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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 919 records · Page 51

Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) in Controlled and Real-World Environments: Testing and Results

The transportation industry annually travels more than 6 times as many miles as passenger vehicles. The fuel cost associated with this represents 38% of the total marginal operating cost for this industry. As a result, industry’s interest in applications of autonomy have grown. One application of this technology is Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) using Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC). Auburn University outfitted four class 8 vehicles, two Peterbilt 579’s and two M915’s, with a basic hardware suite, and software library to enable level 1 autonomy. These algorithms were tested in controlled environments, such as the American Center for Mobility (ACM), and on public roads, such as highway 280 in Alabama, and Interstates 275/696 in Michigan. This paper reviews the results of these real-world tests and discusses the anomalies and failures that occurred during testing.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Global patterns and controls of soil organic carbon dynamics as simulated by multiple terrestrial biosphere models. Current status and future directions

Soil is the largest organic carbon (C) pool of terrestrial ecosystems, and loss from soil accounts for a large pro portion of land-atmosphere C exchange. Due to large pool size and variable residence time from years to millennia, even small changes in soil organic C(SOC) have substantial effects on the terrestrial C budget, thereby affecting atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)concentration and climate change. In the past decades, a wide variety of studies have been conducted to quantify global SOC stocks and soil exchange with the atmosphere through site measurements, inventories, and empirical/process-based modeling. However, these estimates are highly uncertain and identifying major driving forces controlling soil C storage and fluxes remains a key research challenge his study has compiled century-long (1901-2010)estimates of SOC storage and heterotrophic respiration (Rh) from ten terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs) in the Multi-scale Synthesis and Terrestrial Model Intercomparison Project (MsTMIP) and two observation based datasets. The ten-TBM ensemble shows that global SOC estimate range from 4 to 2111 Pg C (1 Pg = 10 15 g) with a median value of 1158 Pg C33 in 2010. Modeling approach estimates a broad range of Rh from 35 to 69 Pg C yr -1 with a median value of 51Pg C yr -1 during 200–2010. The largest uncertainty in SOC stocks exists in the 40–65°N latitude band while Rh differences are the largest in the tropics. All the models agreed that climate and land use changes have decreased SOC stocks while elevated CO 2 and atmospheric nitrogen deposition have increased SOC stocks though the response varied significantly among models. Model representations of temperature and moisture sensitivity,nutrient limitation and land use partially explain the divergent estimates of global SOC stocks and soil fluxes in this study. In addition, major sources of uncertainty from model estimation include exclusion of SOC storage in wetlands and peatlands as well as C storage in deep soil layers.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Strain Control of Oxygen Vacancies in Epitaxial Strontium Cobaltite Films

The ability to manipulate oxygen anion defects rather than metal cations in complex oxides can facilitate creating new functionalities critical for emerging energy and device technologies. However, the difficulty in activating oxygen at reduced temperatures hinders the deliberate control of important defects, oxygen vacancies. Here, strontium cobaltite (SrCoOx) is used to demonstrate that epitaxial strain is a powerful tool for manipulating the oxygen vacancy concentration even under highly oxidizing environments and at annealing temperatures as low as 300 degrees C. By applying a small biaxial tensile strain (2%), the oxygen activation energy barrier decreases by approximate to 30%, resulting in a tunable oxygen defi cient steady-state under conditions that would normally fully oxidize unstrained cobaltite. These strain-induced changes in oxygen stoichiometry drive the cobaltite from a ferromagnetic metal towards an antiferromagnetic insulator. The ability to decouple the oxygen vacancy concentration from its typical dependence on the operational environment is useful for effectively designing oxides materials with a specific oxygen stoichiometry.

Petrie, Jonathan R.↗

TiO 2 Microboxes with Controlled Internal Porosity for High‐Performance Lithium Storage

Abstract Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) is considered a promising anode material for high‐power lithium ion batteries (LIBs) because of its low cost, high thermal/chemical stability, and good safety performance without solid electrolyte interface formation. However, the poor electronic conductivity and low lithium ion diffusivity of TiO 2 result in poor cyclability and lithium ion depletion at high current rates, which hinder them from practical applications. Herein we demonstrate that hierarchically structured TiO 2 microboxes with controlled internal porosity can address the aforementioned problems for high‐power, long‐life LIB anodes. A self‐templating method for the synthesis of mesoporous microboxes was developed through Na 2 EDTA‐assisted ion exchange of CaTiO 3 microcubes. The resulting TiO 2 nanorods were organized into microboxes that resemble the microcube precursors. This nanostructured TiO 2 material has superior lithium storage properties with a capacity of 187 mAh g −1 after 300 cycles at 1 C and good rate capabilities up to 20 C.

Gao, Xuehui↗

Nanoscale Control of Homoepitaxial Growth on a Two-Dimensional Zeolite

Nanoscale crystal growth control is crucial for tailoring two-dimensional (2D) zeolites (crystallites with thickness less than two unit cells) and thicker zeolite nanosheets for applications in separation membranes and as hierarchical catalysts. However, methods to control zeolite crystal growth with nanometer precision are still in their infancy. Herein, we report solution-based growth conditions leading to anisotropic epitaxial growth of 2D zeolites with rates as low as few nanometers per day. Contributions from misoriented surface nucleation and rotational intergrowths are eliminated. Growth monitoring at the single-unit-cell level reveals novel nanoscale crystal-growth phenomena associated with the lateral size and surface curvature of 2D zeolites.

Shete, Meera↗

Controllable Fabrication of Tungsten Oxide Nanoparticles Confined in Graphene-Analogous Boron Nitride as an Efficient Desulfurization Catalyst

Tungsten oxide nanoparticles (WOxNPs) are gaining increasing attention, but low stabiliity and poor dispersion of WOxNPs hinder their catalytic applications. Herein, WOxNPs were confined in graphene-analogous boron nitride (g-BN) by a one-step, in situ method at high temperature, which can enhance the interactions between WOxNPs and the support and control the sizes of WOxNPs in a range of about 4–5 nm. The as-prepared catalysts were applied in catalytic oxidation of aromatic sulfur compounds in which they showed high catalytic activity. A balance between the W loading and the size distribution of the WOxNPs could govern the catalytic activity. Furthermore, a synergistic effect between g-BN and WOxNPs also contributed to high catalytic activity. The reaction mechanism is discussed in detail and the catalytic scope was enlarged.

Wu, Peiwen↗

Electrochemically Controlled Ion‐exchange Property of Carbon Nanotubes/Polypyrrole Nanocomposite in Various Electrolyte Solutions

Abstract The electrochemically controlled ion‐exchange properties of multi‐wall carbon nanotube (MWNT)/electronically conductive polypyrrole (PPy) polymer composite in the various electrolyte solutions have been investigated. The ion‐exchange behavior, rate and capacity of the electrochemically deposited polypyrrole with and without carbon nanotube (CNT) were compared and characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It has been found that the presence of carbon nanotube backbone resulted in improvement in ion‐exchange rate, stability of polypyrrole, and higher anion loading capacity per PPy due to higher surface area, electronic conductivity, porous structure of thin film, and thinner film thickness providing shorter diffusion path. Chronoamperometric studies show that electrically switched anion exchange could be completed more than 10 times faster than pure PPy thin film. The anion selectivity of CNT/PPy film is demonstrated using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Choi, Daiwon↗