Magnetic properties and magnetoresistance effect of SnFe2O4 spinel nanoparticles: Experimental,ab initio and Monte Carlo simulation

In this contribution, SnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles were prepared by the solvothermal method, the structural properties were performed using X-Ray Diffraction (DRX) to prove the success of tin ferrite formation and to determine de crystals parameters. The size and morphological study were build using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron microscopy (TEM), the results showed that the size of particles is uniform with a range of particles (5–7 nm). The magnetic properties were carried out using the SQUID device, the SnFe2O4 nanoparticles have a magnetic transition at 750 K. In addition, the hysteresis loops at low temperature displayed Ms and Mr equals to 23 emu/g and 6 emu/g, respectively. The magnetoresistance properties were investigated, the SnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles present a large magnetoresistance effect (80%). The experimental results are supplemented by model calculations utilizing density functional theory and Monte-Carlo simulations.     

Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of hydrogen production from photocatalytic water splitting in the presence of methanol by 1 wt% Au/TiO2

In this research, using the kinetic Monte Carlo simulation (KMC), the hydrogen production from a water-methanol mixture using Au/TiO₂ photocatalyst is investigated. A mechanism is proposed, and the rate constants of the reaction steps are specified. The reaction rate constants of different steps and the concentration of the active sites on the photocatalyst surface were determined. An excellent match between simulated and experimental data confirms the results. The electron-hole pair production, methanol adsorption on the photocatalyst surface, and electron-hole recombination steps are considered the most critical steps. To study the effects of independent variables (initial concentration of methanol, photocatalyst dosage, pH, and time of reaction) on the produced hydrogen, a combination of KMC simulation and design of experiment was employed. The concentration of photocatalysis has the highest and pH has the lowest effect on the hydrogen production. The optimal conditions for photocatalytic hydrogen production are presented.     

Bayesian Inference for ARFIMA Models

This article develops practical methods for Bayesian inference in the autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average (ARFIMA) model using the exact likelihood function, any proper prior distribution, and time series that may have thousands of observations. These methods utilize sequentially adaptive Bayesian learning, a sequential Monte Carlo algorithm that can exploit massively parallel desktop computing with graphics processing units (GPUs). The article identifies and solves several problems in the computation of the likelihood function that apparently have not been addressed in the literature. Four applications illustrate the utility of the approach. The most ambitious is an ARFIMA(2,d,2) model for the Campito tree ring time series (length 5405), for which the methods developed in the article provide an essentially uncorrelated sample of size 16,384 from the exact posterior distribution in under four hours. Less ambitious applications take as little as 4 minutes without exploiting GPUs.     

Process-induced variability modeling of subthreshold leakage power considering device stacking

The dominance of leakage currents in circuit design has been impelled by steady downscaling of MOSFET into nanometer regime, and has become a significant component of total IC power dissipation. The issue is further aggravated with the inability to gauge the tolerance of process parameters around their nominal value. Consequently, the drive to improve the static power prediction has enticed accurate and reliable modeling of leakage current, specifically for ultralow power applications. In contrast to gate- and band-to-band-tunneling leakages, subthreshold leakage exhibits high susceptibility to process variations and hence has been considered for variability modeling. Fluctuations in the device electrical and geometry parameters result in a wider distribution of subthreshold leakage current. Hence, taking into account stacking effect, an analytical variability model to estimate subthreshold leakage power in subthreshold circuits, in the presence of threshold voltage variations is proposed. Further, the impact of threshold voltage variability on subthreshold leakage power is modeled in conjunction with simultaneous variations in gate length and width. The leakage power variability is characterized by model-generated distributions obtained using Monte Carlo analysis and validated against SPICE simulations. The proposed model is about 700 computationally faster than SPICE simulations with mean error being less than 0.19%.     

