Line start permanent magnet synchronous motors: Challenges and opportunities

Future energy challenges, likewise the environmental crises such as fossil fuel emissions and global warming urge the world to focus on energy saving programs more than ever. An effective way to face these challenges is to improve electric motors efficiency as one of the greatest energy consumption apparatuses in the world. Induction motors constitute, by far, the largest portion of electric motors both in terms of quantity and total power ratings among all electric motors. However, more efficient motor types gradually appear as alternatives. In this paper, line start permanent magnet motors as a powerful candidate with growing market are investigated in some details. The motor opportunities like high efficiency, high power factor and high power density are explored against the challenges associated with this motor including higher cost, extra manufacturing burden and transient and synchronization behaviors. Finally, some concluding comments and remarks are drawn for future research and manufacturing of line start permanent magnet motors.     

On the Compressibility of Gas Diffusion Layers in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The mechanical behavior under compression for a number of gas diffusion layers (GDLs) and a sealing gasket used in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) has been investigated. The results show that the stiffness of the carbon substrate increases with increasing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) loading. Also, coating the carbon substrate with the microporous layer (MPL) significantly enhances the stiffness of the GDL. On the other hand, the stiffness of the GDL appears to slightly decrease with an increase in the PTFE loading present in the MPL. For a given practical compressive pressure, the mechanical behavior of the GDLs is hugely controlled by the less compressible sealing gaskets. Furthermore, it has been found that the compression curves for the tested materials must be corrected for machine compliance. Otherwise, the stiffness of the tested materials is significantly underestimated.     

People re-identification under occlusion and crowded background

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The performance of video surveillance systems with network cameras depends on their accuracy in people re-identification. Body occlusion, crowded background, and...     

Nanoscale Optoregulation of Neural Stem Cell Differentiation by Intracellular Alteration of Redox Balance

Regulation of stem cell (SC) fate, a decision between self‐renewal and differentiation, is of immense importance in regenerative medicine and has been proven to be a powerful stimulus regulating many cell functions influencing the SC fate. This study uses triphenylphosphonium‐functionalized gold nanoparticles (TPP‐AuNPs) to explore the interplay of intracellular electromagnetic (EM) exposure and the SC fate. Localized EM waves are generated inside neural stem cells (NSCs) to stimulate TPP‐AuNPs (AuNPs), targeting the mitochondria through inducing reactive oxygen species and differentiating these cells into neurons. Following laser irradiation of TPP‐AuNPs‐transfected NSCs, their differentiation to neurons is monitored by tracing the relevant markers both at the genetic and protein levels. The electrophysiology technique is further used to examine the functionality of neurons. The results confirm that TPP‐AuNPs subjected to electromotive forces have the potential to regulate cellular fate, although further investigations are still required to shed light on the mechanisms underlying the interaction of EM‐stimulated TPP‐AuNPs on cellular fate to design highly adjustable cell differentiation and reprogramming methods.     

Nitric oxide stimulates human sperm motility via activation of the cyclic GMP/protein kinase G signaling pathway

Nitric oxide (NO), a modulator of several physiological processes, is involved in different human sperm functions. We have investigated whether NO may stimulate the motility of human spermatozoa via activation of the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC)/cGMP pathway. Sperm samples obtained by masturbation from 70 normozoospermic patients were processed by the swim-up technique. The kinetic parameters of the motile sperm-rich fractions were assessed by computer-assisted sperm analysis. After a 30-90 min incubation, the NO donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) exerted a significant enhancing effect on progressive motility (77, 78, and 78% vs 66, 65, and 62% of the control at the corresponding time), straight linear velocity (44, 49, and 48?μm/s vs 34, 35, and 35.5?μm/s), curvilinear velocity (81, 83, and 84?μm/s vs 68?μm/s), and average path velocity (52, 57, and 54?μm/s vs 40, 42, and 42?μm/s) at 5?μM but not at lower concentrations, and in parallel increased the synthesis of cGMP. A similar effect was obtained with the NO donor spermine NONOate after 30 and 60 min. The GSNO-induced effects on sperm motility were abolished by 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo-[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (a specific sGC inhibitor) and mimicked by 8-bromo-cGMP (8-Br-cGMP; a cell-permeating cGMP analog); the treatment with Rp-8-Br-cGMPS (an inhibitor of cGMP-dependent protein kinases) prevented both the GSNO- and the 8-Br-cGMP-induced responses. On the contrary, we did not observe any effect of the cGMP/PRKG1 (PKG) pathway modulators on the onset of hyperactivated sperm motility. Our results suggest that NO stimulates human sperm motility via the activation of sGC, the subsequent synthesis of cGMP, and the activation of cGMP-dependent protein kinases.     

