Preliminary study on the enhancement of WCDMA technology with SON functionality

This paper reports on work aimed at designing a dynamic system-level simulator for wireless telecommunication networks. Presented here are considerations devoted to the development of a software tool, a preliminary condition for the analysis of various technological aspects directed towards the enhancement of WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) technology by implementing SON (Self Organized Networks) functionality. The future broadening of such strategies to include multi-technology networks will be possible with the created methodology and software library. Compared to typical attempts in this research domain, which involve pure software representations of wireless system operations, the methodology offered in this paper creates a tool that has direct practical value, which is primarily based on operations on input data measured in an actual wireless telecommunications system. Thus, both detailed cases concerning wireless communication in a chosen region of the world and general ideas of a conceptual nature can be considered with the support of an IRSON (Integrated Research on SON) system-level simulator.     

Dialkyldithiophosphate Acids (HDDPs) as Effective Lubricants of Sol–Gel Titania Coatings in Technical Dry Friction Conditions

The goal of this study was the investigation of the effectiveness of dialkyldithiophosphate acids (HDDPs) films in improving the tribological properties of thin, sol–gel derived titania coatings. Amorphous, anatase, and rutile titania coatings were obtained using sol–gel dip–coating deposition after treatment at 100, 500, and 1,000 °C, respectively. Titania coatings were then modified from the liquid phase by HDDPs acids having dodecyl-(C₁₂), tetradecyl-(C₁₄), and hexadecyl-(C₁₆) alkyl chains deposited by dip–coating (DC) and Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) methods. The influence of the deposition procedure, the length of the HDDPs alkyl chain and the type of titania substrate on the surface morphology and tribological properties were studied. It was found, using wetting contact angle measurements, that these modifications of titania coatings decrease the surface free energy and increase its hydrophobicity. The surface topography imaged by Atomic force microscopy (AFM), exhibit island-like or agglomerate features for the DC deposition method, while smooth topographies were observed for LB depositions. Tribological tests were conducted by means of a microtribometer operating in the normal load range 30–100 mN. An enhancement of tribological properties was observed upon modification, as compared to unmodified titania.     

CFD modelling of moisture evaporation in an industrial dispersed system

A methodology is presented here for the mathematical modelling of moisture evaporation in a dispersed system in an industrial tower. An empirical model using characteristic drying curves was applied to calculate moisture evaporation from a droplet and particle. A simple method was developed to calculate the agglomeration process of the dispersed phase in the drying towers, using transient functions between the initial and final particle size distributions, at the nozzle and in the final product. The developed model and simulation results were validated on the basis of industrial spray tower experiments. High instability of the airflow due to the geometry of the dryer and the construction of the air inlets was observed. The general methodology applied within this CFD model is universal, and can be applied to the scaling-up of installations for dewatering in dispersed systems in order to determine configurations of feeding systems and control the product quality and safety of the process.     

The structure solution of the F-type i-ZnMgHf from the X-ray diffraction

ABSTRACT

We report a successful growth of the ZnMgHf F-type icosahedral quasicrystal in the form of faceted single grains. By varying the heat treatment parameters we were able to obtain single crystals with a quality suitable for a single crystal X-ray diffraction which was conducted in a synchrotron facility. Ab initio structure solution by a charge flipping algorithm manifests the existence of two types of Bergman clusters. Clusters are differentiated by the preferential occupation of the high-symmetry positions by hafnium in a rhombic triacontahedron, being the outer shell of the atomic cluster.

This paper is part of a Thematic Issue on The Crystallographic Aspects of Metallic Alloys.     

New scanning technique for the optical vortex microscope

In the optical vortex microscopy the focused Gaussian beam with optical vortex scans a sample. An optical vortex can be introduced into a laser beam with the use of a special optical element--a vortex lens. When moving the vortex lens, the optical vortex changes its position inside the spot formed by a focused laser beam. This effect can be used as a new precise scanning technique. In this paper, we study the optical vortex behavior at the sample plane. We also estimate if the new scanning technique results in observable effects that could be used for a phase object detection.     

Oxidative Stability of Lipids by Means of EPR Spectroscopy and Chemiluminescence

The aim of this study was to investigate the oxidation of selected vegetable oils (CLSO, CCSO, CBO) at accelerated oxidation rates. Several seldom used analytical methods were applied including electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), spin trapping with α-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone (POBN) and 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO), Fe²⁺-induced chemiluminescence, Rancimat tests, and the determination of conjugated diens at λ = 233 nm. The antioxidative properties of POBN and DMPO were also investigated. The time required for each method was determined. EPR spectrometry of trapped radicals generated during oxidation turned out to be the fastest method to determine oxidative stability. Chemiluminometric determination of oxidation kinetics showed that POBN has a very strong anti-oxidative potential: it significantly (by 160–277%) lengthened the time to the chemiluminescence peak, as well as the induction time in the Rancimat test (by 110–140%). Photo-oxidation studies showed that superoxide anion radicals are the main factor responsible for the oxidation of lipids in the investigated oils.     

An electrically controlled quantum dot based spin current injector

We present a proposal for a fully electrically controllable quantum dot based spin current injector. The device consists of a quantum dot that is strongly coupled to a ferromagnetic electrode on one side and weakly coupled to a nonmagnetic electrode on the other side. The presence of the ferromagnetic electrode results in an exchange field that splits the dot level. We show that this exchange-induced splitting can lead to almost full spin polarization of the current flowing through the device. Moreover, we also demonstrate that the sign of polarization can be changed by the gate or the bias voltage within a switching time in the nanosecond range. Thus, the proposed device can operate as an electrically controlled, rapidly switchable spin current source, which can be realized in various state-of-the-art nanostructures.     

AGENT-BASED APPROACH TO THE DESIGN OF RBF NETWORKS

This article proposes a novel approach to the radial basis function network (RBFN) design. Its main idea is to apply the agent-based population learning algorithm to the task of initialization and training RBFNs. The approach allows for an effective network initialization and estimation of its output weights. The initialization involves two stages, where in the first one initial clusters are produced using the similarity-based procedure and next, in the second stage, prototypes (centroids) from the thus-obtained clusters are selected. The agent-based population learning algorithm is used to select prototypes. In the proposed implementation of the algorithm, both tasks—RBFN initialization and RBFN training—are carried out by a team of agents executing various local search procedures and cooperating with a view to determine the solution to the RBFN design problem at hand. The performance of the RBFN constructed using the proposed agent-based approach is analyzed and evaluated. The proposed approach is also compared with different RBFN initialization and training procedures in the literature.