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To explore the energy evolution characteristics of rockbursts and the mechanism of excess energy in rockbursts, a self-developed rockburst experimental system was used. We performed true triaxial rapid unloading rockburst simulations and triaxial experiments based on the complete stress-displacement surface (CSDS) model prediction of the post-peak curve of rock uniaxial compression. By analyzing the characteristics of stress–strain curve and energy evolution of the rockburst experiment and comparing the energy storage characteristics of the two experiments, we arrived at the following conclusions Unlike the static failure of rock due to uniaxial compression, the occurrence of rockburst is mainly due to the generation of excess energy, which depends on the elastic strain energy stored before rock failure, outside energy input after rock failure and residual elastic strain energy. The intermediate principal stress of the rockburst experiment stored considerable residual elastic strain energy after the rockburst, resulting in an insufficient release of the elastic strain energy stored before the rockburst. The intensity of the rockburst is closely related to its excess energy release rate (EERR). With an increase in the EERR value, the cumulative energy of acoustic emission (AE) during rockbursts, the fractal dimension of rockburst fragments, and the rockburst intensity gradually increase. Highlights: The energy evolution and energy storage characteristics of true triaxial single-sided rapid-unloading rockburst experiment were studied using the graphic area method. The excess energy mechanism of the rockburst was discussed by comparing the energy storage characteristics of the true triaxial rockburst experiment and the static failure of the uniaxial compression rock. The correlation between rockburst intensity and EERR value was explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tunnel Construction / Suidao Jianshe (Zhong-Yingwen Ban) is the property of Tunnel Construction Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The daily electrical power generation and consumption in Hungary were analyzed, and a 2-h-long interval was specified for the 5000 MW excess power generation, and 1,500,000 MJ energy was identified as an excess. Two pure-water-producing systems (membrane-based system and heat pump evaporator) were compared to utilize this excess electrical energy at industrial scale. Heat pump evaporation was tested as an alternative method for pure water production because its role in pure water production hasn't been discussed. Suspended-solid-free feed water was used for both systems. Lab-scale experiments proved that in the case of freshwater, the four-step membrane filtration technology can be replaced by a one-step heat pump evaporation, resulting in almost the same quality of pure water characterized by the conductivity; 2 and 4 μS/cm for membrane filtration and heat-pump evaporation, respectively. When using seawater at a lab-scale, the proposed membrane technology resulted in desalted water having a conductivity of 425 μS/cm; meanwhile, by heat pump evaporation, pure water could be attained, having a conductivity of 19 μS/cm. Considering the specific electric energy consumption at laboratory scale, the one-step heat pump evaporator surely exhibits an energy-saving method for pure water production; 6.12 MJ/L and 2.31 MJ/L were measured for membrane system and heat pump evaporator, respectively. Considering an industrial-scale make-up water demand, up-scaling calculations, including hydraulic calculations and pump selection producing the same amount of pure water, resulted in a reverse trend regarding specific electric energy consumption; 25.35 MJ/m3 and 14,850 MJ/m3 estimated for membrane system and heat pump evaporator, respectively. Both systems were analyzed in terms of environmental impacts. According to wastewater quality and their disposability, the wastewater of freshwater treatment can be drained into the sewage system, but in case of seawater, crystallization of concentrated NaCl solutions is possible. Based on our analysis, the theoretically producible water quantity is more than physically attainable by the treatment technologies, thus more options shall be considered for the utilization of excess energy generation.

Copyright of Journal of Central South University is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Microgrid systems are part of the most reliable energy supply technologies for rural communities that do not have access to electricity but the system is generally dominated by diesel generators (DG). The implementation of de-dieselization programs to ensure efficient diesel operations requires addressing several scenarios such as the replacement of diesel completely with 100% renewable energy sources at a significant cost. The design and selection of appropriate configuration, as well as operating patterns, need to be considered in adopting economical and reliable microgrid systems. Therefore, this study aimed to design an optimal configuration and operational pattern for microgrid systems for the frontier, outermost, and least developed (3T) regions using Baron Techno Park (BTP) in Indonesia as a case study. The optimization was conducted through HOMER software combined with benefit-cost analysis and the focus was on daily load variations, selection of control algorithms, reconfiguration of the power supply system, and setting of the diesel generator operating hours. The results showed that the optimum configuration was achieved using loads of resort, 24 kWp of PV, 288 kWh of BESS, load-following (LF) as dispatch controller, and 25 kVa of DG. Moreover, the proposed microgrid system produced 12% excess energy, 36% renewable fraction (RF), 13.25 tons reduction in CO2 emissions per year, $0.28 LCOE per kWh, $250,478 NPC, and a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 0.89. It also had a potential energy efficiency savings of 55.56% and a cost efficiency of 20.95% compared to existing system configurations. In conclusion, the study showed that the addition of DG to microgrid systems in 3T areas was more optimal than using only PV and batteries. An effective operating schedule for the DG was also necessary to improve RF and reduce expenses. Furthermore, other energy storage devices considered less expensive than batteries could be introduced to improve the economics of microgrid systems in the 3T region.

