Proof of usage: user-centric consensus for data provision and exchange

Annals of Telecommunications - This paper presents a new consensus algorithm, Proof of Usage (PoU), for the blockchain technology. This consensus is introduced for permissioned (or private)...     

Assessment of copper bioavailability and toxicity in vineyard runoff waters by DPASV and algal bioassay

The aim of this study was to assess the toxicity of runoff waters in an agricultural multipollution context through an in-depth assessment of copper bioavailability and toxicity. Runoff waters were screened for major ions, metals and diuron. The potential environmental impact of these runoff waters was evaluated using the conventional 72-h growth inhibition test with the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. The results suggested that the toxicity detected in the calcareous vineyard field was due to the presence of diuron, whereas the non-calcareous runoff waters were non-toxic. Chemical speciation modelling by MINEQL revealed that most of the copper present in the non-toxic natural runoff waters was complexed by organic matter. These samples were spiked with copper, and then the toxicity and the electrochemically bioavailable copper fraction were measured. Differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) was used to detect labile complexes and free copper. This combined approach highlighted the presence of some labile copper complexes in samples reaching the EC10-these could have contributed to the copper toxicity.     

A Coupled Model Between Robot Trajectories and Thermal History of the Workpiece During Thermal Spray Operation

Offline robot trajectory generation is now often used for thermal spray applications, especially for complex design parts, requiring enhanced trajectories. This technique allows decreasing the downtime of the thermal spray cell and insures the generation of optimized trajectories. Heat transfers caused by thermal spray increase the workpiece temperature during the coating application. This temperature acts directly on the resulting thermal stresses after cooling of the part down to the ambient temperature. In this study, a coupling was developed between the robot trajectory and computation of the thermal history of the workpiece during the spray operation. The method is based on the storage of the real robot trajectory (i.e., accurate in time) in a text file, and reading of this file with a C programming performed with ANSYS/FLUENT commercial code which allows computing the displacement of the thermal sources according to the trajectory and solving the transient heat conservation equation during the torch displacement. The contributions of the impinging plasma jet and the molten particle jet are taken into account in the model.     

Barrier effect of flame retardant systems in poly(methyl methacrylate): Study of the efficiency of the surface treatment by octylsilane of silica nanoparticles in combination with phosphorous fire retardant additives

In this work, flame retardant systems comprising ammonium polyphosphate (AP423) and hydrophilic (A200) or hydrophobic (R805) nanometric silica were incorporated into PMMA. The following techniques were performed to detail the fire behaviour of the composites: mass loss cone calorimetry, pyrolysis‐combustion flow calorimetry, pyrolysis‐gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and microscopic observations. The best fire behaviour was obtained with the surface‐treated silica in the presence of AP423. The formation of a new crystalline phase from the interactions between AP423 and R805 silica and a strong barrier effect due to a layered residue were the main modes of action of this system. Moreover, we have shown that the difference between the AP423 + R805 and AP423 + A200 systems was due to poor dispersion of the silica into the PMMA matrix in the latter formulation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ignition and Charring of PVC-Based Electric Cables

Fire Technology - The ignition of four different PVC-based electric cables was studied using cone calorimeter and the influence of the charring phenomenon on ignition was investigated. The...     

Predicting the Thermal Conductivity of AlSi/Polyester Abradable Coatings: Effects of the Numerical Method

The final target of this study is to achieve a better understanding of the behavior of thermally sprayed abradable seals such as AlSi/polyester composites. These coatings are used as seals between the static and the rotating parts in aero-engines. The machinability of the composite coatings during the friction of the blades depends on their mechanical and thermal effective properties. In order to predict these properties from micrographs, numerical studies were performed with different software packages such as OOF developed by NIST and TS2C developed at the UTBM. In 2008, differences were reported concerning predictions of effective thermal conductivities obtained with the two codes. In this article, a particular attention was paid to the mathematical formulation of the problem. In particular, results obtained with a finite difference method using a cell-centered approach or a nodal formulation allow explaining the discrepancies previously noticed. A comparison of the predictions of the computed effective thermal conductivities is thus proposed. This study is part of the NEWAC project, funded by the European Commission within the 6th RTD Framework programm (FP6).     

Structure,homogeneity ranges,magnetic, and electrical properties of the ordered Laves phases RENi4Mg with MgCu4Sn type structure

New ordered Laves phases RENi₄Mg (RE = Sc, Sm, Tb–Lu) were synthesized from the elements in sealed tantalum ampoules in an induction furnace. Six of the structures were refined on the basis of X-ray single crystal data. The diffraction experiments gave hint for small homogeneity ranges RE_1+xNi₄Mg_1?x. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show Curie–Weiss behavior for RE = Gd, Dy, Ho, Tm, Yb and the resulting effective magnetic moments suggest both stable trivalent states for all RE and a non-magnetic state for Ni. Gd_1+xNi₄Mg_1?x (x ≈ 0.12) orders antiferromagnetically at a Néel temperature of T_N = 4.6(5) K. Resistivity measurements reflect the metallic nature of these compounds.     

Reactivity studies of 2,3,5,6-Tetra(2-pyridyl) pyrazine (tppz) with first-row transition metal ions

Reactions of 2,3,5,6-tetra(2-pyridyl) pyrazine (tppz) with [ML₆][X]₂ (L = CH₃CN, H₂O;X = [BF₄]⁻, [ClO₄]⁻, [NO₃]⁻ [BArF]⁻(BArF - B[3,5-C₆H₃(CF₃)₂]₄) lead to the high-yield formation of mononuclear [M(tppz)₂]²⁺, (M = Mn^II, Fe^II, Co^II, and Ni^II) and dinuclear [Ni₂(tppz)(CH₃CN)₆]⁴⁺ species. The new compounds were fully characterized by X-ray crystallographic, spectroscopic, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Surprisingly, the 2:1 M:tppz reactions did not lead to isolation of the dinuclear species except in the case of Ni(II). It was further noted that even in the case of the Ni reactions, the nuclearity of the product depends on the choice of anions and the reaction conditions. Magnetic measurements of the mononuclear species [Co(tppz)₂]²⁺ revealed thermally induced spin-crossover behavior from a high-spin S = 3/2 at higher temperatures to a low-spin S = 1/2 complex at lower temperatures. The dinuclear compound [Ni₂(tppz)(CH₃CN)₆]⁴⁺ exhibits a weak anti-ferromagnetic interaction through the bridging tppz ligand.     

Two Dimensional Aggregation Procedure: An Alternative to the Matrix Algebraic Algorithm

The aggregation procedure is an important theoretical and empirical topic of economics. It appears in the Microeconomics and Macroeconomics, in Panel and Cross-Sectional Data Analysis, in Data Mining Analysis, in Input–Output and Agent-based Computational Economics Modelling. The question of the choice of algorithm is became important since the size of the sample data has became more important, and despite of the speed of the computers. In this paper we present the “classical” algorithm (the “matrix algebraic” one) of aggregation of the two-dimensional sample data, and compare it to the alternative algorithms (the “vectorial” one) we developed. Then we present some extensions to the multidimensional aggregation.