<p>  </p> <p>Organic-inorganic halide perovskites are at the brink of commercialization as the next generation of light-absorbing materials for solar energy harvesting devices. Perovskites have large absorption coefficients, long charge-carrier lifetimes and diffusion lengths, and a tunable absorption spectrum. Furthermore, these materials can be low-temperature solution-processed, which transfers to low-cost manufacturing and cost-competitive products. The remarkable material properties of perovskites enable a broad product-market fit, encompassing traditional and new applications for solar technology. Perovskites can be deposited on flexible substrates for flexible solar cells, applied in thermochromic windows for power generation and building cooling, or tuned for tandem solar cell application to include in high-performance solar panels. However, perovskites are intrinsically unstable, which has so far prevented their commercialization. Despite large research efforts, including over two thousand publications per year, perovskite solar cells degrade in under one year of operation. In a saturated research field, new ideas are needed to inspire alternative approaches to solve the perovskite stability problem. In this dissertation, we detail research efforts surrounding the concept of a self-healing perovskite solar cell.</p> <p>     A self-healing perovskite solar cell can be classified with two distinctions: mechanically healing and molecularly healing. First, mechanically self-healing involves the material’s ability to recover its intrinsic properties after mechanical damage such as tares, lacerations, or cracking. This type of healing was unique to the organic polymer community and ultra-rare in semiconducting materials. By combining a self-healing polymer with perovskite material, we developed a self-healing semiconducting perovskite composite material which can heal using synergistic grain growth and solid-state diffusion processes at slightly elevated temperatures. The material is demonstrated in flexible solar cells with improved bending durability and a power conversion efficiency reaching 10%. The addition of fluidic polymer enables macroscopic perovskite material movement, which is otherwise brittle and rigid. The results inspire the use of polymer scaffolds for mechanically self-healing solar cells.</p> <p>     The second type of healing, molecular healing, involves healing defects within the rigid crystal domains resulting from ion migration. The same phenomenon which leads to device degradation, also assists the recovery of the device performance after resting the device in the dark. During device operation, perovskite ions diffuse in the perovskite lattice and accumulate at the device interfaces where they undergo chemical reactions or leave the perovskite layer, ultimately consuming the perovskite precursors. The photovoltaic performance can be recovered if irreversible degradation is limited. Ideally, degradation and recovery can match day and night cycling to dramatically extend the lifetime of perovskite solar cells. In this dissertation, we introduce the application of chalcogenide chemistry in the fabrication of perovskite solar cells to control the thin film crystallization process, ultimately to reduce defects in the perovskite bulk and introduce surface functionality which extends the device stability. This new strategy will help improve molecularly self-healing perovskite solar cell by reducing irreversible degradation. Lastly, we present a few other new ideas to inspire future research in perovskite solar cells and assist in the commercialization of the next generation of photovoltaics.</p>

<p>This work focuses on the collection and analysis of Lithium-ion battery operational and temperature data during nail penetration testing through two different experimental approaches. Raman spectroscopy, machine learning, and internal temperature sensors are used to collect and analyze data to further investigate the effects on cell operation during and after nail penetrations, and the feasibility of using this data to predict future performance.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The first section of this work analyzes the effects on continued operation of a small Lithium-ion prismatic cell after nail penetration. Raman spectroscopy is used to examine the effects on the anode and cathode materials of cells that are cycled for different amounts of time after a nail puncture. Incremental capacity analysis is then used to corroborate the findings from the Raman analysis. The study finds that the operational capacity and lifetime of cells is greatly reduced due to the accelerated degradation caused by loss of material, uneven current distribution, and exposure to atmosphere. This leads into the study of using the magnitude and corresponding voltage of incremental capacity peaks after nail puncture to forecast the operation of damaged cells. A Gaussian process regression is used to predict discharge capacity of different cells that experience the same type of nail puncture. The results from this study show that the method is capable of making accurate predictions of cell discharge capacity even with the higher rate of variance in operation after nail puncture, showing the method of prediction has the potential to be implemented in devices such as battery management systems.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The second section of this work proposes a method of inserting temperature sensors into commercially-available cylindrical cells to directly obtain internal temperature readings. Characterization tests are used to determine the effect on the operability of the modified cells after the sensors are inserted, and lifetime cycle testing is implemented to determine the long-term effects on cell performance. The results show the sensor insertion causes a small reduction in operational performance, and lifetime cycle testing shows the cells can operate near their optimal output for approximately 100-150 cycles. Modified cells are then used to monitor internal temperatures during nail penetration tests and how the amount of aging affects the temperature response. The results show that more aging in a cell causes higher temperatures during nail puncture, as well as a larger difference between internal and external temperatures, due mostly to the larger contribution of Joule heating caused by increased internal resistance.</p>

