Dielectric constant and loss investigations of pristine,iodine‐doped and annealed polyetherimide film

Temperature‐ and frequency‐dependent dielectric behaviour has been investigated for pristine, iodine‐doped and annealed polyetherimide (PEI) in the temperature range 303–523 K at various frequencies (120 Hz, 1 kHz, 10 kHz and 100 kHz). In pristine PEI, the rapid decrease in the dielectric constant (ε′) in the temperature range 303–373 K is governed by the Kirkwood model whereas the gradual decrease in ε′ in the temperature range 373–473 K is governed by β‐relaxation (dipolar) and αβ‐relaxation (hybrid) processes. The occurrence of these relaxations is confirmed by the appearance of tan δ loss peaks at ca 403 and 443 K, respectively, in ε″–T curves. The temperature‐independence of ε′ in the temperature range 473–523 K is mainly governed by the α‐relaxation process associated with large segmental groups. The tan δ loss peak appearing at 503 K confirms this relaxation process. In iodine‐doped samples, an overall increase in ε′ is attributed to the formation of charge‐transfer complexes in the polymer structure. The dominance of a new relaxation process due to interaction of iodine with ether linkages neutralizes the 1/T rule in the low‐temperature region. A significant decrease in ε′ in annealed samples below 393 K is due to the suppression of the dipolar relaxation process. The enhancement in ε′ above 393 K is due to the dominance of the α‐relaxation process. The shift in the high‐temperature tan δ loss peak towards higher temperature with increasing frequency shows the distributive nature of relaxation time for this relaxation process. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Neural Network-Based Selective Compensation of Current Quality Problems in Distribution System

Active power filters (APFs) have been used to compensate harmonics, reactive current, and negative sequence fundamental frequency current drawn by nonlinear loads. The control of APF is the core issue for their proper operation. The flexibility of selective compensation embedded in the control scheme makes APF versatile for compensation of reactive power, harmonic currents, and unbalance in source currents and their combinations, depending upon the limited rating of voltage source inverter employed as APF. The proposed scheme utilizes neural network-based decomposition of the load current into positive and negative sequence fundamental frequency component, reactive component and harmonic components. The adaline-based current decomposer estimates the reference currents through tracking of unit vectors together with tuning of the weights. The implementation of the control scheme facilitates selective compensation which respects the limited rating of the APF. The simulated results using developed MATLAB model are presented and are validated by experimental results to depict the effectiveness of the proposed control method of APF     

High-Temperature Failure Mechanisms of Hot-Pressed Si3N4 and Si3N4/Si3N4-Whisker-Reinforced Composites

The high-temperature flexural strength of hot-pressed silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) and Si₃N₄-whisker-reinforced Si₃N₄-matrix composites has been measured at a crosshead speed of 1.27 mm/min and temperatures up to 1400°C in a nitrogen atmosphere. Load–displacement curves for whisker-reinforced composites showed nonelastic fracture behavior at 1400°C. In contrast, such behavior was not observed for monolithic Si₃N₄. Microstructures of both materials have been examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicate that grain-boundary sliding could be responsible for strength degradation in both monolithic Si₃N₄ and its whisker composites. The origin of the nonelastic failure behavior of Si₃N₄-whisker composite at 1400°C was not positively identified but several possibilities are discussed.     

Oxygen permeation characteristics of sol‐gel derived barium‐substituted strontium ferrite membranes

The pervoskite‐type oxides have received attention due to their potential applications in catalysis, solid oxide fuel cells, gas sensors, and gas separable membranes. In view of their importance in oxygen separation from air, Ba_xSr_1?xFeO_3?δ (0≤x≤1.0) samples have been synthesized by sol‐gel process and investigated with regard to phase(s), oxygen permeation, and electrical conductivity. These compounds possess at room temperature, a perovskite‐type cubic, mixture of rhombohedral and hexagonal, and hexagonal phase(s) depending upon the composition 0≤x≤0.94, x=0.96‐0.98, and x=1.0, respectively. The barium incorporation causes initially enhancement but decrease in electrical conductivity above x=0.94. Above 800°C, all the compositions exhibit a stable cubic phase. The compacts made in the form of discs serve as stable oxygen permeable membranes displaying flux density () of ~2.45‐3.58 mL/cm².min at 1000°C. A good correlation has been demonstrated between the oxygen permeation and the electrical conductivity data. The maximum values of and conductivity correspond to Ba_xSr_1?xFeO_3?δ (x=0.94) with a perovskite‐type cubic structure. Hence, this membrane is quite suitable for oxygen separation technology.     

Compaction and relaxation characteristics of single compacts produced from distiller’s spent grain

Compaction and relaxation characteristics of densified distiller’s spent grain compacts produced at different levels of compressive pressure (60.3–135.7 MPa), initial moisture content (15%, 20% and 25% wb) and soluble content (15% and 30%) were analyzed during the study. The compaction levels used in this study caused up to a 4% wb reduction in the moisture of compacts in comparison to their initial moisture. The density of compacts was analyzed to determine the compaction characteristics of distiller’s spent grain using Jones model. Analysis of the Jones model showed that there was a significant (P = 0.004) decrease in compressibility with an increase in soluble content from 0% to 30%. The distiller’s spent grain compacts were subjected to relaxation tests and the relaxation data obtained were normalized and analyzed to determine the asymptotic modulus (E_A) of the compacts. The asymptotic modulus was used as a measure of rigidity of the compacts. Distiller’s spent grain compact produced with a compressive force of 135.7 MPa and initial moisture of 25% wb possessed the highest E_A value.     

An improved output feedback controller design for linear discrete-time systems using a matrix decomposition method

This paper presents the design of output feedback controllers for discrete-time (DT) linear systems. New sufficient LMI conditions are derived for designing static $H_2$ and $H_{\infty }$ controllers using decomposition of an auxiliary matrix. The decomposition facilitates linearization of nonlinear term of reduced size to obtain linear matrix inequality criteria. This leads to less conservative results as shown in the numerical examples. In addition, the proposed static output feedback criteria is also used for designing dynamic output feedback controllers for DT systems. Furthermore, a comparative study is also made for the proposed design method with the results existing in the literature. Finally, a DT static output feedback $H_{\infty }$ controller is designed for a quarter-car suspension system. Simulation results are provided to show the efficacy of the proposed design method.