Sensitivity analysis for solar plates

Economic evaluation methods and analyses of emerging photovoltaic (PV) technology since 1976 was prepared. This type of analysis was applied to the silicon research portion of the PV Program in order to determine the importance of this research effort in relationship to the successful development of commercial PV systems. All four generic types of PV that use silicon were addressed: crystal ingots grown either by the Czochralski method or an ingot casting method; ribbons pulled directly from molten silicon; an amorphous silicon thin film; and use of high concentration lenses. Three technologies were analyzed: the Union Carbide fluidized bed reactor process, the Hemlock process, and the Union Carbide Komatsu process. The major components of each process were assessed in terms of the costs of capital equipment, labor, materials, and utilities. These assessments were encoded as the probabilities assigned by experts for achieving various cost values or production rates

SAMICS: Input data preparation

The Solar Array Manufacturing Industry Costing Standards (SAMICS) provide standard formats, data, assumptions, and procedures for estimating the price that a manufacturer would have to charge for the product of a specified manufacturing process sequence. A line-by-line explanation is given of those standard formats which describe the economically important characteristics of the manufacturing processes and the technological structure of the companies and the industry. This revision provides an updated presentation of Format A Process Description, consistent with the October 1978 version of that form. A checklist of items which should be entered on Format A as direct expenses is included

Economic implications of current systems

The primary goals of this study are to estimate the value of R&D to photovoltaic (PV) metallization systems cost, and to provide a method for selecting an optimal metallization method for any given PV system. The value-added cost and relative electrical performance of 25 state-of-the-art (SOA) and advanced metallization system techniques are compared

Flat-plate module efficiency versus cost tradeoffs

The Five Year Research Plan energy cost methodology and in depth analyses based on the extensive data that are relevant to PV systems are used to facilitate the accomplishment of the $0.15/kWh energy cost goal. An equation is given for the five year energy cost methodology. The allocation guidelines are designed to be consistent with flat solar array (FSA) milestones for module cost, module efficiency, and the programmatic goal for energy cost. They are research targets that appear to be achievable, given prior accomplishments and planned activities in the areas of low cost silicon purification, low cost sheet material, high efficiency cell processing, low cost, long life encapsulants, and automated fabrication method. Extensive sensitivity analysis work has been performed that shows that these guidelines represent an efficient way to meet the intent of the DOE program

Automation of the longwall mining system

Cost effective, safe, and technologically sound applications of automation technology to underground coal mining were identified. The longwall analysis commenced with a general search for government and industry experience of mining automation technology. A brief industry survey was conducted to identify longwall operational, safety, and design problems. The prime automation candidates resulting from the industry experience and survey were: (1) the shearer operation, (2) shield and conveyor pan line advance, (3) a management information system to allow improved mine logistics support, and (4) component fault isolation and diagnostics to reduce untimely maintenance delays. A system network analysis indicated that a 40% improvement in productivity was feasible if system delays associated with all of the above four areas were removed. A technology assessment and conceptual system design of each of the four automation candidate areas showed that state of the art digital computer, servomechanism, and actuator technologies could be applied to automate the longwall system

Extended Kramers-Moyal analysis applied to optical trapping

The Kramers-Moyal analysis is a well established approach to analyze stochastic time series from complex systems. If the sampling interval of a measured time series is too low, systematic errors occur in the analysis results. These errors are labeled as finite time effects in the literature. In the present article, we present some new insights about these effects and discuss the limitations of a previously published method to estimate Kramers-Moyal coefficients at the presence of finite time effects. To increase the reliability of this method and to avoid misinterpretations, we extend it by the computation of error estimates for estimated parameters using a Monte Carlo error propagation technique. Finally, the extended method is applied to a data set of an optical trapping experiment yielding estimations of the forces acting on a Brownian particle trapped by optical tweezers. We find an increased Markov-Einstein time scale of the order of the relaxation time of the process which can be traced back to memory effects caused by the interaction of the particle and the fluid. Above the Markov-Einstein time scale, the process can be very well described by the classical overdamped Markov model for Brownian motion.Comment: 14 pages, 18 figure

Functional Analysis of the TAN-1 Gene, a Human Homolog of Drosophila Notch

The TAN-1 gene was originally discovered at the breakpoint of a recurrent (7;9)(q34;q34.3) chromosomal translocation found in a subset of human T-lymphoblastic leukemias (Reynolds et al. 1987; Smith et al. 1988; Ellisen et al. 1991). This translocation joins roughly the 3′ half of TAN-1 head-to-head with the 3′ portion of the β T-cell-receptor gene (TCRB) beginning at the 5′ boundary of one or the other J segment. Intact TAN-1 is normally transcribed into an 8.2-kb transcript that is present in many tissues, most abundantly in developing thymus and spleen (Ellisen et al. 1991). This tissue distribution and the apparent involvement of an altered version of the gene in T-cell cancers have suggested that TAN-1 normally has some special function in lymphocytes or their precursors

Seismicity and Pn Velocity Structure of Central West Antarctica

We have located 117 previously undetected seismic events mainly occurring between 2015 and 2017 that originated from glacial, tectonic, and volcanic processes in central West Antarctica using data recorded on Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET/ANET) and UK Antarctic Network (UKANET) seismic stations. The seismic events, with local magnitudes (ML) ranging from 1.1 to 3.5, are predominantly clustered in four geographic regions; the Ellsworth Mountains, Thwaites Glacier, Pine Island Glacier, and Mount Takahe. Eighteen of the events are in the Ellsworth Mountains and can be attributed to a mixture of glacial and tectonic processes. The largest event noted in this study was a mid‐crustal (∼19 km focal depth; ML 3.5) normal mechanism earthquake beneath Thwaites Glacier. We also located 91 glacial events near the grounding zones of Thwaites Glacier and Pine Island Glacier that are predominantly associated with time periods of significant calving activity. Eight events, likely arising from volcano‐tectonic processes, occurred beneath Mount Takahe. Using Pn travel times from the seismic events, we find laterally variable uppermost mantle structure in central West Antarctica. On average, the Ellsworth Mountains are underlain by a faster mantle lid (VPn = ∼8.4 km/s) compared to the Amundsen Sea Embayment region (VPn = ∼8.1 km/s). Within the Amundsen Sea Embayment itself, we find mantle lid velocities ranging from ∼8.05 to 8.18 km/s. Laterally heterogeneous uppermost mantle structure, indicative of variable thermal and rheological structure, likely influences both geothermal heat flux and glacial isostatic adjustment spatial patterns and rates within central West Antarctica