A consultation and simulation system for product color planning based on interactive genetic algorithms

In the early stage of a design process, it is important to create numerous and varied possible color plans for the target consumer group. These color plans help individual designers quickly find a few good color design schemes and give the design team ideas for brainstorming. The color plan of a product consists of the color combinations of its components and decorative patterns, which strongly influence the feelings of customers and thus their desire to purchase. However, very few studies have discussed these issues. In this study, a consultation and simulation system for product color planning that helps designers obtain the optimal color planning for components and decorative patterns of a product is proposed. This system includes two parts: one uses the interactive genetic algorithm to establish a creative evolutionary system that can interact with a designer to explore novel design schemes; the other extends the boundary extract algorithm to establish a color simulation system that can apply colors to the areas of product components and decorative patterns for color simulation. Finally, a case study of color planning for a motorcycle model is used to verify the feasibility of the proposed system. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 38, 375–390, 2013     

Boundary integral equations for notch problems in an anisotropic half-space

A crack or a hole embedded in an anisotropic half-plane space subjected to a concentrated force at its surface is analyzed. Based on the Stroh formalism and the fundamental solutions to the half-plane solid due to point dislocations, the problem can be formulated by a system of boundary integral equations for the unknown dislocation densities defined on the crack or hole border. These integral equations are then reduced to algebraic equations by using the properties of the Chebyshev polynomials in conjunction with the appropriate transformations. Numerical results have been carried out for both crack problems and hole problems to elucidate the effect of geometric configurations on the stress intensity factors and the stress concentration.     

ESD protection design for 1- to 10-GHz distributed amplifier in CMOS technology

Two distributed electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection schemes are presented and applied to protect distributed amplifiers (DAs) against ESD stresses. Fabricated in a standard 0.25-/spl mu/m CMOS process, the DA with the first protection scheme of the equal-sized distributed ESD (ES-DESD) protection scheme, contributing an extra 300 fF parasitic capacitance to the circuit, can sustain the human-body model (HBM) ESD level of 5.5 kV and machine-model (MM) ESD level of 325 V and exhibits the flat-gain of 4.7 /spl plusmn/ 1 dB from 1 to 10 GHz. With the same amount of parasitic capacitance, the DA with the second protection scheme of the decreasing-sized distributed ESD (DS-DESD) protection scheme achieves better ESD robustness, where the HBM ESD level over 8 kV and MM ESD level is 575 V, and has the flat-gain of 4.9 /spl plusmn/ 1.1 dB over the 1 to 9.2-GHz band. With these two proposed ESD protection schemes, the broad-band RF performances and high ESD robustness of the DA can be successfully codesigned to meet the application specifications.     

A continuous ultrasound‐assisted packed‐bed bioreactor for the lipase‐catalyzed synthesis of caffeic acid phenethyl ester

BACKGROUND: The focus of this paper is the ultrasound‐assisted synthesis of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) from caffeic acid and phenyl ethanol in a continuous packed‐bed bioreactor. Immobilized Novozym^® 435 (from Candida antarctica) is used as the catalyst. A three‐level–three‐factor Box–Behnken design and a response surface methodology (RSM) are employed to evaluate the effects of temperature, flow rate, and ultrasonic power on the percentage molar conversion of CAPE. RESULTS: Based on ridge max analysis, it is concluded that the optimum condition for synthesis is reaction temperature 72.66 °C, flow rate 0.046 mL min^?1, and ultrasonic power 1.64 W cm^?2. The expected molar conversion value is 97.84%. An experiment performed under these optimal conditions resulted in a molar conversion of 92.11 ± 0.75%. The enzyme in the bioreactor was found to be stable for at least 6 days. CONCLUSIONS: The lipase‐catalyzed synthesis of CAPE by an ultrasound‐assisted packed‐bed bioreactor uses mild reaction conditions. Enzymatic synthesis of CAPE is suitable for use in the nutraceutical and food production industries. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis and properties of poly(ether imide)s derived from 2,5‐bis(3,4‐dicarboxyphenoxy)biphenyl dianhydride and aromatic ether–diamines

