Enforcement avoidance behavior near automated speed enforcement areas in Korean expressways

Automated speed enforcement system (ASES) has been deployed as a safety countermeasure on Korean roadways to reduce speeding-related traffic crashes; information on ASES locations is mandated to be open to the public. However, because drivers are alerted about enforcement via on-board navigation systems and roadside signs, they can avoid enforcement by momentarily reducing their speeds near ASES locations. This enforcement avoidance behavior (EAB) can induce sudden changes in speed near the enforcement locations and thereby increase risk of crash occurrence.     

Preparation and characterization of carbon-encapsulated iron nanoparticles and their catalytic activity in the hydrogenation of levulinic acid

This study describes the synthesis of carbon-encapsulated iron nanoparticles using an ultrasonic method and also investigates their catalytic activity. These nanoparticles have been prepared using ultrasonic irradiation followed by annealing at various temperatures. As the annealing temperature of as-prepared α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles increased, the sample transformed into γ-Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, and Fe nanoparticles via the reduction process without requiring any additional reducing agents such as H₂ gas, thus, creating a carbon shell surrounding the nanoparticles. By controlling the experimental conditions, Fe nanoparticles of various sizes can be formed with diameters in the range 100–800 nm; these nanoparticles are tightly encapsulated by 20-nm-thick carbon shells. Because of their high saturation magnetization 212 emu g^?1, the carbon-encapsulated Fe nanoparticles can be used for magnetic resonance imaging with a dramatically enhanced efficiency compared to commercially available T ₂ contrast agents. Moreover, the carbon-encapsulated Fe nanoparticles showed its superior catalytic activity and reusability for the hydrogenation of biomass-derived levulinic acid to GVL (99.6 %) in liquid phase.     

Visualization Approaches for Evaluating Ridge Regression Estimators in Mixture and Mixture‐Process Experiments

When the component proportions in mixture experiments are restricted by lower and upper bounds, the input space of a designed experiment space can become an irregular region that can induce multicollinearity problems when estimating the component proportion parameters. Thus, ridge regression provides a beneficial means of stabilizing the coefficient estimates in the fitted model. Previous research has focused on using prediction variance as a metric for determining an appropriate value of the ridge constant, k. We use visualization techniques to illustrate and evaluate ridge regression estimators and the robustness of estimation with respect to the variance and the bias. The addition of bias allows better balancing between the stability of the estimators and minimally changing the estimates. We illustrate the graphical methods with mixture and mixture‐process examples from the literature. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Use of Nanoindentation,Finite Element Simulations,and a Combined Experimental/Numerical Approach to Characterize Elastic Moduli of Individual Porous Silica Particles

This article describes the use of a combination of experimental nanoindentation and finite element numerical simulations to indirectly determine the elastic modulus of individual porous, micron-sized silica (SiO₂) particles. Two independent nanoindentation experiments on individual silica particles were employed, one with a Berkovich pyramidal nanoindenter tip, the other with a flat punch nanoindenter tip. In both cases, 3D finite element simulations were used to generate nanoindenter load–displacement curves for comparison with the corresponding experimental data, using the elastic modulus of the particle as a curve-fitting parameter. The resulting indirectly determined modulus values from the two independent experiments were found to be in good agreement, and were considerably lower than the published values for bulk or particulate solid silica. The results are also consistent with previously reported modulus values for nanoindentation of porous thin film SiO₂. Based on a review of the literature, the authors believe that this is the first article to report on the use of nanoindentation and numerical simulations in a combined experimental/numerical approach to determine the elastic modulus of individual porous silica particles.     

Materials and Wireless Microfluidic Systems for Electronics Capable of Chemical Dissolution on Demand

Electronics that are capable of destroying themselves, on demand and in a harmless way, might provide the ultimate form of data security. This paper presents materials and device architectures for triggered destruction of conventional microelectronic systems by means of microfluidic chemical etching of the constituent materials, including silicon, silicon dioxide, and metals (e.g., aluminum). Demonstrations in an array of home‐built metal‐oxide‐semiconductor field‐effect transistors that exploit ultrathin sheets of monocrystalline silicon and in radio‐frequency identification devices illustrate the utility of the approaches.     

A geometric approach to animating thin surface features in smoothed particle hydrodynamics water

We propose a geometric approach to animating thin surface features of smoothed particle hydrodynamics‐based water. Explicit interparticle connections are created among smoothed particle hydrodynamics particles to approximate the geometries of thin surfaces while addressing the issue of unresolved surface areas. The deformations measured on the connections actuate the animations of the surfaces by disconnecting the stretched and bent connections. The reconstruction of thin surfaces and the accuracy of the animation are improved by adding auxiliary particles over the connections via Poisson‐disk sampling. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation of Pt/C cathode catalyst supported on chestnut-like mesoporous carbon for fuel cell applications

Fuel cells have received worldwide attention as a next-generation renewable energy technology. However, catalyst cost and durability are the main issue hampering the commercialization of fuel cells. Many studies have focused on the physicochemical properties of the carbon support to improve the catalyst’s properties. Mesoporous carbons are suitable candidates because of their appropriate structural characteristics, including high surface area, large pore size, and regularly interconnected mesopores that permit efficient diffusion of the reactants and by-products. In this study, supports made from chestnut-like carbon consisting of platelet carbon nanofibers were fabricated by selective catalytic gasification of activated carbon. Pt/C catalysts were synthesized from these support structures using the impregnation method. Catalyst performance and characteristics were investigated by N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherms, X-ray diffractions, and the rotating disk electrode technique for the oxygen reduction reaction.     

Effect of thermal ageing on mechanical properties of a high-strength ODS alloy

A new high-strength ODS alloy, ARROS, was recently developed for the application as the cladding material of a Sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR). To assess the long-term integrity under thermal ageing, ARROS was thermally aged in air at 650°C for 1000 h. The degree of thermal ageing was assessed by mechanical tests such as uniaxial tensile, hardness, and small punch tests at from room temperature to 650°C. Tensile strength was slightly decreased but elongation, hardness, and small punch energy were hardly changed at all test temperatures for the specimen aged at 650°C for 1000 h. However, the variation in mechanical properties such as hardness and small punch energy increased after thermal ageing. Using the test results, the correlation between tensile strength and maximum small punch load was established.