The appropriateness of the systematic framework to develop diagnosis procedures of nuclear power plants—an experimental verification

It has been well recognized that a diagnosis procedure that allows operators to successfully identify the nature of an on-going event is inevitable for an effective and appropriate recovery. Unfortunately, studies for a framework that can suggest a unified and consistent process in constructing a serviceable diagnosis procedure seem to be scant. Thus, Park et al. have suggested a systematic framework that can be used to construct a useful diagnosis procedure. In addition, the diagnosis procedure that is currently in use at the reference nuclear power plant (NPP) is reformed in order to demonstrate the appropriateness of the suggested framework. However, the necessity of a well-designed experiment is proposed to confirm the appropriateness of the suggested framework.In this regard, in this study, an experiment is conducted using a full-scope simulator of the reference NPP. From the experiment, two sets of operators' diagnosis performance data are collected, and then they are compared to investigate the change of an operator's diagnosis performance with respect to two types of diagnosis procedures.As a result, it is shown that an operator's diagnosis performance is improved when the revised diagnosis procedure is used. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the suggested framework is useful in constructing an effective diagnosis procedure.     

In-Situ and Real-Time Investigation of Columnar-to-Equiaxed Transition in Metallic Alloy

In this article, we present a review of observations during Al-3.5 wt pct Ni alloy solidi.cation experiments performed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble. These experiments provide direct access to dynamical phenomena during columnar growth (initial transient and breakdown of a planar solid-liquid interface), and for the first time to the transition from columnar-to-equiaxed microstructure (nucleation ahead of a columnar front and blocking of a columnar front by an equiaxed microstructure) and fully equiaxed growth (propagation of an effective front). Based on these experimental observations, critical parameters such as columnar growth velocity variation during the transition or equiaxed-grain diameter are measured and discussed. This article is based on a presentation made in the symposium entitled “Solidi.cation Modeling and Microstructure Formation: In Honor of Prof. John Hunt,” which occurred March 13–15, 2006, during the TMS Spring Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, under the auspices of the TMS Materials Processing and Manufacturing Division, Solidification Committee.     

Fabrication of high current and low profile micromachined inductorwith laminated Ni/Fe core

A new process for the fabrication of high current and very low profile micromachined inductors has been developed. This process involves the combination of mechanical lamination and electrodeposition of copper windings by means of LIGA-like lithography through thick epoxy photoresists. The dimension of the fabricated inductor is 16 mm×19 mm×1 mm. The fabricated inductor has an inductance value of 1.2 μH with DC saturation current of 3 A and an electrical resistance of less than 30 mΩ at 10 kHz     

Factors affecting the activity of anammox bacteria during start up in the continuous culture reactor.

Factors affecting cultivation of extremely slow-growing bacteria (anaerobic ammonium oxidiser, doubling time 11 days) were investigated by using upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors which can maintain high solid retention time. The effects of concentrations of DO, free ammonia (FA), and nitrite on activation of anammox activity were tested during the start-up period. The reactor was inoculated with granular sludge collected from a full-scale UASB reactor used for treating brewery wastewater, and sludge from a piggery wastewater treatment plant and rotating biological contactor treating sewage. Results of continuous operation showed that concentrations of DO, free ammonia (FA) and nitrite in the reactors played a key role in stimulating the anammox activity during start-up period. It is crucial to keep DO below 0.2 ppm, FA below 2 mg/L and nitrite nitrogen below 35 mg/L to cultivate anammox cells in the continuous bioreactor. When the levels of DO, FA and nitrite in the influent were controlled at less than the inhibition levels, the anammox activity increased gradually in the anaerobic condition. Addition of hydrogen sulphide into the reactor enhanced anammox activity in the continuous culture. Through the SEM, TEM and FISH analysis, anammox bacteria were detected in the granular sludge after 3 months of continuous operation.     

Implementation of a vector quantization codebook design technique based on a competitive learning artificial neural network

We describe an implementation of a vector quantization codebook design algorithm based on the frequencysensitive competitive learning artificial neural network. The implementation, designed for use on high-performance computers, employs both multitasking and vectorization techniques. A C version of the algorithm tested on a CRAY Y-MP8/864 is discussed. We show how the implementation can be used to perform vector quantization, and demonstrate its use in compressing digital video image data. Two images are used, with various size codebooks, to test the performance of the implementation. The results show that the supercomputer techniques employed have significantly decreased the total execution time without affecting vector quantization performance.This work was supported by a Cray University Research Award and by NASA Lewis research grant number NAG3-1164.     

普通砂型铸造中球铁件冒口的CAD

根据球铁件凝固原理，对常用湿砂铸型中制造球铁件，用计算机完成控制压力冒口的设计，流程框图适于各工厂和车间之用。     

Localization of interferon-gamma and Ia-antigen in T cell line-mediated experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

This study reports the cellular localization of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and MHC class II antigen (Ia) in the spinal cord of rats with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis induced by adoptive transfer of myelin basic protein-specific T cells. Numerous IFN-gamma-positive cells, stained with two different monoclonal antibodies against IFN-gamma, were present from days 3 to 7 after cell transfer. Their number was greatly reduced on day 10. A subpopulation of T cells was IFN-gamma positive. Moreover, a large number of ED1-positive macrophages contained IFN-gamma immunoreactivity. The transient presence of immune cells containing IFN-gamma immunoreactivity in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis suggests a pathogenic role of this cytokine in immune-mediated demyelination of the central nervous system.