An architecture for adaptive fuzzy control in industrial environments

The paper presents an architecture for adaptive fuzzy control of industrial systems. Both conventional and adaptive fuzzy control can be designed. The control methodology can integrate a priori knowledge about the control and/or about the plant, with on-line control adaptation mechanisms to cope with time-varying and/or uncertain plant parameters. The paper presents the fuzzy control software architecture that can be integrated in industrial processing and communication structures. It includes four distinct modules: a mathematical fuzzy library, a graphical user interface (GUI), fuzzy controller, and industrial communication. Three types of adaptive fuzzy control methods have been studied, and compared: (1) direct adaptive, (2) indirect adaptive, and (3) combined direct/indirect adaptive. An experimental benchmark composed of two mechanically coupled electrical DC motors has been employed to study the performance of the presented control architectures. The first motor acts as an actuator, while the second motor is used to generate nonlinearities and/or time-varying load. Results indicate that all tested controllers have good performance in overcoming changes of DC motor load.     

Ozonation of a landfill leachate: evaluation of toxicity removal and biodegradability improvement

This work shows an evaluation of treatments for the leachate produced at the Gramacho Municipal Landfill in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. This leachate has very peculiar characteristics, with a high salinity level and very low biodegradability (BOD(5)/COD of 0.05). A sequence of processes was employed in the treatment of this leachate. Initially, a physicochemical treatment was used, while the second stage consisted of application of ozone to improve the biodegradability of the leachate. The final stage comprised a biological treatment. The physical-chemical treatment led to COD and DOC removal levels of 40 and 25%, respectively, with the use of Al(2)(SO(4))(3). The sequence of treatments proposed brought good results, with an increase in the BOD(5)/COD ratio from 0.05 to 0.3 after ozonation. The toxicity tests performed using Brachydanio rerio and Poecilia vivipara showed that the toxicity of the leachate had hardly been reduced by ozonation. These results are in agreement with the fact that, despite the higher BOD(5)/COD ratio, the biological process did not present a good performance. The total average removal levels of COD and DOC achieved using the combined treatment were 73 and 63%, respectively, for an ozone dose of 3.0 gL(-1) by the leachate.     

Diffusion, Intrusion and Reaction between Al-Containing In-termetallics and TiC Sintered Body during Thermal Pressure Holding

分别以Fe40Al、Ni3Al和TiAl(NbCr)金属间化合物为基体,在一定的压力和温度下,使其和低孔隙率TiC粉体烧结体有效结合。采用扫描电镜及能谱仪等对其界面的组织结构进行分析。结果表明,所有金属间化合物均与TiC烧结体形成了冶金结合的界面。TiC烧结体在高温保压过程中有微量分解,扩散进入了Fe40Al和Ni3Al基体表层,降低了其熔点,从而使其成为可流动状态,被挤压进入TiC烧结体的孔隙。但TiAl(NbCr)合金未能进入TiC烧结体孔隙,而是在与TiC的界面处形成了一层Ti含量高于基体约10at%的反应层。     

Difference Equations for the Higher-Order Moments and Cumulants of the INAR(1) Model

Recently, as a result of the growing interest in modelling stationary processes with discrete marginal distributions, several models for integer value time series have been proposed in the literature. One of these models is the INteger-AutoRegressive (INAR) model. Here we consider the higher-order moments and cumulants of the INAR(1) process and show that they satisfy a set of Yule–Walker type difference equations. We also obtain the spectral and bispectral density functions, thus characterizing the INAR(1) process in the frequency domain. We use a frequency domain approach, namely the Whittle criterion, to estimate the parameters of the model. The estimation theory and associated asymptotic theory of this estimation method are illustrated numerically.     

Cadmium(II) removal from aqueous solution using microporous titanosilicate ETS-10

In this work, the removal of Cd²⁺ ions from aqueous solution using microporous titanosilicate ETS-10 was investigated in order to assess its potential as decontaminating agent in tertiary treatments. Accordingly, batch stirred tank experiments were carried out to study the ion exchange kinetics and equilibrium. Results show that pH affects considerably the ion exchange capability of ETS-10: at pH 4 it is 1.567 × 10² eq m⁻³, at pH 6 it is 3.629 × 10³, and no further increment was observed at pH 8. This is an extremely important observation since pH of industrial effluents and other wastewaters rounds 6. Both Langmuir and Langmuir–Freundlich isotherms were fitted to the experimental data measured. The second model performs slightly better as the calculated absolute average deviations show: AAD_L = 2.94% and AAD_LF = 2.40%. Concerning the kinetic behavior, the ion exchange was successfully represented by a Nernst–Planck based model (AAD = 11.9%).     

Measurement of concrete E-modulus evolution since casting: A novel method based on ambient vibration

The use of ambient vibration tests to characterize the evolution of E-modulus of concrete right after casting is investigated in this paper. A new methodology is proposed, which starts by casting a concrete cylindrical beam inside a hollow acrylic formwork. This beam is then placed horizontally, simply supported at both extremities, and vertical accelerations resulting from ambient vibration are measured at mid-span. Processing these mid-span acceleration time series using power spectral density functions allows a continuous identification of the first flexural frequency of vibration of the composite beam, which in turn is correlated with the evolutive E-modulus of concrete since casting. Together with experiments conducted with the proposed methodology, a complementary validation campaign for concrete E-modulus determination was undertaken by static loading tests performed on the composite beam, as well as by standard compressive tests of concrete cylinders of the same batch loaded at different ages.     