<h4>A generalized physics-based modeling framework is presented to analyze: (a) the effects of temperature on identified degradation mechanisms, (b) interfacial debonding processes, including deterministic and stochastic mechanisms, and (c) establishing model performance benchmarks of electrochemical porous electrode theory models, as a necessary stepping stone to perform valid battery degradation analyses and designs. Specifically, the effects of temperature were incorporated into a physics-based, reduced-order model and extended for a LiCoO₂ -graphite 18650 cell. Three dimensionless driving forces were identified, controlling the temperature-dependent reversible charge capacity. The identified temperature-dependent irreversible mechanisms include homogeneous SEI, at moderate to high temperatures, and the chemomechanical degradation of the cathode at low temperatures. Also, debonding of a statistically representative electrochemically active particle from the surrounding binder-electrolyte matrix in a porous electrode was modeled analytically, for the first time. The proposed framework enables to determine the space of C-Rates and electrode particle radii that suppresses or enhances debonding and is graphically summarized into performance–microstructure maps where four debonding mechanisms were identified, and condensed into power-law relations with respect to the particle radius. Finally, in order to incorporate existing or emerging degradation models into porous electrode theory (PET) implementations, a set of benchmarks were proposed to establish a common basis to assess their physical reaches, limitations, and accuracy. Three open source models: dualfoil, MPET, and LIONSIMBA were compared, exhibiting significant qualitative differences, despite showing the same macroscopic voltage response, leading the user to different conclusions regarding the battery performance and possible degradation mechanisms of the analyzed system.</h4>

The result of this work is the development of an algorithm for forecasting the generation of a wind power plant using artificial intelligence technologies. A significant improvement in the accuracy of calculating the generation of a wind turbine has been established through the use of ensemble regression decision trees compared to the current model based on the dependence of the output power of the wind power plant on wind speed. / Результатом данной работы стала разработка алгоритма для прогнозирования генерации ветроэнергетической установки с использованием технологий искусственного интеллекта. Установлено значительное улучшение точности расчета генерации ветровой турбины с помощью ансамблей регрессионных деревьев решений по сравнению с текущей моделью, основанной на зависимости выходной мощности ветроэнергетической установки от скорости ветра.

The thesis discuses an integration of photovoltaic power stations to electric network. The first part describes connecting conditions of small sources to distribution system, including administrative requirements, feasibility study, and requirements to the energy meters, measuring, control devices, switching devices and protection. The second part is aimed to describe problems of the photovoltaic system. Solar radiation generating and reducing of its intensity incident upon the earth surface are described in this part. The quantum of produced electric power depends on climatic conditions in the fixed area, seasons, etc. This work also discusses the types of photovoltaic cells and their actual efficiency. Inverters are further important components of the photovoltaic system. The parameters of the inverters have a great influence on the total actual efficiency of the photovoltaic system. Different methods of the photovoltaic panels’ connection with the inverters and their advantages and disadvantages are also mentioned. The supporting structure of the photovoltaic panels and eventually transformer are further important components of photovoltaic system. The work also analyze the methods of connection of the photovoltaic power station to distributive low voltage and medium voltage network, electric energy accumulation and possibilities of the sale of produced electric energy. The large number of the connected photovoltaic power stations has negative influences to electric network. The third part contains the design of a photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 516,24 kWp on the scoped area in southern Bohemia. The project documentation for the location where the power plant is designed is also made. It contains the design of photovoltaic panels, the design of the inverters to get an optimal power load. This part also contains a calculation of the photovoltaic system losses and the design of transformer and the cable junction calculation of the distributive system. The feasibility study of the power plant connected to distributive system is also conducted. Its delivery rate will be connected to the distribution point Řípov (110/22 kV). The calculation results show us that this photovoltaic power plant can be linked to the distribution system. The final part of this paper contains an economic estimate of the photovoltaic power plant operating and the calculation of the return. An Economic return is influenced by the wide range of values that affect the total return rate. The calculation of an operating economy is made for several variants. The return rate in refer to contemporary redemption price for 2010 with no consideration for a bank loan is 7 years. If we consider the bank loan it would be 12 years. The penetrative reduction of the redemption price is expected for 2011. Calculation works with the decline of 30 %. It would extend the rate of return to 11 years without a bank loan or to 22 years with the bank loan. The bank loan is considered to cover 80 % of the investment.