Experimental Study on Low Cyclic Loading Tests of Steel Plate Shear Walls with Multilayer Slits

A new type of earthquake-resisting element that consists of a steel plate shear wall with slits is introduced. The infill steel plate is divided into a series of vertical flexural links with vertical links. The steel plate shear walls absorb energy by means of in-plane bending deformation of the flexural links and the energy dissipation capacity of the plastic hinges formed at both ends of the flexural links when under lateral loads. In this paper, finite element analysis and experimental studies at low cyclic loadings were conducted on specimens with steel plate shear walls with multilayer slits. The effects caused by varied slit pattern in terms of slit design parameters on lateral stiffness, ultimate bearing capacity and hysteretic behavior of the shear walls were analyzed. Results showed that the failure mode of steel plate shear walls with a single-layer slit was more likely to be out-of-plane buckling of the flexural links. As a result, the lateral stiffness and the ultimate bearing capacity were relatively lower when the precondition of the total height of the vertical slits remained the same. Differently, the failure mode of steel plate shear walls with multilayer slits was prone to global buckling of the infill steel plates; more obvious tensile fields provided evidence to the fact of higher lateral stiffness and excellent ultimate bearing capacity. It was also concluded that multilayer specimens exhibited better energy dissipation capacity compared with single-layer plate shear walls.     

Memory and topological frustration in nematic liquid crystals confined in porous materials

Orientational ordering is key to functional materials with switching capability, such as nematic liquid crystals and ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials. We explored the confinement of nematic liquid crystals in bicontinuous porous structures with smooth surfaces that locally impose normal orientational order on the liquid crystal. We find that frustration leads to a high density of topological defect lines permeating the porous structures, and that most defect lines are made stable by looping around solid portions of the confining material. Because many defect trajectories are possible, these systems are highly metastable and efficient in memorizing the alignment forced by external fields. Such memory effects have their origin in the topology of the confining surface and are maximized in a simple periodic bicontinuous cubic structure. We also show that nematic liquid crystals in random porous networks exhibit a disorder-induced slowing-down typical of glasses that originates from activated collisions and rearrangements of defect lines. Our findings offer the possibility to functionalize orientationally ordered materials through topological confinement.     

A new insight on the preparation of stabilized alpha-nickel hydroxide nanoparticles

Nickel hydroxide can provide an outstanding cathode material in alkaline secondary batteries, however the progressive decrease of the charge capacity as a function of the number of oxidation/reduction cycles is a challenging problem to be solved. New improvements on the electrochemical properties of electrode materials can be achieved by exploiting the much better performance of alpha-nickel hydroxide. Such materials were obtained in a stable form by sol-gel method and characterized by thermogravimetric analyses, UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance techniques. The results revealed not only the formation of the alpha-Ni(OH)2 phase, but also a much better electrochemical reversibility and stability as compared with similar materials obtained by electrochemical precipitation method.     

Multi-junction III–V solar cells: current status and future potential

Our recent R&D activities of III–V compound multi-junction (MJ) solar cells are presented. Conversion efficiency of InGaP/InGaAs/Ge has been improved up to 31–32% (AM1.5) as a result of technologies development such as double hetero-wide band-gap tunnel junction, InGaP–Ge hetero-face structure bottom cell, and precise lattice-matching of InGaAs middle cell to Ge substrate by adding indium into the conventional GaAs layer. For concentrator applications, grid structure has been designed in order to reduce the energy loss due to series resistance, and world-record efficiency InGaP/InGaAs/Ge 3-junction concentrator solar cell with an efficiency of 37.4% (AM1.5G, 200-suns) has been fabricated. In addition, we have also demonstrated high-efficiency and large-area (7000 cm²) concentrator InGaP/InGaAs/Ge 3-junction solar cell modules of an outdoor efficiency of 27% as a result of developing high-efficiency InGaP/InGaAs/Ge 3-junction cells, low optical loss Fresnel lens and homogenizers, and designing high thermal conductivity modules.Future prospects are also presented. We have proposed concentrator III–V compound MJ solar cells as the 3rd generation solar cells in addition to 1st generation crystalline Si solar cells and 2nd generation thin-film solar cells. We are now developing low-cost and high output power concentrator MJ solar cell modules with an output power of 400 W/m² for terrestrial applications.     

The calibration of Bonner sphere spectrometer

Bonner sphere spectrometer (BSS) is used in radiation protection measurement because of its wide energy range (thermal to MeV) and easy operation. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has used BSS to obtain neutron spectrum and has used the neutron spectrum to estimate neutron dose or induced activity. Calibration of BSS is important to estimate precise neutron dose or induced activity. MHI BSS was calibrated at National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). The calibration results at AIST are in good agreement with calculation results.     

In vitro heat generation by ferrimagnetic maghemite microspheres for hyperthermic treatment of cancer under an alternating magnetic field

Ferrimagnetic materials can be expected to be useful as thermo seeds for hyperthermic treatment of cancer, especially where the cancer is located in deep parts of body, as they can generate heat by magnetic hysteretic loss when they are placed in an alternating magnetic field. Recently, it was reported that ferrimagnetic maghemite (γ-Fe₂O₃) microspheres 20–30 μm in diameter prepared in aqueous solution can show excellent heat generating ability. However, these microspheres have many cracks on their surfaces. In this study, the preparation conditions for the microspheres was further optimized in order to obtain crack-free ferrimagnetic microspheres, and the in vitro heat generation of the obtained microspheres was measured in an agar phantom under an alternating magnetic field. Crack-free γ-Fe₂O₃ microspheres 20–30 μm in diameter were obtained successfully. Their saturation magnetization and coercive force were 68 emu g⁻¹ and 198 Oe, respectively. Their heat generation under an alternating magnetic field of 300 Oe at 100 kHz was estimated to be 42 W g⁻¹. The microspheres showed in vitro heat generation when they were dispersed in an agar phantom and placed under an alternating magnetic field. It is believed that these microspheres may be useful for the in situ hyperthermic treatment of cancer.     

