Auto‐detection of partial discharges in power cables by discrete wavelet transform

One of the serious problems that can occur in power XLPE cables is destruction of insulator. The best and conventional way to prevent this is ascertaining partial corona discharges occurring at small voids in organic insulators. However, there are some difficulties in detecting those partial discharges due to the existence of external noise in detected data, whose patterns are hardly identified at a glance. For this reason, there have been a number of researches into detecting partial discharges by employing a neural network (NN) system, which is widely known as a system for pattern recognition. We have been developing an NN system for auto‐detection of partial discharges, and have input numerical data of the waveform itself and obtained appropriate performance. In this paper, we employed the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) to acquire more detailed transformed data in order to use them in the NN system. Employing the DWT, we were able to express the waveform data in time–frequency space, and achieved effective detection of partial discharges by the NN system. We present herein the results using DWT analysis for partial discharges and noise signals which we obtained. Moreover, we present results out of the NN system which dealt with those transformed data. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 152(1): 24–30, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10315     

A basic study of adaptive particle swarm optimization

This paper points out that meta‐heuristics should have not only robustness and adaptability to problems with different structure but also adjustability of parameters included in their algorithms. Particle swarm optimization (PSO), whose concept began as a simulation of a simplified social milieu, is known as one of the most powerful optimization methods for solving nonconvex continuous optimization problems. Then, in order to improve adjustability, a new parameter is introduced into PSO on the basis of the proximate optimality principle (POP). In this paper, we propose adaptive PSO and the effectiveness and the feasibility of the proposed approach are demonstrated on simulations using some typical nonconvex optimization problems. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 151(3): 41–49, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20077     

Development of nuclear radiation detectors with energy resolution capability based on CdTe-n/sup +/-GaAs heterojunction diodes

CdTe-n/sup +/-GaAs heterojunction diodes for room-temperature nuclear radiation detectors have been developed and demonstrated. The heterojunction diode was fabricated by growing a thin n-type CdTe buffer layer followed by the undoped p-like CdTe layer of about a 100 /spl mu/m thickness on the n/sup +/-GaAs substrates using metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. The diode detectors exhibited good rectification property and had the reverse leakage currents of a few /spl mu/A/cm/sup 2/ at 40 V bias. The detector clearly demonstrated its energy resolution capability by resolving the 59.54 keV gamma peak from the /sup 241/Am radioisotope during the radiation detection test.     

Preparation of ultrafine metal particles supported on alumina by pyrolysis of polymer complex/alumina composites

Ultrafine metal particles supported on alumina were prepared by pyrolysis of poly(vinylferrocene) (Poly(VFc))/alumina or sodium polyacrylate-Pd(II) (Poly(AANa)-Pd(II))/alumina precursors at 800 ～ 1200°C. α-Fe particles produced on k-Al₂O₃ was obtained by pyrolysis of the mixture of Poly(VFc)/alumina(5/5) at 1000°C. Crystalline Pd supported on alumina was also obtained from Poly(AANa)-Pd(II)/alumina precursor. The size of metal particles formed increased with increasing mixing ratio of polymer complex with alumina. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Flow birefringence and viscosity of cellulose solutions in semi-dilute regime

