Anomalous microstructure formed at the interface between copper ribbon and tin-deposited copper plate by ultrasonic bonding

The present paper reports an anomalous microstructure formed at interfaces between Cu ribbons and Sn-deposited Cu plates by ultrasonic bonding. The interface consists of Cu-to-Cu directly bonded part and Sn-dispersed part. In the latter part, Sn is dispersed in the vicinity of the bond interfaces being retained as Sn. The formation process of the interfacial microstructure is discussed on the basis of detailed experimental analysis and theoretical analysis on the solid-state reaction at Cu/Sn interface. The theoretical analysis reveals three important points of the reaction. (1) The formation of Cu₆Sn₅ precedes that of Cu₃Sn. (2) The incubation time for the formation of Cu₆Sn₅ changes discontinuously at the η/η′ transition temperature. (3) The incubation time for the formation of η′Cu₆Sn₅ is longer than that for ηCu₆Sn₅.     

Iridium(I)‐Catalyzed Direct C?H Bond Alkylation of the C‐7 Position of Indolines with Alkenes

A cationic iridium‐catalyzed C‐7 alkylation of N‐substituted indoline derivatives with various alkenes has been developed. A variety of 7‐alkylindolines were obtained in moderate to high yields. This protocol relies on the use of the carbonyl group on the nitrogen atom of indoline as a directing group and it is potentially applicable to the large‐scale synthesis of 7‐alkylindoles.

     

Incorporating Penalty Function to Reduce Spill in Stochastic Dynamic Programming Based Reservoir Operation of Hydropower Plants

This paper proposes a framework that includes a penalty function incorporated stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) model in order to derive the operation policy of the reservoir of a hydropower plant, with an aim to reduce the amount of spill during operation of the reservoir. SDP models with various inflow process assumptions (independent and Markov‐I) are developed and executed in order to derive the reservoir operation policies for the case study of a storage type hydropower plant located in Japan. The policy thus determined consists of target storage levels (end‐of‐period storage levels) for each combination of the beginning‐of‐period storage levels and the inflow states of the current period. A penalty function is incorporated in the classical SDP model with objective function that maximizes annual energy generation through operation of the reservoir. Due to the inclusion of the penalty function, operation policy of the reservoir changes in a way that ensures reduced spill. Simulations are carried out to identify reservoir storage guide curves based on the derived operation policies. Reservoir storage guide curves for different values of the coefficient of penalty function α are plotted for a study horizon of 64 years, and the corresponding average annual spill values are compared. It is observed that, with increasing values of α, the average annual spill decreases; however, the simulated average annual energy value is marginally reduced. The average annual energy generation can be checked vis‐à‐vis the average annual spill reduction, and the optimal value of α can be identified based on the cost functions associated with energy and spill. © 2010 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Heterogeneity of ion irradiation-induced hardening in A533B reactor pressure vessel model alloys

Reactor pressure vessels comprise bainitic steel structures, and are heterogeneous on the mesoscale. Nanoindentation techniques were used to evaluate the hardness of these structures on the micrometer scale, and to evaluate the heterogeneity in a specimen using the distribution of the hardness. Three A533B model alloys were irradiated by 2.8 MeV Fe²⁺ ions at 563 K, and the effects of ion fluence, ion flux, and chemical composition on the change in the hardness distribution were examined. Heterogeneity of the hardening is observed in high-copper specimens irradiated up to (2–10) × 10¹⁴ ions/cm², where the average hardness increases the most. In these specimens, the hardness distribution broadens, and demonstrates that the hardening in certain positions (possibly where the initial hardness is high) is greater than in other positions. Variation in initial chemical composition (especially copper and carbon) or sink strength may cause a difference in the curing behavior.     

