Optimal synthesis of process systems Necessary condition for optimal system and its use in synthesis of systems

The necessary condition for the optimal process system structure which includes both the optimal interconnection and optimal design of processing units is derived in terms of the structural parameters. The structural parameters are essentially splitting factors of process streams connecting processing units. The necessary condition requires the structural parameters and the design vectors to satisfy the weak maximum condition of the Hamiltonian type scalar functions. On the basis of the condition, a search method, evolutionary search for optimal structure (ESOS), for attaining the optimal structure starting from a simple structure is developed and its convergence is proved. An example of synthesizing a reactor-separator system illustrates its use.     

Monodisperse nanoparticles of poly(ethylene glycol) macromers and N‐isopropyl acrylamide for biomedical applications

Poly(ethylene glycol)‐based nanoparticles have received significant attention in the field of biomedicine. When they are copolymerized with pH‐ or temperature‐sensitive comonomers, their small size allows them to respond very quickly to changes in the environment, including changes in the pH, ionic strength, and temperature. In addition, the high surface‐to‐volume ratio makes them highly functionalized. In this work, nanoparticles composed of temperature‐sensitive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide), poly(ethylene glycol) 400 dimethacrylate, and poly(ethylene glycol) 1000 methacrylate were prepared by a thermally initiated, free‐radical dispersion polymerization method. The temperature‐responsive behavior of the hydrogel nanoparticles was characterized by the study of their particle size with photon correlation spectroscopy. The size of the nanoparticles varied from 200 to 1100 nm and was a strong function of the temperature of the system, from 5 to 40°C. The thermal, structural, and morphological characteristics were also investigated. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 1678–1684, 2003     

Synthesis of nitrogen incorporated diamond-like carbon thin films using microwave surface-wave plasma CVD

Nitrogenated diamond-like (DLC:N) carbon thin films have been deposited by microwave surface wave plasma chemical vapor deposition on silicon and quartz substrates, using argon gas, camphor dissolved in ethyl alcohol composition and nitrogen as plasma source. The deposited DLC:N films were characterized for their chemical, optical, structural and electrical properties through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV/VIS/NIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscope and current–voltage characteristics. Optical band gap decreased (2.7 to 2.4 eV) with increasing Ar gas flow rate. The photovoltaic measurements of DLC:N / p-Si structure show that the open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 168.8 mV and a short-circuit current density (J_sc) of 8.4 μA/cm² under light illumination (AM 1.5 100 mW/cm²). The energy conversion efficiency and fill factor were found to be 3.4 × 10^{− 4}% and 0.238 respectively.     

Evaluation for distance learning scheme on distributed multiple server system

A distributed multiple server system is designed and implemented with Web-DB based services for distance learning as well as emergency communication. The system has employed multiple servers located in a distributed campus network environment. Each server of the system has multi-core processors. With so-called “server virtualization” technology, some programs are executed in parallel (on the virtual servers) so that such a system can efficiently perform several functions. For example, two or more application services can be performed simultaneously as “cloud services” on the whole system. The system can provide distance learning scheme for educational tool, at the same time it can also support Web-based surveillance facilities for emergency contact. With qualitative and quantitative approach, trial evaluation of system has been performed in some classrooms of distributed campus. And users can obtain some good results from the above evaluation.     

Stability of fine water droplet clouds

The rate of evaporation of monodisperse water droplets was first evaluated by solving numerically the modified Maxwell equation, assuming the cellular model for a droplet clouds. The results are discussed in comparison with those for a single isolated droplet, which can be obtained analytically. The critical conditions for the droplet cloud to be stable are then evaluated as a function of droplet number concentration, droplet size and initial conditions of the surrounding air. Secondly, the equilibrated system, where a water droplet cloud is steadily mixed with unsaturated air, was analysed on the basis of enthalpy and material balance of the system to evaluate the total volume change of the droplets. Some of these analyses were verified by experiment, using an ultramicroscopic technique which is useful for droplet size analysis.     

Effect of Polyethylenimine on Hydrolysis and Dispersion Properties of Aqueous Si3N4 Suspensions

The roles of polyethylenimine (PEI) in the hydrolysis and dispersion properties of aqueous Si₃N₄ suspensions were studied in terms of the hydrolysis, adsorption, electrokinetic, and rheological measurements. It was found that the pH change of the suspensions in the acidic environment could be minimized in the presence of ≥0.5 dwb% PEI. The ammonia and oxygen measurements suggest that this phenomenon is primarily attributed to the buffer mechanism generated by the ionized PEI, instead of the protection mechanism. The constant pH enables the suspensions to retain a better stability with time at acidic pH. The adsorption of PEI on Si₃N₄ is a high-affinity type at highly basic pH, but is a low-affinity type at acidic pH. As the PEI amount increases, the adsorption shifts the isoelectric point (IEP) of Si₃N₄ from pH 5.9 to pH ∼11 until complete coverage is attained. The stability of Si₃N₄ suspensions is found to depend strongly on the saturated adsorption of PEI, which is as a function of the pH and PEI amount. Once the saturated adsorption limit is reached, the excess free PEI molecules become more detrimental to the stability with increased solid loading. The stabilization mechanisms of Si₃N₄ suspensions by PEI were discussed in detail.     

