Role of additives in fabrication of soy-based rigid polyurethane foam for structural and thermal insulation applications

Environmental concerns continue to pose the challenge to replace petroleum-based products with renewable ones completely or at least partially while maintaining comparable properties. Herein, rigid polyurethane (PU) foams were prepared using soy-based polyol for structural and thermal insulation applications. Cell size, density, thermal resistivity, and compression force deflection (CFD) values were evaluated and compared with that of petroleum-based PU foam Baydur 683. The roles of different additives, that is, catalyst, blowing agent, surfactants, and different functionalities of polyol on the properties of fabricated foam were also investigated. For this study, dibutyltin dilaurate was employed as catalyst and water as environment friendly blowing agent. Their competitive effect on density and cell size of the PU foams were evaluated. Five different silicone-based surfactants were employed to study the effect of surface tension on cell size of foam. It was also found that 5 g of surfactant per 100 g of polyol produced a foam with minimum surface tension and highest thermal resistivity (R value: 26.11 m²·K/W). However, CFD values were compromised for higher surfactant loading. Additionally, blending of 5 g of higher functionality soy-based polyol improved the CFD values to 328.19 kPa, which was comparable to that of petroleum-based foam Baydur 683.     

Mathematical model for computer simulation and control of steelmaking

A dynamic model for computer simulation and control of steelmaking has been developed. It is essentially based on multicomponent mixed transport control theory with the incorporation of energy balance calculations. The model is applicable to both steelmaking in electric furnaces as well as in oxygen steelmaking converters. The adjustable parameters of the model for simulation of oxygen steelmaking are gas evolution rate (G_co). oxygen flux factor (F_o) and emulsification factor (EM). These simulation parameters, when combined with on-line measurement of off-gas composition and temperature, enable complete dynamic control of the process. The model developed is applied, as an example, to an industrially produced heat in a top blown oxygen steelmaking converter and the results of simulation are discussed.     

Microcomputer Control of a Residential Photovoltaic Power Conditioning System

Microcomputer-based control of a residential photovoltaic power conditioning system is described. The microcomputer is responsible for array current feedback control, maximum power tracking control, array safe zone steering control, phase-locked reference wave synthesis, sequencing control, and some diagnostics. The control functions are implemented using Intel 8751 single-chip microcomputer-based hardware and software. The controller has been tested in the laboratory with the prototype power conditioner and shows excellent performance.     

A Tutorial on GrÖbner Bases With Applications in Signals and Systems

This paper is a tutorial on GrÖbner bases and a survey on the applications of GrÖbner bases in the broad field of signals and systems. A reasonably detailed review is given of several fundamental theoretical issues that occur in the use of GrÖbner bases in multidimensional signals and systems applications. These topics include the primeness of multivariate polynomial matrices, multivariate unimodular polynomial matrix completion, and prime factorization of multivariate polynomial matrices. A brief review is also presented on the wide-ranging applications of GrÖbner bases in multidimensional as well as one-dimensional circuits, networks, control, coding, signals, and systems and other related areas like robotics and applied mechanics. The impact and scope of GrÖbner bases in signals and systems are highlighted with respect to what has already been accomplished as a stepping stone to expanding future research.      

Properties determining choice of mother wavelet

Properties of wavelets with finite as well as infinite support are summarised to facilitate mother wavelet selection in a chosen application. The quantitative guidelines reduce dependence on trial-and-error schemes resorted to for selection and underscore the importance of such selection in any application of interest. In wavelet-based image sequence superresolution, studied during the last four years, the use of a B-spline mother wavelet is justified.     

Growth,characterization and electrical anisotropy in GaTe—a natural semiconducting superlattice

GaTe is a III–VI semiconductor which has layered structure with large anisotropy in electrical properties. Growth of single crystals by the Bridgman technique permitted the measurement of thermoelectric power in orthogonal directions from which the anisotropy of hole effective masses were determined for the first time. From resistivity and Hall effect measurements the carrier activation energies and scattering mechanisms between 10–300°K were found. Study of the temperature dependence of conductivity revealed a variety of conduction mechanisms including weak localization below 20°K, hopping conduction between 20–50 K and band conduction in and across the layer planes atT>70 K. Weak localization was confirmed through observation of negative magnetoresistance. TheI–V characteristics showed quantized behaviour due to tunneling across potential barriers, which may be due to stacking faults between layer planes as observed by TEM studies.     

IEEE-PES Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition Call for Papers

Static network-related system voltage stability margin (VSM) depends on the availability of reactive power to support the transport of real power from sources to sinks. Based on this premise, the total VAr loss is minimized in the unified OPF framework considering real and reactive power controllers, and its effect on VSM is studied. Studies are conducted on a three-bus system, the IEEE 30-bus system, and a 191-bus Indian electric power system, and their results are reported.     

Expert system, fuzzy logic, and neural network applications inpower electronics and motion control

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as expert systems, fuzzy logic, and neural networks are expected to usher a new era in power electronics and motion control in the coming decades. Although these technologies have advanced significantly and have found wide applications, they have hardly touched the power electronics and machine drives area. The paper describes these AI tools and their application in the area of power electronics and motion control. The body of the paper is subdivided into three sections which describe, respectively, the principles and applications of expert systems, fuzzy logic, and neural networks. The theoretical portion of each topic is of direct relevance to the application of power electronics. The example applications in the paper are taken from the published literature