Calibrated Free-Space Microwave Measurements With an Ultrawideband Reflectometer-Antenna System

We present a 3-12 GHz compact mixer-based reflectometer (CMR) and horn antenna system, and demonstrate its use in detecting backscatter signals with a free space calibration procedure. We evaluate the frequency-domain performance of the CMR-antenna system for measuring the complex reflection coefficient of a dielectric slab and compare it with that of a commercial vector network analyzer (VNA)-antenna setup. Time-domain responses are also investigated, and show the effectiveness of this calibration method. This low-cost, compact system eliminates the need for traditional mechanical standards and a VNA, is effective in reducing reflection artifacts, and allows for flexibility in the placement of reference planes; thus it is well suited for array-based imaging applications     

Effects of surface charge, micro-bubble size and particle size on removal efficiency of electro-flotation.

Flotation is a water treatment alternative to sedimentation, and uses small bubbles to remove low-density particles from potable water and wastewater. The effect of zeta potential, bubble size and particle size on removal efficiency of the electro-flotation process was investigated because previous model-simulations indicated that these attributes are critical for high collision efficiency between micro-bubbles and particles. Solutions containing Al3+ as the metal ion were subjected to various conditions. The zeta potentials of bubbles and particles were similar under identical conditions, and their charges were influenced by metal ion concentration and pH. Maximum removal efficiency was 98 and 12% in the presence and absence of flocculation, respectively. Removal efficiency was higher when particle size was similar to bubble size. These results agree with modelling simulations and indicate that collision efficiency is greater when the zeta potential of one is negative and that of the other is positive and when their sizes are similar.     

Cover Picture: Arresting,Fixing, and Separating Dimers Composed of Uniform Silica Colloidal Spheres (Adv. Funct. Mater. 12/2006)

In colloidal suspensions of silica, particles undergo constant collisions. By controlling various parameters, the repulsive barrier can be reduced, thereby substantially increasing the number of collision‐induced dimerization events. Xia and co‐workers report on p. 1627 that the dimers could be arrested and then permanently fixed by introducing a small amount of fresh tetraethylorthosilicate into the colloidal suspension, with monodisperse dimer yields of up to 50 %. This yield could be increased to 80 % by centrifugation in a density gradient medium. When fresh tetraethylorthosilicate is introduced into a colloidal suspension of silica spheres, it hydrolyzes and condenses in situ to arrest and fix the dimers resulting from constant collisions between the spheres. By optimizing the experimental parameters (including the length of aging time) and the diameter of the silica spheres, as well as the concentrations of counterions, water, and ammonia, it is possible to routinely produce monodisperse dimers with a yield as high as 50 %. When combined with centrifugation using a density gradient medium, the yield of such dimers could be further increased to 80 %. It is believed that this method will provide a simple and versatile approach to the high‐volume production of dimers from spherical colloids composed of different materials. These dimers may find widespread use in a range of applications such as fabrication of photonic crystals and fundamental studies related to colloidal science.     

Untersuchung der Verteilung und Intensität filamentierter Barrierenplasmen für die Behandlung von Oberflächen

The application of barrier discharges at atmospheric pressure in air expands on the market of plasma technology, because it is an ecological and cost‐effective alternative to other processes of surface treatment. These plasmas usually consist of a multitude of spatially and temporally localized filaments, whose distribution should be as even as possible for homogeneous treatment. This holds especially for the plasma treatment of sensitive goods such as wool or other textiles. In equipment for continuous pass of material the barrier arrangements often consist of a system cylinder – cylinder or cylinder – plane, whereby the gap width changes locally. Space distribution and intensity of filaments has been investigated by means of short‐time photography and spatially resolved measurement of current distribution and energy distribution derived from it. The local dependency found can be explained by means of a capacitive equivalent circuit.     

