A Distributed Parameter Model for a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell: Simulating Realistic Operating Conditions

We present a detailed multiphysics model capable of simulating the dyn amic behavior of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). This model includes a description of a ll the important physical and chemical processes in a fuel cell: fluid flow, mass and heat trans fer, electronic and ionic potential fields, as well as the chemical and electrochemical react ions. The resulting highly nonlinear, coupled system of differential equations is solved using a fi nite volume discretization. Our interest lies in simulating realistic operating conditions with the obj ective of high efficiency operation at high fuel utilization. While there are a number of studies in the literature that present multiphysics models for SOFCs, few have focused on simulat ing operating conditions that are necessary if SOFC systems are to realize their promise of h igh efficiency conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy. In this report we present s imulation results at operating conditions that approach the required ranges of power density an d overall efficiency. Our results include a) the temperature and composition profiles along a typical f uel cell in a SOFC stack, b) the dynamic response of the cell to step changes in the available inpu t variables. Since models such as the one presented here are fairly expensive computationa lly and cannot be directly used for online model predictive control, one generally looks to use simplifie d reduced order models for control. We briefly discuss the implications of our model results o n the validity of using reduced models for the control of SOFC stacks to show that avoid ing operating regions where well-known degradation modes are activated is non-trivial without u sing detailed multiphysics models

Probing the evolution of electronic phase-coexistence in complex systems by terahertz radiation

In complex oxides, the electrons under the influence of competing energetics are the cornerstone of coexistence (or phase-separation) of two or more electronic/magnetic phases in same structural configuration. Probing of growth and evolution of such phase-coexistence state is crucial to determine the correct mechanism of related phase-transition. Here, we demonstrate the combination of terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy and DC transport as a novel strategy to probe the electronic phase-coexistence. This is demonstrated in disorder controlled phase-separated rare-earth nickelate thin films which exhibit metal-insulator transition in dc conductivity at around 180 K but lack this transition in terahertz (THz) dynamics conductivity down to low temperature. Such pronounced disparity exploits two extreme attributes: i) enormous sensitivity of THz radiation to a spatial range of its wavelength-compatible electronic inhomogeneities and ii) insensitivity to a range beyond the size of its wavelength. This feature is generic in nature (sans a photo-induced effect), depends solely on the size of insulating/metallic clusters and formulates a methodology with unique sensitivity to investigate electronic phase-coexistence and phase transition of any material system

A descriptive study of cranio-cerebral injuries admitted in tertiary care center of coastal Andhra Pradesh

Introduction: Demographic and clinical profile of traumatic brain injury (TBI) of a particular place is very crucial for strengthening the guidelines. The details of same are scant from a tertiary institute, Nellore district. The present study aims to explore the demographic, injury and clinical aspects of cerebro-cranial injury patients from an institute setup. Methods: The study consists of two years retrospective data and one year prospective data. The study was approved by institute ethical committee. The patient data was entered on pre designed proforma that includes the desired variables. The data analysis was done using StatsDirect software. Both prospective and retrospective data was merged for analysis. Percentages for categorical data and mean values for continuous data were calculated. Results: There were total of 336 patients. Patients in age group of 21 to 50 years constituted 67% and males were four times higher than females. Nearly one fourth of patients were influenced by alcohol. Three fourth of accidents were due to road traffic accidents (RTAs) followed by falls (17%) and assault (6%). About one tenth of patients were pedestrians. One fourth of patients had associated injuries other than head and brain. On CT findings majority of patients had cerebral contusion (46%) followed by skull fracture (40%), SDH (28%) and EDH (23%). Twenty two patients died in the study period. Conclusion: Knowledge of injury and its later consequences to public is very important. Strict rules to consider safety precautions and compulsory family insurances should be encouraged. Rules to prevent paediatric drive

Influence of the substrate-induced strain and irradiation disorder on the Peierls transition in TTF-TCNQ microdomains

