Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry

This article outlines the ongoing research, development, and demonstrates the microgrid operation currently in progress in Europe, the United States, Japan, and Canada. The penetration of distributed generation (DG) at medium and low voltages is increasing in developed countries worldwide. Microgrids are entities that coordinate DERs (distributed energy resources) in a consistently more decentralized way, thereby reducing the control burden on the grid and permitting them to provide their full benefits. In the context of this article, a microgrid comprises a LV locally-controlled cluster of DERs that behaves, from the grid's perspective, as a single producer or both electrically and in energy markets. A microgrid operates safely and efficiently within its local distribution network, but it is also capable of islanding.

Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a method for evaluating the environmental impacts of products holistically, including direct and supply chain impacts. The current LCA methodologies and the standards by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) impose practical difficulties for drawing system boundaries; decisions on inclusion or exclusion of processes in an analysis (the cutoff criteria) are typically not made on a scientific basis. In particular, the requirement of deciding which processes could be excluded from the inventory can be rather difficult to meet because many excluded processes have often never been assessed by the practitioner, and therefore, their negligibility cannot be guaranteed. LCA studies utilizing economic input-output analysis have shown that, in practice, excluded processes can contribute as much to the product system under study as included processes; thus, the subjective determination of the system boundary may lead to invalid results. System boundaries in LCA are discussed herein with particular attention to outlining hybrid approaches as methods for resolving the boundary selection problem in LCA. An input-output model can be used to describe at least a part of a product system, and an ISO-compatible system boundary selection procedure can be designed by applying hybrid input-output-assisted approaches. There are several hybrid input-output analysis-based LCA methods that can be implemented in practice for broadening system boundary and also for ISO compliance.

Comparison of eight iron experiments shows that maximum Chl a , the maximum DIC removal, and the overall DIC/Fe efficiency all scale inversely with depth of the wind mixed layer (WML) defining the light environment. Moreover, lateral patch dilution, sea surface irradiance, temperature, and grazing play additional roles. The Southern Ocean experiments were most influenced by very deep WMLs. In contrast, light conditions were most favorable during SEEDS and SERIES as well as during IronEx‐2. The two extreme experiments, EisenEx and SEEDS, can be linked via EisenEx bottle incubations with shallower simulated WML depth. Large diatoms always benefit the most from Fe addition, where a remarkably small group of thriving diatom species is dominated by universal response of Pseudo ‐ nitzschia spp. Significant response of these moderate (10–30 μm), medium (30–60 μm), and large (>60 μm) diatoms is consistent with growth physiology determined for single species in natural seawater. The minimum level of “dissolved” Fe (filtrate < 0.2 μm) maintained during an experiment determines the dominant diatom size class. However, this is further complicated by continuous transfer of original truly dissolved reduced Fe(II) into the colloidal pool, which may constitute some 75% of the “dissolved” pool. Depth integration of carbon inventory changes partly compensates the adverse effects of a deep WML due to its greater integration depths, decreasing the differences in responses between the eight experiments. About half of depth‐integrated overall primary productivity is reflected in a decrease of DIC. The overall C/Fe efficiency of DIC uptake is DIC/Fe ∼ 5600 for all eight experiments. The increase of particulate organic carbon is about a quarter of the primary production, suggesting food web losses for the other three quarters. Replenishment of DIC by air/sea exchange tends to be a minor few percent of primary CO 2 fixation but will continue well after observations have stopped. Export of carbon into deeper waters is difficult to assess and is until now firmly proven and quite modest in only two experiments.

