AC impedance and state-of-charge analysis of a sealed lithium-ion rechargeable battery

A 7.2 V, 1.25 Ah sealed lithium-ion rechargeable battery has been studied for estimating its state-of-charge (SOC) by AC impedance. The dispersion of impedance data over the frequency range between 100 kHz and 25 mHz comprises an inductive part and two capacitive parts. As the inductive behaviour of the battery is attributed to the porous nature of the electrodes, only the capacitive components have been examined. The data obtained at several SOC values of the battery have been analyzed by a non-linear least-squares fitting procedure. The presence of two depressed semicircles in the capacitive region of the Nyquist plots necessitated the use of an electrical equivalent circuit containing constant phase elements instead of capacitances. The impedance parameters corresponding to the low-frequency semicircle have been found useful for predicting the SOC of the battery, mainly because the magnitude of these parameters and their variations are more significant than those of the high-frequency semicircle. The frequency maximum (f _max) of the semicircle, the resistive component (Z′) corresponding to f _max, the phase angle (φ) in the 5.0 Hz–0.1 Hz frequency range, the equivalent series resistance (R _s) and the equivalent series capacitance (C _s) have been identified as suitable parameters for predicting the SOC values of the lithium-ion battery. Received: 23 September 1998 / Accepted: 22 February 1999     

Zygo interferometer for measuring refractive index of liquids and its application for heavy water analysis

The Zygo interferometer for measuring refractive index of liquids such as heavy water is presented. The accuracy of measurement in the refractive index of liquids is found to be ±0.0002 in the Zygo interferometer. An application of Zygo interferometer for heavy water analysis is also presented. The interferometer is found to be useful for determining the percentage purity of heavy water with an accuracy of ±5% in the purity range of 0–100%.     

An ab initio study of water clusters in gas phase and bulk aqueous media: (H2O)n,n=1–12

Geometries of several clusters of water molecules including single minimum energy structures of n‐mers (n=1–5), several hexamers and two structures of each of heptamer to decamer derived from hexamer cage and hexamer prism were optimized. One structural form of each of 11‐mer and 12‐mer were also studied. The geometry optimization calculations were performed at the RHF/6‐311G* level for all the cases and at the MP2/6‐311++G** level for some selected cases. The optimized cluster geometries were used to calculate total energies of the clusters in gas phase employing the B3LYP density functional method and the 6‐311G* basis set. Frequency analysis was carried out in all the cases to ensure that the optimized geometries corresponded to total energy minima. Zero‐point and thermal free energy corrections were applied for comparison of energies of certain hexamers. The optimized cluster geometries were used to solvate the clusters in bulk water using the polarized continuum model (PCM) of the self‐consistent reaction field (SCRF) theory, the 6‐311G* basis set, and the B3LYP density functional method. For the cases for which MP2/6‐311++G** geometry optimization was performed, solvation calculations in water were also carried out using the B3LYP density functional method, the 6‐311++G** basis set, and the PCM model of SCRF theory, besides the corresponding gas‐phase calculations. It is found that the cage form of water hexamer cluster is most stable in gas phase among the different hexamers, which is in agreement with the earlier theoretical and experimental results. Further, use of a newly defined relative population index (RPI) in terms of successive total energy differences per water molecule for different cluster sizes suggests that stabilities of trimers, hexamers, and nonamers in gas phase and those of hexamers and nonamers in bulk water would be favored while those of pentamer and decamer in both the phases would be relatively disfavored. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 81: 90–104, 2001     

Antioxidant Assessment of Prenylated Stilbenoid-Rich Extracts from Elicited Hairy Root Cultures of Three Cultivars of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea)

Peanut produces prenylated stilbenoids upon biotic stress. However, the role of these compounds against oxidative stress have not been thoroughly elucidated. To this end, the antioxidant capacity of extracts enriched in prenylated stilbenoids and derivatives was studied. To produce these extracts, hairy root cultures of peanut cultivars Hull, Tifrunner, and Georgia Green were co-treated with methyl jasmonate, cyclodextrin, hydrogen peroxide, and magnesium chloride and then the stilbenoids were extracted from the culture medium. Among the three cultivars, higher levels of the stilbenoid derivatives arachidin-1 and arachidin-6 were detected in cultivar Tifrunner. Upon reaction with 2,2-diphenyl-1picrylhydrazyl, extracts from cultivar Tifrunner showed the highest antioxidant capacity with an IC₅₀ of 6.004 µg/mL. Furthermore, these extracts had significantly higher antioxidant capacity at 6.25 µg/mL and 3.125 µg/mL when compared to extracts from cultivars Hull and Georgia Green. The stilbenoid-rich extracts from peanut hairy roots show high antioxidant capacity and merit further study as potential nutraceuticals to promote human health.     