Warm Spray Forming of Ti-6Al-4V

Warm spray (WS) is a modification of high-velocity oxy-fuel spraying, in which the temperature of the supersonic gas flow generated by the combustion of kerosene and oxygen is controlled by diluting the combustion flame with an inert gas such as nitrogen. The inert gas is injected into the mixing chamber placed between the combustion chamber and the powder feed ports, thus the temperature of the propellant gas can be controlled from ~700 to 2,000 K. Since WS allows for higher particle temperatures in comparison to cold spray, warm sprayed particles are more softened upon impact, thus resulting in greater deformation facilitating the formation of shear instability for bonding. Recently, the combustion pressure of WS has been increased from 1 (low-pressure warm spray) to 4 MPa (high-pressure warm spray) in order to increase the velocity of sprayed particles. Effects of spray parameters on microstructure, mechanical properties, and splats formation of Ti-6Al-4V were systematically studied. Obtained coatings were examined by analyzing the coating cross-section images, microhardness as well as oxygen content. In addition, flattening ratio of splats was calculated as a function of nitrogen flow rate. It was found that the increased particle velocity caused by the increased combustion pressure had significant beneficial effects in terms of improving density and controlling the oxygen level in the sprayed Ti-6Al-4V coatings.     

Fine finishing of ground DOE lens of synthetic silica by magnetic field-assisted polishing

Needs of micro structured optical components are increasing in the astronomical space telescope. In the space having extremely large temperature differences, a diffractive optical element (DOE) lens is very effective in reducing the thermal chromatic aberration due to the thermal expansion. In order to finish the ground DOE lens of synthetic silica, a magnetic field-assisted polishing is proposed. In the experiments, DOE lens ground by the sharp edged diamond wheel is finished by the magnetic field-assisted polishing. By the grinding and polishing test, changes of form deviation profiles and surface roughness profiles are evaluated and feasibility is tested.     

Production of recombinant human lysosomal acid lipase in Schizosaccharomyces pombe: development of a fed-batch fermentation and purification process

A fed-batch fermentation process has been developed to enable the production of large quantities of recombinant human lysosomal acid lipase (hLAL; EC 3.1.1.13), in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, for preclinical studies as a potential enzyme therapy drug. Recombinant S. pombe, clone ASP397-21, expressed enzymatically active hLAL in the secreted form. A feedback fed-batch system was used to determine the optimal feed rate of a 50% glucose solution used as the carbon source. The feed rate of the glucose solution was calculated by a computer-aided system according to the equation; F=q(sf)(VX)/S(in) (q(sf), specific substrate feed rate [gram substrate/gram dry cell weight/h]; V, volume of culture broth [l]; X, cell density [gram dry cell weight/l]; S(in), concentration of growth limiting substrate in feed solution [gram substrate/gram feed solution]). At the time of the initial consumption of glucose in the batch-phase culture, the nutrient supply was automatically initiated by means of monitoring the respiratory quotient change. The obtained profile of the feed rate was applied to the feed forward control fermentation. Finally, the cells were grown up to >50 g dry cell weight/l, and the hLAL expression level was approximately 16,000 U/l. Expressed hLAL protein was purified in a two-step process by hydrophobic interaction and anion exchange chromatographies. Purified recombinant hLAL exhibited a 90-150 kDa broad band upon SDS-PAGE with specific activity of about 300 U/mg. After endoglycosidase H treatment, the band converged to 45 kDa, equal to the calculated molecular weight, suggesting that hLAL produced in S. pombe was hyper-glycosylated. N-terminal analysis of de-glycosylated hLAL revealed that the signal sequence of hLAL was correctly processed in S. pombe.     

Relationships between mite allergen levels, mold concentrations, and sick building syndrome symptoms in newly built dwellings in Japan

This study investigated the possible relationships between exposures to mite allergen and airborne fungi with sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms for residents living in newly built dwellings. We randomly sampled 5709 newly built dwellings in six prefectures from northern to southern Japan. A total of 1479 residents in 425 households participated in the study by completing questionnaire surveys and agreeing to environmental monitoring for mite allergen (Der 1), airborne fungi, aldehydes, and volatile organic compounds. Stepwise logistic regression analyses adjusted for confounders were used to obtain odds ratios (OR) of mite allergen and fungi for SBS symptoms. Der 1 had a significantly high OR for nose symptoms. Rhodotorula had a significantly high OR for any symptoms, and Aspergillus had significantly high OR for eye symptoms. However, the total colony-forming units had a significantly low OR for throat and respiratory symptoms. Eurotium had a significantly low OR for skin symptoms. In conclusion, dust-mite allergen levels and indoor airborne Rhodotorula and Aspergillus concentrations may result in SBS symptoms in newly built dwellings. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Various factors can cause sick building syndrome symptoms. This study focused on biologic factors such as dust-mite allergen and airborne fungi in newly built dwellings in Japan. Dust-mite allergen levels were significantly associated with higher rates of nose symptoms, airborne Rhodotorula concentrations were significantly associated with higher rates of any symptoms, and Aspergillus concentrations were significantly associated with higher rates of eye symptoms. Measures should be taken to reduce mite allergen levels and fungal concentrations in these dwellings.