Thermal deformation analysis of tabbed solar cells using solder alloy and conductive film

Finite element analysis (FEA) has been carried out with the aim of understanding the thermal deformation characteristics of two solar cell configurations. One of the solar cell models is tabbed by lead-free solder, the other model by Conductive film (CF). A high temperature soldering process could weaken the bond and reduce the reliability of the cells because of the residual stress caused by the different thermal expansion coefficients of the materials. Moreover, solar irradiation generates temperature distribution across the surface of the solar cell, and the development of solar cells made of thinner crystalline silicon wafers will lead to the reduction in manufacturing costs. In this study, Finite element analysis (FEA) of the manufacturing process has been carried out using both solder and CF bonding. Three temperature cycles were applied to analyze different environmental operating conditions and understand how thermal cycles affect the residual stress during actual service conditions. This investigation provides a comparison of thermal deformations between solder and CF bonded solar cells in order to understand which offers substantial reliability in the long term. Also this study explores the effects of various thicknesses of the silicon wafer on the residual stress and deformation of the solar cells.     

A new hardening rule for metallic foam plasticity

Metallic foams are a class of porous materials widely used in the industry because of their advantages. In recent years, extensive studies on the behavior of these materials have been conducted. Several constitutive equations have also been presented and applied. This study proposes a new constitutive equation that predicts metallic foam behavior using the stress–strain curve in uniaxial compression. The proposed model offers a new functionality for work hardening and is evaluated for both isotropic and combined hardening. The constitutive equations are implemented in MATLAB and integrated using return mapping algorithm. The material parameters are identified using genetic algorithm and through a comparison of the experimental and numerical results. The aluminum foams discussed in this paper are the commercially available types, Foaminal and Alporas. The comparison of numerical and experimental results indicate that this new constitutive equation predicts foam behavior in a reasonable manner. Moreover, a good agreement is observed between the experimental and computational curves.     

Electrospinning and rheological behavior of poly (vinyl alcohol)/collagen blended solutions

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/collagen (PVA/COL) micro-nanofibers were successfully prepared by electrospinning process. Water, green, and non-toxic was used as the solvent. The electrospun mats consisted of micro-nanoscale fibers with mean diameter ranging from approximately 363 nm to 179 nm. It was observed that the mean diameters of PVA/COL electrospun fibers decreased with increasing collagen content. The effects of PVA/COL blending ratio on the rheological behavior of PVA/COL blended solutions were investigated by rotate rheometer. It was found that PVA/COL blended solutions behaved as Non-Newtonian fluids. With increasing collagen content, the Non-Newtonian index (n) of PVA/COL blended solutions decreased. Meanwhile, a linear relationship was found between the Non-Newtonian index (n) and the mean diameters of the PVA/COL micronanofibers. The chemical structures of PVA/COL electrospun fibers were also characterized by FTIR.     

基于Backstepping的欠驱动船舶神经滑模航迹控制

在外界干扰和参数不确定的情况下,设计一种基于Backstepping的自适应神经滑模控制器对欠驱动船舶神经滑模航迹进行控制。采用趋近律的滑模控制,抑制常规滑模的固定切换增益系数带来的抖振现象;利用神经网络辨识对象,减少趋近律滑模控制对对象模型参数的依赖。以某实习船为例进行仿真,结果表明:在标称参数下,所设计的控制器能够有效跟踪设定的航迹并抑制常规滑模控制器的抖振现象;在外部环境扰动以及参数摄动的情况下,仍然能够实现较好的控制,表现出强鲁棒性。     

Effects of different CdCl<Subscript>2</Subscript> annealing methods on the performance of CdS/CdTe polycrystalline thin film solar cells

In this paper, the effects of different CdCl₂ annealing methods, including vapor annealing and dip-coating annealing, on the performance of CdS/CdTe polycrystalline thin-film solar cells are studied. After annealing, the samples are lightly etched with 1% bromine in methanol to remove surface oxides. Both annealing methods give CdTe polycrystalline thin films with good crystallinity and complete structure. For solar cells containing the annealed CdTe films, cell efficiency first increases and then decreases as the concentration of CdCl₂ solution used for dip-coating annealing increases, and the optimized CdCl₂ concentration is 12%. The uniformity of the performance of all cells is analyzed by calculating the relative standard deviation for each parameter. The uniformity of cell performance can be improved dramatically by dip-coating annealing instead of vapor annealing. Most notably, an appropriate concentration of CdCl₂ (12%) acts as a protective layer that is conducive to realizing uniform high-performance CdS/CdTe solar cells. According to the location of depletion regions, the CdTe films treated by dip-coating annealing show a relatively low doping concentration, except for the sample treated with a CdCl₂ concentration of 6%, which is consistent with the changes of short-circuit current density of the cells. It is believed that these results can be applied to the large-scale production of CdTe polycrystalline thin-film solar cells.     

