Advances in thermal energy storage development at the German Aerospace Center(DLR)

Thermal energy storage(TES)is a key technology for renewable energy utilization and the improvement of the energy efficiency of heat processes.Sectors include industrial process heat and conventional and renewable power generation.TES systems correct the mismatch between supply and demand of thermal energy.In the medium to high temperature range(100~1000℃),only limited storage technology is commercially available and a strong effort is needed to develop a range of storage technologies which are efficient and economical for the very specific requirements of the different application sectors.At the DLR's Institute of Technical Thermodynamics,the complete spectrum of high temperature storage technologies,from various types of sensible over latent heat to thermochemical heat storages are being developed.Different concepts are proposed depending on the heat transfer fluid(synthetic oil,water/steam,molten salt,air)and the required temperature range.The aim is the development of cost effective,efficient and reliable thermal storage systems.Research focuses on characterization of storage materials,enhancement of internal heat transfer,design of innovative storage concepts and modelling of storage components and systems.Demonstration of the storage technology takes place from laboratory scale to field testing(5 kW^1 MW).The paper gives an overview on DLR's current developments.

Hematuria after nocturnal exercise of a man: A case report

BACKGROUND A man experienced multiple episodes of macroscopic hematuria following nocturnal exercise.Urinary stones and tumors were considered the two most likely causes.The patient had two hobbies:Consuming health care products in large quantities and engaging in late-night running.CASE SUMMARY Health care products contain a large amount of calcium phosphate,and we hypothesize that this could induce the formation of small phosphate stones.After exercise,the urinary system is abraded,resulting in bleeding.The patient was advised to stop using the health care products.Consequently,the aforementioned symptoms disappeared immediately.However,the patient resumed the above two habits one year later;correspondingly,the macroscopic hematuria reap-peared.CONCLUSION This finding further confirmed the above inference and allowed for a new avenue to determine the cause of the patient’s hematuria.

Unveiling the secrets of gastrointestinal mucous adenocarcinoma survival after surgery with artificial intelligence:A population-based study

BACKGROUND Research on gastrointestinal mucosal adenocarcinoma(GMA)is limited and controversial,and there is no reference tool for predicting postoperative survival.AIM To investigate the prognosis of GMA and develop predictive model.METHODS From the Surveillance,Epidemiology,and End Results database,we collected clinical information on patients with GMA.After random sampling,the patients were divided into the discovery(70%of the total,for model training),validation(20%,for model evaluation),and completely blind test cohorts(10%,for further model evaluation).The main assessment metric was the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC).All collected clinical features were used for Cox proportional hazard regression analysis to determine factors influencing GMA’s prognosis.RESULTS This model had an AUC of 0.7433[95% confidence intervals(95%CI):0.7424-0.7442]in the discovery cohort,0.7244(GMA:0.7234-0.7254)in the validation cohort,and 0.7388(95%CI:0.7378-0.7398)in the test cohort.We packaged it into Windows software for doctors’use and uploaded it.Mucinous gastric adenocarcinoma had the worst prognosis,and these were protective factors of GMA:Regional nodes examined[hazard ratio(HR):0.98,95%CI:0.97-0.98,P<0.001]and chemotherapy(HR:0.62,95%CI:0.58-0.66,P<0.001).CONCLUSION The deep learning-based tool developed can accurately predict the overall survival of patients with GMA postoperatively.Combining surgery,chemotherapy,and adequate lymph node dissection during surgery can improve patient outcomes.

