20,216 research outputs found
Effects on Amorphous Silicon Photovoltaic Performance from High-temperature Annealing Pulses in Photovoltaic Thermal Hybrid Devices
There is a renewed interest in photovoltaic solar thermal (PVT) hybrid
systems, which harvest solar energy for heat and electricity. Typically, a main
focus of a PVT system is to cool the photovoltaic (PV) cells to improve the
electrical performance, however, this causes the thermal component to
under-perform compared to a solar thermal collector. The low temperature
coefficients of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) allow for the PV cells to be
operated at higher temperatures and are a potential candidate for a more
symbiotic PVT system. The fundamental challenge of a-Si:H PV is light-induced
degradation known as the Staebler-Wronski effect (SWE). Fortunately, SWE is
reversible and the a-Si:H PV efficiency can be returned to its initial state if
the cell is annealed. Thus an opportunity exists to deposit a-Si:H directly on
the solar thermal absorber plate where the cells could reach the high
temperatures required for annealing.
In this study, this opportunity is explored experimentally. First a-Si:H PV
cells were annealed for 1 hour at 100\degreeC on a 12 hour cycle and for the
remaining time the cells were degraded at 50\degreeC in order to simulate
stagnation of a PVT system for 1 hour once a day. It was found that, when
comparing the cells after stabilization at normal 50\degreeC degradation, this
annealing sequence resulted in a 10.6% energy gain when compared to a cell that
was only degraded at 50\degreeC
Connecting Mathematics and the Applied Science of Energy Conservation
To effectively teach science in the elementary classroom, pre-service K-8 teachers need a basic understanding of the underlying concepts of physics, which demand a strong foundation in mathematics. Unfortunately, the depth of mathematics understanding of prospective elementary teachers has been a growing and serious concern for several decades. To overcome this challenge, a two-pronged attack was used in this study. First. students in mathematics courses were coupled with physical science courses by linking registration to ensure co-requisites were taken. This alone improved passing rates. Secondly, an energy conservation project was introduced in both classes that intimately tied the theoretical mathematics base knowledge to problems in physical science, energy efficiency, and household economics. These connections made the mathematics highly relevant to the students and improved both their theoretical understanding and their grades. Together, the two approaches of tying mathematics to physical science and applying mathematical skills to solving energy efficiency problems have shown to be extremely effective at improving student performance. This five-year study not only exhibited record improvements in student performance, but also can be easily replicated at other institutions experiencing similar challenges in training pre-service elementary school teachers
Characterization-curing-property studies of HBRF 55A resin formulations
Characterization curing property investigations on HBRF 55A resin formulations are reported. The initial studies on as received cured samples cut from a full-size FWC are reviewed. Inadequacies of as-received and aged samples are pointed out and additional electron microscopic evidence is offered. Characterization of as-received ingredients of HBRF 55A formulation is described. Specifically, Epon 826, Epon 828, EpiRez 5022, RD-2 and various amines, including Tonox and Tonox 60.40, were characterized. Cure kinetics of various formulations are investigated. Changes in physical/thermal properties (viscosity, specific heat, thermal conductivity and density) during cure are described
The impact of the graduated driver licence scheme on road traffic accident youth mortality in New Zealand
This paper examines the impact of the introduction of New Zealand’s Graduated Driving Licence System (GDLS) on patterns of road traffic accident mortality amongst the young driving population from 1980 to 2001. Results show that the mortality rate has declined, but that rates in New Zealand are three times greater than in England and Wales and twice those of Scotland. When the data is adjusted to take account of differences in the minimum driving age, rates remain consistently higher in New Zealand and the proportional reduction in road traffic accident youth mortality is not significantly better than that experienced in Great Britain
Palladium, platinum, and gold distribution in serpentinite seamounts in the Mariana and Izu-Bonin forearcs: evidence from Leg 125 fluids and serpentinites
