Effect of power interchange operation of multiple household gas engine cogeneration systems on energy-saving

The effect of power interchange operation of multiple household gas engine cogeneration systems (H-GCGS) on the energy-saving is investigated using an optimization approach based on the mixed-integer linear programming. In this power interchange operation, electricity generated by H-GCGS is shared among households in a housing complex without transmitting to a commercial electric power system so that the operating time of these systems may increase. This paper numerically analyzes optimal operational strategies for 20 households and three types of household energy supply configurations: the power interchange operation of the H-GCGSs (IC), stand-alone operation of each H-GCGSs (SA), and conventional energy supply system without the H-GCGSs. A numerical result clarifies the effectiveness of the power interchange operation from the energy-saving viewpoint and a dominant parameter for evaluating the energy-saving effect.     

High temperature electromechanical response of multilayer piezoelectric laminates under AC electric fields for fuel injector applications

International Journal of Mechanics and Materials in Design - This paper examines theoretically and experimentally the dynamic electromechanical response of multilayer piezoelectric laminates for...     

Encephalitogenic peptide (EP) in human cerebrovascular white matter lesions

The expression of encephalitogenic peptide (EP), a 68-86 amino acid sequence of guinea pig myelin basic protein (MBP), was investigated in autopsied brains with focal cerebral damage or with diffuse white matter (WM) lesions. EP immunoreactive fibers were distributed in parallel with fibers immunoreactive for amyloid protein precursor (APP), an indicator of WM damages. EP was expressed in the periphery of cerebral infarctions and hematoma in the acute and subacute stages, but was also distributed in diffuse WM lesions due to heterogeneous causes. These data indicate that EP epitopes are exposed specifically in ongoing WM damages, and that the destruction of myelin occurs sporadically in diffuse WM lesions of varying intensity.     

X-ray computed tomography used to measure fiber orientation in CFRP laminates

This paper explains a new method to measure the fiber orientation in carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) laminates from X-ray CT images. In the method, the fiber orientation is analyzed by the application of digital image correlation (DIC) method to the acquired tomographic images. Using DIC, the brightness pattern, which results from the radiodensity difference between fiber and resin, is compared between two different planes in the thickness direction. Then, the three-dimensional displacement of the brightness pattern, which indicates the fiber orientation, can be measured. This study applied the proposed method to a quasi-isotropic CFRP laminate. After X-ray CT imaging, the sample was sectioned and polished. The fiber orientation was then measured experimentally using microscopy. The fiber orientation calculated using the proposed method agrees very well with the experimentally measured one. After demonstrating the validity of the proposed method, we applied it to a plain woven CFRP laminate. Results revealed that an invalid fiber orientation might be calculated for fibers parallel to the plane of the CT image, or for the fiber orientation of the pattern around the outer edge of CT images.     

A study of real-time and 100 billion agents simulation using the Boids model

In high-performance computing of multi-agent systems, there often exists a load imbalance that slows down the calculation. In this paper, we discuss the parallelization of the Boids model for simulating a swarm intelligence. We apply the multi-level hierarchy of parallelism to the Boids model to mitigate the load-imbalance problem. To eliminate numerical errors due to parallelization, we apply pseudo-quadruple arithmetic. The parallel performance is evaluated on three major architectures, including many-core processors on an x86-based server with GPUs, and the Earth Simulator. The parallelization can decrease the negative effects of a load imbalance to almost zero in a simulation of 50 million agents. In addition, the parallelization guarantees the reproducibility of the results in a sequential execution. The strong scaling shows the potential to complete a simulation in real-time on the Earth Simulator. In addition, the weak scaling shows the ability to calculate 100 billion agents within a reasonable amount of time.     

The morphology of α-Fe crystals which grow in the amorphous Fe80(C1−xBx)20 alloys

Crystallization behaviour of amorphous Fe₈₀(C_1–x B _x )₂₀ alloys, obtained by splat-cooling technique, for x values ranging from zero to unity has been investigated mainly by transmission electron microscopy. The crystalline phase which first appeared in the amorphous matrix was -Fe for all alloys studied. However, the morphology of -Fe phase changed from a spherical shape for low x values to a watch-glass shape for intermediate x values and to dendritic for large x values. The nucleation of -Fe crystals was homogeneous for low x samples while preferred nucleation on edges and surfaces was noted for samples with higher x values. The final volume fraction of -Fe phase before the appearance of the second crystalline phase increased with the increase in x.     

