distribution of compositionally related units on Vesta s surface. Interpretation of these units will involve the integration of FC and VIR data.

Reddy, V.↗

Satellite Estimation of Fractional Cover in Several California Specialty Crops

Past research in California and elsewhere has revealed strong relationships between satellite NDVI, photosynthetically active vegetation fraction (Fc), and crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Estimation of ETc can support efficiency of irrigation practice, which enhances water security and may mitigate nitrate leaching. The U.C. Cooperative Extension previously developed the CropManage (CM) web application for evaluation of crop water requirement and irrigation scheduling for several high-value specialty crops. CM currently uses empirical equations to predict daily Fc as a function of crop type, planting date and expected harvest date. The Fc prediction is transformed to fraction of reference ET and combined with reference data from the California Irrigation Management Information System to estimate daily ETc. In the current study, atmospherically-corrected Landsat NDVI data were compared with in-situ Fc estimates on several crops in the Salinas Valley during 2011-2014. The satellite data were observed on day of ground collection or were linearly interpolated across no more than an 8-day revisit period. Results will be presented for lettuce, spinach, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, and strawberry. An application programming interface (API) allows CM and other clients to automatically retrieve NDVI and associated data from NASA's Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) web service. The SIMS API allows for queries both by individual points or user-defined polygons, and provides data for individual days or annual timeseries. Updates to the CM web app will convert these NDVI data to Fc on a crop-specific basis. The satellite observations are expected to play a support role in Salinas Valley, and may eventually serve as a primary data source as CM is extended to crop systems or regions where Fc is less predictable.

satellite↗

Depressurization-Induced Fines Migration in Sediments Containing Methane Hydrate: X-Ray Computed Tomography Imaging Experiments

Depressurization of hydrate-bearing sediments (HBS) can cause the movement of fine particles, and in turn, such fines migration affects fluid flow and mechanical behavior of sediments, ultimately affecting long-term hydrocarbon production and wellbore stability. In this work, we investigate how and to what extent depressurization of HBS causes fines migration using X-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging. Methane hydrate was synthesized in sediments with 10% fines content (FC), composed of sands with silt and/or clay, and the hydrate-bearing samples were stepwisely depressurized while acquiring CT images. The CT images were analyzed to quantify the spatial changes in FC in the host sediment and thus to capture the fines migration during depressurization. It was found that the FC changes began occurring from the hydrate dissociation regions. This confirms that the multiphase flow caused by depressurization accompanies fines migration. Depressurization of HBS with a hydrate saturation of ~20–40% caused FC reduction from ~10% to ~6–9%, and the extent of fines migration differed with the particle sizes of the host sands and the types of fines. It was found that fines migration was more pronounced with coarse sands and with silty fines. Such observed level of FC reduction is estimated to increase sediment permeability by several factors based on the Kozeny-type permeability model. In conclusion, our results support the notion that the extent of fines migration and its effect on fluid flow behavior need to be assessed in consideration of physical properties of host sediment and fine particles to identify optimum depressurization strategies.

42 ENGINEERING↗

A methodology to develop multi-physics dynamic fuel cell system models validated with vehicle realistic drive cycle data

Fuel cell (FC) technology has been identified as a technically attractive solution to decarbonize the transportation sector, especially for heavy-duty vehicles. In this context, the industry and the scientific community are in need of advanced fuel cell systems (FCS) models that are able to replicate real -world operating conditions. Due to the scarcity of said models in the open literature, this study aimed to develop a comprehensive methodology to calibrate and validate multi -physics dynamic FCS models. Therefore, the key contribution of this paper is the detailed description of the calibration process for each component and the calibration order. The specific focus here was to accurately describe the behavior of the FC stack as well as the cathode, anode, and cooling circuits of the balance of plant. The model was calibrated with the aid of experimental data from a Toyota Mirai FC electric vehicle, which was predominantly retrieved from the vehicle's Controller Area Network (CAN) bus system thereby negating the need for major intrusion into the powertrain system. The validation process was deemed successful with the model being able to truthfully replicate the characteristics of the FC vehicle operated on the World-wide harmonized Light duty Test Cycle (WLTC) 3b and US06 driving cycle. The time -resolved physical parameters such as the cathode pressure, mass flow, or the FC stack temperature were captured with high fidelity, while the overall performance parameters such as the H2 consumption in the stack and the system, and the compressor energy consumption were predicted accurately with a deviation lower than 0.47%, 1.75% and 1.89% with respect to the experimental data, respectively.

