Apply geometric duality to energy-efficient non-local phenomenon awareness using sensor networks

A powerful concept to cope with resource limitations and information redundancy in wireless sensor networks is the use of collaboration groups to distill information within the network and suppress unnecessary activities. When the phenomena to be monitored have large geographical extents, it is not obvious how to define these collaboration groups. This article presents the application of geometric duality to form such groups for sensor selection and non-local phenomena tracking. Using a dual-space transformation, which maps a non-local phenomenon (e.g., the edge of a half-plane shadow) to a single point in the dual space and maps locations of distributed sensor nodes to a set of lines that partitions the dual space, one can turn off the majority of the sensors to achieve resource preservation without losing detection and tracking accuracy. Since the group so defined may consist of nodes that are far away in physical space, we propose a hierarchical architecture that uses a small number of computationally powerful nodes and a massive number of power constrained motes. By taking advantage of the continuity of physical phenomena and the duality principle, we can greatly reduce the power consumption in non-local phenomena tracking and extend the lifetime of the network.     

An important factor affecting synergism on coprocessing of Taiheiyo coal with Athabasca oil sand bitumen

A series of mixtures of Japanese subbituminous Taiheiyo coal and Athabasca oil sand bitumen (AOB) with various coal concentrations (0–100 wt%) was coprocessed in a 70 ml autoclave at 420°C for 1 h in the presence of H₂ (50 kg/cm² at room temperature) and sulfided Ni---Mo/Al₂O₂ catalyst. The mixture containing 2 wt% coal produced the largest amount of hexane soluble fraction (HS) and the smallest amount of benzene insoluble fraction (BI). Thus, a synergistic liquid production occurred for this mixture with 2 wt% coal by suppressing the retrogressive reactions which proceeded for pure AOB. The HS obtained from mixtures with 2–30 wt% showed higher H/C ratios and lower heteroatom contents than those obtained from pure AOB and the mixtures with more than 30 wt% coal. The amounts of transferable hydrogen contained in the mixtures were estimated using anthracene as a hydrogen acceptor. The mixtures with 2–10 wt% coal contained higher amounts of donor hydrogen than pure AOB. The HS yield from the various mixtures was correlated with the amount of donor hydrogens contained in the mixtures, except for the mixture with 10 wt% coal. Thus, the important factor which results in synergism is suggested to be the amount of donor hydrogens contained in the feed mixtures.     

TEM method for rapid and precise evaluation of continuous recrystallization

With the aid of a double-tilt holder in a transmission electron microscope, a new method for a rapid and precise determination of the misorientations of a large number of subgrain or grain boundaries is given in this article. By use of the method, the continuous recrystallization can be rapidly and precisely evaluated when compared to the other conventional methods.     

Pull-out and fragmentation in model fibre composites

An experimental study has been carried out of debonding and fibre rupture in model composites. A single glass rod or fibre was embedded in the centre of a long transparent silicone rubber block. Strains in the rubber in close proximity to the rod or fibre were measured as the specimen was slowly stretched. Pull-out forces, strain distributions, and debonded lengths are compared with the predictions of a simple theory based on a fracture energy criterion for debonding, and taking into account friction at the debonded interface. Experiments were carried out with rods of different diameter, rubber blocks of varied cross-section, and with two levels of adhesion. By extrapolating the debonded length to zero, values of the debonding force in the absence of friction were obtained. They were in accord with fracture energies of about 50 J/m² for weak bonding and about 200 J/m² for strong bonding. Fibre fragmentation lengths were measured also. They were in reasonable agreement with the inferred fracture energies and the measured frictional properties of silicone rubber sliding on glass. In a separate study, it was found that the frictional stress between cast silicone rubber and glass was approximately constant, about 0.1 MPa, rather than proportional to pressure, for pressures exceeding about 0.02 MPa. This feature is attributed to a particularly smooth interface between the two materials.     

Extremum-seeking with variable gain control for intensifying biogas production in anaerobic fermentation.

A state-dependent variable-gain control system is implemented to follow the characteristics of a laboratory-scale up-flow anaerobic fixed-bed reactor dynamically. The transition from one state to another is determined on an hourly basis, depending on difference between the setpoint of the reactor pH and its true value. Considerable improvement of the process stability--reduction of oscillation in both the reactor pH and biogas production rate during high-rate operation, has been achieved, although the control structure is simple and intuitive.     

The origination and optimization of Si/SiO/sub 2/ interface roughness and its effect on CMOS performance

As CMOS device dimensions scale down to 100 nm and beyond, the interface roughness between Si and SiO/sub 2/ has become critical to device performance and reliability. Si/SiO/sub 2/ interface roughness degrades channel mobility decreasing drive currents. The authors have used atomic force microscopy to study surface roughness in the processing of 0.16 /spl mu/m CMOS integrated circuits. All of the process steps that could potentially affect the interface roughness have been studied. The results show that oxidation is the major contributor to the interface roughness. The rms roughness is found to be linearly dependent on oxide thickness. Transistors with Si/SiO/sub 2/ interface rms roughness that has been reduced from 1.6 to 1.1 /spl Aring/ by reducing oxide thicknesses show improved device drive currents. This technique for interfacial smoothing and device performance improvement has the advantage of being easily implemented in today's technology.     

Efficient particle filter-based processing algorithm for clutter suppression and IR point targets enhancement

A novel soft decision-based median subtraction filter is presented for clutter suppression and infrared (IR) point targets enhancement. The decision is made based on a jump Markov model and its state and parameter estimation using a particle filter. The scheme is compared with other conventional clutter background removal techniques and good results are obtained.