Multi-physics energy approach and demonstration facility

A methodology to investigate the generation, transport and storage of energy based on a multi-physics approach, tied to the end use application, is presented. Often little or no consideration is given to the end use or desired product of the energy used. Current energy generation, transport and storage are dominated heavily by a few large sectors, notably electricity and hydrocarbons. These are very effective and practical systems that facilitate the delivery of vast amounts of energy. It is then not surprising that most strategies for renewable energy generation and storage revolve around this centralized model in some way. In larger scale generation, power is usually fed onto the electrical grid with a current challenge being grid stabilization with increasing penetration of intermittent renewable resources. In small grid-independent system a mix of battery and hydrocarbon storage are often used to keep a micro- grid available for various end use applications. A paradigm shift in the thinking and design of energy systems based on the required end use or product is needed. The philosophy and motivation that lead to the consideration of this new approach are outlined in this article. Following this a summary of a methodical approach to developing the most energy and cost-effective solution to general processes by considering their end-use physics is presented. Examples of innovative energy generation, storage, and transport solutions based on the multi-physics approach are then outlined. Finally, a brief description of the Multi-physics Renewable Energy Lab (MPREL), a demonstration facility based on the approach and currently under construction at the Naval Postgraduate School, is given

Fiduciary Law and the Preservation of Trust in Business Relationships

This chapter explores the role of mandatory fiduciary obligations in preserving trust between business parties. Because contracts are inevitably incomplete, after investment there is always a risk of opportunism. While the parties could try to draft a more detailed agreement prohibiting various forms of opportunism, the very act of haggling over such protections may signal distrust, eliciting costly reactions (defensive measures/hedging/lack of intrinsic motivation) in the counterparty. In the absence of fiduciary protections, a vulnerable party may decide to forgo important protections against opportunism, not because such protections are suboptimal or hard to specify ex ante but because bargaining for them would signal distrust. By contrast, state-imposed fiduciary obligations remove the invocation of distrust by either party to the agreement. We further observe that while fiduciary protections can help prevent distrust among a small number of contracting parties, fiduciary protections may prove inadequate in some settings, especially in addressing horizontal conflicts between beneficiaries. The chapter concludes by observing that the limits of contract and fiduciary law leave a residual zone of vulnerability in which trust and other mechanisms of risk reduction play a significant role

Fiduciary Law and the Preservation of Trust in Business Relationships

This chapter explores the role of mandatory fiduciary obligations in preserving trust between business parties. Because contracts are inevitably incomplete, after investment there is always a risk of opportunism. While the parties could try to draft a more detailed agreement prohibiting various forms of opportunism, the very act of haggling over such protections may signal distrust, eliciting costly reactions (defensive measures/hedging/lack of intrinsic motivation) in the counterparty. In the absence of fiduciary protections, a vulnerable party may decide to forgo important protections against opportunism, not because such protections are suboptimal or hard to specify ex ante but because bargaining for them would signal distrust. By contrast, state-imposed fiduciary obligations remove the invocation of distrust by either party to the agreement. We further observe that while fiduciary protections can help prevent distrust among a small number of contracting parties, fiduciary protections may prove inadequate in some settings, especially in addressing horizontal conflicts between beneficiaries. The chapter concludes by observing that the limits of contract and fiduciary law leave a residual zone of vulnerability in which trust and other mechanisms of risk reduction play a significant role

Modeling of a Building Scale Liquid Air Energy Storage and Expansion System with ASPEN HYSYS

Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) is a potential solution to mitigate renewable energy intermittency on islanded microgrids. Renewable microgrid generation in excess of the immediate load runs a cryogenic cycle to create and store liquid air. LAES systems can be combined with an expansion turbine to recover the stored energy. Using analytic methods to design a LAES and expansion system is complex and time consuming, suggesting modeling and simulation as a more efficient approach. Aspen HYSYS, an industrial process modeling software package, was used to model a combined Linde- Hampson cryogenic cycle (for liquefaction of air) and an expansion cycle (to convert the energy from liquid air vaporization to mechanical energy). The model was validated against previous analytic work. The validated model will be used to implement a model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach to design an LAES and expansion system to reduce intermittency on an experimental microgrid at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, USA. Data from this facility will be used to further modify and validate the HYSYS model

Linear Algebraic Calculation of Green's function for Large-Scale Electronic Structure Theory

A linear algebraic method named the shifted conjugate-orthogonal-conjugate-gradient method is introduced for large-scale electronic structure calculation. The method gives an iterative solver algorithm of the Green's function and the density matrix without calculating eigenstates.The problem is reduced to independent linear equations at many energy points and the calculation is actually carried out only for a single energy point. The method is robust against the round-off error and the calculation can reach the machine accuracy. With the observation of residual vectors, the accuracy can be controlled, microscopically, independently for each element of the Green's function, and dynamically, at each step in dynamical simulations. The method is applied to both semiconductor and metal.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. B. A PDF file with better graphics is available at http://fujimac.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/lses

