Effect of mixed heat-resistances on the optimal configuration and performance of a heat-engine cycle

The finite-time thermodynamic performance of a generalized Carnot-cycle, under the condition of mixed heat-resistances, is studied. The optimal configuration and the fundamental optimal relation between power and efficiency of the cycle are derived. The results provide some guidance for the design of practical engines.     

Mining predecessor–successor rules from DAG data

Data mining extracts implicit, previously unknown, and potentially useful information from databases. Many approaches have been proposed to extract information, and one of the most important ones is finding association rules. Although a large amount of research has been devoted to this subject, none of it finds association rules from directed acyclic graph (DAG) data. Without such a mining method, the hidden knowledge, if any, cannot be discovered from the databases storing DAG data such as family genealogy profiles, product structures, XML documents, task precedence relations, and course structures. In this article, we define a new kind of association rule in DAG databases called the predecessor–successor rule, where a node x is a predecessor of another node y if we can find a path in DAG where x appears before y. The predecessor–successor rules enable us to observe how the characteristics of the predecessors influence the successors. An approach containing four stages is proposed to discover the predecessor–successor rules. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 21: 621–637, 2006.     

OZONATION TREATMENT OF 2-NITROPHENOLIC WASTEWATER USING A NEW GAS-INDUCING REACTOR

Ozonation is a potential chemical process for the treatment of nitrophenolic wastewater. However, due to the low solubility and utilization rate of ozone, a conventional gas-inducing reactor for ozonation treatment has limited app-lication for treating phenolic wastewater. In this study, 2-nitrophenol wastewater ozonation was conducted in a new gas-inducing reactor that has been investigated in our laboratory over the past few years. The ozonation conducted in this reactor can be operated with a higher ozone utilization rate and lower power consumption than a conventional gas-liquid reactor. The ozone utilization rate increases with increasing pH value and can be maintained at over 95%. Kinetic studies show that a pseudo first-order reaction model derived from a two-film theory can describe the ozonation of 2-nitrophenol. Kinetic study of 2-nitrophenol ozonation shows that there are two stages in 2-nitrophenol ozonation. The observed rate constant in the second stage of 2-nitrophenol ozonation is higher than the first stage. A change in the 2-nitrophenol concentration is responsible for the change in the observed rate constant. Below pH 7, the oxidation rate of 2-nitrophenol increases with increasing pH and increasing ozone inlet concentration. This new gas-inducing reactor can improve the ozone utilization rate. The ozonation of 2-nitrophenol can be effectively conducted in this reactor.     

The kinetics of B‐a and P‐a type copolybenzoxazine via the ring opening process

The structure of benzoxazines is similar to that of phenolic resin through thermal self‐curing of the heterocyclic ring opening reaction that neither requires catalyst nor releases any condensation byproduct. These polybenzoxazine resins have several outstanding properties such as high thermal stability and high glass transition temperature. To better understand the curing kinetics of this copolybenzoxazine thermosetting resin, dynamic and isothermal differential scanning calorimetry measurements were performed. Three models, the Kissinger method, the Flynn–Wall–Osawa method, and the Kamal method, were used to describe the curing process. Dynamic kinetic activation energies based on Kissinger and Flynn–Wall–Osawa methods are 72.11 and 84.06 KJ/mol, respectively. The Kamal method based on an autocatalytic model results in a total order of reaction between 2.66 and 3.03, depending on curing temperature. Its activation energy and Arrhenius preexponential are 50.3 KJ/mol and 7959, respectively. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 730–737, 2005     

Design and implementation of a high‐efficiency LiFePO4 battery charger for electric vehicle applications

This letter studies and implements a high‐efficiency LiFePO₄ battery charger. The modular design can satisfy the requirements of series/parallel charging for electric vehicle applications. A CC‐CC‐CV charging scheme is also realized to meet the characteristics of LiFePO₄ battery stacks. A 2 kW laboratory prototype is built and tested. The experimental results are shown to verify the feasibility of the proposed scheme. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phone‐Web: Accessing WWW using a telephone set

