Energieinformatik

Due to the increasing importance of producing and consuming energy more sustainably, Energy Informatics (EI) has evolved into a thriving research area within the CS/IS community. The article attempts to characterize this young and highly dynamic field of research by describing current EI research topics and methods and provides an outlook of how the field might evolve in the future. It is shown that two general research questions have received the most attention so far and are likely to dominate the EI research agenda in the coming years: How to leverage information and communication technology (ICT) to (1) improve energy efficiency, and (2) to integrate decentralized renewable energy sources into the power grid. Selected EI streams are reviewed, highlighting how the respective research questions are broken down into specific research projects and how EI researchers have made contributions based on their individual academic background.     

Geschäftsmodelle

The business model concept, although a relatively new topic for research, has garnered growing attention over the past decade. Whilst it has been robustly defined, the concept has so far attracted very little substantive research. In the context of the wide-spread digitization of businesses and society at large, the logic inherent in a business model has become critical for business success and, hence, a focus for academic inquiry. The business model concept is identified as the missing link between business strategy, processes, and Information Technology (IT). The authors argue that the BISE community offers distinct and unique competencies (e.g., translating business strategies into IT systems, managing business and IT processes, etc.) that can be harnessed for significant research contributions to this field. Within this research gap three distinct streams are delineated, namely, business models in IT industries, IT enabled or digital business models, and IT support for developing and managing business models. For these streams, the current state of the art, suggest critical research questions, and suitable research methodologies are outlined.     

Preparation of Titanium Nitride/Alumina Laminate Composites

A preparation route for TiN/Al₂O₃ laminate composites has been described. A water-based process using Al₂O₃ and TiN slurries with solids contents of 40 and 35 vol%, respectively, was used to make TiN and Al₂O₃ tapes. The removal of the binder was monitored by weight-loss measurements in a thermogravimetry unit. Bodies composed of Al₂O₃ and TiN tapes were densified at temperatures of 1400° and 1500°C using the Spark Plasma Sintering^® (SPS) technique. Densities of >98% of the theoretical densities were approached. Crack-free and almost fully densified TiN/Al₂O₃ compacts were prepared by heating the burned-out green bodies to the final sintering temperature (1500°C) at a rate of 100°C/min, and with a holding time of 5–10 min, under a pressure of 75 MPa. The microstructures of the obtained compacts were studied using scanning electron microscopy. Grain sizes in the sintered Al₂O₃ and TiN compacts were similar to those of the precursor powders. Hardness and indentation fracture toughness were measured at room temperature, and the monolithic compacts as well as the laminate composites exhibited anisotropic mechanical behavior; i.e., the cracks propagated much more easily in a direction parallel to the laminas than perpendicular to them.     

Some theorems of the eddy-current theory

Contents In the paper, theorems for the electric vector potentialT and magnetic scalar potentialU are discussed, which occur in the boundary-value problems for eddy currents induced in a conducting block by an external magnetic field. Uniqueness of the solution is examined. An integral representation of the scalar potentialU is derived for a nonmagnetic conductor. It is shown that for a thin metallic shell the integrodifferential equation results from general formulas related to the block.

---

Einige Theoreme der Wirbelstromtheorie

Übersicht In der Arbeit werden drei Theoreme für das elektrische VektorpotentialT und das magnetische SkalarpotentialU beschrieben, die in den Randwertaufgaben für in einem metallischen Block durch das äußere magnetische Feld induzierte Wirbelströme auftreten. Es wird bewiesen, daß eine solche Randwertaufgabe eine eindeutige Lösung hat, wenn das Vektorpotential auf dem Rand gleich Null ist. Eine Integralrepräsentation des Skalarpotentials wird abgeleitet. Es wird gezeigt, daß die Integrodifferentialgleichung für eine dünne metallische Hülle aus allgemeinen, den Block betreffenden Formeln hervorgeht.

---

List of principal symbols e coordinate unit vector - H magnetic intensity - J current density - T electric vector potential - U magnetic scalar potential - permeability - conductivity - V boundary of regionV     

FGTO — A fine structured GTO-thyristor with improved switching characteristics

Contents A fine structured GTO thyristor, abbreviated FGTO, has been developed to improve the switching characteristics. The new device has a cathode finger width of only 20 m and can be turned off without a negative gate bias at an anode current level of more than 200 A/cm². The turn-off time can be shortened down tot _off 500 ns by increasing the negative gate current. A snubber circuit is not necessary to turn off the FGTO's. The maximum rate of rise of anode voltage du/dl reaches more than 10 kV/s. Analytical models are developed to describe the turn-off transients of the FGTO's. Good agreement between the theoretical and experimental results could be achieved.

---

FGTO — Ein feinstrukturierter GTO-Thyristor mit verbessertem Schaltverhalten

Übersicht Zur Verbesserung des Schaltverhaltens ist ein feinstrukturierter GTO-Thyristor, abgekürzt FGTO, entwickelt worden. Dieses neue Bauelement hat eine Kathoden-streifenbreite von nur 20 m und kann ohne negative Gatevorspannung bei einer Anodenstromdichte von mehr als 200 A/cm² abgeschaltet werden. Die Abschaltzeit läßt sich durch Erhöhung des negativen Gatestroms bis zut _off 500 ns verkürzen. Beim Abschalten von FGTOs ist keine RC-Beschaltung erforderlich. Der maximale du/dl-Wert erreicht mehr als 10 kV/s. Zur Beschreibung des Abschalt-verhaltens von FGTOs werden analytische Modelle entwickelt, die eine gute Übereinstimmung mit den Meßergebnissen liefern.

     

A robust kinematic hardening rule for cyclic plasticity with ratchetting effects

Summary A robust kinematic hardening rule is proposed which appropriately blends the deviatoric stress rate rule and the Tseng-Lee rule in order to satisfy both the experimental observations made by Phillips et al. [1]–[5] and the nesting of the yield surface to the limit surface. The work presented in Part I is confined to the theoretical formulation of kinematic hardening rule with limited correlation to experimental results. A more general expression for the plastic modulus is proposed. The expressions proposed by McDowell and by Dafalias can be obtained as a special case of the proposed expression. An additional parameter is introduced that reflects the dependence of the plastic modulus on the angle between the deviatoric stress rate tensor and the direction of the limit backstress relative to the yield backstress.     

Propagation of quasi-simple waves in a compressible rotating atmosphere

Summary A class of self-propagating linear and nonlinear travelling wave solutions for compressible rotating fluid is studied using both numerical and analytical techiques. It is shown that, in general, a three dimensional linear wave is not periodic. However, for some range of wave numbers depending on rotation, horizontally propagating waves are periodic. When the rotation is equal to , all horizontal waves are periodic. Here, is the ratio of specific heats. The analytical study is based on phase space analysis. It reveals that the quasi-simple waves are periodic only in some plane, even when the propagation is horizontal, in contrast to the case of non-rotating flows for which there is a single parameter family of periodic solutions provided the waves propagate horizontally. A classification of the singular points of the governing differential equations for quasi-simple waves is also appended.