System Energy and Efficiency Analysis of 12.5 W VRFB with Different Flow Rates

Vanadium redox flow battery(VRFB)is considered one of the most potential large-scale energy storage technolo-gies in the future,and its electrolyte flow rate is an important factor affecting the performance of VRFB.To study the effect of electrolyte flow rate on the performance of VRFB,the hydrodynamic model is established and a VRFB system is developed.The results show that under constant current density,with the increase of electrolyte flow rate,not only the coulombic efficiency,energy efficiency,and voltage efficiency will increase,but also the capacity and energy discharged by VRFB will also increase.But on the other hand,as the flow rate increases,the power of the pump also increases,resulting in a decrease in system efficiency.The energy discharged by the system does not increase with the increase in flow rate.Considering the balance between efficiency and pump power loss,it is experimentally proved that 120 mL·min-1 is the optimal working flow rate of the VRFB system,which can maximize the battery performance and discharge more energy.

Sb-Cu alloy cathode with a novel lithiation mechanism of ternary intermetallic formation: Enabling high energy density and superior rate capability of liquid metal battery

Antimony(Sb) is an attractive cathode for liquid metal batteries(LMBs) because of its high theoretical voltage and low cost.The main obstacles associated with the Sb-based cathodes are unsatisfactory energy density and poor rate-capability.Herein,we propose a novel Sb_(64)Cu_(36)cathode that effectively tackles these issues.The Sb_(64)Cu_(36)(melting point:525℃) cathode presents a novel lithiation mechanism involving sequentially the generation of Li_(2)CuSb,the formation of Li_(3)Sb,and the conversion reaction of Li_(2)CuSb to Li_(3)Sb and Cu.The generated intermetallic compounds show a unique microstructure of the upper floated Li_(2)CuSb layer and the below cross-linked structure with interpenetrated Li_(2)CuSb and Li_(3)Sb phases.Compared with Li_(3)Sb,the lower Li migration energy barrier(0.188 eV) of Li_(2)CuSb significantly facilitates the lithium diffusion across the intermediate compounds and accelerates the reaction kinetics.Consequently,the Li‖Sb_(64)Cu_(36)cell delivers a more excellent electrochemical performance(energy density:353 W h kg^(-1)at 0.4 A cm^(-2);rate capability:0.59 V at 2.0 A cm^(-2)),and a much lower energy storage cost of only 38.45 $ kW h^(-1)than other previously reported Sb-based LMBs.This work provides a novel cathode design concept for the development of high-performance LMBs in applications for large-scale energy storage.

Research on perturbation of neutron fluence rate in a closed thermal neutron field due to medium materials

The neutron radiation field has vital applications in areas such as biomedicine,geology,radiation safety,and many others for neutron detection and neutron metrology.Correcting neutron fluence rate perturbation accurately is an important yet challenging problem.This study proposes a correction method that analyzes three physical processes.This method,which transforms the detection process from point detection to area detection,is based on a novel physical model and has been validated through theoretical analyses,experiments,and simulations.According to the average differences between the calculated and experimental results,the new method(1.67%)demonstrated better accuracy than the traditional simulation(2.17%).In a closed thermal neutron radiation field,the detector or strong neutron absorption material significantly perturbs the neutron fluence rate,whereas its impact on the energy spectrum shape and neutron directionality is relatively minor.Furthermore,based on the calculation results of the perturbation rate formula for medium materials with different compositions and sizes,the larger the volume and capture cross section of the medium,the higher the perturbation rate generated in the closed radiation field.

Load-bearing characteristics and energy evolution of fractured rock masses after granite and sandstone grouting