The oxidative stability of glyme molecules is enhanced by the complex formation with alkali metal cations. Clear liquid can be obtained by simply mixing glyme (triglyme or tetraglyme) with lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide (Li[TFSA]) in a molar ratio of 1:1. The equimolar complex [Li(triglyme or tetraglyme)(1)][TFSA] maintains a stable liquid state over a wide temperature range and can be regarded as a room-temperature ionic liquid consisting of a [Li(glyme)(1)](+) complex cation and a [TFSA](-) anion, exhibiting high self-dissociativity (ionicity) at room temperature. The electrochemical oxidation of [Li(glyme)(1)][TFSA] takes place at the electrode potential of ~5 V vs Li/Li(+), while the oxidation of solutions containing excess glyme molecules ([Li(glyme)(x)][TFSA], x > 1) occurs at around 4 V vs Li/Li(+). This enhancement of oxidative stability is due to the donation of lone pairs of ether oxygen atoms to the Li(+) cation, resulting in the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level lowering of a glyme molecule, which is confirmed by ab initio molecular orbital calculations. The solvation state of a Li(+) cation and ion conduction mechanism in the [Li(glyme)(x)][TFSA] solutions is elucidated by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electrochemical methods. The experimental results strongly suggest that Li(+) cation conduction in the equimolar complex takes place by the migration of [Li(glyme)(1)](+) cations, whereas the ligand exchange mechanism is overlapped when interfacial electrochemical reactions of [Li(glyme)(1)](+) cations occur. The ligand exchange conduction mode is typically seen in a lithium battery with a configuration of [Li anode|[Li(glyme)(1)][TFSA]|LiCoO(2) cathode] when the discharge reaction of a LiCoO(2) cathode, that is, desolvation of [Li(glyme)(1)](+) and insertion of the resultant Li(+) into the cathode, occurs at the electrode-electrolyte interface. The battery can be operated for more than 200 charge-discharge cycles in the cell voltage range of 3.0-4.2 V, regardless of the use of ether-based electrolyte, because the ligand exchange rate is much faster than the electrode reaction rate.

This paper presents the problem definition and guidelines of a set of benchmark control problems for seismically excited nonlinear buildings. Focusing on three typical steel structures, 3-, 9-, and 20-story buildings designed for the SAC project for the Los Angeles, California region, the goal of this study is to provide a clear basis to evaluate the efficacy of various structural control strategies. A nonlinear evaluation model has been developed that portrays the salient features of the structural system. Evaluation criteria and control constraints are presented for the design problems. The task of each participant in this benchmark study is to define (including sensors and control algorithms), evaluate, and report on their proposed control strategies. These strategies may be either passive, active, semiactive, or a combination thereof. The benchmark control problems will then facilitate direct comparison of the relative merits of the various control strategies. To illustrate some of the design challenges, a sample control strategy employing active control with a linear quadratic Gaussian control algorithm is applied to the 20-story building.

In this study, we determined the effects of raising seedlings with different light spectra such as with blue, red, and blue + red light-emitting diode (LED) lights on seedling quality and yield of red leaf lettuce plants. The light treatments we used were applied for a period of 1 week and consisted of 100 μmol·m −2 ·s −1 of blue light, simultaneous irradiation with 50 μmol·m −2 ·s −1 of blue light and 50 μmol·m −2 ·s −1 of red light, and 100 μmol·m −2 ·s −1 of red light. At the end of the light treatment, that is 17 days after sowing (DAS), the leaf area and shoot fresh weight (FW) of the lettuce seedlings treated with red light increased by 33% and 25%, respectively, and the dry weight of the shoots and roots of the lettuce seedlings treated with blue-containing LED lights increased by greater than 29% and greater than 83% compared with seedlings grown under a white fluorescent lamp (FL). The shoot/root ratio and specific leaf area of plants irradiated with blue-containing LED lights decreased. At 45 DAS, higher leaf areas and FWs were obtained in lettuce plants treated with blue-containing LED lights. The total chlorophyll (Chl) contents in lettuce plants treated with blue-containing and red lights were less than that of lettuce plants treated with FL, but the Chl a / b ratio and carotenoid content increased under blue-containing LED lights. Polyphenol contents and the total antioxidant status (TAS) were greater in lettuce seedlings treated with blue-containing LED lights than in those treated with FL at 17 DAS. The higher polyphenol contents and TAS in lettuce seedlings at 17 DAS decreased in lettuce plants at 45 DAS. In conclusion, our results indicate that raising seedlings treated with blue light promoted the growth of lettuce plants after transplanting. This is likely because of high shoot and root biomasses, a high content of photosynthetic pigments, and high antioxidant activities in the lettuce seedlings before transplanting. The compact morphology of lettuce seedlings treated with blue LED light would be also useful for transplanting.

Besides superconductivity, copper-oxide high-temperature superconductors are susceptible to other types of ordering. We used scanning tunneling microscopy and resonant elastic x-ray scattering measurements to establish the formation of charge ordering in the high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+x). Depending on the hole concentration, the charge ordering in this system occurs with the same period as those found in Y-based or La-based cuprates and displays the analogous competition with superconductivity. These results indicate the similarity of charge organization competing with superconductivity across different families of cuprates. We observed this charge ordering to leave a distinct electron-hole asymmetric signature (and a broad resonance centered at +20 milli-electron volts) in spectroscopic measurements, indicating that it is likely related to the organization of holes in a doped Mott insulator.

