Hydrogen desorption from alloys Mg–Cu(–KCl): Cu catalysis in detail

Effect of chemical composition of Mg-xCu based alloys (x = 9.94–58.00 wt %) modified by KCl upon their hydrogen storage performance was studied. Kinetic curves and pressure-concentration isotherms were measured in the ranges up to 60 bar and 388 °C, respectively. It was observed that desorption rate dc/dt is not significantly influenced by the composition. Unknown Cu-rich phase was detected that has shown a catalytic effect on desorption from a mixture with other phases. Activation energy of hydrogen desorption decreased with increasing x from 180 kJ/mol down to 98 kJ/mol. Average hydride dissociation enthalpy, ΔH, for the lowest plateau was 75 kJ/mol which is equal to literature value for pure Mg. Slightly lover average value, 67 kJ/mol was obtained for the second plateau and ΔH for the third one decreased from 70 kJ/mol for the lowest to 49 kJ/mol for the highest x.     

Plasma Parameters in the Reactor with Simultaneous Magnetron Discharge and Inductive Radio-Frequency Discharge in the Presence of External Magnetic Field

A plasma reactor that contains vacuum–arc and magnetron sputtering sources and radio-frequency discharge that generates high-density plasma in the presence of external magnetic field is developed, constructed, and optimized. The reactor can be used for deposition of various functional coatings with ion stimulation. The parameters of the inductive radio-frequency discharge generated in the presence of external magnetic field that serves as a source of assisting ions are optimized. It is shown that the working interval of the induction of external magnetic field corresponds to the resonant excitation of the coupled helicon and Trivelpiece–Gold waves. The effect of magnitude and configuration of magnetic field on the parameters of gas-discharge plasma and ion current in the substrate region is studied in the presence of separately and simultaneously initiated magnetron and inductive discharges. The effect of ion flux that is incident on the films in the course of growth on the structure of functional coatings is analyzed.     

Crystallography and Morphology of Niobium Carbide in As-Cast HP-Niobium Reformer Tubes

The microstructures of two as-cast heats of niobium-modified HP stainless steels were characterized. Particular attention was paid to the interdendritic niobium-rich carbides formed during solidification of these alloys. At low magnifications, these precipitates are grouped in colonies of similar lamellae. Higher magnifications revealed that the lamellae actually obtain two distinct morphologies. The type I morphology exhibits broad planar interfaces with a smooth platelike shape. Type II lamellae have undulating interfaces and an overall reticulated shape. To provide further insight into the origin of these two different morphologies, the microstructure and crystallography of each have been studied in detail using high resolution scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, various electron diffraction methods (electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), selected area diffraction (SAD), and convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED)), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.     

Comprehensive Performance Analysis of ZigBee Technology Based on Real Measurements

Although the ZigBee technology is massively deployed the performance question still remains unanswered. There is a lack of serious performance evaluations and thus this paper provides a comprehensive and unbiased study of the ZigBee PRO technology. An extensive real measurement was conducted to accomplish this task. We found out a big performance gap among ZigBee implementations even though they are compliant with the ZigBee standard. The presented results and analysis could be beneficial for many wireless sensor network developers.     

Thermal Model and Behavior of a Totally-Enclosed-Water-Cooled Squirrel-Cage Induction Machine for Traction Applications

A thermal model of a totally enclosed water-cooled induction machine is presented. The axially and radially discretized physical regions of the machine are modeled in the object-oriented language Modelica. Additionally, the water-cooling jacket is modeled. The parameters of the thermal network are derived from geometric, physical, and empirical data. The main focus of the presented highly extensible model was to achieve a good compromise between accuracy and simulation performance. Simulation and measurement results of a 6-kW prototype induction machine are presented and compared.