Hydrothermal corrosion of TiN PVD films on SUS-304

Hydrothermal corrosion of thin TiN PVD films (3 μm thickness) at 100 MPa water and 20-800 °C temperature range was studied. Noticeable oxidation starts above 200 °C and acceleration of oxidation processes takes place in hydrothermal conditions in comparison with airflow oxidation of corresponding PVD films and air oxidation of TiN powders. The formation of Ti_nO_2n−1 homological series phases and regular single crystals in oxide scale were observed. FeTiO₃ ilmenite layer secures high protective properties at 600 °C and practically does not contain chromium. Therefore, usual low alloy steel with TiN coating can be used instead superalloy for wet air oxidation system with working temperature up to 600 °C.     

Phase-sensitive spatially-modulated surface plasmon resonance polarimetry for detection of biomolecular interactions

We here describe a scheme of spatially modulated surface plasmon resonance (SPR) polarimetry that enables to combine ultra-high phase sensitivity with good signal-to-noise background. The proposed approach uses spatial modulation of s-polarized component by birefringent elements and the extraction of phase-polarization information by Fourier-transform methods. This scheme was tested for monitoring the interactions between an antibody and its biological partner. Our experimental data, collected by amplitude-sensitive and phase-sensitive polarimetry demonstrate that the latter scheme provides at least one order of magnitude improvement in terms of detection limit.     

Formation of a Highly Protective Amorphous Aluminum Silicate Layer on Steel during Granite–Dry Steam Interaction

Formation of an amorphous Al₂Si₂O₅ layer on a steel pipe surface, after granite–dry steam interaction in the presence of copper, has been determined by XRD analysis and SEM (with energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis). Kinetic data indicate high-protective properties of the Al₂Si₂O₅ layer, which formed a three-dimension substrate ∼5 μm thick, after 100 h exposure.     

Ultrafast Atomic Diffusion Paths in Fine-Grained Nickel Obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Short-circuit diffusion in fine-grained Ni samples processed by Spark Plasma sintering has been investigated by the radiotracer technique. Ni grain...     

Modeling steam condensation from steam-air mixture in the inclined tubes of an air-cooled condenser

Specific features pertinent to the flow of steam-gas mixture are discussed as applied to the inclined tubes of air-cooled condensers used in steam turbine units, and the condensate film annular flow and “streamlet” models are analyzed. The calculated results are compared with the data obtained by other researchers. It is shown that with relatively small flow rates of steam-gas mixture typical for air-cooled condensers, the restoration of pressure along the channel may exceed the losses connected with hydraulic resistance. Data on the influence of cooling air temperature on the condensation process are also presented.     

A color image watermarking framework for copyright protection of stereo images based on binocular just noticeable difference and LU decomposition

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The copyright protection of three-dimensional (3D) content is a matter of interest in artistic and creative works due to the rights of the holder for the...     

Access control in feature-oriented programming

In feature-oriented programming (FOP) a programmer decomposes a program in terms of features. Ideally, features are implemented modularly so that they can be developed in isolation. Access control mechanisms in the form of access or visibility modifiers are an important ingredient to attain feature modularity as they allow programmers to hide and expose internal details of a module’s implementation. But developers of contemporary feature-oriented languages have not considered access control mechanisms so far. The absence of a well-defined access control model for FOP breaks encapsulation of feature code and leads to unexpected program behaviors and inadvertent type errors. We raise awareness of this problem, propose three feature-oriented access modifiers, and present a corresponding access modifier model. We offer an implementation of the model on the basis of a fully-fledged feature-oriented compiler. Finally, by analyzing ten feature-oriented programs, we explore the potential of feature-oriented modifiers in FOP.     

From MC/DC to RC/DC: formalization and analysis of control-flow testing criteria

This paper describes an approach to the formalization of existing criteria used in computer systems software testing and proposes a new Reinforced Condition/Decision Coverage (RC/DC) criterion. This new criterion has been developed from the well-known Modified Condition/Decision Coverage (MC/DC) criterion and is more suitable for the testing of safety-critical software where MC/DC may not provide adequate assurance. As a formal language for describing the criteria, the Z notation has been selected. Formal definitions in the Z notation for RC/DC, as well as MC/DC and other criteria, are presented. Specific examples of using these criteria for specification-based testing are considered and some features are formally proved. This characterization is helpful in the understanding of different types of testing and also the correct application of a desired testing regime. Received July 2004 Revised November 2005 Accepted November 2005 by J. Derrick, M. Harman and R.M. Herons     

Embedded discontinuity finite element method for modeling of localized failure in heterogeneous materials with structured mesh: an alternative to extended finite element method

In this work we discuss the finite element model using the embedded discontinuity of the strain and displacement field, for dealing with a problem of localized failure in heterogeneous materials by using a structured finite element mesh. On the chosen 1D model problem we develop all the pertinent details of such a finite element approximation. We demonstrate the presented model capabilities for representing not only failure states typical of a slender structure, with crack-induced failure in an elastic structure, but also the failure state of a massive structure, with combined diffuse (process zone) and localized cracking. A robust operator split solution procedure is developed for the present model taking into account the subtle difference between the types of discontinuities, where the strain discontinuity iteration is handled within global loop for computing the nodal displacement, while the displacement discontinuity iteration is carried out within a local, element-wise computation, carried out in parallel with the Gauss-point computations of the plastic strains and hardening variables. The robust performance of the proposed solution procedure is illustrated by a couple of numerical examples. Concluding remarks are stated regarding the class of problems where embedded discontinuity finite element method (ED-FEM) can be used as a favorite choice with respect to extended FEM (X-FEM).