Recent innovations in laser additive manufacturing of titanium alloys

Titanium(Ti)alloys are widely used in high-tech fields like aerospace and biomedical engineering.Laser additive manufacturing(LAM),as an innovative technology,is the key driver for the development of Ti alloys.Despite the significant advancements in LAM of Ti alloys,there remain challenges that need further research and development efforts.To recap the potential of LAM high-performance Ti alloy,this article systematically reviews LAM Ti alloys with up-to-date information on process,materials,and properties.Several feasible solutions to advance LAM Ti alloys are reviewed,including intelligent process parameters optimization,LAM process innovation with auxiliary fields and novel Ti alloys customization for LAM.The auxiliary energy fields(e.g.thermal,acoustic,mechanical deformation and magnetic fields)can affect the melt pool dynamics and solidification behaviour during LAM of Ti alloys,altering microstructures and mechanical performances.Different kinds of novel Ti alloys customized for LAM,like peritecticα-Ti,eutectoid(α+β)-Ti,hybrid(α+β)-Ti,isomorphousβ-Ti and eutecticβ-Ti alloys are reviewed in detail.Furthermore,machine learning in accelerating the LAM process optimization and new materials development is also outlooked.This review summarizes the material properties and performance envelops and benchmarks the research achievements in LAM of Ti alloys.In addition,the perspectives and further trends in LAM of Ti alloys are also highlighted.

Experimental and Finite Element Analysis of Corroded High-Pressure Pipeline Repaired by Laminated Composite

Repairs of corroded high-pressure pipelines are essential for fluids transportation under high pressure.One of the methods used in their repairs is the use of layered composites.The composite used must have the necessary strength.Therefore,the experiments and analytical solutions presented in this paper are performed according to the relevant standards and codes,including ASME PCC-2,ASME B31.8S,ASME B31.4,ISO 24817 and ASME B31.G.In addition,the experimental tests are replicated numerically using the finite element method.Setting the strain gauges at different distances from the defect location,can reduce the nonlinear effects,deformation,and fluctuations due to the high pressure.The direct relationship between the depth of an axial defect and the stress concentration is observed at the inner side edges of the defect.Composite reparation reduces the non-linearities related to the sharp variation of the geometry and a more reliable numerical simulation could be performed.

Validation and modification of the AJCC 8th TNM staging system for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in a Chinese cohort:A nationwide pancreas data center analysis

Objective:To validate the 8 th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer(AJCC)staging system for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC)in a Chinese cohort of radically resected patients and to develop a refined staging system for PDAC.Methods:Data were collected from the China Pancreas Data Center(CPDC)for patients with resected PDAC in 2016 and 2017,and cancer-specific survival(CSS)was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test.Univariate and multivariate analyses based on Cox regression were performed to identify prognostic factors.The recursive partitioning analysis(RPA),Kaplan-Meier method,and log-rank test were performed on the training dataset to generate a proposed modification for the 8 th TNM staging system utilizing the preoperative carbohydrate antigen(CA)19-9 level.Validation was performed for both staging systems in the validation cohort.Results:A total of 1,676 PDAC patients were retrieved,and the median CSS was significantly different between the 8 th TNM groupings,with no significant difference in survival between stage IB and IIA.The analysis of T and N stages demonstrated a better prognostic value in the N category.Multivariate analysis showed that the preoperative serum CA19-9 level was the strongest prognostic indicator among all the independent risk factors.All patients with CA19-9>500 U/mL had similar survival,and we proposed a new staging system by combining IB and IIA and stratifying all patients with high CA19-9 into stage III.The modified staging system had a better performance for predicting CSS than the 8 th AJCC staging scheme.Conclusions:The 8 th AJCC staging system for PDAC is suitable for a Chinese cohort of resected patients,and the N category has a better prognostic value than the T category.Our modified staging system has superior accuracy in predicting survival than the 8 th AJCC TNM staging system.

Hydrogen production at intermediate temperatures with proton conducting ceramic cells:Electrocatalytic activity,durability and energy efficiency

Proton conducting ceramic cells(PCCs)are an attractive emerging technology operating in the intermediate temperature range of 500 to 700℃.In this work,we evaluate the production of hydrogen at intermediate temperatures by proton conducting ceramic cell electrolysis(PCCEL).We demonstrate a highperformance steam electrolysis owing to a composite positrode based on BaGd_(0.8)La_(0.2)Co_(2)O_(6-δ)(BGLC1082)and BaZr0.5Ce0.4Y0.1O3-δ(BZCY541).The high reliability of PCCEL is demonstrated for 1680 h at a current density as high as-0.8 A cm^(-2)close to the thermoneutral cell voltage at 600℃.The electrolysis cell showed a specific energy consumption ranging from 54 to 66 kW h kg^(-1)that is comparable to state-of-the-art low temperature electrolysis technologies,while showing hydrogen production rates systematically higher than commercial solid oxide ceramic cells(SOCs).Compared to SOCs,the results verified the higher performances of PCCs at the relevant operating temperatures,due to the lower activation energy for proton transfer comparing with oxygen ion conduction.However,because of the p-type electronic conduction in protonic ceramics,the energy conversion rate of PCCs is relatively lower in steam electrolysis.The faradaic efficiency of the PCC in electrolysis mode can be increased at lower operating temperatures and in endothermic conditions,making PCCEL a technology of choice to valorize high temperature waste heat from industrial processes into hydrogen.To increase the faradaic efficiency by optimizing the materials,the cell design,or the operating strategy is a key challenge to address for future developments of PCCEL in order to achieve even more superior techno-economic merits.

