Electrochemical copolymerization of aniline with m-aminophenol and novel electrical properties of the copolymer in the wide pH range

A copolymer, poly(aniline-co-m-aminophenol), has been synthesized using repeated potential cycling. The monomer concentration ratio, acid concentration and applied potential strongly affect the copolymerization rate and the properties of the copolymer. The optimum conditions for the copolymerization are that the scan potential range is controlled between −0.10 and 0.95 V (vs.SCE), and a solution consists of 0.34 M aniline, 0.012 M m-aminophenol and 2 M H₂SO₄. The IR spectra of the copolymers demonstrate that the m-aminophenol units are included in the copolymer chains. The cyclic voltammograms of the copolymers in 0.3 M Na₂SO₄ solution with various pH values were performed at the potential ranges from −0.20 to 0.80 V and at a scan rate of 60 mV s⁻¹. The results indicate that the copolymer still hold 41.7% of the electrochemical activity when the copolymer electrode was transferred from a solution of pH 5.0 to a solution of pH 11.0 in the potential range of −0.20 to 0.80 V. An impedance plot of the copolymer in a solution with pH 12.0 and at 0.40 V is constructed of a semicircle and a Warburg line with a slope of 1. This means that the electrode reaction of the copolymer at pH 12.0 is also under mass transfer control. The conductivity of the copolymer prepared under the optimum conditions is 1.42 S cm⁻¹, and slightly depends on the pH value. Thus, the pH dependence of the electrical properties of the copolymer is improved compared with poly(aniline-co-o-aminophenol), and is much better than that of the parent polyaniline.     

Effect of steel microfibers on corrosion of steel reinforcing bars

Steel microfiber reinforcement was previously found to be successful in mitigating alkali silica reaction in concrete, an expansive phenomenon. The use of steel microfibers to mitigate rebar corrosion, another expansive reaction, was investigated. Mortar specimens with and without steel microfiber reinforcement were exposed to a corrosive environment. All specimens were prepared with water/cement ratios of both 0.40 and 0.55, cured for 28 days, and then submerged in aerated 3.5% NaCl solution. The corrosion behavior of the specimens was monitored via electrochemical measurements. Three types of electrochemical tests were performed: corrosion potential measurements, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Chloride concentration measurements and microscopic analysis were performed as well. The polarization curves, Tafel, and polarization resistance measurements indicate that the steel rebar in the microfiber-reinforced mortars are more resistant to corrosion than the rebar in the control mortars, despite higher chloride concentrations. Furthermore, the steel microfiber-reinforced cement based materials have a lower electrolytic resistance. This is not indicative of a higher corrosion rate, which would be the case if it had been observed in standard mortar specimens.     

Finite-time consensus of multiple second-order dynamic agents without velocity measurements

This article considers the finite-time consensus of multiple second-order dynamic agents without velocity measurements. A feasible protocol under which each agent can only obtain the measurements of its position relative to its neighbours is proposed. By applying the graph theory, Lyapunov theory and the homogeneous domination method, some sufficient conditions for finite-time consensus of second-order multi-agent systems are established under the different kinds of communication topologies. Some examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

Characterisation of three different impellers using the LDV-technique

A characterisation of three commonly used impellers was made in this study by measuring local mean velocities and the fluctuations of these velocities with the LDV technique. The data was used to estimate volumetric flow, velocity fluctuations and turbulent intensity in the impeller region of the tank. The impellers investigated were a high flow impeller, a pitched blade turbine and a Rushton turbine. The cylindrical vessel used was made of Perspex, had a dished bottom (DIN 28013), was equipped with four baffles and had an inner diameter of 0.45 m. It was found that the bulk velocities could be scaled with the tip-speed of the impeller (ND). The flow rate at constant impeller speed increased in the order high flow impeller — Rushton turbine — pitched blade turbine. The corresponding order for the turbulence fluctuation is: high flow impeller — pitched blade turbine — Rushton turbine. The velocity profile of the flow out from the high flow impeller was furthermore, not as smooth as could be expected.     

