The project team of University of California at Merced (UC-M), Gas Technology Institute, and Dr. Eli Yablonovitch of University of California at Berkeley developed a novel hybrid concentrated solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) collector using nonimaging optics and world record single-junction Gallium arsenide (GaAs) PV components integrated with particle laden gas as thermal transfer and storage media, to simultaneously generate electricity and high temperature dispatchable heat. The collector transforms a parabolic trough, commonly used in CSP plants, into an integrated spectrum-splitting device. This places a spectrum-sensitive topping element on a secondary reflector that is registered to the thermal collection loop. The secondary reflector transmits higher energy photons for PV topping while diverting the remaining lower energy photons to the thermal media, achieving temperatures of around 400°C even under partial utilization of the solar spectrum. The collector uses the spectral selectivity property of Gallium arsenide (GaAs) cells to maximize the exergy output of the system, resulting in an estimated exergy efficiency of 48%. The thermal media is composed of fine particles of high melting point material in an inert gas that increases heat transfer and effectively stores excess heat in hot particles for later on-demand use. © (2015) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The challenge of meeting the corporate averagefuel economy (CAFE) standards of 2025 is leading to majordevelopments in the transportation sector, not the least of whichis the utilization of clean energy sources. Solar energy as a mainsource of on-board fuel has not been extensively investigated.This paper reports on the usage of solar energy fortransportation and investigates the extended driving range, theeconomic value, and the energy return of investment (EROI) ofadding on-board photovoltaic (PV) technologies to plug-inelectric vehicles (EV). The study develops a comprehensive PVsystem model and optimizes the solar energy to DC electricalpower output ratio for on-driving mode. In times of no-use, theproposed system transforms into a flexible energy generationsystem that can be fed into the grid and used to power DCelectrical devices in homes and offices. The results show that byadding on-board PVs to cover less than 50% of the projectedhorizontal surface area of a typical passenger EV, up to 50% ofthe total daily miles traveled by a person in the U.S. could bedriven by solar energy. For the lifetime driving cost, even withlow electricity price (0.13 $/kWh), adding on-board PV shows apositive impact if the system is operating in high solar energyenvironment (e.g. Arizona). If the electricity price is high ((0.35$/kWh), there is positive economic impact even in low solarenergy environments (e.g. Massachusetts). The energy paybacktime (EPBT) is found in a range 3.5-4.8 years, depending onwhere the system operates and energy return of investment(EROI) is between 6.2 to 8.6 times.

Enhancing the dynamic performance and fracture resistance of steel plates under impulsive loads has always been of great interest to the researchers and scientists. A convenient technique to enhance the energy absorption capability of steel plates is to spray-cast a layer of polyurea onto the plates. Since polyurea readily adheres to metallic surfaces and has a short curing time, the technique may be used to retrofit existing metallic structures to improve their blast resistance. We have examined the effectiveness of this approach, focusing on the question of the significance of the relative position of the polyurea layer with respect to the loading direction; i.e., we have explored whether the polyurea layer cast on the front face (the impulse-receiving face) or on the back face of the steel plate would provide a more effective blast mitigating composite. In addition we have studied the effects of the thickness of the polyurea layer and the steel-polyurea interface bonding strength. The experimental results suggest that the polyurea layer can have a significant effect on the response of the steel plate to dynamic impulsive loads, both in terms of failure mitigation and energy absorption, if it is deposited on the back face of the plate. And, remarkably, when polyurea is placed on the front face of the plate, it may actually enhance the destructive effect of the blast, promoting the failure of the steel plate, depending on the interface bonding strength between the polyurea and steel layers and the polyurea layer thickness. These experimental results are supported by our computational simulations of the entire experiments. In addition, SEM and optical microscopy is performed to examine the microstructure of the failed samples, and also understand the fracture and necking patterns, and the underpinning mechanisms of failure. Based on the micrographs, finite-element models are developed that are capable of predicting the fracture process of the steel plates. An independent chapter completes this dissertation. In Chapter 7, we report the results of an experimental and numerical investigation of dynamic and quasi-static compressive response of single and hex-arrayed thick aluminum tubes

Research is underway to develop a vaccine to prevent and cure infection from herpes simplex virus (HSV). It emphasizes the critical need for immunization to address public health issues and the shortcomings of existing treatment options. Furthermore, studies on the HSV vaccine advance the field of immunology and vaccine creation, which may help in the battle against other viral illnesses. The current lack of such a vaccine is, in part, due to herpes viral latency in sensory ganglions. Current vaccines rely on tissue-resident memory CD8+ T cells, which are known to provide protection against subsequent HSV reinfection and reactivation without correlating with other immune subsets. For that reason, there is no effective vaccine that can provide protection against latent or recurrent herpes infection. This review focuses on conventional methods for evaluating the efficacy of a herpes vaccine using differential CD8+ T cells and important unaccounted immune aspects for designing an effective vaccine against herpes.