Catalysts for ultrahigh current density oxygen cathodes for space fuel cell applications

The objective of this research was to identify promising electrocatalyst/support systems for the oxygen cathode in alkaline fuel cells operating at relatively high temperatures, O2 pressures and current densities. A number of materials were prepared, including Pb-Ru and Pb-Ir pyrochlores, RuO2 and Pt-doped RuO2, and lithiated NiO. Several of these were prepared using techniques that had not been previously used to prepare them. Particularly interesting is the use of the alkaline solution technique to prepare the Pt-doped Pb-Ru pyrochlore in high area form. Well-crystallized Pb(2)Ru(2)O(7-y) was used to fabricate high performance O2 cathodes with relatively good stability in room temperature KOH. This material was also found to be stable over a useful potential range at approximately 140 C in concentrated KOH. Other pyrochlores were found to be either unstable (amorphous samples) or the fabrication of the gas-fed electrodes could not be fully optimized during this project period. Future work may be directed at this problem. High area platinum supported on conductive metal oxide supports produced mixed results: small improvements in O2 reduction performance for Pb(2)Ru(2)O(7-y) but a large improvement for Li-doped NiO at room temperature. Nearly reversible behavior was observed for the O2/OH couple for Li-doped NiO at approximately 200 C

Some applications of excited-state-excited-state transition densities

We derive an approximation for transition moments between excited states consistent with the approximations and assumptions normally used to obtain transition moments betwen the ground and excited states in the random-phase approximation and its higher-order approximations. We apply the result to the calculation of the photoionization cross sections of the 23S and 21S metastable states of helium by a numerical analytical continuation of the frequency-dependent polarizability. The procedure completely avoids the need for continuum basis functions. The cross sections agree well with the results of other calculations. We also predict an accurate two-photon decay rate for the 21S metastable state of helium. The entire procedure is immediately applicable to several problems involving photoionization of metastable states of molecules

Aeroelastic model helicopter rotor testing in the Langley TDT

Wind-tunnel testing of a properly scaled aeroelastic model helicopter rotor is considered a necessary phase in the design development of new or existing rotor systems. For this reason, extensive testing of aeroelastically scaled model rotors is done in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) located at the NASA Langley Research Center. A unique capability of this facility, which enables proper dynamic scaling, is the use of Freon as a test medium. A description of the TDT and a discussion of the benefits of using Freon as a test medium are presented. A description of the model test bed used, the Aeroelastic Rotor Experimental System (ARES), is also provided and examples of recent rotor tests are cited to illustrate the advantages and capabilities of aeroelastic model rotor testing in the TDT. The importance of proper dynamic scaling in identifying and solving rotorcraft aeroelastic problems, and the importance of aeroelastic testing of model rotor systems in the design of advanced rotor systems are demonstrated

The storage of Hubbard squash, Bulletin, no. 356

The Bulletin is a publication of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

GROUNDWATER RADIOIODINE: PREVALENCE, BIOGEOCHEMISTRY, AND POTENTIAL REMEDIAL APPROACHES

Iodine-129 ({sup 129}I) has not received as much attention in basic and applied research as other contaminants associated with DOE plumes. These other contaminants, such as uranium, plutonium, strontium, and technetium are more widespread and exist at more DOE facilities. Yet, at the Hanford Site and the Savannah River Site {sup 129}I occurs in groundwater at concentrations significantly above the primary drinking water standard and there is no accepted method for treating it, other than pump-and-treat systems. With the potential arrival of a 'Nuclear Renaissance', new nuclear power facilities will be creating additional {sup 129}I waste at a rate of 1 Ci/gigawatts energy produced. If all 22 proposed nuclear power facilities in the U.S. get approved, they will produce more {sup 129}I waste in seven years than presently exists at the two facilities containing the largest {sup 129}I inventories, ({approx}146 Ci {sup 129}I at the Hanford Site and the Savannah River Site). Hence, there is an important need to fully understand {sup 129}I behavior in the environment to clean up existing plumes and to support the expected future expansion of nuclear power production. {sup 129}I is among the key risk drivers at all DOE nuclear disposal facilities where {sup 129}I is buried, because of its long half-life (16 million years), high toxicity (90% of the body's iodine accumulates in the thyroid), high inventory, and perceived high mobility in the subsurface environment. Another important reason that {sup 129}I is a key risk driver is that there is the uncertainty regarding its biogeochemical fate and transport in the environment. We typically can define {sup 129}I mass balance and flux at sites, but can not accurately predict its response to changes in the environment. This uncertainty is in part responsible for the low drinking water standard, 1 pCi/L {sup 129}I, and the low permissible inventory limits (Ci) at the Savannah River Site, Hanford Site, and the former Yucca Mountain disposal facilities. The objectives of this report are to: (1) compile the background information necessary to understand behavior of {sup 129}I in the environment, (2) discuss sustainable remediation approaches to {sup 129}I contaminated groundwater, and (3) identify areas of research that will facilitate remediation of {sup 129}I contaminated areas on DOE sites. Lines of scientific inquiry that would significantly advance the goals of basic and applied research programs for accelerating {sup 129}I environmental remediation and reducing uncertainty associated with disposal of {sup 129}I waste are: (1) Evaluation of amendments or other treatment systems that can sequester subsurface groundwater {sup 129}I. (2) Develop analytical techniques for measurement of total {sup 129}I that eliminate the necessity of collecting and shipping large samples of groundwater. (3) Develop and evaluate ways to manipulate areas with organic-rich soil, such as wetlands, to maximize {sup 129}I sorption, minimizing releases during anoxic conditions. (4) Develop analytical techniques that can identify the various {sup 129}I species in the subsurface aqueous and solid phases at ambient concentrations and under ambient conditions. (5) Identify the mechanisms and factors controlling iodine-natural organic matter interactions at appropriate environmental concentrations. (6) Understand the biological processes that transform iodine species throughout different compartments of subsurface waste sites and the role that these processes have on {sup 129}I flux

