Object-oriented DBMS requirements

The requirements on an object-oriented DBMS for management of information in a large, complex enterprise are presented. These requirements aid in the achievement of an environment characterized by data sharing, open architectures, application and data portability, and assurance of data integrity. They were defined from the point of view of a user of the DBMS; therefore they describe the expected functionality of the DBMS and do not specify the method of implementation to achieve this functionality. They encompass requirements on the data model, query and data manipulation languages, the system architecure, interfaces to the system, change management, and transaction management.     

Open‐cycle OTEC systems with freshwater product: Effects of noncondensable gases on performance of condenser

An open‐cycle ocean thermal energy conversion (OC‐OTEC) system is one of the energy conversion methods used to generate electricity from ocean thermal energy. For the OC‐OTEC system, steam evaporated from the surface seawater due to flash evaporation drives the turbine. At that time, dissolved gas such as air is introduced into the low‐pressure system (OC‐OTEC system) as the noncondensable gas, which degrades the performance of condensation heat transfer. In this paper, a small‐scale OC‐OTEC experimental unit experimentally investigates the effect of noncondensable gas on the heat transfer performance in a condenser. The experimental results are discussed in comparison with theoretical estimation by the Sparrow–in method. It is shown that the condensation is occupied by heat and mass transfer near a condensation surface and that the condensation efficiency is affected by exhaust quantity of noncondensable gas at a relatively high concentration ratio of condensable gas. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 154(1): 29–35, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20179     

A novel method of suppressing the inrush current of transformers by using a series‐connected voltage‐source PWM converter

This paper proposes a novel method of suppressing the inrush current of transformers. A small‐rated voltage‐source PWM converter is connected in series to the transformers through a matching transformer. As the connected PWM converter serves as a resistor for the source current, no inrush phenomena occurs. The required rating of the PWM converter, which serves as the damping resistor for the inrush phenomena, is 1/400 that of the main transformers in single‐phase circuits. In three‐phase circuits, it is 1/900. The basic principle of the proposed method is discussed. Digital computer simulation is implemented to confirm the validity and excellent practicability of the proposed method using the PSCAD/EMTDC. A prototype experimental model is constructed and tested. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can perfectly suppress the inrush phenomena. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 157(4): 56–65, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20174     

A novel robust current control approach using adaptive line enhancer for three‐phase current‐source active power filter

An effective system control method is presented for applying a three‐phase current‐source PWM converter with a deadbeat controller to active power filters (APFs). In the shunt‐type configuration, the APF is controlled such that the current drawn by the APF from the utility is equal to the current harmonics and reactive current required for the load. To attain the time‐optimal response of the APF supply current, a two‐dimensional deadbeat control scheme is applied to APF current control. Furthermore, in order to cancel both the delay in the two‐dimensional deadbeat control scheme and the delay in DSP control strategy, an Adaptive Line Enhancer (ALE) is introduced in order to predict the desired value three sampling periods ahead. ALE has another function of bringing robustness to the deadbeat control system. Due to the ALE, settling time is made short in a transient state. On the other hand, total harmonic distortion (THD) of source currents can be minimized compared to the case where ideal identification of the controlled system can be made. The experimental results obtained from the DSP‐based APF are also reported. The compensating ability of this APF is very high in accuracy and responsiveness although the modulation frequency is rather low. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 150(1): 50–61, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20014     

Application of the blind source separation method to feature extraction of machine sound signals

