Optimal design of composite hood with reinforcing ribs through stiffness analysis

Fiber glass reinforced composites like sheet molding compounds (SMC) have recently been widely used in the fabrication of two-piece automobile hoods for passenger cars. In the present investigation, a one-piece composite hood with reinforcing ribs was optimally designed and manufactured by resin transfer molding in order to reduce manufacturing cost. In order to obtain the optimal design, stiffness analyses for deflections due to self-weight, oil canning, and torsion test conditions were carried out by applying the ABAQUS/Standard program. Based on these analyses, the thickness dimension of the composite hood required to maintain a stiffness comparable to a conventional steel hood was determined. For optimization studies of the weight reduction of the currently proposed one-piece composite hood with reinforcing ribs, IDESIGN program was employed. Based on a recursive quadratic programming technique, the thickness dimensions of the reinforcing ribs were optimized. The deflection ratios between fiber glass reinforced composite and conventional steel hoods were minimized in the optimization studies. From the present studies, it was found that the weight saving effect obtained by introducing the optimally designed one-piece composite hood was 37% compared to the conventional steel hood. This ranged approximately from 30 to 40% for composite hoods manufactured by resin transfer molding, depending on the composite materials used. Through these studies, it was confirmed that the one-piece composite hood was a preferable design and manufacture, compared to currently used composite hood made in two pieces, in terms of weight reductions and manufacturing cost without losing the stiffness required.     

Analyzing Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation Success Factors in the Engineering–Construction Industry

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems offer many benefits to the engineering–construction industry. Many construction firms recognize the benefits of ERP system implementation; however, they still hesitate to adopt these systems due to high cost, uncertainties, and risks. This study identifies and analyzes critical factors that need to be considered to ensure successful ERP system implementation in the construction industry. First, this paper identifies the factors associated with the success and failure of ERP systems, and provides indicators to evaluate the success of such systems. Then, the paper develops an information system success model to analyze the relationships between factors and success indicators. Finally, the paper provides recommendations for successful ERP systems based on the analysis. The derived success factors should help senior managers in construction firms make better decisions and improve their business value by implementing the most effective EPR systems.     

Probing the reaction pathway of dehydrogenation of the LiNH2 + LiH mixture using in situ H NMR spectroscopy

Using variable temperature in situ ¹H NMR spectroscopy on a mixture of LiNH₂ + LiH that was mechanically activated using high-energy ball milling, the dehydrogenation of the LiNH₂ + LiH to Li₂NH + H₂ was investigated. The analysis indicates NH₃ release at a temperature as low as 30 °C and rapid reaction between NH₃ and LiH at 150 °C. The transition from NH₃ release to H₂ appearance accompanied by disappearance of NH₃ confirms unambiguously the two-step elementary reaction pathway proposed by other workers.     

Effects of surface treatment using aqua regia solution on the change of surface band bending of p-type GaN

Effects of surface treatment on the change of band bending at the surface of p-type GaN were studied using synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy, and the results were used to interpret the reduction of contact resistivity by the surface treatment. The contact resistivity on p-type GaN decreased from (5.1±1.2)×10⁻¹ to (9.3±3.5)×10⁻⁵Ω cm² by the surface treatment using aqua regia prior to Pt deposition. Surface band bending was reduced by 0.58 eV and 0.87 eV after the surface treatments by HCl and aqua regia solutions, respectively. The atomic ratio of Ga/N decreased as the photoelectron detection angle was decreased, indicating that the surface oxide was mainly composed of Ga and O, GaO_x, formed during high-temperature annealing for the generation of holes, and Ga vacancies, V_Ga, were produced below the GaO_x layer. Consequently, the aqua regia treatment plays a role in removing GaO_x formed on p-type GaN, leading to the shift of the Fermi level toward the energy levels of V_Ga located near the valence band edge. This causes the decrease of barrier height for the transport of holes, resulting in the good ohmic contacts to p-type GaN.     

Antioxidant activities from the aerial parts of Platycodon grandiflorum

In order to obtain basic data necessary for the utilisation of aerial parts from Platycodon grandiflorum as a functional substance in Korea, the antioxidant activities of solvent fractions from the ethanol extract of P. grandiflorum aerial parts were examined. The butanol fraction from P. grandiflorum showed the most potent antioxidant activities in each assay, showing 91.31% in the DPPH radical scavenging method, 99.62% in the ABTS radical scavenging method, 7.84% in the reducing power method, and 1.29% in the FRAP method at a concentration of 10 mg/ml. The DPPH, ABTS, reducing power, and FRAP assay indicated that the butanol fraction of aerial parts of P. grandiflorum was the most potent radical-scavengers and reducing agents compared to the other two extracts. Therefore, our study verified that the butanol fraction has strong antioxidant activities which are correlated with its high level of phenolics, particularly luteolin-7-O-glucoside and apigenin-7-O-glucoside. This extract of P. grandiflorum aerial parts can be utilised as an effective and safe source of functional food materials such as natural antioxidants.     

