Coexistence of antiferro- and ferrimagnetism in the spinel ZnFe2O4 with an inversion degree δ lower than 0.3

Samples with inversion parameter values (δ) ranging from 0.27 to 0.14 while maintaining the crystallite size value have been successfully fabricated from commercially available powders by mechanical grinding and thermal annealing treatments at temperatures ranging between 400 and 600 °C. Detailed characterization studies of these samples using X-ray, neutron diffraction and magnetic measurements have confirmed for the first time the simultaneous coexistence at 2 K of short range antiferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic ordering for a wide range of the inversion parameter. The magnetic phase diagram obtained is different from the one previously reported, which shows at 2 K the coexistence of long range antiferromagnetic order and short range order for values of inversion parameters less than 0.1 and the presence of a ferrimagnetic order only for values of δ > 0.2. At room temperature, the Rietveld analysis of NPD patterns and the magnetization curves showed a paramagnetic behavior in the samples with δ ≤ 0.1. For the samples with higher cationic inversion, typical hysteresis curves of ferrimagnetic materials were observed and the saturation magnetization values obtained agree quite well with the net magnetic moment obtained from the Rietveld refinement of the neutron diffraction patterns.     

A fast procedure for the estimation of the hydrogen storage capacity by cryoadsorption of metal-organic framework materials from their available porous properties

In order to identify the best porous materials for the cryogenic physisorption of hydrogen, high-throughput calculations are performed starting, i.e., from the collected information in crystallographic databases. However, these calculations, like molecular simulations, require specific training and significant computational cost. Herein, a relatively simple procedure is proposed to estimate and compare hydrogen uptakes at 77 K and pressure values from 40 bar starting from the porous properties of MOF materials, without involving simulation tools. This procedure uses definitions for adsorption and considers the adsorbed phase as an incompressible fluid whose pressure-density change is that for the liquid phase at 19 K. For the 7000 structures from the CoRE MOF database, the average error of the predictions is only of 1% from reference values at 100 bar, with an SD of ±8%. This accuracy is lower than that from simulation tools, but involving lower computational cost and training.     

Mechanical high-energy treatment of TiNi powder and phase changes after electrochemical hydrogenation

The paper presents the results obtained for the effect of ball milling of Ti–Ni powder, which is close in composition to the equiatomic one, on electrochemical hydrogenation. It is shown that the average size of the powder particles measured by BET and laser diffraction methods is found to reduce during milling, while the average size of the powder particles measured by SEM changes to attain its minimum within 30-s milling due to destruction and subsequent aggregation of particles. The powder in its initial state consists of a mixture of TiNi (austenite, martensite), Ti₂Ni, and TiNi₃ phases, and after ball milling, an X-ray amorphous phase is formed. The CDD size of the TiNi phase (austenite) reduces from 25 to 4 nm. It is found that the lattice parameters of the TiNi (austenite) and Ni₃Ti phases do not change during electrochemical hydrogenation, whereas the crystal lattice parameter of the Ti₂Ni phase increases, which indicates the predominant interaction of hydrogen with the Ti₂Ni phase. The lattice parameter of the Ti₂Ni based phase corresponds to Ti₂NiH_0.5 and Ti₂NiH_0.8 hydrides depending on the milling time and hydrogenation time. It is found that there is an “incubation period” of hydrogenation of the Ti₂Ni phase, which attains 90 min.     

Feeding and egg-laying preferences of the sawtoothed grain beetle Oryzaephilus surinamensis: Beyond cereals and cereal products

The insect's response to various living substrates is an important determinant for their life history and demography reflected in their feeding and egg-laying preferences. However, research on polyphagous stored product insects such as the sawtoothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) (Coleoptera: Silvanidae), are largely focused on cereal grains neglecting its alternative hosts. Therefore, this study examines the effect of a range of 16 host substrates including dry fruits, nuts, oil and legume seeds on insect development, survival, and adult emergence of the sawtoothed grain beetle, besides of also determining the feeding substrate weight loss. Overall, the feeding substrates exhibited a significant and different effect on O. surinamensis, except egg incubation time and length of the pupal period. The longest larval periods were observed on legumes followed by oilseeds and (dry) fruits. The highest survival and adult emergence were recorded on fruits and nuts, except raisin, but significantly lower than when fed on legume seeds, including soybean. The losses in fruits and nuts were higher, particularly on almonds and cashew. Larva development was inversely correlated to survival and adult emergence, which were positively correlated to substrate loss. Our study indicated that several non-grain commodities such as (dry) fruits and nuts are rather suitable substrates for the population growth of O. surinamensis, an additional concern for in international trade.     

