Percolation and the resistive transition of the critical temperature Tc of Nb3Sn

The relationship between the distribution of the critical temperature, the percolation function, and the resistive transition of the critical temperature is explored for polycrystalline Nb₃Sn. In the neighborhood of the critical temperature, Nb₃Sn is assumed to be a random mixture of superconducting and normal grains. Percolation concepts are applied to a study of the resistivity. A general analysis is made showing that the onset and shape of the resistive transition for composite conductors are determined by the percolation function and the distribution of the critical temperature. An approximate form of the percolation function is determined based on a linear FEM analysis. Example resistive transitions are calculated for an assumed normal distribution of the critical temperature. An argument is presented that relates grain orientation and strain dependence in Nb₃Sn. It is noted that a dependence of the distribution of T_c with strain, in addition to the usual shift in T_c with strain, would be the result of a strain dependence that is a function of grain orientation. The analysis shows the extent to which the slope of the resistive transition is a measure of the distribution of the critical temperature, and therefore a measure of the grain orientation strain sensitivity. Finally, a method is described to determine the percolation function experimentally.     

Synthesis and characterisation of the double perovskite Ba2(Zn0.5Ti0.5X)O6 (X = Nb, Ta) ceramics

Ba₂(Zn_0.5Ti_0.5X)O₆ compounds from the general ABO₃ perovskite family were synthesized by the classical solid-state route for X = Nb and Ta with various A/B ratios (1.005, 1 and 0.995). After the calcination step at 1100 °C, both compounds (X = Nb and Ta) contain mainly the cubic disordered ‘Ba₂(Zn_0.5Ti_0.5X)O₆’ phase but traces of BaTiO₃ and secondary phases are often detectable. Nevertheless, after the sintering stage at higher temperature (from 1300 to 1500 °C) and for all A/B ratios investigated, Ti enters into the cubic perovskite structure, resulting in the formation of a unique ‘Ba₂(Zn_0.5Ti_0.5X)O₆’ phase. Attractive dielectric properties have been measured on the tantalum-based compound for A/B = 0.995 (Q ∼2000 at 7.4 GHz and ? = 39.6) as well as on the niobium-based phase for A/B = 1.005 (Q ∼2200 at 6.1 GHz and ? = 54.8). All these characteristics were confirmed at 1 MHz and a linear dependence of the permittivity versus temperature from −60 to 180 °C has also been evidenced for both formulations. Sinterability, dielectric properties and microstructure of such compounds are discussed with respect to the stoichiometry.     

Simulation of pellet-cladding thermomechanical interaction and fission gas release

This paper summarizes the present status of a computer code that describes some of the main phenomena occurring in a nuclear fuel rod throughout its life. Temperature distribution, thermal expansion, elastic and plastic strains, creep, mechanical interaction between pellet and cladding, fission gas release, gas mixing, swelling, and densification are modeled. The modular structure of the code allows for the incorporation of models to simulate different phenomena and material properties. Collapsible rods can be also simulated.The code is bidimensional, assumes cylindrical symmetry for the rod and uses the finite element method to integrate the differential equations. The stress–strain and heat conduction problems are nonlinear due to plasticity and to the temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity. The fission gas inventory is calculated with a diffusion model, assuming spherical grains and using a one-dimensional finite element scheme. Pressure increase, swelling and densification are coupled with the stress field.Good results are obtained for the simulation of the irradiation tests of the first argentine prototypes of MOX fuels, where the bamboo effect is clearly observed, and of the FUMEX series for the fuel centerline temperature, the inside rod pressure and the fractional gas release.     

An algebraic approach to data languages and timed languages

Algebra offers an elegant and powerful approach to understand regular languages and finite automata. Such framework has been notoriously lacking for timed languages and timed automata. We introduce the notion of monoid recognizability for data languages, which includes timed languages as special case, in a way that respects the spirit of the classical situation. We study closure properties and hierarchies in this model and prove that emptiness is decidable under natural hypotheses. Our class of recognizable languages properly includes many families of deterministic timed languages that have been proposed until now, and the same holds for non-deterministic versions.     

