Outlier Detection and Data Cleaning in Multivariate Non-Normal Samples: The PAELLA Algorithm

A new method of outlier detection and data cleaning for both normal and non-normal multivariate data sets is proposed. It is based on an iterated local fit without a priori metric assumptions. We propose a new approach supported by finite mixture clustering which provides good results with large data sets. A multi-step structure, consisting of three phases, is developed. The importance of outlier detection in industrial modeling for open-loop control prediction is also described. The described algorithm gives good results both in simulations runs with artificial data sets and with experimental data sets recorded in a rubber factory. Finally, some discussion about this methodology is exposed.     

Accurate Deterministic Numerical Simulation of p-n Junctions

In this work some variants of a deterministic simulation of p-n junctions are considered. From a mathematical point of view, this will be done by means of the numerical resolution of the corresponding Boltzmann transport’s equations (BTE’s): one for the electrons and another one for the holes, coupled by the Poisson equation for the potential, from which the electric field is calculated. In order to improve the efficiency of the Finite-Difference Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory (FD-WENO) code, we will consider the two transport equations in the depletion zone and only the corresponding BTE equation for the majority carrier in each one of the neutral zones, instead of solving the two BTE’s in the entire length of the device.     

3D Monte Carlo Analysis of Discrete Dopant Effects on Electron noise in Si Devices

A preliminary study of velocity fluctuations in simple devices using an atomistic model for the ionized impurity scattering is presented. The velocity fluctuations are responsible for thermal noise in semiconductor devices. In this paper the influence on the spectral density of velocity fluctuations of the boundary conditions, the doping level, the length of the resistors and the excess/default of impurities has been addressed.     

Comparison of Fe-Ni based alloys prepared by ball milling and rapid solidification

Mechanical alloying (MA) and rapid solidification (RS) are two important routes to obtain amorphous alloys. An Fe-Ni based metal-metalloid alloy (Fe₅₀Ni₃₀P₁₄Si₆) prepared by these two different processing routes was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy with microanalysis, inductive coupled plasma, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy (TMS). The results were compared with that obtained from other Fe-Ni based alloys of similar compositions. The structural analyses show that the materials obtained by mechanical alloying are not completely disordered after 40 h of milling whereas fully amorphous alloys were obtained by rapid solidification. TMS analyses show that, independent of the composition, after milling for 40 h, about 7% of the Fe remains unreacted. Furthermore, the thermal stability of mechanically alloyed samples is lower than that of the analogous material prepared by rapid solidification. In the MA alloys, a broad exothermic process associated to structural relaxation begins at low temperature. XRD patterns of crystallized alloys indicate that the crystallization products are bcc(Fe,Ni), fcc(Ni,Fe), and (Fe,Ni)-phosphides and -silicides.     

Czech project in history of mathematics

The paper describes the Czech project in the history of mathematics which was initiated at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University in Prague at the end of the eighties of the 20th century. Its main aim is to map the development of mathematical research in the Czech lands in the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. The main result of this project is the production of monographs. These chart out the life and work of some prominent Czech personalities-mathematicians who have had substantial influence on the development of Czech mathematics. The aim of the project, the structure of the monographs and the general method are discussed in the paper.     

Hygrothermal properties of glass fiber reinforced cements subjected to elevated temperature

The effect of elevated temperatures on basic hygric and thermal properties of three types of glass fiber reinforced cement composites (GFRC) is analyzed in the paper. The main difference in the composition of particular GFRC is the use of wollastonite and vermiculite in two of them instead of usual sand aggregates. The composites containing wollastonite and vermiculite are found to have about four times lower thermal conductivity and two to three times lower thermal diffusivity in room temperature conditions. After heating the samples to 800°C and subsequent cooling, a decrease in room-temperature thermal conductivity as high as 50% and an increase in moisture diffusivity in the range of one to two orders of magnitude are observed for all types of studied materials. The application of wollastonite and vermiculite exhibits a positive effect on the high temperature linear thermal expansion coefficient. On the other hand, for temperatures higher than 450°C the thermal diffusivity of materials with wollastonite and vermiculite is higher than of common GFRC with sand aggregates.

