Performance comparison for 12 V lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors with substrate-integrated and conventional pasted positive plates

Lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors comprise positive lead dioxide plates of the lead-acid battery and negative plates of carbon-based electrical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). Accordingly, a lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitor has the features of both the battery and that of an EDLC. In this study, the development and performance comparison between the two types of lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors, namely those with substrate-integrated and conventional pasted positive plates, is presented as such a study is lacking in the literature. The study suggests that the faradaic efficiencies for both types of lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors are comparable. However, their capacitance values as well as energy and power densities differ significantly. For substrate-integrated positive plate hybrid ultracapacitor, capacitance and energy density values are lower, but power density values are higher than pasted positive plate lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors due to their shorter response time. Accordingly, internal resistance values are also lower for substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors. Both types of lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors exhibit good cycle life of 100,000 pulse charge-discharge cycles with only a nominal loss in their capacitance values.

Ferroelectric instabilities and enhanced piezoelectric response in Ce modified BaTiO3 lead-free ceramics

The crystal structure, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric behaviors of the Ba(Ti1-xCex)O-3 solid solution have been investigated at close composition intervals in the dilute concentration regime. Ce concentration as low as 2 mol. % induces tetragonal-orthorhombic instability and coexistence of the phases, leading to enhanced high-field strain and direct piezoelectric response. Detailed structural analysis revealed tetragonal + orthorhombic phase coexistence for x = 0.02, orthorhombic for 0.03 <= x <= 0.05, and orthorhombic + rhombohedral for 0.06 <= x <= 0.08. The results suggest that Ce-modified BaTiO3 is a potential lead-free piezoelectric material. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Role of electrical resistance of electrodes in modeling of discharging and charging of flooded lead-acid batteries

Electrical resistance of both the electrodes of a lead-acid battery increases during discharge due to formation of lead sulfate, an insulator. Work of Metzendorf 1] shows that resistance increases sharply at about 65% conversion of active materials, and battery stops discharging once this critical conversion is reached. However, these aspects are not incorporated into existing mathematical models. Present work uses the results of Metzendorf 1], and develops a model that includes the effect of variable resistance. Further, it uses a reasonable expression to account for the decrease in active area during discharge instead of the empirical equations of previous work. The model's predictions are compared with observations of Cugnet et al. 2]. The model is as successful as the non-mechanistic models existing in literature. Inclusion of variation in resistance of electrodes in the model is important if one of the electrodes is a limiting reactant. If active materials are stoichiometrically balanced, resistance of electrodes can be very large at the end of discharge but has only a minor effect on charging of batteries. The model points to the significance of electrical conductivity of electrodes in the charging of deep discharged batteries. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydroxyapatite-titanium bulk composites for bone tissue engineering applications

The research work on bulk hydroxyapatite (HA)-based composites are driven by the need to develop biomaterials with better mechanical properties without compromising its bioactivity and biocompatibility properties. Despite several years of research, the mechanical properties of the HA-based composites still need to be enhanced to match the properties of natural cortical bone. In this regard, the scope of this review on the HA-based bulk biomaterials is limited to the processing and the mechanical as well as biocompatibility properties for bone tissue engineering applications of a model system that is hydroxyapatite-titanium (HA-Ti) bulk composites. It will be discussed in this review how HA-Ti based bulk composites can be processed to have better fracture toughness and strength without compromising biocompatibility. The advantages of the functionally gradient materials to integrate the mechanical and biocompatibility properties is a promising approach in hard tissue engineering and has been emphasized here in reference to the limited literature reports. On the biomaterials fabrication aspect, the recent results are discussed to demonstrate that advanced manufacturing techniques, like spark plasma sintering can be adopted as a processing route to restrict the sintering reactions, while enhancing the mechanical properties. Various toughening mechanisms related to careful tailoring of microstructure are discussed. The in vitro cytocompatibilty, cell fate processes as well as in vivo biocompatibility results are also reviewed and the use of flow cytometry to quantify in vitro cell fate processes is being emphasized. (C) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Metastable monoclinic and orthorhombic phases and electric field induced irreversible phase transformation at room temperature in the lead-free classical ferroelectric BaTiO3

For decades it has been a well-known fact that among the few ferroelectric compounds in the perovskite family, namely, BaTiO3, KNbO3, PbTiO3, and Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3, the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of BaTiO3 are considerably higher than the others in polycrystalline form at room temperature. Further, similar to ferroelectric alloys exhibiting morphotropic phase boundary, single crystals of BaTiO3 exhibit anomalously large piezoelectric response when poled away from the direction of spontaneous polarization at room temperature. These anomalous features in BaTiO3 remained unexplained so far from the structural standpoint. In this work, we have used high-resolution synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction, atomic resolution aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy, in conjunction with a powder poling technique, to reveal that at 300 K (i) the equilibrium state of BaTiO3 is characterized by coexistence of metastable monoclinic Pm and orthorhombic (Amm2) phases along with the tetragonal phase, and (ii) strong electric field switches the polarization direction from the 001] direction towards the 101] direction. These results suggest that BaTiO3 at room temperature is within an instability regime, and that this instability is the fundamental factor responsible for the anomalous dielectric and piezoelectric properties of BaTiO3 as compared to the other homologous ferroelectric perovskite compounds at room temperature. Pure BaTiO3 at room temperature is therefore more akin to lead-based ferroelectric alloys close to the morphotropic phase boundary where polarization rotation and field induced ferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transformations play a fundamental role in influencing the dielectric and piezoelectric behavior.

