Optimal placement of Distributed Generation for a projected load increase using Relative Electrical Distance approach

There is a lot of pressure on all the developed and second world countries to produce low emission power and distributed generation (DG) is found to be one of the most viable ways to achieve this. DG generally makes use of renewable energy sources like wind, micro turbines, photovoltaic, etc., which produce power with minimum green house gas emissions. While installing a DG it is important to define its size and optimal location enabling minimum network expansion and line losses. In this paper, a methodology to locate the optimal site for a DG installation, with the objective to minimize the net transmission losses, is presented. The methodology is based on the concept of relative electrical distance (RED) between the DG and the load points. This approach will help to identify the new DG location(s), without the necessity to conduct repeated power flows. To validate this methodology case studies are carried out on a 20 node, 66kV system, a part of Karnataka Transco and results are presented.

Statistical properties of entropy-consuming fluctuations in jammed states of laponite suspensions: Fluctuation relations and generalized Gumbel distribution

We report a universal large deviation behavior of spatially averaged global injected power just before the rejuvenation of the jammed state formed by an aging suspension of laponite clay under an applied stress. The probability distribution function (PDF) of these entropy consuming strongly non-Gaussian fluctuations follow an universal large deviation functional form described by the generalized Gumbel (GG) distribution like many other equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems with high degree of correlations but do not obey the Gallavotti-Cohen steady-state fluctuation relation (SSFR). However, far from the unjamming transition (for smaller applied stresses) SSFR is satisfied for both Gaussian as well as non-Gaussian PDF. The observed slow variation of the mean shear rate with system size supports a recent theoretical prediction for observing GG distribution.

Transport in nanoporous zeolites: Relationships between sorbate size, entropy, and diffusivity

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed on monatomic sorbates confined within zeolite NaY to obtain the dependence of entropy and self-diffusivity on the sorbate diameter. Previously, molecular dynamics simulations by Santikary and Yashonath J. Phys. Chem. 98, 6368 (1994)], theoretical analysis by Derouane J. Catal. 110, 58 (1988)] as well as experiments by Kemball Adv. Catal. 2, 233 (1950)] found that certain sorbates in certain adsorbents exhibit unusually high self-diffusivity. Experiments showed that the loss of entropy for certain sorbates in specific adsorbents was minimum. Kemball suggested that such sorbates will have high self-diffusivity in these adsorbents. Entropy of the adsorbed phase has been evaluated from the trajectory information by two alternative methods: two-phase and multiparticle expansion. The results show that anomalous maximum in entropy is also seen as a function of the sorbate diameter. Further, the experimental observation of Kemball that minimum loss of entropy is associated with maximum in self-diffusivity is found to be true for the system studied here. A suitably scaled dimensionless self-diffusivity shows an exponential dependence on the excess entropy of the adsorbed phase, analogous to excess entropy scaling rules seen in many bulk and confined fluids. The two trajectory-based estimators for the entropy show good semiquantitative agreement and provide some interesting microscopic insights into entropy changes associated with confinement.

An Accurate Fractional Period Delay Generation System

An all-digital technique is proposed for generating an accurate delay irrespective of the inaccuracies of a controllable delay line. A subsampling technique-based delay measurement unit (DMU) capable of measuring delays accurately for the full period range is used as the feedback element to build accurate fractional period delays based on input digital control bits. The proposed delay generation system periodically measures and corrects the error and maintains it at the minimum value without requiring any special calibration phase. Up to 40x improvement in accuracy is demonstrated for a commercial programmable delay generator chip. The time-precision trade-off feature of the DMU is utilized to reduce the locking time. Loop dynamics are adjusted to stabilize the delay after the minimum error is achieved, thus avoiding additional jitter. Measurement results from a high-end oscilloscope also validate the effectiveness of the proposed system in improving accuracy.

Efficient generation and guiding of megaampere relativistic electron current by silicon nanowires

We demonstrate 30 times enhanced flux of relativistic electrons by a silicon nanowire coated target excited by 30 fs, 800 nm laser pulses at an intensity of 3 x 10(18) W cm(-2). A measurement of the megaampere electron current via induced megagauss magnetic field supports the enhancement feature observed in the electron energy spectrum. The relativistic electrons generated at the front of nanowire coated surface are shown to travel efficiently over 500 mu m in the insulating substrate. The enhanced hot electron temperature is explained using a simple model and is supported by recent simulations. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4729010]

Large mass splittings for fourth generation fermions allowed by LHC Higgs boson exclusion

In the context of the standard model with a fourth generation, we explore the allowed mass spectra in the fourth-generation quark and lepton sectors as functions of the Higgs mass. Using the constraints from unitarity and oblique parameters, we show that a heavy Higgs allows large mass splittings in these sectors, opening up new decay channels involving W emission. Assuming that the hints for a light Higgs do not yet constitute an evidence, we work in a scenario where a heavy Higgs is viable. A Higgs heavier than similar to 800 GeV would in fact necessitate either a heavy quark decay channel t' -> b'W/b' -> t'W or a heavy lepton decay channel tau' -> nu'W as long as the mixing between the third and fourth generations is small. This mixing tends to suppress the mass splittings and hence the W-emission channels. The possibility of the W-emission channel could substantially change the search strategies of fourth-generation fermions at the LHC and impact the currently reported mass limits.