ABSTRACT Mechanisms for electron transfer within microbial aggregates derived from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor converting brewery waste to methane were investigated in order to better understand the function of methanogenic consortia. The aggregates were electrically conductive, with conductivities 3-fold higher than the conductivities previously reported for dual-species aggregates of Geobacter species in which the two species appeared to exchange electrons via interspecies electron transfer. The temperature dependence response of the aggregate conductance was characteristic of the organic metallic-like conductance previously described for the conductive pili of Geobacter sulfurreducens and was inconsistent with electron conduction through minerals. Studies in which aggregates were incubated with high concentrations of potential electron donors demonstrated that the aggregates had no significant capacity for conversion of hydrogen to methane. The aggregates converted formate to methane but at rates too low to account for the rates at which that the aggregates syntrophically metabolized ethanol, an important component of the reactor influent. Geobacter species comprised 25% of 16S rRNA gene sequences recovered from the aggregates, suggesting that Geobacter species may have contributed to some but probably not all of the aggregate conductivity. Microorganisms most closely related to the acetate-utilizing Methanosaeta concilii accounted for more than 90% of the sequences that could be assigned to methane producers, consistent with the poor capacity for hydrogen and formate utilization. These results demonstrate for the first time that methanogenic wastewater aggregates can be electrically conductive and suggest that direct interspecies electron transfer could be an important mechanism for electron exchange in some methanogenic systems. IMPORTANCE The conversion of waste organic matter to methane is an important bioenergy strategy, and a similar microbial metabolism of complex organic matter in anaerobic soils and sediments plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. Studies with laboratory cultures have demonstrated that hydrogen or formate can serve as an electron shuttle between the microorganisms degrading organic compounds and methanogens. However, the importance of hydrogen and formate as intermediates in the conversion of organic matter to methane in natural communities is less clear. The possibility that microorganisms within some natural methanogenic aggregates may directly exchange electrons, rather than producing hydrogen or formate as an intermediary electron carrier, is a significant paradigm shift with implications for the modeling and design of anaerobic wastewater reactors and for understanding how methanogenic communities will respond to environmental perturbations.

We have performed an in situ test of the iron limitation hypothesis in the subarctic North Pacific Ocean. A single enrichment of dissolved iron caused a large increase in phytoplankton standing stock and decreases in macronutrients and dissolved carbon dioxide. The dominant phytoplankton species shifted after the iron addition from pennate diatoms to a centric diatom, Chaetoceros debilis, that showed a very high growth rate, 2.6 doublings per day. We conclude that the bioavailability of iron regulates the magnitude of the phytoplankton biomass and the key phytoplankton species that determine the biogeochemical sensitivity to iron supply of high-nitrate, low-chlorophyll waters.

We report atomic-scale characterization of the pseudogap state in a high-Tc superconductor, Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+delta). The electronic states at low energies within the pseudogap exhibit spatial modulations having an energy-independent incommensurate periodicity. These patterns, which are oriented along the copper-oxygen bond directions, appear to be a consequence of an electronic ordering phenomenon, the observation of which correlates with the pseudogap in the density of electronic states. Our results provide a stringent test for various ordering scenarios in the cuprates, which have been central in the debate on the nature of the pseudogap and the complex electronic phase diagram of these compounds.

Innovation in the design of electrolyte materials is crucial for realizing next-generation electrochemical energy storage devices such as Li–S batteries. The theoretical capacity of the S cathode is 10 times higher than that of conventional cathode materials used in current Li–ion batteries. However, Li–S batteries suffer from the dissolution of lithium polysulfides, which are formed by the redox reaction at the S cathode. Herein, we present simple solvate ionic liquids, glyme–Li salt molten complexes, as excellent electrolyte candidates because they greatly suppress the dissolution of lithium polysulfides. The molten complexes do not readily dissolve other ionic solutes, which leads to the stable operation of the Li–S battery over more than 400 cycles with discharge capacities higher than 700 mAh g-sulfur−1 and with coulombic efficiencies higher than 98% throughout the cycles. Such high performance has not been realized to the best of our knowledge. Furthermore, the addition of a nonflammable fluorinated solvent, which does not break the solvate structure of the glyme–Li salt molten complexes, greatly enhances the power density of the Li–S battery. The strategic design of electrolyte properties provides opportunities for the development of new electrochemical devices with many different electrode materials.

