Influence of lithium-based products proposed for counteracting ASR on the chemistry of pore solution and cement hydrates

Low- and high-alkali cement pastes were made with or without LiNO₃ or a Li-bearing glass. The [Li]/[Na+K] molar ratio was kept constant to 0.74. The specimens were stored at 23, 38, and 60 °C in sealed containers. After 3, 7, 28, and 91 days, their pore solutions were extracted and analysed, and their residual water contents were obtained by drying. The Li glass was found to react quite slowly, and the corresponding [Li⁺] in solution progressively increased with time, temperature, fineness (as-received glass vs. ground glass), and the [Na⁺+K⁺] concentration in solution. This glass increased the pH by about 0.1, and by about 0.2 after it was finely ground. In contrast, LiNO₃ decreased the pH by about 0.1, despite significantly increasing the [Na⁺+K⁺] in the pore solution. The higher the total %Na₂O_e content (including Li) in the original mixtures, the higher the total alkali content incorporated in the cement hydrates. The [Li⁺]-[Na⁺+K⁺] ratio in solution was about half of the initial ratio (0.74), while this ratio in the cement hydrates was always over 1.1. Li is the alkali most preferentially incorporated into the cement hydrates, while K is the least.     

A model for cutting forces generated during machining with self-propelled rotary tools

In this paper, a force model for self-propelled rotary tool is presented. Conventional oblique cutting force predictions were reviewed and extended to predict the cutting forces generated during machining with the self-propelled rotary tools. The model presented is based on Oxley's analysis and was verified by cutting tests using a typical self-propelled tool. Good agreement was obtained between the predicted and the experimentally measured forces under a wide range of cutting conditions. The effect of different cutting conditions on the friction coefficient along the chip/tool interface and tool rake face normal force were also presented and discussed.     

Input–output pairing analysis for uncertain multivariable processes

Decentralized control structure is widely employed in many industrial multivariable processes. In this approach, control structure design and in particular input–output pairing is a vital stage in the design procedure. There are several powerful methods to select the appropriate input–output pair in linear multivariable plants. However, in the face of plant uncertainties, the input–output pairs can change. Input–output pairing problem, in the presence of uncertainties, and its consequences on the pairing problem have not been widely addressed. In this paper, Hankel interaction index array is used to choose the appropriate input–output pair and a new method is proposed to compute Hankel interaction index array, which reduces the computational load. Also, a theorem will be presented to show the effect of additive uncertainties on input–output pairing of the process. An upper bound on the element variations of Hankel interaction index array of the additive uncertainties in state space framework is given to show the possible change in input–output pairing. Finally, two typical processes are employed to show the main points of the proposed methodology.     

Understanding design activities through computer simulation

In this paper, a new experimental approach – computer simulation – is introduced for understanding design activities and for validating design theories. Following the generic framework of computer simulation, three main components in simulating design activities are introduced: mathematical model, simulation model, and statistical analysis. The mathematical model consists of the design governing equation and Environment-Based Design (EBD), based on which three routes are introduced to look for new design solutions: (1) formulating the design problem differently at the beginning of a design process may get quite different solutions, in which creative design could emerge; (2) extending designer’s knowledge and experience can help generate more candidate solutions, and so increasing the probability of generating a good concept; (3) changing the sequence of design problem decomposition may change product requirements, and thus change the generated design concepts. By viewing mesh generation algorithms as design agents, a computer simulation environment is used to study design activities. Statistical analysis is conducted to validate quantitatively the three routes to new design solutions. The results show that computer simulation is an effective approach to studying design activities.     

Fast Ion Transport in Li-Rich Alloy Anode for High-Energy-Density All Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries

All-solid-state Li batteries (ASSLBs) with solid-polymer electrolytes are considered promising battery systems to achieve improved safety and high energy density. However, Li dendrite formation at the Li anode under high charging current density/capacity has limited their development. To tackle the issue, Li-metal alloying has been proposed as an alternative strategy to suppress Li dendrite growth in ASSLBs. One drawback of alloying is the relatively lower operating cell voltages, which will inevitably lower energy density compared to cells with pure Li anode. Herein, a Li-rich Li₁₃In₃ alloy electrode (LiRLIA) is proposed, where the Li₁₃In₃ alloy scaffold guides Li nucleation and hinders Li dendrite formation. Meanwhile, the free Li can recover Li's potential and facilitate fast charge transfer kinetics to realize high-energy-density ASSLBs. Benefitting from the stronger adsorption energy and lower diffusion energy barrier of Li on a Li₁₃In₃ substrate, Li prefers to deposit in the 3D Li₁₃In₃ scaffold selectively. Therefore, the Li–Li symmetric cell constructed with LiRLIA can operate at a high current density/capacity of 5 mA cm⁻²/5 mAh cm⁻² for almost 1000 h.     

