Performance Comparison of Circuits for Pole‐Mounted STATCOM Using SiC Devices

The recent years have seen an increasing trend in the cumulative installed capacity of distributed generators. As a result, voltage management may become difficult in existing power distribution systems in the future. A STATCOM (STAtic synchronous COMpensator) is a promising option for solving this problem because it can control reactive power rapidly and continuously. For a distribution system, STATCOM needs to be pole‐mounted to realize its low cost. However, a transformer for a STATCOM is large and heavy, and hence it is difficult to install a STATCOM on a distribution pole. We adopt a transformerless STATCOM to reduce STATCOM size and use SiC devices with low‐loss performance to obtain a more compact and efficient STATCOM. There are a large number of circuits available for a STATCOM, and there has been considerable research on performance comparisons among these circuits. However, these comparisons were drawn under different conditions, including switching frequency and level number for the circuits. In addition, these comparisons do not include the use of SiC devices. We made an equitable comparison for a 100 kVa pole‐mounted STATCOM using SiC devices. We discuss the performance and characteristics of each circuit in terms of efficiency and volume.     

Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Biomarkers for Neurodegenerative Diseases

There has been an increasing prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases with the rapid increase in aging societies worldwide. Biomarkers that can be used to detect pathological changes before the development of severe neuronal loss and consequently facilitate early intervention with disease-modifying therapeutic modalities are therefore urgently needed. Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a promising tool that can be used to infer microstructural characteristics of the brain, such as microstructural integrity and complexity, as well as axonal density, order, and myelination, through the utilization of water molecules that are diffused within the tissue, with displacement at the micron scale. Diffusion tensor imaging is the most commonly used diffusion MRI technique to assess the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. However, diffusion tensor imaging has several limitations, and new technologies, including neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging, diffusion kurtosis imaging, and free-water imaging, have been recently developed as approaches to overcome these constraints. This review provides an overview of these technologies and their potential as biomarkers for the early diagnosis and disease progression of major neurodegenerative diseases.     

Application of ergothioneine-rich extract from an edible mushroom Flammulina velutipes for melanosis prevention in shrimp,Penaeus monodon and Litopenaeus vannamei

This report investigated the melanosis-inhibiting properties of crude water soluble extract from the base and fruiting body waste of an edible mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) containing 9.13 ± 2.03 mg/mL 2-thiol-l-histidine-betaine (ergothioneine, ESH). Immersion of live full-grown black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) and Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) in a 0.5% w/v solution of mushroom extract for 1 h significantly decreased polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activity in shrimp hemolymph and expression of the prophenoloxidase (proPO) gene in hemocytes. Consequently, the development of melanosis in the treated shrimp during ice storage was prevented. Treatment with a 0.05% w/v solution of sodium sulfite and 4-hexyl-1,3-benzenediol had a similar effect. Enzyme assays showed that ESH is a non-competitive inhibitor. It is proposed that ESH possibly interacts directly with Cu²⁺ at the putative binding sites of PPO and proPO, based on copper-chelating activity analyses, thus preventing melanosis in the shrimp. This study indicated that application of ESH-rich F. velutipes mushroom extract from trimming waste is an effective natural alternative to synthetic melanosis-inhibiting agents to prevent postmortem melanosis in shrimp.     

Thermal and mechanical properties of bio-based polymer networks by thiol-ene photopolymerizations of gallic acid and pyrogallol derivatives

Allylated pyrogallol (A3PG) and acrylated pyrogallol (Ac3PG) as bio-based trienes, and allylated gallic acid (A4GA) and acrylated allyl gallate (Ac3A1GA) as bio-based tetraenes were synthesized from pyrogallol and gallic acid, respectively. Thiol-ene photopolymerizations of the bio-based polyenes and a pentaerythritol-based primary tetrathiol (pS4P) at the allyl/SH ratio of 1/1 produced photo-cured resins (A3PG-pS4P, Ac3PG-pS4P, A4GA-pS4P and Ac3A1GA-pS4P). The FT-IR spectral analysis revealed that thiol-ene reactions of thiol/allyl and thiol/acryloyl groups smoothly proceeded. Gel fractions of acryl-based cured resins were a little higher than those of allyl-based cured resins. The swelling test and dynamic mechanical analysis revealed that GA- and acryl-based cured resins exhibited higher crosslinking densities than PG- and allyl-based cured resins, respectively. A higher order of tan δ peak temperature was Ac3PG-pS4P (48.3 ° C) > Ac3A1GA-pS4P (24.1 ° C) > A4GA-pS4P (22.1 ° C) > A3PG-pS4P (?7.8 ° C). Ac3PG-pS4P displayed the highest 5 % weight loss temperature, tensile strength and tensile modulus among all of the cured resins.     