On maximum entropy and minimum KL-divergence optimization by Grobner basis methods

In this paper we study constrained maximum entropy and minimum divergence optimization problems, in the cases where integer valued sufficient statistics exists, using tools from computational commutative algebra. We show that the estimation of parametric statistical models in this case can be transformed to solving a system of polynomial equations. We give an implicit description of maximum entropy models by embedding them in algebraic varieties for which we give a Grobner basis method to compute it. In the cases of minimum KL-divergence models we show that implicitization preserves specialization of prior distribution. This result leads us to a Grobner basis method to embed minimum KL-divergence models in algebraic varieties. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Role of Specific Cations and Water Entropy on the Stability of Branched DNA Motif Structures

DNA three-way junctions (TWJs) are important intermediates in various cellular processes and are the simplest of a family of branched nucleic acids being considered as scaffolds for biomolecular nanotechnology. Branched nucleic acids are stabilized by divalent cations such as Mg2+, presumably due to condensation and neutralization of the negatively charged DNA backbone. However, electrostatic screening effects point to more complex solvation dynamics and a large role of interfacial waters in thermodynamic stability. Here, we report extensive computer simulations in explicit water and salt on a model TWJ and use free energy calculations to quantify the role of ionic character and strength on stability. We find that enthalpic stabilization of the first and second hydration shells by Mg2+ accounts for 1/3 and all of the free energy gain in 50% and pure MgCl2 solutions, respectively. The more distorted DNA molecule is actually destabilized in pure MgCl2 compared to pure NaCl. Notably, the first shell, interfacial waters have very low translational and rotational entropy (i.e., mobility) compared to the bulk, an entropic loss that is overcompensated by increased enthalpy from additional electrostatic interactions with Mg2+. In contrast, the second hydration shell has anomalously high entropy as it is trapped between an immobile and bulklike layer. The nonmonotonic entropic signature and long-range perturbations of the hydration shells to Mg2+ may have implications in the molecular recognition of these motifs. For example, we find that low salt stabilizes the parallel configuration of the three-way junction, whereas at normal salt we find antiparallel configurations deduced from the NMR. We use the 2PT analysis to follow the thermodynamics of this transition and find that the free energy barrier is dominated by entropic effects that result from the decreased surface area of the antiparallel form which has a smaller number of low entropy waters in the first monolayer.

Multilevel dodecagonal space-vector generation for induction motor drives by cascading three-level and two-level inverters

This study proposes an inverter circuit topology capable of generating multilevel dodecagonal (12-sided polygon) voltage space vectors by the cascaded connection of two-level and three-level inverters. By the proper selection of DC-link voltages and resultant switching states for the inverters, voltage space vectors whose tips lie on three concentric dodecagons, are obtained. A rectifier circuit for the inverter is also proposed, which significantly improves the power factor. The topology offers advantages such as the complete elimination of the fifth and seventh harmonics in phase voltages and an extension of the linear modulation range. In this study, a simple method for the calculation of pulse width modulation timing was presented along with extensive simulation and experimental results in order to validate the proposed concept.

Generation and analysis of drought stressed subtracted expressed sequence tags from safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

Drought is the most crucial environmental factor that limits productivity of many crop plants. Exploring novel genes and gene combinations is of primary importance in plant drought tolerance research. Stress tolerant genotypes/species are known to express novel stress responsive genes with unique functional significance. Hence, identification and characterization of stress responsive genes from these tolerant species might be a reliable option to engineer the drought tolerance. Safflower has been found to be a relatively drought tolerant crop and thus, it has been the choice of study to characterize the genes expressed under drought stress. In the present study, we have evaluated differential drought tolerance of two cultivars of safflower namely, A1 and Nira using selective physiological marker traits and we have identified cultivar A1 as relatively drought tolerant. To identify the drought responsive genes, we have constructed a stress subtracted cDNA library from cultivar A1 following subtractive hybridization. Analysis of similar to 1,300 cDNA clones resulted in the identification of 667 unique drought responsive ESTs. Protein homology search revealed that 521 (78 %) out of 667 ESTs showed significant similarity to known sequences in the database and majority of them previously identified as drought stress-related genes and were found to be involved in a variety of cellular functions ranging from stress perception to cellular protection. Remaining 146 (22 %) ESTs were not homologous to known sequences in the database and therefore, they were considered to be unique and novel drought responsive genes of safflower. Since safflower is a stress-adapted oil-seed crop this observation has great relevance. In addition, to validate the differential expression of the identified genes, expression profiles of selected clones were analyzed using dot blot (reverse northern), and northern blot analysis. We showed that these clones were differentially expressed under different abiotic stress conditions. The implications of the analyzed genes in abiotic stress tolerance are discussed in our study.

