Experimental study on a monovalent inverter-driven water-to-water heat pump with a desuperheater for low energy houses

In this study, a novel monovalent inverter-driven water-to-water heat pump with a desuperheater was developed. In this unique system, domestic hot water is produced at a constant temperature controlled by a variable flow rate and stored in a tank. The heat demand is constantly matched by the system through the use of an inverter-driven compressor, which eliminates the need for a buffer tank. Three heating configurations of the system were examined with respect to variable climate conditions and two space heating target temperatures: space heating (mode 1), domestic hot water production (mode 2) and a combination of both (mode 3). Mappings of the performance variables per frequency were constructed for mode 3. For the other modes, the highest COP was identified for each examined climate condition. The difference between modes 1 and 3 was less than 5% for every variable. The space heating target temperature had a strong influence on both modes, showing an average difference of 29% in the COP between 35 °C and 45 °C. Mode 2 exhibited a considerably reduced COP compared to the other modes, as well as the lowest refrigerant mass flow rate and highest compression ratio among the three modes. From the previous results and the examination of the compressor, the compression ratio presents itself as a key parameter that can help to increase the COP if maintained at low values. The results of this research could be applied to the design of a control methodology for monovalent heat pumps.     

Isolation of a novel alkaline-induced laccase from Flammulina velutipes and its application for hair coloring

Laccase is a member of the multi-copper oxidase family and a promising for hair coloring. In this study, we isolated a novel alkaline-induced laccase from the white-rot fungus Flammulina velutipes and studied the possibility to apply the enzyme for hair coloring. Laccase activity detected in the culture supernatant of F. velutipes was found to significantly increase when exchanging the medium to laccase inducing one whose pH was adjusted to 9.0. Three isozymes were detected by activity staining on non-denaturing SDS-PAGE. The major isozyme, Flac1, was purified from the culture supernatant after being induced at pH 9.0 by ion-exchange column chromatography. The N-terminal peptide sequence of Flac1 was determined, revealing clear homology with laccases from other white-rot fungi. Optimum pH of oxidation was found to be around pH 5.0-6.5 regardless of several different substrates used. Oxidation activities of Flac1 to several hair dye agents as substrate showed the higher activity at pH 6.5 than that at pH 9.0. Oxidation activity was also detected at pH 9.0 which was suitable for hair coloring. When the purified Flac1 was applied for hair coloring system without using hydrogen peroxide, effective coloring was observed at the protein amount of 0.25mg/1g of hair used. These results indicated that this alkaline-induced novel laccase isolated from the culture supernatant of F. velutipes might be a useful enzyme for hair color.     

Improvement of Plasma Performance Using Carbon Pellet Injection in Large Helical Device

A cylindrical carbon pellet with a size of 1.2L?1.2? to 1.8L?1.8?mm and a velocity of 100 to 300 m/s was injected into Large Helical Device (LHD) for an efficient fueling based on its deeper deposition instead of hydrogen gas puffing and ice pellet injection. Electron density increment of ?ne=1014cm-3 is successfully obtained by single carbon pellet injection without plasma collapse. Typical density and temperature of the ablation plasma of the carbon pellet, e.g., 6.5x1016cm-3 and 2.5eV for CII, are examined respectively by spectroscopic method. A confinement improvement up to 50% compared to ISS-95 stellarator scaling is clearly observed in a relatively low-density regime of ne=2 to 4?1013cm-3, and high ion temperature Ti(0) of about 6keV is also observed with an internal transport barrier at ne=1.2?1013cm-3. In particular, the improvement in the ion temperature largely exceeds that observed in hydrogen gas- puffed discharges, which typically ranges below 3 keV.     

Quench protection tests of a cryocooler cooled 6 T NbTi superconducting magnet by an active power method

When a quench occurs in a superconducting magnet, excessive joule heating may damage the magnet. We have presented the quench protection system based on an active power method. Our previous quench protection tests have been carried out for small superconducting magnets whose self inductances are less than several hundred mH to verify principles of our proposed system. In this paper, we present experimental results of quench protection tests of a cryocooler cooled 6 T NbTi superconducting magnet (self inductance 15.5 H), which is a commercial size magnet made by Tamakawa Co., Ltd. We confirmed that our proposed system could inhibit the maximum temperature of the superconducting magnet (initial temperature 4.3 K) after the quench to less than about 44 K at operation magnetic field 5.5 T. Experimental results suggest that our proposed system is useful for practical used superconducting magnets.     

