Identifiability Study of Lithium-Ion Battery Capacity Fade Using Degradation Mode Sensitivity for a Minimally and Intuitively Parametrized Electrode-Specific Cell Open-Circuit Voltage Model

When two electrode open-circuit potentials form a full-cell OCV (open-circuit voltage) model, cell-level SOH (state of health) parameters related to LLI (loss of lithium inventory) and LAM (loss of active materials) naturally appear. Such models have been used to interpret experimental OCV measurements and infer these SOH parameters associated with capacity fade. In this work, we first re-parametrize a popular OCV model formulation by the N/P (negative-to-positive) ratio and Li/P (lithium-to-positive) ratio, which have more symmetric and intuitive physical meaning, and are also pristine-condition-agnostic and cutoff-voltage-independent. We then study the modal identifiability of capacity fade by mathematically deriving the gradients of electrode slippage and cell OCV with respect to these SOH parameters, where the electrode differential voltage fractions, which characterize each electrode's relative contribution to the OCV slope, play a key role in passing the influence of a fixed cutoff voltage to the parameter sensitivity. The sensitivity gradients of the total capacity also reveal four characteristic regimes regarding how much lithium inventory and active materials are limiting the apparent capacity. We show the usefulness of these sensitivity gradients with an application regarding degradation mode identifiability from OCV measurements at different SOC (state of charge) windows.Comment: 32 pages, 9 figures, 5 table

The role of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in filament threads

Many solar filaments and prominences show short-lived horizontal threads lying parallel to the photosphere. In this work the possible link between Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities and thread lifetimes is investigated. This is done by calculating the eigenmodes of a thread modelled as a Cartesian slab under the presence of gravity. An analytical dispersion relation is derived using the incompressible assumption for the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) perturbations. The system allows a mode that is always stable, independently of the value of the Alfv\'en speed in the thread. The character of this mode varies from being localised at the upper interface of the slab when the magnetic field is weak, to having a global nature and resembling the transverse kink mode when the magnetic field is strong. On the contrary, the slab model permits another mode that is unstable and localised at the lower interface when the magnetic field is weak. The growth rates of this mode can be very short, of the order of minutes for typical thread conditions. This Rayleigh-Taylor unstable mode becomes stable when the magnetic field is increased, and in the limit of strong magnetic field it is essentially a sausage magnetic mode. The gravity force might have a strong effect on the modes of oscillation of threads, depending on the value of the Alfv\'en speed. In the case of threads in quiescent filaments, where the Alfv\'en speed is presumably low, very short lifetimes are expected according to the slab model. In active region prominences, the stabilising effect of the magnetic tension might be enough to suppress the Rayleigh-Taylor instability for a wide range of wavelengths

Peak expiratory flow rates produced with the Laerdal and Mapleson-C bagging circuits

This study compared the peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR) at different inspiratory pause pressures (IPP) produced by the Mapleson-C circuit and the Laerdal self-inflating resuscitator.The difference in PEFR produced by the two circuits was significantly different at the lowest and the highest IPP studied (I3 and 38cm H20). The greatest differences in the mean expiratory flow rates produced was, however, only 0.07 litre sec-7. The authors suggest that the choice of bagging circuit should depend on the experience and familiarity of the therapist with the circuit

Peer Evaluation of Video Lab Reports in a Blended Introductory Physics Course

The Georgia Tech blended introductory calculus-based mechanics course emphasizes scientific communication as one of its learning goals, and to that end, we gave our students a series of four peer-evaluation assignments intended to develop their abilities to present and evaluate scientific arguments. Within these assignments, we also assessed students' evaluation abilities by comparing their evaluations to a set of expert evaluations. We summarize our development efforts and describe the changes we observed in student evaluation behavior.Comment: 4 pages, 1 table, 2 figures, submitted to Summer 2014 PERC Proceeding

The Initial State of Students Taking an Introductory Physics MOOC

As part of a larger research project into massively open online courses (MOOCs), we have investigated student background, as well as student participation in a physics MOOC with a laboratory component. Students completed a demographic survey and the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation at the beginning of the course. While the course is still actively running, we have tracked student participation over the first five weeks of the eleven-week course.Comment: Accepted to PERC Proceedings 201

The effect of the solar corona on the attenuation of small-amplitude prominence oscillations. I. Longitudinal magnetic field

Context. One of the typical features shown by observations of solar prominence oscillations is that they are damped in time and that the values of the damping times are usually between one and three times the corresponding oscillatory period. However, the mechanism responsible for the attenuation is still not well-known. Aims. Thermal conduction, optically thin or thick radiation and heating are taken into account in the energy equation, and their role on the attenuation of prominence oscillations is evaluated. Methods. The dispersion relation for linear non-adiabatic magnetoacoustic waves is derived considering an equilibrium made of a prominence plasma slab embedded in an unbounded corona. The magnetic field is orientated along the direction parallel to the slab axis and has the same strength in all regions. By solving the dispersion relation for a fixed wavenumber, a complex oscillatory frequency is obtained, and the period and the damping time are computed. Results. The effect of conduction and radiation losses is different for each magnetoacoustic mode and depends on the wavenumber. In the observed range of wavelengths the internal slow mode is attenuated by radiation from the prominence plasma, the fast mode by the combination of prominence radiation and coronal conduction and the external slow mode by coronal conduction. The consideration of the external corona is of paramount importance in the case of the fast and external slow modes, whereas it does not affect the internal slow modes at all. Conclusions. Non-adiabatic effects are efficient damping mechanisms for magnetoacoustic modes, and the values of the obtained damping times are compatible with those observed.Comment: Accepted in A&

Results for the 2023 VIMS Industry Cooperative Surveys of the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Georges Bank Scallop Resource Areas

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) conducted high resolution sea scallop dredge surveys of the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) and Georges Bank (GB) scallop resource areas during May–July 2023