Development of a universal modeling tool for rechargeable lithium batteries

An interesting universal modeling tool for rechargeable lithium batteries is presented in this paper. The generic model is based on an equivalent circuit technique commonly used in electrochemical impedance characterization. Therefore, the parameters used in the model can be easily parameterized from the electrochemical impedance derivations, which provide a convenient integration with experimental cell characterizations. Such integration offers the universality in this modeling approach.     

Inductive modeling of lithium-ion cells

Sandia National Laboratories has conducted a sequence of studies on the performance of lithium ion and other types of electrochemical cells using inductive models. The objectives of some of these investigations are: (1) to develop procedures to rapidly determine performance degradation rates while these cells undergo life tests; (2) to model cell voltage and capacity in order to simulate cell output under variable load and temperature conditions; (3) to model rechargeable battery degradation under conditions of cyclic charge/discharge, and many others. Among the uses for the models are: (1) to enable efficient predictions of battery life; (2) to characterize system behavior.

Inductive models seek to characterize system behavior using experimentally or analytically obtained data in an efficient and robust framework that does not require phenomenological development. There are certain advantages to this. Among these advantages is the ability to avoid making measurements of hard to determine physical parameters or having to understand cell processes sufficiently to write mathematical functions describing their behavior. We have used artificial neural networks (ANNs) for inductive modeling, along with ancillary mathematical tools to improve their accuracy.

This paper summarizes efforts to use inductive tools for cell and battery modeling. Examples of numerical results are presented.     

The strain-controlled fatigue behavior and modeling of Haynes HASTELLOY C-2000 superalloy

The strain-controlled fatigue behavior of the new nickel-chromium-molybdenum superalloy, HASTELLOY^® C-2000^® was investigated. Low-cycle fatigue specimens were tested in strain-controlled fatigue conditions under axial strain range control at 24 °C, 204 °C and 427 °C. The results indicated that at total strain ranges below 0.8%, temperature does not significantly influence fatigue life, whereas at high total strain ranges, there is a significant drop in fatigue life at 427 °C. At room temperature and 204 °C, the cyclic stress response was cyclic hardening, followed by cyclic stability, cyclic hardening, or cyclic softening, depending on the total strain range. At 427 °C, only cyclic hardening was observed. Fractographic and metallographic analyses were also conducted. The strain-life and Holloman relation parameters are calculated. A theoretical model that predicts the life of this alloy under the tested conditions using the plastic strain energy method is also presented. The results of the theoretical model are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Digital rights management system with user privacy,usage transparency,and superdistribution support

In the modern world, digital content has been massively produced, distributed, and consumed by human beings; consequently, how to protect the rights and benefits of content consumers, producers, and distributors has become a crucial issue. One promising solution is to design a full‐fledged digital rights management (DRM) system. In this study we introduce a new design on the digital rights management system providing user privacy, usage transparency, and superdistribution. A comprehensive set of DRM processing functions and corresponding mechanisms are developed in our system to support various business process requirements. Superdistribution support is embedded in our system design. A prototype is implemented to verify our system design. To protect consumer privacy, a temporary identity is generated for each consumer using the KryptoKnight protocol. Elliptic curve cryptography‐based encryption scheme is adopted for messages transmitted among servers and client over an unsecure communication channel. For usage transparency, a user‐friendly DRM client package (software) is introduced in the proposed DRM system to achieve content protection and support user convenience in usage.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pinch-Off Voltage-Adjustable High-Voltage Junction Field-Effect Transistor

In this letter, a novel type of high-voltage n-channel junction field-effect transistor (JFET) was designed using a conventional n-channel laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor (n-LDMOS) without changing any step in the process. High-voltage JFET can be a start-up device in power factor correction, dc-ac converters, and ac-dc converters for providing a self-powered circuit and minimizing standby power losses without gate control because of its negative threshold voltage. Experimental results show that an n-LDMOS with this JFET structure can achieve a reverse blocking voltage of more than 700 V with very low leakage current. The pinch-off voltage can be designed by changing n-well width to meet the circuit requirement.     

