A novel scheme for protection of power semiconductor devicesagainst short circuit faults

Power semiconductor devices find wide application in modern power electronic converters. Protection of these devices against overload/short circuit conditions is of paramount importance. Present day protection topologies employing different circuits have invariably one main drawback in that the fault current reaches the set value before action is initiated to trip the system. This poses a severe stress on the device. Hence an adequate safety margin has to be necessarily provided to prevent excessive device stresses and care has to be taken to see that the device is operated well within its safe operating areas. The present paper proposes a method wherein the slope or rate of rise of the fault current is detected and once the slope exceeds the set reference, action is initiated to trip the system much before the fault current reaches dangerous levels. The method provides a fast means of detection of overload and short circuit currents and can be conveniently adopted for the protection of devices in power transistor/IGBT based inverters against short circuited load conditions or shoot through faults. The possible reduction of stresses in the power devices are also highlighted     

Finite element crack growth algorithm for dynamic fracture

A new finite element crack growth algorithm has been developed to simulate dynamic fracture. In this algorithm, pseudo elements with very high initial density are placed below the crack plane and the density is reduced to zero in a gradual manner as the crack passes the element. A number of linear elastic and elasto-viscoplastic problems have been carried out to test the new algorithm. The results are compared with some of the existing crack growth models.     

Ultrastructural studies of spermiogenesis in rabbit exposed to chronic fluoride toxicity

OBJECTIVE: To compare skinfold thickness measurements with bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) as a measure of body fat for use in a survey of children (the National Study of Health and Growth). DESIGN: Part cross-sectional, part repeated measurement study. SETTING: A junior school in Bath. SUBJECTS: 42 boys and 33 girls aged from 9 to 11 years. INTERVENTIONS: Measurements of BIA, height, weight, and triceps, biceps, subscapular and suprailiac skinfolds. RESULTS: All measurements were highly repeatable with intraclass correlation coefficients > 0.90. The level of agreement between estimates of percentage of body fat derived from prediction equations based on impedance or skinfold measurements respectively was poor: the mean difference (impedance estimate minus skinfold estimate) was 4.67% (95% range -3.47 to 12.82) for boys and 7.81% (95% range 1.27 to 14.34) for girls. The two estimates were found to correlate highly (r = 0.83 for boys and r = 0.81 for girls) because weight, used to convert estimates of fat-free mass derived from impedance to fat mass, was highly correlated with impedance and moderately highly correlated with skinfold thicknesses. The correlations of resistance (R) and (H)2/R with skinfold thicknesses were very low. There was a moderate correlation of R and H2/R with log(weight-for-height index), but lower than that of log(weight-for-height index) with each of the skinfolds. CONCLUSIONS: As currently available equations for converting impedance-based estimates of total body water to fat mass are not fully developed for use in children of varying ages, estimates of body fat calculated from skinfold thickness measurements remain preferable in epidemiological studies of children's health and growth.     

Preparation of an anion‐exchange adsorbent by the radiation‐induced grafting of vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride onto cotton cellulose and its application for protein adsorption

Poly(vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride)‐graft‐cotton cellulose, an anion‐exchange matrix, was synthesized by a mutual radiation‐induced grafting technique with a ⁶⁰Co γ‐radiation source. The grafted matrix was characterized by grafting yield estimation, elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The grafting yield decreased with the increase in the dose rate. However, the grafting yield and nitrogen content of grafted samples increased almost linearly with an increase in the total irradiation dose. To evaluate the performance of the grafted anion‐exchange matrix, the protein adsorption and elution behavior were investigated in a continuous column process under various experimental conditions, with bovine serum albumin used as a model protein. The binding and elution behavior of the anion‐exchange matrix depended on different experimental parameters, such as the grafting yield, ionic strength, pH of the medium, and amount of protein loaded. From a breakthrough curve, the equilibrium binding capacity and elution percentage of the grafted anion‐exchange matrix were estimated to be 40 mg/g and 94%, respectively. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 5512–5521, 2006     

Electrosynthesis and impedance studies on zinc selenide

Electrochemical impedance measurements have been used to characterize zinc selenide films prepared by electrochemical co-deposition at a platinum rotating disk electrode. Estimations of capacitance and polarization resistance of variously prepared electrodeposits have been carried out to determine charge carrier density and corrosion rates.     

Design Errors: Inefficiency or Carelessness of Designer?

Design defects are experienced in many projects; the difference is only in the extent of occurrence. This technical note discusses a design error case in a building project in Nepal, where the designer made the wrong assumptions in roof treatment work for waterproofing as well as for heat insulation purposes. From the investigation of the problem, it was found that the waterproofing polymer was not applied directly over concrete slab top. Use of heavy concrete block as a heat insulation material also helped to increase the leakage problem. The problem evoked loss of prestige for project officials, the design consortium, and the contractor.