To investigate the influence mechanism of geostress on rockburst characteristics, three groups of gneiss rockburst experiments were conducted under different initial geostress conditions. A high-speed photography system and acoustic emission (AE) monitoring system were used to monitor the entire rockburst process in real time. The experimental results show that when the initial burial depth increases from 928 m to 1320 m, the proportion of large fracture scale in rockburst increases by 154.54%, and the AE energy increases by 565.63%, reflecting that the degree and severity of rockburst increase with the increase of burial depth. And then, two mechanisms are proposed to explain this effect, including (i) the increase of initial geostress improves the energy storage capacity of gneiss, and then, the excess energy which can be converted into kinetic energy of debris ejection increases, consequently, a more pronounced violent ejection phenomenon is observed at rockburst; (ii) the increase of initial geostress causes more sufficient plate cracks of gneiss after unloading of σh, which provides a basis for more severe ejection of rockburst. What's more, a precursor with clear physical meaning for rockburst is proposed under the framework of dynamic response process of crack evolution. Finally, potential value in long term rockburst warning of the precursor obtained in this study is shown via the comparison of conventional precursor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar is future of the world’s energy. It will become the leading source of energy to reduce the global energy deficit over the next two decades. In this performance analysis of the solar energy production has been examined at a LSSP (large-scale solar plant) to evaluate the theoretical excess energy (EE). The novel energy-based performance ratio (PR) is used as a performance benchmark based on solar energy production and is proposed as an industrial technique for analyzing the EE of large-scale solar projects. In order to analyze the EE, the solar plant’s PR is an important PV parameter utilized by the plant operators to know the performance of solar power utility by measuring its PV performance parameters. Based on this PV performance parameter, the novel energy-based PR has been applied to determine the EE and bonus energy (BE) amount of the 100MW-Quaid-e-Azam Solar Plant (QASP) grid-connected solar project. In this case, it has been proposed a one-year onsite real-time data FY (2020–2021) for energy inputs variables such as data on PR, production, and irradiance to investigate the EE and BE. According to theoretical calculations, these energy inputs are used in an energy-based PR formula model to figure out the PR % value and how much EE or BE is remained. This paper also includes a detailed discussion of 100MW-QASP plant performance between quarterly and annual targets, and yearly performance comparisons are illustrated. At the end, the detailed information of PR, capacity factor (CF), and power generation of the plant and its comparisons with quarterly and yearly graphs are defined, as well as an overview of the difference in annual energy yield, EE, and shortfall/LD also demonstrated in the graphs.

We consider Z -valued p-SOS-models with nearest neighbor interactions of the form | ω v - ω w | p , and finite-spin ferromagnetic models on regular trees. This includes the classical SOS-model, the discrete Gaussian model and the Potts model. We exhibit a family of extremal inhomogeneous (i.e. tree automorphism non-invariant) Gibbs measures arising as low temperature perturbations of ground states (local energy minimizers), which have a sparse enough set of broken bonds together with uniformly bounded increments along them. These low temperature states in general do not possess any symmetries of the tree. This generalises the results of Gandolfo et al. (J. Stat. Phys. 148:999–1005, 2012) about the Ising model, and shows that the latter behaviour is robust. We treat three different types of extensions: non-compact state space gradient models, models without spin-symmetry, and models in small random fields. We give a detailed construction and full proofs of the extremality of the low-temperature states in the set of all Gibbs measures, analysing excess energies relative to the ground states, convergence of low-temperature expansions, and properties of cutsets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an industrial approach to assess the performance of large-scale solar plants (LSSPs) has been developed using a novel performance ratio (PR) formula model based on energy production. The PR is an important quality indicator used for the LSSP projects with a nominal installed capacity of 20 MWdc upward. When solar power plants are put into operation on the national grid, the PR can be used as a performance indicator to ensure the energy guarantee and the plant’s efficiency required to guarantee a level of performance. Then, PR gives the real face of the plant’s efficiency. This is not an easy task because it has no constant value over the years due to the effective incident global irradiation (GlobInc) value always not being available. For this purpose, the proposed PR formula model is used to compute the correct performance guarantee of the grid-connected 100MWdc-LSSP in Pakistan’s Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park (QASP). The main purpose of this study is to incorporate a PR formula based on energy production evaluation to achieve the energy guarantee (excess energy, bonus energy, or energy shortfall) in LSSPs. The 1-year on-site plant data is utilized to investigate the plant’s performance energy inputs such as production, irradiance, PR, and the excess energy. Based on the actual annual energy output and irradiance of the plant, the following results are obtained: Actual PR is achieved at a higher level than the target benchmark, so no shortfall or liquefied damage (LD) is imposed due to excess energy. Thus, 100MWdc-LSSP’s power generation is found to be 5% higher than expected by using the theoretical calculations of PR. In FY (2018–2019), the system fed 0.34% higher PR, with an actual PR of 76.58% higher than the target PR of 76.24%, and extra energy of 710.72MWh produced, as well as bonus energy of 142,143.62 USD. The majority of LSSP projects are determined to be successfully operational and generate a significant amount of power, but they fail to meet the contractual requirements for energy guarantee because they use the incorrect PR formula and also fail to provide the desired energy to stakeholders owing to a poor theoretical assessment of the PR criteria based on energy production. As a result, solar power plants confront a great energy shortfall for many years to come.

The functions of both (bacterio) chlorophylls and carotenoids in light-harvesting complexes have been extensively studied during the past decade, yet, the involvement of BChl a high-energy Soret band in the cascade of light-harvesting processes still remains a relatively unexplored topic. Here, we present transient absorption data recorded after excitation of the Soret band in the LH2 complex from Rhodoblastus acidophilus. Comparison of obtained data to those recorded after excitation of rhodopin glucoside and B800 BChl a suggests that no Soret-to-Car energy transfer pathway is active in LH2 complex. Furthermore, a spectrally rich pattern observed in the spectral region of rhodopin glucoside ground state bleaching (420–550 nm) has been assigned to an electrochromic shift. The results of global fitting analysis demonstrate two more features. A 6 ps component obtained exclusively after excitation of the Soret band has been assigned to the response of rhodopin glucoside to excess energy dissipation in LH2. Another time component, ~ 450 ps, appearing independently of the excitation wavelength was assigned to BChl a-to-Car triplet–triplet transfer. Presented data demonstrate several new features of LH2 complex and its behavior following the excitation of the Soret band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PV-Battery systems are commonly sized based on the lowest solar radiation of the site of implementation. This implies that during days of high solar radiation excess energy is available. This study investigated the potential of excess energy for thermal storage from PV systems for a case of a rural health center. The system components of a typical PV installation in a rural health center in Tigray, Ethiopia, were considered. The electricity load profile of the health center and solar radiation data available from Mekelle city were used as inputs to a TRNSYS model. Analysis of excess energy in the system at hourly and ten-minute time intervals was conducted. The analysis results indicate that during the months from September to May excess energy was available that could be thermally stored and utilized. During these months, the excess peak power ranged from 737 to 841 W and daily average excess energy ranged from 2070 to 2959 Wh. In contrast, in the months from June to August, no excess energy was available due to low solar radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary kinetic isotope effects arise as the result of transition‐state