Haptic perceptions in the vehicle seat

The perceptual overloads of visually and auditorily based information and their interference phenomena within vehicles led to research for the applicability of haptically based information and the haptic interfaces to intelligent vehicles. Because seats are the interface that touches the largest area of the driver's body, the driver's seat in vehicles has been the focus of a promising haptic interface that can improve the safety of drivers and the effectiveness and efficiency of the information transfer between vehicles and drivers. This study aims to provide practical guidelines as a building block for designing the haptic (or vibrotactile) interface in a vehicle's driver's seat by investigating, through four experiments, 1) proper intensity of vibration, 2) minimum distance of spatially distinguishable vibrations, 3) proper position and direction of vibration, and 4) proper rhythm of vibration. Twenty participants took part in the experiments, which were conducted in driving simulation environments. These environments consisted of a real car seat, commercial vibration actuators (i.e., the eccentric motors), and a monitor that showed scenes of the road while driving. This study recommended the proper intensity (approximately 26 to 34 Hz and 2.0 to 3.4 G), position (seat pan or back support), direction (horizontal or indirect), intervibration distance (8 to 9 cm), and rhythm of vibration (3‐s duration with 0.5‐s interval), and showed how the characteristics of drivers, such as gender and age, had effects on setting the design variables of the haptic interface in the vehicle seat. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Magnetic-separable robust microbeads using a branched polymer for stable enzyme immobilization

Uniform magnetic separable robust microbeads using a branched polymer were successfully developed for stable enzyme immobilization. The changed morphology of the microbeads was shown by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The aldehyde groups on the polymers and imine groups derived from the Schiff base reaction between the aldehyde and amine moiety were found as the evidence of these reactions based on Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The amine groups of the enzyme react with the aldehyde groups on the glutaraldehyde polymer so that the stable conjugations are formed. The specific activity of the conjugated enzyme was found to be retained more than 50%, but the reaction rate constant, K_m value was not changed, compared to the free enzyme. In addition, the enzyme conjugated in the microbeads was found to be highly stable for more than 50 days, pertaining over 60% of its initial activity, even after being reused more than 15 times repeatedly. Furthermore, the magnetic-driven controllability provided facile separable characters for the repeated recycling. It is expected that these microbeads can be utilized as a key tool for successful realization not only in enzymatic conversion processes but also in extended fields; bio-based sensors or analytical devices, bioprocessing, bioremediation, to name only a few of numerous areas.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In-situ</Emphasis> polymerized nanosilica/acrylic/epoxy hybrid coating: Preparation,microstructure and properties

An in-situ polymerization method was employed to synthesize the nanosilica/acrylic/epoxy (SAE) hybrid coating on AISI 430 stainless steel (430SS), as compared with a traditional blending method. Microstructures of the blending SAE hybrid coating (BC) and in-situ SAE hybrid coating (ISC) were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Corrosion resistance of BC and ISC on 430SS was evaluated by the neutral salt spray test and potentiodynamic polarization technique. Failure mechanism of the BC on 430SS was suggested by the microstructures and corrosion behaviors. Serious aggregation of nanosilica particles in the BC impairs its structural uniformity and induces the flaws formation. These flaws in the BC initiates the failures of pitting, filiform corrosion and peeling which are accelerated by the O₂ concentration cell and H⁺ self-catalysis in chlorine-containing moist environments. The ISC-coated 430SS shows a more advantageous corrosion resistance than that of the BC-coated. The ISC-coated 430SS can suffer the salt spray over 1000 h. Besides, it exhibits a high corrosion potential beyond 0.925 V and good passivation characteristics during the potentiodynamic polarization. Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (“973” Program) (Grant No. 2004CB619305) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50571044)     

Quantification and localization of the liquid zone of partially remelted M2 tool steel using X-ray microtomography and scanning electron microscopy

Thixoforming of steels poses challenges due to the high temperatures involved and the lack of understanding of thermomechanical behavior. The volume fractions of the liquid and solid phases in the semi-solid state are the most important parameters for such a forming process, as they affect the viscosity and hence the flow behavior of the material. Two-dimensional observations might not always be sufficient, as the size distribution and the connectivity of phases cannot be obtained from associated measurements, which can only be determined by three-dimensional (3-D) investigation. This paper presents the first application of high-energy X-ray microtomography to the microstructure of steel in the semi-solid state. The microstructure of M2 high-speed tool steel was studied in both as-received and heated-and-quenched states. From the reconstructed images, 3-D information could be obtained and was compared with scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry observations. The volume fraction and the location of liquid phase in the semi-solid state were determined in particular, and the continuous solid skeleton was investigated.     

住宅产业化之PC构件模具解决方案

PC构件模具包括底模、侧模、端模及窗模等重要组成部件,将装饰墙砖、窗框、及各类接驳器等配件全部定位于模具中并浇注混凝土,有利于构件及建筑物质量的整体提升。作为住宅产业化的重要组成部分,模具的作用至关重要,阐述了PC构件模具中的新技术运用。     

借鉴国外先进技术,提升我国现代网印水平

三十年前我国的网印技术是落后的,工作者多数是手工作坊式的生产,沿用着传统的刻膜技术和简单的明胶大漆制版方法制作一般的网印版,印制产量低、质量不高。     

建筑艺术与信息论一信息十题

文章论述了信息论的基本概念和原理，包括信息、信码、信息系统、信息流程、信息通道、信息效能等内容，及其在建筑艺术设计创作中所体现的理论和实践价值。     

Charge Stripes and Superconductivity in La2−x Ba x CuO4 and La1.6−x Nd0.4Sr x CuO4

We report x-ray scattering study of charge density wave (stripe) order in La_2−x Ba _x CuO₄ (LBCO) and La_1.6−x Nd_0.4Sr _x CuO₄ (LNSCO). The doping dependence of the charge stripe ordering temperature and the low-temperature correlation length is compared with the bulk superconducting transition temperature. We find that the charge stripe ordering temperature and correlation length are quite different in these two families of cuprates, while there seems to be inverse correlation between the bulk superconducting temperature and the charge stripe correlation length.     

上海世博轴异形钢网壳安装施工技术的研究

结合上海世博轴异形铜网壳阳光谷的钢结构安装施工技术的研究，介绍了其安装施工技术路线的形成、实施和完善，包括现场拼装分块、安装工艺、定位支架等，取得了良好的效果。对今后类似的工程施工，也具有一定的借鉴作用。