AIRS/Vis near IR instrument

A component of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument system is the AIRS/Visible Near InfraRed (Vis/NIR) instrument. With a nadir ground resolution of 2.28 km and four channels, the Vis/NIR instrument provides diagnostic support to the infrared retrievals from the AIRS instrument and several research products, including surface solar flux studies. The AIRS Vis/NIR is composed of three narrowband (channel 1: 0.40-0.44 /spl mu/m; channel 2: 0.58-0.68 /spl mu/m, and channel 3: 0.71-0.92 /spl mu/m) and one broadband (channel 4: 0.49-0.94 /spl mu/m) channel, each a linear detector array of nine pixels. It is calibrated onboard with three tungsten lamps. Vicarious calibrations using ground targets of known reflectance and a cross-calibration with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) augment the onboard calibration. One of AIRS Vis/NIR's principal supporting functions is the detection of low clouds to flag these conditions for atmospheric temperature retrievals. Once clouds are detected, a cloud height index is obtained based on the ratio (channel 2 - channel 3)/channel 1 that is sensitive to the partitioning of water vapor absorption above and below clouds. The determination of the surface solar radiation flux is principally based on channel 4 broadband measurements and the well-established relationship between top-of-the atmosphere (broadband) radiance and the surface irradiance.     

Robust vector control of induction motors using full-order observer in consideration of core loss

This paper proposes a method for designing a robust full-order observer for vector-controlled induction motors taking core loss into account. Although conventional research focuses on parameter identification, global stability of the identification remains questionable. Therefore, robustness against some parameters is required. This paper describes the design of a robust full-order observer which takes core loss into account, using both the gain-scheduled H/sub /spl infin// control and the linear matrix inequality technique. This design always results in a stable controller. The robustness of the proposed method against variations of resistances is evaluated by experiments.     

Results from the ORPHEUS dark matter detector

The ORPHEUS dark matter detector consists of 450 g superconducting tin granules with diameters of 28 and 36 μm. The detector has been operating in the shallow site of the underground laboratory in Bern (70 m.w.e). First preliminary results on WIMP detection sensitivity will be presented.     

Assessing stem cell research productivity

Honour Index (HoI), a method to evaluate research performance within different research fields, was derived from the impact factor (IF). It can be used to rate and compare different categories of journals. HoI was used in this study to determine the scientific productivity of stem cell research in the Asian Four Dragons (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) from 1981 to 2001. The methodology applied in this study represents a synthesis of universal indicator studies and bibliometric analyses of subfields at the micro-level. We discuss several comparisons, and conclude the developmental trend in stem cell research for two decades. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A comparison of transformation methods for evaluating two‐dimensional weakly singular integrals

Accurate numerical evaluation of integrals arising in the boundary element method is fundamental to achieving useful results via this solution technique. In this paper, a number of techniques are considered to evaluate the weakly singular integrals which arise in the solution of Laplace's equation in three dimensions and Poisson's equation in two dimensions. Both are two‐dimensional weakly singular integrals and are evaluated using (in a product fashion) methods which have recently been used for evaluating one‐dimensional weakly singular integrals arising in the boundary element method. The methods used are based on various polynomial transformations of conventional Gaussian quadrature points where the transformation polynomial has zero Jacobian at the singular point. Methods which split the region of integration into sub‐regions are considered as well as non‐splitting methods. In particular, the newly introduced and highly accurate generalized composite subtraction of singularity and non‐linear transformation approach (GSSNT) is applied to various two‐dimensional weakly singular integrals. A study of the different methods reveals complex relationships between transformation orders, position of the singular point, integration kernel and basis function. It is concluded that the GSSNT method gives the best overall results for the two‐dimensional weakly singular integrals studied. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of chloride doped polyaniline

Chloride doped polyaniline conducting polymer films have been prepared in a protic acid medium (HCl) by potentiodynamic method in an electrochemical cell and studied by cyclic voltammetry and FTIR techniques. The FTIR spectra confirmed Cl^- ion doping in the polymers. The polymerization rate was found to increase with increasing concentration of aniline monomer. But the films obtained at high monomer concentration were rough having a nonuniform flaky polyaniline distribution. Results showed that the polymerization rate did not increase beyond a critical HCl concentration. Cyclic voltammetry suggested that, the oxidation-reduction current increased with an increase in scan rate and that the undoped polyaniline films were not hygroscopic whereas chloride doped polyaniline films were found to be highly hygroscopic.