基于改进交叉熵算法的电力系统随机生产模拟

蒙特卡洛模拟的计算效率与系统的可靠性密切相关，在其用于高可靠性系统的随机模拟时存在计算效率偏低的问题。为此，提出了一种基于多层交叉熵与对偶变数抽样技术相结合的随机模拟算法。首先使用多层交叉熵构造零方差概率密度函数的近似函数，提高小概率失效事件的抽取概率；其次基于已构造的近似概率函数，采用对偶变数抽样法进行抽样，进一步提高抽样的收敛速度。以IEEE RTS修改系统为例进行了算例分析，算例结果验证了所提出的基于改进交叉熵的电力系统随机生产模拟算法的有效性。     

基于最小维修的石化安全设备区间截尾寿命数据分析

在石化安全关键设备寿命截尾数据的可靠性评估过程中，为避免传统可靠性评估方法未考虑维修对故障间隔时间的影响，以及中值填充法误差较大的缺点，本文提出了一种逆变换区间截尾数据填充方法。首先，在可修系统基于最小维修的假设下，通过非齐次泊松过程描述系统的故障趋势，利用逆变换填充得到监测区间的缺失数据；随后根据蒙特卡罗期望最大化算法，获得填充数据的参数估计值。通过蜡油加氢装置紧急泄压阀的案例分析，该算法能够很好地融合已有数据，得到的形状参数估计值偏差与中值填充法相比缩小4%以上，从而验证了该算法的有效性；这有助于安全关键设备的定量化完整性管理，保障石化装置平稳运行。     

Monte Carlo calculations on transmutation of plutonium and minor actinides of pebble bed high temperature reactor

The paper aimed to maximize the fuel burnup performance of plutonium and minor actinides fueled pebble bed high temperature reactor (PBMR-400). The PBMR-400 was designed as a reference core. The neutronic calculations were performed by the code combination MCNP-ORIGEN-MONTEBURNS. In this study, neutronic performances of three different types of nuclear fuels (Reactor Grade Plutonium – RGPu; Weapon Grade Plutonium – WGPu and Minor Actinides – MAs) combined with natural uranium were conducted in a PBMR-400 full core. The neutronic performances were compared with the original uranium fuel designed for this reactor. Neutronic calculations showed that 9.6 wt % enriched uranium has a core effective multiplication factor (k_eff) of 1.2395. Corresponding to this k_eff values the natural UO₂/RG-PuO₂; natural UO₂/WG-PuO₂ and natural UO₂/MAO₂ mixture were found 70%/30%, 76%/24% and 63%/37%, respectively. The operation times were computed as ∼2000, ∼2500 and 1400 days whereas, the corresponding burnup values were obtained as ∼163 000, ∼194 000 and ∼116 000 MWD/T, respectively, for end of life k_eff set equal to 1.08.     

Stochastic modelling of abrasive waterjet footprints using finite element analysis

The proposal of erosion models to predict the jet footprint during abrasive waterjet machining is a key element for the development of this technology, but it is very challenging because of the inherent fluctuations of the process. This issue becomes critical when the size of the cutting systems is reduced, since the relative size of these deviations increases. The present paper considers for the first time a modelling framework capable of predicting the average shape of AWJM footprints and, of great novelty, the variability along the trench, combining finite element analysis and Monte Carlo methods, and verifying the model using different feed speeds and tilt angles. For that purpose, the relevance of each random parameter, such as shape (sharpness), size and relative orientation of the abrasive particles, has been investigated through parametric studies on these variables. Multiple particle simulations with randomly generated input were performed to determine the effect of operating parameters in the overall variability of the jet footprint. The process was simulated using Abaqus 6.14 as multiple garnet particles hitting a target of Ti–6Al–4V at very high velocity, eroding the target by plastic deformation and material removal. The model shows successfully the influence of single particle parameters, such as the shape, on the surface variability. The results for the footprint variability show that stochastic methods are suitable to model these fluctuations, and it is also shown that this approach yields accurate estimates of the average profile after multiple jet passes with error less than 5%.     

Monte Carlo simulation-based probabilistic assessment of DG penetration in medium voltage distribution networks

With the growing use of renewable energy sources, Distributed Generation (DG) systems are rapidly spreading. Embedding DG to the distribution network may be costly due to the grid reinforcements and control adjustments required in order to maintain the electrical network reliability. Deterministic load flow calculations are usually employed to assess the allowed DG penetration in a distribution network in order to ensure that current or voltage limits are not exceeded. However, these calculations may overlook the risk of limit violations due to uncertainties in the operating conditions of the networks. To overcome this limitation, related to both injection and demand profiles, the present paper addresses the problem of DG penetration with a Monte Carlo technique that accounts for the intrinsic variability of electric power consumption. The power absorbed by each load of a medium voltage network is characterized by a load variation curve; a probabilistic load flow is then used for computing the maximum DG power that can be connected to each bus without determining a violation of electric constraints. A distribution network is studied and a comparison is provided between the results of the deterministic load flow and probabilistic load flow analyses.