Charge-discharge rate of spinel lithium manganese oxide and olivine lithium iron phosphate in ionic liquid-based electrolytes

Rate capability of Li/spinel LiMn₂O₄ or olivine LiFePO₄ positive electrode cells containing mixed imidazolium ionic liquids electrolytes has been investigated under comparison with conventional organic solvent electrolyte and piperidinium ionic liquid. The LiMn₂O₄ electrode provides variation of rate capabilities among the ionic liquid electrolytes, while ionic liquid electrolytes provide similar extent of capacity degradation under high rate compared with organic solvent electrolyte for LiFePO₄ electrode. Such differences in electrolyte dependences of the rate capabilities can be explained in relation to parameters in the high frequency resistances on AC impedance, assumed as interfacial resistances. The rate capability of LiMn₂O₄ is somewhat related to the activation energy of the high frequency resistance, while for LiFePO₄ the resistance value appears to contribute to the rate capability.     

Experimental characterization of high-speed impact damage behavior in a three-dimensionally woven SiC/SiC composite

This paper discusses high-speed impact damage in a three-dimensionally woven SiC/SiC composite (3D-CMC). The impact damage was introduced by a steel ball projectile in 3D-CMC plates with and without thermal exposure. The surface and internal damages were observed by optical microscopy and X-ray CT. A crater was observed on the collision surface. The X-ray CT measurement revealed that multiple pyramid-shaped cone cracks were generated beneath the crater when the impact speed was relatively low. At an impact speed exceeding the critical speed, a spall fragment was ejected from the back surface, while no internal damage was observed in the fragment. The spall fracture mode differed between the virgin and the thermally-exposed specimens. This difference is the result of embrittlement of the fiber/matrix interface due to oxidation of the carbon coating layer in the thermally-exposed specimen. In addition, it is found that z-yarns improve impact resistance by constraining delamination.     

Growth of ZnO crystal on sapphire and nitridated sapphire substrates at 1000 °C by halide vapor phase epitaxy

Using a halide vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) technique in which the starting materials are ZnCl₂ generated by the reaction between high purity Zn metal (7 N grade) and Cl₂ gas, and H₂O, ZnO crystals have been grown at a high temperature of 1000 °C on sapphire substrates with and without surface nitridation treatment. It was found that the nitridation treatment resulted in a change of the (112?0) sapphire surface to a (0001) AlN structure, leading to two possible sets of orientations for (0001) ZnO crystals. In addition, the nitridation treatment leads to a smaller average ZnO grain size and a higher density of nuclei.     

Crystal structure and ferroelectric properties of Ca(Cu3−xMx)Ti4O12 (M = Fe and Ni) ceramics

M-substituted Ca(Cu_3−xM_x)Ti₄O₁₂ (CCMTO) ceramics, where M = Fe and Ni, were synthesized and the influence of M substitutions for Cu on the crystal structure and ferroelectric properties of CCMTO ceramics were investigated in this study. From the variations in the lattice parameters of CCMTO ceramics, the solubility limit of Ni substitution for Cu in CaCu_3−xNi_xTi₄O₁₂ (CCNTO) ceramics was x = 0.2, whereas that of CaCu_3−xFe_xTi₄O₁₂ (CCFTO) ceramics was x = 0.05. The crystal structural analysis of CCMTO ceramics revealed that the single phase of CCMTO ceramics belongs to the I23 non-centrosymmetric space group of I23; as a result, the P_r and E_c values of CCFTO ceramics at x = 0.05 were 1.8 μC/cm² and 40 kV/cm, respectively. The ferroelectric behavior of CCMTO ceramics by the M substitutions for Cu may be related to the displacement of a Ti⁴⁺ cation in the TiO₆ octahedra and tilting of the Ti–O–Ti angle because of the non-centrosymmetric space group.     

Experimental analysis of flow structure in contra-rotating axial flow pump designed with different rotational speed concept

As a high specific speed pump, the contra-rotating axial flow pump distinguishes itself in a rear rotor rotating in the opposite direction of the front rotor, which remarkably contributes to the energy conversion, the reduction of the pump size, better hydraulic and cavitation performances. However, with two rotors rotating reversely, the significant interaction between blade rows was observed in our prototype contra-rotating rotors, which highly affected the pump performance compared with the conventional axial flow pumps. Consequently, a new type of rear rotor was designed by the rotational speed optimization methodology with some additional considerations, aiming at better cavitation performance, the reduction of blade rows interaction and the secondary flow suppression. The new rear rotor showed a satisfactory performance at the design flow rate but an unfavorable positive slope of the head-flow rate curve in the partial flow rate range less than 40% of the design flow rate, which should be avoided for the reliability of pump-pipe systems. In the present research, to understand the internal flow field of new rear rotor and its relation to the performances at the partial flow rates, the velocity distributions at the inlets and outlets of the rotors are firstly investigated. Then, the boundary layer flows on rotor surfaces, which clearly reflect the secondary flow inside the rotors, are analyzed through the limiting streamline observations using the multi-color oil-film method. Finally, the unsteady numerical simulations are carried out to understand the complicated internal flow structures in the rotors.     