用背角准弹散射研究近库仑势垒能区重离子核反应

利用背角准弹散射的方法开展了近库仑势垒（近垒）能区重离子核反应机制的研究。高精度测量了深垒下能区16O+152,154Sm、184W、¹⁹⁶Pt和²⁰⁸Pb等体系的背角准弹散射激发函数，用耦合道计算抽取了核势的表面弥散参数，结果表明考虑耦合道效应得到的表面弥散参数值正常。基于背角准弹散射势垒分布对核结构的敏感性，尝试用深垒下能区16O+152Sm、170Er和174Yb等体系的背角准弹散射来抽取形变靶核的十六极形变参数，所抽取值与已有结果趋势一致，说明了该方法的可行性。此外，研究了弱束缚核体系的破裂效应，其表现为背角准弹势垒分布较全熔合势垒分布向低能移动，所得结果进一步说明势垒分布同时含有核结构和核反应机制的信息。     

On globally stable adaptive control providing l 1 tracking performance for linear discrete-time systems

Existing adaptive control algorithms at best guarantee that the tracking error is a l ₂ sequence. This paper presents globally stable adaptive control algorithms for linear discrete-time systems providing l ₁ tracking performance. Two algorithms with different degree of complexity are proposed, one for the case of known control directions, and a separate algorithm for the case of unknown control directions. It is demonstrated that in both cases the tracking error is l ₁ sequence, while the input and output signals are uniformly bounded.     

鄂尔多斯盆地延长组致密砂岩储层微观孔喉特征差异及其成因

为分析不同沉积与成岩作用改造下致密砂岩储层的孔喉类型及其参数差异，利用物性、铸体薄片、扫描电镜、恒速压汞、图像粒度与X衍射实验结果，对比了鄂尔多斯盆地合水地区延长组长8储层和薛岔地区延长组长6储层的孔喉类型，定量评价了孔喉参数，揭示了形成原因。结果表明，合水地区长8储层孔隙更为发育，粒间孔、溶蚀孔、晶间孔和微孔、弱压实成因缩颈状喉道和溶蚀成因、粘土胶结成因管束状喉道含量高；薛岔地区长6储层的孔隙类型少且发育程度较差，压实成因片状、弯片状喉道含量高。两个区块的孔隙参数差异小，喉道参数差异大，前者大喉道更为发育，喉道差异大，孔喉比大，对渗透率起贡献的喉道分布范围更宽。相同渗透率条件下，前者的平均喉道半径、主流喉道半径和孔喉比大于后者。沉积水动力条件、粒度、碎屑组分、填隙物、成岩作用类型及其改造程度是两个研究区孔隙发育程度不同、喉道类型差异和孔喉参数表现出不同特征的主要原因。     

Synchroextracting chirplet transform for accurate IF estimate and perfect signal reconstruction

Synchroextracting transform (SET) is a recently developed time-frequency analysis (TFA) method aiming to achieve a highly concentrated TF representation. However, SET suffers from two drawbacks. The one is that SET is based upon the assumption of constant amplitude and linear frequency modulation signals, therefore it is unsatisfactory for strongly amplitude-modulated and frequency-modulated (AM-FM) signals. The other is that SET does not allow for perfect signal reconstruction, which leads to large reconstruction errors when addressing fast-varying signals. To tackle these problems, in this paper, we first present some theoretical analysis for the SET method, including the existence of the fixed squeeze frequency, the performances of the instantaneous frequency (IF) estimator and the SET reconstruction. Then, a new TFA method, named synchroextracting chirplet transform (SECT), is proposed, which sharpens the TF representation by extracting the TF points satisfying IF equation, and retains an excellent signal reconstruction ability. Numerical experiments on simulated and real signals demonstrate the effectiveness of the SECT method.     

Distributed two‐stage state estimation with event‐triggered strategy for multirate sensor networks

This paper investigates the state estimation issue for a class of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) with the consideration of limited energy resources. First, a multirate estimation model is established, and then, a new event‐triggered two‐stage information fusion algorithm is developed based on the optimal fusion criterion weighted by matrices. Compared with the existing methods, the presented fusion algorithm can significantly reduce the communication cost in WSNs and save energy resources of sensors efficiently. Furthermore, by presetting a desired containment probability over the interval [0,1] with the developed event‐triggered mechanism, one can obtain a suitable compromise between the communication cost and the estimation accuracy. Finally, a numerical simulation for the WSN tracking system is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Novel model reference adaptive control architecture using semi‐initial excitation‐based switched parameter estimator

This paper is a generalization of the recently developed techniques of initial excitation (IE)–based adaptive control with an introduction to the definition of semi‐initial excitation (semi‐IE), a still more relaxed notion than IE. Classical adaptive controllers typically ensure Lyapunov stability of the extended error dynamics (tracking error + parameter estimation error) and asymptotic tracking, while requiring a stringent condition of persistence of excitation (PE) for parameter convergence. Of late, the authors have proposed a new adaptive control architecture, which guarantees parameter convergence under the online‐verifiable IE condition leading to exponential stability of the extended error dynamics. In earlier works, it has been established that the IE condition is significantly milder than the classical PE condition. The current work further slackens the excitation condition by proposing the concept of semi‐IE. The proposed adaptive controller is proved to ensure convergence of the parameter estimation error to a lower‐dimensional manifold under the weaker semi‐IE condition, while the stronger condition of IE guarantees convergence of the parameter estimation error to zero. The designed algorithm is shown to improve transient response of tracking error sufficiently in contrast to conventional adaptive controllers.