In order to provide a ubiquitous, comprehensive and versatile service on the WWW the development of a WWW telephone browsing system named Phone‐Web is proposed. This Phone‐Web browser system would act as an intermediary between the telephone user and Web sites, thereby facilitating access to the WWW from any phone. The Phone‐Web system would filter Web page information and then convert it into speech format. Users of the Phone‐Web system could retrieve and hear information stored on WWW servers by using telephone handsets. For this system to work it requires a new hypertext language “Hyper Phone Markup Language” (HPML) and a dedicated Phone‐Web browser. By using the proposed HPML language, Web page designers can easily specify service information in a set of HPML pages, which would be included in the site they are designing. The Phone‐Web browser would be capable of retrieving and then converting the HPML pages into speech patterns. By connecting to the Phone‐Web browser, telephone users can access any information on any site using the HPML language from any telephone anywhere in the world. However, HPML‐specified pages can also be accessed using existing browsers (e.g., Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, etc.) This means that both telephone and computer users can now access the same set of Web pages to retrieve the same information. Therefore, instead of maintaining the existing two systems (access via the telephone or computer) service providers can now maintain one system, which would provide a versatile, and comprehensive service for users at all levels of Web‐literacy. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Linear-Time Recognition of Helly Circular-Arc Models and Graphs

A circular-arc model ℳ is a circle C together with a collection A\mathcal{A} of arcs of C. If A\mathcal{A} satisfies the Helly Property then ℳ is a Helly circular-arc model. A (Helly) circular-arc graph is the intersection graph of a (Helly) circular-arc model. Circular-arc graphs and their subclasses have been the object of a great deal of attention in the literature. Linear-time recognition algorithms have been described both for the general class and for some of its subclasses. However, for Helly circular-arc graphs, the best recognition algorithm is that by Gavril, whose complexity is O(n ³). In this article, we describe different characterizations for Helly circular-arc graphs, including a characterization by forbidden induced subgraphs for the class. The characterizations lead to a linear-time recognition algorithm for recognizing graphs of this class. The algorithm also produces certificates for a negative answer, by exhibiting a forbidden subgraph of it, within this same bound.     

Improved nonlinear trajectory tracking using RBFNN for a robotic helicopter

This paper presents a backstepping control method using radial‐basis‐function neural network (RBFNN) for improving trajectory tracking performance of a robotic helicopter. Many well‐known nonlinear controllers for robotic helicopters have been constructed based on the approximate dynamic model in which the coupling effect is neglected; their qualitative behavior must be further analyzed to ensure that the unmodeled dynamics do not destroy the stability of the closed‐loop system. In order to improve the controller design process, the proposed controller is developed based on the complete dynamic model of robotic helicopters by using an RBFNN function approximation to the neglected dynamic uncertainties, and then proving that all the trajectory tracking error variables are globally ultimately bounded and converge to a neighborhood of the origin. The merits of the proposal controller are exemplified by four numerical simulations, showing that the proposed controller outperforms a well‐known controller in (J. Robust Nonlinear Control 2004; 14 (12):1035–1059). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sliding Mode Control for Swing‐Up and Stabilization of the Cart‐Pole Underactuated System

This paper uses sliding mode control to accomplish the objectives of swing‐up and stabilization of the cart‐pole underactuated system. The features of underactuated systems prohibit direct application of conventional sliding mode control for fully‐actuated systems. In this paper, we design a novel sliding mode control for the cart‐pole underactuated system so that the control goals can be achieved. In addition, by simply changing the parameters of the sliding surface, we use only one sliding mode control scheme to swing up and to stabilize the cart‐pole system. Using the sliding mode dynamics and the internal dynamics, we show that the proposed sliding mode control can swing up the cart‐pole system from the stable equilibrium and can stabilize the system to the unstable equilibrium. Our simulation results on a cart‐pole system demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed sliding mode control. The proposed control schemes, the stability analysis, and the numerical simulation provide a useful guideline for designing the sliding mode control for the cart‐pole underactuated system.     

Effect of Heat Transfer Law on the Ecological Optimization of a Generalized Irreversible Carnot Engine

The optimal ecological performance of a irreversible Carnot engine with the losses of heat-resistance, heat leak and internal irreversibility, in which the transfer between the working fluid and the heat reservoirs obeys a generalized heat transfer law Q ∝ δ(Tⁿ), is derived by taking an ecological optimization criterion as the objective, which consists of maximizing a function representing the best compromise between the power and entropy production rate of the heat engine. Some special examples are discusses. A numerical example is given to show the effects of heat transfer law, heat leakage and internal irreversibility on the optimal performance of the generalized irreversible heat engine. The results can provide some theoretical guidance for the designs of practical engine.