Hydrodynamic analysis of a spiral disc extruder

The flow of polymer melts in a rotating disc extruder is analyzed with the development of a mathematical model for drag flow in a contoured rotating disc. The model assumes a fully melted material which exhibits Newtonian flow behavior under isothermal conditions. Flow is evaluated in successive sections of the flow path, and the drag flow component is calculated by assuming a zero pressure gradient by analogy to the analysis of single screw extruder performance. The final expression involves a computer-assisted numerical solution. Results of the drag flow model are presented for three different disc geometries. A mathematical model of negative flow, and a comparison of the results with experimental data will be presented in followup papers.     

Numerical approximation of the Ginzburg-Landau equation with memory effects in the dynamics of phase transitions

We consider the out-of-equilibrium time evolution of a nonconserved order parameter using the Ginzburg-Landau equation including memory effects. Memory effects are expected to play important role on the nonequilibrium dynamics for fast phase transitions, in which the time scales of the rapid phase conversion are comparable to the microscopic time scales. We consider two numerical approximation schemes based on Fourier collocation and finite difference methods and perform a numerical analysis with respect to the existence, stability and convergence of the schemes. We present results of direct numerical simulations for one and three spatial dimensions, and examine numerically the stability and convergence of both approximation schemes.     

Dynamics of the deconfinement transition of quarks and gluons in a finite volume

We employ finite elements methods for the approximation of solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equations describing the deconfinement transition in quantum chromodynamics. These methods seem appropriate for situations where the deconfining transition occurs over a finite volume as in relativistic heavy ion collisions, where in addition expansion of the system and flow of matter are important. Simulation results employing finite elements are presented for a Ginzburg-Landau equation based on a model free energy describing the deconfining transition in pure gauge SU(2) theory. Results for finite and infinite system are compared.     

Electrostatic discharge issues in electric vehicles

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is an important issue in any motor vehicle. Anecdotal reports abound of cars with spark ignition hazards because of fuel tank designs, and even toll collectors reluctant to collect money by hand from certain late model cars. As electric vehicles move from the laboratory and test track to the production floor and showroom, ESD concerns take on a new context and become more critical. In this paper, the attributes of electric vehicles that give rise to concerns about ESD are introduced. When the concerns are taken into account, certain basic design constraints become evident. A candidate design is analyzed for its ESD properties. Some common design practices, especially the practice of isolating the battery bus, can create reliability problems because of ESD     

The electroquasistatics of the capacitive touch panel

The capacitive touch panel, a high-resolution position sensor intended for computer displays, must be safe and inexpensive and must sense position accurately in spite of electrical noise, dirt, or direct electrostatic discharge. The implementation discussed uses a quasi-static electric field, applied to a semiconducting coating on the panel surface. A touch draws current from the surface. This current can be used to compute position. If the computation is performed properly, the computed position is independent of touch current and panel coating resistivity. The electroquasistatic basis for position measurement with a capacitive touch panel and a system to implement it are described     

Time domain comparison of pulse-width modulation schemes

This paper shows that classical space vector modulation (SVM) is functionally identical to double-sided uniform-sampled pulse width modulation (UPWM). Consequently, direct conclusions about harmonic distortion, losses, DC bus utilization, and ease of implementation are made that clarify some existing misconceptions about SVM. Since UPWM is conceptually simple and involves few steps, it is possible that computation may be reduced in practice. UPWM algorithms can avoid the sector and switch sequence tracking tasks in an SVM algorithm. The linear modulation range extension "inherent" to SVM is associated with triplen harmonic injection, and does not provide advantages over conventional third-harmonic injection techniques. The equivalence of SVM and UPWM means that SVM has spectral distortion in baseband as is known to occur in UPWM. This has implications for naturally-sampled sine-triangle PWM (NPWM)-which is known not to generate baseband distortion.     

Hydrodynamic analysis of negative flow in a spiral disc extruder

The flow of polymer melts in a rotating disc extruder is analyzed with a mathematical model for pressure flow and leakage flow (termed neg ative flow). It is assumed that the material is fully melted and exhibits Newtonian flow behavior under isothermal conditions for each element. Flow is evaluated in successive sections of the flow path and the final expression involves a computer-assisted numerical solution. Pressure flow, which is negative, is calculated by analyzing the situation in which the pressure gradient causes the extrudable material to flow back across the stationary disc. A simplified geometrical model is developed for numerical solution, assuming incompressible flow. Leakage flow is between the contours of the disc and the engaging interior face of the housing. The flow is also directed opposite to the drag component and is estimated by using parallel plate flow equations.     

Modern laboratory-based education for power electronics and electric machines

The study of modern energy conversion draws upon a broad range of knowledge and often requires a fair amount of experience. This suggests that laboratory instruction should be an integral component of a power electronics and electric machines curriculum. However, before a single watt can be processed in a realistic way, the student must understand not only the operation of conversion systems but also more advanced concepts such as control theory, speed and position sensing, switching signal generation, gate drive isolation, circuit layout, and other critical issues. Our approach is to use a blue-box module where these details are pre-built for convenience, but not hidden from the students inside a black box. Recent improvements to our blue-box modules are described in this paper and include a dual-MOSFET control box with independently isolated FET devices, a triple silicon controlled rectifier control box, a discretely built, high quality pulse-width modulation inverter, a small discrete brushless dc drive system, and a high-performance computer-controlled brushless dc dynamometer motor drive system. Complete details, sufficient to allow the reader to duplicate these designs, are publicly available.