Control of natural ventilation for aerodynamic high-rise buildings

The aim of the paper is to present a framework for the optimal control of natural ventilation. To account for the significant crossflow between zones, the notion of ASHRAE-equivalent airflow is proposed which is used to evaluate the quality of ventilation provided to different zones within a building. A model-based predictive control approach is developed which is used to simulate different ventilation strategies and select the most appropriate strategy. To this end, the rationale behind choosing an objective function that captures the goals of a ventilation system is described, and candidate objective functions are discussed. Finally, an illustrative example with an elliptical cross-section building is discussed in detail. The framework for model-predictive control developed in this paper is applicable beyond natural ventilation and high-rise buildings.     

Thermal conductivity and temperature profiles of the micro porous layers used for the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

The thermal conductivity and the thickness change with pressure of several different micro porous layers (MPL) used for the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) were measured. The MPL were made with different compositions of carbon and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). A one-dimensional thermal PEMFC model was used to estimate the impact that the MPL has on the temperature profiles though the PEMFC.     

Understanding the Formation of Vertical Cracks in Solution Precursor Plasma Sprayed Yttria‐Stabilized Zirconia Coatings

Yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ) deposition by the solution precursor plasma spraying (SPPS) route has been of interest for potential thermal barrier coating (TBC) applications. It has been surmised that realization of unique microstructural features like vertical cracks, nanosized pores and fine splats in the TBCs can significantly enhance coating durability and performance. However, satisfactory control over the YSZ coating microstructure has been elusive in the absence of an adequate understanding of the mechanism responsible for coating deposition in SPPS. This study demonstrates the ability to tailor microstructure of deposited YSZ coatings over a wide range, from nano‐porous coatings to a vertically cracked microstructure. Varying of precursor flow rate has been shown to dictate the pyrolysis events occurring in situ and, adopting this approach, YSZ coatings with widely varying microstructural features have been developed. The coatings have been characterized in detail and the observations correlated with in‐flight particle generation and splat formation. These studies also provide useful insights into the possible origin of vertical cracks in the coating for which a mechanism is proposed.     

ZnO nanowire growth by electric current heating method: A study on the effect of substrate temperature

In this study, we report the growth of ZnO nanowire on quartz glass substrates with Au-catalyst assistance by electric current heating of ZnO ceramic bar. The effect of substrate temperature on the properties of ZnO nanostructures has been investigated systematically. Structural analysis indicates that the grown ZnO crystals belong to hexagonal phase with preferential growth along (0 0 2) orientation. Scanning electron microscopic studies reveal the aligned ZnO nanowires were grown at 800 °C. The typical length and diameter of nanowires are in the uniform ranges of 4–20 μm and 20–100 nm, respectively, showing their high aspect ratio of about 1000. We have made an attempt to discuss about the change in ZnO nanostructures with different substrate temperatures and the possible mechanism for the growth of nanowires. Optical reflectance studies show the infrared reflectivity was controlled through the substrate temperature.     

Bismuth effect in the structural, magnetic and dielectric properties of CoZn ferrite

Nano particles of Co_0.5Zn_0.5Bi_xFe_(2−x)O₄, with x varying from 0.0 to 0.3 in steps of 0.1 were synthesized using the chemical co-precipitation method. The powder X-Ray diffraction pattern confirms the formation of spinel phase for all prepared samples. The lattice parameters are calculated by powder X-Ray diffraction, and it is observed that the values of the lattice parameter are less than those of bulk materials. The saturation magnetization is found to decrease with the increase of concentration of Bi ion up to x = 0.2 and then increases for x = 0.3. The hysteresis loop for concentration x = 0.0, 0.1 and 0.3 shows almost zero coercivity and remanance at 300 K, implying that the samples behave as superparamagnetic at this temperature; whereas for the concentration at x = 0.2 the coercivity was found to be 32 Oe at 300 K. The dielectric measurements were carried out in the Co_0.5Zn_0.5Bi_xFe_(2−x)O₄ system over the temperature range from 300 to 700 K as a function of frequency, from 5 to 5 MHz. The variation of dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor for the prepared samples are explained on the basis of Maxwell–Wagner interfacial polarization.     

Quantitative assessment of collagen fibre orientations from two-dimensional images of soft biological tissues

In this work, we outline an automated method for the extraction and quantification of material parameters characterizing collagen fibre orientations from two-dimensional images. Morphological collagen data among different length scales were obtained by combining the established methods of Fourier power spectrum analysis, wedge filtering and progressive regions of interest splitting. Our proposed method yields data from which we can determine parameters for computational modelling of soft biological tissues using fibre-reinforced constitutive models and gauge the length scales most appropriate for obtaining a physically meaningful measure of fibre orientations, which is representative of the true tissue morphology of the two-dimensional image. Specifically, we focus on three parameters quantifying different aspects of the collagen morphology: first, using maximum-likelihood estimation, we extract location parameters that accurately determine the angle of the principal directions of the fibre reinforcement (i.e. the preferred fibre directions); second, using a dispersion model, we obtain dispersion parameters quantifying the collagen fibre dispersion about these principal directions; third, we calculate the weighted error entropy as a measure of changes in the entire fibre distributions at different length scales, as opposed to their average behaviour. With fully automated imaging techniques (such as multiphoton microscopy) becoming increasingly popular (which often yield large numbers of images to analyse), our method provides an ideal tool for quickly extracting mechanically relevant tissue parameters which have implications for computational modelling (e.g. on the mesh density) and can also be used for the inhomogeneous modelling of tissues.     

Multi-gateway association in wireless mesh networks

Most traditional models of wireless mesh networks involve a mobile device connecting to the backbone through one of the available gateways in a wireless mesh network. In this paper, we present an alternate model, in which mobile devices are allowed to connect through more than one of the available gateways. We call the model multi-gateway association (MGA). We present arguments for why such a model can result in better capacity, fairness, diversity and security when compared to the default single-association model. We also identify the primary challenges that need to be addressed when using multiple-gateway associations, and propose solutions to handle these challenges. Using simulations, we show that throughput benefits ranging from 10% to 125% can be obtained by the proposed model as compared to a default single association model with just two gateways and more importantly, benefits linear in the number of gateways are obtainable. Through simulations and analysis, we establish why only intelligent multi-gateway association and neither single or simple multi-gateway association strategies can yield significant benefits.