Code-to-code comparison study on rotor aeromechanics in descending flight

This paper conducts the aeromechanics study using the two different rotorcraft computational structural dynamics (CSD) codes, CAMRAD II and DYMORE II, for the rotor in low-speed descending flight. The three test cases of the HART (Higher-harmonic control aeroacoustic rotor test) I -baseline, minimum noise, and minimum vibration- are considered in this study of the blade-vortex interaction (BVI) airloads, rotor trim, blade elastic deformations, and blade structural loads. The two prediction results are compared to each other for a code-to-code comparison study as well as to the measured data. Although CAMRAD II and DYMORE II use different theories and models, most of the prediction results are similar to each other and compared fairly well with the wind tunnel test data. For all the three test cases, the two rotorcraft CSD analyses show good prediction on the fluctuations of the section normal force (M²C_n) due to BVI, but both over-predict the trimmed collective pitch angle. The blade elastic deformations, such as flap deflection and elastic torsion deformation at the tip, are reasonably predicted by both rotorcraft CSD analyses. But, the CAMRAD II result using the multiple-trailer wake model with consolidation is slightly better than the DYMORE II prediction with the single wake panel model particularly for the elastic torsion deformation in the baseline case. In addition, CAMRAD II and DYMORE II both correlate reasonably the blade structural loads, such as flap bending, lead-lag bending, and torsion moments, with the measured data; however, the CAMRAD II results are moderately better than the DYMORE II predictions.     

Interfacial reaction in ASZ/A384 Al composite and its influence on mechanical properties

In an ASZ/A384 Al composite, the interfacial reaction was observed to take place between the SiO₂ binder layer and Mg within the matrix to form MgAl₂O₄ at the interface. Formation of MgAl₂O₄ at the interface between ASZ short fibers and the Al matrix alloy is believed to enhance the interfacial bonding strength, resulting in improved composite strength. However, the interfacial reaction in the ASZ/A384 Al proceeds at the expense of Mg in the matrix, resulting in a composite devoid of Mg bearing precipitates such as Al₂CuMg and Mg₂Si.     

Effect of surface coating on the screw loosening of dental abutment screws

Regardless of the type of performed restoration, in most cases, a screw connection is employed between the abutment and implant. For this reason, implant screw loosening has remained a problem in restorative practices. The purpose of this study was to compare the surface of coated/plated screws with titanium and gold alloy screws and to evaluate the physical properties of coated/plated material after scratch tests via FE-SEM (field emission scanning electron microscopy) investigation. GoldTite, titanium screws provided by 3i (Implant Innovation, USA) and TorqTite, titanium screws by Steri-Oss (Nobel Biocare, USA) and gold screws and titanium screws by AVANA (Osstem Implant, Korea) were selected for this study. The surface, crest, and root of the abutment screws were observed by FE-SEM. A micro-diamond needle was also prepared for the scratch test. Each abutment screw was fixed, and a scratch on the surface of the head region was made at constant load and thereafter the fine trace was observed with FE-SEM. The surface of GoldTite was smoother than that of other screws and it also had abundant ductility and malleability compared with titanium and gold screws. The scratch tests also revealed that teflon particles were exfoliated easily in the screw coated with teflon. The titanium screw had rough surface and low ductility. The clinical use of gold-plated screws is recommended as a means of preventing screw loosening.     

A scanning tunneling microscopy tip with a stable atomic structure

A single stable adatom on a {110}-type plane of a tungsten tip is created via field-evaporation in a field-ion microscope (FIM) operating at room temperature. This single adatom has sufficient surface mobility at room temperature and migrates, in one-dimension, along a <111>-type direction toward an edge of a {110}-type plane, due to the existence of an electric field gradient. The plane edge has a higher local electric field than its center, since it has a higher local geometric curvature. This result implies that the stable position of a single adatom during a scan of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip on a surface is at the edge and not at the center of a {110}-type plane at room temperature. Therefore, the electron wave function of a tip is not symmetric and this fact should be taken into account in a careful analysis of STM images. Also a tip with a dislocation emerging at a {110}-type plane is suggested as an improved STM tip configuration, as the step at the surface, created by the intersection of the dislocation with it, is a perpetual source of single adatoms.     

Reassessment of Ni-Al and Ni-Fe-Al solidus temperatures

Solidus temperatures of the B2 NiAl phase have been determined by high-temperature differential thermal analysis for binary melt compositions Ni_xAl_100−x (45<x<57) and for ternary alloys Fe_yNi_50−yAl₅₀ (0≤y≤50). It was shown that the melting temperature of the stoichiometric Ni₅₀Al₅₀ phase is 1681 °C, which is 43 K higher than some literature data. The solidus line at the Ni-rich side of the Ni-Al phase diagram exhibits a steeper slope than that reported previously. Substituting Fe for Ni, the decrease of solidus temperature along the isoplethal section with 50 at.% Al of the ternary Ni-Fe-Al phase diagram exhibits a steep initial slope of −13 K/at.% Fe for small Fe-fractions, which changes into a nearly linear decrease with an average slope of −8.5 K/at.% Fe.