Low-loss and wide-band double-mode surface acoustic wave filters using pitch-modulated interdigital transducers and reflectors

This paper proposes use of pitch-modulated interdigital transducers (IDTs) and reflectors for the realization of low-loss and wideband longitudinally coupled double-mode surface acoustic wave (DMS) filters. This technique offers drastic improvement of the device performances through the introduction of a sufficient number of degrees of freedom in the DMS filter design. Namely, the pass-band becomes wide and flat, and insertion loss can be reduced through the suppression of the bulk acoustic wave (BAW) scattering. First, it is shown how the BAW scattering loss can be reduced by the use of the pitch-modulated structure. The DMS filter with this structure is designed so that the frequency response becomes similar to that of the filter with the conventional unmodulated structure, and device performances are compared both theoretically and experimentally. It then is demonstrated how the total device performances are improved by the use of this technology when the device is designed optimally for given specifications. Adding to the reduced bulk wave scattering loss, various distinctive features offer drastic improvement of total device performances.     

Control of transonic flow fields using local occurrence of non-equilibrium condensation

Control of supersonic flow fields with shock wave is important for some industrial fields. There are many studies for control of the supersonic flow fields using active or passive control. When non-equilibrium condensation occurs in a supersonic flow field, the flow is affected by latent heat released. Many studies for the condensation have been conducted and the characteristics have been almost clarified. Further, it was found that non-equilibrium condensation can control the flow field. In these studies, the condensation occurs across the passage of the flow field and it causes the total pressure loss in the flow field. However, local occurrence of non-equilibrium condensation in the flow field may change the characteristics of total pressure loss compared with that by the condensation across the passage of the nozzle and there are few for researches of locally occurred non-equilibrium condensation in supersonic flow field. The purpose in the present study is to clarify the effect of local occurrence of non-equilibrium condensation on the transonic flow field in a nozzle with a circular bump. As a result, local occurrence of non-equilibrium condensation reduced the shock strength and total pressure loss in the transonic flow field by flowing the moist air from trailing edge of the circular bump to the mainstream.     

The Effect of Chemical Composition and Heat Treatment Conditions on Stacking Fault Energy for Fe-Cr-Ni Austenitic Stainless Steel

In order to establish more reliable formulae for calculating stacking fault energies (SFE) from the chemical compositions of austenitic stainless steels, SFE values were measured for 54 laboratory-melted heats and 2 commercial heats. The results were checked against those of a first-principle, atomistic calculation approach. More than ~20,000 data points for the width and angle of the Burgers vectors were determined from dark-field images of isolated extended dislocations in 56 heats of austenitic stainless steel using weak electron beams with g-3g diffraction conditions. Based on these numerous observations and on fundamental thermodynamic analyses, it is concluded that the SFE values for austenitic stainless steels are changed not only by chemical composition but also by heat treatment. In this paper, new formulae for calculating SFE values from the chemical compositions in three different heat treatment conditions have been proposed for austenitic stainless steels within given limited chemical composition ranges. In these formulae, the SFE values are calculated from the nickel, chromium, molybdenum, silicon, manganese, nitrogen, and carbon contents for the each heat treatment condition. The three heat treatment conditions studied were water cooling after solution heat treating (SHTWC), furnace cooling after solution heat treating, and aging after SHTWC.     

Monte Carlo simulation of prompt neutron emission during acceleration in fission

The possibility of prompt neutron emission during acceleration of fission fragments (FFs) was examined by means of Monte Carlo method and statistical neutron emission model. Multimodal random neck-rapture model was used to describe the initial distribution of mass, charge, and total kinetic energy of the primary fragments. Statistical model was used to simulate the de-excitation process of the fragments from the moment of scission until full acceleration. By random number sampling, the fission process was simulated in order to obtain the basic physical quantities, and their correlations were analyzed to verify the adequacy of the model. It was found that, on the average, ～10% and ～16% of prompt neutrons for ²³⁵U(n _th,f) and ²⁵²Cf(sf), respectively, were emitted before reaching 90% of the final fragment kinetic energy.     

Fabrication and characterization of micro-tubular cathode-supported SOFC for intermediate temperature operation

We report the fabrication and characterization of a micro-tubular cathode-supported cell consisting of a Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 electrolyte with a Ni–cermet anode on a porous La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3−δ/Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 (60:40 volume) tube (460 μm wall thickness and 2.26 mm diameter). The cells were fabricated by a cost-effective technique involving extrusion molding and slurry coating through a co-firing process. Densification of the ceria film (thickness < 15 μm) was successful by co-firing the laminated electrolyte with the porous cathode at 1200 °C. NiO–Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 (Ni: Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 = 50:50 in volume after reduction) was subsequently sintered on the electrolyte at 1100 °C to construct a 10 μm thick, porous and well-adherent anode. The cell having 1.5 cm tube length fed with humidified 30 vol.% H₂–Ar (3% H₂O) yielded the maximum power densities of 0.16, 0.13 and 0.11 W cm⁻², at 600, 550 and 500 °C, respectively. It was found that the cell performance is strongly dominated by the tube length, due to a high substrate resistance from the cathode current collections.     

