A load dispatch method using fractional programming and semidefinite programming

This paper describes a load dispatch method which minimizes power cost—[fuel cost]/[electric output]—for a power system with thermal plants and energy storage facilities. The proposed method employs fractional programming to convert a minimization problem with fractional objective function to a series of quadratic minimization problems, and semidefinite programming to solve converted problems. The method provides the optimum time‐dependent power output/input and storage level of energy storage facilities as well as time‐dependent power output of thermal plants. The method has been applied to a power system with five thermal plants, two energy storage facilities of various performances, and five load demands. The optimum load scheme of four time mesh points is obtained for the thermal plants and energy storage facilities. The fractional programming successfully converges the optimal scheme through a few iterations. The semidefinite programming deals with a variable matrix of 164 dimensions, and 185 inequality constraints. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 138(2): 49–58, 2002     

Change of characteristics of desulfurization and denitrification by combustion flue gas composition and electrode configuration under pulsed corona discharge

Laboratory-scale and parametric experiments of SO₂ and NO_x removal from the simulated combustion gas by pulsed corona discharge have been performed by changing the combustion gas composition and temperature, the electrode configuration of plasma reactor, and the polarity of high-voltage electrode. The following results are obtained: 1) the higher the concentration of H₂O and O₂, the higher the efficiency of desulfurization and denitrification at the same specific input; 2) the pulsed corona discharge with a voltage pulsewidth as short as 200 ns of negative polarity shows the possibility to attain almost 90 percent deSO_x and deNO_x efficiency at the specific discharge input of 20 J/g, which is almost the same as the specific input in the electron-beam process; 3) the deNO_x characteristics show a little temperature dependence in the range of 70 to 130°C, but the deSO_x efficiency increases rapidly in the temperature region below 100°C suggesting the thermochemical dependence of deSO_x reaction; 4) when desulfurization and denitrification proceed, the white dendritic powder deposits on the plasma reactor whose composition is identified to be 49 mol% (NH₄)₂SO₄ and 47 mol% of 2NH₄NO₃ · (NH₄)₂SO₄, and the ratio of SO₂, NO and NH₃ of the deposit is almost equal to that of supplied gas.     

Psychological Stress Exacerbates Inflammation of the Ileum via the Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone-Mast Cell Axis in a Mouse Model of Eosinophilic Enteritis

The effects of psychological stress on eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders have not been elucidated. This study investigated the effects of psychological stress in a mouse model of eosinophilic enteritis (EoN). BALB/c mice were treated with ovalbumin (OVA) to create an EoN model and subjected to either water avoidance stress (WAS) or sham stress (SS). Microscopic inflammation, eosinophil and mast cell counts, mRNA expression, and protein levels of type 2 helper T cell (Th2) cytokines in the ileum were compared between groups. We evaluated ex vivo intestinal permeability using an Ussing chamber. A corticotropin-releasing hormone type 1 receptor (CRH-R1) antagonist was administered before WAS, and its effects were analyzed. WAS significantly increased diarrhea occurrence and, eosinophil and mast cell counts, and decreased the villus/crypt ratio compared to those in the SS group. The mRNA expression of CRH, interleukin IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, eotaxin-1, and mast cell tryptase β2 significantly increased, and the protein levels of IL-5, IL-13, and OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) also significantly increased in the WAS group. Moreover, WAS significantly increased the intestinal permeability. The CRH-R1 antagonist significantly inhibited all changes induced by WAS. Psychological stress exacerbated ileal inflammation via the CRH-mast cell axis in an EoN mouse model.     

Compact Tunable Narrowband Terahertz-Wave Source Based on Difference Frequency Generation Pumped by Dual Fiber Lasers in MgO:LiNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

We demonstrate a high-average-power, single longitudinal-mode, and tunable terahertz (THz)-wave source based on difference frequency generation (DFG) in a MgO:LiNbO₃ (MgO:LN) crystal. The waves for DFG are generated using a pair of Yb-doped pulsed fiber lasers with a master oscillator power fiber amplifier configuration. The average power of the THz-wave output reaches 450 μW at 1.07 THz (280 μm) at a linewidth of 7.2 GHz, and the tunability ranges from 0.35 to 1.07 THz under the pulse repetition frequency of 500 kHz. A short burn-in test of the THz wave is also carried out, and the output power stability is within ± 5% of the averaged power without any active stabilizing technique. The combination of MgO:LN-DFG and stable and robust fiber laser sources is highly promising for the development of high-average-power THz-wave sources, particularly in the high transmission sub-THz region. This approach may enable new applications of THz-wave spectroscopy in imaging and remote sensing.     