Series-connected substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors with voltage-management circuit

Cell voltage for a fully charged-substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitor is about 2.3 V. Therefore, for applications requiring higher DC voltage, several of these ultracapacitors need to be connected in series. However, voltage distribution across each series-connected ultracapacitor tends to be uneven due to tolerance in capacitance and parasitic parallel-resistance values. Accordingly, voltage-management circuit is required to protect constituent ultracapacitors from exceeding their rated voltage. In this study, the design and characterization of the substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitor with co-located terminals is discussed. Voltage-management circuit for the ultracapacitor is presented, and its effectiveness is validated experimentally.

Use of Data Driven Techniques for Short Lead Time Streamflow Forecasting in Mahanadi basin

Streamflow forecasts at daily time scale are necessary for effective management of water resources systems. Typical applications include flood control, water quality management, water supply to multiple stakeholders, hydropower and irrigation systems. Conventionally physically based conceptual models and data-driven models are used for forecasting streamflows. Conceptual models require detailed understanding of physical processes governing the system being modeled. Major constraints in developing effective conceptual models are sparse hydrometric gauge network and short historical records that limit our understanding of physical processes. On the other hand, data-driven models rely solely on previous hydrological and meteorological data without directly taking into account the underlying physical processes. Among various data driven models Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are most widely used techniques. The present study assesses performance of ARIMA and ANNs methods in arriving at one-to seven-day ahead forecast of daily streamflows at Basantpur streamgauge site that is situated at upstream of Hirakud Dam in Mahanadi river basin, India. The ANNs considered include Feed-Forward back propagation Neural Network (FFNN) and Radial Basis Neural Network (RBNN). Daily streamflow forecasts at Basantpur site find use in management of water from Hirakud reservoir. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A new approach to depict bone surfaces in finger imaging using photoacoustic tomography

Imaging the vasculature close around the finger joints is of interest in the field of rheumatology. Locally increased vasculature in the synovial membrane of these joints can be a marker for rheumatoid arthritis. In previous work we showed that part of the photoacoustically induced ultrasound from the epidermis reflects on the bone surface within the finger. These reflected signals could be wrongly interpreted as new photoacoustic sources. In this work we show that a conventional ultrasound reconstruction algorithm, that considers the skin as a collection of ultrasound transmitters and the PA tomography probe as the detector array, can be used to delineate bone surfaces of a finger. This can in the future assist in the localization of the joint gaps. This can provide us with a landmark to localize the region of the inflamed synovial membrane. We test the approach on finger mimicking phantoms.

Structural crossover from nonmodulated to long-period modulated tetragonal phase and anomalous change in ferroelectric properties in the lead-free piezoelectric Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3-BaTiO3

The highly complex structure-property interrelationship in the lead-free piezoelectric (x) Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 - (1 - x) BaTiO3 is a subject of considerable contemporary debate. Using comprehensive x-ray, neutron diffraction, dielectric, and ferroelectric studies, we have shown the existence of a new criticality in this system at x = 0.80, i.e., well within the conventional tetragonal phase field. This criticality manifests as a nonmonotonic variation of the tetragonality and coercivity and is shown to be associated with a crossover from a nonmodulated tetragonal phase (for x < 0.8) to a long-period modulated tetragonal phase (for x > 0.80). It is shown that the stabilization of long-period modulation introduces a characteristic depolarization temperature in the system. While differing qualitatively from the two-phase model often suggested for the critical compositions of this system, our results support the view with regard to the tendency in perovskites to stabilize long-period modulated structures as a result of complex interplay of antiferrodistortive modes Bellaiche and Iniguez, Phys. Rev. B 88, 014104 ( 2013); Prosandeev, Wang, Ren, Iniguez, ands Bellaiche, Adv. Funct. Mater. 23, 234 (2013)].

