Empirical Equation for Limit of Hygroscopicity

ABSTRACT

In this paper we are promoting the properties related to wood anatomy and chemical composition as the factor of influence to limit of hygroscopicity of wood (LH).

The wood samples of the most important domestic Hood species: oak Ouercus robur, beech Fogus sylvatica, fir Abies alba and spruce Picea abies were selected for this investigation.

For determining LH in our investigations we have applied the method of compression strength parallel to grain.

The results of experimental measurements were statistically analyzed and the empirical equation for LH dependance upon the significant (influential) factors: temperature. cellullse content and wood density in oven dry state is defined.     

Flexural-Torsional Buckling of Cantilever Strip Beam-Columns with Linearly Varying Depth

In this paper, one investigates the elastic flexural-torsional buckling of linearly tapered cantilever strip beam-columns acted by axial and transversal point loads applied at the tip. For prismatic and wedge-shaped members, the governing differential equation is integrated in closed form by means of confluent hypergeometric functions. For general tapered members (0<(hmax?hmin)/hmax<1), the solution to the boundary value problem is obtained in the form of a Frobenius’ series, which is shown to converge in the interior of the domain and at the boundary if and only if 0<(hmax?hmin)/hmax<1/2. Therefore, for 1/2?(hmax?hmin)/hmax<1 the Frobenius’ series solution cannot be used to establish the characteristic equation for the cantilever beam-columns; the problem is then solved numerically by means of a collocation procedure. Some of the analytical solutions (buckling loads) were compared with the results of shell finite-element analyses and an excellent agreement was found in all cases, thus validating the mathematical model and confirming the correctness of the analytical results. The paper closes with a discussion on the convexity of the stability domain (in the load parameter space) and the accuracy of approximations based on Dunkerley-type theorems.     

Designing monotonic low-pass filters—comparison of some methods and criteria

A New Approach Has Been Presented To Find Characteristic Functions Of A Certain Class Of Monotonic Low-Pass Filters Of Non-Maximally Flat Type. The Well-Known Legendre Filters, And The More Recently Introduced Class H Filters, Both Belonging To This Class, Are Derived As Special Cases Of The Application Of Least-Squares Approximation Technique By Optimizing The Asymptotic Loss. It Is Shown That Class H Filters Provide Higher Stopband Attenuation Than The Legendre Filters But Have Less Favourable Passband Magnitude Response. On The Other Hand, If The Minimization Of The Passband Loss Is At A Premium Then The Unconstrained Least-Squares Monotonic Approximants, Referred To As Lsm Filters, Yield The Best Results. Therefore, Among All Filters With Monotonic Magnitude Response, The Legendre Filters Have Neither Optimum Passband, Nor Optimum Stopband Performance, Though They Are Suitable For Some Applications.     

Moment-method analysis of volume dielectric scatterers. Four independent entire-domain solutions: Is entire-domain philosophy a luxury or necessity in the method of moments?

Four independent methods are presented for entire-domain (large-domain) moment-method analysis of lossy, inhomogeneous dielectric scatterers. They share two basic steps in solving volume integral equations: (1) the approximation of the scatterer geometry by large trilinear hexahedrons; and (2) the approximation of the unknown vector function in the hexahedrons by three-dimensional polynomials. The results are compared among themselves and with those obtained by subdomain (the only existing) methods, demonstrating great superiority of the entire-domain approach in solving three-dimensional scattering and interaction problems. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Analysis of coupled inset dielectric guides under LSE and LSMpolarization

The inset dielectric guide (IDG) represents an easy-to-fabricate alternative to the image line that is also less sensitive to loss radiation at discontinuities. Two IDG geometries were analyzed, the so-called deep and shallow IDG structures, operating in the LSE and LSM polarizations, respectively. The propagation constants of single and coupled symmetrical IDGs have been calculated as well as the coupling coefficients of coupled guides. The transverse resonance diffraction method with variational formulation was used. Measured values show very good agreement with predicted values for the propagation constants of coupled deep slot IDGs. The information is a prerequisite for the design of directional couplers in IDG     

Towards understanding the influence of porosity on mechanical and fracture behaviour of quasi-brittle materials: experiments and modelling

In this work, porosity-property relationships of quasi-brittle materials are explored through a combined experimental and numerical approach. In the experimental part, hemihyrate gypsum plaster powder (\(\hbox {CaSO}_{4}\cdot 1/2\hbox {H}_{2}\hbox {O}\)) and expanded spherical polystyrene beads (1.5–2.0 mm dia.) have been mixed to form a model material with controlled additions of porosity. The expanded polystyrene beads represent pores within the bulk due to their light weight and low strength compared with plaster. Varying the addition of infill allows the production of a material with different percentages of porosity: 0, 10, 20, 30 and 31 vol%. The size and location of these pores have been characterised by 3D X-ray computed tomography. Beams of the size of \(20 \times 20 \times 150\) mm were cast and loaded under four-point bending to obtain the mechanical characteristics of each porosity level. The elastic modulus and flexural strength are found to decrease with increased porosity. Fractography studies have been undertaken to identify the role of the pores on the fracture path. Based on the known porosity, a 3D model of each microstructure has been built and the deformation and fracture was computed using a lattice-based multi-scale finite element model. This model predicted similar trends as the experimental results and was able to quantify the fractured sites. The results from this model material experimental data and the lattice model predictions are discussed with respect to the role of porosity on the deformation and fracture of quasi-brittle materials.     