Optical and electronic properties of some semiconductors from energy gaps

II-VI and III-V tetrahedral semiconductors have significant potential for novel optoelectronic applications. In the present work, some of the optical and electronic properties of these groups of semiconductors have been studied using a recently proposed empirical relationship for refractive index from energy gap. The calculated values of these properties are also compared with those calculated from some well known relationships. From an analysis of the calculated electronic polarisability of these tetrahedral binary semiconductors from different formulations, we have proposed an empirical relation for its calculation. The predicted values of electronic polarisability of these semiconductors agree fairly well with the known values over a wide range of energy gap. The proposed empirical relation has also been used to calculate the electronic polarisability of some ternary compounds.     

Identification and resolution of conflicts during ontological integration using rules

Abstract: Integration of ontologies of information sources and consumers is an important phase in achieving web‐based interoperability. The present work describes an approach for identifying certain semantic conflicts while integrating ontologies of heterogeneous information sources. This paper is focused on the identification of homonymy and synonymy between elements in ontologies. In the present work the concepts of homonymy and synonymy are synonymous to naming conflicts and entity identifier conflicts, respectively, and partial synonymy is synonymous to schema isomorphism conflicts. The concept of the mask of interoperability is introduced for the identification of synonymy. The mask of interoperability is expressed in a declarative way as a set of rules, which can then be used for resolution of conflicts during integration of ontologies. As proof of concept, ontologies are implemented using the XML‐based ontology language Ontology Web Language (OWL), and the rules are implemented using the emerging rule language Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL). This representation in OWL and SWRL allows the ontology to be executable, flexibly extendable and platform‐independent. The OWL facts and SWRL rules are used by the Jess and Bossam reasoning engine to identify semantic homonymy and synonymy.     

Fuzzy axiomatic design extension for managing model selection paradigm in decision science

The model selection paradigm is one of the focused themes within decision science. This paper addresses the consistent solution of model selection issue on the basis of the fuzzy axiomatic design (FAD) methodology. Moreover, the developed FAD–based model selection interface (FAD–MSI) is performed over the critical ship management processes in order to assign suitable (multiple criteria decision-making) MCDM techniques even if commonly utilized hybrid approaches. The outcomes of this study encourage the maritime practitioners for the further researches towards analytical modelling of ship management processes.     

Are Cyberbullies really bullies? An investigation of reactive and proactive online aggression

Cyberbullying, or online aggression, is an issue of increasing concern, however little research has been conducted on the motivations underlying this form of aggression. Using a mixed-method approach, by means of survey and interview data, we explored whether online aggressive acts were motivated by proactive (intentionally aggressing to obtain a resource or a goal), and/or reactive (aggression that occurs in reaction to provocation) reasons. Participants for the survey portion of the study included 733 adolescents between the ages of 10 and 18, while a subset of 15 adolescents participated in semi-structured interviews. Factor analysis revealed that, in contrast to traditional forms of bullying, adolescents do not identify themselves according to the role they played in an internet aggressive situation (i.e. bully, victim, witness), but according to the method of aggression they used (i.e. sending mean messages, posting embarrassing photos, and developing hostile websites). More interestingly, regression analyses demonstrated that motivations for aggressing online also varied according to method of aggression rather than role. For example, adolescents who chose to aggress by posting mean messages or posting embarrassing photos were more likely to do so for reactive reasons, while adolescents who spent time creating hostile websites did so for proactive reasons.     

Automatic Real-Time Video Matting Using Time-of-Flight Camera and Multichannel Poisson Equations

This paper presents an automatic real-time video matting system. The proposed system consists of two novel components. In order to automatically generate trimaps for live videos, we advocate a Time-of-Flight (TOF) camera-based approach to video bilayer segmentation. Our algorithm combines color and depth cues in a probabilistic fusion framework. The scene depth information returned by the TOF camera is less sensitive to environment changes, which makes our method robust to illumination variation, dynamic background and camera motion. For the second step, we perform alpha matting based on the segmentation result. Our matting algorithm uses a set of novel Poisson equations that are derived for handling multichannel color vectors, as well as the depth information captured. Real-time processing speed is achieved through optimizing the algorithm for parallel processing on graphics hardware. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our matting system on an extensive set of experimental results.