Modularized design for cooperative control and plug-and-play operation of networked heterogeneous systems

In this paper, a cooperative control analysis and design method is investigated for heterogeneous dynamical systems that may be of arbitrary relative degree or nonminimum-phase or both. To achieve consensus or cooperative stability, a negative value of input-feedforward passivity index is used to accommodate and analyze such systems, and the magnitude of the index value is also used as the impact coefficient to quantify the impacts of heterogeneous dynamics of these systems on their networked operations. Physical-system-level designs are explicitly carried out to make individual linear and nonlinear systems (which are either feedback linearizable or nonminimum phase of certain form) become passivity-short and to embed one pure integrator into their input–output dynamics. The network-level distributed control can simply be chosen without any knowledge of the heterogeneous dynamics but with only information of an upper bound on their impact coefficients. It is shown, using the impact equivalence principle, that these controls separately designed but implemented together always ensure either local or global consensus and that a global non-trivial consensus emerges if and only if the information network has at least one globally reachable node or is varying but cumulatively connected. The proposed methodology of fully modularized designs unravels complexity of analyzing and designing cyber–physical systems and enables their plug-and-play into networked operations.     

Unipol气相法聚烯烃液体催化剂技术进展

介绍了Unipol气相法聚烯烃工艺液体催化剂的成分、加入反应器的方式和喷嘴结构及控制催化剂液滴尺寸方法等方面的最新进展情况。     

SHeRo: Scalable hexapod robot for maintenance,repair, and operations

Improper maintenance, repair, and operations of societal centric structures can lead to catastrophic failures that drastically affect global economy, the environment, and everyday life. Due to the remote, cramped and highly irregular environmental nature of these structures, routine manual procedures and operations can be rather tedious, dangerous, and hazardous for humans. Automating maintenance, repair, and operations removes human workers from having to crawl within highly cluttered and constrained spaces, breathing in stale air mixed with fumes from welding or particulate from repair work, and provides higher reliability and consistency in the repair work. This paper introduces SHeRo, a scalable hexapod robot designed for maintenance, repair, and operations within remote, inaccessible, irregular, and hazardous environments. The scalability of the design enhances traditional hexapod robot designs by incorporating two prismatic joints into each leg. A detailed discussion on the design and realization of SHeRo is provided. An analysis on the stability and workspace of SHeRo is presented and a dynamic criterion is developed to integrate the concepts of robot stability and constant orientation workspace into a stable workspace. The analytical solution of the lateral stable workspace of SHeRo is derived along with a metric for comparing stable workspace between different robot configurations. A simulated demonstration and two physical experimental demonstrations are presented showing the advantage of introducing scalability into the hexapod robot design along with the workspace enhancement and flexibility of the scalable hexapod robot.     

Synthesis of exfoliated PP/LDH nanocomposites via melt‐intercalation: Structure,thermal properties,and photo‐oxidative behavior in comparison with PP/MMT nanocomposites

Exfoliated polypropylene (PP)/layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized via melt‐intercalation. Their structure, thermal properties, and photo‐oxidative behavior have been characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMA), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum. TGA and DMA data show that the PP/LDH nanocomposites have enhanced thermal stability compared with virgin PP and corresponding PP/montmorillonites (MMT) nanocomposites, especially in high temperature range during the thermal decomposition of the samples. XPS and FTIR results give positive evidence that the photo‐oxidation mechanism of PP in the PP/LDH materials is not modified compared with that of virgin PP. However, photo‐oxidation rate of PP/LDH materials is much lower than that of PP and PP/MMT samples, indicating that the PP/LDH nanocomposites have better UV‐stability. POLYM. ENG. SCI. 46:1153–1159, 2006. © 2006 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Building Technical Trading System with Genetic Programming: A New Method to Test the Efficiency of Chinese Stock Markets

Testing whether technical trading rules can beat buy-and-hold strategy is a common approach to study the efficiency of stock markets. Noticing that the common approach of evaluating popular technical trading rules’ profitability would result in the biases of data snooping and incomplete test, we build a technical trading system with genetic programming to test the efficiency of Chinese stock markets. This system takes historical prices and volumes as inputs, randomly generates treelike structured technical trading rules composed of basic functions, and optimizes the rules using genetic programming according to the inputs. Using daily prices and volumes of Shenzhen Stock Exchange 100 index from January 2, 2004 to March 12, 2010, we find out that the optimal technical trading rules generated by our technical trading system have statistically significant out-of-sample excess returns compared with buy-and-hold strategy considering realistic transaction costs. Therefore, we conclude that Chinese stock markets have not achieved weak-form efficiency.     

