Session E13: Energy Research and Applications

An overview of the Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment (NIFFTE) including first detector performance results

NIFFTE is an exciting new project to make high precision measurements of nuclear fission cross sections using a time projection chamber (TPC). The application of the NIFFTE TPC to nuclear fission studies will augment previous work by measuring both fission events and scattering events simultaneously. The precision tracking and reconstruction of the TPC will allow clean differentiation between fission fragments, alphas and protons. Prototypes of the NIFFTE TPC have been taking data for both spontaneous fission (Cf 252) and neutron beam on very thin U238 targets. This talk will give a general overview of the scientific goals of the project as well as discuss the status of the reconstruction and particle identification efforts. Plans for the coming year will also be discussed.   

The Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment: Hardware Overview

The goal of the Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment (NIFFTE) is to measure fission cross sections with unprecedented precision using time projection chamber (TPC) technology. The NIFFTE TPC hardware and supporting systems are discussed, including neutron source, gas system, and data acquisition. The current status of hardware implementation for the experiment will be presented.   

Software and computing for the Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment (NIFFTE)

The Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment will employ a novel, high granularity, pressurized time projection chamber to measure fission cross-sections of the major actinides to sub-1\% precision. The software framework for simulating, reconstructing, and analyzing collected data has been developed and tested using both GEANT4 simulations and engineering data collected with the prototype TPC. This talk will present an overview of the offline software system, the current status of its performance on simulations, and plans for future development.   

Optimum Luminescent Solar Concentrators

In this paper is presented a numerical optimization analysis of a luminescent solar concentrator (LSC). This optimization was made by implementing a genetic algorithms subroutine in the numerical ray-tracing Monte Carlo model, SIMSOLAR-P. The results from this study provide a theoretical upper limit to the performance of any LSC, and give guidance for the luminescent properties required of quantum nano-crystals to be used in a LSC. The computational time among Monte Carlo calculations has been efficiently reduced in the LSC simulator, by a master-slave parallel implementation featuring the Asynchronous Dynamic Load-Balancing library (ADLB) FORTRAN interface to the MPI parallel programming core. The initial use of the optimization is to determine the optimal parameters of a hypothetical ``perfect dye'' that obeys the Kennard-Stepanov (K-S) thermodynamic relationship between emission and absorption. Results will be presented for three LSC configurations: a single layer with a perfect dye, a tandem system of two optimized layers with perfect dyes (analog of a tandem solar-cell) and a two layer system featuring an organic dye in the first layer and an optimized perfect dye in the bottom layer.   

The Fabrication of ZnO nanowires on Silicon by using Dual Ion Beam Sputtering

In the last few years, Zinc Oxide (ZnO) in one dimensional (1D) form received importance with an aim to fabricate nanogenerator, field emission devices, solar cells, photodetector. In this work , ZnO was sputtered on Si substate by using Dual Ion Beam Sputtering technique in order to fabricate nanowire. Before sputtering, silicon substrate was cleaned with piranha acid and sonicated in D.I. water, Acetone and IPA. The ZnO film was sputtered on gold buffer layer over Si substrate at different times and different temperatures. During sputtering, RF power for primary source was kept constant at 100 Watt and Oxygen atomic source was used as assist source at 200 Watt. The sputtered samples were studied by using AFM, SEM, XRD to determine the effects of temperature as well as sputtering times over the nanowire fabrication. EDAX was used to measure the elemental composition for ZnO nanowire.   

Oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells: influence of the carbon support

In fuel cell technology, the development of efficient catalysts and method for catalyst deposition is crucial. Indeed, the efficiency of the catalyst will control the kinetics of the reaction by decreasing the activation energy. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the cathode reaction is a slow reaction and limits the efficiency of the system. In addition, a catalyst widely used in fuel cell applications is platinum (Pt), which is responsible for the cost of the fuel cell system. We have previously shown that inserting dopants in the carbon support of the catalyst significantly increase the durability and efficiency of the catalyst. In this paper we will present a detailed study of the different steps of ORR using Density Functional Theory and will describe the influence of dopants inserted in the carbon support on the different steps of the reaction. We will also provide insights on the role of water on the thermodynamics of the reaction.   

Chemovoltaic Effect in H2 Oxidation on Catalytic Schottky Nanostructures

Nonadiabatic energy dissipation by electron subsystem of nanostructured solids unveils interesting opportunities for solid-state energy conversion and sensor applications. We found that planar Pd/n-SiC, Pt/n-GaP and Pd/n-GaP Schottky structures with nanometer thickness metallization demonstrate generation of abovethermal reverse current (chemicurrent) during catalytic hydrogen-to-water oxidation process on the metal layer surface. The catalytic surface reaction leads to chemically induced excitation of hot electrons in the metallic cathode followed by the ballistic transport of these electrons across the metal nanolayer and over the Schottky barrier. The term chemovoltaic effect is proposed for the phenomenon by analogy with barrier layer photovoltaic effect. The observed chemicurrent greatly complements the usual thermionic emission current, and its magnitude is linearly proportional to the rate of formation and desorption of product water molecules from the nanostructure surface. The possibilities of utilizing the chemovoltaic effect in a novel class of chemical-to-electrical energy conversion devices are discussed.   

Hubbert's Peak -- A Physicist's View

Oil, as used in agriculture and transportation, is the lifeblood of modern society. It is finite in quantity and will someday be exhausted. In 1956, Hubbert proposed a theory of resource production and applied it successfully to predict peak U.S. oil production in 1970. Bartlett extended this work in publications and lectures on the finite nature of oil and its production peak and depletion. Both Hubbert and Bartlett place peak world oil production at a similar time, essentially now. Central to these analyses are estimates of total ``oil in place'' obtained from engineering studies of oil reservoirs as this quantity determines the area under the Hubbert's Peak. Knowing the production history and the total oil in place allows us to make estimates of reserves, and therefore future oil availability. We will then examine reserves data for various countries, in particular OPEC countries, and see if these data tell us anything about the future availability of oil. Finally, we will comment on synthetic oil and the possibility of carbon-neutral synthetic oil for a sustainable future.   

PHYSICS OF PREDETERMINED EVENTS: Complementarity States of Choice-Chance Mechanics

We find that the deterministic application of choice-chance mechanics, as applied in the Tempt Destiny experiment, is also reflected in the construct of the double-slit experiment and that the complementary results obtained by this treatment mirror that of Niels Bohr's principle of complementarity as well as reveal Einstein's hidden variables. Whereas the double-slit experiment serves to reveal the deterministic and indeterministic behavioral characteristics of our physical world, the Tempt Destiny experiment serves to reveal the deterministic and indeterministic behavioral characteristics of our actions. The unifying factor shared by both experiments is that they are of the same construct yielding similar results from the same energy. Given that, we seek to establish if the fundamental states of energy, i.e, certainty and probability, are indeed predetermined. Over the span of ten years, the Tempt Destiny experimental model of pairing choice and chance events has statistically obtained consistent results of absolute value. The evidence clearly infers that the fundamental mechanics of energy is a complement of two mutually exclusive mechanisms that bring into being -- as opposed to revealing -- the predetermined state of an event as either certain or probable, although not both simultaneously.