Experiments on grouting-reinforced rock mass specimens with different particle sizes and features were carried out in this study to examine the effects of grouting reinforcement on the load-bearing characteristics of fractured rock mass.The strength and deformation features of grouting-reinforced rock mass were analyzed under different loading manners;the energy evolution mechanism of grouting-reinforced rock mass specimens with different particle sizes and features was investigated;the energy dissipation ratio and post-peak stress decreasing rate were employed to evaluate the bearing stability of grouting-reinforced rock mass.The results show that the strength and ductility of granite-reinforced rock mass(GRM)under biaxial loading are higher than that of sandstone-reinforced rock mass(SRM)under uniaxial loading.Besides,the energy evolution characteristics of grouting-reinforced rock mass under uniaxial and biaxial loading mainly could be divided into early,middle,and late stages.In the early stage,total,elastic,and dissipation energies were quite small with flatter curves;in the middle stage,elastic energy increased rapidly,whereas dissipation energy increased slowly;in the late stage,dissipation energy increased sharply.The energy dissipation ratio was used to represent the pre-peak plastic deformation.Under uniaxial loading,this ratio increased as the particle size increased and the pre-peak plastic deformation of grouting-reinforced rock mass became larger;under biaxial loading,it dropped as the particle size increased,and the pre-peak plastic deformation of grouting-reinforced rock mass became smaller.The post-peak stress decline rate A_(v) was used to assess the post-peak bearing performance of grouting-reinforced rock mass.Under uniaxial loading,parameter A_(v) exhibited reduction as the particle size kept increasing,and the ability of post-peak of grouting-reinforced rock mass to allow deformation development was greater,and the bearing capacity was greater;under biaxial loading,A_(v) increased with the particle size,and the ability of post-peak of grouting-reinforced rock mass to allow deformation development was low and the bearing capacity was reduced.The findings are considered instrumental in improving the stability of the roadway-surrounding rock by granite and sandstone grouting.

Energy-Efficient Traffic Offloading for RSMA-Based Hybrid Satellite Terrestrial Networks with Deep Reinforcement Learning

As the demands of massive connections and vast coverage rapidly grow in the next wireless communication networks, rate splitting multiple access(RSMA) is considered to be the new promising access scheme since it can provide higher efficiency with limited spectrum resources. In this paper, combining spectrum splitting with rate splitting, we propose to allocate resources with traffic offloading in hybrid satellite terrestrial networks. A novel deep reinforcement learning method is adopted to solve this challenging non-convex problem. However, the neverending learning process could prohibit its practical implementation. Therefore, we introduce the switch mechanism to avoid unnecessary learning. Additionally, the QoS constraint in the scheme can rule out unsuccessful transmission. The simulation results validates the energy efficiency performance and the convergence speed of the proposed algorithm.

NEW PRINCIPLES OF WORK AND ENERGY AS WELLAS POWER AND ENERGY RATE FORCONTINUUM FIELD THEORIES

New principles of work and energy as well as power and energy rate with cross terms for polar and nonlocal polar continuum field theories were presented and from them all corresponding equations of motion and boundary conditions as well as complete equations of energy and energy rate with the help of generalized Piola's theorems were naturally derived in all and without any additional requirement. Finally, some new balance laws of energy and energy rate for generalized continuum mechanics were established. The new principles of work and energy as well as power and energy rate with cross terms presented in this paper are believed to be new and they have corrected the incompleteness of all existing corresponding principles and laws without cross terms in literatures of generalized continuum field theories.

Experimental and numerical simulation of loading rate effects on failure and strain energy characteristics of coal-rock composite samples

The deformation and failure of coal and rock is energy-driving results according to thermodynamics.It is important to study the strain energy characteristics of coal-rock composite samples to better understand the deformation and failure mechanism of of coal-rock composite structures.In this research,laboratory tests and numerical simulation of uniaxial compressions of coal-rock composite samples were carried out with five different loading rates.The test results show that strength,deformation,acoustic emission(AE)and energy evolution of coal-rock composite sample all have obvious loading rate effects.The uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus increase with the increase of loading rate.And with the increase of loading rate,the AE energy at the peak strength of coal-rock composites increases first,then decreases,and then increases.With the increase of loading rate,the AE cumulative count first decreases and then increases.And the total absorption energy and dissipation energy of coal-rock composite samples show non-linear increasing trends,while release elastic strain energy increases first and then decreases.The laboratory experiments conducted on coal-rock composite samples were simulated numerically using the particle flow code(PFC).With careful selection of suitable material constitutive models for coal and rock,and accurate estimation and calibration of mechanical parameters of coal-rock composite sample,it was possible to obtain a good agreement between the laboratory experimental and numerical results.This research can provide references for understanding failure of underground coalrock composite structure by using energy related measuring methods.