Enrichment of Zinc and Iron Micronutrients in Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) through Biofortification

Biofortification of pulse crops with Zn and Fe is a viable approach to combat their widespread deficiencies in humans. Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is a widely consumed edible crop possessing a high level of Zn and Fe micronutrients. Thus, the present study was conducted to examine the influence of foliar application of Zn and Fe on productivity, concentration, uptake and the economics of lentil cultivation (LL 931). For this, different treatment combinations of ZnSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) and FeSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%), along with the recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF), were applied to the lentil. The results of study reported that the combined foliar application of ZnSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) + FeSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) at pre-flowering (S1) and pod formation (S2) stages was most effective in enhancing grain and straw yield, Zn and Fe concentration, and uptake. However, the outcome of this treatment was statistically on par with the results obtained under the treatment ZnSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) + FeSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) at S1 stage. A single spray of ZnSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) + FeSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) at S1 stage enhanced the grain and straw yield up to 39.6% and 51.8%, respectively. Similarly, Zn and Fe concentrations showed enhancement in grain (10.9% and 20.4%, respectively) and straw (27.5% and 27.6% respectively) of the lentil. The increase in Zn and Fe uptake by grain was 54.8% and 68.0%, respectively, whereas uptake by straw was 93.6% and 93.7%, respectively. Also the benefit:cost was the highest (1.96) with application of ZnSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) + FeSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) at S1 stage. Conclusively, the combined use of ZnSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) + FeSO₄·7H₂O (0.5%) at S1 stage can contribute significantly towards yield, Zn and Fe concentration, as well as uptake and the economic returns of lentil to remediate the Zn and Fe deficiency.     

Analytical prediction of multiple solutions for MHD Jeffery–Hamel flow and heat transfer utilizing KKL nanofluid model

In this framework, the novel analytical approach is presented to predict the dual solutions of Jeffery–Hamel (JH) transport model utilizing KKL (Koo–Kleinstreuer–Li) Al₂O₃ model with magnetic field, Ohmic heating and viscous dissipation. The predictor homotopy analysis method (PHAM) is applied to realize the existence of multiple solutions (bifurcation) for stretching/shrinking parameter and channel angle. It is observed that the dual solutions exist only for convergent channel. The eigenvalue problem is constructed to perform stability analysis which shows the physically stability of the upper branch. A numerical validation with Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg (RKF) shooting method using MATLAB is also carried out for verification. The Reynolds number is responsible to increase the velocity of fluid for both branches of the solution. For the increasing values of Ec and M, the Nusselt number decreases and increases respectively.     

Essential Amino Acid–Enabled Lead Bromide Perovskite Nanocrystals with High Stability

This work reports the first synthesis of MAPbBr₃ perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) using amino acids as the ligand with excellent optical properties. A variety of amino acids are used to optimize the luminescence properties. A mechanochemical approach has taken lead over conventional colloidal chemistry during synthesis. All morphological and optical studies are performed to characterize the synthesized perovskite nanoparticles. Later, stability studies are investigated through thermogravimetric analysis, temperature‐dependent photoluminescence, time‐dependent X‐ray diffraction, as well as X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In an application, interestingly, these perovskites show high luminescence upon scratching on flexible conducting plates and on plain paper surface. These results suggest that the amino acid–ligated perovskite nanocrystals can be potential materials for optoelectronic application including light‐emitting diodes and imaging.     

Nonlinear state feedback control design to eliminate subcritical limit cycle oscillations in aeroelastic systems

A strictly nonlinear state feedback control law is designed for an aeroelastic system to eliminate subcritical limit cycle oscillations. Numerical continuation techniques and harmonic balance methods are employed to generate analytical estimates of limit cycle oscillation commencement velocity and its sensitivity with respect to the introduced control parameters. The obtained estimates are used in a multiobjective optimization framework to generate optimal control parameters which maximize the limit cycle oscillation commencement velocity while minimizing the control cost. Numerical simulations are used to show that the assumed nonlinear state feedback law with the optimal control parameters successfully eliminates any existing subcritical limit cycle oscillations by converting it to supercritical limit cycle oscillations, thereby guaranteeing safe operation of the system in its flight envelope.