Synthesis and characterization of bionanoparticle—Silica composites and mesoporous silica with large pores

A sol-gel process has been developed to incorporate bionanoparticles, such as turnip yellow mosaic virus, cowpea mosaic virus, tobacco mosaic virus, and ferritin into silica, while maintaining the integrity and morphology of the particles. The structures of the resulting materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, small angle X-ray scattering, and N₂ adsorption-desorption analysis. The results show that the shape and surface morphology of the bionanoparticles are largely preserved after being embedded into silica. After removal of the bionanoparticles by calcination, mesoporous silica with monodisperse pores, having the shape and surface morphology of the bionanoparticles replicated inside the silica, was produced,. This study is expected to lead to both functional composite materials and mesoporous silica with structurally well-defined large pores. Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Transport performance of an 80-Gb/s WDM regional area transparentring network utilizing directly modulated lasers

The transport performance of a regional area wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transparent optical network is studied. We present excellent performance results (Q factors for all received signals greater than 10 with small power penalties) for a ring network based on application-optimized cost-effective optical layer components and fiber. The network consists of six network nodes, interconnected with 86.5-km spans of uncompensated negative dispersion fiber, resulting in a maximum transmission distance around the ring of 519 km, and it supports 32 directly modulated channels operating at 2.5 Gb/s (80-Gb/s network capacity). The novel design of the network nodes ensures great flexibility in terms of scalability and transparency, as well as great performance. To our knowledge, the capacity-length product of this transparent network, using cost-effective directly modulated lasers (DMLs) and no dispersion compensation, is the highest ever reported     

Fast ephemeral DNA damage upon BaP injection

Injection of high concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene (10-125 micrograms BaP/g body weight) into young frogs (Xenopus laevis), fish (Gambusia affinis) or tissue culture cells (L 5178 Y) in a state of logarithmic growth causes alterations in DNA. In frogs these alterations reach a maximum at 60-90 min after application, then they decrease and become undetectable after 3 h. Within 8-12 days after the single BaP dose, a new wave of DNA alterations can again be detected. Parallel measurements of mixed function oxygenases (MFO) showed no short term activity changes within the first day. There was, however, an increase of activity starting on the 8th day following injection in frogs, and lasting until day 14. DNA alterations have been assessed by two methods. One is a modification of the alkaline filter elution method of Kohn et al. (1976) and is believed to determine the number of events leading to single strand breaks at alkaline pH. The other method determines the number of S1 nuclease sensitive sites in highly purified native DNA. Both results were found to be highly correlated. The effect does not seem to be caused by an impurity, unless an unknown, very minor, and extraordinarily active component is present. The effect in frogs is linked to nutritional status. Frogs fed a carbohydrate-rich, protein-poor diet do not give the fast response. The fast effect cannot be blocked by application of Actinomycin, Cordycepin, and Chloramphenicol injected either 30 min before or simultaneously with the BaP. Benzo(e)pyrene, a non-tumorigenic isomer of BaP, does not cause any effects at similar doses.     

Die Lebensdauer eines Wolframheizfadens unter verschiedenen Betriebsverhältnissen

Übersicht Wird der Wolframheizfaden in einer Röhre unter verschiedenen Betriebsverhältnissen (konstante Heizspannung bzw. Heizstrom, konstante Fadentemperatur oder Anodenstrom) betrieben, so entstehen durch die verschiedene Verdampfungsgeschwindigkeiten Differenzen in der Lebensdauer des Heizfadens. Die Lebensdauer sowohl als auch die Differentialgleichung für den zeitlichen Verlauf der Halbmesserverringerung und dadurch die Funktionr(t) sind für alle vier Fälle ermittelt worden. Die quantitativen Resultate können durch den Gebrauch der in der Tabelle 1 angegebenen Daten benutzt werden. Für die Spannungs- und Stromstabilisatoren sind außerdem die Stabilitätsformeln (Änderung der Stabilisierten Größe pro Stunde), welche für die praktische Anwendung von Sättigungsdioden in der Regeltechnik von Interesse sind, errechnet worden.Mit 2 Textabbildungen