Processing and performance of solid oxide fuel cell with Gd-doped ceria electrolyte

Fuel Cell performance was measured at 792-1095 K for Ni-GDC (Gd-doped ceria) anode-supported GDC film (60 μm thickness) with a (La_0.8Sr_0.2)(Co_0.8Fe_0.2)O₃ cathode using H₂ fuel containing 3 vol% H₂O. A maximum power density, 436 mW/cm², was obtained at 1095 K. The electrical conductivity of GDC electrolyte in N₂ atmosphere of 10⁻¹⁵-10⁰ Pa oxygen partial pressures (Po₂) at 773-1073 K was independent of Po₂, which indicated the diffusion of oxide ions. The conductivity of GDC in H₂O/H₂ atmosphere increased because of the further formation of electrons due to the dissociation of hydrogen in GDC (H₂ → 2H⁺ + 2e⁻). The hole conductivity was observed at 873 K in Po₂ = 10⁰-10⁴ Pa. The key factors in increasing power density are the increase of open circuit voltage and the suppression of H₂ fuel dissolution in GDC electrolyte. These are controlled by the cathode material and Gd-dopant composition.     

Synthesis and electrical conductivity of La-Sr-X-Mg-O (X = Ti, Zr, Al) perovskite solid solution

Perovskite solid solutions of (La_0.6Sr_0.4)(X_1−yMg_y)O_3−δ (X = Ti, Zr, Al) were prepared by a coprecipitation method using corresponding aqueous solutions and ammonium carbonate solution. The freeze-dried powders were sintered in air at 1000-1500 °C for 1-36 h. Single phase solid solutions were produced in the compositions of (La_0.6Sr_0.4)(Zr_0.6Mg_0.4)O_3−δ and (La_0.6Sr_0.4)(Al_0.9Mg_0.1)O_3−δ where (3 − δ) < 3. For the compositions of X = Ti and Zr for y = 0.1 where (3 − δ) > 3, two phases including perovskite solid solution were produced at 1400-1500 °C. The stability of perovskite solid solution was closely related to the fraction of lattice oxygen atom (3 − δ). A relatively high conductivity was measured for (La_0.6Sr_0.4)(Al_0.9Mg_0.1)O_3−δ (σ = 4.15 × 10⁻⁴ S/cm at 600 °C, activation energy 113.4 kJ/mol). The influence of fraction of oxide ion vacancy on the activation energy was small for δ = 0.1-0.3 of perovskite solid solution.     

Ultrahigh-sensitivity New Super-HARP camera

NHK led the world in developing a high-sensitivity Super-HARP pickup tube using the avalanche multiplication effect. The authors have now developed an improved version (2/3-inch, with electromagnetic focusing and electromagnetic deflection) which is eight times more sensitive and has much better lag characteristics. The handy New Super-HARP color camera which uses this newly-developed pickup tube has higher sensitivity than human vision (11 lux, F8), negligibly low lag, and a limiting resolution of over 700 TV lines. It will be a powerful tool in emergency news gathering at night, the production of scientific programs, and other applications     

Modeling of driver's collision avoidance maneuver based on controller switching model.

This paper presents a modeling strategy of human driving behavior based on the controller switching model focusing on the driver's collision avoidance maneuver. The driving data are collected by using the three-dimensional (3-D) driving simulator based on the CAVE Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE), which provides stereoscopic immersive virtual environment. In our modeling, the control scenario of the human driver, that is, the mapping from the driver's sensory information to the operation of the driver such as acceleration, braking, and steering, is expressed by Piecewise Polynomial (PWP) model. Since the PWP model includes both continuous behaviors given by polynomials and discrete logical conditions, it can be regarded as a class of Hybrid Dynamical System (HDS). The identification problem for the PWP model is formulated as the Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) by transforming the switching conditions into binary variables. From the obtained results, it is found that the driver appropriately switches the "control law" according to the sensory information. In addition, the driving characteristics of the beginner driver and the expert driver are compared and discussed. These results enable us to capture not only the physical meaning of the driving skill but the decision-making aspect (switching conditions) in the driver's collision avoidance maneuver as well.     

Optimization of program loading by object class clustering

It is typical that only a part of the whole program code is necessary for their successful execution. Partial program code loading optimizes the start‐up delay and system resource consumption of the object‐oriented programs by decomposing the program into a set of object class clusters as the units of incremental on‐demand loading. Unfortunately, the lack of a systematic yet simple class clustering technique prohibits such an optimization approach. This paper presents a Java class clustering technique that is able to improve both the spatial locality and temporal affinity of an optimized program. The technique provides two clustering algorithms, resource‐centric and performance‐centric, to achieve different requirements in optimizations. Experimental results indicate that our algorithms are practically useful to both interactive and noninteractive programs. Among the tested Java programs, use of the performance‐centric and resource‐centric algorithms could significantly improve program loading, on average, by 2.9 and 2.2 times, respectively, faster than whole program loading. Both algorithms resulted in chances to economize system resources. © 2006 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Adaptation mechanism of interlimb coordination in human split-belt treadmill walking through learning of foot contact timing: a robotics study

Human walking behaviour adaptation strategies have previously been examined using split-belt treadmills, which have two parallel independently controlled belts. In such human split-belt treadmill walking, two types of adaptations have been identified: early and late. Early-type adaptations appear as rapid changes in interlimb and intralimb coordination activities when the belt speeds of the treadmill change between tied (same speed for both belts) and split-belt (different speeds for each belt) configurations. By contrast, late-type adaptations occur after the early-type adaptations as a gradual change and only involve interlimb coordination. Furthermore, interlimb coordination shows after-effects that are related to these adaptations. It has been suggested that these adaptations are governed primarily by the spinal cord and cerebellum, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Because various physiological findings suggest that foot contact timing is crucial to adaptive locomotion, this paper reports on the development of a two-layered control model for walking composed of spinal and cerebellar models, and on its use as the focus of our control model. The spinal model generates rhythmic motor commands using an oscillator network based on a central pattern generator and modulates the commands formulated in immediate response to foot contact, while the cerebellar model modifies motor commands through learning based on error information related to differences between the predicted and actual foot contact timings of each leg. We investigated adaptive behaviour and its mechanism by split-belt treadmill walking experiments using both computer simulations and an experimental bipedal robot. Our results showed that the robot exhibited rapid changes in interlimb and intralimb coordination that were similar to the early-type adaptations observed in humans. In addition, despite the lack of direct interlimb coordination control, gradual changes and after-effects in the interlimb coordination appeared in a manner that was similar to the late-type adaptations and after-effects observed in humans. The adaptation results of the robot were then evaluated in comparison with human split-belt treadmill walking, and the adaptation mechanism was clarified from a dynamic viewpoint.     

New semiconducting silicides assembled from transition-metal-encapsulating Si clusters

We synthesized amorphous films composed of transition-metal-encapsulating Si clusters (MSi_n: M = Zr, Nb, Mo and W) by deposition of hydrogenated MSi_nH_x clusters onto solid substrates followed by annealing at 400-500 °C for dehydrogenation. The MSi_n (n = 7-20) cluster films are amorphous semiconductors with an optical gap > 0.4 eV and have larger electron and hole mobility than that of the hydrogenated amorphous Si (a-Si:H) film. In these films, while Si atoms form amorphous networks similar to those in a-Si:H films, the thermal stability is enhanced and the electronic disorder is reduced by the use of MSi_n clusters as the unit structures. Structure modeling by ab initio calculations for MSi_n films suggests that the encapsulated M atom works as a terminator of dangling bonds of the Si network.