The influence of the combined effects of substrate-induced strain, finite size and electron irradiation-induced defects have been studied on individual micron-sized domains of the organic charge transfer compound tetrathiafulvalene-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TTF-TCNQ) by temperature-dependent conductivity and current-voltage measurements. The individual domains have been isolated by focused ion beam etching and electrically contacted by focused ion and electron beam induced deposition of metallic contacts. The temperature-dependent conductivity follows a variable range hopping behavior which shows a crossover of the exponent as the Peierls transition is approached. The low temperature behavior is analyzed within the segmented rod model of Fogler, Teber and Shklowskii, as originally developed for a charge-ordered quasi one-dimensional electron crystal. The results are compared with data obtained on as-grown and electron irradiated epitaxial TTF-TCNQ thin films of the two-domain type

Comparative Study of Parsimonious NARX Models for Three Phase Separator

The three phase separator is an important unit in oil and gas production facilities to separate gas, water and condensate from the fluid (raw gas) generated from gas wells. A dynamic model of the three phase separator is essential for process optimization and control design. Since first principles modelling of the three phase separator is complex, a data based model (Wavelet Network based Nonlinear AutoRegressive eXogenous model (WN-NARX)) is used to capture the dynamics of the process. As most of the terms in the WN-NARX expansion are redundant, this identification problem is over parameterized. In order to handle this issue, a sparsity constraint on the parameter vector is considered and sparse estimation algorithms such as Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP) and Least Angle Regression (LAR) are used for identification of the WA-NARX model. The application of these sparse estimation methods for identification of an industrial three phase separator process is demonstrated

Comparison of Compressed Sensing Algorithms for Inversion of 3-D Electrical Resistivity Tomography

Image reconstruction algorithms derived from electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) are highly non-linear, sparse, and ill-posed. The inverse problem is much severe, when dealing with 3-D datasets that result in large sized matrices. Conventional gradient based techniques using L2 norm minimization with some sort of regularization can impose smoothness constraint on the solution. Compressed sensing (CS) is relatively new technique that takes the advantage of inherent sparsity in parameter space in one or the other form. If favorable conditions are met, CS was proven to be an efficient image reconstruction technique that uses limited observations without losing edge sharpness. This paper deals with the development of an open source 3-D resistivity inversion tool using CS framework. The forward model was adopted from RESINVM3D (Pidlisecky et al., 2007) with CS as the inverse code. Discrete cosine transformation (DCT) function was used to induce model sparsity in orthogonal form. Two CS based algorithms viz., interior point method and two-step IST were evaluated on a synthetic layered model with surface electrode observations. The algorithms were tested (in terms of quality and convergence) under varying degrees of parameter heterogeneity, model refinement, and reduced observation data space. In comparison to conventional gradient algorithms, CS was proven to effectively reconstruct the sub-surface image with less computational cost. This was observed by a general increase in NRMSE from 0.5 in 10 iterations using gradient algorithm to 0.8 in 5 iterations using CS algorithms

Application of time-lapse ERT to characterize soil-water-disease interactions of young citrus trees

Vidarbha region in Maharashtra, India is witnessing a continuous decrease in orange crop due to the propagation of `Phytopthora root rot', a water mold disease. Under favorable conditions, the disease causing bacteria can attack the plant root system and propagates to the surface (where first visual impression is made), making difficult to regain the plant health. This research aims at co-relating eco-hydrological fluxes with disease sensing parameters of orange trees. Two experimental plots around a healthy-young and declined-young orange trees were selected for our analysis. A 3-dimentional electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) (Figure) was carried at each plot to quantify the soil moisture distribution at a vadose zone. Pedo-electric relations were obtained considering modified Archie's law parameters. ERT derived moisture data was validated with time domain reflectometry (TDR) point observations. Soil moisture profiles derived from ERT were observed to be differ marginally between the two plots. Disease quantification was done by estimating the density of Phytopthora spp. inoculum in soils sampled along the root zone. Identification of Phytopthora spp. was done in the laboratory using taxonomic and morphologic criteria of the colonies. Spatio-temporal profiles of soil moisture and inoculum density were then co-related to comment on the eco-hydrological fluxes contributing to the health propagation of root rot in orange tree for implementing effective water management practices