SYNTHESIS OF NANOSTRUCTURED LiM0.15Mn1.85O4 (M = Mn,Co, Al,AND Fe) PARTICLES BY SPRAY PYROLYSIS IN A FLUIDIZED BED REACTOR

A novel technique has been developed to directly produce fine ceramic powders from liquid solution via spray pyrolysis in a fluidized bed reactor (SPFBR). Using this technique the preparation of LiM_0.15Mn_1.85O₄ (M = Mn, Co, Al, and Fe), which are the most promising cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, has been carried out at a superficial velocity U₀ of 0.71 m/s, a reactor temperature T of 800°C, and a static bed height L_s of 100 mm. The as-prepared powders were spherical nanostructured particles that comprised primary particles of a few tens of nanometers in size, and they exhibited a pure cubic spinel structure without any impurities in the XRD patterns. The chemical composition of as-prepared samples showed good agreement with the theoretical values that proved stoichiometric formulae of the compounds. The specific surface area of as-prepared LiM_0.15Mn_1.85O₄ (M = Mn, Co, Al, and Fe) powders decreases with increasing the static bed height in each doping metal, while the crystallite size increases with the static bed height. As a result, the as-prepared powders showed larger crystallite size and smaller specific surface area than those prepared by conventional spray pyrolysis.     

Detection of Multiple Blockages in Parallelized Microreactors

In a plant consisting of parallelized microreactors (MRs), the product quality is lowered because of a lack of flow uniformity among them when blockage occurs. It is not practical to install sensors in every MR from the viewpoint of cost when detecting the blocked MRs. In the previous study, the multiple blockage detection (MBD) method using a small number of sensors was proposed, but its performance became low when the number of sensors decreased. Here, the conventional algorithm for MBD is improved by considering the process behavior on blockage occurrence, and the effectiveness of the improved algorithm is demonstrated through a numerical case study. The effects of flow distributor types and sensor types on the MBD performance are numerically investigated.     

Modification of bismaleimide resin by poly(propylene phthalate), poly(butylene phthalate) and related (co)polyesters

Aromatic polyesters were prepared and used to decrease the brittleness of the bismaleimide resin composed of 4,4′-bismaleimidediphenyl methane (BMI) and o,o′-diallyl bisphenol A (DBA) (Matrimid 5292 resin). The aromatic polyesters included poly(propylene phthalate) (PPP), poly(2,2-dimethylpropylene phthalate) (PDPP), poly(butylene phthalate) (PBP) and poly(butylene phthalate-co-butylene terephthalate) (50mol% terephthalate unit) (PBPT). The polyesters were effective modifiers for decreasing the brittleness of the bismaleimide resin. For example, inclusion of 20wt% PPP (MW 18700) led to 50% increase in the fracture toughness (K_IC) with retention of flexural properties and a slight loss of the glass transition temperature, compared with the mechanical and thermal properties of the unmodified cured bismaleimide resin. Micro-structures of the modified resins were examined by scanning electron microscopy and dynamic viscoelastic analysis. The thermal stability of the modified resins was slightly lower than that of the unmodified resin as determined by thermogravimetric analysis. The toughening mechanism is discussed in terms of the morphological and dynamic viscoelastic behaviour of the modified bismaleimide resin system. © 1998 SCI.     

Cylindrical linear pulse motor with interior permanent magnet mover

The advantages of the conventional cylindrical linear pulse motor (C-LPM), which has a ring permanent magnet between the A- and B-phase stators, are its simple magnet shape and small motor diameter; the disadvantages are the thrust imbalance resulting from the magnetic flux path of the outer poles being longer than that of the inner poles. This thrust imbalance decreases the pull-in thrust and increases the positioning error. In this paper, a new C-LPM with an interior permanent magnet mover which reduces this thrust imbalance is proposed. Steady and dynamic thrust are also examined and a magnetic equivalent circuit is discussed. It is shown that a C-LPM with an interior permanent magnet mover effectively improves the thrust imbalance and the dynamic thrust     

Electrostatic Spray Deposition of Perovskite-Type Oxides Thin Films with Porous Microstructure

The deposition of perovskite-type oxides thin films [La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ and La_1–xSr_xCo_1–yFe_yO₃ (0 x 0.4 and 0 y 1)] was investigated using the electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) technique. Lanthanum nitrate, strontium chloride and manganese nitrate, or cobalt nitrate and iron nitrate were dissolved into a mixture of 33 vol% ethanol and 67 vol% butyl carbitol, which was used as precursor solution. The effect of process parameters, such as deposition temperature, deposition time and concentration of precursor solution, on the surface morphology and microstructure of thin films were examined with scanning electron microscope (SEM). The deposited La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ and La_1–xSr_xCo_1–yFe_yO₃ thin films were amorphous at the used deposition temperature (573K). Subsequently, the samples were heated at 1173 K for 2 h and were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD). As the result, the crystal structure of the samples transformed to the desired perovskite phase. The chemical analysis of the thin films was investigated using energy dispersion X-ray (EDX) analysis. The observed chemical compositions of the samples were in a fair agreement with the ones of the starting solutions.     

