Effects of upholstery materials on the burning behavior of real‐scale residential upholstered furniture mock‐ups

Fire spread and growth on real‐scale four cushion mock‐ups of residential upholstered furniture (RUF) were investigated with the goal of identifying whether changes in five classes of materials (barrier, flexible polyurethane foam, polyester fiber wrap, upholstery fabric, and sewing thread), referred to as factors, resulted in statistically significant changes in burning behavior. A fractional factorial experimental design plus practical considerations yielded a test matrix with 20 material combinations. Experiments were repeated a minimum of two times. Measurements included fire spread rates derived from video recordings and heat release rates (HRRs). A total of 13 experimental parameters (3 based on the videos and 10 on the HRR results), referred to as responses, characterized the measurements. Statistical analyses based on Main Effects Plots (main effects) and Block Plots (main effects and factor interactions) were used. The results showed that three of the factors resulted in statistically significant effects on varying numbers of the 13 responses. The Barrier and Fabric factors had the strongest main effects with roughly comparable magnitudes. Foam was statistically significant for fewer of the responses and its overall strength was weaker than for Barrier and Fabric. No statistically significant main effects were identified for Wrap or Thread. Multiple two‐term interactions between factors were identified as being statistically significant. The Barrier*Fabric interaction resulted in the highest number of and strongest statistically significant effects. The existence of two‐term interactions means that it will be necessary to consider their effects in approaches designed to predict the burning behavior of RUF.     

Generic mathematical programming formulation and solution for computer-aided molecular design

This short communication presents a generic mathematical programming formulation for computer-aided molecular design (CAMD). A given CAMD problem, based on target properties, is formulated as a mixed integer linear/non-linear program (MILP/MINLP). The mathematical programming model presented here, which is formulated as an MILP/MINLP problem, considers first-order and second-order molecular groups for molecular structure representation and property estimation. It is shown that various CAMD problems can be formulated and solved through this model.     

Role of Nd-Ni on structural,spectral and dielectric properties of strontium-barium based nano-sized X-type ferrites

The influence of neodymium and nickel substitution on structural and dielectric parameters was investigated in strontium-barium X-type hexagonal ferrites having composition SrBaCu_2?xNi_xNd_yFe_28?yO₄₆ (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1 and y = 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.1). Sol-gel method was employed for synthesizing these hexagonal ferrites. The XRD plots of all studied materials which were annealed at 1250 °C show single phase characteristics. Lattice parameter ‘c’ increased as a consequence of larger radius of rare earth ion (Nd³⁺) as compared to (Fe³⁺), while lattice parameter ‘a’ showed very small variation. The cell volume was obtained in the range 2508.32–2523.75 (ų). The inclusion of Nd-Ni also affected X-ray density, bulk density and porosity. The FTIR spectroscopy indicated the particular absorption peaks of hexagonal ferrites and it was performed in the range of 500–700 cm^?1. On account of Nd-Ni doping, the dielectric constant, dielectric loss and AC-conductivity showed decreasing trend. The occupancy of Nd³⁺ ions at octahedral site impedes the valence alternation of Fe³⁺; therefore there was decrease in dielectric permittivity. Ac conductivity has been decreased from 9.14 to 6.49 (Ω cm)^?1 at frequency of 2.7 GHz. The Cole-Cole plots of synthesized materials noticeably revealed grain boundary contribution. The appearance of single semi-circle in impedance Cole-Cole graphs confirms the exceptional role of grain boundaries in the conduction process. The considerably lower dielectric parameters of investigated nano X-type ferrites propose their feasibility for high-frequency applications (phase shifters, dielectric resonators, stealth technology etc).     

一种新型三坐标雷达点迹提取器的设计

在目标信号检测模块的基础上增加了测有计算模块，构成一种新型的单脉冲雷达点迹提取器，显著提高了雷达系统潜在的处理能力。     

南京老虎山黄土-古土壤剖面不同粒级组分的磁化率及其古气候意义

利用沉降离心法将老虎山黄土-古土壤的酸不溶相分离成<2μm、2～45μm和>45μm三个粒级组分,并分别测定了这些组分和全岩的磁化率。结果表明,无论是全岩,还是三个不同粒级组分,它们的磁化率都可以单独作为长江中下游地区古气候演变的参考指标。其中,<2μm粒级的质量磁化率明显大于全岩和2～45μm、>45μm两粒级,而且其分辨率也明显高于2～45μm和>45μm这两个粒级组分。本实验结果还显示,虽然<2μum的质量磁化率最大,但对全岩质量磁化率的贡献率与2～45μm粒级相当,>45μm粒级的贡献率较低。     

Chromaticity contour map of the RGB cube: A simple algorithm

A simple algorithm (amenable to spreadsheets) is described for plotting a luminance contour map of the color gamut of an additive‐primary display given the chromaticities of its primaries and screen white. Each contour of the plot represents (in either r,g or x,y coordinates) the polygon of intersection of the RGB cube with a plane of constant Y. Each vertex on a contour is an intersection of 1 of the 12 edges of the RGB cube with the constant‐Y plane. Feasibility of an edge as a vertex of the polygon is tested through comparison of the computed r,g coordinates with functions of the luminosity coefficients of the primaries. By ordering the RGB‐cube edges in a particular way prior to scanning them for feasibility, one is guaranteed to retrieve the vertices of any constant‐Y polygon in convex order. This fact facilitates plotting of the polygons.     

用基团贡献法预测纯物质蒸气压

对应状态原理与基团贡献法结合，提出一个新的蒸气压估算方程（ＲＬＹＭ）。通过对烷烃、烯烃、炔烃、环烷烃、环烯烃、醇、环醇、酮、醚、芳烃、酚、萘在内的１７４种有机物质蒸气压实验数据的关联，获得了３０种基团的贡献参数值。新模型的预测精度优于现有的对应状态法，并且对高碳分子仍有较好的估算精度。总的关联误差小于１．１７％。     

Distinguished Scientific Awards for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology.

The Early Career Awards recognize the large number of excellent young psychologists. Recipients of this award may not have held a PhD for more than nine years. The areas considered in 1991 were animal learning and behavior, developmental, and personality. The winners for 1991 were Kent C. Berridge, Susan A. Gelman, and Randy J. Larsen. For each winner a citation, biography, and selected bibliography of their works are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Electrochemical behavior of metallic materials used in seawater—interactions between glucose oxidase and passive layers

Six materials (stainless steel, nickel-base alloy, titanium, chromium, nickel and admiralty brass) are tested in chemical and biochemical synthetic seawaters. The biochemical seawater contains enzymes catalyzing oxidation of glucose (glucose oxidase), simulating the action of natural biofilms. The evolutions of free corrosion potential (Ecor) versus time, and of cathodic and anodic reactions are compared with those obtained in natural seawater. Then, electrochemical behavior is related to semi-conducting properties of passive films. When glucose oxidase is present, increase of Ecor versus time is only reported for materials presenting a n-type semi-conductor passive film, and whose cathodic reaction current is increased. On the contrary, when passive layers are p-type semi-conductors, cathodic and anodic reactions are increased, and lead to a global Ecor constant with time of immersion. It appears that interaction between bacteria, medium and materials includes evolution of semi-conducting properties of passive layers.