Magnetic Flux Controllers for Induction Heating Applications

Application of magnetic flux controllers/concentrators to induction heating coils can drastically improve the process efficiency and heat pattern control. Presentation includes: benefits provided by flux controllers, materials available for controllers, application techniques, computer assisted design of induction coils with concentrators, examples of applications. Depending on induction system design, magnetic flux controllers can concentrate heating in a specified area,change heat source distribution and shield a particular part zone or external area preventing unintended eddy current heating.Besides of the coil efficiency improvement and optimal power distribution, magnetic flux controllers reduce the coil current demand from a supplying circuitry thus strongly reducing losses in busswork, cables, transformers and inverter components.Improvement that can be achieved due to magnetic flux controllers is case dependable. 2D and 3D computer simulation allows the designer to predict accurately effect of controllers on the coil parameters and temperature distribution and optimize the whole electromagnetic system. Special attention in presentation is paid to new magnetodielectric materials optimized for induction heating conditions. These materials have high magnetic permeability and saturation flux density,excellent machinability, good chemical and temperature resistance. Concentrators from these materials can work in a wide range of frequencies and specific powers. Examples of magnetic flux controller application include surface hardening of shafts and gears, induction surface hardfacing and brazing.     

On the Performance of Ozone Generators Working with Dielectric Barrier Discharges

The parameters, which determine the performance of ozone generators, are efficiency and maximum ozone concentration. The efficiency from oxygen has been found to be nearly independent on the kind of barrier discharge arrangement (volume, surface, coplanar), while the ozone concentration saturation level depends on the specific design of the generator. These phenomena are explained with features of the discharge process and the properties of chemical reactions, respectively. The importance of a limit in the energy density of the discharge is highlighted.     

Electrochemical ferrate generation for waste water treatment using cast irons with high silicon contents

This paper deals with the electrochemical preparation of ferrate in 15 M NaOH media, with a view to treatment of waste waters. Grey cast irons with high silicon contents were shown to allow current yields in the range 20–40% depending on the applied current density, up to 34 mA cm^–2. Ferrate solutions with contents up to 0.08 M could be produced in a divided cell of simple design, and provided with flat or packed-bed electrodes. Deactivation of the anode surface was shown to be of moderate significance for hour-long runs. The ferrate produced was tested for treatment of industrial liquid wastes: coagulation efficiency of the suspended matter was comparable with that of an electrocoagulation process with sacrificial Al anodes. The potential of waste water treatment by addition of ferrate is discussed.     

Scandinavian Thins on Top of Cake: New and Improved Algorithms for Stacking and Packing

We show how to compute the smallest rectangle that can enclose any polygon, from a given set of polygons, in nearly linear time; we also present a PTAS for the problem, as well as a linear-time algorithm for the case when the polygons are rectangles themselves. We prove that finding a smallest convex polygon that encloses any of the given polygons is NP-hard, and give a PTAS for minimizing the perimeter of the convex enclosure. We also give efficient algorithms to find the smallest rectangle simultaneously enclosing a given pair of convex polygons.     

A local landscape mapping method for protein structure prediction in the HP model

The hydrophobic-polar (HP) model has been widely studied in the field of protein structure prediction both for theoretical purposes and as a benchmark for new optimization strategies. In this work we present results of the recently proposed Hybrid Monte Carlo Ant Colony Optimization heuristic in the HP model using a fragment assembly-like strategy. Moreover we extend that method introducing a general framework for optimization in the HP model, called Local Landscape Mapping, and we test it using the pull moves set to generate solutions. We describe the heuristic and compare results obtained on well known HP instances in the 3-dimensional cubic lattice to those obtained with standard Ant Colony optimization and Simulated Annealing. Fragment assembly-like tests were performed using a modified objective function to prevent the creation of overlapping walks. Results show that our method performs better than the other heuristics in all benchmark instances when the fragment assembly-like strategy is used while in the case of pull moves-based neighborhood its performance is comparable to that of simulated annealing.     

An ensemble evolutionary constraint-based approach to understand the emergence of metabolic phenotypes

Constraint-based modeling is largely used in computational studies of metabolism. We propose here a novel approach that aims to identify ensembles of flux distributions that comply with one or more target phenotype(s). The methodology has been tested on a small-scale model of yeast energy metabolism. The target phenotypes describe the differential pattern of ethanol production and O₂ consumption observed in “Crabtree-positive” and “Crabtree-negative” yeasts in changing environment (i.e., when the upper limit of glucose uptake is varied). The ensembles were obtained either by selection among sampled flux distributions or by means of a search heuristic (genetic algorithm). The former approach provided indication about the probability to observe a given phenotype, but the resulting ensembles could not be unambiguously partitioned into “Crabtree-positive” and “Crabtree-negative” clusters. On the contrary well-separated clusters were obtained with the latter method. The cluster analysis further allowed identification of distinct groups within each target phenotype. The method may thus prove useful in characterizing the design principles underlying metabolic plasticity arising from evolving physio-pathological or developmental constraints.     