Mid-Gap State Formed Inside Mott Gap of 1T-TaS2 Single Crystals and Metal-Insulator Transition

We have measured electrical resistivity, Hall coefficient, thermoelectric power, and magnetization for charge-density wave (CDW) material 1T-TaS₂ single crystals grown by varying the excess sulfur content x _es. We have revealed that a small mid-gap state is formed inside the Mott gap and that anomalous low temperature transport is not governed by the Mott gap state itself but by the mid-gap state. The electric properties of the mid-gap state are modified by increasing x _es (or hole doping), and we have found the insulator-metal transition occurs by hole doping below 60K.     

TEM Observations of the Initial Oxidation Stages of Nb-Ion-Implanted TiAl

Coupon specimens of TiAl were implanted with Nb ions at an acceleration voltage of 50 kV with a dose of 10²¹ ions m.^–2 They were then slightly oxidized during heating to 900 or 1200 K, or at 1200 K for 3.6 ksec (1 hr) in a flow of purified oxygen under atmospheric pressure. The implanted specimens and oxidized specimens were characterized and observed by AES, X-ray diffractometry, SEM, TEM, EDS, and EPMA. Implantation improves the oxidation resistance significantly by forming virtually -Al₂O₃ scales. The implanted layer is about 75 nm thick; the outer part of 30-nm thickness is -Ti phase and the rest of 45-nm thickness is amorphous. Heating to 900 K in O₂ results in partial crystallization of the amorphous layer to Ti₅Al₃O₂ (Z-phase) and to 1200 K results in oxide scales of 270 to 400 nm thickness consisting mainly of Al₂O₃. The fraction of Al₂O₃ in the scale increases toward the substrate. Oxidation at 1200 K for 3.6 ksec results in Al₂O₃-rich scales of about 400-nm thickness. The oxide grain size is very fine, about 80 nm in size, and becomes smaller toward the outer scale surface. This implies that implantation enhanced the nucleation of Al₂O₃ grains relative to the growth of TiO₂ grains. This finding and the formation of -Ti phase are thought to be responsible for the excellent oxidation resistance obtained.     

Travel Time Reliability in Vehicle Routing and Scheduling with Time Windows

This paper presents calibration of the Vehicle Routing and scheduling Problems with Time Windows-Probabilistic (VRPTW-P) model which takes into account the uncertainty of travel times. Probe vehicle data of travel times were obtained from usual operation of pickup-delivery trucks in South Osaka area. The optimal solution of the VRPTW-P model resulted in reducing total cost, running times and CO₂, NOx and Particle Materials (PM) emissions compared with the usual operation. This is attributed to better routing of VRPTW-P to choose more reliable roads. Therefore, VRPTW-P can contribute to establish efficient and environmentally friendly delivery systems in urban area.     

New high‐luminance 50‐ and 43‐in. ACPDPs with an improved panel structure

New 50‐ and 43‐in. ACPDPs, which have been developed and commercialized in 2001, show high luminance with improved cell structure and higher Xe‐content gas. The specific features of the cell structure are “T”‐shaped electrodes and waffle‐structured ribs, which are same as those of the previous model. Both the cell structure and gas conditions have been optimized. New green and blue phosphors have also been adopted. As a result, the luminous efficacy has been improved up to 1.8 lm/W by using a black stripe. The peak luminance of the 50‐ and 43‐in. PDPs have reached 900 and 1000 cd/m², respectively, while the power consumption of the 50‐in. PDP has been decreased to 380 W, which is 20% lower than that of our previous 50‐in. PDP.     

ASYMPTOTIC EFFICIENCY OF THE SAMPLE COVARIANCES IN A GAUSSIAN STATIONARY PROCESS

Abstract. This paper deals with the asymptotic efficiency of the sample autocovariances of a Gaussian stationary process. The asymptotic variance of the sample autocovariances and the Cramer–Rao bound are expressed as the integrals of the spectral density and its derivative. We say that the sample autocovariances are asymptotically efficient if the asymptotic variance and the Cramer–Rao bound are identical. In terms of the spectral density we give a necessary and sufficient condition that they are asymptotically efficient. This condition is easy to check for various spectra.