Advancement in the Hydrogen Absorbing and Releasing Kinetics of MgH<Subscript>2</Subscript> by Mixing with Small Percentages of Zn(BH<Subscript>4</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript> and Ni

Zn(BH₄)₂ made in our former investigation and Ni were mixed with MgH₂ to promote the hydrogen absorption and release features of Mg. A 96 w/o MgH₂ + 2 w/o Ni + 2 w/o Zn(BH₄)₂ sample [named MgH₂–4NZ] was prepared by milling in a planetary ball mill in a hydrogen atmosphere. The proportion of the additive was small (4 w/o) in order to increase hydrogen absorbing and releasing rates without majorly sacrificing the hydrogen-storage capacity. The hydrogen absorption and release features of the MgH₂–4NZ were inspected in detail and compared with those of 99 w/o MgH₂ + 1 w/o Zn(BH₄)₂ [named MgH₂–1Z] and 95 w/o MgH₂ + 2.5 w/o Ni + 2.5 w/o Zn(BH₄)₂ [named MgH₂–5NZ] samples. The activation of the MgH₂–4NZ was not required. The MgH₂–4NZ had a useful hydrogen-storage capacity (the quantity of hydrogen absorbed after 60 min) of about 5.5 w/o at the first cycle. At the first cycle, the MgH₂–4NZ absorbed 3.84 w/o hydrogen after 5 min and 5.47 w/o hydrogen after 60 min at 593 K in 12 bar hydrogen. The MgH₂–4NZ had a higher releasing rate, larger amounts of hydrogen absorbed and released after 60 min, and a better cycling capability than the MgH₂–1Z. Staying of Ni (as Mg₂Ni) and a larger amount of Zn among particles is believed to have led to the better cycling capability of the MgH₂–4NZ.     

Novel UWB Transceiver for WBAN Networks: A Study on AWGN Channels

A novel ultra‐wideband (UWB) transceiver structure is presented to be used in wireless body area networks (WBANs). In the proposed structure, a data channel and a control channel are combined into a single transmission signal. In the signal, a modulation method mixing pulse position modulation and pulse amplitude modulation is proposed. A mathematical framework calculating the power spectrum density of the proposed pulse‐based signal evaluates its coexistence with conventional radio systems. The transceiver structure is discussed, and the receiving performance is investigated in the additive white Gaussian noise channel. It is demonstrated that the proposed scheme is easier to match to the UWB emission mask than conventional UWB systems. The proposed scheme achieves the data rate requirement of WBAN; the logical control channel achieves better receiving performance than the logical data channel, which is useful for controlling and maintaining networks. The proposed scheme is also easy to implement.     

Cholesterol Removal from Squid Liver Oil by Crosslinked β-Cyclodextrin

The present study was designed to optimize the different conditions for β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) crosslinked by adipic acid on cholesterol removal from squid liver oil. Different factors were concentrations of crosslinked β-CD, mixing temperature, ratio of squid liver oil to distilled water, mixing time and mixing speed. It was found that cholesterol removal from squid liver oil was significantly affected by concentrations of crosslinked β-CD, mixing temperature, ratio of squid liver oil to distilled water, mixing time and mixing speed. In a recycling study, cholesterol removal from the squid liver oil with recycled crosslinked β-CD in the first recycling trial was 81.05%, which was slightly lower than that with new crosslinked β-CD (87.06%). In up to three time trials, over 70% of cholesterol removal was observed. The present study indicated that the optimum conditions for cholesterol removal from squid liver oil using crosslinked β-CD were a 1:3 ratio of squid liver oil to distilled water, 25% (crosslinked β-CD/distilled water, w/v) crosslinked β-CD concentration, 20 min mixing time, 800 rpm mixing speed and 55 °C mixing temperature with about 87% cholesterol removal.     

Mutual interference considered power allocation in OFDM-based cognitive networks: the multiple SUs case

Power allocation for secondary users (SUs) in cognitive networks is an important issue to ensure the SUs’ quality of service. When the mutual interference between the primary users (PUs) and the SUs is taken into consideration, it is wanted to achieve the conflict-free power allocation while synchronously maximizing the capacity of the secondary network. In this paper, the optimal power allocation problem is considered in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing cognitive networks. The single SU case is primarily formulated as a constrained optimization problem. On this basis, the multiple SUs case is then studied and simulated in detail. During the analysis, the mutual interference among the PUs and the SUs is comprehensively formulated as the restrictions on the SU’s transmission power and the optimization problems are finally resolved by iterative water-filling algorithms. Consequently, the proposed power allocation scheme restrains the interference to the primary network, as well as maximizing the capacity of the secondary network. Specifying the multiple-SUs case, simulation results are exhibited in a simplified scenario to confirm the efficiency of the proposed water-filling algorithm, and the influence of the mutual interference on the power allocation and the system capacity is further illustrated.