Guest Editorial:Special issue on intelligence technology for remote sensing image

With the development of artificial intelligence,remote sensing scene interpretation task has attracted extensive attention,which mainly includes scene classification,target detection,hyperspectral classification,and multi‐modal analysis.The remote sensing scene interpretation has effectively promoted the development of the Earth observation field.It was the intention for this Special Issue to serve as a platform for the publication of the most recent research concepts from remote sensing image.

Lead helix winding tricuspid chordae tendineae: A case report

BACKGROUND As left bundle branch pacing(LBBP)is more like physiological pacing,LBBP has emerged as a novel pacing strategy that uses the native conduction system to improve ventricular synchronization with stable pacing parameters.LBBP has been revealed associated with a significantly reduced risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation and heart failure compared with conventional permanent pacemaker implantation.CASE SUMMARY A 64-year-old man was admitted with a 24-h history of chest distress and shortness of breath,which continued unabated.The patient had no symptoms of chest pain,dizziness,syncope,nausea nor vomiting.There were no abnormalities found in routine examinations after admission.Twelve-lead electrocardiogram presented a result of 2:1 atrioventricular block.Coronary angiography was performed the next day and no abnormality was found.Finally,the patient agreed to received LBBP and signed the informed consent.During the process of withdrawing the Medtronic Model 3830 lead into sheath,we found the lead helix was wrapped around the chordae tendineae of the septal valve of tricuspid.Attempts to rotate the 3830 lead failed to release the lead helix from the chordae tendineae,and ultimately we used radiofrequency ablation to ablate the wrapped chordae tendineae.CONCLUSION Radiofrequency ablation effectively solved this problem without complications.It is an effective and reliable method to resolve lead winding chordae.

极端海浪对LNG运输船影响的试验研究

This paper presents a comprehensive experimental study on the effect of extreme waves on a LNG carrier.The LNG carrier model was equipped with a variety of sensors to measure motions,green water height on deck as well as local and global loads.Experiments in transient wave packets provided the general performance in waves in terms of response amplitude operators and were accompanied by tests in regular waves with two different wave steepness.These tests allowed detailed insights into the nonlinear behavior of the vertical wave bending moment in steep waves showing that green water on deck can contribute to a decrease of vertical wave bending moment.Afterwards,systematic model tests in irregular waves were performed to provide the basis for statistical analysis.It is shown that the generalized extreme value distribution model is suitable for the estimation of the extreme peak values of motions and loads.Finally,model tests in tailored extreme wave sequences were conducted comparing the results with the statistical analysis.For this purpose,analytical breather solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation were applied to generate tailored extreme waves of certain critical wave lengths in terms of ship response.Besides these design extreme waves,the LGN carrier was also investigated in the model scale reproduction of the real-world Draupner wave.By comparing the motions,vertical wave bending moment,green water column and slamming pressures it is concluded that the breather solutions are a powerful and efficient tool for the generation of design extreme waves of certain critical wave lengths for wave/structure investigations on different subjects.

