Electrode designs and concepts for bipolar alkaline fuel cells

Fuel cells as direct energy converters and their economic applications in a future hydrogen economy are discussed briefly. Emphasis is put on the merits of a new way to construct and mass-produce alkaline fuel cells, eliminating the traditionally used expensive metal screens and porous nickel plaques and replacing them with plastic-bonded conductive materials for structures and porous carbons for electrodes.Carbon electrodes have been used successfully in many types of fuel cell systems. Multi-layered thin carbon electrodes of high power output and long life can be produced by pressing, rolling and spraying methods.Acetylene black, furnace blacks and graphites are used as carbon materials, mixed with PTFE and filler materials and evaluated in electrodes which are tested in laboratory cells, before they are built into stacks.Compositions of the different mixtures for the fabrication of the electrodes are given and the advantage of the bipolar cell design from the construction and operating points of view is discussed.     

Fingerprinting G-protein-coupled receptors

Recently we reported the design of a discriminating fingerprintfor rhodopsin-like G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Thefingerprint encodes the seven putative membrane-spanning motifsand was potently diagnostic of all GPCRs (52 in all) in version8.1 of the OWL composite sequence database, readily distinguishingthem from all other integral membrane proteins. With a 3-foldincrease in the size of OWL, the fingerprint has been updatedand now finds 332 receptors that match all the motifs. The situation,however, has grown in complexity: 61 sequences make imperfectmatches with the fingerprint, yielding a total of 393 ‘hits’.The bulk of the partial hits are olfactory receptors: theseappear to fall into discrete subfamilies in which one or moreof the transmembrane motifs are either poorly matched or arenot matched at all. These results are supported by preliminaryphylogenetic analyses, which show the olfactory and variousother partial matches clustering away from the main body oftrue hits. The approach has provided a powerful diagnostic toolfor identifying GPCRs, and results are consistent with previousobservations that the pheromone, cAMP and secretin-like receptorsbelong to separate families-these bear their own unique sequencefingerprints by which they may be distinguished from the rhodopsin-likesuperfamily     

Comparison of ras-p21 bound to GDP and GTP: differences in protein and ligand dynamics

This paper documents the first essential dynamics analysis of ras protein ligands and of the protein itself, showing important features of their dynamic properties. Essential dynamics analysis of 300 ps of full solvent molecular dynamics simulations revealed differences in structure and dynamics between GDP- and GTP-bound forms of H-ras-p21. Regions in the protein which exhibited a structural shift correspond to the switch regions described previously. Differences in dynamics between H-ras-p21 GDP and H-ras-p21 GTP may be related to interactions of ras with GAP and its receptor and effector. Molecular dynamics of free GDP (in the absence of protein) were performed in water for 2 ns and analysed using essential dynamics. The conformations of GDP and GTP when bound to the protein were compared with free GDP, revealing that the ligands bind to the protein in an energetically unfavourable conformation. GDP and GTP molecules from various other protein crystal structures were also analysed. These ligands adopt similar conformations to those seen in H-ras-p21.      

The effect of vacancies on the annular dark field image contrast of grain boundaries: a SrTiO(3) case study

The analysis of grain boundary structure in high resolution electron microscopy is often hindered by contrast variation within the grain boundary region which is not explained by simple models of the grain boundary structure. Recent work suggests that structural disorder along the beam direction and the presence of vacancies contribute significantly to this effect. One might expect a significant reduction in contrast in a Z-contrast image of a grain boundary would imply that vacancies present must result from the absence of heavier elements. Using a [001](210) Σ5 grain boundary in SrTiO₃ as a test case and first principles structure relaxation to calculate stable defect structures, we show that the reduction in the intensity from fully occupied Sr columns due to the structural distortion resulting from a nearby O vacancy can be as great as that due to introducing a Sr vacancy in the column itself. The effect on energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy signals is also considered, but found to be smaller than that on Z-contrast images.     

Imaging using inelastically scattered electrons in CTEM and STEM geometry

It is shown that energy filtered transmission electron microscopy images are closely related to energy spectroscopic scanning transmission electron microscopy images. For the case of a single atom, we explore this similarity using both the coupled channels and density matrix approaches. We extend the result to the crystal case and find that the similarity persists, the limiting effects due to energy differences in the scattered electrons being small for typical specimen thicknesses in high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.     

