Assessing cloud computing value in firms through socio-technical determinants

While cloud computing is touted as a promising information technology advancement, predictions of its value are inconclusive. This research investigates the impact of cloud computing within-firm and across-firm. Drawing on the resource-based view and sociotechnical theory, technical attributes and social attributes of cloud computing are identified to impact firm performance via primary and support use. Results from data collected from 513 firms show varying effects of technical and social attributes in primary use and support use, which help create value and better performance. Such effects also are found to differ between firms in service and manufacturing sectors.     

Fourier Analysis of Serial Dependence Measures

Classical spectral analysis is based on the discrete Fourier transform of the autocovariances. In this article we investigate the asymptotic properties of new frequency‐domain methods where the autocovariances in the spectral density are replaced by alternative dependence measures that can be estimated by U‐statistics. An interesting example is given by Kendall's τ, for which the limiting variance exhibits a surprising behavior.     

低剂量抑制剂Inhibex501存在下的甲烷水合物相平衡研究

含动力学抑制剂的天然气水合物相平衡研究对新型低剂量抑制剂的开发具有指导作用。在283.6 ~ 290.9 K和7.51 MPa ~ 15.97 MPa的温压范围内研究了抑制剂Inhibex501及其溶剂2-乙二醇单丁醚对甲烷水合物相平衡条件的影响。实验结果显示，0.5wt%和2.0wt%浓度的Inhibex501对甲烷水合物形成的热力学条件具有促进作用，能使甲烷水合物形成移向更高的温度或者更低的压力，而2-乙二醇单丁醚在浓度0.2wt% ~ 1.0wt%范围几乎不改变甲烷水合物形成的热力学条件，N-乙烯基己内酰胺与N-乙烯基吡咯烷酮的共聚物对水合物形成热力学条件的改变起主要作用。     

Bridging the critical interface: Ambidextrous innovation for water provision in Nairobi's informal settlements

This article examines innovation activities in water infrastructure in Nairobi, Kenya. The focus is on efforts by Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Corporation (NCWSC) to provide water services to the inhabitants in the informal areas of the city using an automated vending machine, or Pre-Paid Dispenser (PPD). In this study, we investigate what happens when a regime actor like NCWSC tries to implement an ambidextrous (two-handed) strategy: managing the existing system according to conventional practice and at the same time innovate in new technical solutions and business models to cater for unconnected users.Besides presenting our results, our aim in this article is also to introduce a research strategy for innovation studies in infrastructural systems in low-income urban areas. Three interconnected parts stand out as our contribution:First, we present a novel conceptual framework, by adding ideas from innovation studies to the Large Technical Systems approach. We investigate how regime actors can innovate to provide water to unconnected users, without expanding the system in a traditional way.Second, we propose a novel method for analysing and understanding innovation on the margins of the infrastructural system, or in our terms, innovation in the critical interface. Central to our method is, through empirical observation, to identify misalignment between the innovation (PPD) and contextual factors at the local level, where the innovation is implemented (interface misalignment), and misalignment between the innovation and the existing water regime (internal misalignment). We use a qualitative method and results forms as a basis for further research and starting point for regime actors in search of an improved ambidextrous strategy.Third, we analyse the innovation process per se. In the Nairobi case, we assess the ambidextrous innovation strategy, and claim that the PPD functions as an adapter in the critical interface, enabling the regime actors to operate in an environment of misalignment.     

柱塞副微观表面对间隙油膜压力的影响

根据分形理论中的W-M函数建立柱塞与缸体孔表面三维形貌数学模型,并利用MATLAB软件编写程序,分析分形维数对表面微观形貌的影响。将柱塞副间隙油膜沿轴向展成平面,建立油膜厚度及压力分布计算模型,采用有限体积法求解二维雷诺方程,分析粗糙度对柱塞副间隙油膜压力分布的影响。结果表明:随着分形维数的增加,柱塞表面粗糙度呈增加趋势,且表面粗糙度越大,压力峰值越大。     

Computational Investigation of Effects of Grain Size on Ballistic Performance of Copper