Synthesis of compatibilizers and characterization of the compatibilized and noncompatibilized blends of PP/Rodrun LC3000

The addition of a liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) to a matrix of a flexible thermoplastic (TP) has been used in the last two decades as an in situ reinforcement of the matrix. Owing to the immiscibility of the two phases and the high degree of orientation typical of LCPs, the dispersed phase is, after processing, essentially constituted by fibrillar structures, which are responsible for the reinforcement of the matrix and the decrease of viscosity with respect to the matrix. The low degree of adhesion typical of LCP/TP blends often requires the use of compatibilizers, which will act reducing the interfacial tension between the two components. In this work, we present the synthesis of three different compatibilizers, as well as the mechanical characterization of the corresponding compatibilized blends. Some scanning electron microphotographs will be also presented to better explain the mechanical results. The mechanical properties of these blends were compared with the noncompatibilized blend, as well as with the ones presented by blends obtained with two commercial compatibilizers, leading to the conclusion that, considering our compatibilizer C, the one that leads to the higher enhancement of the Young's modulus, when compared with the noncompatibilized blend, we obtain a Young's modulus 27% higher than the one presented by the noncompatibilized blend. Comparing this result with those presented by the blends compatibilized with the two commercial compatibilizers, D and E, we conclude that this enhancement is higher than those presented by those blends (increase in Young's modulus of 16% for both compatibilizers). © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Influence of Graphite Nodules Geometrical Features on Fatigue Life of High-Strength Nodular Cast Iron

This paper is concerned with the evaluation of different fatigue strength theories to predict the fatigue life of high-strength nodular cast iron. There have been some studies on the effects of the shape and size of graphite nodules, and of microstructure, on the fatigue strength of nodular cast iron. However, there is not a consensus on how to correlate the fatigue limit with material intrinsic properties or with external features such as considering graphite nodules as defects. Some researchers found good correlations between fatigue strength, σ_w0, and the geometrical aspects of the graphite nodules, considering it as internal material defects. It will be shown in this study that geometrical features such as shape, size, and relative position seem to be adequate to be included in those predictions. In this article, a high-strength cast iron, with rupture strength of about 1300 MPa and Young’s modulus of about 160 GPa, has been used. Correlations both with intrinsic properties as well as with other geometrical effects have been made. A comparison of different theories has also been carried out. This article was presented at Materials Science & Technology 2007, Automotive and Ground Vehicles symposium held September 16–20, 2007, in Detroit, MI.     

Intercomparison of the Realization of the ITS-90 at the Freezing Points of Al and Ag among European NMIs

The EUROMET.T-K4 comparison is the regional extension of CCT-K4, an intercomparison of the realizations of the freezing points of Al (660.323°C) and Ag (961.78°C). The intercomparison was organized in four loops. Long-stem standard platinum resistance thermometers (SPRTs) were used as traveling standards: 25 Ω thermometers to be used only at the Al freezing point and two high-temperature standard platinum resistance thermometers (HTSPRTs) to be used only at the Ag freezing point in each loop. Parallel to the measurements with thermometers, the pilots and sub-pilots organized an internal intercomparison using an Ag fixed-point cell. Most HTSPRTs showed a strong drift which is mainly due to mechanical stress and poisoning of the sensor by impurities. This drift can be partially compensated by a correction based on Matthiessen’s rule. An evaluation of the data taking into account both HTSPRTs in each loop, the linkage of the sub-pilots by measurements at the Ag freezing point, and a possible compensation according to Matthiessens’s rule, allows calculation of the results of the participants’ measurements at the Ag freezing point. The results of the participating laboratories are summarized, and proposals for key comparison reference values and linking of the results to CCT-K3 and CCT-K4 are presented.     

Regulation of embryonic/fetal globin genes by nuclear hormone receptors: a novel perspective on hemoglobin switching

The CCAAT box is one of the conserved motifs found in globin promoters. It binds the CP1 protein. We noticed that the CCAAT-box region of embryonic/fetal, but not adult, globin promoters also contains one or two direct repeats of a short motif analogous to DR-1 binding sites for non-steroid nuclear hormone receptors. We show that a complex previously named NF-E3 binds to these repeats. In transgenic mice, destruction of the CCAAT motif within the human epsilon-globin promoter leads to substantial reduction in epsilon expression in embryonic erythroid cells, indicating that CP1 activates epsilon expression; in contrast, destruction of the DR-1 elements yields striking epsilon expression in definitive erythropoiesis, indicating that the NF-E3 complex acts as a developmental repressor of the epsilon gene. We also show that NF-E3 is immunologically related to COUP-TF orphan nuclear receptors. One of these, COUP-TF II, is expressed in embryonic/fetal erythroid cell lines, murine yolk sac, intra-embryonic splanchnopleura and fetal liver. In addition, the structure and abundance of NF-E3/COUP-TF complexes vary during fetal liver development. These results elucidate the structure as well as the role of NF-E3 in globin gene expression and provide evidence that nuclear hormone receptors are involved in the control of globin gene switching.