Conquering Uncertainty in Multiple-Valued Logic Design

In modern science, significant advances are typically made atcross-roads of disciplines. Thus, many optimization problems inMultiple-valued Logic Design have been successfullyapproached using ideas and techniques from ArtificialIntelligence. In particular, improvements in multiple-valuedlogic design have been made by exploiting information/uncertaintymeasures. In this paper, we review well-known information measuresin the multiple-valued domain and consider some methods of findinginformation measures for completely or incompletely specifiedfunctions with multiple-valued and continuous attributes. In thisrespect, the paper addresses the problem known as discretizationand introduces a method of finding an optimal representation ofcontinuous data in the multiple-valued domain. We also propose atechnique for efficient calculation of different informationmeasures using Multiple-valued Decision Diagrams. As oneapplication of our technique, we outline an approach tosynthesizing digital circuits derived from decision diagrams thatcan yield to reduction in power dissipation. The paper also showsthe impact in several important areas of multiple-valued systemdesign including (i) fuzzy logic, (ii) quantum computing systems,and (iii) data mining.     

BiNem® manufacturing process for mass production

Abstract— As the need for high‐resolution ultra‐low‐power bistable displays grows, it is important to rapidly implement the mass‐production manufacturing of BiNem® LCDs. The cost‐effective approach for BiNem® manufacturing is based on using STN manufacturing process technologies since BiNem® and STN displays have a similar internal structure. The key differences between BiNem® and STN displays from a manufacturing point of view will be discussed. We show that industrial STN manufacturing equipment can be used to produce BiNem® LCDs at competitive costs. Reflective e‐book display modules with VGA resolution are produced in the pilot‐production series.     

GEAMAS: A Generic Architecture for Agent-Oriented Simulations of Complex Processes

This paper's object is to present the results of the GEAMAS project which aims at modeling and simulating natural complex systems. GEAMAS is a generic architecture of agents used to study the behavior emergence in such systems. It is a multiagent program meant to develop simulation applications. Modeling complex systems requires to reduce, to organize the system complexity and to describe suitable components. Complexity of the system can then be tackled with an agent-oriented approach, where interactions lead to a global behavior. This approach helps in understanding how non-determinist behavior can emerge from interactions between agents, which is near of self-organized criticality used to explain natural phenomena. In the Applied Artificial Intelligence context, this paper presents an agent software architecture using a model of agent. This architecture is composed of three abstract levels over which the complexity is distributed and reduced. The architecture is implemented in ReActalk, an open agent-oriented development tool, which was developed on top of Smalltalk-80. To illustrate our purpose and to validate the architecture, a simulation program to help in predicting volcanic eruptions was investigated. This program was run over a period of one year and has given many satisfying results unattainable up to there with more classical approaches.     

A Hadamard transform electron ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer

We describe the first Hadamard transform time-of-flight mass spectrometer (HT-TOFMS) that incorporates an electron (impact) ionization source. This implementation was realized in an existent TOF instrument using commercially available components and simple modifications to the ion source. In the present apparatus, a Hadamard mask is expressed by modulating the ion generation process within the ion source; thus, the present approach differs from previous designs that use external electrostatic devices to modulate a continuous ion stream. The present implementation may be operated in conventional TOF mode at 12.5 kHz and in HT-TOF mode at 20-40 MHz. In Hadamard mode the design can operate using any circulant simplex code, allowing the operator much flexibility for optimizing resolution and mass range and for eliminating nonstochastic fluctuations, e.g., encoding errors and signal hum. We demonstrate typical performance of the HT-TOFMS in standard and reflectron geometries using sequences of three constructions and of varied length, generating HT-TOF mass spectra of molecules that match conventional reference spectra. The auxiliary material includes an electrical schematic for the floating high-speed encoding amplifier, which is also of use in other high-speed electrostatic optics applications, and a list of 537 validated vectors comprising the first row of each circulant simplex sequence (S(n)=3-8219) derived using maximal shift register (n=2(m)-1), quadratic residue (n=4m-3), and twin prime constructions [n=p(p+2)].     

Quantitative x-ray microanalysis of spherical inclusions embedded in a matrix using a SEM and Monte Carlo simulations

The current schemes of quantification of x-ray microanalysis in the SEM [ZAF and σ(ρZ) methods] are valid for specimens of homogeneous composition. The determination of the chemical composition of small inclusions using these techniques is impossible because the volume of x-ray emission is not of homogeneous composition. A scheme of quantification to determine the composition of small inclusions embedded in a matrix has been developed using Monte Carlo simulations. This scheme is similar to that developed by Kyser and Murata (1974) for the quantification of thin foils deposited on a substrate using x-ray microanalysis in the SEM.