Lopez-Juarez, Marcos↗

5-Fluorocytosine combined with Fcy-hEGF fusion protein targets EGFR-expressing cancer cells

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer EGFR-expressing epithelial cancers account for significant portion of cancer deaths. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer EGF-EGFR signaling pathway is validated as an important anticancer drug target. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer EGF and Fcy fusion protein (Fcy-hEGF) can bind to EGFR and convert 5-FC to 5-FU. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Fcy-hEGF combined with 5-FC preferentially inhibits EGFR-expressing cells viability. -- Abstract: Human epithelial cancers account for approximately 50% of all cancer deaths. This type of cancer is characterized by excessive activation and expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The EGFR pathway is critical for cancer cell proliferation, survival, metastasis and angiogenesis. The EGF-EGFR signaling pathway has been validated as an important anticancer drug target. Increasing numbers of targeted therapies against this pathway have been either approved or are currently under development. Here, we adopted a prodrug system that uses 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC) and human EGF (hEGF) fused with yeast cytosine deaminase (Fcy) to target EGFR-overexpressing cancer cells and to convert 5-FC to a significantly more toxic chemotherapeutic, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). We cloned and purified the Fcy-hEGF fusion protein from Pichia pastoris yeast. This fusion protein specifically binds to EGFR with a similar affinity as hEGF, approximately 10 nM. Fcy-hEGF binds tightly to A431 and MDA-MB-468 cells, which overexpress EGFR, but it binds with a lower affinity to MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, which express lower levels of EGFR. Similarly, the viability of EGFR-expressing cells was suppressed by Fcy-hEGF in the presence of increasing concentrations of 5-FC, and the IC{sub 50} values for A431 and MDA-MB-468 were approximately 10-fold lower than those of MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7. This novel prodrug system, Fcy-hEGF/5-FC, might represent a promising addition to the available class of inhibitors that specifically target EGFR-expressing cancers.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Direct hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle cost analysis: System and high-volume manufacturing description, validation, and outlook

Here, direct hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) produce only water as a byproduct, thereby eliminating tailpipe carbon and criteria air pollutant emissions associated with internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). However, in order to achieve economic parity with ICEVs, technological challenges must be overcome to lower system cost. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) monitors estimated fuel cell (FC) system cost and tracks progress towards milestones by techno-economic analysis based on demonstrated laboratory technologies for a next-generation 80 kWnet automotive FC stack for light-duty vehicles. The findings of the 2017 automotive FC system cost analysis are summarized, including the baseline system characteristics and specifications and the results of Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA ® ) analysis of system manufacturing across a range of annual production rates. The highest volume predictions, for 100,000 and 500,000 units per year, result in a total system cost of 50/kWnet and 45/kWnet, respectively. The assumptions and methodology of the DFMA® analysis of the 2017 baseline FC system were validated by comparison with the FC system in the commercially available Toyota Mirai. One prospective pathway for decreasing system cost to 30/kW net needed for cost competitiveness with ICEVs is outlined.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

The controllable assembly of nanorods, nanowires and microwires of a perylenediimide molecule with photoswitching property

By using an electron donor–acceptor molecule that consists of a perylenediimide (PDI) core bonded with two ferrocene (Fc) units, well-defined nanorods, nanowires and microwires of PDI-Fc were formed through simply adjusting the initial concentration of PDI-Fc in dichloromethane or CH{sub 2}Cl{sub 2}. Moreover, the two-ended devices based on individual microwire were fabricated. Highly reproducible and sensitive photo response characteristics were demonstrated in the microwire through controlling the white light on and off with different light intensities. The assembly strategy via complementary donors and acceptors is of significance for constructing photoconductive systems and developing novel functional devices. - Graphical abstract: The two-ended devices based on individual microwire were fabricated. Highly reproducible and sensitive photo response characteristics were observed by controlling the white light on and off with different light intensities. - Highlights: • An electron donor–acceptor molecule (PDI-Fc) was synthesized. • Well-defined nanorods, nanowires and microwires of PDI-Fc were formed. • The two-ended devices based on individual microwire were fabricated. • Highly reproducible and sensitive photo response characteristics were observed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

X-ray Scattering and Coarse-Grained Simulations for Clustering and Interactions of Monoclonal Antibodies at High Concentrations

Attractive protein-protein interactions (PPI) in concentrated monoclonal antibody (mAb) solutions may lead to reversible oligomers (clusters) that impact colloidal stability and viscosity. Herein, the PPI are tuned for two mAbs via the addition of arginine (Arg), NaCl, or ZnSO 4 as characterized by the structure factor ( S eff (q)) with small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). The SAXS data are fit with molecular dynamics simulations by placing a physically relevant short-ranged attractive interaction on selected beads in coarse-grained 12 bead models of the mAb shape. The optimized 12-bead models are then used to differentiate key microstructural properties, including center of mass radial distribution functions ( g COM (r)), coordination numbers and cluster size distributions (CSD). The addition of co-solutes results in more attractive Seff(q) relative to the no co-solute control for all systems tested, with the most attractive systems showing an upturn at low q . Only the All1 model with an attractive site in each Fab and Fc region (possessing Fab-Fab, Fab-Fc and Fc-Fc interactions) can reproduce this upturn, and the corresponding CSDs show the presence of larger clusters compared to the control. In general, for models with similar net attractions, i.e., second osmotic virial coefficients, the size of the clusters increases as the attraction is concentrated on a smaller number of evenly distributed beads. Here, the cluster size distributions from simulations are used to improve the understanding and prediction of experimental viscosities. The ability to discriminate between models with bead interactions at particular Fab and Fc bead sites from SAXS simulations, and to provide real space properties (CSD and g COM (r)), will be of interest in engineering protein sequence and formulating protein solutions for weak PPI to minimize aggregation and viscosities.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