Synthesis and characterization of a novel proton‐exchange membrane for fuel cells operating at high temperatures and low humidities

The synthesis of a p‐toluidine/formaldehyde (PTF) resin was performed, and the effects of the molar ratio of the individual monomers and the polymerization conditions on the structure of the PTF resin were studied. Fourier transform infrared and ¹³C‐NMR spectra were used to characterize the PTF. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction patterns revealed the crystalline structures of various PTFs. Polarized optical microscopy revealed that the molar ratio of the monomers had a strong effect on the crystalline morphologies. A longer polymerization time turned out a polymer with a higher intrinsic viscosity and molecular weight, which led to differences in the proton conductivity. All of the PTFs showed a higher proton conductivity than a commercial Nafion membrane at 90–100°C and 0% relative humidity. The proton conductivity of the PTF series could be improved by sulfonation with sulfuric acid and could be maintained after blending with polyurethane. Pure methanol could be used as a fuel source because of the insolubility and nonwetting properties of PTF in methanol to increase the output current density for a PTF membrane electrode assembly. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Effects of tube rupture modeling and the parameters on the analysis of multiple steam generator tube rupture event progression in APR1400

A multiple steam generator tube rupture (MSGTR) event in APR1400 has been investigated using the best estimate thermal hydraulic system code, MARS1.4. The effects of the parameters such as the number of ruptured tubes, rupture location, affected steam generator on the analysis of the MSGTR event in APR1400 are examined. In particular, tube rupture modeling methods, single tube modeling (STM) and double tube modeling (DTM), are compared. The APR1400 is found to have the capability of allowing more than 30 min to operators for the MSGTR event of five tubes. The effects of rupture location on the MSSV lift time is not significant in the case of STM, but the MSSV lift time for tube-top rupture is found to be 25.3% larger than that for rupture at the hot-leg side tube sheet in the case of DTM. The MSSV lift time for the cases that both steam generators are affected (4C5x, 4C23x) are found to be larger than that of the single steam generator cases (4A5x, 4B5x) due to a bifurcation of the primary leak flow. The discharge coefficient of Cd is found to affect the MSSV lift time only for a smaller value of 0.5. It is found that the most dominant parameter governing the MSSV lift time is the leak flow rate. Whether any modeling method is used, it gives the similar MSSV lift time if the leak flow rate is close, except in the case where both steam generators are affected. Therefore, the system performance and the MSSV lift time of the APR1400 are strongly dependent on the break flow model used in the best estimate system code.     

Effects of alloying elements on fracture toughness in the transition temperature region of base metals and simulated heat-affected zones of Mn-Mo-Ni low-alloy steels

This study is concerned with the effects of alloying elements on fracture toughness in the transition temperature region of base metals and heat-affected zones (HAZs) of Mn-Mo-Ni low-alloy steels. Three kinds of steels whose compositions were varied from the composition specification of SA 508 steel (grade 3) were fabricated by vacuum-induction melting and heat treatment, and their fracture toughness was examined using an ASTM E1921 standard test method. In the steels that have decreased C and increased Mo and Ni content, the number of fine M₂C carbides was greatly increased and the number of coarse M₃C carbides was decreased, thereby leading to the simultaneous improvement of tensile properties and fracture toughness. Brittle martensite-austenite (M-A) constituents were also formed in these steels during cooling, but did not deteriorate fracture toughness because they were decomposed to ferrite and fine carbides after tempering. Their simulated HAZs also had sufficient impact toughness after postweld heat treatment. These findings indicated that the reduction in C content to inhibit the formation of coarse cementite and to improve toughness and the increase in Mo and Ni to prevent the reduction in hardenability and to precipitate fine M₂C carbides were useful ways to improve simultaneously the tensile and fracture properties of the HAZs as well as the base metals.     

Capacitor coupled converter (C3) for high power DCconversion

The bang-bang controlled capacitor coupled converter (C³) is described in this paper. Due to the converter's inherent commutating property, the C³ can accommodate thyristors as well as high-power gate turn-off switches, due to zero-current switching transitions. The zero-current switching is achieved at no current stress increase, therefore, the topology is considered appropriate for high-power processing. DC and small signal AC models are derived for the bang-bang controlled C³, a design procedure is proposed, and simulation results are discussed. Finally, oscillograms from a proof of principle prototype circuit are presented     

Customer entrepreneurship on digital platforms: Challenges and solutions for platform business models

Drawing on the mixed methods of qualitative research and agent‐based simulation, this study examines: (a) how end‐users use digital platforms to become customer–entrepreneurs undertaking commercial activities on platforms; and (b) how platform providers can convert this customer entrepreneurship into a revenue stream. Considering that end‐users have traditionally been defined as passive and uncharged actors in platform business models, an in‐depth understanding of their commercial activities and the viable revenue model to monetize this emerging customer practice is warranted. Our qualitative study reveals that customer–entrepreneurs make substantial use of platform offerings to advertise their products; communicate with end‐consumers; and accept payments. These commercial activities are largely exercised for free on platforms, even though they could otherwise serve as a source of revenue. On this point, our simulation results identify two pricing models achieving the generation of nearly identical revenues over time. First, platform providers may charge both advertising and transaction fees, which maximize the survival of professional customer–entrepreneurs. Second, platform businesses may levy advertising fees only, which maximizes the survival of informal customer–entrepreneurs operating on a micro‐scale and part‐time basis. This study offers theoretical, methodological, and managerial implications for platform studies.     

Signal tracking method of GNSS receivers for spinning vehicles

A signal tracking method of GNSS receivers for spinning vehicles is proposed in order to eliminate the influence of spinning to the GNSS signal of a vehicle. In the proposed method, a rotation tracking loop is added into the carrier tracking loop of a conventional GNSS receiver. The proposed method was verified through computer simulations and an experiment for live GPS signals. The results show that the proposed method gives an accurate tracking performance.     

Unsteady extinction mechanism of nonpremixed flame interacting with a vortex

The extinction mechanism of a CH₄/N₂-air counterflow nonpremixed flame interacting with a single vortex was numerically studied. An augmented reduced mechanism was used to treat the CH₄ oxidation reactions. The contribution of each term in the energy and the OH species equations were evaluated to investigate the unsteady extinction mechanism of nonpremixed flame. The flame temperature began to decrease due to the convection heat loss when the flame interacted with a vortex. The investigation of the radical behavior during the flame-vortex interaction process also provided useful information on the unsteady extinction mechanism. The OH radical concentration could be used as a good tracer of the state of the unsteady extinction of nonpremixed flame. The reduction mechanism of OH concentration was confirmed by analyzing the contribution of each term in the OH species equation. At initial stage of flame-vortex interaction, the OH production and consumption rates increased gradually, while the OH concentration was kept nearly constant. Near the extinction limit, the OH production rate decreased rapidly due to the low flame temperature, and the balance between the OH production and OH consumption by diffusion could not be maintained. The unsteady nonpremixed flame interacting with a vortex under the conditions of regime (V) shown in the spectral combustion diagram [Thévenin, D., Renard, P.H., Fiechtner, G.J., Gord, J.R., Rolon, J.C., 2000. Regimes of non-premixed flame-vortex interactions. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 28, 2101-2108.] was finally extinguished due to low reactivity, which was induced by the low flame temperature.     

Analysis of the correlation between acoustic noise and vibration generated by a multi-layer ceramic capacitor

Acoustic noise generated by a multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) makes users uncomfortable, so the problem must be analyzed to reduce the noise. There is a correlation between the acoustic noise and the vibration of MLCCs and the circuit board. Therefore, the acoustic noise problem must be investigated from a vibration perspective. In this study, the acoustic noise-generating mechanism was investigated, and the relationship between the characteristics of the noise and the dynamic characteristics of the circuit board with MLCC was analyzed. And a correlation criterion was proposed to predict the acoustic noise using the vibration response of the circuit board.     

An experimental investigation of mixing of carbon nanotube/polymer composite in a batch-type screw mixer

We develop a miniaturized batch-type screw mixer (BSM) for uniform mixing of polymer resin and nanoparticles, based on the stretching of material elements. This stretching is induced by the combination of recirculating cross-sectional flows in deep channels of the screw and high shear stress developed at flight regions. The BSM is used to produce a polymer nano-composite composed of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and polydimethylsiloxane resin. The mixing performance of the BSM is characterized quantitatively by estimating two different types of mixing efficiencies (i.e., dispersive mixing and distributive mixing) via transmitted light microscope images. The developed BSM highly improves the mixing performance rather than that of a conventional ultrasonic mixing device.     

Updating the trusted connection of re-organized computing resource under the automated system management platform

The High-Performance Computing (HPC) is an infrastructure to support various research fields. The research using HPC requires big storage for large-scale of raw data and the huge computing resources to analyze. The consolidated operations of the computing center for supporting various researches using HPC are a very effective organization. The consolidated operations are able to increase the utilization. The computing center has to be re-organized continuously in order to support the various fields of research effectively and flexibly. Re-organization to reuse the limited resources enforces the update of the information for verification of the computing resources after the re-allocation of computing resources and the re-distribution of trusted connection between computing resources. Consequently, to maintain effective research support we need automated resource re-organization environment. In this paper, we build an automated update of the trusted connection for re-organized computing resource using puppet which is automated system management platform. Finally, we provide a unified verification point and efficient environment for the re-allocation and re-organization of the integrated computing center.