Effect of Praseodymium on Superconductivity and Magnetism in Y1–xPrxBa2Cu4O8 Prepared by Nitrite Pyrolysis Method

X-ray diffraction patterns show that most samples of Y_1-x Pr_xBa₂Cu₄O₈ examined in the present study contained a single YBa₂ Cu₄O₈ (1-2-4) superconductive phase for x<0.7.Lattice parameters a and b increased with Pr concentration, suggesting that most of the Pr is trivalent in Y_1-x Pr_x-Ba₂Cu₄O₈. The zero-resistance temperature, T _co, decreases monotonically from 80 K at x=0 to 12 K at x=0.65, and superconducting transition widths tend to broaden for x>0. The room-temperature resistivity changes linearly until x=0.7 and increases abruptly at x=-0.75. The critical concentration, x_cr, thus was estimated to be 0.7. The effective magnetic moments of Pr in Y _1-x Pr_xBa₂Cu₄O₈ were 3.63., 3.35, and 3.23, μ_B for x=0.2, 0.4 and 0.6, respectively. In the R_0.8 Pr_0.2Ba₂Cu₄O₈ system, the depression of T_c weakly depends on the ionic radius of rare-earth elements. Similarities and differences between Y _1-x Pr_xBa₂Cu₄O₈ and Y_1-xPr_x-Ba₂Cu₃O_7-y also were noted and are discussed in this paper.     

Comparative analysis of smooth muscle isoactin gene expression in normal and neoplastic tissues

Monoclonal antibodies derived from the actin multigene family are routinely used as an adjunct to morphologic diagnoses of smooth muscle tumors. Northern blot analysis was performed on 60 surgical resections utilizing isoactin-specific cDNAs. A comparison of this analysis to immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that actin-specific monoclonal antibodies represent reliable markers of the smooth muscle lineage. Smooth muscle neoplasms showed a unique pattern of gamma-smooth muscle isoactin gene expression, providing a potentially valuable molecular adjunct to the morphologic diagnosis of uterine smooth muscle tumors.     

Thermal-imaging technologies for detecting damage during high-cycle fatigue

A high-speed and high-sensitivity thermographic-infrared (IR) imaging system has been used for nondestructive evaluation of specimen-temperature evolutions during high-cycle fatigue experiments. The relationship among the temperature, stress-strain state, and fatigue behavior is discussed. Both thermodynamics and heat-transfer theories are applied to model and quantify the observed temperature variations during fatigue. The predicted and measured temperature evolutions and inelastic strains during fatigue were found to be in good agreement. During fatigue experiments, in-situ observations as well as qualitative and quantitative analyses of Lüders-band evolutions, crack propagation, plastic zones, and final fracture have been performed by thermography, which can open up wide applications of thermography in detecting the in-situ heat-related processes, including mechanical damages and phase transformations, of materials and structural components.     

Fatigue crack growth behavior of pressure vessel steels and submerged arc weldments in a high-temperature pressurized water environment

The fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) properties of SA508 C1 2a and SA533 Gr A C1 2 pressure vessel steels and the corresponding automatic submerged are weldments were developed in a high-temperature pressurized water (HPW) environment at 288 °C (550°F) and 7.2 MPa (1044 psi) at load ratios of 0.02 and 0.50. The HPW enviromment FCGR properties of these pressure vessel steels and submerged arc weldments were generally conservative, compared with the approrpriate American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section XI water environmental reference curve. The growth rate of fatigue cracks in the base materials, however, was considerably faster in the HPW environment than in a corresponding 288°C (550°F) base line air environment. The growth rate of fatigue cracks in the two submerged are weldments was also accelerated in the HPW environment but to a significantly lesser degree than that demonstrated by the corresponding base materials. In the air environment, fatigue striations were observed, independent of material and load ratio, while in the HPW environment, some intergranular facets were present. The greater environmental effect on crack growth rates displayed by the base materials, as compared with the weldments, was attributed to a different sulfide composition and morphology.