Wall-to-bed heat transfer in a circulating fluidized bed for the reduction of iron ore particles

A model is presented that describes the wall-to-bed heat transfer in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) used for the prereduction of iron ore in the smelting-reduction iron-making process. The model incorporates the core-annulus type flow structure and the wall emulsion layer growing downward along the surface. Model predictions showed good agreements with measured data taken from the literature. The hydrodynamic behavior near the wall surface was able to be properly described by the core-annulus flow structure. A higher heat-transfer coefficient with higher solid circulation flux was obtained in the upper part of the bed because of the heat input caused by the lateral diffusion of particles from the core. The predicted and measured data also showed the minima in the heat-transfer coefficients in the lower part of the bed. Model predictions indicated that in the CFB for the reduction of iron ore particles, it is important to properly control the inlet temperature of the reducing gas, rather than that of the solid particles. The implications of the behavior of heat transfer in the CFB are discussed for the reduction of iron oxides.     

Cure analysis of sheet molding compound in molds with substructures

The effects of material flow, heat transfer, part geometry, and curing agents on the cure of sheet molding compounds (SMC) in molds with substructures were analyzed both experimentally and numerically. It was found that heat transfer during mold filling has a profound effect on the cure pattern, especially for fastcure resins molded for parts with thin dimensions.     

In Situ TEM Observation of the Behavior of an Individual Fullerene-Like MoS<Subscript>2</Subscript> Nanoparticle in a Dynamic Contact

Inorganic fullerene-(IF)-like nanoparticles made of metal dichalcogenides (IF-MoS₂, IF-WS₂) have been known to be effective as anti-wear and friction modifier additives under boundary lubrication. The lubrication mechanism of these nanoparticles has been widely investigated in the past and even if the exfoliation and third body transfer of molecular sheets onto the asperities constitute the prevalent mechanism for the improved tribological behavior of IF nanoparticles, it has also been suggested that a rolling friction process could also play a role for well crystallized and spherical particles. In this study, in situ Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) observations of the behavior of single IF-MoS₂ nanoparticles were conducted using a sample holder that combines TEM and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) which simultaneously can apply normal and shear loads. It was shown that depending on the test conditions, either a rolling process or a sliding of the fullerenes could be possible. These in situ TEM observations are the first carried out with IF nanoparticles.     

Near-infrared responsive PbS-sensitized photovoltaic photodetectors fabricated by the spin-assisted successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method

A PbS-sensitized photovoltaic photodetector responsive to near-infrared (NIR) light was fabricated by depositing monolayered PbS nanoparticles on a mesoporous TiO(2) (mp-TiO(2)) film via the spin-assisted successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. By adjusting the size and morphology of the PbS nanoparticles through repeated spin-assisted SILAR cycles, the PbS-sensitized photovoltaic photodetector achieved an external quantum efficiency of 9.3% at 1140 nm wavelength and could process signals up to 1 kHz.     

Optimal cluster-based routing scheme using node mobility in ad hoc networks

Ad hoc networks have a scalability problem. When the nodes of an ad hoc network increase in number or mobility, the amount of control traffic for routing increases and could cause traffic congestion. Cluster-based routing schemes have been proposed as a solution to this problem. Typical cluster-based ad hoc networks use a proactive routing scheme for intra-cluster routes and a reactive routing scheme for inter-cluster routes. In this study, we propose a new cluster-based routing scheme for ad hoc networks which makes use of the mobility of nodes. Nodes are divided into two groups on the basis of their mobility. For a route search within a cluster, a proactive routing scheme is used for low-mobility nodes and a flooding-based reactive routing scheme is used for high-mobility nodes. The required control traffic of the proposed scheme is analyzed and optimal parameters of the proposed scheme are derived from the analysis. The numerical results show that the proposed scheme produces far less control traffic than a typical cluster-based routing scheme.     

Holography and plasma oxidation for uniform nanoscale two dimensional channel formation of vertical organic field-effect transistors with suppressed gate leakage current

Vertical organic field-effect transistors (VOFETs) with nanoscale channel openings have been fabricated using pentacene as an active layer material. To achieve uniform nanoscale two-dimensional channel openings, a laser holography lithography has been introduced. Uniformly distributed and well-aligned holes with 250 nm diameter were successfully obtained with the laser holography lithography. VOFET devices with these channel openings have shown high on/off ratio of about 10³ without any further treatment. Gate leakage current was also decreased with an additional insulating layer generated on the gate electrode sidewall via plasma oxidation.     

Distributed Virtual Inertia Based Control of Multiple Photovoltaic Systems in Autonomous Microgrid

The large inertia of a traditional power system slows down system's frequency response but also allows decent time for controlling the system. Since an autonomous renewable microgrid usually has much smaller inertia, the control system must be very fast and accurate to fight against the small inertia and uncertainties. To reduce the demanding requirements on control, this paper proposes to increase the inertia of photovoltaic (PV) system through inertia emulation. The inertia emulation is realized by controlling the charging/discharging of the direct current (DC)-link capacitor over a certain range and adjusting the PV generation when it is feasible and/or necessary. By well designing the inertia, the DC-link capacitor parameters and the control range, the negative impact of inertia emulation on energy efficiency can be reduced. The proposed algorithm can be integrated with distributed generation setting algorithms to improve dynamic performance and lower implementation requirements. Simulation studies demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution.