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discovered_02_2013

discovered 02 .13 FOCUS WWW.Hzdr.DE host of different stresses and strains. The new environmental chamber allows scientists to simulate conditions ranging from an arid desert environment to one of high humidity, and to obtain measurements of different material properties under these extreme conditions. A second project the HZDR researchers are working on with their Spanish colleagues involves photovoltaics, the direct conversion of sunlight to electricity. The focus is on silicon based thin-film solar cells whose efficiency the researchers are hoping to optimize. The HZDR researchers are focusing on an innovative concept: Nanostructures are supposed to make silicon a more efficient material. "Using special thermal treatment, we're able to produce silicon based nanocomposites," says Gintautas Abrasonis. Next, the physicist examines the samples’ properties, in other words, their optical properties and the electrical transport within the material. Initial results suggest that these nanostructures are superior to traditional silicon. The Abengoa collaboration got started at the end of 2012: in Spain and Dresden, a team of two scientists and three Ph.D. students are together working on the project. This is exactly why Gintautas Abrasonis is confident that through team effort, ways will be found to more efficiently harvest sunlight. Contact _Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research at HZDR Dr. Gintautas Abrasonis g.abrasonis@hzdr.de Unique measurement technology for solar thermal energy In solar thermal power plants, like parabolic-trough power plants, sunlight is bundled inside a pipe with the help of curved mirrors to convert the water inside the pipe into steam for powering turbines. Such mixtures made up of gas and liquid parts are known as multiphase flows. Wire-mesh sensors from HZDR positioned across the diameter along the absorbing tube are able to measure the flow’s structure and the steam content of multiphase flows at high spatial and temporal resolutions. The information thus obtained can help to assess a parabolic-trough power plant’s efficiency. At the same time, the measurements yield valuable information for use in basic experiments as well as for the design and layout of the facility. HZDR systems are designed to withstand temperatures of up to 300 degrees C and pressures of up to 70 bar – a field of application which is still unparalleled in the area of high- resolution multiphase measuring techniques. Wire-mesh sensors developed at HZDR for employment at high pressures and temperatures. A JOINT AFFAIR: Irene Heras Pérez of Abengoa Research (center) with HZDR researchers Gintautas Abrasonis (right) and Erik Schumann. Contact _Institute of Fluid Dynamics at HZDR Eckhard Schleicher e.schleicher@hzdr.de

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