Oak Ridge National Laboratory

About: Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a facility organization based out in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Neutron & Ion. The organization has 31868 authors who have published 73724 publications receiving 2633689 citations. The organization is also known as: ORNL.

Current Production and Metal Oxide Reduction by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 Wild Type and Mutants

Abstract: Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 is a gram-negative facultative anaerobe capable of utilizing a broad range of electron acceptors, including several solid substrates. S. oneidensis MR-1 can reduce Mn(IV) and Fe(III) oxides and can produce current in microbial fuel cells. The mechanisms that are employed by S. oneidensis MR-1 to execute these processes have not yet been fully elucidated. Several different S. oneidensis MR-1 deletion mutants were generated and tested for current production and metal oxide reduction. The results showed that a few key cytochromes play a role in all of the processes but that their degrees of participation in each process are very different. Overall, these data suggest a very complex picture of electron transfer to solid and soluble substrates by S. oneidensis MR-1.

Stochasticity, succession, and environmental perturbations in a fluidic ecosystem

Abstract: Unraveling the drivers of community structure and succession in response to environmental change is a central goal in ecology. Although the mechanisms shaping community structure have been intensively examined, those controlling ecological succession remain elusive. To understand the relative importance of stochastic and deterministic processes in mediating microbial community succession, a unique framework composed of four different cases was developed for fluidic and nonfluidic ecosystems. The framework was then tested for one fluidic ecosystem: a groundwater system perturbed by adding emulsified vegetable oil (EVO) for uranium immobilization. Our results revealed that groundwater microbial community diverged substantially away from the initial community after EVO amendment and eventually converged to a new community state, which was closely clustered with its initial state. However, their composition and structure were significantly different from each other. Null model analysis indicated that both deterministic and stochastic processes played important roles in controlling the assembly and succession of the groundwater microbial community, but their relative importance was time dependent. Additionally, consistent with the proposed conceptual framework but contradictory to conventional wisdom, the community succession responding to EVO amendment was primarily controlled by stochastic rather than deterministic processes. During the middle phase of the succession, the roles of stochastic processes in controlling community composition increased substantially, ranging from 81.3% to 92.0%. Finally, there are limited successional studies available to support different cases in the conceptual framework, but further well-replicated explicit time-series experiments are needed to understand the relative importance of deterministic and stochastic processes in controlling community succession.

Nanoscale mapping of ion diffusion in a lithium-ion battery cathode

Abstract: The movement of lithium ions into and out of electrodes is central to the operation of lithium-ion batteries. Although this process has been extensively studied at the device level, it remains insufficiently characterized at the nanoscale level of grain clusters, single grains and defects. Here, we probe the spatial variation of lithium-ion diffusion times in the battery-cathode material LiCoO(2) at a resolution of ∼100 nm by using an atomic force microscope to both redistribute lithium ions and measure the resulting cathode deformation. The relationship between diffusion and single grains and grain boundaries is observed, revealing that the diffusion coefficient increases for certain grain orientations and single-grain boundaries. This knowledge provides feedback to improve understanding of the nanoscale mechanisms underpinning lithium-ion battery operation.

Application issues of active power filters

Abstract: In this article, common nonlinear loads have been characterized into two types of harmonic sources, current-source type of harmonic source and voltage-source type of harmonic source. Compensation characteristics of both parallel active filters and series active filters have been discussed analytically and experimentally for these two types of harmonic sources. The corresponding required operation conditions, features, application issues, and adaptive harmonic sources of both filters have been presented. The fact that the traditional active filter, the parallel active filter, is not a panacea to harmonic compensation, and that one cannot use it blindly, has been clearly addressed. The parallel active filter will increase harmonic current and may cause overcurrent of the load when the load is a harmonic voltage source. Instead, it has been verified that the series active filter is better suited for compensation of a harmonic voltage source such as a diode rectifier with smoothing DC capacitor. The conclusions of this article also imply that when a parallel active filter is installed in a power system network such as at a point of common coupling, the network impedance and main harmonic sources downstream from the installation point should be investigated in order to get good performance and to minimize influence to the loads downstream. In some cases, a combined system of parallel active filter and series active filter may be necessary by utilizing the harmonic isolation function of the series active filters. No doubt active filters are superior to passive filters if used in their niche applications.

Enhanced confinement and stability in DIII-D discharges with reversed magnetic shear.

Abstract: Peaked pressure profiles and central ion temperatures up to 20 keV are observed in DIII-D $H$-mode discharges with a central region of strongly reversed magnetic shear. Short wavelength ballooning modes are stabilized by access to the second stable regime, longer wavelength modes by a conducting wall and possibly by rotational shear. Values of normalized beta, ${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{N}=\frac{\ensuremath{\beta}\mathrm{aB}}{I}$, up to 4 (%-$m$-T/MA), energy confinement are a factor of 3 better than $L$ mode, and at least 50% of the noninductive plasma current in this regime demonstrates compatibility with requirements for a steady-state high-beta tokamak power plant.