CCD摄像机在瞬变喷雾可视化中的应用

结合作者近年来在早稻田大学和上海交通大学的研究工作,介绍了高速CCD摄像机在柴油机喷雾测试中的应用。重点论述了利用红宝石激光器和CCD(电荷耦合器件)视频摄像机的特点实时采集瞬变燃油喷雾图像的技术,并讨论了其中的关键问题。     

Real-Time Amplitude and Phase Imaging of Optically Opaque Objects by Combining Full-Field Off-Axis Terahertz Digital Holography with Angular Spectrum Reconstruction

Terahertz digital holography (THz-DH) has the potential to be used for non-destructive inspection of visibly opaque soft materials due to its good immunity to optical scattering and absorption. Although previous research on full-field off-axis THz-DH has usually been performed using Fresnel diffraction reconstruction, its minimum reconstruction distance occasionally prevents a sample from being placed near a THz imager to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in the hologram. In this article, we apply the angular spectrum method (ASM) for wavefront reconstruction in full-filed off-axis THz-DH because ASM is more accurate at short reconstruction distances. We demonstrate real-time phase imaging of a visibly opaque plastic sample with a phase resolution power of λ/49 at a frame rate of 3.5 Hz in addition to real-time amplitude imaging. We also perform digital focusing of the amplitude image for the same object with a depth selectivity of 447 μm. Furthermore, 3D imaging of visibly opaque silicon objects was achieved with a depth precision of 1.7 μm. The demonstrated results indicate the high potential of the proposed method for in-line or in-process non-destructive inspection of soft materials.     

LSI implementation of a low-power 4×4-bit array two-phase clocked adiabatic static CMOS logic multiplier

As the density and operating speed of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits increases, dynamic power dissipation has become a critical concern in the design and development—of personal information systems and large computers. The reduction of supply voltage, node capacitance, and switching activity are common approaches used in conventional CMOS. In adiabatic switching circuits, the current flow through transistors can be significantly reduced by ensuring uniform charge transfer over the entire available time. This paper presents the simulation of this current in two-phase clocked adiabatic static CMOS logic (2PASCL) and conventional CMOS. From the SPICE simulations, at transition frequencies from 1 to 12 MHz, a 4×4-bit array 2PASCL multiplier shows a maximum reduction in power dissipation of 77% relative to that of a static CMOS. The measurement results of a 4×4-bit array 2PASCL multiplier demonstrate a 57% reduction compared to a 4×4-bit array two-phase clocked adiabatic dynamic CMOS logic (2PADCL). These results indicate that 2PASCL technology can be advantageous when applied to low-power digital devices operated at low frequencies, such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, smart cards, and sensors.     

Transport-Coefficient Dependence of Current-Induced Cooling Effect in a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas

The dependence of the current-induced cooling effect on the electron mobility??? _e is explored for a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) subjected to a perpendicular magnetic field. We calculate the distributions of the electrochemical potentials and the temperatures under a magnetic field, fully taking account of thermoelectric and thermomagnetic phenomena. Whereas the electrochemical potential and the electric current remain qualitatively unchanged, the temperature distribution exhibits drastic mobility dependence. The lower-mobility system has cold and hot areas at opposite corners, which results from the heat current brought about by the Ettingshausen effect in the vicinity of the adiabatic boundaries. The cooling effect is intensified by an increase in??? _e. Intriguingly, the cold and hot areas change places with each other as the mobility??? _e is further increased. This is because the heating current on the adiabatic edges due to the Righi?CLeduc effect exceeds that due to the Ettingshausen effect in the opposite direction.     

A Hybrid Decoupled Power Flow Method for Balanced Power Distribution Systems

This paper proposes a hybrid decoupled power flow method for balanced power distribution systems with distributed generation sources.The method formulates the power flow equations in active power and reactive power decoupled form with polar coordinates.Second-order terms are included in the active power mismatch iteration,and constant Jacobian and Hessian matrices are used.A hybrid direct and indirect solution technique is used to achieve efficiency and robustness of the algorithm.Active power correction is solved by means of a sparse lower triangular and upper triangular(LU) decomposition algorithm with partial pivoting,and the reactive power correction is solved by means of restarted generalized minimal residual algorithm with an incomplete LU pre-conditioner.Typical distribution generation models and distribution load models are included.The impact of zero-impedance branches is explicitly modeled through reconfiguring of the adjacent branches with impedances.Numerical examples on a sample distribution system with widespread photovoltaic installations are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Fabrication of carbon nanofibers using only ion beam irradiation to glassy carbon

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are new carbon-based materials. However, the production of CNFs and CNTs is very difficult due to the complicated processes and high temperature involved. Therefore, a method of fabrication is required that enables high throughput at a low cost.Our previous study reported that oxygen ion beam energy of 500 eV applied to glassy carbon (GC) forms the finest pitch conical anti-reflection (AR) structures, and that an irradiation time of more than 24 min fabricates conical AR structures with heights of more than 250 nm. After the fabrication of the AR structures, irradiation by an argon ion (Ar⁺ beam changes the surface morphology, and oblique angle irradiation can form CNFs. Thus, we carried out oblique Ar⁺ beam irradiation on conical carbon protrusions on GC fabricated by oxygen ion beam irradiation. As a result, CNFs have been formed using oxygen and argon ion beam irradiation at room temperature. In addition, multi-wall CNT can be obtained by two-step ion beam irradiation.