Aging characteristics of high-power lithium-ion cells with LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 and Li4/3Ti5/3O4 electrodes

The impedance rise that results from the accelerated aging of high-power lithium-ion cells containing LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂-based positive and graphite-based negative electrodes is dominated by contributions from the positive electrode. Data from various diagnostic experiments have indicated that a general degradation of the ionic pathway, apparently caused by surface film formation on the oxide particles, produces the positive electrode interface rise. One mechanistic hypothesis postulates that these surface films are components of the negative electrode solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer that migrate through the electrolyte and separator and subsequently coat the positive electrode. This hypothesis is examined in this article by subjecting cells with LiNi_0.8Co_0.15Al_0.05O₂-based positive and Li_4/3Ti_5/3O₄-based negative electrodes to accelerated aging. The impedance rise in these cells was observed to be almost entirely from the positive electrode. Because reduction products are not expected on the 1.55 V Li_4/3Ti_5/3O₄ electrode, the positive electrode impedance cannot be attributed to the migration of SEI-type fragments from the negative electrode. It follows then that the impedance rise results from mechanisms that are “intrinsic” to the positive electrode.     

Extended bisection method for parameter identification of the transient heat conduction equation for thermo-elastic deformations during drilling

A new interdisciplinary approach is discribed to identifying unknown parameters using an extended version of the known interval bisection method. This developed method is based on the use of finite elements for calibrating the simulation calculation. The resulting thermo-elastic deformations which occur in drilling processes with impaired cooling lubrication are to be used as correction values for tool positioning in the NC control. Based on the strong impact on workpiece temperature of machining, a simulation approach is presented for calculating the temperature fields and their thermo-elastic consequences. In addition, methods are presented to correct these effects. This paper particularly deals with the temperature fields of drilling operations. Special attention is paid to the technique employed for iterative numerical determination of the unknown heat flux η _w and heat transfer coefficient \(\bar {\gamma }\) values. Finally, the data obtained from experiments are compared with those achieved by numerical simulation in order to verify the efficiency of simulation and determination of parameters.     

Biomic river restoration: A new focus for river management

River management based solely on physical science has proven to be unsustainable and unsuccessful, evidenced by the fact that the problems this approach intended to solve (e.g., flood hazards, water scarcity, and channel instability) have not been solved and long‐term deterioration in river environments has reduced the capacity of rivers to continue meeting the needs of society. In response, there has been a paradigm shift in management over the past few decades, towards river restoration. But the ecological, morphological, and societal benefits of river restoration have, on the whole, been disappointing. We believe that this stems from the fact that restoration overrelies on the same physical analyses and approaches, with flowing water still regarded as the universally predominant driver of channel form and structural intervention seen as essential to influencing fluvial processes. We argue that if river restoration is to reverse long‐standing declines in river functions, it is necessary to recognize the influence of biology on river forms and processes and re‐envisage what it means to restore a river. This entails shifting the focus of river restoration from designing and constructing stable channels that mimic natural forms to reconnecting streams within balanced and healthy biomes, and so levering the power of biology to influence river processes. We define this new approach as biomic river restoration.     

On the similarities between micro/nano lithography and topology optimization projection methods

The aim of this paper is to incorporate a model for micro/nano lithography production processes in topology optimization. The production process turns out to provide a physical analogy for projection filters in topology optimization. Blueprints supplied by the designers cannot be directly used as inputs to lithographic processes due to the proximity effect which causes rounding of sharp corners and geometric interaction of closely spaced design elements. Therefore, topology optimization is applied as a tool for proximity effect correction. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the robust projection filter can be used to account for uncertainties due to lithographic production processes which results in manufacturable blueprint designs and eliminates the need for subsequent corrections.     