An Independent Degree-eight Mars Gravity Field Model and the Expected Results from the Tianwen-1 Mission

Tianwen-1 is China's first independent interplanetary exploration mission,targeting Mars,and includes orbiting,landing,and rover phases.Similar to previous Mars missions,the Tianwen-1 orbiter was designed for polar orbits during the scientific mission period but has an exceptional eccentricity of approximately 0.59.We provide the first independent eight-degree Martian gravity field model in this paper,which was developed exclusively by a team working in China with our independent software as well,based on about two months of radiometric Doppler and range data from only the Tianwen-1 mission.This model is independent from the models created by the groups at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Goddard Space Flight Center in the United States,as well as the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales in France.Furthermore,in order to optimize the engineering and scientific benefits,we proposed a number of potential orbits for the extended Tianwen-1 mission.In order to solve a higher-degree independent Mars gravity field model,the viability of modifying the perigee height was investigated,with the priority considerations of fuel savings and implementation hazards being controlled.

Current situation and development of hematopoietic cell transplantation centers:A nationwide survey in China

To the Editor:Hematopoietic cell transplantation(HCT)is a vital modality to cure severe hematological disorders.[1]Global or regional summarized data of HCT are annually reported by the Chinese Blood and Marrow Transplantation Registry Group(CBMTRG),European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation(EBMT)and Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research(CIBMTR).It is shown that the number of transplants is continuously increasing,particularly in China in recent years.[2]Since the donor accessibility is significantly addressed by the well-established protocol of haplo-identical HCT(haplo-HCT).

基于六角形和球形冰晶模型的卷云辐射特征研究

卷云中冰晶粒子的单次光散射计算是卷云辐射传输及云微物理参数反演的重要基础。近年,利用高观测频率的静止气象卫星数据来反演水云和卷云的光学和微物理参数,进而计算地表光通量的研究倍受重视。然而,很多研究中卷云的冰晶用球形模型来模拟。由于不同形状和尺度大小的冰晶对电磁波的散射特征的不同,导致不同冰晶模型计算的卷云环境下卫星观测的辐射值及地表光通量的不同。利用不同尺度大小和电磁波波长的球形和六角形冰晶的单次散射数据,结合RSTAR辐射传输模式来定量分析了卷云环境下不同形状的冰晶模型对计算卫星观测的辐射和地表光通量中的影响。结果显示利用不同形状的冰晶模块来计算的卫星观测的辐射,地表向下辐射通量明显不同。波长在0.4～1.0μm之间的大气窗口部分的光谱辐射通量的差距最大。总辐射通量受云粒子形状的影响显著。研究证实了正确选择冰晶模型对卫星反演卷云微物理和光学参数的反演及计算地表光通量的重要性。该结果对于云微物理参数的反演及地表向下辐射通量的模拟具有参考价值。

飞机尾流控制的SPIV实验研究

利用简化的飞机模型,通过改变尾翼的迎角及展弦比,试图建立一种能加速自我消亡的尾流涡系统。该实验在拖曳水槽中进行,运用SPIV(体视粒子图像测速技术)系统进行测量,获得了一系列空间切面的2D/3C(二维/三分量)数据,给出了三种不同尾翼情况(两种有尾翼情况及一种无尾翼情况)下的SPIV观测结果,并将这几种情况作了对比。

Zr50Cu50合金过冷熔体中的晶体生长速度

利用静电悬浮设备成功地实现了Zr_(50)Cu_(50)合金熔体的深过冷与凝固,并测得了在近200 K的过冷度范围内的晶体生长速度.随过冷度的增加,初生ZrCu相的晶体生长速度几乎呈线性增大,但在整个测量的过冷度范围之内,其生长速度极低,比一般的金属、Si和Ge等的生长速度低两个数量级以上.

气候变化背景下欧洲中部水资源供给的不稳定性评估--以易北河流域为例

欧洲中部的易北河流域是典型的湿润半湿润地区。夏季的水资源供给是限制农业生产的因素之一,特别是在具有较高农业生产力水平,而年降水量只有500mm的黄土地区。通过总结气候变化与水文循环(GLOWA-Elbe)项目第一阶段的成果,根据气候和土地利用变化的各种情景并考虑其不确定性,对未来50a德国易北河流域水资源供给稳定性作出综合评估。研究表明,欧洲中部必须从自然和社会角度应对未来气候变化情景下产生水资源供给短缺的可能情况。

Progress in Research and Development of Molten Chloride Salt Technology for Next Generation Concentrated Solar Power Plants

