Simultaneously improved solid particle erosion resistant and strength of graphene nanoplates/carbon nanotube enhanced thermoplastic polyurethane films

Up to now, it is a major challenge to protect leading edge of the blades from solid particle erosion. Herein, we propose a structure optimization strategy to fabricate non-woven (NW) enhanced thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposite films (thermoplastic polyurethane [TPU] - NW@G/C_x) with “sandwich - like” structure by hot pressing technology. TPU NW/graphene nanoplates/carbon nanotube (NW@G/C_x) interlayer film were first fabricated by spraying method. Then the interlayer film was laminated between TPU films to fabricate nanocomposite films. Such prepared TPU - NW@G/C_x film shows excellent solid particle erosion resistance and high-tensile strength. For example, the “steel-and-mortar” structure of NW fabric in TPU film results in high-tensile strength of 45 MPa and storage modulus of 21.2 MPa for TPU - NW@G/C_1.0, increasing by 25% and 171% compared with original TPU film (35 MPa, 8 MPa), respectively. In addition, compared with pure TPU film, the “sandwich - like” structure endows TPU - NW@G/C_1.2 with excellent solid particle erosion resistance and the thermal conductivity (0.251 W/m·K). These superior properties extends application of the TPU - NW@G/C_x film on wind turbine blades.     

Nonlinear control for rotational movement of cart-pendulum system using homoclinic orbit

In this paper, we deal with the control method for rotational movements of a pendulum using a separatrix. We design a controller that attains a homoclinic motion or a heteroclinic motion of the pendulum and the asymptotic stability of the cart by using a kind of forwarding control design. First, we derive a controller that converges to a homoclinic orbit via a Lyapunov function of the pendulum subsystem. Next, we give a nonlinear stabilizing controller via another Lyapunov function of the cart subsystem. Moreover, using the third Lyapunov function and adding a complementary control input, we guarantee that the pendulum converges to the homoclinic orbit and the cart is stabilized. Finally, the simulation and the experiment using the rapid controller prototyping system based on MATLAB/Simulink are performed to demonstrate the forward upward circling and the giant swing of the pendulum.     

氢燃料电池船舶直流综合电力系统研究及应用

研发氢燃料电池船舶是实现航运业零碳排放的可行途径,也是推动造船业转型升级的重要发展方向,但传统的电力系统集成模式逐渐成为制约氢燃料电池船舶产业化应用的关键因素,构建以新能源为主体的船舶新型直流综合电力系统成为解决该问题的突破点。首先,系统梳理了氢燃料电池船舶和船舶综合电力系统的发展概况;其次,以中国第一艘氢燃料电池游艇"蠡湖"号为例,详细介绍了氢燃料电池船舶直流综合电力系统的关键技术及其在实船上的应用;然后,针对不同的航行工况重点分析了氢燃料电池船舶的5种电力驱动模式;最后,结合相关技术和配套设备的研发进程,分析并探讨船用氢燃料电池的局限性、推广可行性及未来的发展方向,期望能为燃料电池船舶的技术创新和工程应用提供参考。     

联合空间与角度的符号相干系数平面波成像北大核心CSCD

超声平面波成像是近年来一种应用较广泛的超快速超声成像方法,多角度相干平面波复合(Coherent Plane Wave Compounding,CPWC)成像在不过多损失速率的情况下,提升成像质量。但普通的CPWC方法只是简单复合多个角度延时叠加(Delay and Sum,DAS)后的数据,并未考虑到单个角度内以及多个角度之间数据的相关性。文章提出了一种联合空间与角度的符号相干系数(Angular Spatial Sign Coherence Factor,asSCF)平面波成像方法,将空间符号相干因子和角度符号相干因子创新性地融合到波束合成的过程中,充分考虑信号之间的相关性,旨在提升多角度复合成像质量。进行了仿真实验、仿体实验以及在体组织实验,对asSCF-CPWC方法、单一的符号相干系数法以及传统CPWC方法成像进行对比,结果发现asSCF-CPWC方法具有更好的横向分辨能力和成像对比度。     

Sensitive Label-Free Immunoassay by Colorimetric Plasmonic Biosensors Using Silver Nanodome Arrays

The sensitive direct detection of biomolecules is demonstrated by a colorimetric plasmonic biosensor utilizing the surface colors of plasmonic metasurfaces named Ag nanodome arrays. The Ag nanodome arrays consist of polystyrene bead monolayers coated with Ag thin films whose surface colors are optimized by changing the size of the polystyrene beads. The bulk refractive index sensitivity of colorimetric detection evaluated using the hue angle is 590° RIU⁻¹ (RIU: refractive index unit). For selected geometry, the refractive index resolution (5.0 × 10⁻⁵ RIU) obtained by colorimetric detection surpasses that of spectroscopic detection evaluated via the dip wavelength in the reflection spectrum. The numerical simulations predict an enhanced sensing performance when the hue angle of the surface colors of the Ag nanodome arrays changes from 300° to 200°, corresponding to changes in the dip wavelength from 570 to 600 nm in the reflection spectra. Furthermore, the detection sensitivity of the biomolecules is characterized using a direct IgG immunoassay format. The detection limit of the IgG concentration is as low as 134 pM using simple colorimetric detection. The feasibility of sensitive label-free immunoassays using a colorimetric plasmonic biosensor is expected to accelerate the development of highly sensitive and reliable smartphone-based plasmonic biosensors.     