On the pressure dependence of flammability limits of CH2=CFCF3, CH2F2 and methane

Flammability limits of CH₂=CFCF₃ (HFO-1234 yf), CH₂F₂ (HFC-32), and methane were measured at pressures from ambient to 2500 kPa in a 5 l stainless-steel spherical vessel. For HFO-1234 yf, as the pressure rises from ambient, the lower flammability limit is shifted downward and the upper limit is shifted upward. The changes to the lower flammability limits are, in general, small compared to the upper flammability limits. Both the lower and upper flammability limits of this compound can be approximated by simple logarithmic functions of pressure. For HFC-32, the behavior of lower flammability limit is similar to that for HFO-1234 yf, but the behavior for the upper limit is rather complicated. As the pressure is increased, it begins to rise upward gradually. Then, as the pressure becomes larger than about 1000 kPa it begins to rise upward rapidly, and then the change becomes moderate again. This must be due to a change of combustion reaction mechanism below 1000 kPa and above 1500 kPa in the upper flammability limit region for this compound. On the other hand, both the flammability limits of methane change almost linearly with pressure, at least in the pressure region considered.     

Electrically Triggered Actuation of Plasticized Thermoplastic Polyurethane Gels

Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) are copolymers with hard and soft segments. They have excellent physical properties and good biocompatibility. In particular, their shape memory properties and compatibility with plasticizers make TPU gels suitable for use as soft actuator materials. In this work, a plasticizer, dibutyl adipate (DBA), is added to four types of TPU to form gels. All the TPUs form transparent soft gels with different DBA contents. Their dielectric and mechanical properties are significantly improved by DBA addition, and the TPUs are changed from insulators to electrical actuation materials. Polyether TPU/DBA gels show the most significant changes. The bending distance of a TPU/6DBA gel tip (dimensions 20 × 5 × 0.3 mm³) is about 15 mm when the gel is sandwiched between soft electrodes and an electric field of less than 3 V μm^–1 is applied. The developed materials show large deformations at low energies, and will make a significant contribution to the field of actuation materials. It is believed that TPU/DBA gels can be used as photovoltaic, dielectric, artificial muscle, robotic, and other smart materials.

     

Evaluation of Pulmonary Toxicity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Following Inhalation and Intratracheal Instillation

We conducted inhalation and intratracheal instillation studies of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles in order to examine their pulmonary toxicity. F344 rats were received intratracheal instillation at 0.2 or 1 mg of ZnO nanoparticles with a primary diameter of 35 nm that were well-dispersed in distilled water. Cell analysis and chemokines in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were analyzed at three days, one week, one month, three months, and six months after the instillation. As the inhalation study, rats were exposed to a concentration of inhaled ZnO nanoparticles (2 and 10 mg/m³) for four weeks (6 h/day, 5 days/week). The same endpoints as in the intratracheal instillation study were analyzed at three days, one month, and three months after the end of the exposure. In the intratracheal instillation study, both the 0.2 and the 1.0 mg ZnO groups had a transient increase in the total cell and neutrophil count in the BALF and in the expression of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC)-1, CINC-2, chemokine for neutrophil, and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an oxidative stress marker, in the BALF. In the inhalation study, transient increases in total cell and neutrophil count, CINC-1,-2 and HO-1 in the BALF were observed in the high concentration groups. Neither of the studies of ZnO nanoparticles showed persistent inflammation in the rat lung, suggesting that well-dispersed ZnO nanoparticles have low toxicity.     

Development of Tetrachlorophthalimides as Liver X Receptor β (LXRβ)‐Selective Agonists

Liver X receptor (LXR) agonists are candidates for the treatment of atherosclerosis via induction of ABCA1 (ATP‐binding cassette A1) gene expression, which contributes to reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) and to cholesterol efflux from the liver and intestine. However, LXR agonists also induce genes involved in lipogenesis, such as SREBP‐1c (sterol regulatory binding element protein 1c) and FAS (fatty acid synthase), thereby causing an undesirable increase in plasma and hepatic triglyceride (TG) levels. Recent studies indicate that LXRα contributes to lipogenesis in liver, and selective LXRβ activation improves RCT in mice. Therefore, LXRβ‐selective agonists are promising candidates to improve atherosclerosis without increasing plasma or hepatic TG levels. However, the ligand‐binding domains in the two LXR isoforms α/β share high sequence identity, and few LXR ligands show subtype selectivity. In this study we identified a tetrachlorophthalimide analogue as an LXRβ‐selective agonist. Structural development led to (E)‐4,5,6,7‐tetrachloro‐2‐(2‐styrylphenyl)isoindoline‐1,3‐dione ( 24 a ), which shows potent and selective LXRβ agonistic activity in reporter gene assays. In binding assays, compound 24 a bound to LXRβ preferentially over LXRα. It also induced the expression of ABCA1 mRNA but not SREBP‐1c mRNA in cells. Compound 24 a appears to be a promising lead compound for therapeutic agents to treat atherosclerosis without the side effects induced by LXRα/β dual agonists.