A novel low power hybrid cache using GC-EDRAM cells

In a typical embedded CPU, large on-chip storage is critical to meet high performance requirements. However, the fast increasing size of the on-chip storage based on traditional SRAM cells makes the area cost and energy consumption unsustainable for future embedded applications. Replacing SRAM with DRAM on the CPU’s chip is generally considered not worthwhile because DRAM is not compatible with the common CMOS logic and requires additional processing steps beyond what is required for CMOS. However a special DRAM technology, Gain-Cell embedded-DRAM (GC-eDRAM)  [1], [2], [3] is logic compatible and retains some of the good properties of DRAM (small and low power). In this paper we evaluate the performance of a novel hybrid cache memory where the data array, generally populated with SRAM cells, is replaced with GC-eDRAM cells while the tag array continues to use SRAM cells. Our evaluation of this cache demonstrates that, compared to the conventional SRAM-based designs, our novel architecture exhibits comparable performance with less energy consumption and smaller silicon area, enabling the sustainable on-chip storage scaling for future embedded CPUs.     

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure pretreatment on flavour and physicochemical properties of freeze-dried carambola slices

Ripe carambolas are hard to store and transport, while freeze-dried ones are easy to store. However, its long production time leads to higher costs. This study shows that high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment could shorten the freeze-drying time of carambola slices. After HHP treatment (25–250 MPa), the drying time of the fresh sample can be shortened by 33.3–44.4% and the distribution of water and pigment in tissues is much uniform. With the increment of the pressure, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical scavenging rate are increased. At 250 MPa, the total phenolic content (TPC) increased from 11.34 to 13.36 mg GAE g⁻¹, and the total flavonoid content (TFC) of the control sample was increased from 10.77 to 12.73 mg RE g⁻¹. Compared with the untreated sample, HHP treatment can enhance the flavour and shorten the freeze-drying time. This work guides the application of HHP technology for drying food processing.     

磨料有序排布电镀砂轮的制备及其把持力研究

为解决电镀砂轮磨削加工中容屑空间不足的问题，采用点胶微粘接的方法制备了磨料有序排布的电镀砂轮，分析了磨料粘接效果和镀层力学性能。通过SEM分析了磨料/镀层/导电胶的结合界面，并进行了干磨削试验。研究结果表明，直径约为磨料粒径40%的胶点可粘接住磨料，单个胶点上粘接多颗磨料的占比小于6%；双脉冲电镀工艺制备的镀层显微硬度大于500HV，表层残余应力小于100MPa，磨料/镀层/导电胶之间的界面贴合紧密，无明显缺陷；砂轮在磨削时没有出现磨料脱落现象。     

基于机器视觉的轮胎表面缺陷检测系统的研究与应用

在传统的轮胎表面缺陷依靠人工检测,存在劳动强度高、受人的主观影响大以及效率低下的问题。针对这一现象,研究了一种基于机器视觉的轮胎表面缺陷3D检测系统。该系统依靠机器视觉系统获取检测轮胎的表面图像,然后创建3D模型、判定缺陷类型,最终实现实时自动预警,为轮胎生产商提供一种自动化检测方案。系统集成了先进的技术、软件和工具,配套的信息管控系统可以对轮胎型号和生产数据进行采集、存储、分析,以便在生产过程中实现更高效、更可靠的质量控制,具有较高的实际应用推广价值。     

Microwave hybrid fast sintering of red clay ceramics

This work aimed to examine the performance of the hybrid sintering of clay ceramic in a microwave furnace, compared to the sintering process in a conventional furnace. The raw materials were subjected to X-ray fluorescence, loss on ignition (LOI), X-ray diffraction, particle size distribution, real specific mass, and thermogravimetric analyses. The red clay ceramic mass was prepared, extruded, pre-sintered in a conventional furnace at 600°C/60 min, and sintered at temperatures between 700 °C and 1100 °C. The sintering conventional (resistive oven) was carried out for 60 min with a heating rate of 10°C/min. In the microwave furnace, the sintering times were 5, 10, and 15 min, with a heating rate of 50°C/min, with a sintering chamber coated with silicon carbide (susceptor). The sintered specimens were characterized according to linear shrinkage, water absorption, apparent porosity, apparent specific mass, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy analysis, spectroscopy analysis in the ultraviolet and visible regions, microhardness, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that microwave sintering promoted an increase in the microhardness and apparent specific mass, and reduction in water absorption and apparent porosity values, due to greater densification in the microstructure. The best results occurred for specimens sintered at 1100°C.     