zero‐point vibrational energy differences. Unimolecular simple cleavage reactions of gas‐phase ions in mass spectrometers allow detailed studies of isotope effects on competing reactions, particularly when examined in intramolecular competition experiments where interpretation requires very few simplifying assumptions. The zero‐point energy differences reflect changes of isotope sensitive vibrational properties, and both α‐ and β‐secondary deuterium isotope effects are related to the sp3 → sp2 hybridization changes that accompany bond cleavage. Deuterium substitution three bonds or more removed from the bond broken also gives rise to isotope effects, but their origin is less easily interpreted. The magnitude and variation of the observed effects depend not only on zero‐point energy differences; a number of additional factors play a role. The influence of the critical energy, the excess energy, the size of the reactant, and the presence of competing reactions can be rationalized within a simple, qualitative RRKM framework. The distinction between kinetic and thermodynamic isotope effects is not always obvious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematical models constructed in the macroscopic approximation are used to perform a theoretical study of volume and wave synthesis in a hybrid mixture consisting of nonactivated and activated powders of the same composition. Synthesis dynamics depending on the fraction of activated powder at different values of the preliminary mechanical activation parameters is considered. Analytical formulas are obtained for approximate estimates of the temperature and time of synthesis in nonactivated and activated compositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hydrogen has an established history as a chemical feedstock in industrial applications, but its use as an energy source on a commercial basis remains largely untested and undeveloped. In 1874-1875 Jules Verne advanced in 'Mysterious Island' the concept that water, split into its components, would someday be the fuel of the future. Is the use of hydrogen as an energy source still in the realm of fantasy? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PV-Battery systems are commonly sized based on the lowest solar radiation of the site of implementation. This implies that during days of high solar radiation excess energy is available. This study investigated the potential of excess energy for thermal storage from PV systems for a case of a rural health center. The system components of a typical PV installation in a rural health center in Tigray, Ethiopia, were considered. The electricity load profile of the health center and solar radiation data available from Mekelle city were used as inputs to a TRNSYS model. Analysis of excess energy in the system at hourly and ten-minute time intervals was conducted. The analysis results indicate that during the months from September to May excess energy was available that could be thermally stored and utilized. During these months, the excess peak power ranged from 737 to 841 W and daily average excess energy ranged from 2070 to 2959 Wh. In contrast, in the months from June to August, no excess energy was available due to low solar radiation.

In organic solar cells, photogenerated singlet excitons form charge transfer (CT) complexes, which subsequently split into free charge carriers. Here, the contributions of excess energy and molecular quadrupole moments to the charge separation process are considered. The charge photogeneration in two separate bulk heterojunction systems consisting of the polymer donor PTB7‐Th and two non‐fullerene acceptors, ITIC and h‐ITIC, is investigated. CT state dissociation in these donor–acceptor systems is monitored by charge density decay dynamics obtained from transient absorption experiments. The electric field dependence of charge carrier generation is studied at different excitation energies by time delayed collection field (TDCF) and sensitive steady‐state photocurrent measurements. Upon excitation below the optical gap, free charge carrier generation becomes less field dependent with increasing photon energy, which challenges the view of charge photogeneration proceeding through energetically lowest CT states. The average distance between electron–hole pairs at the donor–acceptor interface is determined from empirical fits to the TDCF data. The delocalization of CT states is larger in PTB7‐Th:ITIC, the system with larger molecular quadrupole moment, indicating the sizeable effect of the electrostatic potential at the donor–acceptor interface on the dissociation of CT complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excess hydraulic pressure in water supply network pipes is one of the major problems in design and implementation stages of these projects. To reduce the excess pressure and maintain network safety, a variety of pressure reducing valves are used, which waste all the excess pressure. However, having used the appropriate water microturbines, while reducing the pressure loss to an optimum value, the system could recover the wasted energy. In this study, numerical simulation and experimental investigation of microturbine in a water supply system have been performed to evaluate the electrical power generation capacity of an over‐pressured network. The numerical simulation of the microturbine was conducted using Ansys‐Fluent software. The microturbine has been experimentally investigated with different inlet flow rates, the effect of different post‐microturbine heads and also the effect of different opening angles of guide plate on its performance, three different scenarios were defined. Based on numerical simulation and laboratory results, the best performance of the microturbine was obtained when the inlet flow rate was 0.01184 m3 /s and also opening angle 20° for the guide plate, in which the microturbine output was equal to 59.01 W. The generated power by the microturbine can meet the electrical needs of sensors and other network monitoring equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the constructed mathematical model, the macrokinetics of the formation of particles of mechanocomposites in a machined powder mixture is studied. The areas of different process modes making it possible to obtain a final product with the specified characteristics are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were performed to assess the mechanical properties of an Ir metal nanocluster. The properties under investigation encompassed the bulk modulus, Poisson ratio, elastic shear modulus, and binding energy. The stability of the nanocluster was explored across various shapes, including icosahedron, octahedron, and truncated octahedron, with consideration given to different cluster sizes. The DFT results unveiled a general mechanism for amorphization in the Ir nanocluster of size 55, involving rosette-like structural transformations at the fivefold vertex. Additionally, Phonon Density of States (PDOS) was computed for the core, surface, and total atoms of Ir nanoclusters with sizes 38, 55, and 75, as well as for the Ir bulk structure. These calculations were carried out using both Quantum Sutton-Chen potential (QSC) and Gupta potential models through molecular dynamics (MD) methods. The analysis of the phonon density of states revealed that the contributions of two main peaks in low and high frequencies were associated with the surface and core atoms, respectively. Furthermore, the extension of the phonon density of states was performed for larger-sized Ir nanoclusters. Significantly, the QSC potential was utilized to investigate the adsorption of main peaks and their trends for the phonon density of states in the Ir bulk structure. The results obtained from this method were found to be in agreement with experimental data derived from cold neutron and multidetector time-of-flight spectrometer phonon measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The specific heat of U8 steel is measured after deforming cutting, quenching from furnace heating into water, and subsequent heating in a calorimeter in the temperature range 100–400°C. The temperature dependences of the specific heat after deforming cutting and furnace quenching have substantially different characters, which is due to a nonequilibrium state of the structure in the material after quenching by deforming cutting. The change in the enthalpy of U8 steel during its heating for these types of quenching is calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Metallophysics & Advanced Technologies / Metallofizika i Novejsie Tehnologii is the property of G.V. Kurdyumov Institute for Metal Physics, N.A.S.U and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study we evaluate a large-scale, grid-connected photovoltaic power plant (LS-PVPP) in a hot climate in Adrar, Algeria. The plant's performance was evaluated using both real-world data from 2018 and simulations conducted with PVsyst in terms of various parameters, such as reference yield, capacity factor, performance ratio, statistical indicators, and carbon emission savings. The results indicate a significant reduction in carbon emissions by the LS-PVPP, with a final yield of 4.98 kWh/kWp/day, a performance ratio of 71.67 %, a capacity factor of 20.72 %, and a global system efficiency of 10.66 % and save 19,388 metric tons of carbon in 2018. The industrial approach analysis revealed a target performance ratio (PR) of 71.17 %. The difference of 0.5 % led to extra energy generation of 252.67 MWh and additional revenue of 27,957.42USD. The simulated data predicted a final yield of 5.36 kWh/kWp/day, a performance ratio of 77 %, a capacity factor of 22.38 %, a global system efficiency of 11.55 %. The aim of this research is to offer data on the performance of a (LS-PVPP) in a hot climate. Researchers, photovoltaic project developers, and stakeholders can utilize the findings to assess project viability, optimize performance, and maximize the environmental and economic benefits. • The first we used PVSyst software to simulate the system performance based on the Real data of 20MW PV power plant site. • Compare simulation software results to real-time energy generation data analyzed via SCADA software. • The LS PVPP has saved a total of 19 388 metric tons of carbon in 2018. • The industrial approach analysis revealed an actual PR of 71.67% and a target PR of 71.17%. • The difference of 0.5% led to extra energy generation of 254.16 MWh and additional revenue of 27 957.42 USD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a quantum-mechanical study of silver decahedral nanoclusters and nanoparticles containing from 1 to 181 atoms in their static atomic configurations corresponding to the minimum of the ab initio computed total energies. Our thermodynamic analysis compares T = 0 K excess energies (without any excitations) obtained from a phenomenological approach, which mostly uses bulk-related properties, with excess energies from ab initio calculations of actual nanoclusters/nanoparticles. The phenomenological thermodynamic modeling employs (i) the bulk reference energy, (ii) surface energies obtained for infinite planar (bulk-related) surfaces and (iii) the bulk atomic volume. We show that it can predict the excess energy (per atom) of nanoclusters/nanoparticles containing as few as 7 atoms with the error lower than 3%. The only information related to the nanoclusters/nanoparticles of interest, which enters the phenomenological modeling, is the number of atoms in the nanocluster/nanoparticle, the shape and the crystallographic orientation(s) of facets. The agreement between both approaches is conditioned by computing the bulk-related properties with the same computational parameters as in the case of the nanoclusters/nanoparticles but, importantly, the phenomenological approach is much less computationally demanding. Our work thus indicates that it is possible to substantially reduce computational demands when computing excess energies of nanoclusters and nanoparticles by ab initio methods.

