Synthesis of LiFePO4 with fine particle by co-precipitation method

LiFePO₄ is a potential candidate for the cathode material of the lithium secondary batteries. A co-precipitation method was adopted to prepare LiFePO₄ because it is simple and cheap. Nitrogen gas was needed to prevent oxidation of Fe²⁺ in the aqueous solution. The co-precipitated precursor shows the high reactivity with the reductive gas, and the single phase of LiFePO₄ is successfully synthesized with the aid of carbon under less reductive conditions. LiFePO₄ fine powder prepared by co-precipitation method shows high rate capability, impressive specific capacity and cycle property.     

Solution of a multidimensional inverse radiation problem by means of mode reduction

The Karhunen–Loève Galerkin procedure is employed to solve an inverse radiation problem of determining the time‐varying strength of a heat source, which mimics flames in a furnace, from temperature measurements in three‐dimensional participating media where radiation and conduction occur simultaneously. The inverse radiation problem is solved through the minimization of a performance function, which is expressed by the sum of square residuals between calculated and observed temperature, using a conjugate gradient method. Through the Karhunen–Loève Galerkin procedure, one can represent the system dynamics with a minimum degree of freedom, and consequently the amount of computation required in the solution of the inverse problem is reduced drastically when the present technique is adopted. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Workplane illuminance prediction method for daylighting control systems

A new prediction method with an interior light sensor for the workplane illuminance in daylighting control systems is introduced. Based on radiosity theory, the spatial distributions of daylight and electric light in the space are discussed and the prediction method is developed. An experimental verification of the technique is performed in an outdoor test-room for a double-glazed window system with a motorized venetian blind integrated between the two glazings. Electric light and daylight predictions were performed in accordance with the proposed method. The results showed that the electric light workplane illuminance can be predicted with high accuracy (±5 lux error with a linear correlation) and that the daylight workplane illuminance can be predicted within ±20 lux (with a linear correlation) for any sky conditions (overcast, clear sky, or variable) with the window system controlled to prevent direct daylight transmission. This method is useful for integrated control of motorized daylighting devices and dimmable electric lights.     

Broadly wavelength-tunable external cavity lasers with extremely low power variation over tuning range

Tunable external-cavity lasers with low power variation over a broad tuning range are demonstrated using asymmetric multiple quantum-wells with a wide and flat gain. For a 2.8-/spl mu/m-wide ridge waveguide laser of cavity length 380 /spl mu/m, when used in a grating external cavity and with an antireflection coating on one facet of laser diode chip, the power variation of less than -1 dB is obtained over a range of 80 nm. This extremely low power variation is a direct result of the spectrally flat gain.     

High performance biofilm process for treating wastewater discharged from coal refining plants containing nitrogen, cyanide and thiocyanate.

Wastewater discharge from coal refining plants contains a number of biologically toxic compounds; 2000-2500 mg/l of COD of which 40% is composed of phenol, 100-400 mg/l of thiocyanate, 10-40 mg/l of cyanide, 100-250 mg/l of NH4+-N and 150-300 mg/l of total nitrogen. In order to treat this kind of high strength wastewater, we have developed a high performance biofilm process using fluidizing bio-carriers of the tube chip type. The fluidizing biofilm carriers are made of a composite of polyethylene and several inorganic materials, whose density is controlled at 0.97-0.98 g/ml. The fluidizing biofilm carriers show sound fluidization characteristics inside bioreactors. The wastewater is treated using three consecutive series reactors in oxic-anoxic-oxic arrangement. Each reactor is charged with the fluidizing biofilm carriers of 50 vol%. Furthermore, newly cultured active microorganisms for the thiocyanate biodegradation are added in the biofilm process. At total hydraulic retention time of 2.2 days, this process can achieve steady state removal efficiencies: COD, 99%; thiocyanate, 99%; NH4+-N, 99% and total nitrogen, 90%.     

Optical characteristics of waste stabilization ponds: recommendations for monitoring.

The optical character of waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) is of concern for several reasons. Algal photosynthesis, which produces oxygen for waste oxidation in WSPs, is influenced by attenuation of sunlight in ponds. Disinfection in WSPs is influenced by optical characteristics because solar UV exposure usually dominates inactivation. The optical nature of WSPs effluent also affects assimilation by receiving waters. Despite the importance of light behaviour in WSPs, few studies have been made of their optical characteristics. We discuss simple optical measures suitable for routine monitoring of WSPs (including at sites remote from laboratories): optical density of filtrates - an index of dissolved coloured organic (humic) matter, visual clarity - to provide an estimate of the beam attenuation coefficient (a fundamental quantity needed for optical modelling) colour (hue) - as an indicator of general WSP 'condition' and irradiance attenuation quantifying depth of light penetration. The value of optical characterisation of WSPs is illustrated with reference to optical data for WSPs in NZ (including high-rate algal ponds) treating dairy cattle wastewater versus domestic sewage. We encourage increased research on optical characteristics of WSPs and the incorporation of optical measures in monitoring and modelling of WSP performance.     

Identify unrepairability to speed-up spare allocation for repairing memories

In this paper, we discuss some strategies for identifying unrepairable memories, and from that to introduce a novel theorem that can make more precise identification. A new algorithm for searching repair solutions is also proposed, which characterizes the rows, and columns of defective memory cells with revised effective coefficients. We have simulated it on many generated example maps, and compared it with the previous algorithms to verify its efficiency. It's combined with those arranged strategies of judging unrepairability to generate a complete flow. The complete algorithm has also been run on many examples with various memory sizes, defect numbers, and distribution types. The simulation results further show that identifying unrepairability in advance can help the reconfiguration procedure run much faster than searching solutions directly.     

Spectrum efficient region-based resource allocation with fractional loading for FH-OFDMA cellular systems

A practical resource management method that can significantly reduce cochannel interference (CCI) and improve spectrum utilisation in FH-OFDMA packet-based cellular networks is presented. The proposed method seeks an effective combination of dynamic resource allocation with fractional coding and bit loading to respectively minimise CCI and maximise system throughput for a desired performance.     

Protein binding study of isoflavone, perillyl alcohol and S-ibuprofen by high-performance frontal analysis

High-performance frontal analysis (HPFA) was used for a protein binding study of isoflavones (daidzein, genistin, and genistein), enantiomers of perillyl alcohol and S-ibuprofen to human serum albumin (HSA). The analyses were performed on a Develosil and Inertsil 100-Diol-5 column (10 cm×4.6mm). Sodium phosphate solution (pH 7.4, ionic strength 0.17) was used as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. To ensure the drug to be eluted as a trapezoidal peak with a plateau, injection volumes were each fixed up the zonal profile with an evident plateau appears. The unbound drug concentration was determined from a plateau height of the plateau region after that experimental data were fitted by Scatchard equation. The binding constants (K) and total binding affinities (nK) of drugs to HSA were calculated, respectively.