1H-NMR resonance assignments, secondary structure, and global fold of the TR1C fragment of turkey skeletal troponin C in the calcium-free state

The TR1C fragment of turkey skeletal muscle TnC (residues 12-87) comprises the two regulatory calcium binding sites of the protein. Complete assignments of the 1H-NMR resonances of the backbone and amino acid side chains of this domain in the absence of metal ions have been obtained using 2D 1H-NMR techniques. Sequential (i,i+1) and short-range (i,i+3) NOE connectivities define two helix-loop-helix calcium binding motifs, and long-range NOE connectivities indicate a short two-stranded beta-sheet formed between the two calcium binding loops. The two calcium binding sites are different in secondary structure. In terms of helix length, site II conforms to a standard "EF-hand" motif with the first helix ending one residue before the first calcium ligand and the second helix starting one residue after the beta-sheet. In site I, the first helix ends three residues before the first calcium ligand, and the second helix starts three residues after the beta-sheet. A number of long-range NOE connectivities between the helices define their relative orientation and indicate formation of a hydrophobic core between helices A, B, and D. The secondary structure and global fold of the TR1C fragment in solution in the calcium-free state are therefore very similar to those of the corresponding region in the crystal structure of turkey skeletal TnC [Herzberg, O., & James, M.N.G. (1988) J. Mol. Biol. 203, 761-779].     

Advanced SPICE modeling of large power IGBT modules

An enhanced insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) model based on the Kraus model with new derivations based on an extra parameter accounting for p-i-n injection was developed to allow simulation of both trench and DMOS IGBT structures. Temperature dependence was also implemented in the model. The model was validated against steady-state and transient measurements done on an 800-A 1.7-kV Dynex IGBT module at 25/spl deg/C and 125/spl deg/C. The Spice model has also shown excellent agreement with mixed mode MEDICI simulations. The Spice model also takes into account for the first time the parasitic thyristor effect allowing the dc and dynamic temperature-dependent latchup modeling of power modules as well as their temperature-dependent safe operating area.     

Modelling imaging based on core-loss spectroscopy in scanning transmission electron microscopy

Recent experimental realizations of atomic column resolution core-loss spectroscopy in the scanning transmission electron microscope have increased the importance of routinely modelling core-loss images. We discuss different approaches to wave function simulation and how they may be used in conjunction with the mixed dynamic form factor model to simulate images resulting from such inelastic scattering events. It is shown that, as resolution improves and in situations where the degree of thermal scattering is high, detailed quantitative comparisons will require the thermal scattering of electrons to be adequately modelled. Indeed, for sufficiently strong thermal scattering even qualitative interpretation may be affected: we give an example where this leads to a contrast reversal. We describe two methods suited to this purpose, the frozen lattice model and the scattering factor model, and explain how they may be combined with the mixed dynamic form factor approach.     

Jet cup attrition testing

Jet cup attrition testing is a common method for evaluating particle attrition in fixed fluidized beds and circulating fluidized beds. An attrition index, calculated from jet cup data, is used to compare with one or more reference materials. However, this method is far from perfect despite its popularity. Results obtained at Particulate Solid Research, Inc. (PSRI) in different-sized jet cups and a 29-cm (11.5-in.) diameter fluidized bed test unit did not provide the same ranking of catalyst with respect to particle attrition. To obtain a better understanding of attrition in a jet cup, both computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and cold flow studies were performed with a 2.5-cm (1-in.) diameter Davison-type jet cup and PSRI's cylindrical 7.6-cm (3-in.) diameter jet cup. Results showed that a significant amount of material in the Davison and PSRI jet cup remained stagnant. Based on these results and additional CFD modeling, PSRI designed a new jet cup, where most of the material was hydrodynamically active. The new jet cup showed a 25% increase in attrition compared to PSRI's cylindrical jet cup under similar conditions and run times. Results were also compared to cyclone attrition data for several materials at PSRI. The new jet cup provided data that correlated with attrition results from the 29-cm (11.5-in.) diameter fluidized bed unit.     

Electro-mechanical analysis of the audible noise of an inverter-fedsquirrel-cage induction motor

The audible noise emitted by a three-phase squirrel cage induction motor fed by a frequency inverter is determined by the electromagnetic and mechanical behavior of the components of the drive. A computerized analysis method is described that uses theoretical and experimental data for predicting the audible noise spectrum components. Starting from the inverter voltage and the motor data, the electromagnetic forces are predicted and analyzed. The mechanical natural frequencies are considered, either in a theoretical (finite element calculation) or in an experimental (modal analysis) methodology, to predict the vibrational behavior of the machine. The scheme contains the following steps: analysis of the frequency spectrum of the inverter used; synthesis of the magnetic force spectrum accounting for the motor data: calculation or measurement of the resonant data of the stator assembly; and comparison of the force spectrum and the resonant data. These various steps are discussed