Recovery of Phosphoric Acid from Spent Petrochemical Catalysts

Petrochemical catalysts are widely used in the industry. For the production of cumene, zeolite-based catalysts containing phosphoric acid are applied. Over the time, coking deactivates the surface, and the catalyst has to be exchanged and disposed of. Different process approaches for recycling the phosphoric acid-containing catalysts were investigated. Related preliminary investigations have shown that calcination of the used catalyst is necessary prior to reprocessing. By digesting the catalyst with hydrofluoric acid, ∼96 % phosphate was recovered. However, this process is very costly in terms of process technology. More promising is digestion by basic or acidic routes. Several options are possible here, and digestion with H₃PO₄ proved to be particularly suitable. Here, phosphate yields reached up to 98.8 %, with a positive balance of economic efficiency at the same time. The catalyst can be produced and recycled in the same plant with the same reagents, what constitutes a major breakthrough towards sustainability in industrial catalysis.     

Malicious URI resolving in PDF documents

Nowadays, PDF (Portable Document Format) is used very frequently, especially by companies and even more and more by normal users. This can be a good explanation of the rising appeal of cybercriminals for this vector of attack. PDF is also often considered as safer as other document formats like those of Microsoft Office for example. Knowing the many possibilities offered by this format, we can wonder about the question of the confidence which should be given to such a document. Indeed, the use of HTTP(Hypertext Transfert Protocol) requests allows us to execute some arbitrary code outside of the PDF. Including, for example, JavaScript in Internet Explorer. It sill works, despite the updates from Adobe, this is still a pretty good open door to malicious actions. Basically, the purpose of this paper is to show that the simple use of an HTTP request from a PDF can be a pretty good vector for an attacker. Furthermore, this paper deals about how it can be relatively easy to reuse some vulnerabilities from outside the document. In addition, we will see that it’s possible to call an external PDF from another PDF. In fact, it can allow the attacker to adapt his attack by knowing the Adobe software version of the victim even before launching any malicious PDF. Knowledge of this security problem is not new but this article aims to show in detail how the attacker could place his attack.     

Spatial and functional relationships between air conduits and blood capillaries in the pulmonary gas exchange tissue of adult and developing chickens

The documented data regarding the three-dimensional structure of the air capillaries (ACs), the ultimate sites of gas exchange in the avian lung is contradictory. Further, the mode of gas exchange, described as cross-current has not been clearly elucidated. We studied the temporal and spatial arrangement of the terminal air conduits of the chicken lung and their relationship with the blood capillaries (BCs) in embryos as well as the definitive architecture in adults. Several visualization techniques that included corrosion casting, light microscopy as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used. Two to six infundibulae extend from each atrium and give rise to numerous ACs that spread centrifugally. Majority of the ACs are tubular structures that give off branches, which anastomose with their neighboring cognates. Some ACs have globular shapes and a few are blind-ending tapering tubes. During inauguration, the luminal aspects of the ACs are characterized by numerous microvillus-like microplicae, which are formed during the complex processes of cell attenuation and canalization of the ACs. The parabronchial exchange BCs, initially inaugurated as disorganized meshworks, are reoriented via pillar formation to lie predominantly orthogonal to the long axes of the ACs. The remodeling of the retiform meshworks by intussusceptive angiogenesis essentially accomplishes a cross-current system at the gas exchange interface in the adults, where BCs form ring-like patterns around the ACs, thus establishing a cross-current system. Our findings clarify the mode of gas exchange in the parabronchial mantle and illuminate the basis for the functional efficiency of the avian lung.     

A bio-inspired predictive sensory-motor coordination scheme for robot reaching and preshaping

This paper presents a sensory-motor coordination scheme for a robot hand-arm-head system that provides the robot with the capability to reach an object while pre-shaping the fingers to the required grasp configuration and while predicting the tactile image that will be perceived after grasping. A model for sensory-motor coordination derived from studies in humans inspired the development of this scheme. A peculiar feature of this model is the prediction of the tactile image. The implementation of the proposed scheme is based on a neuro-fuzzy module that, after a learning phase, starting from visual data, calculates the position and orientation of the hand for reaching, selects the best-suited hand configuration, and predicts the tactile feedback. The implementation of the scheme on a humanoid robot allowed experimental validation of its effectiveness in robotics and provided perspectives on applications of sensory predictions in robot motor control.