Characterization testing of a 40 Ahr bipolar nickel hydrogen battery

In a continuing effort to develop NiH2 bipolar technology to a point where it can be used efficiently in space flight, testing of a second 40 Ahr, 10-cell bipolar battery has begun. This battery has undergone extensive characterization testing to determine the effects of such operating parameters as charge and discharge rates, temperature, and pressure. The fundamental design of this actively cooled bipolar battery is the same as the first battery. Most of the individual components, however, are from different manufacturers. Different testing procedures as well as certain unique battery characteristics make it difficult to directly compare the two sets of results. In general, the performance of this battery throughout characterization produced expected results. The main differences seen between the first and second batteries occurred during the high-rate discharge portion of the test matrix. The first battery also had poor high-rate discharge results, although better than those of the second battery. Minor changes were made to the battery frame design used for the first battery in an attempt to allow better gas access to the reaction sites for the second build and hopefully improve performance. The changes, however, did not improve the performance of the second battery and could have possibly contributed to the poorer performance that was observed. There are other component differences that could have contributed to the poorer performance of the second battery. The H2 electrode in the second battery was constructed with a Goretex backing which could have limited the high-rate current flow. The gas screen in the second battery had a larger mesh which again could have limited the high-rate current flow. Small scale 2 x 2 batteries are being tested to evaluate the effects of the component variations

Polyvinyl alcohol cross-linked with two aldehydes

A film forming polyvinyl alcohol resin is admixed, in aqueous solution, with a dialdehyde crosslinking agent which is capable of crosslinking the polyvinyl alcohol resin and a water soluble acid aldehyde containing a reactive aldehyde group capable of reacting with hydroxyl groups in the polyvinyl alcohol resin and an ionizable acid hydrogen atom. The dialdehyde is present in an amount sufficient to react with from 1 to 20% by weight of the theoretical amount required to react with all of the hydroxyl groups of the polyvinyl alcohol. The amount of acid aldehyde is from 1 to 50% by weight, same basis, and is sufficient to reduce the pH of the aqueous admixture to 5 or less. The admixture is then formed into a desired physical shape, such as by casting a sheet or film, and the shaped material is then heated to simultaneously dry and crosslink the article

Cannabis through the looking glass: chemo- and enantio-selective separation of phytocannabinoids by enantioselective ultra high performance supercritical fluid chromatography

By using the Inverted Chirality Columns Approach (ICCA) we have developed an enantioselective UHPSFC method to determine the enantiomeric excess (ee) of (-)-Δ(9)-THC in medicinal marijuana (Bedrocan®). The ee was high (99.73%), but the concentration of the (+)-enantiomer (0.135%) was not negligible, and it is worth a systematic evaluation of bioactivity

EVALUATION OF THE AEROSOL TYPE EFFECT ON THE SURFACE REFLECTANCE RETRIEVAL USING CHRIS/PROBA IMAGES OVER LAND

Surface reflectance has a central role in the analysis of land surface for a broad variety of agricultural, geological and urban studies. An accurate atmospheric correction, obtained by an appropriate selection of aerosol type and loading, is the first requirement for a reliable surface reflectance estimation. The aerosol type is defined by its micro-physical properties, while the aerosol loading is described by optical thickness at 550 nm. The aim of this work is to evaluate the radiative impact of the aerosol model on the surface reflectance obtained from CHRIS (Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) hyperspectral data over land by using the specifically developed algorithm CHRIS@CRI (CHRIS Atmospherically Corrected Reflectance Imagery) based on the 6SV radiative transfer model. Five different aerosol models have been used: one provided by the AERONET inversion products (used as reference), three standard aerosol models in 6SV, and one obtained from the output of the GEOS-Chem global chemistry-transport model (CTM). As test case the urban site of Bruxelles and the suburban area of Rome Tor Vergata have been considered. The results obtained encourages the use of CTM in operational retrieval and provides an evaluation of the role of the aerosol model in the atmospheric correction process, considering the different microphysical properties impact

Traffic Optimization at Junctions to Improve Vehicular Flows

The aim of this work is to improve urban traffic viability through an appropriate choice of yielding and stop signs or red and green phases for traffic lights in junctions with two entering and one exiting roads (junctions of 2×1 type). We consider a macroscopic fluid-dynamic model able to capture the traffic evolution. We analyze different functionals measuring networks performance in terms of average velocity, average traveling time, total flux, density, stop and go waves, average traveling time, weighted with the number of cars moving on roads, and kinetic energy. Right of way parameters which optimize the latter two functionals are obtained. Simulations of simple junctions of 2×1type have been used to test the correctness of the analytical results. Then, global performance of optimization procedures has been investigated on Re di Roma Square, in Italy. In particular, we discuss cases in which the functionals are optimized locally at each junction for different values of right of way parameters. We show that for the chosen initial data the only algorithm for the maximization of velocity assures globally the best performance for the network, also in terms of average traveling times and kinetic energy

Cancerogenesis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica

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