Thickness estimation of interface films formed on Li1−xCoO2 electrodes by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Solid electrolyte interface (SEI) films formed on Li_1−xCoO₂ electrodes were observed with hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HX-PES). This paper particularly focuses on film thickness estimation using HX-PES with theoretical calculation. The validity of the calculation was proven by experiments using model SEI films. The native film formed on a LiCoO₂ composite electrode was estimated to be LiF with its thickness of 5 nm. Formation of Co (II) species on top of LiCoO₂ was also indicated. Storage of the electrode at 60 °C brought about considerable film growth (30-40 nm) with carbonate compounds formation. SEI film changes during charging of the LiCoO₂ electrode were also examined. The main component in the film was deduced to be LiF or a kind of fluorite, with its thickness decreased during charging. The SEI formation mechanisms are also elucidated.     

Large eddy simulation of two-phase reacting turbulent flow in a pilot-scale pulverized coal combustion furnace with flamelet model

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - A three-dimensional numerical simulation was performed to investigate the physics and combustion characteristics of a two-phase reacting turbulent...     

Advantage of Sodium Polyoxyethylene Lauryl Ether Carboxylate as a Mild Cleansing Agent

Five anionic surfactants widely used in commercial skin cleansers were studied: sodium polyoxyethylene lauryl ether carboxylate (EC), sodium polyoxyethylene alkyl ether sulfate (ES), sodium dodecyl sulfate, potassium laurate, and N-cocoyl-l-glutamic acid monosodium salt. The amount of surfactant from aqueous solution adsorbed into the stratum corneum (SC), the degree of SC swelling, the change of the secondary structure of SC proteins (denaturation). The surface tension of surfactant–zein mixed solutions, and the solubilization behavior of zein were measured. Results showed that EC had the lowest adsorption into SC, the lowest SC swelling, and lowest denaturation of SC proteins. Low interactions between surfactants and SC proteins were also observed for EC/ES mixture solutions as well as. Mixing EC with ES good foaming performance. The EC/ES mixture, at about 1:1 ratio, is an excellent surfactant system for skin cleanser applications having cleansing characteristics and mildness to the skin.     

Study on drug powder acceleration in a micro shock tube

Recently, micro shock tubes have been widely used in the medical engineering. The needle-free drug delivery device which mainly consists of a micro shock tube and an expanded nozzle has been produced to inject drug powders into human and animal bodies without any sharp metal needles. The drug powders were delivered by obtaining high momentum, which can be done by accelerating drug powders in the micro shock tube and supersonic nozzle. The particle-gas flows are induced by the incident shock wave developing by rupturing the diaphragm in the micro shock tube and again accelerated in the supersonic nozzle. The momentum of injected drug particles should be strictly controlled otherwise patients will suffer from skin injury or hurt. Even though micro shock tubes have been investigated in the past several decades, the detailed studies on particle-gas flows in the micro shock tube were rare to date due to the micro size and difficult experimental operation on micro shock tubes. In this paper, the experimental and numerical studies were carried out on investigating particle-gas flows in a designed micro shock tube. Particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) was performed to calculated particle average velocity at the exit of the supersonic nozzle. The nozzle flows were analyzed by obtaining instantaneous particle fields. The particle number density ratio was also investigated in the test section. The numerical simulations were performed by calculating unsteady Naver-Stokes equations on compressible flows and using fully implicit finite volume schemes. Discrete phase model (DPM) was used for simulating particle-gas flows in the micro shock tube. Particle diameter and density were varied to investigate their effects on the particle-gas flows. Unsteady particle-gas flows and shock wave propagation were obtained in details in the micro shock tube for present experimental and numerical studies.     

Main‐chain smectic liquid crystalline polymer exhibiting unusually high thermal conductivity in an isotropic composite

The thermal conductivity (TC) of an isotropic composite comprising of a main‐chain smectic liquid crystalline PB‐10 polyester and 50‐μm‐sized roughly spherical magnesium oxide (MgO) particles is investigated. The increase in the composite TC with higher MgO fractions is steeper than that expected by Bruggeman's theory for the TC of a polydomain PB‐10 polyester (0.52 W m^?1 K^?1). When the filler content is larger than 30 vol %, the composite TC approaches a value that can be explained only if the polyester functions as a matrix with 1.0 W m^?1 K^?1, which is five times as high as those of isotropic common polymers (0.2 W m^?1 K^?1). Such an unusually high TC for a polymer matrix is attributed to some polymer lamellae that lie parallel to the particle surface and are stacked toward neighboring particles, thus creating effective heat paths between the particles and a continuous thermal network in a composite. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2014 , 131, 39896.