Rigorous Full-Wave Analysis of Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna on Suspended and Composite Substrates

In this paper, Galerkin’s method in the Fourier transform domain is applied to the determination of the resonant frequencies and half-power bandwidth of rectangular microstrip patch on composite and suspended substrates. Using Galerkin’s method in solving the integral equation numerically, the complex resonant frequency of the microstrip antenna on suspended and composite substrates is studied with sinusoidal functions as basis functions, which show fast numerical convergence. The validity of the solution is tested by comparison of the computed results with experimental data. Finally, numerical results for the effects of suspended and composite substrates on the resonant frequency and half-power bandwidth are also presented.     

Photocatalytic oxidation of ciprofloxacin under simulated sunlight

Ciprofloxacin (CIP) is a famous synthetic chemotherapeutic antibiotic. It is widely found either in water or wastewater. In this study ciprofloxacin was photocatalytically degraded using commercial anatase titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) under simulated sunlight. The rate of reaction was found to be affected by pH, TiO(2) concentration and antibiotic concentration. The best reaction rate was obtained in natural ciprofloxacin pH (5.8) and 1000 mg/L TiO(2). More titania concentration was found to reduce the reaction rate because of the limitation in light transmittance. From kinetic studies, the reaction was proved to proceed through adsorption step then photooxidation and obeys pseudo-first order kinetics.     

Copper cation removal in an electrokinetic cell containing zeolite

Zeolites are used in environmental remediation of soil or water to immobilize or remove toxic materials by cation exchange. An experiment was conducted to test the use a low electric field to direct the toxic cations towards the zeolite. An electrokinetic cell was constructed using carbon electrodes. Synthetic Linde Type A (LTA) zeolite was placed in the cell. Copper(II) chloride dissolved in water was used as a contaminant. The Cu(2+) concentration was measured for ten hours with and without an applied electric field. The removal of the Cu(2+) ions was accelerated by the applied field in the first two hours. For longer time, the electric field did not improve the removal rate of the Cu(2+) ions. The presence of zeolite and applied electric field complicates the chemistry near the cathode and causes precipitation of Cu(2+) ions as copper oxide on the surface of the zeolite. With increased electric field the zeolite farther away from the cathode had little cation exchange due to the higher drift velocity of the Cu(2+) ions. The results also show that, in the LTA Zeolite A pellets, the cation exchange of Cu is limited to a shell of several tens of micrometers.     

在RGB显示器中生成一致的LED亮度

发光二极管（LED）在各种终端设备中已经被广泛使用，从汽车前照灯、交通信号灯、文字显示器、广告牌及大屏幕视频显示器，到普通及建筑照明和LCD背光等最新应用，LED的迅速采用使得最普通的设备也需要重新设计。随着LED效率与亮度的增加以及成本的减少，LED有可能会取代消费类应用中的传统照明技术。本文通过比较采用基于LED的LCD背光的大屏幕显示器中所使用的一些技术，阐述如何解决在使用LED时所面对的一些设计挑战。     

Properties of boron doped Tl-Ba-Ca-Cu-O superconductors

The effects of boron doping on the formation and properties of the Tl-based superconductors have been studied. Up to 10 wt.% boron has been added to the oxides having the nominal composition, Tl_1.8Ba₂Ca_2.2Cu₃O_x, by the usual solid-state reaction method. Boron additions in the range 0.8-1.0% increase the fraction of the Tl-2223 phase and significantly improve the critical temperature of the samples. Higher amounts of boron additions eliminate the Tl-2223 phase, reduce the fraction of Tl-2212 phase and cause separate non-superconducting phases to be formed. The formation of non-superconducting phases does not allow us to obtain pure Tl-2212 phase.     