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Résumé L'effet des températures élevées sur les principales propriétés hygriques et thermiques de trois types de matériaux composites à base de ciment renforcés par des fibres de verre (GFRC) est analysé dans cet article. La différence majeure de composition de ces matériaux est l'utilisation de wollastonite et de vermiculite dans deux d'entre eux au lieu des granulats de sable habituels. Les matériaux composites contenant de la wollastonite et de la vermiculie s'avèrent posséder une conductivité thermique environ quatre fois inférieure et une diffusivité thermique deux à trois fois inférieure en conditions de température ambiante. Après avoir chauffé les échantillons à 800°C puis les avoir refroidis, on observe pour tous les types de matériaux étudiés une diminution de la conductivité thermique à température ambiante, à hauteur de 50%, et une augmentation de la diffusivité d'humidité, d'environ un à deux ordres de grandeur. L'application de la wollastonite et de la vermiculite montre un effet positif sur le coefficient linéaire à haute température de dilatation thermique. D'autre part, pour les températures supérieures à 450°C, la diffusivité thermique des matériaux contenant de la wollastonite et de la vermiculite est plus élevée que celle des GFRC communs avec des granulats de sable.

     

Inverted surface hysteresis loops in heterogeneous (nanocrystalline/amorphous) Fe<Subscript>81</Subscript>Nb<Subscript>7</Subscript>B<Subscript>12</Subscript> alloys

Inverted hysteresis loops were observed for the first time in the near-surface layers of heterogeneous (nanocrystalline/amorphous) Fe₈₁Nb₇B₁₂ alloys. In particular, a negative residual magnetization is retained when a positive magnetic field applied in the sample plane is decreased to zero. The inverted hysteresis is qualitatively explained within the framework of a two-phase model, according to which the heterogeneous alloys contain two dissimilar phases exhibiting uniaxial magnetic anisotropy and featuring antiferromagnetic exchange interaction.     

Anomalous Excess Heat Capacities of Ethanol + Alkane Mixtures

A thermodynamic study at atmospheric pressure on the ethanol + n-dodecane and ethanol + n-tridecane binary systems near their liquid-liquid critical points has been carried out. To this end, densities and speeds of sound were determined in the temperature range from 288.15 to 308.15 K, whereas differential scanning calorimetry was used to obtain isobaric heat capacities per unit volume from 288.15 to 303.15 K as well as liquid-liquid equilibrium curves. All these results for the mentioned properties were obtained over the complete composition range. They were used to obtain molar volumes, isentropic compressibilities, isobaric thermal expansivities, isothermal compressibilities, isochoric heat capacities, and the excess quantities of all these properties. An untypical behavior of the excess heat capacities at the lowest measuring temperatures resulting from the critical behavior of the isobaric heat capacity is observed. No clear anomalies for the excess volumetric properties are detected.     

Large Deflection Stability of Slender Beam-Columns with Semirigid Connections: Elastica Approach

The large-deflection elastic analysis of slender beam-columns of symmetrical cross sections with semirigid connections under end loads (forces and moments) including the effects of out-of-plumbness is developed in a classical manner. The classical theory of the “Elastica” and the corresponding elliptical functions are utilized in the proposed method which can be used in the large-deflection stability analysis of slender beam-columns with rigid, semirigid, and simple connections under any combination of end loads (conservative and nonconservative). The proposed method consisting of a closed-form solution of the Elastica can also be utilized in the large deflection analysis of beam-columns whose connections suffer from flexural degradation or, on the contrary, flexural stiffening. The main limitation of the Elastica is that only flexural strains are considered (the effects of axial and shear strains are neglected). Therefore results from the proposed method are theoretically exact from small to very large curvatures and transverse and longitudinal displacements for plane beam-columns under bending actions. The large-deflection analysis of a beam-column with flexible connections at both ends becomes a complex problem requiring the simultaneous solution of at least two highly nonlinear equations with elliptical integrals. The solution of this problem becomes even more complex when the end connections are nonlinear or the direction of the applied end load changes (like “follower” loads). The validity and effectiveness of the proposed method and equations are verified against available solutions of very large deflection elastic analysis of beam-columns. Four comprehensive examples are included for verification and easy reference.