Straightforward modeling of dynamic I–V characteristics for microwave FETs

This work presents a straightforward approach aimed at modeling the dynamic I–V characteristics of microwave active solid‐state devices. The drain‐source current generator represents the most significant source of nonlinearity in a transistor and, therefore, its correct modeling is fundamental to predict accurately the current and voltage waveforms under large‐signal operation. The proposed approach relies on using a small set of low‐frequency time‐domain waveform measurements combined with numerical optimization‐based estimation of the nonlinear model parameters. The procedure is applied to a gallium nitride HEMT and silicon FinFET. The effectiveness of the modeling procedure in terms of prediction accuracy and generalization capability is demonstrated by validation of the extracted models under operating conditions different than the ones used for the parameters estimation. Good agreement between measurements and model simulations is achieved for both technologies and in both low‐ and high‐frequency range. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 24:109–116, 2014.     

Application of a multiline material characterization method to inkjet printed electronics

Material characterization has become increasingly important with the adoption of simulation‐based workflow for microwave electronics design. This article focuses on the characterization of printable electronics materials using transmission‐line measurements and demonstrates the capability of the multiline characterization method to separate dielectric and conductor losses when line geometry and material properties vary between the lines. The effects of multiline algorithm, number of line standards, and methods for selecting optimal line lengths are demonstrated. Consistent characterization results are obtained from inkjet‐printed transmission lines on two different substrate materials. In addition, local conductor thickness variations are demonstrated as an effective way to decrease losses. Finally, the simulation‐based procedure for determining the material properties is outlined and applied to printable electronics characterization. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 24:177–183, 2014.     

Development of soft sensor by incorporating the delayed infrequent and irregular measurements

Originated from challenging industrial applications, this paper addresses a soft sensor development problem for linear systems with two types of measurements. One is fast, regular and delay-free measurements. The other is infrequent, irregular measurements with time-varying delays. The approach to be taken is based on the Kalman filter and data fusion technique, avoiding running the full augmented state Kalman filter, and leading to a considerably lower implementation cost. Although it is suboptimal, the loss in performance is minor compared to the optimal filter. Two simulation examples demonstrate the advantages of the proposed approach. An industrial soft sensor application example is also used to demonstrate its practicality.     

Velocity measurements and flow field characteristic analyses in a turbo air classifier

Turbo air classifier is one of the most widely used powder classification equipment. The rotor cage as a rotary component can create a forced centrifugal field, so it is a key part for turbo air classifier. In order to investigate the effect of structural variations of the rotor cage on flow field characteristics, three dimensional velocity measurements of the annular region in a turbo air classifier equipped with two different rotor cage bottom plates (A and B type) are performed by laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV). It is found that the different bottom plates have different axial and tangential velocity distributions in the annular region. However, the structural variations of the rotor cage have hardly any effect on the radial velocity. Based on the classification principle, the relation between the classification performance and the flow field characteristics is investigated in great detail.The results of the flow field measurements were tested by the classification experiments carried out with cement raw meal and ground calcium carbonate. The results demonstrate that B type bottom plate can realize the production of narrow particle size distributions, so it is more favorable for classification than A type bottom plate. Classification experiment results are in good agreement with the results of the flow field measurements.     

Zinc-rich powder coatings corrosion in sea water: influence of conductive pigments

The effect of addition of conductive pigments like carbon blacks on the corrosion behavior of zinc-rich powder paints coated steel in artificial sea water was investigated. Open circuit potential measurements were used to characterize the cathodic protection ability and duration. Micro-Raman spectroscopy analysis was performed in order to identify the corrosion products and to follow the penetration of the solution inside the coatings.

Two different effects were pointed out: an increase of the porosity induced by carbon addition and a galvanic action between zinc and carbon pigments. The performance of the powder coatings, strongly improved if the carbon amount is sufficient, was compared to the one reported for solvent-based zinc-rich paints.     

自旋器件中的自旋动力学:微波领域应用的新兴科学

自旋电子学指通过控制和利用电子自旋(而不是电荷)获得一系列新颖性能的研究领域。自旋电子器件已经成功地应用于计算机硬盘驱动器和磁性随机存储器,对IT行业的发展产生了深远的影响。这些应用都是基于自旋极化传输效应,即具有固定自旋取向的电子穿过磁性异质结所发生的相关效应。目前,在将微波和自旋极化传输联系起来的自旋器件中的自旋动力学研究,为研制尺寸远远小于微波波长的新型微波器件提供了巨大的潜能。在这篇综述中,首先简单地介绍了自旋器件的概念;接着研究了微波实验来研究自旋电子器件的微波辅助翻转和自旋泵浦现象。前者将能够开发出高密度的计算机硬盘,而后者,结合直接电子检测技术,将能够实现小型化的无源微波探测器。