General view on current conveyors

We propose a new current conveyor terminology and explain how these terms are coined. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

统计不相关最佳鉴别矢量集的本质研究

对统计不相关最佳鉴别矢量集的本质进行研究，在基于总体散布矩阵特征分解的基础上，构造了一种白化变换，使得变换后的样本空间中的总体散布矩阵为单位矩阵，这样使得传统的最佳鉴别矢量集算法得到的均是具有统计不相关的最佳鉴别矢量集，从而揭示了统计不相关最佳鉴别变换的本质——白化变换加普通的线性鉴别变换。该方法的最大优点在于所获得的最优鉴别矢量同时具有正交性和统计不相关性。该方法对代数特征抽取具有普遍适用性。用ORL人脸数据库的数值实验，验证了该方法的有效性。     

Werkstoffkennwerte für die Lebensdauerberechnung von Strukturen aus Stahlfeinblechen für den Automobilbau

Materials Data for Fatigue Life Calculation of Steel Sheet Structures for Automotive Engineering Within a joint project of the steel and automotive industry 17 steel sheet materials for automotive engineering in various delivery and forming conditions at temperatures of –40 °C, 22 °C and 100 °C were investigated. In the course of 37 test series strain controlled fatigue curves to crack initiation and stress‐strain‐curves under monotonic and cyclic loading were determined. All experimental data, hysteresis loops and determined cyclic properties are available in a database. A correlation between the mechanical properties from tensile tests and the properties from strain controlled cyclic experiments seems to be possible.     

Evolution of Globular Microstructure in New Rheocasting and Super Rheocasting Semi‐Solid Slurries

Based on the solidification theory for metal alloys, a simple recipe for the controlled processing of globular microstructures without external stirring is presented: Firstly, small solidification nuclei must be distributed homogeneously throughout a melt. In New Rheocasting (NRC) these nuclei are formed by forced homogeneous nucleation due to partial quenching of the melt, while in Super Rheocasting (SRC) the nuclei are “second phase particles” in specially designed alloys, which are grown in a controlled fashion in a certain temperature range. Potential alloy compositions for SRC are provided. Secondly, given these melts with small particles in them, globular growth can be assured by utilizing the Gibbs‐Thomson “self healing effect” and slow further cooling to allow diffusion in the melt and to suppress constitutional supercooling. This simple recipe is applicable to various ferrous and non‐ferrous alloys. If an SRC alloy is cooled more rapidly than necessary for globular growth of the primary phase, but is held sufficiently long in the SRC range for dispersoid formation, these dispersoids can act as potent grain refiners and possibly enhance elevated temperature properties. A combination of both processes by using SRC alloys in the NRC equipment may lead to pressure tight castings with low porosity and finer grain structure than can be achieved with NRC on its own, and consequently, better mechanical properties.     

Two Kinds of Creativity – But Which Ones?

It is argued that Kirton's theory of styles of creativity is conceptually and methodologically unsound. A solution to the conceptual and methodological dilemmas is offered by way of making a clear‐cut distinction between novelty on the stimulus and novelty on the response side. This distinction is used as a platform for the development of a new taxonomy of different kinds of creativity and intelligent behaviour. A major feature of this new model is the distinction made between proactive and reactive creativity. The implications of this distinction for opening new avenues for a more differentiated assessment of creativity, as well as for the development of a conceptually firmer and more differentiated platform for developing new practical training programmes in creativity are suggested.     

An Introduction to Multivariate Statistical Analysis

A permutation test is proposed for examining the significance of effects in unreplicated factorial experiments. The procedure tests each effect with a separate sampling distribution using a test statistic that is equivalent to the optimal invariant decision rule of Birnbaum. The proposed test is more flexible than other methods proposed for the same situation because it requires no a priori assumptions regarding the underlying distribution of the data nor does it impose any practical restriction on the number of potentially significant effects present.     

On the importance of specific interface area in clay nanocomposites of PMMA filled with synthetic nano-mica

In clay nanocomposites, the specific interface area is the key factor determining potential improvements of properties. Nevertheless, in most systematic studies of nanocomposites little emphasis is put on assuring and characterizing dispersion quality. To probe the influence of dispersion quality, we compare nanocomposites filled with two layered silicates which were made by melt compounding and solution blending, respectively. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is chosen here as a thermoplastic model matrix which was compounded with a synthetic nano-mica (O-hect) and commercial Bentone with typical diameters of 5–7 μm and <300 nm, respectively.