Endurance test and evaluation of alkaline water electrolysis cells

Utilization in the development of multi-kW low orbit power systems is discussed. The following technological developments of alkaline water electrolysis cells for space power application were demonstrated: (1) four 92.9 cm2 single water electrolysis cells, two using LST's advanced anodes and two using LST's super anodes; (2) four single cell endurance test stands for life testing of alkaline water electrolyte cells; (3) the solid performance of the advanced electrode and 355 K; (4) the breakthrough performance of the super electrode; (5) the four single cells for over 5,000 hours each significant cell deterioration or cell failure. It is concluded that the static feed water electrolysis concept is reliable and due to the inherent simplicity of the passive water feed mechanism coupled with the use of alkaline electrolyte has greater potential for regenerative fuel cell system applications than alternative electrolyzers. A rise in cell voltage occur after 2,000-3,000 hours which was attributed to deflection of the polysulfone end plates due to creepage of the thermoplastic. More end plate support was added, and the performance of the cells was restored to the initial performance level

Static Feed Water Electrolysis Subsystem Testing and Component Development

A program was carried out to develop and test advanced electrochemical cells/modules and critical electromechanical components for a static feed (alkaline electrolyte) water electrolysis oxygen generation subsystem. The accomplishments were refurbishment of a previously developed subsystem and successful demonstration for a total of 2980 hours of normal operation; achievement of sustained one-person level oxygen generation performance with state-of-the-art cell voltages averaging 1.61 V at 191 ASF for an operating temperature of 128F (equivalent to 1.51V when normalized to 180F); endurance testing and demonstration of reliable performance of the three-fluid pressure controller for 8650 hours; design and development of a fluid control assembly for this subsystem and demonstration of its performance; development and demonstration at the single cell and module levels of a unitized core composite cell that provides expanded differential pressure tolerance capability; fabrication and evaluation of a feed water electrolyte elimination five-cell module; and successful demonstration of an electrolysis module pressurization technique that can be used in place of nitrogen gas during the standby mode of operation to maintain system pressure and differential pressures

Studies of oceanic tectonics based on GEOS-3 satellite altimetry

Using statistical analysis, geoidal admittance (the relationship between the ocean geoid and seafloor topography) obtained from GEOS-3 altimetry was compared to various model admittances. Analysis of several altimetry tracks in the Pacific Ocean demonstrated a low coherence between altimetry and seafloor topography except where the track crosses active or recent tectonic features. However, global statistical studies using the much larger data base of all available gravimetry showed a positive correlation of oceanic gravity with topography. The oceanic lithosphere was modeled by simultaneously inverting surface wave dispersion, topography, and gravity data. Efforts to incorporate geoid data into the inversion showed that the base of the subchannel can be better resolved with geoid rather than gravity data. Thermomechanical models of seafloor spreading taking into account differing plate velocities, heat source distributions, and rock rheologies were discussed

Design of a Microstructured System for Homogenization of Dairy Products with High Fat Content

High pressure homogenization of dairy products is today state of the art but limited by the fat content (max 17 vol.-%). This article describes the development of a novel simultaneous homogenization and mixing (SHM) valve which allows homogenization of dairy products with a fat content of up to 42 vol.-%. The challenging task of homogenizing dairy products with high fat content is to stabilize disrupted fat droplets especially against extensive aggregation. Aggregation and coalescence rates could be significantly reduced by a new microstructured valve allowing the emulsifier-containing phase to be injected directly into the zone of droplet disruption

Near--K-edge double and triple detachment of the F- negative ion: observation of direct two-electron ejection by a single photon

Double and triple detachment of the F-(1s2 2s2 2p6) negative ion by a single photon have been investigated in the photon energy range 660 to 1000 eV. The experimental data provide unambiguous evidence for the dominant role of direct photo-double-detachment with a subsequent single-Auger process in the reaction channel leading to F2+ product ions. Absolute cross sections were determined for the direct removal of a (1s+2p) pair of electrons from F- by the absorption of a single photon

Mass gap for gravity localized on Weyl thick branes

We study the properties of a previously found family of thick brane configurations in a pure geometric Weyl integrable 5D space time, a non-Riemannian generalization of Kaluza-Klein (KK) theory involving a geometric scalar field. Thus the 5D theory describes gravity coupled to a self-interacting scalar field which gives rise to the structure of the thick branes. Analyzing the graviton spectrum for this class of models, we find that a particularly interesting situation arises for a special case in which the 4D graviton is separated from the KK gravitons by a mass gap. The corresponding effective Schroedinger equation has a modified Poeschl-Teller potential and can be solved exactly. Apart from the massless 4D graviton, it contains one massive KK bound state, and the continuum spectrum of delocalized KK modes. We discuss the mass hierarchy problem, and explicitly compute the corrections to Newton's law in the thin brane limit.Comment: 6 pages in Revtex, no figures, journal version, significately revised and extende

HD DVD substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy analysis : fabrication, theoretical predictions and practical performance

Commercial HD DVDs provide a characteristic structure of encoding pits which were utilized to fabricate cost efficiently large area SERS substrates for chemical analysis. The study targets the simulation of the plasmonic structure of the substrates and presents an easily accessible fabrication process to obtain highly sensitive SERS active substrates. The theoretical simulation predicted the formation of supermodes under optimized illumination conditions, which were verified experimentally. First tests of the developed SERS substrates demonstrated their excellent potential for detecting vitamin A and pro- vitamin A at low concentration levels

Free-charge carrier parameters of n-type, p-type and compensated InN:Mg determined by Infrared Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

Infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry is applied to investigate the free-charge carrier properties of Mg-doped InN films. Two representative sets of In-polar InN grown by molecular beam epitaxy with Mg concentrations ranging from $1.2\times10^{17}$ cm$^{-3}$ to $8\times10^{20}$ cm$^{-3}$ are compared. P-type conductivity is indicated for the Mg concentration range of $1\times10^{18}$ cm$^{-3}$ to $9\times10^{19}$ cm$^{-3}$ from a systematic investigation of the longitudinal optical phonon plasmon broadening and the mobility parameter in dependence of the Mg concentration. A parameterized model that accounts for the phonon-plasmon coupling is applied to determine the free-charge carrier concentration and mobility parameters in the doped bulk InN layer as well as the GaN template and undoped InN buffer layer for each sample. The free-charge carrier properties in the second sample set are consistent with the results determined in a comprehensive analysis of the first sample set reported earlier [Sch\"oche et al., J. Appl. Phys. 113, 013502 (2013)]. In the second set, two samples with Mg concentration of $2.3\times10^{20}$ cm$^{-3}$ are identified as compensated n-type InN with very low electron concentrations which are suitable for further investigation of intrinsic material properties that are typically governed by high electron concentrations even in undoped InN. The compensated n-type InN samples can be clearly distinguished from the p-type conductive material of similar plasma frequencies by strongly reduced phonon plasmon broadening