We investigate the manifestation of stripes in the in-plane resistivity anisotropy in untwinned single crystals of ${\mathrm{La}}_{2\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{x}{\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ ( $x\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}0.02--0.04$) and ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{y}$ ( $y\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}=\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}6.35--7.0$). It is found that both systems show strongly temperature-dependent in-plane anisotropy in the lightly hole-doped region and that the anisotropy in ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{y}$ grows with decreasing $y$ below $\ensuremath{\sim}6.60$ despite the decreasing orthorhombicity, which gives most direct evidence that electrons self-organize into a macroscopically anisotropic state. The transport is found to be easier along the direction of the spin stripes already reported, demonstrating that the stripes are intrinsically conducting in cuprates.

The oxygen-exchange behavior has been studied in half-doped manganese and cobalt perovskite oxides. We have found that the oxygen diffusivity in Gd0.5Ba0.5MnO3−δ can be enhanced by orders of magnitude by inducing crystallographic ordering among lanthanide and alkali-earth ions in the A-site sublattice. Transformation of a simple cubic perovskite, with randomly occupied A sites, into a layered crystal GdBaMn2O5+x (or isostructural GdBaCo2O5+x for cobalt oxide) with alternating lanthanide and alkali-earth planes reduces the oxygen bonding strength and provides disorder-free channels for ion motion, pointing to an efficient way to design new ionic conductors.

The authors compare Community Earth System Model results to marine observations for the 1990s and examine climate change impacts on biogeochemistry at the end of the twenty-first century under two future scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathways RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). Late-twentieth-century seasonally varying mixed layer depths are generally within 10 m of observations, with a Southern Ocean shallow bias. Surface nutrient and chlorophyll concentrations exhibit positive biases at low latitudes and negative biases at high latitudes. The volume of the oxygen minimum zones is overestimated. The impacts of climate change on biogeochemistry have similar spatial patterns under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, but perturbation magnitudes are larger under RCP8.5. Increasing stratification leads to weaker nutrient entrainment and decreased primary and export production (>30% over large areas). The global-scale decreases in primary and export production scale linearly with the increases in mean sea surface temperature. There are production increases in the high nitrate, low chlorophyll (HNLC) regions, driven by lateral iron inputs from adjacent areas. The increased HNLC export partially compensates for the reductions in non-HNLC waters (~25% offset). Stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions and climate by the end of this century (as in RCP4.5) will minimize the changes to nutrient cycling and primary production in the oceans. In contrast, continued increasing emission of CO 2 (as in RCP8.5) will lead to reduced productivity and significant modifications to ocean circulation and biogeochemistry by the end of this century, with more drastic changes beyond the year 2100 as the climate continues to rapidly warm.

Space charge accumulation in low-density polyethylene film containing a small amount of MgO nanoparticles (LDPE/MgO nanocomposite film) subjected to an electric field greater than 100 kV/mm has been studied using an improved pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) system. No marked space charge accumulation was observed in LDPE/MgO nanocomposite films. To determine the mechanism of no space charge accumulation in the LDPE/MgO nanocomposite film, we compared electric potential wells produced by a permanent dipole moment such as that of carbonyl groups (C=0) and an induced dipole consisting of MgO nanoparticles (spherical dielectrics) under a high electric field to create a trapping site for electric charge carriers. The trapping depth created by the permanent dipole moment such as that of the carbonyl groups (C=0) of chemical defects is approximately 0.45 eV. However, the potential well induced by high-permittivity dielectric nanoparticles (MgO) is about 1.5 to 5.0 eV, which is much deeper than that induced by chemical defects. The suppression of space charge formation is explained using the potential well model consisting of a dipole induced by a high-permittivity dielectric nanoparticle. We explained the suppression mechanism of charge accumulation in the LDPE/MgO film that contains deep traps.

This paper presents a numerical model for simulating wave interaction with porous structures. The model calculates the mean flow outside of porous structures based on the Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The corresponding turbulence field is modeled by an improved k-ε model. The flow in porous structures is described by the spatially averaged Navier-Stokes equations. The drag forces caused by the presence of a solid skeleton are modeled by the empirical linear and nonlinear frictional forms. The numerical model is first calibrated by simple experiments for flow passing through a porous dam with different porous media. Excellent agreements are obtained for the case using gravels with mean sizes of O(1 cm) to O(10 cm) as the materials for the porous dam. Reasonably good agreements are also obtained when small uniform glass beads with diameters of 3 mm are used. The calibrated numerical model is then employed to investigate the breaking wave overtopping a caisson breakwater, protected by a layer of armor units. Good agreements between numerical results and laboratory data are obtained in terms of both free surface displacement and overtopping rate. Different design scenarios are also studied numerically. The porous armor layer is effective in reducing the overtopping rate as well as in preventing the caisson breakwater from bottom scouring.

