Solar thermoelectricity Via Advanced Latent Heat Storage

An aspect of the present disclosure is a system that includes a thermal valve having a first position and a second position, a heat transfer fluid, and an energy converter where, when in the first position, the thermal valve prevents the transfer of heat from the heat transfer fluid to the energy converter, and when in the second position, the thermal valve allows the transfer of heat from the heat transfer fluid to the energy converter, such that at least a portion of the heat transferred is converted to electricity by the energy converter

Processing of Transparent Rare Earth Doped Zirconia for High Temperature Light Emission Applications

The high fracture toughness of stabilized zirconia makes it one of the most widely applicable high temperature structural materials. However, it is not typicality considered for optical applications since the microstructure achieved by traditional processing makes it opaque. The aim of this dissertation is to develop processing methods for the introducing new functionalities of light transparency and light emission (photoluminescence) and to understand the nanostructure-property relationships that make these functionalities possible. A processing study of rare-earth (RE) doped Zirconium Oxide (ZrO2, zirconia) via Current Activated Pressure Assisted Densification (CAPAD) is presented. The role of processing temperature and dopant concentration on the crystal structure, microstructure and properties of the RE: ZrO2 is studied. Microstructural shows sub-100 nm grain size and homogeneous dopant distribution. X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis show that with increased dopant concentration the material changes from monoclinic to tetragonal. Structural analysis shows the material shows high hardness and toughness values 30% greater than similarly processed yttria-stabilized zirconia. Despite birefringence in the tetragonal phase, optical characterization is presented showing the samples are both highly transparent and photo-luminescent. Special attention is paid to analyzing structural and photoluminescence development during densification, as well as the role of oxygen vacancies on the optical properties of the densified material. This material is shown to be a promising candidate for a number of applications including luminescence thermometry and high temperature light emission

Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage in Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plants

Experimental studies are presented that aim to utilize phase change materials (PCM's) to enhance thermal energy storage systems for concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) systems. Both laboratory scale and prototype flow loop scale experiments were conducted. Background and motivation of the system is presented followed by experimental results and experimental system design. Laboratory experiments were performed to determine the effectiveness of various surface treatments on changing the nucleation kinetics and enhancing heat transfer in the system. Experimental data is presented to show the effectiveness of both surface finish and surface material treatments.A large scale flow loop was designed and built to determine real heat transfer during solidification. Extensive design calculations were performed along with CAD design before the apparatus was constructed. Once the system was built, systematic testing and development led to a fully functional system ready for actual heat transfer testing

High-accuracy wavefront sensing for x-ray free electron lasers

Systematic understanding and real-time feedback capability for x-ray free electron laser (FEL) accelerator and optical components are critical for scientific experiments and instrument performance. Single-shot wavefront sensing enables characterization of the intensity and local electric field distribution at the sample plane, something that is important for understanding scientific experiments such as nonlinear studies. It can also provide feedback for alignment and tuning of the FEL beam and instrumentation optics, leading to optimal instrument performance and greater operational efficiency. A robust, sensitive, and accurate single-shot wavefront sensor for x-ray FEL beams using single grating Talbot interferometry has been developed. Experiments performed at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) demonstrate 3 sensitivity and accuracy, both better than /100, and retrieval of hard x-ray (=0.13  nm, =9.5  keV) wavefronts in 3D. Exhibiting high performance from both unfocused and focused beams, the same setup can be used to systematically study the wavefront from the FEL output, beam transport optics, and endstation focusing optics. This technique can be extended for use with softer and harder x rays with modified grating configurations

Adaptive shape control of wavefront-preserving X-ray mirrors with active cooling and heating.

This article describes the development and testing of a novel, water-cooled, active optic mirror system (called "REAL: Resistive Element Adjustable Length") that combines cooling with applied auxiliary heating, tailored to the spatial distribution of the thermal load generated by the incident beam. This technique is theoretically capable of sub-nanometer surface figure error control even at high power density. Tests conducted in an optical metrology laboratory and at synchrotron X-ray beamlines showed the ability to maintain the mirror profile to the level needed for the next generation storage rings and FEL mirrors