Observation by TEM of spontaneous alloying in nanometre-sized atom clusters in the Au-Al system

Cluster-size dependence of alloying behaviour in nanometre-sized atom clusters has been studied by transmission electron microscopy, using clusters in the Au-Al system, which forms several intermetallic compounds in the phase diagram. In gold clusters of approximately 6–12 nm mean size, rapid dissolution of aluminium atoms took place and Au₂Al or AuAl₂ clusters were formed. When the size of gold clusters was increased to approximately 40 nm, no such rapid spontaneous alloying occurred. These observations suggest that there exists a critical size of initial gold clusters below which aluminide clusters are successfully formed by spontaneous alloying.     

Oxygen gas-sensing behaviour of V2O5–SnO–TeO2 glass

The d.c. conductivity, σ, and the oxygen gas-sensing behaviour of V₂O₅–SnO–TeO₂ glass prepared by press-quenching were studied in argon and oxygen gas atmospheres at temperatures ranging from 303–473 K. The glass of 50V₂O₅·20SnO·30TeO₂ (mol %) was n-type semiconducting. The high-temperature conductivity was lower in oxygen and higher in argon than that in air. This was explained by the V⁴⁺ ions in the glass being oxidized by oxygen which had diffused into the glass, resulting in an increase in V⁵⁺ with time. The experimental relationship between σ and oxygen partial pressure, P _O2, agreed quantitatively with the theoretical relation σ ∝ P _O2 ^-1/4 . Changes in conductivity by switching the atmospheres between oxygen and argon gases were found to be reproducible. From the data of these dynamic changes, the oxygen gas sensitivity, S, at 473 K was obtained to be 1.3 in oxygen atmosphere. The dynamic changes could be quantitatively explained by an oxygen diffusion model. Throughout these discussions, the present tellurite glass was found to possess a potential applicability as an oxygen gas sensor. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Thermal Gelation Mechanism of Legumin from Broad Beans

The legumin formed a gel through formation of soluble aggregates and their juncture. Electron microscope studies indicated the legumin molecules associated to form strands. These strands then formed network-like structures, finally resulting in gel formation. The thickness of those strands and network constituents was irregular (8.3 to 36 nm). A presumed process of thermal legumin gelation was hypothesized. A comparison of gelation behaviors in legumin and in glycinin was also studied.     

Quality Evaluation of Fish Meat by 31 Phosphorus-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

³¹Phosphorus-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (³¹P-NMR) was used to evaluate degree of freshness of loach muscle depending on metabolic changes of high energy phosphate compounds. The phosphocreatine ([PCr])/inorganic phosphate ([Pi]) ratio was found to be a sensitive index of early metabolic hypofunction. Ratios of [PCr]/β-phosphate of ATP ([β-ATP]), and [Pi]/[β-ATP] were demonstrated to be appropriate indexes to estimate such metabolic changes in fresh fish. The intramuscular levels of creatine phosphate, ATP and pH were maintained at higher levels in blood-drained loach than in untreated fish. The freshness of fish which were bled and washed at lower temperatures were better preserved.     

Improved Modified Switching Transient Pulse Width Modulation (MT‐PWM) Method Applied to H‐Bridge Type Step‐Down Converter

The authors have devised a new method to decrease high‐frequency harmonics in a specific frequency band by modifying the switching transient slope. In previous studies, there were several problems in applying modified transient pulse width modulation (MT‐PWM) to actual converters. In this paper, three problems are solved using an improved MT‐PWM method. First, the MT‐PWM signal was obtained using a trial‐and‐error approach that involved complex computation procedures in the previous studies. In this paper, a new calculation procedure for obtaining the MT‐PWM waveform using a simple calculation is proposed. Second, a new controller (drain‐source voltage controller) based on voltage feedback is proposed in order to realize a modified switching transient to increase the stability of the switching operation. Third, the dependency of MT‐PWM on source voltage variation is investigated in order to implement MT‐PWM in an actual step‐down converter. From this result, the concept of a new type of controller with the source voltage variation taken into consideration is proposed. Finally, the authors attempted to apply MT‐PWM to an H‐bridge converter to expand the application of MT‐PWM. An H‐bridge converter with MT‐PWM for a dc motor drive is successfully operated in an experiment.     

Proposal of Series‐Parallel Continuously Regulated Chopper Suitable for Auxiliary Power Supply of Railway Vehicle

The conventional auxiliary power supply (APS) of a railway vehicle is directly connected to the catenary through the LC filter. Hence, the switching devices of the APS must have a high breakdown voltage to account for catenary voltage fluctuation. On the other hand, low‐voltage switching devices have better characteristics that are desirable for low‐loss and high‐frequency operation. Therefore, a step‐down converter is incorporated between the LC filter and inverter to adapt to catenary voltage fluctuations when using low‐voltage switching devices. This paper proposes the series‐parallel continuously regulated chopper as a novel step‐down converter. First, the fundamental operation characteristics and output voltage control method of the proposed chopper are introduced. The simulation and experimental results for the fundamental characteristics are then described; the simulation and experimental values were almost the same as the theoretical values. The proposed chopper controls the output voltage at the expected value without dramatic fluctuation regardless of the input voltage fluctuation. In addition, a resonance damping control for a constant power load is proposed. The operational characteristics were considered under different potential distributions or load conditions.     

Control of unstable mechanical system Control of pendulum†

This paper relates to the design of a control system for a mechanical system which contains an unstable mode and to an experiment for demonstrating that the control theory may be applied to practical real systems. In this paper the object treated is the control of the pendulum-cart system, which has been studied by many control theorists and engineers as an inverted pendulum problem, and a composite control system is designed not only to stabilize the inverted pendulum but to swing the pendulum from the natural pendent position up to the inverted position, which is actually made. The experimental results are presented.     

Stabilization of perturbed systems via linear optimal regulator

Linear quadratic state feedback regulators make the resulting closed-loop systems stable enough, i.e. they realize robust stabilization. Many attempts at robust stabilization using linear quadratic regulators have been reported. One of the major trends of formulating uncertainty in systems is to express perturbed parameters as the sum of two terms, i.e. nominal values and the deviation from them. In this paper, it is assumed that the upper and lower bounds for each uncertain parameter can somehow be estimated. This enables us to dispense with nominal values. The main aim is to contrive a robust feedback stabilization law for systems with parameters falling into certain ranges via a linear quadratic regulator based only upon information on their bounds. The systems under consideration are therefore those having interval system matrices (in which each element has the above-mentioned two-sided bounds). A certain feedback law is a stabilizing law for a system with an interval system matrix if and only if the same feedback law remains so for systems with system matrices whose entries are all possible combinations of the endpoints of their variation range.     

Microstrip Band Pass Filter of GHz Region Employing Aerosol-Deposited Alumina Thick Films

The miniaturized 10 GHz microstrip band-pass filter was successfully fabricated on the alumina thick films grown on Cu substrates at room temperature by aerosol deposition method and using the newly developed pattern electroplating procedure and electromagnetic analysis. The relative dielectric permittivity and loss tangent of the aerosol-deposited alumina thick films on Cu were 9.9 and 0.089, respectively. The resistivity of the electroplated Cu line was determined to be 2 × 10^{? 8} Ω m. The very good agreement was shown between results simulated using a 3-dimensional electromagnetic analysis and the actual measured data.