Abstract Numerical models of ocean biogeochemistry are relied upon to make projections about the impact of climate change on marine resources and test hypotheses regarding the drivers of past changes in climate and ecosystems. In large areas of the ocean, iron availability regulates the functioning of marine ecosystems and hence the ocean carbon cycle. Accordingly, our ability to quantify the drivers and impacts of fluctuations in ocean ecosystems and carbon cycling in space and time relies on first achieving an appropriate representation of the modern marine iron cycle in models. When the iron distributions from 13 global ocean biogeochemistry models are compared against the latest oceanic sections from the GEOTRACES program, we find that all models struggle to reproduce many aspects of the observed spatial patterns. Models that reflect the emerging evidence for multiple iron sources or subtleties of its internal cycling perform much better in capturing observed features than their simpler contemporaries, particularly in the ocean interior. We show that the substantial uncertainty in the input fluxes of iron results in a very wide range of residence times across models, which has implications for the response of ecosystems and global carbon cycling to perturbations. Given this large uncertainty, iron fertilization experiments based on any single current generation model should be interpreted with caution. Improvements to how such models represent iron scavenging and also biological cycling are needed to raise confidence in their projections of global biogeochemical change in the ocean.

We propose that resistivity curvature mapping (RCM) based on the in-plane resistivity data is a useful way to objectively draw electronic phase diagrams of high-${T}_{c}$ cuprates, where various crossovers are important. In particular, the pseudogap crossover line can be conveniently determined by RCM. We show experimental phase diagrams obtained by RCM for ${\mathrm{B}\mathrm{i}}_{2}{\mathrm{S}\mathrm{r}}_{2\ensuremath{-}z}{\mathrm{L}\mathrm{a}}_{z}{\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{O}}_{6+\ensuremath{\delta}}$, ${\mathrm{L}\mathrm{a}}_{2\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{S}\mathrm{r}}_{x}{\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{O}}_{4}$, and ${\mathrm{Y}\mathrm{B}\mathrm{a}}_{2}{\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{y}$, and demonstrate the universal nature of the pseudogap crossover. Intriguingly, the electronic crossover near optimum doping depicted by RCM appears to occur rather abruptly, suggesting that the quantum-critical regime, if it exists, must be very narrow.

Highly reversible, safe lithium secondary batteries that use imidazolium-cation-based room-temperature ionic liquid as an electrolyte and lithium metal as an anode material were realized by the molecular design. To achieve higher reduction stability, an electron-donating substituent was introduced to promote charge delocalization in the imidazolium cation of room-temperature ionic liquids.

Abstract This study presents an overview of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon and Pacific decadal variability (PDV) simulated in a multicentury preindustrial control integration of the NCAR Community Climate System Model version 4 (CCSM4) at nominal 1° latitude–longitude resolution. Several aspects of ENSO are improved in CCSM4 compared to its predecessor CCSM3, including the lengthened period (3–6 yr), the larger range of amplitude and frequency of events, and the longer duration of La Niña compared to El Niño. However, the overall magnitude of ENSO in CCSM4 is overestimated by ~30%. The simulated ENSO exhibits characteristics consistent with the delayed/recharge oscillator paradigm, including correspondence between the lengthened period and increased latitudinal width of the anomalous equatorial zonal wind stress. Global seasonal atmospheric teleconnections with accompanying impacts on precipitation and temperature are generally well simulated, although the wintertime deepening of the Aleutian low erroneously persists into spring. The vertical structure of the upper-ocean temperature response to ENSO in the north and south Pacific displays a realistic seasonal evolution, with notable asymmetries between warm and cold events. The model shows evidence of atmospheric circulation precursors over the North Pacific associated with the “seasonal footprinting mechanism,” similar to observations. Simulated PDV exhibits a significant spectral peak around 15 yr, with generally realistic spatial pattern and magnitude. However, PDV linkages between the tropics and extratropics are weaker than observed.