Electric field induced short range to long range structural ordering and its influence on the Eu+3 photoluminescence in the lead-free ferroelectric Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3

Eu+3 was incorporated into the lattice of a lead-free ferroelectric Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 (NBT) as per the nominal formula Na0.5Bi0.5-xEuxTiO3. This system was investigated with regard to the Eu+3 photoluminescence (PL) and structural behaviour as a function of composition and electric field. Electric field was found to irreversibly change the features in the PL spectra and also in the x-ray diffraction patterns below the critical composition x = 0.025. Detailed analysis revealed that below the critical composition, electric field irreversibly suppresses the structural heterogeneity inherent of the host matrix NBT and brings about a long range ferroelectric state with rhombohedral (R3c) distortion. It is shown that the structural disorder on the nano-scale opens a new channel for radiative transition which manifests as a new emission line branching off from the main D-5(0)-> F-7(0) line along with a concomitant change in the relative intensity of the other crystal field induced Stark lines with different J values. The study suggests that Eu+3 luminescence can be used to probe the relative degree of field induced structural ordering in relaxor ferroelectrics and also in high performance piezoelectric alloys where electric field couples very strongly with the lattice and structural degrees of freedom. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Lead selection and characterization of antitubercular compounds using the Nested Chemical Library

Discovering new drugs to treat tuberculosis more efficiently and to overcome multidrug resistance is a world health priority. To find novel antitubercular agents several approaches have been used in various institutions worldwide, including target-based approaches against several validated mycobacterial enzymes and phenotypic screens. We screened more than 17,000 compounds from Vichem's Nested Chemical Library(TM) using an integrated strategy involving whole cell-based assays with Corynebacterium glutamicum and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and target-based assays with protein kinases PknA, PknB and PknG as well as other targets such as PimA and bacterial topoisomerases simultaneously. With the help of the target-based approach we have found very potent hits inhibiting the selected target enzymes, but good minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against M. tuberculosis were not achieved. Focussing on the whole cell-based approach several potent hits were found which displayed minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against M. tuberculosis below 10 mu M and were non-mutagenic, non-cytotoxic and the targets of some of the hits were also identified. The most active hits represented various scaffolds. Medicinal chemistry-based lead optimization was performed applying various strategies and, as a consequence, a series of novel potent compounds were synthesized. These efforts resulted in some effective potential antitubercular lead compounds which were confirmed in phenotypic assays. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Studies on 12 V substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors

A cost-effective 12 V substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitor is developed and performance tested. These hybrid ultracapacitors employ flexible-graphite sheets as negative plate current-collectors that are coated amperometrically with a thin layer of conducting polymer, namely poly-aniline to provide good adhesivity to activated-carbon layer. The positive plate of the hybrid ultracapacitors comprise conventional lead-sheet that is converted electrochemically into a substrate-integrated lead-dioxide electrode. 12 V substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors both in absorbent-glass-mat and polymeric silica-gel electrolyte configurations are fabricated and characterized. It is possible to realize 12 V configurations with capacitance values of similar to 200 F and similar to 300 F, energy densities of similar to 1.9 Wh kg(-1) and similar to 2.5 Wh kg(-1) and power densities of similar to 2 kW kg(-1) and similar to 0.8 kW kg(-1), respectively, having faradaic-efficiency values of similar to 90 % with cycle-life in excess of 100,000 cycles. The effective cost of the mentioned hybrid ultracapacitors is estimated to be about similar to 4 US$/Wh as compared to similar to 20 US$/Wh for commercially available ultracapacitors.

An organically modified exfoliated graphite electrode for the voltammetric determination of lead ions in contaminated water samples

This work presents a new electrode, 2-benzoylnaphtho 2,1-b]furan hydrazone exfoliated graphite paste electrode (B-EGPE) fabricated for the differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetric determination of lead (Pb). Under the optimal conditions, Pb2+ could be detected in the concentration range from 2.75 x 10(-7) to 1.5 x 10(-6) mol/L with the linear regression equation, y = 19.41 x 10(-6) x + 0.4249 x 10(-9) with R = 0.99. Interferences from other ions were investigated and the proposed method was further applied to the trace levels of Pb2+ detection in real samples with satisfactory results.

Modeling of Effect of Nucleation Rate and Electrodes' Resistance on Discharge Characteristics of Lead-Acid Batteries

Classical models are not successful in describing discharge characteristics of a lead-acid battery when the current density is varied over a wide range. A model is developed in this work to overcome this lacuna by introducing into the standard models two mechanisms that have not been used earlier. Lead sulfate particles nucleate and grow on active materials of electrodes during discharge, resulting in coverage of active area. Increasing rate of discharge builds supersaturation of lead sulfate rapidly, and causes increased extents of nucleation and coverage. Electrodes behave almost like an insulator due to deposition of lead sulfate when active materials are converted to a critical extent, and this can stop discharge process. Influence of this mechanism is also rate dependent. The new model developed is tested against data on polarization behavior, and capacity drawn as a function of current. The model successfully predicts both polarization curves and Peukert behavior. The model is used to predict charge that can be drawn at a current after partial discharge at a different current. Model suggests that altering nucleation behavior can be useful in enhancing capacity available for discharge. (C) 2015 The Electrochemical Society.