A comparison of approaches for finding minimum identifying codes on graphs

In order to formulate mathematical conjectures likely to be true, a number of base cases must be determined. However, many combinatorial problems are NP-hard and the computational complexity makes this research approach difficult using a standard brute force approach on a typical computer. One sample problem explored is that of finding a minimum identifying code. To work around the computational issues, a variety of methods are explored and consist of a parallel computing approach using MATLAB, an adiabatic quantum optimization approach using a D-Wave quantum annealing processor, and lastly using satisfiability modulo theory (SMT) and corresponding SMT solvers. Each of these methods requires the problem to be formulated in a unique manner. In this paper, we address the challenges of computing solutions to this NP-hard problem with respect to each of these methods.     

Selection of injection conditions for aluminum particles as a raw material by numerical analysis in the synthesis of ultrafine particles with transferred type arc plasma

We investigated by numerical analysis the dependence of vaporization behavior of aluminum particles injected into transferred type arc plasma on injection conditions in synthesis of aluminum nitride ultra fine particles. On the basis of calculation results, we chose one proper injection condition where aluminum particles vaporized more. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 170(2): 46–52, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20852     

Phase Relations and Volume Changes of Hafnia under High Pressure and High Temperature

Using multi-anvil high-pressure devices and synchrotron radiation, X-ray in situ observations of HfO₂ under high pressure and high temperature have been performed to investigate its phase relations and compression behavior. An orthorhombic phase (orthoI) is stable from 4 to 14.5 GPa below 1250°–1400°C and transforms to a tetragonal phase, which is one of the high-temperature forms of HfO₂, above these temperatures. Another orthorhombic phase (orthoII) with a cotunnite-type structure appears above 14.5 GPa. OrthoII is stable up to 1800°C at 21 GPa. OrthoII is quenchable to ambient conditions. The orthoI-to-orthoII transition is accompanied by ∼8 vol% decrease. The bulk moduli of orthoI and orthoII at room temperature are 220 and 312 GPa, respectively. This low compressibility of orthoII indicates that it is a potential candidate for very hard materials.     

Experimental study on relationship between heat parameter and angular distortion

It is well known that weld residual stress and distortion should be controlled appropriately for structural integrity. Recently, it has become much more necessary to control weld distortion to highly improve manufacturing efficiency. Various studies on control of weld distortion had been conducted based on clarification of influential dominant factors for that. The influential dominant factors had been studied from a viewpoint of temperature distribution in plate thickness section. Without considering moving the weld heat source, the temperature distribution is controlled by weld heat input (Q_net) per weld length. Angular distortion, which is controlled by temperature distribution along the direction of plate thickness (h), is controlled by heat input parameter (Q_net/h²). However, it has recently become known that the conventional results cannot be applied to all welding processes because such processes are becoming more diversified. It is significant for more accurate control of angular distortion to investigate once again the relationship between the heat input parameter and angular distortion. In this study, a series of experiments on the relationship between heat input parameter and angular distortion are carried out. The effects of welding current and welding speed are investigated individually in both TIG and MAG welding. The difference between these welding methods is also investigated. Based on the result, the effects of them are discussed in relation to temperature distribution during welding. It is considered that angular distortion is affected by temperature distribution not only in plate thickness section but also along welding direction. So, angular distortion is not always controlled by only the conventional heat input parameter because the heat input parameter is proposed as the influential dominant factor for temperature distribution in plate thickness section. It is concluded that generation characteristics of inherent strain should be considered in relation to three-dimensional temperature distributions during welding for more accurate control of angular distortion.     

Stable and super‐low friction of amorphous carbon nitride coatings in nitrogen gas by using two‐step ball‐on‐disk friction test

Effect of running‐in process on friction behaviour of carbon nitride (CNx) coating in N₂ gas stream was investigated with a newly introduced two‐step ball‐on‐disk friction test, where the rubbed Si₃N₄ ball in the pre‐sliding (step 1) was replaced by a new CNx‐coated Si₃N₄ ball in the subsequent sliding stage under N₂ gas (step 2). The two‐step friction test is clarified to be a simple but effective technique for obtaining contact material combination of self‐mated CNx coatings and for achieving stable and low frictions of CNx coatings. Friction coefficients of CNx/CNx in N₂ gas stream decrease greatly from 0.07 without pre‐sliding to less than 0.025 in two‐step friction tests. The minimum friction coefficient of 0.004 was obtained by introducing 500 cycles of pre‐sliding in ambient air. These stable and low frictions are attributed to the generation of self‐mated CNx coatings and the formation of a lubricious layer on the disk surface. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sparse LMS/F algorithms with application to adaptive system identification

Standard least mean square/fourth (LMS/F) is a classical adaptive algorithm that combined the advantages of both least mean square (LMS) and least mean fourth (LMF). The advantage of LMS is fast convergence speed while its shortcoming is suboptimal solution in low signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) environment. On the contrary, the advantage of LMF algorithm is robust in low SNR while its drawback is slow convergence speed in high SNR case. Many finite impulse response systems are modeled as sparse rather than traditionally dense. To take advantage of system sparsity, different sparse LMS algorithms with l_p‐LMS and l₀‐LMS have been proposed to improve adaptive identification performance. However, sparse LMS algorithms have the same drawback as standard LMS. Different from LMS filter, standard LMS/F filter can achieve better performance. Hence, the aim of this paper is to introduce sparse penalties to the LMS/F algorithm so that it can further improve identification performance. We propose two sparse LMS/F algorithms using two sparse constraints to improve adaptive identification performance. Two experiments are performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms by computer simulation. In the first experiment, the number of nonzero coefficients is changing, and the proposed algorithms can achieve better mean square deviation performance than sparse LMS algorithms. In the second experiment, the number of nonzero coefficient is fixed, and mean square deviation performance of sparse LMS/F algorithms is still better than that of sparse LMS algorithms. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and Unique Photoluminescence Properties of Eu2Ti2O7 and Eu2TiO5

The europium titania materials, pyrochlore Eu₂Ti₂O₇ and orthorhombic Eu₂TiO₅, were synthesized from a mixture of Eu₂O₃ and TiO₂ using the solid‐state reaction method. The structural and optical properties of these titania materials were investigated using X‐ray diffraction analysis, photoluminescence (PL) analysis, PL excitation (PLE) spectroscopy, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Temperature dependence of the PL intensity was measured between T = 20 and 450 K and analyzed on the basis of various theoretical models. A remarkable increase in the PL intensity with increasing T was observed in these titania materials at higher temperatures, above ~140 K, and well explained by a trap/reservoir model. Interestingly, a dramatic decrease in the electric‐dipole emission component relative to the magnetic‐dipole one was observed in Eu₂Ti₂O₇ above T ~ 140 K. The schematic energy‐level diagram for Eu³⁺ in the Eu₂Ti₂O₇ host was proposed for the sake of a better understanding of the PL and PLE processes in this type of phosphorescent material.     

Effects of phenylenediamines and alkoxysilanes on gas transport properties of polyimide - silica hybrid membranes

Gas transport properties of polyimides (PIs) and their silica hybrids were investigated. The PIs synthesized with several methyl-substituted phenylenediamines were hybridized with silica via a sol–gel process with different alkoxysilanes. The prepared hybrid membranes showed controlled gas permselectivity, depending on the selected phenylenediamines and alkoxysilanes. It was worth noting that the hybrids prepared with tetraethoxysilane possessed improved CO₂ permselectivity with increasing silica content, which tended to exceed the upper-bound trade-off line. This fact suggested the additional formation of free volume holes especially favorable for the CO₂/CH₄ separation around the polymer/silica interfacial area.