As the result of vibration emission in air, a machine sound signal carries important information about the working condition of machinery. But in practice, the sound signal is typically received with a very low signal-to-noise ratio. To obtain features of the original sound signal, uncorrelated sound signals must be removed and the wavelet coefficients related to fault condition must be retrieved. In this paper, the blind source separation technique is used to recover the wavelet coefficients of a monitored source from complex observed signals. Since in the proposed blind source separation (BSS) algorithms it is generally assumed that the number of sources is known, the Gerschgorin disk estimator method is introduced to determine the number of sound sources before applying the BSS method. This method can estimate the number of sound sources under non-Gaussian and non-white noise conditions. Then, the partial singular value analysis method is used to select these significant observations for BSS analysis. This method ensures that signals are separated with the smallest distortion. Afterwards, the time-frequency separation algorithm, converted to a suitable BSS algorithm for the separation of a non-stationary signal, is introduced. The transfer channel between observations and sources and the wavelet coefficients of the source signals can be blindly identified via this algorithm. The reconstructed wavelet coefficients can be used for diagnosis. Finally, the separation results obtained from the observed signals recorded in a semi-anechoic chamber demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented methods .     

Biosorption of heavy metals by Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Effects of nutrient conditions

Studies took place to investigate the effects of different nutrient conditions on the biosorption ability and selectivity of heavy metals by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. After having grown in media supplemented with additional glucose, ammonium, phosphate or cysteine, the yeast was exposed to an equimolar solution of lead, cadmium, zinc and copper. Lead removal from a mixed solution was significantly higher than that of copper, followed by zinc and cadmium. Generally, yeasts from cysteine-rich media showed greatest sorption capacity whereas phosphate addition influenced zinc selectivity. In addition, glucose, fructose and sucrose as carbon sources were examined. Cultures grown in glucose had a better uptake than those cultivated with fructose at an incubation time of 30 min.     

Potential of ground heat source systems

This paper presents a historical background of ground source heat pump technology, followed by a review of its current shortcomings. Based on these observations the author assesses the R&D needs and recommendations for future research.     

Evaluating Community Safety Programmes and Community Engagement: The Role of Qualitative Methods and Collaborative Approaches to Policy Research

This article explores the role of qualitative and collaborative methods when undertaking evaluation research into local community safety partnerships and neighbourhood strategies. It draws on recent examples of research and evaluation studies of regeneration and community safety programmes in a number of cities and towns in England. The discussion is set against the background of the major changes in policy relating to crime and community safety, particularly the introduction of Crime and Disorder Partnerships and their engagement with local communities. The value of qualitative methods in exploring some key questions is discussed, particularly within a collaborative approach to policy research.     

The Danish Twin Apartment Study – Part II: Mathematical modeling of the relative strength of sources of indoor air pollution

Abstract This study deals with the modeling of air pollution in apartments from laboratory measurements of source strengths, using formaldehyde and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs) as model pollutants. The sources in two test apartments were grouped into two: building-related sources and occupant-related sources. The measured source strengths and ventilation rates were used for the prediction of concentrations expected in the apartments. These predictions were compared to measurements in the apartment over 12 months. The conclusions were that the model predictions based on emission rates measured in the laboratory can be used to predict the long-term concentration of the two model pollutants in the apartments. Considering the measured differences in ventilation between the apartments, an occupant emission rate of between 0.2 and 0.3 mg/h/kg body weight could be estimated. Based on previous suggested limits of acceptable exposures of humans to VOCs, an acceptable average emission rate of VOCs from building materials in general was estimated to be about 30 (μ/m²/h. The modeling showed that during the first 200 days, building materials dominated the emissions. After this, sources relating to the occupants dominated. On average about half of the VOC pollution originated from the building materials.     

A simplified cascade current‐source inverter interconnected to a single‐phase three‐wire distribution system and its application to electric energy storage systems with batteries

A novel current source inverter system interconnected to the single‐phase grid is proposed. It has the same construction as the conventional three‐phase current source inverter that is interconnected to the single‐phase three‐wire distribution system. Though the proposed circuit has no output transformer, it can be equivalently performed as the single‐phase double cascade inverter by diverting the pole transformer in the utility system. By controlling the appropriate scheme, the output currents can be obtained as the five‐level waveforms and their distortions can be decreased sufficiently. It is applied to the interactive electric energy storage system with batteries and the basic discharging characteristics are discussed experimentally. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 150(2): 50–61, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10380