A robust H∞ power system stabilizer with noadverse effect on shaft torsional modes

The H^∞ optimal control theory has been used to design a robust power system stabilizer (PSS) to improve transient and dynamic stabilities of a turbogenerator connected to an infinite busbar. It is demonstrated that the effects of disturbances in the machine output can be minimized and sufficient closed-loop stability margins (robustness) can be obtained to tolerate variations in the loop transfer functions, such as those which might arise from unmodeled low-damped high-frequency modes of oscillations. The resulting controller would effectively enhance the synchronizing and damping torques of the machine without the risk of exciting the shaft torsional modes. This is in marked contrast with the unstable performance of linear quadratic (LQ) optimal controllers under similar conditions. The H^∞ design methodology also ensures a satisfactory performance of the PSS under a wide range of system operating conditions     

Design of H∞-PSS using numerator-denominatoruncertainty representation

This paper presents a new method of designing a robust H_∞-PSS to deal with some limitations of the existing H _∞-PSSs (standard H_∞-PSSs). These limitations include: (i) the inability to treat the system uncertainty when a stable nominal plant becomes an unstable perturbed plant; and (ii) the cancellation of the plant's poorly damped poles by the controller's zeros. The proposed multiple inputs single output controller for the excitation system is based on the “numerator-denominator” uncertainty representation which is not restricted in the modeling of uncertainty as compared to the standard additive or multiplicative uncertainty representation. Furthermore, the bilinear transformation has been used in the design to prevent the pole-zero cancellation of the poorly damped poles and to improve the control system performance. Simulation results have shown satisfactory performance of the proposed PSS for a wide range of operating conditions and good stability margin as compared to both the conventional PSS and the standard H_∞-PSS     

Air stable polymer photovoltaics based on a process free from vacuum steps and fullerenes

A polymer solar cell that can be stored under ambient conditions (25 °C and 35±5% relative humidity) in the dark for 6 months without noticeable degradation in performance is presented. The active layer is based on low-cost materials and is free from fullerenes. No vacuum steps are required for processing the device that employs an inverted device geometry, where the active layers in the device comprise a transparent cathode based on solution processed zinc oxide, an active layer based on a bulk heterojunction of zinc oxide nanoparticles and poly-(3-carboxydithiophene) (P3CT), a PEDOT:PSS layer and finally a printed silver based anode. No encapsulation was employed and the devices were robust and not sensitive to mechanical handling of the active layer and back electrode. The accelerated lifetime in air defined as 80% of the initial performance at continuous illumination (1000 W m⁻², AM1.5G, 72±2 °C, ambient atmosphere, 35±5% humidity) was typically 100 h and the devices were tested for 150 h. When keeping the same conditions and lowering the temperature, stable operation for hundreds of hours was possible. In terms of long-term stability, this performance is inferior to inorganic photovoltaics but the technology compares well and competes with small batteries in terms of capacity. The device efficiency more than doubled upon decreasing the incident light intensity from 1000 to 100 W m⁻².     

A finite element analysis modeling tool for solid oxide fuel cell development: coupled electrochemistry, thermal and flow analysis in MARC

A 3D simulation tool for modeling solid oxide fuel cells is described. The tool combines the versatility and efficiency of a commercial finite element analysis code, MARC^®, with an in-house developed robust and flexible electrochemical (EC) module. Based upon characteristic parameters obtained experimentally and assigned by the user, the EC module calculates the current density distribution, heat generation, and fuel and oxidant species concentration, taking the temperature profile provided by MARC^® and operating conditions such as the fuel and oxidant flow rate and the total stack output voltage or current as the input. MARC^® performs flow and thermal analyses based on the initial and boundary thermal and flow conditions and the heat generation calculated by the EC module. The main coupling between MARC^® and EC is for MARC^® to supply the temperature field to EC and for EC to give the heat generation profile to MARC^®. The loosely coupled, iterative scheme is advantageous in terms of memory requirement, numerical stability and computational efficiency. The coupling is iterated to self-consistency for a steady-state solution. Sample results for steady states as well as the startup process for stacks with different flow designs are presented to illustrate the modeling capability and numerical performance characteristic of the simulation tool.     

