Synthesis of β-Si3N4 by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Beta-type CVD-Si₃N₄ plates (up to 1.1 mm thick) have been prepared by adding TiCl₄ vapor to the system SiCl₄-NH₃-H₂ at deposition temperatures of 1350° to 1450°C, while α-type or amorphous CVD-Si₃N₄ was obtained without TiCl₄ vapor at the same deposition temperature. Three to four wt % 777V was included in the β-type CVD-Si₃N₄ matrix. The density, preferred orientation, and lattice parameters of β-type CVD-Si₃N₄ were examined.     

Oxidation of CVD Si3N4 at 1550° to 1650°C

A thermo gravimetric study of the oxidation behavior of chemically vapor-deposited amorphous and crystalline Si₃N₄ (CVD Si₃N₄) was made in dry oxygen (0.1 MPa) at 1550° to 1650°C. The specimens were prepared under various deposition conditions using a mixture of SiCl₄, NH₃, and H₂ gases. The crystalline CVD Si₃N₄ indicated a parabolic oxidation kinetics over the whole temperature range, whereas the amorphous CVD Si₃N₄ changed from a parabolic to a linear law with increased temperature. The oxidation mechanism is discussed in terms of the activation energy for the oxidation and the microstructure of the formed oxide films.     

Stable identification scheme for linear discrete-time systems

This paper is concerned with the problem of identifying parameters in stochastic systems described by single-input single-output linear discrete-time equations. A stable estimation error system is developed by using the extended Kalman filter technique and the concept of strictly positive real transfer function. The identifier corresponding to the estimation error system is constructed, and the convergence of parameter estimates to the exact values is proved under some bounded conditions. It is shown that the recursive maximum likelihood identifier and the recursive extended least squares identifier are obtained by neglecting the correction terms in the proposed identifier. Numerical examples for a fourth-order system are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

SYSTEM TRANSFORMATIONS AND ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS

The purpose of this paper is to formulate the concept of system transformation and the concept of adaptive system in the framework of general systems theory, and to characterize both concepts as well as mutual relationships between them from a qualitative viewpoint.

We define a system transformation as a mapping on the class of all systems under consideration in a general and unified manner, and especially consider the variety of system behavior under parallel, cascade, and feedback transformation for linear functional time systems. We introduce the notion of open system in terms of system transformation. We then formulate class controllability and adaptability of an open system under system transformation, and characterize them in terms of basic system properties. In particular, we obtain a necessary and sufficient condition under which an open system is adaptive.     

A GENERAL APPROACH TO THE CHARACTERIZATION OF CHANGES IN SYSTEM BEHAVIOUR BY OUTPUT FEEDBACK

The purpose of this paper is to formulate in a general and unified manner the change of system behaviour produced by output feedback and then to clarify from a qualitative point of view its general structure and meaning.

In this paper feedback is defined as a system transformation on the class of general linear systems represented by input-output relations. As a measure indicating the degree of how the behaviour of a system S?X×Y changes under feedback transformation three classes of systems are introduced for S and their system theoretic meaning is considered in a general setting. Furthermore, a variety problem of several structured systems under feedback transformation is investigated by characterizing these classes in terms of basic system concepts.     

Fuzzy control of a manipulator using an actuator and multibrakes

This paper is concerned with the control of a manipulator with n-degrees of freedom by one actuator and n ? 1 brakes using fuzzy inference. All the links of the manipulator are excited by a motor placed on the base link, and the excitation torque is successively transmitted through each link from the base link until the final link. The brakes on the joints act at identical frequency with different phases, and the phases of timing on the brakes are controlled by fuzzy inference such that all the joint angles of links are followed to the desired trajectories. The effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by a simple example.     

Active control for the suspension of large-sized buses using fuzzy logic

An active suspension of large-sized buses by using fuzzy logic is considered. The active control for the suspension is determined by minimizing the mean squares of vertical and rotary accelerations of vehicle body subject to the constraints of suspension and tyre deflections. The vehicle model is assumed to be a linear system with six degrees of freedom excited by road profiles. The tuning of fuzzy control rules and associated parameters that characterize the active control is carried out where two kinds of road profiles are considered. In the simulation results, the proposed active suspension shows improved performance over passive suspension     

Equivalent transformation of optimal control problems

The equivalent transformation of the optimal control problems is proposed. The equivalent transformation is the expanded canonical transformation involving the transformation of the control. The generating function plays an important role in the equivalent transformation. The quadratic generating function is discussed. In this case the equivalent transformation is linear.     

Preparation of Bi4Ti3O12 Powders in the Presence of Molten Salt Containing LiCl

The reaction between Bi₂O₃ and TiO₂ in molten LiCl-KCl was examined with special emphasis on the reaction mechanism and the size of Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ particles. The oxides reacted with LiCl to form an intermediate compound, which changed into Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ on extended heating. Potassium chloride retarded the reaction between the oxides and LiCl and promoted the change from the intermediate compound to Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂. Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ particles prepared in the flux were platelike, irrespective of the preparation conditions, but their size depended on reaction temperature and time, the ratio of LiCl to KCl, and the amount of flux.