Concentrated solar power(CSP)plants with thermal energy storage(TES)system are emerging as one kind of the most promising power plants in the future renewable energy system,since they can supply dispatchable and low-cost electricity with abundant but intermittent solar energy.In order to significantly reduce the levelized cost of electricity(LCOE)of the present commercial CSP plants,the next generation CSP technology with higher process temperature and energy efficiency is being developed.The TES system in the next generation CSP plants works with new TES materials at higher temperatures(>565℃)compared to that with the commercial nitrate salt mixtures.This paper reviews recent progressin research and development of the next generation CSP and TES technology.Emphasis is given on theadvanced'TES technology based on molten chloride salt mixtures such as MgCl_(2)/NaCl/KCl which hassimilar thermo-physical properties as the commercial nitrate salt mixtures,higher thermal stability(>800℃),and lower costs(<0.35USD·kg^(-1)).Recent progress in the selection/optimization of chloridesalts,determination of molten chloride salt properties,and corrosion control of construction materials(eg.,alloys)in molten chlorides is reviewed.

Association of obesity with Helicobacter pylori infection: A retrospective study

AIM To explore the association between Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) infection and obesity/weight gain in a Chinese population.METHODS Our primary outcome was the change in body mass index(BMI). The generalized linear models were used to explore the association between H. pylori infection and the change of BMI, and the logistic regression models were used to explore the association between H. pylori infection and obesity.RESULTS A total of 3039 subjects were recruited and analyzed, of which 12.8% were obese. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was 53.9%(1639/3039) overall and 54.6%(212/388) in the obese subjects. The change of BMI in the H. pylori(+) group was not significantly higher than that in the H. pylori(-) group after adjustment for potential confounding factors [RR = 0.988, 95%CI:0.924-1.057, P = 0.729]. The prevalence of obesity decreased 1.1% in the H. pylori(+) group and 0.5% in the H. pylori(-) group. The RR of H. pylori infection for obesity was 0.831(95%CI: 0.577-1.197, P = 0.321) after the adjustment.CONCLUSION H. pylori infection was not associated with overweight/obesity observed from the retrospective study in this Chinese population.

Consistency of MGEX Orbit and Clock Products

The analysis centers of the Multi-GNSS Pilot Project of the International GNSS Service provide orbit and clock products for the global navigation satellite systems(GNSSs)Global Positioning System(GPS),GLONASS,Galileo,and BeiDou,as well as for the Japanese regional Quasi-Zenith Satellite System(QZSS).Due to improved solar radiation pressure modeling and other more sophisticated models,the consistency of these products has improved in recent years.The current orbit consistency between different analysis centers is on the level of a few centimeters for GPS,around one decimeter for GLONASS and Galileo,a few decimeters for BeiDou-2,and several decimeters for QZSS.The clock consistency is about 2 cm for GPS,5 cm for GLONASS and Galileo,and 10 cm for BeiDou-2.In terms of carrier phase modeling error for precise point positioning,the various products exhibit consistencies of 2–3 cm for GPS,6–14 cm for GLONASS,3–10 cm for Galileo,and 10–17 cm for BeiDou-2.

A novel grasping force control strategy for multi-fingered prosthetic hand

A grasping force control strategy is proposed in order to complete various fine manipulations by using anthropomorphic prosthetic hand.The position-based impedance control and force-tracking impedance control are used in free and constraint spaces,respectively.The fuzzy observer is adopted in transition in order to switch control mode.Two control modes use one position-based impedance controller.In order to achieve grasping force track,reference force is added to the impedance controller in the constraint space.Trajectory tracking in free space and torque tracking in constrained space are realized,and reliability of mode switch and stability of system are achieved.An adaptive sliding mode friction compensation method is proposed.This method makes use of terminal sliding mode idea to design sliding mode function,which makes the tracking error converge to zero in finite time and avoids the problem of conventional sliding surface that tracking error cannot converge to zero.Based on the characteristic of the exponential form friction,the sliding mode control law including the estimation of friction parameter is obtained through terminal sliding mode idea,and the online parameter update laws are obtained based on Lyapunov stability theorem.The experiments on the HIT Prosthetic Hand IV are carried out to evaluate the grasping force control strategy,and the experiment results verify the effectiveness of this control strategy.