Potential Predictability of Net Primary Production in the Ocean

Interannual variations in marine net primary production (NPP) contribute to the variability of available living marine resources, as well as influence critical carbon cycle processes. Here we provide a global overview of near-term (1 to 10 years) potential predictability of marine NPP using a novel set of initialized retrospective decadal forecasts from an Earth System Model. Interannual variations in marine NPP are potentially predictable in many areas of the ocean 1 to 3 years in advance, from temperate waters to the tropics, showing a substantial improvement over a simple persistence forecast. However, some regions, such as the subpolar Southern Ocean, show low potential predictability.We analyze how bottom-up drivers of marine NPP (nutrients, light, and temperature) contribute to its predictability. Regions where NPP is primarily driven by the physical supply of nutrients (e.g., subtropics) retain higher potential predictability than high-latitude regions where NPP is controlled by light and/or temperature (e.g., the Southern Ocean).We further examine NPP predictability in the world\u27s Large Marine Ecosystems. With a few exceptions, we show that initialized forecasts improve potential predictability of NPP in Large Marine Ecosystems over a persistence forecast and may aid to manage living marine resources

Pressure Induced Topological Phase Transitions in Membranes

Some highly unusual features of a lipid-water liquid crystal are revealed by high pressure x-ray diffraction, light scattering and dilatometric studies of the lamellar (bilayer $L_{\alpha}$) to nonlamellar inverse hexagonal ($H_{II}$) phase transition. (i) The size of the unit cell of the $H_{II}$ phase increases with increasing pressure. (ii) The transition volume, $\Delta V_{bh}$, decreases and appears to vanish as the pressure is increased. (iii) The intensity of scattered light increases as $\Delta V_{bh}$ decreases. Data are presented which suggest that this increase is due to the formation of an intermediate cubic phase, as predicted by recent theoretical suggestions of the underlying universal phase sequence.Comment: 12 pages, typed using REVTEX 2.

Predicting near-term variability in ocean carbon uptake

Interannual variations in air–sea fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) impact the global carbon cycle and climate system, and previous studies suggest that these variations may be predictable in the near term (from a year to a decade in advance). Here, we quantify and understand the sources of near-term predictability and predictive skill in air–sea CO2 flux on global and regional scales by analyzing output from a novel set of retrospective decadal forecasts of an Earth system model. These forecasts exhibit the potential to predict year-to-year variations in the globally integrated air–sea CO2 flux several years in advance, as indicated by the high correlation of the forecasts with a model reconstruction of past CO2 flux evolution. This potential predictability exceeds that obtained solely from foreknowledge of variations in external forcing or a simple persistence forecast, with the longest-lasting forecast enhancement in the subantarctic Southern Ocean and the northern North Atlantic. Potential predictability in CO2 flux variations is largely driven by predictability in the surface ocean partial pressure of CO2, which itself is a function of predictability in surface ocean dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity. The potential predictability, however, is not realized as predictive skill, as indicated by the moderate to low correlation of the forecasts with an observationally based CO2 flux product. Nevertheless, our results suggest that year-to-year variations in ocean carbon uptake have the potential to be predicted well in advance and establish a precedent for forecasting air–sea CO2 flux in the near future.</p