Cobalt(II), Nickel(II) and Copper(II) complexes of a tetradentate Schiff base as photosensitizers: Quantum yield of O-1(2) generation and its promising role in anti-tumor activity

In the present investigation, a Schiff base N'(1),N'(3)-bis(E)-(5-bromo-2-hydroxyphenyl)methylidene]benzene-1,3-d icarbohydrazide and its metal complexes have been synthesized and characterized. The DNA-binding studies were performed using absorption spectroscopy, emission spectra, viscosity measurements and thermal denatuaration studies. The experimental evidence indicated that, the Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes interact with calf thymus DNA through intercalation with an intrinsic binding constant K-b of 2.6 x 10(4) M-1, 5.7 x 10(4) M-1 and 4.5 x 10(4) M-1, respectively and they exhibited potent photo-damage abilities on pUC19 DNA, through singlet oxygen generation with quantum yields of 0.32, 0.27 and 0.30 respectively. The cytotoxic activity of the complexes resulted that they act as a potent photosensitizers for photochemical reactions. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Eulerian two-phase flow simulation and experimental validation of semisolid slurry generation process using cooling slope

Experimental and numerical studies of slurry generation using a cooling slope are presented in the paper. The slope having stainless steel body has been designed and constructed to produce semisolid A356 Al alloy slurry. The pouring temperature of molten metal, slope angle of the cooling slope and slope wall temperature were varied during the experiment. A multiphase numerical model, considering liquid metal and air, has been developed to simulate the liquid metal flow along the cooling channel using an Eulerian two-phase flow approach. Solid fraction evolution of the solidifying melt is tracked at different locations of the cooling channel following Schiel's equation. The continuity, momentum and energy equations are solved considering thin wall boundary condition approach. During solidification of the melt, based on the liquid fraction and latent heat of the alloy, temperature of the alloy is modified continuously by introducing a modified temperature recovery method. Numerical simulations has been carried out for semisolid slurry formation by varying the process parameters such as angle of the cooling slope, cooling slope wall temperature and melt superheat temperature, to understand the effect of process variables on cooling slope semisolid slurry generation process such as temperature distribution, velocity distribution and solid fraction of the solidifying melt. Experimental validation performed for some chosen cases reveals good agreement with the numerical simulations.

Multilevel Dodecagonal Voltage Space Vector Generation using Flying Capacitor topology for Induction motor drives

In this paper, a multilevel flying capacitor inverter topology suitable for generating multilevel dodecagonal space vectors for an induction motor drive, is proposed. Because of the dodecagonal space vectors, it has increased modulation range with the absence of all 6n +/- 1, (n=odd) harmonics in the phase voltage and currents. The topology, realized by flying capacitor three level inverters feeding an open-end winding induction motor, does not suffer the neutral point voltage imbalance issues seen in NPC inverters and the capacitors have inherent charge-balancing capability with PWM control using switching state redundancies. Furthermore, the proposed technique uses lesser number of power supplies compared to cascaded H-bridge or NPC based dodecagonal schemes and has better ride-through capability. Finally, the voltage control is obtained through a simple carrier-based space vector PWM scheme implemented on a DSP.

Force Biased Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study of Effect of Dendrimer Generation on Interaction with DNA

We have studied the effect of dendrimer generation on the interaction between dsDNA and the PAMAM dendrimer using force biased simulation of dsDNA with three generations of dendrimer: G3, G4, and G5. Our results for the potential of mean force (PMF) and the dendrimer asphericity along the binding pathway, combined with visualization of the simulations, demonstrate that dendrimer generation has a pronounced impact on the interaction. The PMF increases linearly with increasing generation of the dendrimer. While, in agreement with previous results, we see an increase in the extent to which the dendrimer bends the dsDNA with increasing dendrimer generation, we also see that the deformation of the dendrimer is greater with smaller generation of the dendrimer. The larger dendrimer forces the dsDNA to conform to its structure, while the smaller dendrimer is forced to conform to the structure of the dsDNA. Monitoring the number of bound cations at different values of force bias distance shows the expected effect of ions being expelled when the dendrimer binds dsDNA.