A series of poly(ether imide)s (PEIs) with light colors and good mechanical properties were synthesized from 2,5‐bis(3,4‐dicarboxyphenoxy)biphenyl dianhydride and various aromatic ether–diamines via a conventional two‐step polymerization technique that included ring‐opening polyaddition at room temperature to poly(amic acid)s (PAAs) followed by thermal imidization. The precursor PAAs had inherent viscosities ranging from 0.71 to 1.19 dL/g and were solution‐cast and thermally cyclodehydrated to flexible and tough PEI films. All of the PEI films were essentially colorless, with ultraviolet–visible absorption cutoff wavelengths between 377 and 385 nm and yellowness index values ranging from 10.5 to 19.9. These PEIs showed high thermal stabilities with glass‐transition temperatures of 206–262°C and decomposition temperatures (at 10% weight loss) higher than 478°C. They also showed low dielectric constants of 3.39–3.72 (at 1 MHz) and low water absorptions below 0.85 wt %. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

The n-type Ge photodetectors with gold nanoparticles deposited to enhance the responsivity

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been deposited on n-type Ge photodetectors to improve the responsivity. Two different coverage ratios, including 10.5 and 30.3% of AuNPs have been prepared, and the fabricated photodetectors are compared with the control sample. The 1,310-nm responsivities at -2 V of the control, 10.5% AuNPs, and 30.3% AuNPs samples are 465, 556, and 623 mA/W, respectively. The AuNPs could increase the responsivities due to the plasmon resonance. The reflectance spectra of these samples have been measured to verify that plasmon resonance contributes to the forward scattering of incident light. The reflectance decreases with AuNP deposition, and a denser coverage results in a smaller reflectance. The smaller reflectance indicates more light could penetrate into the Ge active layer, and it results in a larger responsivity.     

Flow and thermal characteristics of cationic dyeable nylon 6/cationic dyeable poly(ethylene terephthalate) polyblended polymers and filaments

Cationic dyeable nylon 6 (CD‐N6) and cationic dyeable poly(ethylene terephthalate) (CD‐PET) polymers were extruded (in the proportions of 75/25, 50/50, 25/75) from one melt twin‐screw extruders to prepare three CD‐N6/CD‐PET polyblended polymers and then spin filaments. The molar ratio of 5‐sodium sulfonate dimethyl isophthalate (5‐SSDMI) for CD‐N6 and CD‐PET polymers were 2.01% and 2.04%, respectively. This study investigated the flow and thermal characteristics of CD‐N6/CD‐PET polyblended polymers and filaments using gel permeation chromatography (GPC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), potentiometer, a rheometer, the density gradient, wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), and extension stress–strain measurement. Flow behavior of CD‐N6/CD‐PET polyblended polymers exhibited negative‐deviation blends (NDB), and the 50/50 blend of CD‐N6/CD‐PET showed a minimum value of the melt viscosity. Experimental results of the DSC indicated CD‐N6 and CD‐PET molecules formed an immiscible system. Particularly, a double endothermic peak was observed from CD‐N6, CD‐PET and their polyblended filaments. The tenacity of CD‐N6/CD‐PET polyblended filaments decreased initially and then increased as the CD‐PET content increased. Crystallinities and densities of CD‐N6/CD‐PET polyblended filaments were the linear relation with the blend ratio. The miscibility parameter μ values of CD‐N6/CD‐PET all samples were less than zero. It indicated the electrostatic repulsion was evident between CD‐N6 and CD‐PET molecules. From the experimental data, the CD‐N6 and CD‐PET polymers were identified to be immiscible. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2049–2056, 2007     

Finite element analysis and verification of laser marking on eggshell

The first aim of the study was to establish the temperature model of the eggshell by the finite element analysis software ANSYS and realize the eggshell temperature field based on the laser marking processing. The eggshell surface which created the meshing model, set the parameters with the ANSYS Parameter Design Language and simulated that the Gaussian distributed laser beam acted on the surface were established. In addition, marking characters made use of the CO₂ laser processing system on the brittle eggshell to analyze whether laser beams caused damage to the inner of the eggshell. According to the results of the comparison between the simulation by ANSYS and the experiment of laser marking, it is revealed that the heat-affected area by laser marking is similar to that of the simulation.