Numerical simulations were conducted to compare ballistic performance and penetration mechanism of copper (Cu) with four representative grain sizes. Ballistic limit velocities for coarse-grained (CG) copper (grain size ≈ 90 µm), regular copper (grain size ≈ 30 µm), fine-grained (FG) copper (grain size ≈ 890 nm), and ultrafine-grained (UG) copper (grain size ≈ 200 nm) were determined for the first time through the simulations. It was found that the copper with reduced grain size would offer higher strength and better ductility, and therefore renders improved ballistic performance than the CG and regular copper. High speed impact and penetration behavior of the FG and UG copper was also compared with the CG coppers strengthened by nanotwinned (NT) regions. The comparison results showed the impact and penetration resistance of UG copper is comparable to the CG copper strengthened by NT regions with the minimum twin spacing. Therefore, besides the NT-strengthened copper, the single phase copper with nanoscale grain size could also be a strong candidate material for better ballistic protection. A computational modeling and simulation framework was proposed for this study, in which Johnson–Cook (JC) constitutive model is used to predict the plastic deformation of Cu; the JC damage model is to capture the penetration and fragmentation behavior of Cu; Bao–Wierzbicki (B-W) failure criterion defines the material's failure mechanisms; and temperature increase during this adiabatic penetration process is given by the Taylor–Quinney method.     

甲烷在钯基催化剂上脱氢的分子模拟

为探明甲烷在钯基二聚体催化剂上脱氢反应过程的微观机理,对甲烷燃烧催化剂的设计与使用提供指导。在M06L/6-311++G(d,p)+SDD//M06L/6-311G(d,p)+LANL2DZ基组水平上,采用密度泛函理论(DFT)对甲烷在钯基二聚体催化剂(Pd_2、PdPt和PdNi)上的脱氢过程进行了研究。对比了甲烷在催化剂Pd_2、PdPt和PdNi上反应的能垒(E_b)、活化能(E_a)及反应速率常数(k),结果表明:CH_2→CH是甲烷在二聚体Pd_2反应的速率控制步骤(RDS),而CH_3→CH_2是催化剂PdPt和PdNi反应的RDS;钯基二聚体催化剂对甲烷脱氢的催化活性顺序为PdPtPd_2PdNi;抗积炭性能顺序为PdNiPd_2PdPt。PdPt适用于要求催化效率较高的项目,而抗积炭性能较好的PdNi催化剂可用于大型工业催化。     

A variational approach for free vibrating micro-rods with classical and non-classical new boundary conditions accounting for nonlocal strengthening and temperature effects

Abstract

Transverse vibration of a circular cross sectional micro-rod subjected to a new kind of boundary constraints with elastic torsional springs is presented based on nonlocal elasticity. A nonlocal strengthening beam model is utilized and the effect of temperature changing is taken into consideration. The variational method and Hamilton’s principle are applied to derive the governing equation of motion and corresponding boundary conditions. A higher-order partial differential equation that is a typical characteristic of nonlocal strengthening model is developed, and the boundary conditions contain not only classical conditions but also non-classical higher-order conditions. Unlike previous studies which were only concerned with some conventional boundary constraints, we consider more general boundary conditions named elastic torsional spring supports. Such boundary conditions are between the simply supported and clamped ones, and they are closer to the actual constraints of existing engineering structures. Natural frequencies of micro-rods with new boundary constraints are determined via an eigenvalue method and compared with other results in the literature. It is shown that the nonlocal scale factor, thermal parameter, rigidity parameter and torsional spring coefficient play significant roles in free vibration of micro-rods. The research can provide a reference for a large class of boundary conditions ranging from simply supported to clamped micro-rods.     

考虑速度滑移的多孔质静压气体轴承静特性

对于多孔质材料内的气体流动,基于Darcy定律建立其理论模型,并建立气膜间隙流场的雷诺方程,考虑速度滑移修正方程;将上述2个区域的压力分布方程进行耦合,通过有限元方法对耦合后的压力分布方程进行离散化,用超松弛迭代求解出气膜内各节点的压力分布,分析速度滑移对多孔质静压气体轴承静特性的影响。结果表明,考虑速度滑移所计算的气膜压力分布变化平稳过渡,没有较大的突变。计算轴承的承载力及刚度,结果显示在气密间隙小于15μm时,随着气膜厚度的增大偏心导致的压差增大使承载力不断增大;且当速度滑移系数小于0.1时,速度滑移对轴承承载力及刚度有较大的影响。