Performance evaluation of immunity-based statistical en-route filtering in wireless sensor networks

Statistical en-route filtering (SEF) schemes can detect and eliminate false data injection attacks in wireless sensor networks. However, SEF does not address the identification of the compromised nodes which are injecting false reports. Therefore, we have proposed an immunity-based SEF to identify compromised nodes and achieve earlier detection of false reports. In the proposed scheme, each node has a list of neighborhood nodes and assigns credibility to each neighboring node. Each node can update the credibility of a neighboring node based on the success or failure of filtering and communication, and can then use the updated credibility as the probability of the next communication. In this article, some simulation results show that the immunity-based SEF outperforms the original SEF.     

Benchmarking stereo-derived DSMs to lidar by land cover and slope for resource development in northern Ontario,Canada

Topographic and elevation data are essential in the development of supporting infrastructure around mining sites. The de facto standard for acquiring elevation data is through light detection and ranging (lidar). The high labour and monetary cost of acquiring lidar has fostered more cost-effective approaches for creating elevation models that use stereo photogrammetry. To assess the accuracy of stereo-photogrammetry-derived elevation models and their potential application, we benchmark satellite (Worldview-2) and aircraft (South Central Ontario Orthoimagery Project; SCOOP) stereo-derived digital surface models (DSMs) against a lidar-derived DSM. Our results show that both stereo-derived DSMs have strong monotonic correlations with lidar across a range of land-cover types and slopes. The overall vertical accuracy of Worldview-2 and SCOOP DSMs are similar and do not meet the United States National Digital Elevation Program (NDEP) standards. However, accuracy assessment across land-cover types and slope categories show that specific land cover types (i.e. grass, row crops/pasture, sparse vegetation and marsh) on gently sloping terrain compare well to lidar data and meet NDEP accuracy standards. We situate the presented research in the context of northern resource development and discuss opportunities to improve the vertical accuracy of stereo-derived DSMs, for example, through unmanned aerial systems.     

Slow eye movement as a possible predictor of reaction delays to auditory warning alarms in a drowsy state

In recently developed intelligent vehicles, warning alarms are often used to prompt avoidance behaviours from drivers facing imminent hazardous situations. However, when critical reaction delays to auditory stimulation are anticipated, the alarm should be activated earlier to compensate for such delays. It was found that reaction times to an auditory stimulus significantly increased in the presence of slow eye movement (SEM), which is known to occur frequently during the wake-sleep transition. The reaction delay could not be attributed to temporal effects such as fatigue and was invariant regardless of response effectors (finger or foot). Moreover, it was found that applied pedal force decreased immediately after an auditory stimulus interrupted SEM. Consequently, it was concluded that SEM can be a good predictor of reaction delays to auditory warning alarms when drivers are in a drowsy state. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The present study demonstrated that simple auditory reaction time significantly increased when SEM emerged. In the design of vehicle safety systems using warning alarms to prompt avoidance behaviours from drivers, such reaction delays during SEM must be taken into account.     

Urban growth modeling of Kathmandu metropolitan region, Nepal

The complexity of urban system requires integrated tools and techniques to understand the spatial process of urban development and project the future scenarios. This research aims to simulate urban growth patterns in Kathmandu metropolitan region in Nepal. The region, surrounded by complex mountainous terrain, has very limited land resources for new developments. As similar to many cities of the developing world, it has been facing rapid population growth and daunting environmental problems. Three time series land use maps in a fine-scale (30 m resolution), derived from satellite remote sensing, for the last three decades of the 20th century were used to clarify the spatial process of urbanization. Based on the historical experiences of the land use transitions, we adopted weight of evidence method integrated in cellular automata framework for predicting the future spatial patterns of urban growth. We extrapolated urban development patterns to 2010 and 2020 under the current scenario across the metropolitan region. Depending on local characteristics and land cover transition rates, this model produced noticeable spatial pattern of changes in the region. Based on the extrapolated spatial patterns, the urban development in the Kathmandu valley will continue through both in-filling in existing urban areas and outward rapid expansion toward the east and south directions. Overall development will be greatly affected by the existing urban space, transportation network, and topographic complexity.     

A Network Architecture with High Availability for Real-time Premium Traffic over the Internet

Real-time traffic will be a predominant traffic type in the next generation networks, and networks with 100% reliability and availability will be required by real-time premium traffic. It is believed that QoS guarantees could be better provided by connection oriented networks such as Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS). These connection oriented networks are more vulnerable to network failure. Conventional path protection methods perform re-routing to cope with this. However, re-routing always causes packet losses and results in service outage. These losses are bursty in nature and highly degrade the QoS of the real-time premium traffic. Thus, 100% availability cannot be achieved by conventional methods. The novel path protection proposed in this paper recovers the bursty packet losses due to re-routing by using forward error correction (FEC) path. Therefore, it can provide network architecture with no service outage for such traffic. The numerical results show that the proposed method can achieve a very high availability for real-time premium traffic in future IP/MPLS networks.