Analysis of Alternative Electrolyzer Technologies to Support Next Generation UAV

NPS NRP Executive SummaryBuilding on experience with the Ion Tiger Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the Naval Research Lab (NRL) is developing prototypes for the next generation, fuel-cell, UAV. A key requirement is for the fuel cell (aka: electrolyzer) to already be qualified for use by the Navy. A sequential system engineering approach will be used to link the desired capability with a UAV solution, and then decompose the UAV system into its sub-systems (or components) with the goal of determining fuel cell performance metrics that address the capability in light of any stakeholder constraints. Key metrics will be compared to data from existing, qualified equipment. Subsequent analysis will determine which existing fuel cell system could be used to realize the desired capability for the next generation UAV. Both physical and operational parameters will be used in this analysis. A comprehensive final report will make expert fuel cell sub-system selection recommendations based on the desired capability and the state-of-the-art. A major technical risk to this approach is that a qualified system, designed for a different task but capable of repurpose for the new application, may not address the need. In this case, recommendations for a suitable fuel cell sub-system will be made.HQMC Aviation (HQMC AVN)This research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Krylov Subspace Method for Molecular Dynamics Simulation based on Large-Scale Electronic Structure Theory

For large scale electronic structure calculation, the Krylov subspace method is introduced to calculate the one-body density matrix instead of the eigenstates of given Hamiltonian. This method provides an efficient way to extract the essential character of the Hamiltonian within a limited number of basis set. Its validation is confirmed by the convergence property of the density matrix within the subspace. The following quantities are calculated; energy, force, density of states, and energy spectrum. Molecular dynamics simulation of Si(001) surface reconstruction is examined as an example, and the results reproduce the mechanism of asymmetric surface dimer.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures; corrected typos; to be published in Journal of the Phys. Soc. of Japa

Bcl-2 protein family: Implications in vascular apoptosis and atherosclerosis

Apoptosis has been recognized as a central component in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, in addition to the other human pathologies such as cancer and diabetes. The pathophysiology of atherosclerosis is complex, involving both apoptosis and proliferation at different phases of its progression. Oxidative modification of lipids and inflammation differentially regulate the apoptotic and proliferative responses of vascular cells during progression of the atherosclerotic lesion. Bcl-2 proteins act as the major regulators of extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis signalling pathways and more recently it has become evident that they mediate the apoptotic response of vascular cells in response to oxidation and inflammation either in a provocative or an inhibitory mode of action. Here we address Bcl-2 proteins as major therapeutic targets for the treatment of atherosclerosis and underscore the need for the novel preventive and therapeutic interventions against atherosclerosis, which should be designed in the light of molecular mechanisms regulating apoptosis of vascular cells in atherosclerotic lesions

Sirolimus inhibits key events of restenosis in vitro/ex vivo: evaluation of the clinical relevance of the data by SI/MPL- and SI/DES-ratio's

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sirolimus (SRL, Rapamycin) has been used successfully to inhibit restenosis both in drug eluting stents (DES) and after systemic application. The current study reports on the effects of SRL in various human in vitro/ex vivo models and evaluates the theoretical clinical relevance of the data by SI/MPL- and SI/DES-ratio's.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Definition of the SI/MPL-ratio: relation between <b>s</b>ignificant <b>i</b>nhibitory effects in vitro/ex vivo and the <b>m</b>aximal <b>p</b>lasma <b>l</b>evel after systemic administration in vivo (6.4 ng/ml for SRL). Definition of the SI/DES-ratio: relation between <b>s</b>ignificant <b>i</b>nhibitory effects in vitro/ex vivo and the drug concentration in <b>DES </b>(7.5 mg/ml in the ISAR drug-eluting stent platform). Part I of the study investigated in cytoflow studies the effect of SRL (0.01–1000 ng/ml) on TNF-α induced expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) in human coronary endothelial cells (HCAEC) and human coronary smooth muscle cells (HCMSMC). Part II of the study analysed the effect of SRL (0.01–1000 ng/ml) on cell migration of HCMSMC. In part III, IV, and V of the study ex vivo angioplasty (9 bar) was carried out in a human organ culture model (HOC-model). SRL (50 ng/ml) was added for a period of 21 days, after 21 and 56 days cell proliferation, apoptosis, and neointimal hyperplasia was studied.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Expression of ICAM-1 was significantly inhibited both in HCAEC (SRL ≥ 0.01 ng/ml) and HCMSMC (SRL ≥ 10 ng/ml). SRL in concentrations ≥ 0.1 ng/ml significantly inhibited migration of HCMSMC. Cell proliferation and neointimal hyperplasia was inhibited at day 21 and day 56, significance (p < 0.01) was achieved for the inhibitory effect on cell proliferation in the media at day 21. The number of apoptotic cells was always below 1%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>SI/MPL-ratio's ≤ 1 (ICAM-1 expression, cell migration) characterize inhibitory effects of SRL that can be theoretically expected both after systemic and local high dose administration, a SI/MPL-ratio of 7.81 (cell proliferation) represents an effect that was achieved with drug concentrations 7.81-times the MPL. SI/DES-ratio's between 10^-6and 10^-8indicate that the described inhibitory effects of SRL have been detected with micro to nano parts of the SRL concentration in the ISAR drug-eluting stent platform. Drug concentrations in DES will be a central issue in the future.</p