An attempt was made to study the flow birefringence and the viscosity of the systems of cellulose in aqueous sodium hydroxide and cadoxen solutions. For this purpose alkali-soluble cellulose samples with crystal form I (simply denoted as cellulose I sample), prepared from conifer wood pulp by the steam-explosion method, and alkali-soluble cellulose samples with crystal form of cellulose II (cellulose II sample), regenerated from cuprammonium cellulose solution under specific conditions, were used. The extinction angle χ of aqueous alkali solutions of the cellulose I sample is significantly less shear rate (γ) dependent as compared with that of the cellulose II sample. In the latter system the χ versus γ relations for a given cellulose sample shifted to the higher γ side with decrease in the average molecular weight. The viscosity of the cellulose II sample in aqueous sodium hydroxide solutions is approximately twice that of the cellulose I sample in the same solvent if compared at the same molecular weight, same concentration, and same temperature. The latter solution showed a non-Newtonian property at relatively smaller γ than the former solution did. Spin-lattice relaxation time T₁ (by ¹³C-NMR) of cellulose in cadoxen solution was smaller in cellulose I, suggesting the existence of intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bondings at the C₆ position of cellulose molecules in cellulose I solution. A dynamic light scattering study on cellulose in cadoxen showed that in a 5 wt % solution of cellulose I cellulose particles are dispersed with time into smaller particles and the larger particles could be excluded by ultracentrifuge and in cellulose II solutions the cellulose particles had almost the same size during storage. The above findings indicate that in 5 wt% cellulose I solutions in aqueous alkali or in cadoxen, cellulose I is not dissolved molecularly, but a supra-molecular structure of the solid is at least partly reserved in the above solutions.     

Effect of peptiser species on crystallisation of alumina gel produced by sol–gel process

The present work reports a study on the effect that a peptiser species has on the crystallisation of alumina gel produced by a sol–gel process to help develop a method for producing α-Al₂O₃ at low temperature. The white precipitate of aluminium hydroxide, which was prepared with a homogeneous precipitation method using aluminium nitrate and urea in an aqueous solution, was peptised using various peptisers at room temperature to form a transparent alumina sol. The alumina gel obtained from the alumina sol, which was produced using formic acid as the peptiser, was most dominantly crystallised into α-Al₂O₃ by annealing at 900°C. The optimal [peptiser]/[Al³⁺] (P/A) molar ratio for the crystallisation into α-Al₂O₃ was 0.2. The alumina gel began to crystallise into α-Al₂O₃ with annealing at as low as 500°C when formic acid and a P/A ratio of 0.2 were used.     

A simple semi sol-gel method for preparation of alumina monoliths with hierarchical pore structures

A simple semi sol-gel method for preparation of stable alumina monoliths is presented. The approach is based on chemical binding of boehmite by hydrolysis products of aluminium nitrate. The crystalline phase of the monoliths depends on the calcination temperature, and the size and shape of the alumina crystallites were determined by transmission electron microscopy and modelling of X-ray diffraction patterns. The monoliths have bimodal pore size distributions with mesopores ranging from 3 to 20 nm and macropores ranging from 10 to 40 μm. Incipient wetness impregnation resulted in gold particles, ranging from 4 to 20 nm, supported on the monoliths. The size of the gold particles depended largely on the crystalline phase of the support, but also on the amount of gold precursor. The catalytic activity of the functionalised materials in liquid-phase oxidation of glucose was higher in continuously stirred batch reactor tests compared to continuous flow fix bed tests. In both cases the activity was improved as the size of gold particles decreased.     

Liquid-Crystalline Catenanes and Rotaxanes

Catenanes and rotaxanes are mechanically interlocked molecules. For further functionalization, the introduction of such molecules into ordered fluid states is of interest. The control of their dynamic properties in liquid-crystalline order may lead to the development of new smart soft materials such as stimuli-responsive materials and molecular machines. In this review, thermotropic and lyotropic liquid-crystalline catenanes and rotaxanes are described. One approach to the induction of liquid crystallinity to [2]catenanes and [2]rotaxanes is the attachment of mesogenic moieties. Rigid-rod polyrotaxanes that behave as mesogens also exhibit liquid-crystalline properties.     

Solar-grade silicon production by metallothermic reduction

Various types of processes for solargrade silicon (SOG-Si) production/purification have been developed with the aim of overcoming the low productivity of the Siemens process. These processes can be divided into three groups: decomposition and/or hydrogen reduction of silane gases by improving the currently used commercial processes; purification of metallurgical-grade silicon using metallurgical purification methods; and metallothermic reduction of silicon halides by metal reductants such as zinc and aluminum. This paper reviews the features of various SOG-Si production processes, particularly the processes based on metallothermic reduction, by classifying them according to the types of reductants and the silicon compounds used. Prospects for development of new processes for producing high-purity silicon are presented.