A novel strategy based on salp swarm algorithm for extracting the maximum power of proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Cell temperature and water content of the membrane have a significant effect on the performance of fuel cells. The current-power curve of the fuel cell has a maximum power point (MPP) that is needed to be tracked. This study presents a novel strategy based on a salp swarm algorithm (SSA) for extracting the maximum power of proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). At first, a new formula is derived to estimate the optimal voltage of PEMFC corresponding to MPP. Then the error between the estimated voltage at MPP and the actual terminal voltage of the fuel cell is fed to a proportional-integral-derivative controller (PID). The output of the PID controller tunes the duty cycle of a boost converter to maximize the harvested power from the PEMFC. SSA determines the optimal gains of PID. Sensitivity analysis is performed with the operating fuel cell at different cell temperature and water content of the membrane. The obtained results through the proposed strategy are compared with other programmed approaches of incremental resistance method, Fuzzy-Logic, grey antlion optimizer, wolf optimizer, and mine-blast algorithm. The obtained results demonstrated high reliability and efficiency of the proposed strategy in extracting the maximum power of the PEMFC.     

A new signal processing-based islanding detection method using pyramidal algorithm with undecimated wavelet transform for distributed generators of hydrogen energy

Machine learning-based fault detection methods are frequently combined with wavelet transform (WT) to detect an unintentional islanding condition. In contrast to this condition, these methods have long detection and computation time. Thus, selecting a useful signal processing-based approach is required for reliable islanding detection, especially in real-time applications. This paper presents a new modified signal processing-based islanding detection method (IDM) for real-time applications of hydrogen energy-based distributed generators. In the study, a new IDM using a modified pyramidal algorithm approach with an undecimated wavelet transform (UWT) is presented. The proposed method is performed with different grid conditions with the presence of electric noise in real-time. Experimental results show that oscillations in the acquired signal can be reduced by the UWT, and noise sensitivity is lower than other WT-based methods. The non-detection zone is zero and the maximum detection and computational time is also 75 ms at a close power match.     

A novel design for humidifying an open-cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell using anode purge

The low performance of open-cathode proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (OCPEMFCs) is attributed to the low-humidity ambient air supplied to the cathode using electric fans. To improve the OCPEMFC performance, this paper proposes a novel humidification method by collecting water purged from the anode and supplying it to the open cathode. The OCPEMFC performance is evaluated at various humidifier distances from the cathode inlet, and it is compared with that where no humidifier is used when the OCPEMFC operates under three different current levels of 1, 5, and 8 A. The results show that the novel design improves the stack power, and optimal performance is achieved at a humidifier distance of 2 cm. The energy efficiency achieves an improvement between 1.4% and 1.8% when a humidifier is used.     

高等级生物安全实验室通风空调系统冗余设计原则探讨

对比分析了国内外标准有关高等级生物安全实验室通风空调系统冗余设计的要求。结合我国已有高等级生物安全实验室,重点分析了送风机、排风机、排风高效过滤器冗余设计的具体实施形式和存在的问题,给出了冗余设计原则建议。     

Passive micromixer with baffles distributed on both sides of microchannels based on the Koch fractal principle

Since the beginning of the 21st Century, the development of microfluidic chip technology has been very rapid and has attracted the attention of more and more scholars. As an important part of the microfluidic chip, the performance of the micromixer is critical. The fractal structure in the microchannels helps to improve the mixing performance of the micromixer and improve the mixing efficiency of the micromixer. The research results of other scholars are of great significance to the research of the present paper, which mainly studies the effect of changing the baffle state on the mixing efficiency of the micromixer based on the Koch fractal principle. Through simulation analysis, it was found that the mixing efficiency of the baffles distributed on both sides of the microchannel was higher than the mixing efficiency of the baffles distributed on the microchannel side. When the distance between adjacent baffles was divided into 0.15, 0.25 and 0.35 mm, simulated data suggested that the baffle distance of 0.15 mm was best. Increasing the number of baffles from six to eight groups increased the mixing path of the fluid in the microchannel and improved mixing efficiency. A comparison of mixing efficiencies of the 0°, 15° and 30° baffle angles revealed that very significant improvement in mixing efficiency was obtained at 30°. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry