Cryogenic properties of Si-Ti-C-O fibre-bonded ceramic using satin weave

Mechanical and thermophysical characteristics of Si-Ti-C-O fibre-bonded ceramic produced by hot-pressing the laminated material of oxidized satin-woven Si-Ti-C-O fibre have been investigated at room and cryogenic temperatures. The fibre element (diameter: 8 m, fibre volume fraction: 85 ± 1%) constructing the Si-Ti-C-O fibre-bonded ceramic showed a close-packed structure of the oxidized Si-Ti-C-O fibre mainly composed of fine SiC crystals, amorphous SiO₂-based phase and turbostratic carbon. The Si-Ti-C-O fibre-bonded ceramic with lightweight (density: 2.45 × 10³kg/m³) and low porosity (<1 vol%) showed a markedly higher fracture energy (notched, cross-plied specimen: approximately 10kJ/m²) and lower thermal conductivity (1/10 the value of stainless steel). The reason why the fibre- bonded ceramic showed such a low thermal conductivity in spite of very high thermal conductivity of a pure SiC and carbon could be attributed to the complicated microstructure of Si-Ti-C-O fibre-bonded ceramics.     

Photocatalytic degradation of trichloroethylene in water using TiO2 pellets

A recirculating system of aqueous trichloroethylene (TCE) solutions through the packed bed reactor with TiO2 pellets has been developed in order to mineralize TCE without difficulties for filtration and recovery of catalyst. The TiO2 pellets prepared by sol gel method have photocatalytic activity similar to commercially available PC-101 and PC-102 in the powder form and to ST-B11 pellets. In batch experiments with TiO2 powders, Degussa P-25 is the most active photocatalyst, which indicates that specific surface area is not an important factor controlling the photocatalytic activity in aqueous solutions. The degradation rates of TCE in the recirculating system with TiO2 pellets decreased in the presence of H2O2, while were remarkably accelerated by adding S2O8(2-). The presence of S2O8(2-) ions more than 0.01 mol dm(-3) completely suppressed hole-electron recombination and mineralized 50 ppm TCE with the 2 h irradiation. In a reactor without TiO2 photocatalysts, TCE was photodegraded by SO4- radicals which produced by photodissociation of S2O8(2-). The degradation rates increased with increase of the initial S2O8(2-) concentration. However, TCE was not mineralized but converted to intermediates which were slowly degraded to Cl- by continuing the irradiation.     

Exploiting Temporal Relations in Mining Hepatitis Data

Various data mining methods have been developed last few years for hepatitis study using a large temporal and relational database given to the research community. In this work we introduce a novel temporal abstraction method to this study by detecting and exploiting temporal patterns and relations between events in viral hepatitis such as “event A slightly happened before event B and B simultaneously ended with event C”. We developed algorithms to first detect significant temporal patterns in temporal sequences and then to identify temporal relations between these temporal patterns. Many findings by data mining methods applied to transactions/graphs of temporal relations shown to be significant by physician evaluation and matching with published in Medline.     

On one- and two-parameter analyses of short fatigue crack growth

Recent data on short fatigue crack growth in two cast and hot isostatically pressed (hipped) aluminum alloys obtained by Shyam, Allison and Jones have been analyzed in terms of a previously proposed one-parameter short crack model which includes consideration of elastic–plastic effects, the Kitagawa effect and the development of crack closure in the wake of a newly formed crack. The material constants obtained in a prior investigation of short crack growth behavior in a cast aluminum alloy tested under fully reversed loading were used as a basis for the present analysis. The predicted rates of fatigue crack propagation are in accord with the experimental results. In the discussion, aspects of the two-parameter approach presented by Shyam et al. are compared with those of the one-parameter method of analysis used herein.     

Preparation method for supported metal catalysts using w/o microemulsion: Study on immobilization conditions of metal particles by hydrolysis of alkoxide

It was previously found that the silica-supported rhodium catalyst prepared using water-in-oil microemulsion had rhodium particles partly, or wholly, embedded in silica. In this work, consequently, we investigated the effect of hydrolysis conditions of tetraethylorthosilicate, employed as the source of silica, on the atomic ratio of surface rhodium in contact with the gas phase, to total surface rhodium of nanoparticles. This ratio is denoted as R in this paper. R became higher when the catalyst was prepared under the following hydrolysis conditions: a shorter hydrolysis time and a smaller amount of tetraethylorthosilicate. On the other hand, R showed the minimum value when the water content in the preparation solution was 33 vol%. From these results, it is demonstrated that it was important to form silica as early as possible in hydrolysis of TEOS in order to increase R values. In addition, the effect of R on the catalytic behavior in CO hydrogenation was investigated. At R values below 30%, the turnover frequencies increased with a decrease in R.     

Self-routing planar network for guided-wave optical switching systems

An N*N self-routing planar network suitable for fabricating optical space switches on lithium niobate substrate is presented. The network has O(N/sup 2/) cross points, good modularity and expandability. It also has no waveguide crossovers and no differential attenuation between any of the input and output pairs. A self-routing control can be applied to this network, which is indispensable for ATM switching systems.<>     

Molecular dynamics simulation of pressure effect on phase transition behaviour and dynamics in the isotropic and discotic nematic phases

Molecular dynamics simulation was performed at constant temperature and pressure to investigate the effect of pressure on molecular dynamics for disc-shaped molecules. The generic Gay-Berne model, GB(0.345, 5.0, 1, 3), was used to study the phase transition behaviour, and translational and rotational dynamics, under two different reduced pressures P^?, 10.0 and 20.0. Obvious shifts were detected in the transition temperatures. Both systems have the same phase sequence with different pressures: isotropic, discotic nematic and columnar phases. Translational motion is characterised by the parallel and perpendicular components of diffusion coefficients, with respect to the director in the orientational ordered phase. With regard to rotational dynamics, the correlation time of the first-rank orientational time autocorrelation function, which corresponds to end-over-end rotational motion of a molecule, has been investigated. A clear jump in the temperature dependence of the correlation time has been found at the isotropic-nematic phase transition point. The retardation factor g_|| as a function of the reduced temperature T^?/T_NI^? shows an apparent pressure effect on the rotational dynamics.     

TEM,XPS and SIMS Analyzes on Grain Boundary of Lanthanum Chromites

The morphological characteristics, chromium valence state, and cation transport in the vicinity of grain boundary in La_1-xCa_xCrO₃ were investigated by using TEM/EDS, XPS and SIMS techniques. The width of grain boundary was around 1 nm where anomalous enrichment of calcium was observed. Higher valence state of chromium such as Cr⁶⁺(d⁰) was detected in the grain boundaries whereas Cr³⁺(d³) and Cr⁴⁺(d²) were dominant in the bulk. Very fast interdiffusion of alkaline earths was observed in the Sr²⁺-La_0.75Ca_0.25CrO₃ system. All observed phenomena were correlated by assuming the A-site vacancy which may be induced by the formation of Cr⁶⁺ at grain boundaries.     

Valence Band Structure of ZnO (1010) Surface by Cluster Calculation

Discrete variational (DV) Xα cluster method has been employed in calculating electronic structures of ZnO. Electronic structures of the bulk and the non-polar surface model clusters are calculated with inclusion of electrostatic potentials in the bulk and near the surface, and the electronic origins of experimental spectra and chemical bonds at the surface are examined in detail. The valence band structure constructed by Zn-3d and O-2p bands is much influenced by electrostatic potentials in ZnO. It is found that the reduction of an electrostatic potential near the surface gives rise to the difference of the valence band structures between in the bulk and at the surface. The calculated density of states at the non-polar surface of ZnO, where the Zn-3d and O-2p bands are more widely separated than in the bulk, is in good agreement with the experimental UPS. In addition, a Zn-O bond at the surface is found to show stronger covalency than that in the bulk, as a result of the change of the valence band structure due to the effect of the electrostatic potential.