Java enabling collaborative education,health care,and computing

Web technologies – in particular linked Java servers and clients – allow new dynamic collaborative environments linking people and computers. We describe the architecture of a system, TANGOsim, that combines a Java collaborative environment with an executive providing general message filters, and an event-driven simulator. The initial application is to command and control, but we describe how this approach can also be used in other areas, such as health care, scientific visualization and (distance) education. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recent advances in stratification and film formation of latex films; attenuated total reflection and step-scan photoacoustic FTIR spectroscopic studies

Surfactant–latex molecular level interactions as well as transient effects during latex film formation play an important role in latex technology. This review article focuses on the siloxane effects on anionic sodium dioctylsulfosuccinate (SDOSS) surfactant exudation during latex coalescence and quantitative analysis of SDOSS distribution at the both film–air (F–A) and film–substrate (F–S) interfaces. Attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was utilized for characterization of the interactions between SDOSS and styrene–butyl acrylate latex copolymers. In addition, studies of SDOSS stratification along with depth-profiling analysis during latex film formation utilizing step-scan photoacoustic (S²-PAS) FTIR spectroscopy illustrate that SDOSS content is enriched at the F–A interface and decreases as the penetration depth increases across the latex film thickness. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 70: 1321–1348, 1998     

Luminescence intensification of lanthanide complexes by silver nanoparticles incorporated in sol-gel matrix

We present how the luminescence of europium RR-2-P-oxides complexes can be increased by interaction of electronic levels of the complex with the radiation field of silver nanoparticles (NPs). The procedure by which silver NPs are formed in a sol-gel polyurethane matrix precursor was elaborated. The formed Ag NPs were combined with Eu complex incorporated in ormocer matrix. The emission spectra of the complexes without silver NPs were compared with spectra of the same complexes with addition of silver NPs. As the result of the interaction of the electronic levels of lanthanide ligands with silver plasmons, dramatic increase of luminescence was observed.     

Structural properties and Mössbauer spectroscopy of Finemet™ doped with Ge

Structural and magnetic properties of amorphous and crystalline alloys Fe_73.5Cu₁Nb₃B₉Si_13?xGe_{x=1;5;10;13.5} were studied by means of energy dispersive X-rays (SEM + EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS), as-quenched (a-q) and after annealing (a). EDX show agreement between the nominal and the measured atomic contents for all alloys. DSC provided three phase transition temperatures of the materials, MS spectra reveal amorphous structure of as-quenched alloys and a mixture of amorphous and crystalline structures of annealed alloys. The XRD spectra of annealed alloys allow us to resolve three crystalline phases of Fe.     

Heat and mass transfer during drying of a bed of shrinking particles – Simulation for carrot cubes dried in a spout-fluidized-bed drier

The purpose of the present study was to develop a model to describe the heat and mass transfer during the drying of carrot cubes in a spout-fluidized-bed drier. The model took into account the non-homogeneous shrinkage of the material. The Arbitrary Lagrange–Eulerian (ALE) formulation was applied to enter the problem with moving boundaries. Three phases of drying were distinguished according to the behavior of changes in percent local error of estimation: an initial phase of warming up the material – characterized by a low level of error of moisture content prediction, a second phase – characterized by an increase in the error of moisture content prediction and a phase of decreasing error. A simple test of the sensitivity of the model to the changes in heat transfer coefficient was performed in order to improve the ability of the model to predict the changes in moisture content and temperature of dried carrots. The predicted changes in both the moisture content and the temperature of carrot cubes during drying in a spout-fluidized-bed drier indicate that the model can be successfully applied to describe moisture content, temperature and deformation of dried particles in cases when the very high accuracy of moisture content and temperature prediction is not a crucial element of investigation of the drying process.     

Approach to calculation time-dependent moisture diffusivity for thin layered biological materials

A method is presented to determine the effective diffusivity from experimental drying kinetics as a time-dependent parameter. The method combines an analytical solution of Fick's equation in which the Fourier number is approximated using the empirical coefficients a and b with a semi-theoretical equation derived for quasi-stationary conditions. The resulting equation has been applied to calculate the effective diffusivity from literature data on the drying of tobacco lamina and sliced celery. The applicability of the method was confirmed by good agreement of calculated and experimental data. It was found that the effective diffusivity for tobacco lamina rises sharply from practically zero at the beginning of drying to a maximum of 9·10^{− 10} m²/s at 89 s, and then gradually decays with time of drying. The same trend was found for sliced celery, but the maximum of the effective diffusivity (1.6·10^{− 7} m²/min) was attained at 56 s. The exact definition of the effective diffusivity vs. drying time identifies two phases of drying: the first phase was characterized by the rising intensity of drying with the maximum at the end of this phase, followed by the phase of slow decrease in the intensity of moisture removal. The rising intensity of drying observed during the initial phase of the process can be explained by warming up of the dried material during the initial phase of drying.     

Autothermal reforming of gasoline for fuel cell applications: Controller design and analysis

In this work, we address the control system options available to an autothermal reforming (ATR) reactor. The targeted application is within an on-board fuel processor for a hydrogen-fed low-temperature fuel cell. The feedback controller employs air feed rate as the manipulated variable and a measurement of catalyst temperature as the control variable. Disturbances include significant fluctuations in the measured temperature as well as large throughput changes, owning to the on-board application. Our investigation includes an analysis of a simple feedback configuration as well as feed-forward control structure. It is concluded that the feedback only method is insufficient for the unique challenges associated with on-board operation, which include fast start-up and quick load changes. While the feed-forward configuration improves performance, we found a fair amount of sensitivity with respect to model mismatch. The general conclusion is that some form of advanced control will be needed to meet the stringent performance requirements of the on-board fuel processor application.     

Deformation micromechanics of a model cellulose/glass fibre hybrid composite

Interfacial stress transfer in a model hybrid composite has been investigated. An Sm³⁺ doped glass fibre and a high-modulus regenerated cellulose fibre were embedded in close proximity to each other in an epoxy resin matrix dumbbell-shaped model composite. This model composite was then deformed until the glass fibre fragmented. Shifts of the absolute positions of a Raman band from the cellulose fibre, located at 1095 cm⁻¹, and a luminescence band from a doped glass fibre, located at 648 nm, were recorded simultaneously. A calibration of these shifts, for both fibres deformed in air, was used to determine the point-to-point distribution of strain in the fibres around the breaks in the glass fibre. Each break that occurred in the glass fibre during fragmentation was shown to generate a local stress concentration in the cellulose fibre, which was quantified using Raman spectroscopy. Using theoretical model fits to the data it is shown that the interfacial shear stress between both fibres and the resin can be determined. A stress concentration factor (SCF) was also determined for the regenerated cellulose fibre, showing how the presence of debonding reduces this factor. This study offers a new approach for following the micromechanics of the interfaces within hybrid composite materials, in particular where plant fibres are used to replace glass fibres.     

Steady State Isotopic Transient Kinetic Analysis of Flameless Methane Combustion over Pd/Al2O3 and Pt/Al2O3 Catalysts

The SSITKA measurements were performed in the steady state of complete methane oxidation on the Pd/Al₂O₃ and Pt/Al₂O₃ catalysts. It was found that the number of intermediates and their average life-time on the catalyst surface changes with the increase of reaction temperature. On the Pd/Al₂O₃ catalyst there is larger number of active centres than on Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst which permits the course of methane oxidation at lower temperatures.