Recently, Hillert and Selleby proposed a simple method for expression of the lattice stability or Gibbs energy of formation that does not violate the third law of thermodynamics. This method describes the derivation of the Gibbs energy function from high temperatures down to 0 K by interpolation, instead of extrapolation from room temperature to 0 K. In the present work, their original method is discussed in terms of determination of the characteristic parameter values. Keeping the essential interpolation character of their method, a generalized approach is presented for expressing the lattice stability through parameter optimizations. This approach retains the zero point entropy of substances and is in line with the development of the third generation CALPHAD databases. Using the Al unary system as a case study, the lattice stabilities of the hcp and bcc phases are investigated. The respective Einstein temperatures are also evaluated. At high temperatures, the present descriptions reproduce the lattice stabilities suggested by SGTE for the existing second generation of databases, with a reasonable accuracy. More importantly, information from ab initio calculations (total energy at 0 K) is also used for this optimization and the present method results in a physically sounder description of thermodynamic properties at lower temperatures down to 0 K. The present approach provides a simple and flexible way to estimate the lattice stabilities, with potential applicability for the Gibbs energy of formation of stoichiometric compounds and the excess energy of solution phases, in accordance with the third law of thermodynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the hypothesis that effective antioxidant and photoprotective mechanisms are able to avoid photodamage induced by prolonged water deficit (WD) followed by high light (HL). We employed cashew plants ( Anacardium occidentale L.), a semiarid adapted species, as a model plant. WD-plants exposed to HL did not show alterations in maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), cellular integrity, H 2 O 2 and thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) contents, evidencing that they did not suffered photoinhibition and oxidative stress. These responses were associated with increases in ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, glutathione (GSH) oxidation and ascorbate (ASC) synthesis. This effective oxidative protection occurred in parallel to strong decrease in photosystem II and I (PSII and PSI) activities, increase in heat dissipation (qE), which was related to enhancement in cyclic electron flux. These favorable photoprotective changes were associated with efficient water use in response to HL, all contributing to avoid excess energy in chloroplasts of drought-exposed leaves. These protective features were associated with a tight regulation in D1 protein accumulation during HL, contributing to avoid reactive oxygen species over-accumulation and a subsequent effective PSII recovery during darkness. Our results indicate that cashew plants are able to avoid photoinhibition, tolerating extreme conditions of drought combined with HL. The displayed mechanisms involve essentially integrated responses to balance energy input and output, avoiding oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vapor pressures of two binary systems ethyl dodecanoate (1) + n -dodecane (2) and ethyl octanoate (1) + n -dodecane (2), were measured by means of a static apparatus at temperatures between 373.15 K and 453.15 K. The data were correlated with the Antoine equation. From these data, the molar excess Gibbs energies G E were obtained with Barker’s method and fitted to the Redlich-Kister equation. The binary mixture (ethyl octanoate (1) + n -dodecane (2)) exhibits maximum azeotropic behavior. Positive values of the excess Gibbs energy are obtained for all the investigated constant temperatures and over the whole composition range. The data were also correlated by using Wilson equation and good results were obtained in the prediction of the total pressure and thermodynamic excess properties; however deviations were observed with respect to the experimental and predicted G E , using modified UNIFAC (Dortmund) group contribution model. Additionally, the NRTL model was applied to regress the experimental G E . The investigated systems were successfully represented by the NRTL model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MD simulations were used for investigation on the kinetic formation of Ni-Pd nanoalloys at different simulation times. We have examined excess energies and bond order parameters for initial gas phase compositions including pure Ni, and Pd, and also Ni 0.2 Pd 0.8 , Ni 0.4 Pd 0.6 , Ni 0.6 Pd 0.4 , Ni 0.8 Pd 0.2 concentrations. Excess energies for created Ni-Pd nanoalloys exhibit more instabilities for larger nanoparticles. Also, bond order results demonstrate amorphous structures for all of created nanoclusters. Moreover, number of formed clusters for pure Ni at 5 ns is more than pure Pd nanoclusters and number of formed clusters decreases when Pd is doped in pure Ni nanocluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prediction of thermodynamic properties for ternary Fe-Mn-Si and Fe-Mn-Al-Si quaternary alloys were studied using Chou's general solution model along with the calculated results of Muggianu and Kohler models. The general solution model was reformulated for quaternary systems. The Gibbs free energies were obtained as a function of temperature from the sum of an excess energy term, a molar Gibbs energy term and magnetic energy term. The equilibrium temperatures were calculated by using the difference between the Gibbs free energy of the fcc and hcp phases for ternary and quaternary systems mentioned above. The calculated results were compared with those obtained from typical models, such as Muggianu and Kohler models and experimental data. It was observed that the calculated results from general solution model are in agreement with those obtained from the experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]