Effect of rapid solidification and small additions of Zn and Bi on the structure and properties of Sn-Cu eutectic alloy

The Sn-Cu eutectic alloy has been produced by rapid solidification using the melt-spinning technique, and both Zn and Bi have been added individually to it, in the ratio 0.5 wt.%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and differential thermal analysis (DTA) have been carried out. Resistivity, Vickers microhardness (HV), and yield stress (σ_y) have been measured. Also a new method for measuring creep has been described using a HV tester. The creep measured by this method is termed “microcreep.” It is a quick, nondestructive method and requires a small sample, about 1 cm², with thickness 1 mm or less. The results show that formation of Cu₃₉Sn₁₁ occurs due to the addition of both Zn and Bi. The addition of Zn increases HV and σ_y, but slightly lowers the creep resistance; however, the addition of Bi deteriorates the creep resistance. Also, it is found that the creep rate of as-quenched melt-spun alloys is high.     

Estimation of solar radiation components incident on Helwan site using neural networks

Field testing carried out for solar energy applications is costly, time consuming and depends heavily on prevailing weather conditions. Adequate security and weather protection must be provided at the test site. Measurements may also suffer from delays that can be caused by system failures and bad weather. To overcome these problems the need for accurate model becomes evermore important. To achieve such prediction task, an artificial neural network, ANN, model is regarded as a cost-effective technique superior to traditional statistical methods. In this paper, Levenberg optimization function is adopted to predict insolation data in different spectral bands for Helwan (Egypt) monitoring station. The predicted values were then compared with the actual values and presented in terms of usual statistics. The results hint that, the ANN model predicted infrared, ultraviolet, and global insolation with a good accuracy of approximately 95%, 93% and 96%, respectively. In addition, ANN model was tested to predict the same components for Aswan over an 11 month period. The predicted values of the ANN model compared to the actual values for Aswan produced an accuracy of 95%, 91% and 92%, respectively. Data for Aswan were not included as a part of ANN training set. Hence, these results demonstrate the generalization capability of this approach over unseen data and its ability to produce accurate estimates.     

Design of a commercial solar-powered greenhouse

A completely solar-powered greenhouse complex has been designed for climate controlled food production in hot, humid environments. The concept uses passive design features to provide irrigation water from saline water sources. This paper discusses the overall system concept and the solar still subsystem which has been designed to provide a continuous fresh water supply. While incorporating many innovative features, the use of proven technologies and passive design results in a system that should compete economically with current, more traditional designs.     

Metachromic interactions between azo and triphenylmethane dyes in aqueous solution. II. The effect of organic solvents on the interaction

The interaction between dilute aqueous solutions of the disazo dye Brilliant Orange and the triphenylmethane dye Crystal Violet results in a decrease in the absorption of Crystal Violet in the region 550–600 nm and the appearance of a new absorption at 494 nm. The decrease in absorbance at 590 nm is characteristic of the metachromic interactions of Crystal Violet with a wide variety of polyanion substrates while the increase at 494 nm is due to the conversion of Brilliant Orange from its azo to its hydrazone tautomer. The relative effects of a variety of organic solvents in reversing the interaction has been investigated.     

Stoffaustausch zwischen flüssigem Eisen und Schlacke beim Sprühraffinationsverfahren

Erläuterung des Sprühraffinationsverfahrens, bei dem eine Schmelze mit inertem Gas verdüst wird und die entstehenden Metalltropfen durch eine Raffinationsschlacke fallen. Erörterung der Gesetzmäßigkeiten für die Stoffaustauschvorgänge zwischen Metalltropfen und Schlacke. Bestimmung der mittleren Tropfengröße beim Versprühen von kohlenstoffgesättigtem Roheisen. Untersuchung der Wirkung der Sprühraffination am Beispiel der Entschwefelung des Roheisens mit Schlacken des Systems CaO–CaF₂–Al₂O₃ bei 1600 °C. Ermittlung des Stoffübergangskoeffizienten des Schwefels für den umgekehrt transitorischen Phasenkontakt und Vergleich mit Werten bei anderen Techniken des Phasenkontaktes Metall-Schlacke.