Net energy yield and carbon footprint of summer corn under different N fertilizer rates in the North China Plain

Excessive use of N fertilizer in intensive agriculture can increase crop yield and at the same time cause high carbon（C） emissions.This study was conducted to determine optimized N fertilizer application for high grain yield and lower C emissions in summer corn（Zea mays L.）.A field experiment, including 0（N0）, 75（N75）, 150（N150）, 225（N225）, and 300（N300） kg N ha–1 treatments, was carried out during 2010–2012 in the North China Plain（NCP）.The results showed that grain yield, input energy, greenhouse gas（GHG） emissions, and carbon footprint（CF） were all increased with the increase of N rate, except net energy yield（NEY）.The treatment of N225 had the highest grain yield（10 364.7 kg ha–1） and NEY（6.8%）, but the CF（0.25） was lower than that of N300, which indicates that a rate of 225 kg N ha–1 can be optimal for summer corn in NCP.Comparing GHG emision compontents, N fertilizer（0–51.1%） was the highest and followed by electricity for irrigation（19.73–49.35%）.We conclude that optimazing N fertilizer application rate and reducing electricity for irrigation are the two key measures to increase crop yield, improve energy efficiency and decrease GHG emissions in corn production.

Energy consumption in rock fragmentation at intermediate strain rate

In order to determine the relationship among energy consumption of rock and its fragmentation, dynamic strength and strain rate, granite, sandstone and limestone specimens were chosen and tested on large-diameter split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) equipment with half-sine waveform loading at the strain rates ranging from 40 to 150 s- 1. With recorded signals, the energy consumption, strain rate and dynamic strength were analyzed. And the fragmentation behaviors of specimens were investigated. The experimental results show that the energy consumption density of rock increases linearly with the total incident energy. The energy consumption density is of an exponent relationship with the average size of rock fragments. The higher the energy consumption density, the more serious the fragmentation, and the better the gradation of fragments. The energy consumption density takes a good logarithm relationship with the dynamic strength of rock. The dynamic strength of rock increases with the increase of strain rate, indicating higher strain rate sensitivity.

Criterion of local energy release rate of gob instability in deep mines considering unloading stress path

The stress path characteristics of surrounding rock in the formation of gob were analyzed and the unloading was solved. Taking Chengchao Iron Mine as the engineering background, the model for analyzing the instability of deep gob was established based on the mechanism of stress relief in deep mining.The energy evolution law was analyzed by introducing the local energy release rate index(LERR), and the energy criterion of the instability of surrounding rock was established based on the cusp catastrophe theory. The results show that the evolution equation of the local energy release of the surrounding rock is a quartic function with one unknown and the release rate increases gradually during the mining process.The calculation results show that the gob is stable. The LERR per unit volume of the bottom structure is relatively smaller which means that the stability is better. The LERR distribution showed that there was main energy release in the horizontal direction and energy concentration in the vertical direction which meets the characteristics of deep mining. In summary, this model could effectively calculate the stability of surrounding rock in the formation of gob. The LERR could reflect the dynamic process of energy release,transfer and dissipation and that provided an important reference for the study of the stability of deep mined out area.

Relationship between energy dissipation rate and channel morphology in the development of the model braided channel

A certain pattern of channel is the product of its self-adjustment under given boundary, discharge and sediment conditions. Based upon the principle of process-response model, an experimental study with 18 runs is carried out in LESRC. This paper is focused on the variation of the energy dissipation versus the channel morphology during and after the bedmaking process of braided channel. The results show that there exists a good empirical relationship between the energy dissipation rate and channel morphology. According to this relationship and the theory of minimum rate of energy dissipation, the authors explain the metamorphosis of the model channel with the development of the braided river.

C haracteristics of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate and turbidity near the coast of East China Sea

The East China Sea(ECS) has a high suspended-sediment concentration because of the influence of the Changjiang River,indicated by high turbidity in the water.Considering the islands off the coast and the complex topography,and the strong influence of tides and wind,the coast off the ECS is a typical region with strong oceanic mixing processes.The changes in the dynamic processes near the bottom play an important role in the control of water turbidity.The turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate(ε) is a parameter that shows the strength of ocean mixing.This is estimated based on a structure method using current velocity that is measured by a high-frequency Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler(ADCP) from a seafloor observatory in the ECS.The results indicate strong ocean mixing processes with a mean e value of 5.7×10^(-5) W/kg and distinct tidal variations in the dissipation rate.Conversely,the variation of the water turbidity leads to changes in the water dynamical structure near the bottom.Comparing the dissipation rate with the turbidity near the bottom boundary layer,we find that the high turbidity mimics strong ocean mixing.

