Modelling the growth of carbon nanotubes produced by chemical vapor deposition

An improved model of C₂H₂ deposition for the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in a horizontal tube reactor has been developed. This includes detailed gas-phase reactions of acetylene pyrolysis, and surface catalytic reactions for CNT growth. Based on this model, the mechanism of CNT growth has been studied by analyzing the change of the CNT growth rate for different growth conditions such as pressure, temperature, number of catalyst nanoparticles per unit area, and diameters of catalyst nanoparticles. The influence of gas-phase reactions and their products on CNT growth has also been evaluated. It is found that although C₂H₂ is the main contributor to the growth of CNTs, the contribution from the gas-phase products could not be ignored, especially at high temperature.     

Influence of distribution voltage control methods on maximum capacity of distributed generators

Recently, the number of distributed generators (DGs) connected to distribution systems has been increasing. It is important to know how large a generator output is permitted when the generators are connected to a distribution system with regulation of the line voltage, the line current, and the power factor of the generator connection point. The authors demonstrate differences of maximum output of the DGs caused by various voltage control systems in a short‐length system and a long‐length system by load flow calculation. The voltage regulation systems include the following six types: no control equipment, SVC (Static Var Compensator), existing SVR (Step Voltage Regulator), reverse flow type SVR which operates even in reverse flow, existing SVR and SVC, and reverse flow type SVR and SVC. A synchronous generator is considered as a DG in this paper. The calculation results show that the DG's maximum output is about 3300 kW in a short‐length system and about 540 kW in a long‐length system. However, the DG's maximum output increases to about 3750 kW on installing a SVC, and the SVC's capacity decreases on replacing an existing SVR with a reverse power flow type SVR in the long‐length system. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 150(1): 8–17, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20050     

Development of equipment models for fast distribution three‐phase unbalanced load flow calculation

This paper presents distribution system equipment models for fast distribution three‐phase unbalanced load flow calculation. Recently, the number of distributed generators introduced into distribution systems has been increasing and detailed system analysis using load flow calculation has been eagerly awaited. Moreover, since many distribution system loads are composed of single phase loads, three‐phase unbalanced load flow calculation is required for the distribution system analysis. Although the fast distribution three‐phase unbalanced load flow calculation has been developed, equipment models considering interconnection of distributed generators have not as yet been developed in Japan. This paper develops practical equipment models such as various distributed generators, voltage control equipment, and loads for fast three‐phase unbalanced load flow calculation in distribution systems. The feasibility of the developed models is verified and demonstrated on practical distribution system models with promising results. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 142(3): 8–19, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10106     

“Pulsed field losses and coupling current loop in a large‐current superconductor”, Electrical Engineering in Japan Volume 142, Number 4, 2003, pages 27–33

The original article to which this Erratum refers was published in Electrical Engineering in Japan, Volume 142, Number 4, 2003, pages 27–33 An error appeared in the above article. The affiliations are correct as here. We apologize for any inconvenience this error may have caused.     

Charge contrast imaging of suspended nanotubes by scanning electron microscopy

A method of rapidly identifying and imaging suspended nanotubes by scanning electron microscopy is reported. Nanotubes are visible in high contrast and even at low magnification. The contrast can be explained by considering the effect that the charge on the nanotube has on the substrate. The proposed mechanism is general and should apply to any charged nanostructure in proximity to a surface or interface. This represents a new contrast mechanism in scanning electron microscopy.     

An alternate computational architecture for advanced process engineering

An algorithm for equation-oriented (EO) flowsheeting to which the interfacing of external modular procedures is readily allowed is presented. In the algorithm, all the process units in a flowsheet are solved simultaneously in an EO environment while taking advantage of the external software as it is. The algorithm is the basis for the process simulator MIKAN. The simulator consists of two parts, namely EO main, which is the simulator's executive, and add-on blocks to incorporate external procedures. EO main also serves to solve separation processes. The PBM (Pseudo-Binary-Mixture)-based algorithm for separation processes (Ishii & Otto, 2008) is fully exploited in EO main. The equations of the entire system are composed of a set of equations for separation processes and sets of equations representing the input-output relation of each add-on block. The input-output relation is obtained by numerical perturbation where all the component flow rates are perturbed collectively. Although the proposed perturbation is simple and significantly less expensive, it is very reliable since the interactions among the input variables affecting the output are fully accounted for.Robustness, flexibility and efficiency of the new algorithm have been confirmed by its implementation. A serious drawback with the EO approach is the difficult accessibility to the user when incorporating new or external process models. Easy accessibility is an important attribute of the new algorithm, even though the simulator's executive is highly integrated and complex. It is significant that the derivative information at various levels of a flowsheet is easily obtained in the algorithm. The novel algorithmic capabilities of the algorithm provide a robust platform for the next stage of advanced process engineering.     

