Application of multi-model control with fuzzy switching to a micro hydro-electrical power plant

Modelling hydraulic turbine generating systems is not an easy task because they are non-linear and uncertain where the operating points are time varying. One way to overcome this problem is to use Takagi–Sugeno (TS) models, which offer the possibility to apply some tools from linear control theory, whereas those models are composed of linear models connected by a fuzzy activation function. This paper presents an approach to model and control a micro hydro power plant considered as a non-linear system using TS fuzzy systems. A TS fuzzy system with local models is used to obtain a global model of the studied plant. Then, to combine efficiency and simplicity of design, PI controllers are synthesised for each considered operating point to be used as conclusion of an electrical load TS Fuzzy controller. The latter ensures the global stability and desired performance despite the change of operating point. The proposed approach (model and controller) is tested on a laboratory prototype, where the obtained results show their efficiency and their capability to ensure good performance despite the non-linear nature of the plant.     

Influence of iron doping on morphological,structural and optical properties of zinc oxide thin films prepared by dip-coating method

Undoped zinc oxide and iron-doped zinc oxide thin films have been deposited by the sol-geldipcoating method. The Fe/Zn nominal volume ratio was 5% in the solution. The effects of Fe incorporation on morphological, structural, and optical properties of ZnO films were investigated. The scanning electron microscopy measurements showed that the surface morphology of the prepared thin films was affected by Fe doping. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the thin films showed that doped incorporation leads to substantial changes in the structural characteristics of ZnO thin films. The optical absorption measurements indicated a band gap in the range of 3.31 to 3.19 eV. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated that Fe is incorporated in the ZnO matrix with 6.5 atomic percent (at %). The energy dispersive spectroscopy studies indicated the formation of ZnO with high efficiency.     

Inverse neural network for optimal performance in polygeneration systems

In this paper, inverse neural network (ANNi) is applied to optimization of operating conditions or parameters in energy processes. The proposed method ANNi is a new tool which inverts the artificial neural network (ANN), and it uses a Nelder-Mead optimization method to find the optimum parameter value (or unknown parameter) for a given required condition in the process. In order to accomplish the target, first, it is necessary to build the artificial neural network (ANN) that simulates the output parameters for a polygeneration process. In general, this class of ANN model is constituted of a feedforward network with one hidden layer to simulate output layer, considering well-known input parameters of the process. Normally, a Levenberg–Marquardt learning algorithm, hyperbolic tangent sigmoid transfer-function, linear transfer-function and several neurons in the hidden layer (due to the complexity of the process) are considered in the constructed model. After that, ANN model is inverted. With a required output value and some input parameters it is possible to calculate the unknown input parameter using the Nelder-Mead algorithm. ANNi results on three different applications in energy processes showed that ANNi is in good agreement with target and calculated input data. Consequently, ANNi is applied to determine the optimal parameters, and it already has applications in different processes with a very short elapsed time (seconds). Therefore, this methodology can be useful for the controlling of engineering processes.     

Improvement of silicone endothelialization by treatment with allylamine and/or acrylic acid low‐pressure plasma

Plasma polymerization of allylamine, acrylic acid, and an allylamine/acrylic acid mixture on Silastic® silicone rubber led to a strong increase in the silicone rubber's hydrophilicity and surface energy. Analysis of the deposited layer by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy with 20° and 70° takeoff angles showed segregation of the atoms according to the depth and the incorporation of amino groups, oxygenated groups, and both. The endothelialization of untreated and treated samples was evaluated by the seeding and growth of aorta epithelial cells from pigs in cellular adherence (%), doubling time (in hours), and confluent density (10⁴ cells/cm²). The best results were obtained with the allylamine/acrylic acid mixture treatment, which brought a biocompatibility to Silastic® similar to classic tissue culture on polystyrene plates. The interpretation was based on the presence of NH/CO_2? microareas in the deposited layer. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 1794–1802, 2003     

Synthesis of new silica xerogels based on bi-functional 1,3,4-thiadiazole and 1,2,4-triazole adducts

New transparent Silica-based hybrid materials were synthesized by reaction of polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) and organic compounds: 1,3,4-thiadiazole-2,5-diamine (1), 1,3,4-thiadiazole-2,5-dithiol (2) and 1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (3), in tetrahydrofuran as solvant using hexachloroplatinic acid (H₂PtCl₆.6H₂O) as a catalyst. PMHS was used as a principal network forming agent, it has been cross-linked via hydrosilylation reaction with bi-functional heterocyclic compounds, leading to the formation of colored gels. These later dried (xerogels) were characterized by numerous techniques, including spectroscopy of (FT–IR) and ¹³C and ²⁹Si CP MAS NMR. The xerogels morphology and texture were studied by scanning electron microscopy and Brunauer–Emmet–Teller method. According to N₂-physisorption results, isotherms are classified as type IV with H₂ type hysteresis loop; then, the xerogels are mesoporous materials. The optic and magnetic properties of the obtained materials were studied by UV–VIS and EPR spectroscopies, respectively. This study showed that all materials are paramagnetic semiconductors.     

Adsorption effect on the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction technique

We carried out a series of experiments of metal sulfide deposition on glass and copper substrates by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. This technique based on the cations adsorption process involves the presence of the van der Waals and electrostatic forces. According to the theoretical study discussed herein, the equilibrium separation between cations and the substrate surface was lower in the case of a copper substrate than that of a glass one confirming the observed experiments results obtained by the SILAR technique. The surface charge of the glass substrate is strongly dependent on the solution pH. In the absence of the surface charge, the dominant forces between cations in solution and the glass substrate were repulsive in contrast with the case of the copper substrate in which attractive forces dominate even if the surface is somewhat positively charged. This study enriches the knowledge on the optimization parameters for fabricating thin films of metal chalcogenide of good adherence.     

Fast encoding techniques for Multiview Video Coding

Multiview Video Coding (MVC) is a technique that permits efficient compression of multiview video. MVC uses variable block size motion and disparity estimation for block matching. This requires an exhaustive search process that involves all possible macroblock partition sizes. We analyze the time complexity of MVC and the methods that have been proposed to speed up motion and disparity estimation. We then propose two new methods: Previous Disparity Vector Disparity Estimation (PDV-DE) and Stereo-Motion Consistency Constraint Motion and Disparity Estimation (SMCC-MDE). PDV-DE exploits the correlation between temporal levels and disparity vectors to speed up the disparity estimation process while SMCC-MDE exploits the geometrical relationship of consecutive frame pairs to speed up motion and disparity estimation. We build a complete low complexity MVC encoding solution that combines our two methods with complementary previous methods to speed up motion and disparity search. We evaluate the complexity of our solution in terms of encoding time and number of search points. Our experimental results show that our solution can reduce the encoding time and number of search points of the standard MVC implementation (JMVM 6.0) using the fast TZ search mode up to 93.7% and 96.9%, respectively, with negligible degradation in the rate-distortion performance. Compared to the best published results, this is an improvement of up to 11% and 7%, respectively.     

Effects of temperature and r.f. power sputtering on electrical and optical properties of SnO2

Electrical and optical properties of SnO₂, which is a photovoltaic material for solar energy conversion to electricity, have been investigated. Semi-conducting SnO₂ has been grown by r.f. sputtering.We report the influence of process variables, such as substrate temperature and r.f. power. The film resistivity decreases with increasing temperature, but rises with increasing r.f. power: these can be related to crystallite size and the film orientation respectively. From the optical measurements, we deduce a variation of band-gap energy with substrate temperature. We show that the substrate temperature has a subsequent influence on the electrical and optical properties of this material.