Fault on-off versus strain rate and earthquakes energy

We propose that the brittle-ductile transition （BDT） controls the seismic cycle. In particular, the movements detected by space geodesy record the steady state deformation in the ductile lower crust, whereas the stick-slip behavior of the brittle upper crust is constrained by its larger friction. GPS data allow analyzing the strain rate along active plate boundaries. In all tectonic settings, we propose that earthquakes primarily occur along active fault segments characterized by relative minima of strain rate, segments which are locked or slowly creeping. We discuss regional examples where large earthquakes happened in areas of relative low strain rate. Regardless the tectonic style, the interseismic stress and strain pattern inverts during the coseismic stage. Where a dilated band formed during the interseismic stage, this will be shortened at the coseismic stage, and vice-versa what was previously shortened, it will be dilated. The interseismic energy accumulation and the coseismic expenditure rather depend on the tectonic setting （extensional, contractional, or strike-slip）. The gravitational potential energy dominates along normal faults, whereas the elastic energy prevails for thrust earthquakes and performs work against the gravity force. The energy budget in strike-slip tectonic setting is also primarily due elastic energy. Therefore, precursors may be different as a function of the tectonic setting. In this model, with a given displacement, the magnitude of an earthquake results from the coseismic slip of the deformed volume above the BDT rather than only on the fault length, and it also depends on the fault kinematics.

Theoretical study on K,L,and M X-ray transition energies and rates of neptunium and its ions

The transition energies and electric dipole （El） transition rates of the K, L, and M lines in neutral Np have been theoretically determined from the MultiConfiguration Dirac-Fock （MCDF） method. In the calculations, the contributions from Breit interaction and quantum electrodynamics （QED） effects （vacuum polarization and self-energy）, as well as nu- clear finite mass and volume effects, are taken into account. The calculated transition energies and rates are found to be in good agreement with other experimental and theoretical results. The accuracy of the results is estimated and discussed. Furthermore, we calculated the transition energies of the same lines radiating from the decaying transitions of the K-, L-, and M-shell hole states of Np ions with the charge states Np1＋ to Np6＋ for the first time. We found that for a specific line, the corresponding transition energies relating to all the Np ions are almost the same; it means the outermost electrons have a very small influence on the inner-shell transition processes.

Effect of Energy Density and Gas Velocity on Transport Rate of Ions

In order to study the effect of the parameters such as the energy density and the gas velocity on the transport rate of ions, the applied force and the motion law of charged particles in the electric field of corona discharges at atmospheric pressure is investigated in this paper. As a result, when the gas velocity is raised from 1.5 m/s to 25 m/s for an energy density of 0.4 mJ/cmz, the ionic transport rate increases from 5.4 × 10^8/cm^3. s to 8× 10^10/cm^3 .s, which is an increase of over two orders of magnitude. However, in the zones of streamer and glow discharges, the effect of the input energy density and the energy density of gas ionization on the transport rate is below one order of magnitude. In conclusion, the increase of charged particle momentum can be a major factor in raising the transport rate and reducing the volume of the plasma sources.

Comparison of Accuracy and Convergence Rate between Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Alchemical Transformations for Calculation of Relative Binding Free Energy

Estimation of protein-ligand binding affinity within chemical accuracy is one of the grand challenges in structure-based rational drug design. With the efforts over three decades, free energy methods based on equilibrium molecular dynamics （MD） simulations have become mature and are nowadays routinely applied in the community of computational chemistry. On the contrary, nonequilibrinm MD simulation methods have attracted less attention, despite their underlying rigor in mathematics and potential advantage in efficiency. In this work, the equilibrium and nonequilibrium simulation methods are compared in terms of accuracy and convergence rate in the calculations of relative binding free energies. The proteins studied are T4-lysozyme mutant L99A and COX-2. For each protein, two ligands are studied. The results show that the noneqnilibrium simulation method can be competitively as accurate as the equilibrium method, and the former is more efficient than the latter by considering the convergence rate with respect to the cost of wall clock time. In addition, Bennett acceptance ratio, which is a bidirectional post-processing method, converges faster than the unidirectional Jarzynski equality for the nonequilibrium simulations.

