Phase behaviors of polymer blend(PEO–PPO) electrolyte/LiCF3SO3 systems in lithium battery

Polymer blend (poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)–poly(propylene oxide) (PPO)) systems with two different mole ratios, complexed with LiCF₃SO₃ salt, have been characterized at various temperatures and compositions using a thermo‐optical analysis (TOA) technique. We also developed a new melting point depression theory based on the modified perturbed hard sphere chain model to interpret phase behavior of polymer blend electrolyte systems. The obtained results show that the eutectic points move toward higher T_m and lower weight fraction of salt with decreasing PEO mole ratio and also indicate that the mole ratio of PEO–PPO for each polymer blend plays an important role in determining the eutectic point of the polymer blend system. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 2314–2319, 2005     

The effect of Fe on magnetic moment of electrodeposited CoFe alloys—Experimental study and analytical model

The effect of Fe³⁺ concentration on saturation magnetic flux density (B_s) of electrodeposited Co_40-44Fe_60-56 films was investigated. The results show that if the conditions at the electrochemical interface for nucleation/precipitation of iron(III) hydroxide (Fe(OH)₃) are reached, the B_s of electrodeposited Co_40-44Fe_60-56 films quickly decreases as a result of the Fe(OH)₃ incorporation into deposit. These conditions are discussed as a function of the solution formulation (pH) and the parameters of electrodeposition process (current density, current efficiency, diffusion layer thickness) and a simple analytical model is developed qualitatively describing the hydroxide incorporation phenomenon and resulting decrease in B_s of Co_40-44Fe_60-56 films.     

Control of chaotic dynamical systems using radial basis function network approximators

This paper presents a general control method based on radial basis function networks (RBFNs) for chaotic dynamical systems. For many chaotic systems that can be decomposed into a sum of a linear and a nonlinear part, under some mild conditions the RBFN can be used to well approximate the nonlinear part of the system dynamics. The resulting system is then dominated by the linear part, with some small or weak residual nonlinearities due to the RBFN approximation errors. Thus, a simple linear state-feedback controller can be devised, to drive the system response to a desirable set-point. In addition to some theoretical analysis, computer simulations on two representative continuous-time chaotic systems (the Duffing and the Lorenz systems) are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Degradation Behavior of 850 nm AlGaAs/GaAs Oxide VCSELs Suffered from Electrostatic Discharge

The effect of forward and reverse electrostatic discharge (ESD) on the electro‐optical characteristics of oxide vertical‐cavity surface‐emitting lasers is investigated using a human body model for the purpose of understanding degradation behavior. Forward ESD‐induced degradation is complicated, showing three degradation phases depending on ESD voltage, while reverse ESD‐induced degradation is relatively simple, exhibiting two phases of degradation divided by a sudden distinctive change in electro‐optical characteristics. We demonstrate that the increase in the threshold current is mainly due to the increase in leakage current, nonradiative recombination current, and optical loss. The decrease in the slope efficiency is mainly due to the increase in optical loss.     

Conceptual framework for decentralized green water‐infrastructure systems

We present a model for a decentralized green water‐infrastructure system (DGWIS) based on a new conceptual framework that optimises the use of captured rainwater, recycled wastewater and renewable energy resources. DGWIS is designed for building‐scale localised water supply systems that utilise rainwater and greywater and incorporate advanced small‐scale water treatment systems and renewable local energy sources such as solar and wind. Several constraints are considered: (i) available renewable energy; (ii) greywater production rate; (iii) potential captured rainwater; (iv) water demand; (v) water storage volumes required to accommodate greywater, harvested rainwater and separate water/energy supplies from the city and (vi) water treatment capacities. The proposed DGWIS optimisation framework demonstrates proof‐of‐concept and provides a solid foundation for an innovative paradigm shift towards water and energy sustainability.     

