Microplasma illumination enhancement of vertically aligned conducting ultrananocrystalline diamond nanorods

Vertically aligned conducting ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) nanorods are fabricated using the reactive ion etching method incorporated with nanodiamond particles as mask. High electrical conductivity of 275 Ω·cm⁻¹ is obtained for UNCD nanorods. The microplasma cavities using UNCD nanorods as cathode show enhanced plasma illumination characteristics of low threshold field of 0.21 V/μm with plasma current density of 7.06 mA/cm² at an applied field of 0.35 V/μm. Such superior electrical properties of UNCD nanorods with high aspect ratio potentially make a significant impact on the diamond-based microplasma display technology.     

ONU buffer reduction for power efficiency in Passive Optical Networks

Power efficiency will be one of the primary factors dictating the choice of future network deployments. Passive Optical Networks (PONs) in general consume less power and are well positioned to be the technology of choice for future access networks. In a PON, the Optical Network Units (ONUs), that provide the interface between the end user and the Optical Line Terminal (OLT), consume a substantial amount of power. Typically, 2 MB or more buffer capacity is used in an ONU for holding upstream packets. This consumes around 1.29 W of leakage power when idle. In the current work, we show the relationship between buffer capacity and leakage power consumption. This motivated us to propose buffer reduction as a strategy to reduce power consumption of an ONU. We propose three schemes viz. Zero Buffers (ZBs), Node Proportional Buffers (NBs) and Rate Proportional Buffers (RBs). They impose aggressive buffer capacity restrictions on the ONU to reduce power consumption. Having said that, these schemes cannot be realized without modifications to the basic network operation. We propose mechanisms required to support the buffer reduction schemes. Through simulations we explore the relationship between power consumption and network performance. We also present the comparison of the proposed schemes in terms of network performance with different network loads. Simulation results indicate that despite buffer size reduction, an acceptable level of application level performance can be achieved. We show that buffer reduction as a strategy is viable and can cut down more than 90% of leakage power consumed by packet buffers at the ONU.     

Filtered two‐fluid models of fluidized gas‐particle flows: New constitutive relations

New constitutive relations for filtered two‐fluid models (TFM) of gas‐particle flows are obtained by systematically filtering results generated through highly resolved simulations of a kinetic theory‐based TFM. It was found in our earlier studies that the residual correlations appearing in the filtered TFM equations depended principally on the filter size and filtered particle volume fraction. Closer inspection of a large amount of computational data gathered in this study reveals an additional, systematic dependence of the correction to the drag coefficient on the filtered slip velocity, which serves as a marker for the extent of subfilter‐scale inhomogeneity. Furthermore, the residual correlations for the momentum fluxes in the gas and particle phases arising from the subfilter‐scale fluctuations are found to be modeled nicely using constitutive relations of the form used in large‐eddy simulations of single‐phase turbulent flows. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 3265–3275, 2013     

Solar photovoltaic fed dual input LED lighting system with constant illumination control

A dual input LED lighting scheme with constant illumination is proposed in this paper. The scheme employs a photovoltaic array as the first input and a battery as the second one. A microcontroller is programmed to operate a changeover switch as well as a DC-DC converter for uninterrupted and constant illumination in work place. The scheme is suitable for conference halls, laboratories, clean rooms, marriage halls, theaters, etc. The complete modeling, design and experimentation of the proposed scheme are explained and the economic viability of the scheme is justified.     

Development of reliable modeling methodologies for fan blade out containment analysis – Part I: Experimental studies

High strength woven fabrics are ideal candidate materials for use in structural systems where high energy absorption is required. One of the more widely used applications for woven fabrics is in propulsion engine containment systems. In this first part of a two-part paper, details of the experiments to characterize the behavior of dry fabrics including Kevlar^® and Zylon^® are presented. The experimental program to characterize the behavior of 1420 Denier Kevlar^® 49 17 × 17, 500 Denier Zylon^® AS 35 × 35, and 1500 Denier Zylon^® 17 × 17 are discussed. The primary objective is to use the experimental results in the development of a constitutive model that can be used in an explicit finite element analysis program. These include Tension Tests in both the warp and fill directions of the fabric, Trellising Shear Tests and Friction Tests between fabric layers. The results from these tests provide the basis for development of the constitutive model – relating stresses to strains, characterizing failure and interaction between fabric layers. In addition to these basic material tests, tests on systems built with fabric wraps were also conducted. Ballistic tests of containment wraps subjected to a high velocity projectile were carried out at NASA-Glenn Research Center. While these tests provide a comparison between the energy absorbing characteristics of the three fabrics, they also provide benchmark results to validate the developed finite element methodology discussed in the second part of this paper.     

Fatigue limit prediction of notched components using short crack growth theory and an asymptotic interpolation method

Mechanical components have stress risers, such as notchs, corners, welding toes and holes. These geometries cause stress concentrations in the component and reduce the fatigue strength and life of the structure. Fatigue crack usually initiates at and propagates from these locations. Traditional fatigue analysis of notched specimens is done using an empirical formula and a fitted fatigue notch factor, which is experimentally expensive and lacks physical meaning. A general methodology for fatigue limit prediction of notched specimens is proposed in this paper. First, an asymptotic interpolation method is proposed to estimate the stress intensity factor (SIF) for cracks at the notch root. Both edge notched and center notched components with finite dimension correction are included into the proposed method. The small crack correction is included in the proposed asymptotic solution using El Haddad’s fictitious crack length. Fatigue limit of the notched specimen is estimated using the proposed stress intensity factor solution when the realistic crack length is approaching zero. A wide range of experimental data are collected and used to validate the proposed methodology. The relationship between the proposed methodology and the traditionally used fatigue notch factor approach is discussed.     

Theoretical small-signal performance of Si/SiGe/Si HBT

Application of the Monte Carlo technique to analyze electron and hole transport in bulk Si_0.8Ge_0.2 and strained Si _0.8Ge_0.2/Si is discussed. The computed minority- and majority-carrier transport properties were used in a comprehensive small-signal model to evaluate the high-frequency performance of a state-of-the-art n-p-n heterostructure bipolar transistors (HBT) fabricated with SiGe as the base material. The valence band discontinuity of a SiGe-base HBT reverses the degradation in emitter injection efficiency caused by bandgap narrowing in the base, and permits a higher ratio of base doping to emitter doping than would be practical for a bipolar transistor. Any degradative effect of increased base doping on electron and hole mobilities is offset by improved transport in the strained SiGe base, resulting in a marked decrease in the base resistance and base transit time. Compared to the Si BJT, the use of Si_0.8Ge_0.2 for the base region of an HBT leads to significant improvements in low-frequency common emitter current gain, low-frequency unilateral power gain, and maximum oscillation frequency     

High-energy pulse-switching characteristics of thyristors

Experiments were conducted to study the high energy, high di/dt pulse-switching characteristics of silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs) with and without the amplifying gate. High di/dt, high-energy single-shot experiments were first done. Devices without the amplifying gate performed much better than the devices with the amplifying gate. A physical model is presented to describe the role of the amplifying gate in the turn-on process, thereby explaining the differences in the switching characteristics. The turn-on area for the failure of the devices was theoretically estimated and correlated with observations. This allowed calculation of the current density required for failure. Since the failure of these devices under high di/dt conditions was thermal in nature, a simulation using a finite-element method was performed to estimate the temperature rise in the devices. The results from this simulation showed that the temperature rise was significantly higher in the devices with the amplifying gate than in the devices without the amplifying gate. From these results, the safe operating frequencies for all the devices under high di/dt conditions was estimated. These estimates were confirmed by experimentally stressing the devices under high di/dt repetitive operation