Patents by Inventor Zihua Zhu

Zihua Zhu has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240105351
    Abstract: A method for measuring drop time of a control rod cluster integrated with a rod position measurement device is provided, wherein the method is used to measure the drop time of each control rod cluster, and includes: Si, monitoring a voltage Ua of coils in Group A to capture a rod cluster drop signal; S2, searching a point (tmax, Vmax) with a maximum drop speed or with a local maximum drop speed; S3, retroactively calculating, from tmax, an end of a time period T4 when the control rod cluster starts to drop; S4, retroactively searching, from a minimum value point of a drop reference signal DROPref, a start of the time period T4 when the drop reference signal DROPref drops from a maximum value to 33% thereof; and S5, determining, from tmax forward, a time point t6 when a drop speed of the control rod cluster is lower than 0.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2021
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Applicant: NUCLEAR POWER OPERATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE (NPRI)
    Inventors: Zhengke CHANG, Minghui ZHANG, Yuan HUANG, Ye TIAN, Shaohua XU, Xinxin LIU, Weijian ZHU, Yiming MA, Shengfeng XU, Bo CHAO, Ning TAO, Zihua YANG, Desong LANG, Qichao WANG
  • Publication number: 20200106139
    Abstract: Battery cells are provided that can include: a housing defining a chamber having a fluid inlet and outlet; an anode at one side of the housing; a cathode at another side of the housing opposing and spaced apart from the anode a sufficient amount to allow for electrolyte between the anode and cathode; and the other side of the chamber defined by an ion permeable member. Methods for in situ battery electrode analysis are provided and these methods can include: providing a battery cell having an anode and a cathode; exposing the battery cell to an ion beam while the battery cell is operational to form secondary ions; and detecting the secondary ions to analyze the battery.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Publication date: April 2, 2020
    Inventors: Zihua Zhu, Chongmin Wang
  • Patent number: 10505234
    Abstract: Battery cells are provided that can include: a housing defining a chamber having a fluid inlet and outlet; an anode at one side of the housing; a cathode at another side of the housing opposing and spaced apart from the anode a sufficient amount to allow for electrolyte between the anode and cathode; and the other side of the chamber defined by an ion permeable member. Methods for in situ battery electrode analysis are provided and these methods can include: providing a battery cell having an anode and a cathode; exposing the battery cell to an ion beam while the battery cell is operational to form secondary ions; and detecting the secondary ions to analyze the battery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
    Inventors: Zihua Zhu, Chongmin Wang
  • Patent number: 10330626
    Abstract: A microfluidic electrochemical device and process are detailed that provide chemical imaging and electrochemical analysis under vacuum at the surface of the electrode-sample or electrode-liquid interface in-situ. The electrochemical device allows investigation of various surface layers including diffuse layers at selected depths populated with, e.g., adsorbed molecules in which chemical transformation in electrolyte solutions occurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
    Inventors: Xiao-Ying Yu, Bingwen Liu, Li Yang, Zihua Zhu, Matthew J. Marshall
  • Publication number: 20170047619
    Abstract: Battery cells are provided that can include: a housing defining a chamber having a fluid inlet and outlet; an anode at one side of the housing; a cathode at another side of the housing opposing and spaced apart from the anode a sufficient amount to allow for electrolyte between the anode and cathode; and the other side of the chamber defined by an ion permeable member. Methods for in situ battery electrode analysis are provided and these methods can include: providing a battery cell having an anode and a cathode; exposing the battery cell to an ion beam while the battery cell is operational to form secondary ions; and detecting the secondary ions to analyze the battery.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2016
    Publication date: February 16, 2017
    Inventors: Zihua Zhu, Chongmin Wang
  • Publication number: 20160178555
    Abstract: A microfluidic electrochemical device and process are detailed that provide chemical imaging and electrochemical analysis under vacuum at the surface of the electrode-sample or electrode-liquid interface in-situ. The electrochemical device allows investigation of various surface layers including diffuse layers at selected depths populated with, e.g., adsorbed molecules in which chemical transformation in electrolyte solutions occurs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 29, 2016
    Publication date: June 23, 2016
    Inventors: Xiao-Ying Yu, Bingwen Liu, Li Yang, Zihua Zhu, Matthew J. Marshall
  • Patent number: 9274059
    Abstract: A microfluidic electrochemical device and process are detailed that provide chemical imaging and electrochemical analysis under vacuum at the surface of the electrode-sample or electrode-liquid interface in-situ. The electrochemical device allows investigation of various surface layers including diffuse layers at selected depths populated with, e.g., adsorbed molecules in which chemical transformation in electrolyte solutions occurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Assignee: BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE
    Inventors: Xiao-Ying Yu, Bingwen Liu, Li Yang, Zihua Zhu, Matthew J. Marshall
  • Publication number: 20140038224
    Abstract: A microfluidic electrochemical device and process are detailed that provide chemical imaging and electrochemical analysis under vacuum at the surface of the electrode-sample or electrode-liquid interface in-situ. The electrochemical device allows investigation of various surface layers including diffuse layers at selected depths populated with, e.g., adsorbed molecules in which chemical transformation in electrolyte solutions occurs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2013
    Publication date: February 6, 2014
    Applicant: Battelle Memorial Institute
    Inventors: Xiao-Ying Yu, Bingwen Liu, Li Yang, Zihua Zhu, Matthew J. Marshall
  • Patent number: 8555710
    Abstract: Systems and methods for supporting a liquid against a vacuum pressure in a chamber can enable analysis of the liquid surface using vacuum-based chemical analysis instruments. No electrical or fluid connections are required to pass through the chamber walls. The systems can include a reservoir, a pump, and a liquid flow path. The reservoir contains a liquid-phase sample. The pump drives flow of the sample from the reservoir, through the liquid flow path, and back to the reservoir. The flow of the sample is not substantially driven by a differential between pressures inside and outside of the liquid flow path. An aperture in the liquid flow path exposes a stable portion of the liquid-phase sample to the vacuum pressure within the chamber. The radius, or size, of the aperture is less than or equal to a critical value required to support a meniscus of the liquid-phase sample by surface tension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
    Inventors: Xiao-Ying Yu, Li Yang, James P. Cowin, Martin J. Iedema, Zihua Zhu
  • Publication number: 20120234082
    Abstract: Systems and methods for supporting a liquid against a vacuum pressure in a chamber can enable analysis of the liquid surface using vacuum-based chemical analysis instruments. No electrical or fluid connections are required to pass through the chamber walls. The systems can include a reservoir, a pump, and a liquid flow path. The reservoir contains a liquid-phase sample. The pump drives flow of the sample from the reservoir, through the liquid flow path, and back to the reservoir. The flow of the sample is not substantially driven by a differential between pressures inside and outside of the liquid flow path. An aperture in the liquid flow path exposes a stable portion of the liquid-phase sample to the vacuum pressure within the chamber. The radius, or size, of the aperture is less than or equal to a critical value required to support a meniscus of the liquid-phase sample by surface tension.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2011
    Publication date: September 20, 2012
    Applicant: Battelle Memorial Institute
    Inventors: Xiao-Ying Yu, Li Ying, James Cowin, Martin J. Iedema, Zihua Zhu