Fixation and conversion of CO2 using ionic liquids

Ionic liquids (ILs), a kind of novel green media composed entirely of cations and anions, have recently attracted considerable attention due to their unique properties such as non-volatility, tunable polarity, high stability and so on. In this work, the latest progress on the fixation and conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) using ILs as absorbents, catalysts or promoters has been summarized. The absorption performance of conventional ILs and task-specific ILs was systematically investigated, the conversion of CO₂ with epoxides, propargyl alcohols and amines using ILs was critically evaluated, and the significant advantages in the fixation and conversion of CO₂ using the ILs were demonstrated compared to the conventional absorbents and the catalytic systems without ILs. This research progress may finally lead to building of an in situ fixation–conversion process of CO₂ with ILs. If so, we are near an epoch of the fixation and utilization of CO₂, although there is obviously a long way to go for us to achieve such a goal.     

Polymeric reaction of acrylic polymer–monomer system irradiated by low energy electron beam. I. Effects of molecular weight of polymer and polymer-to-monomer ratio

Polymeric reaction of the poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PBA)–benzyl acrylate (BzA) system induced by a low-energy electron beam was investigated. In order to elucidate the reaction behavior of the PBA–BzA system, the gel fraction, molecular weight of soluble part, and molecular weight distributions were examined by means of gel permeation chromatography (GPC) equipped with both ultraviolet (UV) and refractive index (RI) detectors. RI-detected GPC curves represented the molecular weights and their distributions of the total polymers, graft polymer, homopolymer, and unreacted PBA, while UV-detected curves only corresponded to the benzyl groups of graft polymer and homopolymer. Thus, the reaction behavior of the system was able to be followed by GPC. The molecular weight of the added PBA and the mole ratio of PBA/BzA were varied. The crosslinking, the graft reaction and the homopolymerization of BzA proceeded competitively during the polymeric reaction. The proportions of BzA unit incorporated into the crosslinked, graft and homo polymers were estimated by combining of measurement of gel fraction, UV-detected GPC curves, and infrared (IR) spectrum of gel. It was revealed that in the system containing PBA with high molecular weight, the grafting, and the crosslinking reactions predominated. The main reaction was the grafting in the system with a high mole ratio of PBA/BzA, while it was the homopolymerization in the systems with the low mole ratio of PBA/BzA. The reaction mechanism is discussed on the basis of reactivity and mobility of polymer radicals.     

Inhibition in superior colliculus neurons in a brightness discrimination task?

Simultaneous recordings were collected from between two and four buildup neurons from the left and right superior colliculi in rhesus monkeys in a simple two-choice brightness discrimination task. The monkeys were required to move their eyes to one of two response targets to indicate their decision. Neurons were identified whose receptive fields were centered on the response targets. The functional role of inhibition was examined by conditionalizing firing rate on a high versus low rate in target neurons 90 ms to 30 ms before the saccade and examining the firing rate in both contralateral and ipsilateral neurons. Two models with racing diffusion processes were fit to the behavioral data, and the same analysis was performed on simulated paths in the diffusion processes that have been found to represent firing rate. The results produce converging evidence for the lack of a functional role for inhibition between neural populations corresponding to the two decisions.     

Electron-Doping Mottronics in Strongly Correlated Perovskite

The discovery of hydrogen-induced electron localization and highly insulating states in d-band electron correlated perovskites has opened a new paradigm for exploring novel electronic phases of condensed matters and applications in emerging field-controlled electronic devices (e.g., Mottronics). Although a significant understanding of doping-tuned transport properties of single crystalline correlated materials exists, it has remained unclear how doping-controlled transport properties behave in the presence of planar defects. The discovery of an unexpected high-concentration doping effect in defective regions is reported for correlated nickelates. It enables electronic conductance by tuning the Fermi-level in Mott–Hubbard band and shaping the lower Hubbard band state into a partially filled configuration. Interface engineering and grain boundary designs are performed for H_xSmNiO₃/SrRuO₃ heterostructures, and a Mottronic device is achieved. The interfacial aggregation of hydrogen is controlled and quantified to establish its correlation with the electrical transport properties. The chemical bonding between the incorporated hydrogen with defective SmNiO₃ is further analyzed by the positron annihilation spectroscopy. The present work unveils new materials physics in correlated materials and suggests novel doping strategies for developing Mottronic and iontronic devices via hydrogen-doping-controlled orbital occupancy in perovskite heterostructures.