Sensing Time Optimization in Energy-Harvesting Cognitive Radio with Interference Rate Control

In this paper,an energy-harvesting cognitive radio(CR) is considered,which allows the transmitter of the secondary user(SU) to harvest the primary signal energy from the transmitter of the primary user(PU) when the presence of the PU is detected.Then the harvested energy is converted into the electrical power to supply the transmission of the SU at the detected absence of the PU.By adopting the periodic spectrum sensing,the average total transmission rate of the SU is maximized through optimizing the sensing time,subject to the constraints of the probabilities of false alarm and detection,the harvested energy and the interference rate control.The simulation results show that there deed exists an optimal sensing time that maximizes the transmission rate,and the maximum transmission rate of the energy-harvesting CR can better approach to that of the traditional CR with the increasing of the detection probability.

Comparison of heart rate monitoring with indirect calorimetry for energy expenditure evaluation

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to compare established methods with newly-developed methods for estimating the total energy expenditure(TEE). Methods:The study subjects comprised 46 individuals,including 16 middle-aged men(mean age 51.4 years),14 middle-aged women(mean age 49.9 years) and 16 young women(mean age 19.1 years).The TEE was estimated from 24-h heart rate(HR) data using newly-developed software (MoveSense HRAnalyzer 201 la,RC1.Suunto Oy,Vantaa,Finland),and was compared against the TEE determined using doubly labeled water (DLW).Agreement between the two methods was analyzed using Bland and Altman plots. Results:The HR method yielded similar TEE values as the DLW method at the group level,with an average of 8.6 kcal/day in the difference in the mean,but with large individual variations.Forty-four(96%) out of 46 subjects fell within±2SD of the mean difference in TEE comparisons, and there was no tendency towards under- or over-estimation. Conclusion:Our results indicate that the current software using HR analysis for the estimation of daily TEE needs further development for use with free-living individuals.

The energy release rate for hygrothermal coupling elastic materials

In the fracture problems of hydrophilic elastic materials under coupling effects of heat conduction, moisture diffusion and mechanical deformation, the conventional J-integral is no longer path independent. The value of J is unequal to the energy release rate in hygrothermal coupling cases. In the present paper, we derived a general form of the energy release rate for hygrothermal fracture problems of the hydrophilic elastic materials on the basis of energy balance equation in cracked areas. By introducing the constitutive relations and the essential equations of irreversible thermodynamics, a specific expression of the energy release rate was obtained, and the expression can be reformmulated as path independent integrals, which is equivalent to the energy release rate of the fracture body. The path independence of the integrals is then verified numerically.

Optimization of Maturation of Radio-Cephalic Arteriovenous Fistula Using a Model Relating Energy Loss Rate and Vascular Geometric Parameters

The main reason for the early failure of radio-cephalic arteriovenous fistula (RCAVF) is non-maturity, which means that the blood flow rate in the fistula cannot increase to the expected value for dialysis. From a mechanical perspective, the vascular resistance at the artificially designed anastomosis causes an energy loss that affects blood flow rate growth and leads to early failure. This research studied how to maximize the RCAVF maturity and primary patency by controlling the energy loss rate. We theoretically analyzed and derived a model that evaluates the energy loss rate Eavf in RCAVF as a function of its blood vessel geometric parameters (GPs) for given flow rates. There was an aggregate of five controllable GPs in RCAVF: radial artery diameter (Dra), cephalic vein diameter (Dcv), blood vessel distance between artery and vein (h), anastomotic diameter (Da), and anastomotic angle (θ). Through this analysis, it was found that Eavf was inversely proportional to Dra, Dcv, Da, and θ, whereas proportional to h. Therefore, we recommended surgeons choose the vessels with large diameters, close distance, and increase the diameter and angle of the anastomosis to decrease the early failure of RCAVF. Simultaneously, we could explain the results of many clinical empiricisms with our formula. We found that increasing Dcv and θ was more significant in reducing Eavf than increasing Dra and Da. Based on our model, we could define two critical energy loss rates (CELa, CELb) to help surgeons evaluate the blood vessels and choose the ideal range of θ, and help them design the preoperative RCAVF plan for each patient to increase the maturity and the primary patency of RCAVF.