Integration of interlock system analysis with automated HAZOP analysis

The paper details the integration of a method for the analysis of interlock systems with a software support system for HAZOP analysis.The proposed software aims to enhance the potential of HAZOP in terms of depth and efficiency of the analysis. This enhancement is reached through the continuation of the hazard and operability analysis, limited to a group of events which may hold high risks for the plant and/or surrounding environment.The analysis technique of the emergency interlock systems and other plant protection measures proposed by the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) of the American Institution of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has been assumed as a starting point.The system carries out interactively HAZOP analysis of a plant and identifies the presence of possible interlock actions through the analysis of the plant P & I diagram and then visualises the individual interlock systems starting the design phase in which it is possible to analyse and change interactively the single interlocks systems, in order to obtain the required reliability.     

Control of the switching transients of IGBT series strings byhigh-performance drive units

In the field of power electronics, the use of series-connected insulated gate devices, such as insulated gate bipolar transistors or power MOSFETs, is interesting in order to obtain fast and efficient power switches in medium-range power converters. In this kind of application, the control of the voltage sharing across the series strings of devices is an important aspect to be considered. The proposed technique allows obtaining safe commutations of the switches by simple and effective control circuits acting on the gate side of the power devices. In particular, the gate drive units are arranged in order to ensure good performance during the switching transients, while preventing overvoltage peaks on the devices. Both the design criteria and analysis of the control circuit are developed. Several experimental tests are reported in order to demonstrate the validity and correctness of the proposed approach     

Chaotic self-pulsation and cross-modulation in awavelength-selective external-cavity laser diode

Chaotic self-pulsation in a single wavelength external-cavity laser diode is observed. It is shown that the self-pulsation is caused by interdependencies between the optical output power and the compound cavity losses through the refractive index of the laser diode material. Refractive index changes result in a detuning between the externally selected wavelength and the weak internal-mode structure of the anti-reflection coated laser diode. This detuning is directly related to the compound cavity losses. On the one hand, a change in optical output power results in a change of the refractive index via the carrier density. On the other hand, it results in a change of refractive index via temperature changes. Compared to the carrier induced refractive index change, the temperature induced refractive index change is opposite in sign, a factor of ~10² smaller and slower. The switch-on and switch-off time of the self-pulsation is governed by the carrier life time. The repetition rate of the self-pulsation is governed by the thermal time constant and is in the megahertz region. Cross-modulation resulting from the thermal induced refractive index change is demonstrated. In a two-wavelength double external-cavity laser diode, optical power at one wavelength effects the optical power at the other wavelength. This cross-modulation is shown to be related to previous experiments on a laser neural network. A novel technique is introduced to measure the thermal impedance of a laser diode that is based on the cross-modulation     

Chemical modification of jute fibers for the production of green-composites

Natural fiber reinforced composites is an emerging area in polymer science. Fibers derived from annual plants are considered a potential substitute for non-renewable synthetic fibers like glass and carbon fibers. The hydrophilic nature of natural fibers affects negatively its adhesion to hydrophobic polymeric matrices. To improve the compatibility between both components a surface modification has been proposed. The aim of the study is the chemical modification of jute fibers using a fatty acid derivate (oleoyl chloride) to confer hydrophobicity and resistance to biofibers. This reaction was applied in swelling and non-swelling solvents, pyridine and dichloromethane, respectively. The formation of ester groups, resulting from the reaction of oleoyl chloride with hydroxyl group of cellulose were studied by elemental analysis (EA) and Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The characterization methods applied has proved the chemical interaction between the cellulosic material and the coupling agent. The extent of the reactions evaluated by elemental analysis was calculated using two ratios. Finally electron microscopy was applied to evaluate the surface changes of cellulose fibers after modification process.     