Color scheme adjustment by fuzzy constraint satisfaction for color vision deficiencies

Color schemes or color combinations are widely used in printed materials and their digital versions, including web pages. These schemes convey information and create aesthetic appeal. Consequently, graphic designers have to strike a balance between accessibility and aesthetics with the color schemes they select. However, certain color schemes make the represented information confusing when viewers have color vision deficiencies (CVDs), which may lead to decrease in discriminability between used colors. What we will call the color‐scheme‐recoloring problem is the difficulty of optimizing a color scheme so as to preserve its original design and yet be simultaneously discriminable for all viewers, with or without CVDs. To address the problem, we formulated it within a framework of a fuzzy constraint satisfaction problem, a technique of artificial intelligence, and developed a tool for graphic designers. By utilizing the practical color co‐ordinate system (PCCS), we introduce concepts used in the field of graphic design. This work combines pre‐publication recoloring techniques for CVD viewers with elements of artificial intelligence, psychophysics, and psychology. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 40, 446–464, 2015     

Microstructural development and radiation hardening of neutron irradiated Mo-Re alloys

Stress-relieved specimens and recrystallized specimens of pure Mo and Mo-Re alloys with Re contents of 2, 4, 5, 10, 13 and 41 wt% were neutron irradiated up to 20 dpa at temperatures from 681 to 1072 K. On microstructural observation, sigma phase and chi phase precipitates were found in all irradiated Mo-Re alloys. Voids were observed in all irradiated specimens, and dislocation loops and dislocations were observed in the specimens that were irradiated at lower temperatures. On Vickers hardness testing, all of the irradiated specimens showed hardening. Especially Mo-41Re were drastically embrittled after irradiation at 874 K or below. From these results, the authors discuss about the relation between microstructure development and radiation hardening and embrittlement, and propose the optimum Re content and thermal treatment for Mo-Re alloys to be used under irradiation conditions.     

A new evaluation method of surface energy of ultra-thin film

A new method is proposed for evaluating the dispersive component of the effective surface energy of an ultra-thin film. The dispersive component is obtained by introducing a cut-off distance and integrating the corrected van der Waals pressure equation for a symmetric multilayer system. The cut-off distance is calculated using the experimentally determined surface energy of the substrate without an ultra-thin film. A stearic-acid Langmuir–Blodgett film on a glass plate was used as an ultra-thin film sample on a solid substrate. The dependences of the surface energy on the ultra-thin film thickness were investigated experimentally and theoretically, and the effectiveness of this method is discussed.     

Microstructures formed by secondary growth of fired ZSM-5 seed crystals

Oriented ZSM-5 seed crystals on an α-Al₂O₃ porous substrate were hydrothermally treated in a raw sol. The ZSM-5 membranes were fabricated via secondary growth of the seed crystals. For some samples, the seed-applied substrate was fired at 300 or 600 °C before the secondary growth in order to enhance adhesion between the substrate and the seed crystals. The influence of the firing on the subsequent secondary growth of the seed crystals was examined by XRD, SEM, and TEM. The TEM images of the sample fired at 300 °C showed that the resulting membrane was continuous, and in the membrane, large ZSM-5 particles were distributed in a porous matrix. The ZSM-5 particles were slightly smaller than the used seed crystals. HR-TEM observations showed that the porous matrix is comprised of ZSM-5 micro-crystals, and the part adjacent to the large ZSM-5 crystals has the same crystallographic orientation as the large crystals. The TEM images of the sample fired at 600 °C showed that the resulting layer is comprised of particles with a core-shell structure. The core consisted of ZSM-5 micro-crystals, whereas the shell was composed of large ZSM-5 rod-like crystals. It is inferred that the formation of these interesting microstructures is related to the degradation of the template agent, NPr₄OH, in the seed crystals by firing at 300 and 600 °C. The part including no template is dissolved by a hydrothermal treatment, and the dissolved species is re-crystallized via reaction with a template agent in the used raw sol, resulting in the formation of interesting microstructures.     

Fast epitaxial growth of high-purity 4H-SiC( $$000\bar 1$$ ) in a vertical hot-wall chemical vapor deposition) in a vertical hot-wall chemical vapor deposition

4H-SiC( ) epitaxial layers with a 14–28-μm thickness have been grown at high growth rates of 14–19 μm/h by chimney-type, vertical hot-wall, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at 1,750°C. The 3C hillocks are formed on the epilayers grown under relatively low C/Si ratios. When grown at a relatively higher C/Si ratio of 0.6, the hillock density has been decreased to 1 cm⁻². Under the C-rich condition, the concentrations of residual impurity (nitrogen) and intrinsic defects (Z_1/2 and EH_6/7) have been reduced. When growth has been performed at low C/Si ratios of 0.4 and 0.5, all the micropipes in the substrates (more than 100 micropipes for each condition) have been closed during CVD growth.