Effect of phase transformation latent heat on prediction accuracy of strip laminar cooling

The cooling of hot-rolled strips is of great importance due to its effects on the mechanical and metallurgical properties of the final product. In this paper, the effect of phase transformation on accurate prediction of strip temperature at the run-out table is investigated. For this purpose, a model is developed for the heat transfer and phase transformation in hot-rolled strips during the cooling process. The model is capable of calculating strip temperature and the volume fraction of steel phases during cooling at the run-out table under the two different situations of “regarding phase transformation latent heat” (RPTLH) and “disregarding phase transformation latent heat” (DPTLH). Actual data from a hot rolling line were used to evaluate the accuracy of the model. The model was used to predict strip temperature under the above two scenarios. Comparison of actual and predicted values in the two DPTLH and RPTLH cases revealed that disregarding the released heat would lead to considerable errors in temperature predictions. The results for different steel grades predicted by the model also showed that the higher the carbon content of the steel, the higher the error due to disregarding phase transformation latent heat.     

Analysis of granule breakage in a rotary mixing drum: Experimental study and distinct element analysis

Rotary drums are commonly used in particulate solid industries for mixing, coating and reactions. The process is often accompanied by undesirable breakage of granules. For this reason, a scaled-down version is sometimes used as an attrition testing device. In this work, the attrition of granules inside a rotary drum at 18, 35 and 52 rpm drum rotation speeds for 4000 cycles is studied. The granules used in this study have been produced by extrusion and spheronisation with a size range of 500 to 1000 μm. The rotary drum has an internal diameter of 0.39 m, axial length of 0.3 m and a single baffle. The extent of breakage is quantified by sieving out fine debris which is two sieve sizes smaller than the feed particles. To relate the extent of breakage in the drum to granule characteristics, single granule impact tests have been performed on one type of granule at several velocities. The effects of particle size and impact velocity are analysed and a power-law relationship is fitted between impact velocity and single granule breakage. This information is then used to simulate granule breakage in a rotary drum by Distinct Element Method (DEM). The drum is simulated for 5 rotations at the rotational speeds stated above and the breakage rate is extrapolated to 4000 cycles where it is compared to experimental results obtained. The trends for particle breakage in both experiments (determined by sieving) and extrapolated DEM simulations are in agreement however the orders of magnitudes are different. The comparison shows that the extent of breakage obtained from extrapolated simulations is overestimated at drum speed of 35 and 52 rpm and underestimated at 18 rpm. There is close agreement between experiments and extrapolated DEM simulations for particle breakage at 18 rpm only after 4000. Furthermore, the effect of air drag on the attrition of granules by impact at a drum rotation speed of 52 rpm is investigated, where it is found to significantly reduce the breakage results.     

A passive mechanism for thermal stress regulation in micro-machined beam-type structures

In this article, a passive mechanism for thermal stress regulation in micro-bridge structures is proposed. The mechanism is essentially a set of precisely designed parallel chevron beams that replace one of the fixed ends of the micro-bridge. The axial stress/force of the beam is determined by utilizing a sensing mechanism that makes use of two side-electrodes and the electromechanical buckling of the micro-bridge toward one of them. A combination of analytical and finite element methods has been employed for the modeling of the proposed mechanism. It has been demonstrated that the regulator mechanism has negligible dynamic effect on the sensing micro-beam. The model takes into account the effect of electric field fringes between the electrically charged bodies. It has been shown that there is a time delay between the moment that the pull-in occurs and the instant that the sensing beam rests on a side-electrode. The results of the modeling are verified by experiment on two devices fabricated using MetalMUMPs^? fabrication technology. The thermal stress sensitivities of the devices are positive and their residual stresses are in excellent agreement.     

Mealiness Detection in Agricultural Crops: Destructive and Nondestructive Tests: A Review

Mealiness is known as an important internal quality attribute of fruits/vegetables, which has significant influence on consumer purchasing decisions. Mealiness has been a topic of research interest over the past several decades. A number of destructive and nondestructive techniques are introduced for mealiness detection. Nondestructive methods are more interesting because they are rapid, noninvasive, and suitable for real‐time purposes. In this review, the concept of mealiness is presented for potato, apple, and peach, followed by an in‐depth discussion about applications of destructive and nondestructive techniques developed for mealiness detection. The results suggest the potential of electromagnetic‐based techniques for nondestructive mealiness evaluation. Further investigations are in progress to find more appropriate nondestructive techniques as well as cost and performance.