Physicochemical analysis of liposome membranes consisting of model lipids in the stratum corneum

Lamellar lipid layers in the stratum corneum (SC), the outermost layer of the skin, act as a primary permeability barrier to protect the body. The roles of SC lipid composition and membrane structure in skin barrier function have been extensively investigated using ex-vivo SC samples and reconstructed SC lipids in the form of multi-lamellar lipids or liposomes. The primary lipids, especially ceramide, have been found to be highly important. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a well-known chronic inflammatory skin disease with immunologic and epidermal abnormalities of the permeability barrier; therefore, a comparison of SC lipids in AD skin with those in normal skin is a promising method to explore the mechanisms of skin barrier function. Here, we focused on the effect of sphingoids (ceramide metabolites and a minor component of the SC lipids) and their content/species on skin barrier function. A significant difference in the leakage ratio was observed between model SC lipid liposomes with a different sphingolipid ratio (sphingosine/sphinganine), with a value of 5.43 for normal skin vs. 14.3 for AD skin. This result shows a good concordance with AD mouse experiments. Therefore, an alteration in the composition of minor SC lipids resulting from a ceramide metabolic abnormality can affect the membrane integrity (i.e., skin barrier function). Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements revealed no distinct differences in the SAXS pattern between the 3 models, with all models forming a rigid membrane (i.e., a nearly hydrated solid). According to increasing the temperature, the peaks indicated that the lamellar structures decreased in all models and that the lateral packing of lipids decreased, which suggested annealing or melting of the gel to a liquid crystal, although no distinct phase transition was observed through fluorescence anisotropy measurements. Hence, we assume that the altered sphingoid composition triggers local membrane structural changes (i.e., formation of domains or clusters).     

High-Temperature Fracture Energy of Superplastically Forged Silicon Nitride

The fracture energy of superplastically forged silicon nitride, where rodlike silicon nitride grains are aligned in one direction, was investigated at high temperatures from 1100° to 1300°C and at room temperature. Bending tests using chevron-notched beams were conducted at two displacement rates, 0.05 and 0.005 mm/min. The superplastically forged silicon nitride showed remarkably high fracture energies, 200–630 J/m². The fracture energy was largely dependent on the temperature and the displacement rate. The high fracture energy was attributed to grain pullout enhanced by the softened grain-boundary glassy phase and the aligned rodlike grains.     

An enhanced pseudo-binary-mixture (PBM) algorithm for multistage separation processes

A scale-shift approach is introduced to further refine the pseudo-binary-mixture (PBM) simultaneous correction procedure for the solution of multicomponent, multistage separation problems [Ishii, Y., & Otto, F. D. (2001). An efficient simultaneous correction procedure for multicomponent, multistage separation calculations for non-ideal systems. Computers and Chemical Engineering, 25, 1285–1298; & Ishii, Y., & Otto, F. D. (2003a). A method to extend the domain of convergence for difficult multicomponent, multistage separation problems. Computers and Chemical Engineering, 27, 855–868]. The scale-shift approach takes advantage of the fact that a solution to a stage-wise separation problem is more easily obtained the fewer the number of stages. In the approach the column specified in a given problem is initially downsized to a configuration having a small number of stages and then scaled up to the original one in a multiple-step manner. A solution is obtained at each scale-shift step and the results are used as a set of initial assumptions to solve the subsequent scaled-up problem. Combining the scale-shift approach along with the gradual non-ideal enhancing method with the PBM algorithm provides a more robust and efficient algorithm for the simulation and solution of difficult multicomponent, multistage separation problems including those involving non-ideal mixtures that are highly sensitive to the quality of initial values. A geometric consideration for the gradual non-ideal enhancing method and details of the unique procedure for the algebraic inversion of matrices employed in the algorithm are also presented.     

Asymptotically bounded regret sequential estimation of the mean

This paper provides a two-stage rule and a sequential rule for estimating the mean of an unspecified distribution with a given constant risk. Under appropriate regularity conditions, the rules are shown to have asymptotically bounded regrets.