Effect of conductive additives on electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12 in hybrid capacitor

将添加不同导电剂的钛酸锂负极与活性炭正极组装成混合电容器,研究了不同导电剂对混合电容器性能的影响。利用扫描电子显微镜表征了钛酸锂负极的表面形貌,采用LAND测试仪、电化学工作站对混合电容器的电化学性能进行测试分析,最终确定最佳的导电剂类型。实验表明,以super-P/VGCF为导电剂的混合电容器具有最佳的电化学特性,在0.1 A/g条件下,电容器的比容量达到45.4 F/g,在2 A/g时容量保持率为91.5%;在0.5 A/g条件下,经过10000次循环后,容量保持率为93.2%。     

P3HT/ZnO bulk-heterojunction solar cell sensitized by a perylene derivative

In this work, a soluble perylene-derivative dye, N, N′-didodecyl-3,4,9,10-perylene tetracarboxylic diimide (PDI), was used to improve the photovoltaic performance of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/ZnO bulk heterojunction cells through blending with the composite. Results show that by incorporation of PDI in the P3HT/ZnO composite, the light absorption and exciton separation can be significantly improved. The photocurrent under white-light irradiation can be increased from 6.35 to 9.55 mA/cm². Solar decay experiment shows that V_OC of the ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:ZnO:PDI/Al device decreases rapidly to almost zero in 1 h under persistent white-light illumination. After placing a 420 nm cutoff filter between the cell and the xenon lamp, the stability of the cell can be significantly improved. The device performance can maintain about 80% of the original value within 30 h and I_SC degraded to zero after 142 h. The addition of PDI into the P3HT/ZnO device up to 5 wt% does not show observable effect on the solar cell decay behavior.     

Simulation of the effects of electrode parameters on all-vanadium redox flow battery performance

以全钒液流电池为研究对象,利用电池内部传递与反应相耦合的机理模型,模拟电池二维,等温,稳态条件下,电池充电过程电极参数对电池内部极化的影响规律,包括碳毡电极的几何结构参数(厚度Lt和压缩比CR),电学特性参数(比表面积a和电导率)和操作参数(充电电流密度i)的影响.数值模拟结果给出Lt从1.5 mm增至3.5 mm,端电压仅降低3 mV;CR从0.1增至0.5,端电压降低16 mV;a从3.5×10⁴ m²/m³增至3.5×106 m²/m³,端电压降低30 mV;从18.9 S/m增至164.4 S/m,端电压降低87 mV,并给出多孔电极内部过电势在不同条件下不同的二维分布特点;i从100 mA/cm²增至150 mA/cm²,端电压增大57 mV,若同比增大比表面积a,则端电压只增大46 mV.将数值模拟与宏观实验相对比,取得良好的一致性,表明了数值模拟与分析的可靠性.通过增大CR,a,可以明显提高电池性能,为进一步提高电极材料的性能,设计电极结构参数,选择操作参数提供了重要依据.     

Degradation of organic solar cells due to air exposure

We present a study of dark air-exposure degradation of organic solar cells based on photoactive blends of the conjugated polymer, poly[2-methoxy-5-(3′,7′-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (MDMO-PPV) with [6,6]-phenyl C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Photovoltaic devices were fabricated on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass with or without a layer of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), and were studied without encapsulation. Photovoltaic performance characteristics were measured as a function of time for different ambient conditions (under white light irradiation and in the dark, and under air, dry oxygen and humid nitrogen atmospheres). It was found that a key cause of degradation under air exposure is light independent and results from water adsorption by the hygroscopic PEDOT:PSS layer. Measurements of the charge mobility and hole injection after air exposure showed that the degradation increases the resistance of the PEDOT:PSS/blend layer interface.     

Development of Cu(InGa)Se2-based thin-film PV modules with a Zn(O,S,OH)x buffer layer

The CBD-Zn(O,S,OH)_x buffer process is reviewed. Applying this buffer, our highest efficiencies are achieved, such as a circuit (or submodule) efficiency of 14.2% at an aperture area of 864 cm² on a 30 cm × 30 cm-sized substrate and module efficiencies of 13.4% at an aperture area of 3459 cm² on a mosaic module in which four 30 cm × 30 cm-sized circuits are connected in parallel and 12.8% at an aperture area of 3456 cm² on a 30 cm × 120 cm-sized substrate. Our module structure is a cover glass/EVA/MOCVD-BZO window/CBD-Zn(O,S,OH)_x buffer/CIGSS surface layer/CIGS absorber/Mo base electrode/soda-lime glass. Development of both the hardware (i.e. CBD apparatus) applicable to the mass production and the suitable control parameters is necessary to establish the robust baseline process for the CBD-Zn(O,S,OH)_x buffer. Finding of %T monitoring and post-deposition light soaking in this buffer process contributes not only to improve the reproducibility, but also to enhance the electrical yield and the I–V performance.     