Grain-Refined AZ92 Alloy with Superior Strength and Ductility

Grain-refined AZ92 (GR-AZ92) alloy with superior tensile properties is developed by adding 1 wt% Zn and a very small amount of SiC (0.17 wt%) to commercial AZ91 alloy for enhancing the solid-solution strengthening effect and refining the crystal grains, respectively. The homogenized GR-AZ92 alloy with an average grain size of 91 μm exhibits a tensile yield strength (TYS) of 125 MPa, ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 281 MPa, and elongation of 12.1%, which are significantly higher than those of AZ91 alloy with a grain size of 420 μm (TYS of 94 MPa, UTS of 192 MPa, and elongation of 7.0%). The peak-aging time of GR-AZ92 alloy (8 h) is significantly shorter than that of AZ91 alloy (32 h) owing to a larger amount of grain boundaries in the former, which serve as nucleation sites of Mg₁₇Al₁₂ precipitates. A short-aging treatment for less than 1 h of the GR-AZ92 alloy causes an effective improvement in its strength without a significant reduction in its ductility. The 30-min-aged GR-AZ92 alloy has an excellent combination of strength and ductility, with a TYS of 142 MPa, UTS of 304 MPa, and elongation of 8.0%.     

Deoxycholate‐Based Glycosides (DCGs) for Membrane Protein Stabilisation

Detergents are an absolute requirement for studying the structure of membrane proteins. However, many conventional detergents fail to stabilise denaturation‐sensitive membrane proteins, such as eukaryotic proteins and membrane protein complexes. New amphipathic agents with enhanced efficacy in stabilising membrane proteins will be helpful in overcoming the barriers to studying membrane protein structures. We have prepared a number of deoxycholate‐based amphiphiles with carbohydrate head groups, designated deoxycholate‐based glycosides (DCGs). These DCGs are the hydrophilic variants of previously reported deoxycholate‐based N‐oxides (DCAOs). Membrane proteins in these agents, particularly the branched diglucoside‐bearing amphiphiles DCG‐1 and DCG‐2, displayed favourable behaviour compared to previously reported parent compounds (DCAOs) and conventional detergents (LDAO and DDM). Given their excellent properties, these agents should have significant potential for membrane protein studies.     

Novel membrane bioreactor (MBR) coupled with a nonwoven fabric filter for household wastewater treatment

Conventional and modified membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are increasingly used in small-scale wastewater treatment. However, their widespread applications are hindered by their relatively high cost and operational complexity. In this study, we investigate a new concept of wastewater treatment using a nonwoven fabric filter bag (NFFB) as the membrane bioreactor. Activated sludge is charged in the nonwoven fabric filter bag and membrane filtration via the fabric is achieved under gravity flow without a suction pump. This study found that the biofilm layer formed inside the NFFB achieved 10 mg/L of suspended solids in the permeate within 20 min of initial operation. The dynamic biofilter layer showed good filterability and the specific membrane resistance consisted of 0.3-1.9 × 10¹² m/kg. Due to the low F/M ratio (0.04-0.10 kg BOD₅/m³/d) and the resultant low sludge yield, the reactor was operated without forming excess sludge. Although the reactor provided aerobic conditions, denitrification occurred in the biofilm layer to recover the alkalinity, thereby eliminating the need to supplement the alkalinity. This study indicates that the NFFB system provides a high potential of effective wastewater treatment with simple operation at reduced cost, and hence offer an attractive solution for widespread use in rural and sparsely populated areas.     

Adaptive active constellation extension algorithm for peak-to-average ratio reduction in OFDM

For PAR reduction in OFDM systems, the clippingbased Active Constellation Extension (ACE) technique is simple and attractive for practical implementation. However, we observe it cannot achieve the minimum PAR when the target clipping level is set below an initially unknown optimum value. To overcome this low clipping ratio problem, we propose a novel ACE algorithm with adaptive clipping control. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed algorithm can reach the minimum PAR for severely low clipping ratios. In addition, we present the tradeoff between PAR and the loss in E_b/N_o over an AWGN channel in terms of the clipping ratio.     

A new approach to cell size scaling with a multi-dual cell and a buffer/background programming of unified RAM

New investigations are presented here on a high-density and DRAM-like high-speed non-volatile memory (NVM) application of unified RAM (URAM). For a high-density application of URAM, multiple data storage is demonstrated with a multi-dual cell (MDC). Because each NVM state can be split by programming with a one-transistor (1T) DRAM without a capacitor, the total number of memory states can be doubled. Furthermore, a high-speed DRAM-level NVM scheme is proposed for the joint operation of 1T DRAM buffer programming and NVM post-background programming. The MDC and the proposed scheme are unique URAM properties that can extend the application range of memory devices.