A modeling method and EMTP simulations of an inverter surge

A numerical simulation of the inverter surge is carried out using a frequency‐dependent model of a cabtyre cable. The frequency‐dependent model is based on the Semlyen line model in the EMTP, for which the required parameters are determined from the measured results of the wave propagation characteristic in the cable. A simple model of an induction motor is proposed considering resonances in the motor. The simulated result by the EMTP agrees reasonably well with the measured result. The proposed model can be useful for predicting the peak voltages observed at the motor terminal of inverter‐operated motors. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Feasible solution for dynamic economic load dispatch using feasible operation region

High penetration of renewable energy in the future power system will pose a big problem to the load dispatch operation. The large disturbance and high forecast error must be considered when scheduling a limited number of controllable generators to follow rapid change in load. This paper proposes a dynamic economic load dispatch (DELD) problem approach based on the concept of a feasible operation region (FOR). FOR is defined as the region that committed generators may operate in to match the load profile without violating the ramp‐rate constraints. The DELD problem is solved in two stages. In the first stage, FOR of each generator is computed using recent real‐time forecasted load as well as renewable energy generation. In the second stage, a generation schedule is determined by solving the DELD problem interval by interval while considering ramp‐rate constraints and FOR constraints. The method can gives feasible solution for feasible load and specify the amount of compensation required for feasible solution for infeasible load. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Chemical Composition of Cell Wall Material from Sweet Potato Starch Residue

Cell wall material was isolated from the residue obtained after the extraction of sweet potato starch by treatment with the α-amylase. The wall material was fractionated by successive extraction with various reagents. The pectic substance was mainly composed of uronic acid (47.1%) residues and contained galactose as the predominant neutral sugar residues. The hemicellulosic fraction was further fractionated by precipitation with iodine in the presence of calcium chloride to give two fractions, a iodine precipitatable-iodine complex (HC-IP) and a supernatant solution (HC-IS). The HC-IS fraction had a higher glucose content (53.4%), whereas the HC-IP fraction had a high content of xylose residues (35.1%). The HC-IP fraction consisted mainly of xylan, as judged by the degradation with purified xylanase.     

Screening chloride Li-ion conductors using high-throughput force-field molecular dynamics

The realization of high-energy-density all-solid-state Li-ion batteries requires materials exhibiting both high Li-ion conductivity and high deformability, as exemplified by Li₃MCl₆-type chlorides. Herein, we optimized the classical force-field (FF) parameters for 36 Li- and Cl-containing compounds to reproduce the results of high-precision first-principles calculations and performed rapid FF molecular dynamics (MD) calculations to determine their Li-ion conductivities. In addition, shear moduli were evaluated by first-principles calculations and used as a deformability index. Li₄Mn₃Cl₁₀ was selected based on its Li-ion conductivity, stiffness, and thermodynamic stability. In accordance with the low calculated shear modulus (11.7 GPa), the cold-pressed compact had a high relative density of 98%, which indicated good deformability. The room-temperature conductivity (3.9 mS cm⁻¹) was similar to that (1.6 mS cm⁻¹) obtained by high-precision first-principles MD calculations. The Li-ion conductivity of synthesized Li₄Mn₃Cl₁₀ (18 µS cm⁻¹) was relatively rather high compared to those of known chloride materials but much lower than the calculated value, which was ascribed to the fact that calculations were performed for the high-temperature phase, whereas synthesis yielded the low-temperature phase. The material screening method greatly increases the speed of material exploration and expands the application possibilities of chloride materials for all-solid-state batteries.     

Influence of the impregnating property on mechanical properties of commingled yarn composites

Three types of glass/nylon 6 intermediate material forms-film stacking, uncommingled yarn, and commingled yarm-were selected study the correlations between the impregnating property and mechanical properties. The size of the glass fiber block to be filled with matrix and the porosity in glass fiber bundles by spearing out the fiber bundle was different in these materials. Unidirectional glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites were fabricated by compression molding. The being test was performed by using the three-point loading system, and the fracture behavior and the degree of impregnation were observed to examine the influence of processing conditions on the bending properties, relative to the form of the intermediate material. Bending strength increased, in accordance with the impregnating property, least in the film stacking form, second most in uncommingled yarn, and most in commingled yarn. The impregnating property was affected by the size of fiber blocks and the porosity in fiber bundles, because bending strength was improved by spreading out the fiber bundles. Commingled yarn is an excellent intermediate materials, which has both the fineness of matrix/fiber mixing and large porosity in fiber bundles.     

Automatic parameter learning method for agent activation spreading network by evolutionary computation

Artificial Life and Robotics - A variety of planning research is being actively conducted in multiple research fields. The focus of these studies is to flexibly utilize both immediate and...