Phase Equilibria in the Sn-Ni-Zn Ternary System: Isothermal Sections at 200°C, 500°C,and 800°C

In the electronic packaging field, the Sn-Zn alloy system has been recommended as a high-temperature Pb-free solder. There is a need for thermodynamic data on the Sn-Ni-Zn ternary system. Such data would serve as a basis for understanding the interfacial reaction between Sn-Zn high-temperature solder and Ni substrates and for thermodynamically evaluating the proper composition level of Ni and Zn in Sn-based solder. This study has investigated the phase equilibria of the Sn-Ni-Zn ternary system at 800°C, 500°C, and 200°C (for Ni composition of less than 60 at.%). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) were used to identify the equilibrium phases. On the basis of the experimental data and thermodynamic parameters, the isothermal sections of the Sn-Ni-Zn ternary system have been described, considering the ternary solubility in the binary phases and newfound ternary phases τ1 (Sn₃Ni₄Zn₃) and τ2 (Sn₄Ni₄Zn₂).     

Multiview foreground extraction and composition to multiview background using trimap sharing for natural 3D scene generation

Digital matting for extracting foreground objects from an image is an important process to generate special effects in the movie industry and the broadcasting center. Recently, a digital matting algorithm has been developed to create an alpha matte using a well‐focused image generated from multiview images. However, this method could generate only a single‐view alpha matte, even though it used multiple cameras. In this article, we propose a new estimation scheme for multiview alpha mattes by sharing the trimap of the reference view. Furthermore, we use the motion vector to update the trimap for video matting. After we extract foreground objects from all view images, we composite the foreground objects with the corresponding background images captured in the same multiview camera arrangement. Experimental results demonstrate that multiview composite images can generate reasonably natural 3D views through the stereoscopic monitor. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 20, 285‐293, 2010     

Analysis of operating characteristics of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell coupled with an air supply system

Balance-of-plant components, especially the air supply system, have a critical impact on the operating condition, performance, and reliability of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs). Thus, we investigated the performance and operating characteristics of a coupled system integrating a PEMFC and an air supply unit. The performance characteristics of the fuel cell stack were modeled using a semi-experimental correlation, and the operating characteristics of a shell-and-tube type membrane humidifier was modeled using heat and mass transfer principles. The models of both components were validated. A turbo-blower determined the condition of the air supplied to the humidifier and its characteristics were modeled using a performance map. A program was developed to simulate the operation of a PEMFC system consisting of the fuel cell stack and the air supply unit, and its operating characteristics at various conditions were investigated. In particular, the effects of operating conditions (ambient temperature and load) on the performance of both the humidifier and the fuel cell stack were examined, and the variations of critical operating parameters were analyzed.     

Sensing and gait planning of quadruped walking and climbing robot for traversing in complex environment

In this paper, a general study on improving adaptability of quadruped walking and climbing robot in complex environment is presented. First, a sensing system composed of range and gyroscope sensors in a novel arrangement is developed. By combining the sensing signals and the internal state of the robot, the surface geometry of the environment is sufficiently reconstructed in real-time. Secondly, a planning algorithm for the robot to overcome the reconstructed environment is conducted. Based on the reshaped surface, the planning algorithm not only provides the exact body trajectory and foot positions but also the adaptability of the robot in a specific environment. A method to improve the adaptability of the walking and climbing robot is also introduced. Thanks to the adherent ability of the robot, the center of gravity of the robot is allowed to move outside the support polygon to increase the reach-ability of the next swing leg. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by the performances of the experiments in complex environments using a quadruped walking and climbing robot named MRWALLSPECT IV.     

Effect of Drying Process Parameters on Dehydrated Cabbage Enriched with Selenium

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) enriched with selenium through foliar spraying was used to study the effect of drying process on its selenium retention and other quality criteria. Parameters such as blanching, seasoning, temperature, pH, and time of treatment were studied and evaluated to obtain an optimal processing condition for dehydrated selenium-enriched cabbage. After blanching, the barrier for mass and heat transfer of cabbage cellular materials became lower so that the heat damage was high. Blanching parameters set at 95°C and 60 s retained selenium and vitamin C in cabbage best as well as inactivated enzymes present in cabbage. Seasoning reduced the water activity of cabbage and subsequently reduced the loss of selenium. Blanching and seasoning could prevent browning deterioration of cabbage and reasonably kept the fresh color. The selenium loss kinetics during drying obeyed the first-order reaction and its activation energy was 44.0 kJ mol^?1.     

The enhanced anodic performance of highly crimped and crystalline nanofibrillar carbon in lithium-ion batteries

To find a novel high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries, a new form of carbon characterized by highly crimped and crystalline nanofibrillar microtextures was produced by heat treating polyacrylonitrile/FeCl₃ hybrid precursor and subsequent thermal annealing under hydrogen gas. This form of carbon exhibits a rechargeable capacity of ∼630 mAh/g, which is superior to that of graphite, with a Coulomb efficiency of ∼70%. Further, the new form of carbon was found to exhibit an efficiency of lithium ion insertion/extraction of ∼100% in the voltage range from 0.06 to 0.80 V, with a capacity of ∼400 mAh/g. We speculate that this excellent capacity is due to the characteristic structure of this form of carbon, i.e. its highly entangled web-like hyperstructure consisting of highly crimped and crystalline nanofibrillar microtextures, which enables good permeation and has high resilience to volume deformation during the insertion/extraction of Li ions.     

2007年世界钼的生产及应用

主要介绍了近两年来世界主要国家和地区钼的生产及应用情况，并对中国钼业发展提出了建议。     

Optical Interconnection Platform Composed of Fiber-Embedded Board, 90$^{circ}$-Bent Fiber Block, and 10-Gb/s Optical Module

An architecture of a passively assembled optical platform is suggested for a chip-to-chip optical interconnection system. The platform is constructed using all-fiber media for the optical paths: a fiber-embedded optical printed-circuit board (OPCB) and 90-bent fiber connector. The passive assembling was achieved by employing the guide pins/holes of commercialized ferrules in the optical link between the OPCB, 90-bent fiber connector, and the transmitter/receiver (Tx/Rx) module. From this interconnection scheme, a low total optical loss of was obtained. From an assembled platform with 10 Gb/s/ch 4 ch Tx/Rx modules, a 7-Gb/s/ch data transmission was demonstrated with a bit error rate below , involving the optical and electrical crosstalk arisen in the whole channel operation.