Development of numerical analysis method of flow-acoustic resonance in stub pipes of safety relief valves

The boiling water reactors (BWRs) have steam dryer in the upper part of the pressure vessel to remove moisture from the steam. The steam dryer in the Quad Cities Unit 2 nuclear power plant was damaged by high-cycle fatigue due to acoustic-induced vibration during extended power uprate operation. The principal source of the acoustic-induced vibration was flow-acoustic resonance at the stub pipes of the safety relief valves (SRVs) in the main steam lines (MSLs). The acoustic wave generated at the SRV stub pipes propagates throughout the MSLs and eventually reaches and damages the steam dryer. Therefore, for power uprate operation of the BWRs, it has been required to predict the flow-acoustic resonance at the SRV stub pipes. The purpose of this article was to propose a numerical analysis method for evaluating the flow-acoustic resonance in the SRV stub pipes. The proposed method is based on the finite difference lattice Boltzmann method (FDLBM). So far, the FDLBM has been applied to flow-acoustic simulations of laminar flows around simple geometries at low Reynolds number. In order to apply the FDLBM to the flow-acoustic resonance simulations of turbulent flows around complicated geometries at the high Reynolds number, we developed computationally efficient model by introducing new function into the governing equation. The proposed method was compared with the conventional FDLBM in the cavity-driven flow simulation. The proposed method was validated by comparisons with the experimental data in the 1/10-scale test of BWR-5 under atmosphere condition. The following three results were obtained; the first is that the proposed method can reduce the computing time by 30% compared with the conventional FDLBM; the second is that the proposed method successfully simulated the flow-acoustic resonance in the SRV stub pipes of the BWR-5, and the pressure fluctuations of the simulation results agreed well with those of the experimental data; and the third is the mechanism of the flow-acoustic resonance in the SRV stub pipes. Acoustic waves causing the flow-acoustic resonance in the SRV stub pipes are generated by the unsteady vortices in the SRV stub pipes.     

Consideration on the Relationship Between Dielectric Breakdown Voltage and Water Content in Fatty Acid Esters

Mineral oil is commonly used as an electrical insulating oil in transformers because of its relatively high electrical insulating ability and fluidity. Considering the depletion of resources and environmental problems, however, fatty acid esters synthesized from natural plant oils are attracting attention as an environmentally friendly insulating oil. In addition, fatty acid esters such as methyl octanoate, methyl dodecanoate, 2-ethylhexyl octanoate, and 2-ethylhexyl dodecanoate have high fluidity, and also show excellent moisture tolerance against dielectric breakdown compared to mineral oil. In the present study, to clarify the reason for the superior moisture tolerance of fatty acid esters, the status of dissolved water in esters is investigated with IR spectroscopic measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It is revealed that water molecules in fatty acid esters are trapped by the ester moiety of fatty acid esters. As a result, fatty acid esters have a higher moisture tolerance against dielectric breakdown than mineral oil.     

Atmospheric outflow of anthropogenic semivolatile organic compounds from East Asia in spring 2004

To estimate the emissions of anthropogenic semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs) from East Asia and to identify unique SOC molecular markers in Asian air masses, high-volume air samples were collected on the island of Okinawa, Japan between 22 March and 2 May 2004. Contributions from different source regions (China, Japan, the Koreas, Russia, and ocean/local) were estimated by use of source region impact factors (SRIFs). Elevated concentrations of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorcyclohexanes (HCHs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), and particulate-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were attributed to air masses from China. A large proportion of the variation in the current-use pesticides, gas-phase PAHs, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations was explained by meteorology. Chlordanes showed a technical mixture profile and similar concentrations regardless of source region. alpha/gamma HCH and trans/cis chlordane ratios did not vary significantly with different source regions and had regional averages of 2.5 +/- 1.0 and 1.2 +/- 0.3, respectively. Particulate-phase PAH concentrations were significantly correlated (p value < 0.05) with other incomplete combustion byproduct concentrations, including elemental mercury (Hg0), CO, NOx, black carbon, submicrometer aerosols, and SO2. By use of measured PAH, CO, and black carbon concentrations and estimated CO and black carbon emission inventories, the emission of six carcinogenic particulate-phase PAHs was estimated to be 1518-4179 metric tons/year for Asia and 778-1728 metric tons/year for China, respectively. These results confirm that East Asian outflow contains significant emissions of carcinogenic particulate-phase PAHs.     

Simultaneous Position Estimation and Omnidirectional Camera Parameter Calibration for Multiple Mobile Robots

This paper proposed an algorithm on simultaneous position estimation and calibration of omnidirectional camera parameters for a group of multiple mobile robots. It is aimed at developing of exploration and information gathering robotic system in unknown environment. Here, each mobile robot is not possible to know its own position. It can only estimate its own position by using the measurement value including white noise acquired by two omnidirectional cameras mounted on it. Each mobile robot is able to obtain the distance to those robots observed from the images of two omnidirectional cameras while making calibration during moving but not in advance. Simulation of three robots moving straightly shows the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.