Influence of ammonium salt on electrowinning of copper from ammoniacal alkaline solutions

In order to develop an energy-saving copper recycling process from wastes, electrochemical measurements were conducted in ammoniacal alkaline solutions containing Cu(I) ions and an ammonium salt of sulfate, chloride or nitrate. The results of each system were then compared. The polarization measurements suggested that the voltage required for the electrode process is lower in the chloride and nitrate systems than that in the sulfate system. The cathode current efficiency during the copper electrodeposition varied from 39 to 97% and increased with current density in the chloride and sulfate systems. In the nitrate system, the lowest cathode current efficiency of 30% was observed because of nitrate ion reduction. Based on these results, the power consumption required for the electrowinning stage of the copper recycling process was calculated. Among these three systems, the chloride system showed the lowest power consumption of 500 kWh t⁻¹ at the current density of 200 A m⁻², which is about 25% of the conventional copper electrowinning process from a copper sulfate-sulfuric acid solution.     

Radical polymerization of butyl acrylate and random copolymerization of styrene and butyl acrylate and styrene and methyl methacrylate mediated by monospiro- and dispiropiperidinyl-N-oxyl radicals

Radical polymerization of butyl acrylate (BA) and random copolymerizations of styrene (St) and BA and St and methyl methacrylate (MMA) in the presence of 7-aza-15-hydroxydispiro[5.1.5.3]hexadecane-7-yloxyl (1) and 1-aza-2,2-dimethyl-4-hydroxyspiro[5.6]dodecane-1-yloxyl (2) were carried out. Radical polymerization of BA at 120 °C in the presence of 1 gave poly(BA) with M_n=20200 and M_w/M_n=1.30 at 23% conversion. The termination of polymerization observed around ∼20% conversion was solved to a certain extent by an addition of small amounts of dicumyl peroxide, and poly(BA) with M_n=37400 and M_w/M_n=1.33 was obtained in 46% yield. Random copolymerizations of St and BA and St and MMA in the presence of 1 and 2 at 80 °C gave the corresponding random copolymers with narrow polydispersities of 1.12-1.38 at the molar fraction above 0.30 of St in feed. The kinetic study for the NO-C bond homolysis of the corresponding alkoxyamines prepared from 1 and 2 were carried out, and evaluation of the preexponential factors (A_act) and the activation parameters (E_act) showed that the steric factors of the nitroxides are reflected mainly on E_act.     

Measurement of self-diffusion coefficients in Li ionic conductors by using the short-lived radiotracer of 8Li

For the effective use of short-lived radioactive beams, soon to be available at the Tokai Radioactive Ion Accelerator Complex, the authors have developed a radiotracer method for diffusion studies in solids. The experimental test was performed by the measurement of the diffusion coefficients of Li in a sample of the compound βLiAl using an α-emitting radiotracer of ⁸Li (T_1/2=0.84 s). It was found that the time-dependent yields of the α particles from the diffusing ⁸Li that was initially implanted in the sample could be used as a measure of the diffusivity of the tracer in a nondestructive way. The method was applied to measure the self-diffusion coefficients of Li in βLiGa, and for investigating how the Li diffusion in the Li ionic conductors is affected by the concentration of atomic defects (i.e., the existence of the atomic vacancies of Li and the defects in Ga sites that are replaced by Li).     

Playful training with augmented reality games: case studies towards reality-oriented system design

In this paper, we propose a reality-oriented augmentation approach to support training activities. The approach aims at adding new value and playful features to traditional training environments with keeping their original look-and-feel. For example, a game monitoring service enables to automatically record game events so that players can review a gaming process and strategy for soul-searching, or replay most impressive scenes to share the experience with others after the game finishes. Even several services are running on background, digital devices and services are seamlessly integrated to the game environment in unobtrusive way so that players can concentrate on training as usual. The concept can be applied to both traditional games (e.g., poker and the game of Go) and non-gaming activities (e.g., calligraphy and drumming). We developed four case studies on the concept: Augmented Reality Go, EmoPoker, Augmented Calligraphy and AR Drum Kit. We discuss design issues in the reality-oriented augmentation process based on user study results.