Palladium, platinum, and gold were analyzed for 20 interstitial water samples from Leg 125. No Pd or Pt was detected in fluids from serpentinite muds from Conical Seamount in the Mariana forearc, indicating that low-temperature seawater-peridotite interaction does not mobilize these elements into the serpentinizing fluids to levels above 0.10 parts per billion (ppb) in solution. However, Au may be mobilized in high pH solutions. In contrast, fluids from vitric-rich clays on the flanks of the Torishima Seamount in the Izu-Bonin forearc have Pd values of between 4.0 and 11.8 nmol/L, Pt values between 2.3 and 5.0 nmol/L and Au values between 126.9 and 1116.9 pmol/L. The precious metals are mobilized, and possibly adsorbed onto clay mineral surfaces, during diagenesis and burial of the volcanic-rich clays. Desorption during squeezing of the sediments may produce the enhanced precious metal concentrations in the analyzed fluids. The metals are mobilized in the fluids probably as neutral hydroxide, bisulfide, and ammonia complexes. Pt/Pd ratios are between 0.42 and 2.33, which is much lower than many of the potential sources for Pt and Pd but is consistent with the greater solubility of Pd compared with Pt in most natural low-temperature fluids
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Possible crater-based pingos, paleolakes and periglacial landscapes in the high latitudes of Utopia Planitia, Mars
Palladium, platinum, and gold distribution in serpentinite seamounts in the Mariana and Izu-Bonin forearcs: evidence from Leg 125 fluids and serpentinites
Palladium, platinum, and gold were analyzed for 20 interstitial water samples from Leg 125. No Pd or Pt was detected in fluids from serpentinite muds from Conical Seamount in the Mariana forearc, indicating that low-temperature seawater-peridotite interaction does not mobilize these elements into the serpentinizing fluids to levels above 0.10 parts per billion (ppb) in solution. However, Au may be mobilized in high pH solutions. In contrast, fluids from vitric-rich clays on the flanks of the Torishima Seamount in the Izu-Bonin forearc have Pd values of between 4.0 and 11.8 nmol/L, Pt values between 2.3 and 5.0 nmol/L and Au values between 126.9 and 1116.9 pmol/L. The precious metals are mobilized, and possibly adsorbed onto clay mineral surfaces, during diagenesis and burial of the volcanic-rich clays. Desorption during squeezing of the sediments may produce the enhanced precious metal concentrations in the analyzed fluids. The metals are mobilized in the fluids probably as neutral hydroxide, bisulfide, and ammonia complexes. Pt/Pd ratios are between 0.42 and 2.33, which is much lower than many of the potential sources for Pt and Pd but is consistent with the greater solubility of Pd compared with Pt in most natural low-temperature fluids
Self Similar Spherical Collapse Revisited: a Comparison between Gas and Dark Matter Dynamics
We reconsider the collapse of cosmic structures in an Einstein-de Sitter
Universe, using the self similar initial conditions of Fillmore & Goldreich
(1984). We first derive a new approximation to describe the dark matter
dynamics in spherical geometry, that we refer to the "fluid approach". This
method enables us to recover the self-similarity solutions of Fillmore &
Goldreich for dark matter. We derive also new self-similarity solutions for the
gas. We thus compare directly gas and dark matter dynamics, focusing on the
differences due to their different dimensionalities in velocity space. This
work may have interesting consequences for gas and dark matter distributions in
large galaxy clusters, allowing to explain why the total mass profile is always
steeper than the X-ray gas profile. We discuss also the shape of the dark
matter density profile found in N-body simulations in terms of a change of
dimensionality in the dark matter velocity space. The stable clustering
hypothesis has been finally considered in the light of this analytical
approach.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Simulation of associative learning with the replaced elements model
Associative learning theories can be categorised according to whether they treat the representation of stimulus compounds in an elemental or configural manner. Since it is clear that a simple elemental approach to stimulus representation is inadequate there have been several attempts to produce more elaborate elemental models. One recent approach, the Replaced Elements Model (Wagner, 2003), reproduces many results that have until recently been uniquely predicted by Pearce’s Configural Theory (Pearce, 1994). Although it is possible to simulate the Replaced Elements Model using “standard” simulation programs the generation of the correct stimulus representation is complex. The current paper describes a method for simulation of the Replaced Elements Model and presents the results of two example simulations that show differential predictions of Replaced Elements and Pearce’s Configural Theor
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