Piezoresponse force microscopy characterization of rare-earth doped BiFeO3 thin films grown by the soft chemical method

The multiferroic behavior with ion modification using rare-earth cations on crystal structures, along with the insulating properties of BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films was investigated using piezoresponse force microscopy. Rare-earth-substituted BFO films with chemical compositions of (Bi_1.00−xRE_xFe_1.00O₃ (x=0; 0.15), RE=La and Nd were fabricated on Pt (111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates using a chemical solution deposition technique. A crystalline phase of tetragonal BFO was obtained by heat treatment in ambient atmosphere at 500 °C for 2 h. Ion modification using La³⁺ and Nd³⁺ cations lowered the leakage current density of the BFO films at room temperature from approximately 10⁻⁶ down to 10⁻⁸ A/cm². The observed improved magnetism of the Nd³⁺ substituted BFO thin films can be related to the plate-like morphology in a nanometer scale. We observed that various types of domain behavior such as 71° and 180° domain switching, and pinned domain formation occurred. The maximum magnetoelectric coefficient in the longitudinal direction was close to 12 V/cm Oe.     

Power‐efficient analog design based on the class AB super source follower

A class AB version of the conventional super source follower (SSF) is described. The circuit greatly increases slew rate (SR) and current efficiency, maintaining the low distortion and low output resistance of the SSF. Class AB operation is achieved without extra power dissipation or supply requirements, and without bandwidth or noise degradation. The circuit can advantageously replace the SSF in a wide variety of analog systems, opening a new research line in analog design. To illustrate the widespread application of this cell, a class AB differential unity‐gain buffer, a class AB differential current mirror and two class AB differential transconductors are designed, fabricated in a 0.5µm CMOS technology and tested. Measurement results using a dual supply of ±1.65V show that the proposed class AB version of the SSF improves SR by a factor 21.5 and increases bandwidth by 10%, keeping noise level, input range, power consumption, and supply requirements unaltered. The fabricated class AB current mirror features a THD at 100 kHz of ? 62dB for signal currents 20 times larger than the bias current. The fabricated transconductors feature an IM3 at 1 MHz of ? 56.6dB for output currents more than 13 times larger than the bias currents. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microstructural Evolution During Friction Stir Welding of Mild Steel and Ni-Based Alloy 625

Microstructure evolution during friction stir welding (FSW) of mild steel and Ni-based alloy 625 was studied. Regarding the Ni-based alloy, the welding process led to grain refinement caused by discontinuous and continuous dynamic recrystallization, where bulging of the pre-existing grains and subgrain rotation were the primary mechanisms of recrystallization. In the steel, discontinuous dynamic recrystallization was identified as the recovery process experienced by the austenite. Simple shear textures were observed in the regions affected by the deformation of both materials. Although the allotropic transformation obscured the deformation history, the thermo-mechanically affected zone was identified in the steel by simple shear texture components. A new methodology for the study of texture evolution based on rotations of the slip systems using pole figures is presented as an approximation to describe the texture evolution in FSW.     

Evaluation of Carbon Partitioning in New Generation of Quench and Partitioning (Q&P) Steels

Quenching and partitioning (Q&P) and a novel combined process of hot straining (HS) and Q&P (HSQ&P) treatments have been applied to a TRIP-assisted steel in a Gleeble®3S50 thermomechanical simulator. The heat treatments involved intercritical annealing at 800 °C and a two-step Q&P heat treatment with a partitioning time of 100 seconds at 400 °C. The “optimum” quench temperature of 318 °C was selected according to the constrained carbon equilibrium (CCE) criterion. The effects of high-temperature deformation (isothermal and non-isothermal) on the carbon enrichment of austenite, carbide formation, and the strain-induced transformation to ferrite (SIT) mechanism were investigated. Carbon partitioning from supersaturated martensite into austenite and carbide precipitation were confirmed by means of atom probe tomography (APT) and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Austenite carbon enrichment was clearly observed in all specimens, and in the HSQ&P samples, it was significantly greater than in Q&P, suggesting an additional carbon partitioning to austenite from ferrite formed by the deformation-induced austenite-to-ferrite transformation (DIFT) phenomenon. By APT, the carbon accumulation at austenite/martensite interfaces was observed, with higher values for HSQ&P deformed isothermally (≈ 11 at. pct), when compared with non-isothermal HSQ&P (≈ 9.45 at. pct) and Q&P (≈ 7.6 at. pct). Moreover, a local Mn enrichment was observed in a ferrite/austenite interface, indicating ferrite growth under local equilibrium with negligible partitioning (LENP).

     

Detecting and tracking mesoscale precipitating objects using machine learning algorithms

Accurate identification of precipitating clouds is a challenging task. In the present work, Support Vector Machines (SVMs), Decision Trees (DT), and Random Forests (RD) algorithms were applied to extract and track mesoscale convective precipitating clouds from a series of 22 Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-13 meteorological image sub-scenes over the continental territory of Colombia. This study’s aims are twofold: (i) to establish whether the use of five meteorological spectral channels, rather than a single infrared (IR) channel, improves rainfall objects detection and (ii) to evaluate the potential of machine learning algorithms to locate precipitation clouds. Results show that while the SVM algorithm provides more accurate classification of rainfall cloud objects than the traditional IR brightness temperature threshold method, such improvement is not statistically significant. Accuracy assessment was performed using STEP (shape (S), theme (T), edge (E), and position (P)) object-based similarity matrix method, taking as reference precipitation satellite images from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. Best thematic and geometric accuracies were obtained applying the SVM algorithm.     

Evaluating and comparing three community small-scale wind electrification projects

Electrification systems based on renewable energy have proven suitable for providing electricity autonomously to rural communities. Among the technical options available, wind systems are increasingly getting attention. In the northern mountains of Peru, at 3800 m.a.s.l., three community wind electrification projects have been implemented. The technical solutions used in each project are different: wind vs. hybrid photovoltaic-wind systems; individual equipment vs. microgrids. This study aims to describe, evaluate and compare these three small-scale community wind electrification projects. The evaluation of the three projects was carried out by comparing previous and present scenario; attention has been focused on project design and technical aspects, socio-economic impacts and sustainability and management model. These three examples shed light on both the advantages and disadvantages of different technological options as well as on appropriate community-level management models.     

Multi-objective Optimization Models for Distributing Biosolids to Reuse Fields: A Case Study for the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant

This paper presents multi-objective optimization models that simultaneously minimize biosolids odors as well as wastewater treatment and biosolids distribution costs and can be proactively used by biosolids managers at advanced wastewater treatment plants. The computational aspects of these models are daunting, typically involving over 200,000 constraints and about 145,000 variables and are thus difficult to solve. Also, some of the mathematical terms involve bilinear, nonconvex pieces which need to be approximated. This paper presents both a numerical approximation scheme to linearize these nonconvex terms using Schur’s decomposition and SOS2 variables as well as a Dantzig–Wolfe decomposition method to improve the computational times. The computational results as well as a sensitivity analysis are performed using data from the Blue Plains advanced wastewater treatment plant in Washington, DC.