Static virtualization of C source code

Many existing systems are written in C and are not re‐entrant or thread safe. Sometimes these systems are required in a context for which they were not first designed, possibly meaning they now need to be re‐entrant. This article introduces a program that filters C source code, modifying shared resources (the global variables) to make the code re‐entrant: ‘virtualizing’ the code. The code is then compiled as normal. This approach allows programmatic virtualization with little cost at runtime. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Grouping Techniques for Scheduling Problems: Simpler and Faster

In this paper we describe a general grouping technique to devise faster and simpler approximation schemes for several scheduling problems. We illustrate the technique on two different scheduling problems: scheduling on unrelated parallel machines with costs and the job shop scheduling problem. The time complexity of the resulting approximation schemes is always linear in the number n of jobs, and the multiplicative constant hidden in the O(n) running time is reasonably small and independent of the error ε. Supported by Swiss National Science Foundation project 200020-109854, “Approximation Algorithms for Machine scheduling Through Theory and Experiments II”. A preliminary version of this paper appeared in the Proceedings of ESA’01.     

Polymer materials for the prevention of catheter-related infections

Catheter-related infections are major problems in medicine because of severe consequences for the patient, prolongation of hospitalization, and increasing therapy costs. Beside progress in hygienic measures, development of catheters with antiinfective properties seems to be a promising approach to the prevention of such infections. Two approaches for infection-resistant catheter materials have been developed: materials with antiadhesive properties and materials with antimicrobial properties. Antiadhesive polymers shall prevent the adhesion of microorganisms to the medical device. However, up to now there has been no material which would lead to a complete inhibition of adherence ("zero adherence"). Materials with antimicrobial properties contain antimicrobial substances which are incorporated into the biomaterial or bound to the polymer surface. These devices seem to be effective in the prevention of "early onset infections". In this paper, an overview of the development and efficiency of antiadhesive or antimicrobial polymers is given.     

Effect of brain edema on the recurrence pattern of malignant gliomas

PURPOSE: To assess the influence of initial preoperative brain edema in malignant gliomas on regrowth patterns. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 79 patients with histologically verified supratentorial malignant glioma were prospectively studied by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and every 2-3 months after surgery. The median follow-up time was 11 months. We correlated the configuration of the initial vasogenic edema on T2-weighted images with tumor regrowth patterns on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images. RESULTS: 35/47 tumor regrowths (75%) imitated the initial edema configuration, while 11/47 occurred within the initial tumor bed; in one case tumor recurrence was multilocal. CONCLUSION: In glioblastoma, tumor regrowth patterns correlate positively with the configuration of the initial vasogenic brain edema. The initial, "presurgical" peritumoral edema should thus be considered when planning further treatment.     

Combination of fiber-guided pulsed erbium and holmium laser radiation for tissue ablation under water

Because of the high absorption of near-infrared laser radiation in biological tissue, erbium lasers and holmium lasers emitting at 3 and 2 μm, respectively, have been proven to have optimal qualities for cutting or welding and coagulating tissue. To combine the advantages of both wavelengths, we realized a multiwavelength laser system by simultaneously guiding erbium and holmium laser radiation by means of a single zirconium fluoride (ZrF(4)) fiber. Laser-induced channel formation in water and poly(acrylamide) gel was investigated by the use of a time-resolved flash-photography setup, while pressure transients were recorded simultaneously with a needle hydrophone. The shapes and depths of vapor channels produced in water and in a submerged gel after single erbium and after combination erbium-holmium radiation delivered by means of a 400-μm ZrF(4) fiber were measured. Transmission measurements were performed to determine the amount of pulse energy available for tissue ablation. The effects of laser wavelength and the delay time between pulses of different wavelengths on the photomechanical and photothermal responses of meniscal tissue were evaluated in vitro by the use of histology. It was observed that the use of a short (200-μs, 100-mJ) holmium laser pulse as a prepulse to generate a vapor bubble through which the ablating erbium laser pulse can be transmitted (delay time, 100 μs) increases the cutting depth in meniscus from 450 to 1120 μm as compared with the depth following a single erbium pulse. The results indicate that a combination of erbium and holmium laser radiation precisely and efficiently cuts tissue under water with 20-50-μm collateral tissue damage.