纳米石墨化碳在锂离子电池中的应用进展

纳米石墨化碳因其优异的导电、导热及力学性能近年来备受重视,并在锂离子电池体系中得到广泛运用。纳米石墨化碳具有的优异电学性能及纳米尺度结构特征使其在解决锂离子电池中高导电性、导热性、充放电过程中的柔性及结构稳定性等方面发挥了重要作用。本文综述了近年来纳米石墨化碳在锂离子电池应用中的最新进展和研究热点,包括纳米石墨化碳在锂离子电池中直接充当高容量负极材料,纳米石墨化碳作为高性能骨架材料为电极提供导电及力学网络,与硅、金属氧化物等高容量电极材料复合形成同轴、核壳等结构的高容量电极材料甚至柔性电极等。如何进一步认识纳米石墨化碳储锂机制,发展其精确可控制备科学和工程技术,进而在三维尺度上构建高效的锂离子电池电极材料结构仍是未来的重点研究方向。     

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of olivine-type LiFePO4/C composite cathode material prepared from a poly(vinyl alcohol)-containing precursor

Olivine structure LiFePO₄/C composite powders are synthesized as cathode materials for Li-ion batteries via a conventional solid-state reaction. Improvement in electrochemical performance has been achieved by using poly(vinyl alcohol) as the carbon sources for the as-prepared materials. The influence of the heat treatment on the physical and the electrochemical properties of LiFePO₄/C materials is investigated. To examine the effect of added carbon content on the properties of materials, a one-step heat treatment has been employed with control of the PVA content in the precursor. Six samples were prepared with 0, 1, 3, 5, 10 and 30 wt.% PVA added to the raw materials. The particle size of LiFePO₄ decreases as the carbon content increases. Materials with medium carbon contents have a small charge-transfer resistance and thus exhibit superior electrochemical performance. Interestingly, for a LiFePO₄/C composite with a low PVA content, an unusual plateau at 4.3 V is observed. It is considered that this is due to the Fe³⁺/Fe⁴⁺ redox reaction of Fe³⁺ compounds that are present as an impurity. For samples with a high PVA amount, a thicker carbon coating provides an obstacle to improve the electrochemical properties.     

Synthesis and lithium storage property of high-performance N-doped reduced graphene oxide

石墨烯是一种具有高比表面积、高导电性和良好化学稳定性的新型二维碳材料,在电化学储能领域具有广阔的应用前景。氮原子掺杂可以制造结构缺陷并改变电荷分布,有利于增强其电化学储能性能。本工作以尿素为氮源,与氧化石墨烯混合冻干,经过高温热还原制备出氮掺杂石墨烯材料,研究了热还原温度对其化学组成、形貌结构以及电化学储锂性能的影响。研究结果表明,随着热还原温度的升高,材料的氮含量下降,石墨化程度升高,电导率提高。将其作为负极材料组装成锂离子半电池进行测试,样品N-rGO-800在0.05 A/g的电流密度下表现出高达876 mA·h/g的稳定比容量,优于目前文献报道的比容量。在1 A/g的大电流密度下,其依然具有584 mA·h/g的比容量,经过850圈的长循环,容量保持稳定,显示出该材料优异的循环和倍率性能。     

Robust controller design for generator excitation systems

This paper deals with the design and evaluation of a robust controller for generator excitation systems to improve the steady-state and transient stabilities. The unique approach used is to first treat the nonlinear characteristics of the system as model uncertainties, and then to take into account such uncertainties at the controller design stage using a robust control methodology. The performance of the controller has been evaluated extensively by nonlinear simulation. It is concluded that the robust controller provides better damping to the oscillatory modes of the system than the conventional PSS in all the cases studied     

A proposed modified efficiency for thermosyphon solar heating systems

Conventionally, the overall performance rating of a thermosyphon solar water heater considers the thermal performance of the system during the energy-collecting phase and the system cooling loss during the cooling phase. However, this study suggests that the performance rating should also take the heat removal efficiency of the system during the system application phase into consideration. This study modifies the CNS 12557 B7276 test standard and employs a precise, on-line operation to derive the heat removal efficiency of a system. The thermal performance and heat removal efficiency of 12 systems with capacities in the range of 102–446 L are evaluated. An efficiency coefficient, η₀, is defined, which represents the synthesis of the characteristic thermal performance, η_s^*, and the characteristic heat removal efficiency, η_R^*. The proposed modified efficiency coefficient is given by η₀=η_s^*×η_R^*, and represents the quasi-overall performance of a solar heating system. The coefficient provides an effective measure of the amount of energy provided to the user from a system which collects and stores heat from solar radiation. According to prevailing regulations in Taiwan, commercial solar heating products should have a value of η_s^* in excess of 0.5 in order to attract a government subsidy. The proposed modified efficiency, η₀, is a more practical and representative indication of the actual thermal performance of a system, and accordingly, the present study suggests that the regulations should adopt a value of η₀0.41 as the standard for qualification rather than the current criterion of η_s^*0.5.     

Thermal properties of a low-melting-point nitrate molten salt system

利用硝酸盐熔盐熔点低、比热容高、热分解温度高的特性,制备一种新型硝酸盐熔盐[在Ca（NO₃）₂：KNO₃为0.47：0.53的熔盐体系中添加0.1%~15%的新型添加剂],并对该熔盐的热力学特性及使用成本进行了测试分析。结果表明,新型熔盐的熔点为120.1℃,熔化潜热为76.37 J/g,分解温度为588℃,平均比热容为1.598 J/（g·K）,相比较于传统的Solar salt和Hitec熔盐热力学性能具有较大提升。采用测量范围内比热容的积分平均值来代替整个温度范围内熔盐的比热容,通过计算得出该体系熔盐的显热蓄热成本为108元/（kW·h）。此外,对新型熔盐的热扩散系数以及导热系数进行的测试分析,进一步证明了该熔盐在太阳能光热发电中作为蓄热传热介质具有巨大的潜在应用价值。     

Performance of tungsten carbide recombination electrodes under various operating conditions

The performance of tungsten carbide (WC) recombination electrodes in lead/acid batteries with flooded, gelled or immobilized electrolytes has been investigated under various operating conditions. It has been established that the rate of recombination of hydrogen and oxygen on WC electrodes mounted in batteries with immobilized and gelled electrolytes is considerably higher than that on partially immersed electrodes in flooded batteries. This increase in the recombination rate is due to the increased temperature of the WC electrodes as a result of the exothermal process of water formation. When partially immersed electrodes are used, a heat exchange takes place between the electrodes and the electrolyte and hence the rate of recombination grows. If, however, the recombination electrodes are not in contact with the electrolyte and the recombination rate reaches values higher than 200 cm³ h⁻¹ cm⁻², the hydrogen/oxygen gas mixture may explode.     

Biomass equations for determining fractions of European aspen growing on abandoned farmland and some practical implications

A study was conducted in order to construct functions for aboveground biomass of fractions of young European aspens (Populus tremula L.). The constructed functions were designed to be used for predicting the amount of biofuel produced from small areas. Biomass production was estimated in 11 stands of European aspen growing on abandoned farmland. The stands were located in Sweden at latitudes ranging from 65° to 60° N, and their total age varied from 5 to 24 years. A modified “mean tree technique” was used to estimate biomass production; i.e. depending on the plot area size, the number of sampled trees was chosen. The mean total dry weight above stump level for aspen stands was 78 tonnes ha⁻¹ with a range of 14–162 d.w. ha⁻¹. Mean annual increment for the stands was 5.56 tonnes ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ (2.86–9.15). Aspens growing on silt soils produced more than on fine sand soils. In addition to estimating conventional dry weights of trees and tree components, specific leaf area, total surface area and LAI, among other measures, were estimated. The mean LAI was 2.58 and the specific leaf area was 9.4 m² kg⁻¹. Some practical implications are given.     

Thermal performance evaluation of an energy and environmental research center building during winter

The building is constructed on a ground area of 3300 m² and consists of five floors of total area of 6361 m² with an air conditioned area of 3351 m². The heating system comprises 1577 evacuated-tube collectors, two accumulation tanks of 15 m³ each, two thermal storage tanks of 150 m³ each, two auxiliary boilers of 443,000 kcal/h each, pumps, heat exchangers and control equipment. The thermal performance evaluation shows that the inside temperature was kept at the desired value (22°C) which demonstrates the system's ability to meet the building load. The performance also shows that the collection efficiency for the whole season was 50% and the collected and stored energy was higher than the required load which indicates that the solar fraction to the load was 100%.     

Fast cycling of Li/LiCoO2 cell with low-viscosity ionic liquids based on bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide [FSI]

A charge–discharge cycling test of a Li/LiCoO₂ cell containing ionic liquids based on bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide ([FSI]⁻) as the electrolyte media, revealed significantly better rate properties compared to those of cells using conventional ionic liquids. The use of an 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (EMI⁺) salt permitted the retention of 70% of the discharge capacity at a 4 C current rate. In contrast, similar performance of cells containing N-methyl-N-propylpyrrolidinium (Py₁₃⁺) and N-methyl-N-propylpiperidinium (PP₁₃⁺) salts of [FSI]⁻ was limited to operation at 2 and 1 C current rates, respectively. However, the charge/discharge cycling stability of the cell with Py₁₃[FSI] was much better than that of the cell using EMI[FSI].     

A correlation for heat transfer by natural convection from horizontal cylinders that accounts for viscous dissipation

Eight previously published correlation equations plus one new correlation for heat transfer by natural convection from horizontal isothermal cylinders are tested against a fairly extensive body of experimental data culled from the literature for 10⁻⁸ < Ra < 10⁸ and 0.7 < Pr < 4 × 10⁴. The new equation, which represents the Nusselt number as a function of the Prandtl and Rayleigh numbers plus an additional dimensionless parameter that accounts for viscous dissipation, is shown to correlate the experimental data more accurately than does any one of the eight previously published equations. It is concluded that viscous dissipation may not be neglected in all cases of natural convection from horizontal cylinders, and further, that the inclusion of a viscous dissipation term in certain related problems, such as natural convection in porous media, may lead to more accurate correlation equations.