Compatibilization and development of layered silicate nanocomposites based of unsatured polyester resin and customized intercalation agent

In this study a procedure for the preparation of compatibilized nanoclays was used to produce effective nanocomposites based on unsatured polyester (UP) resin. A compatibilization procedure of the filler with a selected surfactant has been developed and optimized, the effect of organic modifiers on the synthesized nanocomposites properties was studied. Moreover, polyester/clay nanocomposites were prepared. In particular, samples were prepared using two different mixing methods. The properties and formation processes of the nanocomposites obtained using the two methods were compared. X‐ray diffraction studies revealed the formation of intercalated/exfoliated nanocomposites structures. The effect of processing parameters, used for both the compatibilization procedure and the preparation of nanocomposites, was studied. Dynamic mechanical, thermal analysis, and rheological tests were performed to investigate the formation mechanism of UP/montmorillonite nanocomposite. In particular, mechanical properties of nanocomposites were studied using dynamic mechanical analysis and tensile tests. Mechanical, rheological, and thermal characterization have confirmed the validity of the used approach to compatibilize the nanoclay and to produce nanocomposites. Tensile strength and Young's modulus were modified by the loading of the organoclays. Furthermore, the rheology of the nanocomposite formulation provided processing information, while mechanical and dynamic mechanical characterization was performed on the nanocomposites produced with the newly compatibilized formulation. The results have shown that nanocomposites with better mechanical properties can be obtained through the selection of an appropriate compatibilization process. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

The production of concentrated dispersions of few-layer graphene by the direct exfoliation of graphite in organosilanes

We report the formation and characterization of graphene dispersions in two organosilanes, 3-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) and phenyl triethoxysilane (PhTES) as new reactive solvents. The preparation method was mild and easy and does not produce any chemical modification. The dispersions, which exhibit the Tyndall effect, were characterized by TEM and Raman spectroscopy to confirm the presence of few-layer graphene. Concentrations as high as 0.66 and 8.00 mg/ml were found for PhTES and GPTMS, respectively. The latter is one of the highest values reported for a dispersion of graphene obtained by any method. This finding paves the way for the direct synthesis of polymer nanofiller-containing composites consisting of graphene and reactive silanes to be used in sol–gel synthesis, without any need for solvent removal, thus preventing graphene reaggregation to form graphite flakes.     

也到南非打高球

今年的世界杯正在南非打得火热,有机会亲历现场观战的人们,自然该对南非有所了解。不知道有机会到南非的朋友们是否知道,这个温暖明媚的海滨国度,不仅是足球的乐园,也是高尔夫球的乐园。南非得天独厚的气候让这里四季都适合打球,全国有大大小小六百个之多的高球场,且依托南非丰富的地理条件,有些在海边,有些在森林中,有些坐落在葡萄酒庄园,还有的背依雄山峻岭,景色绝佳。或许,热爱足球火爆性格的球迷大多并非高球爱家,但到南非打球,绝对是高球爱家们不容错过的。     

Coarse-grained kinetic modelling of bilayer heterojunction organic solar cells

The on-lattice kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) method provides a powerful tool to simulate the J–V properties of organic solar cells. However, the computational cost associated with charge injection may limits its applicability. In the attempt to overcome this limitation, we describe in this paper a coarse-grained numerical approach to photocurrent generation in bilayer heterojunction solar cells. Starting from the KMC algorithm, a self-consistent numerical procedure is proposed to find the steady-state solutions of the kinetic equations describing particle dynamics in one dimension across the layer thickness. Our model incorporates the generation, transport and recombinations of charge carriers, excitons, and electron/hole pairs, whose introduction is required to correctly describe interfacial phenomena at the coarse-grained level. A continuum model of the electrostatic interactions among charge carriers is proposed and used to compute their hopping rates during the simulation. The model is used to investigate the J–V properties of Cathode/PCBM/P3HT/PEDOT:PSS/ITO bilayer devices, showing that Fermi level pinning at the Cathode/PCBM interface must be invoked to accurately model the experimental behavior. From the fitting to the experimental J–V data, we conclude the short-circuit current density to be mainly associated with a high exciton diffusion length. The analogies and differences between our model and existing KMC and drift–diffusion approaches are also discussed.