Performance Analysis on Coexistence of EDCA and Legacy DCF Stations in IEEE 802.11 Wireless LANs

The distributed coordination function (DCF) scheme of IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol does not support any concepts of quality of service (QoS) but the enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) scheme in IEEE 802.11e standard provides QoS according to access categories using different access parameters. However, the legacy DCF stations may be used together with EDCA stations. In this letter, we investigate and analyze the performance discrimination when EDCA and DCF stations operate simultaneously     

MLS‐based variable‐node elements compatible with quadratic interpolation. Part I: formulation and application for non‐matching meshes

Two‐dimensional variable‐node elements compatible with quadratic interpolation are developed using the moving least‐square (MLS) approximation. The mapping from the parental domain to the physical element domain is implicitly obtained from MLS approximation, with the shape functions and their derivatives calculated and saved only at the numerical integration points. It is shown that the present MLS‐based variable‐node elements meet the patch test if a sufficiently large number of integration points are employed for numerical integration. The cantilever problem with non‐matching meshes is chosen to check the feasibility of the present MLS‐based variable‐node elements, and the result is compared with that from the lower‐order case compatible with linear interpolation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recrystallization and grain growth of cold-rolled gold sheet

Recrystallization and grain growth of a cold-rolled gold sheet with 98 pct reduction in area (RA) were investigated with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Gold with some dopants (Be, Ca, and La) was used in this research and its recrystallization temperature was 320 °C. Isothermal annealing experiments at 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C were carried out for the cold-rolled gold sheet, and recrystallization texture was examined. In the cold-rolled gold sheet, α- and β-fibers were measured mainly and some shear texture components were found on the surface. Shear texture components remained on the surface for 2 hours at 400 °C and were consumed by other recrystallized grains after 24 hours at 400 °C. Microstructure and texture evolution during in-situ annealing at 400 °C were investigated from the cold-rolled state to the fully recrystallized state using EBSD. Most of the newly, recrystallized grains came from the deformed β-fiber regions and consisted of β-fiber, cube, and other random orientations.     

Process Modeling for Precision Forming of Discrete Parts – State of the Technology and Critical Issues

This paper presents an overview on the application of FE simulation as a virtual manufacturing tool in designing manufacturing processes for precision parts. The processes discussed include forging, sheet metal forming and hydroforming. Determination of reliable input parameters to simulate a process is a key element in successful application of process simulation for process design in all the mentioned areas. These issues are discussed in detail. Practical examples of application of FE simulation are presented for improvement of the existing metal forming process and/or designing new metal forming process for manufacturing discrete precision parts in forging, sheet metal forming and hydroforming.     

Effect of Hot Band Annealing on Magnetic Properties in 3% Si Grain‐oriented Electrical Steels

Hot band annealing is known to be a prerequisite for good magnetic properties irrespective of manufacturing methods in grain‐oriented Fe‐3 wt.% Si electrical steels. In this study, the effects of hot band annealing on magnetic properties were investigated in 3% grain‐oriented electrical steels of low soluble AI contents and one‐stage cold rolling. Microstructure and precipitate distribution were compared with hot band annealing conditions. Secondary recrystallization behaviour with hot band annealing condition was also discussed.     

Second-order asymmetric BAM design with a maximal basin of attraction

Bidirectional associative memory (BAM) generalizes the associative memory (AM) to be capable of performing two-way recalling of pattern pairs. Asymmetric bidirectional associative memory (ABAM) is a variant of BAM relaxed with connection weight symmetry restriction and enjoys a much better performance than a conventional BAM structure. Higher-order associative memories (HOAMs) are reputed for their higher memory capacity than the first-order counterparts. The paper concerns the design of a second-order asymmetric bidirectional associative memory (SOABAM) with a maximal basin of attraction, whose extension to a HOABAM is possible and straightforward. First, a necessary and sufficient condition is derived for the connection weight matrix of SOABAM that can guarantee the recall of all prototype pattern pairs. A local training rule which is adaptive in the learning step size is formulated. Then derived is a theorem, designing a SOABAM further enlarging the quantities required to meet the complete recall theorem will enhance the capability of evolving a noisy pattern to converge to its association pattern vector without error. Based on this theorem, our algorithm is also modified to ensure each training pattern is stored with a basin of attraction as large as possible.     

Self-balanced navigation-grade capacitive microaccelerometers using branched finger electrodes and their performance for varying sense voltage and pressure

Presents a navigation-grade capacitive microaccelerometer, whose low-noise high-resolution detection capability is achieved by a new electrode design based on a high-amplitude anti-phase sense voltage. We reduce the mechanical noise of the microaccelerometer to the level of 5.5 /spl mu/g//spl radic/Hz by increasing the proof-mass based on deep RIE process of an SOI wafer. We reduce the electrical noise as low as 0.6 /spl mu/g//spl radic/Hz by using an anti-phase high-amplitude square-wave sense voltage of 19 V. The nonlinearity problem caused by the high-amplitude sense voltage is solved by a new electrode design of branched finger type. Combined use of the branched finger electrode and high-amplitude sense voltage generates self force-balancing effects, resulting in an 140% increase of the bandwidth from 726Hz to 1734 Hz. For a fixed sense voltage of 10 V, the total noise is measured as 2.6 /spl mu/g//spl radic/Hz at the air pressure of 3.9torr, which is the 51% of the total noise of 5.1 /spl mu/g//spl radic/Hz at the atmospheric pressure.     

Complete and Rapid Regrasp Planning with Look-up Table

A pick-and-place operation in a 3-dimensional environment is a basic operation for humans and multi-purpose manipulators. However, there may be a difficult problem for such manipulators. Especially, if the object cannot be moved with a single grasp, regrasping, which can be a time-consuming process, should be carried out. Regrasping, given initial and final poses of the target object, is a construction of sequential transition of object poses that are compatible with two poses in the point of grasp configuration. This paper presents a novel approach for solving the regrasp problem. The approach consists of a preprocessing and a planning stage. Preprocessing, which is done only once for a given robot, generates a look-up table which has information on kinematically feasible task space of the end-effector throughout the entire workspace. Then, using this table, the planning automatically determines a possible intermediate location, pose and regrasp sequence leading from the pick-up to put-down grasp. With a redundant robot, it is shown experimentally that the presented method is complete in the entire workspace and can be implemented in real-time applications due to rapid regrasp planning time. The regrasp planner was combined with an existing path.     

Effects of surface treatment of field emitter arrays on electrical characteristics of active matrix cathode

The effects of a wet chemical surface treatment of molybdenum-tip (Mo-tip) emitters on the electrical characteristics of an active matrix cathode composed of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film transistors and Mo-tip emitters are described. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements showed that the surface treatment removed MoO₃ from the surface of the e-beam evaporated Mo film. In addition, the surface roughness of the Mo film was increased as the result of the surface treatment. The surface-treated active matrix cathode showed stable emission characteristics and immunity from emitter failures during its operation. The response time of the active matrix cathode was decreased by the surface treatment of the Mo-tip emitters. A change in surface composition and surface roughness appear to be responsible for the enhancement of the active matrix cathode.     

Control of Molybdenum Emission by Sorbents: Equilibrium Analysis

Emissions from fossil fuel combustion containing various heavy metals such as molybdenum are of public concern due to their adverse effects on human health and the environment. In this study, thermodynamic analyses were applied to determine the potential of sorbent technology to control molybdenum emissions from combustion sources. The effectiveness of four sorbents (Ca, Fe, Mg and Na based) was assessed for a wide range of temperatures. The adverse effects of chlorine and sulfur were also examined. Ca and Na-based sorbents were identified to be effective.