Phtocrosslinking of polyethylene for production of thin wall insulated wire

A photocrosslinking precess for polyethylene and its industrial irradiation apparatus has recently been developed and used successfully in the manufactre of thin wall crosslinked polyethylene-insulated wires. Polyethylene (PE) resin with the desired amounts of additives, such as photoinitiator, multifunctional crosslinker, and antioxidant is mixe homogeneously. The amixture of PE is granulated, and then extruded on a conductor wire. The coated PE layer in the melt is subsequently irradiated in a specially designed UV irradiation apparatus for 5 to 10 s. The studies show that the photocrosslinked PE-insulation high voltage television wires produced by this new technique possess excellent electrical and mchanical properties and much lower operating cost compared with wires produced by the electron beam crosslinking technique.     

我国氢能产业发展和氢资源探讨

分析了我国氢能产业近期发展情况,我国氢能产业正步入快速发展机遇期。指出氢能是21世纪最具发展潜力的一种清洁二次能源,具有"清洁、高效、安全、可持续"四大特点,被誉为未来世界能源架构的核心。重点讨论了我国氢资源和绿色氢气制备问题,指出目前实际使用的氢气包括"灰氢""蓝氢"和"绿氢"三大类,显然"灰氢"不可取,"蓝氢"可以用,"废氢"可回收,"绿氢"是方向。讨论了加快氢能系统建设,建立发展氢气存储和运输系统及加氢站基础设施建设等问题。未来,我国氢能产业发展潜力巨大,但是在下决心大力发展氢能产业时,需要高度注意目前存在的实际情况和困难,要防范一系列的产业风险,做到有序发展,稳中有进,才能实施氢能产业的可持续发展。     

Preparation,characterization, and adsorption properties for metal ions of a novel chelating resin containing sulfoxide and diethylene glycol

A novel chelating resin containing sulfoxide and diethylene glycol, poly{4‐vinylbenzyl‐[2‐2‐(hydroxyethyl)ethoxyl]sulfoxide} (PVESO) was synthesized using chloromethylated polystyrene (PS‐Cl) as material. Its structure was characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectra, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The adsorption capacities of the resin for Hg²⁺, Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Pb²⁺ at various pH values were determined. The maximum adsorption capacities for Hg²⁺ and Ag⁺ were 1.56 and 0.75 mmol g^?1 respectively. The resin had high selectivity for Hg²⁺ and Ag⁺ over the pH range 1.0–7.0. The adsorption capacities for Hg²⁺ and Ag⁺ under competitive condition were also determined by batch experiment method. In addition, the adsorption kinetics of the resin towards Hg²⁺ at different temperatures was also investigated. The results showed that the adsorption rate was governed by film diffusion at 20°C and 25°C, by particle diffusion at 30°C and 35°C. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 6054–6059, 2006     

动态三螺杆挤出机制备热塑性硫化胶的研究

对比分析了动态热塑性硫化胶(TPV)的加工设备,着重介绍了附加振动力场的三螺杆反应挤出机的结构特点以及利用该机进行三元乙丙橡胶/聚丙烯(EPDM/PP)的动态全硫化,对制品的物理力学性能和微观结构分别进行了测试分析和电镜扫描。结果表明,振动力场作用下EPDM/PP共混体系反应挤出动态硫化加工可有效地实现动态硫化反应、硫化橡胶的粉碎和分散以及相态反转,振动力场的作用明显提高了TPV性能。     

Trusted Integrated Circuits: The Problem and Challenges

Hardware security has become more and more important in current information security architecture. Recently collected reports have shown that there may have been considerable hardware attacks prepared for possible military usage from all over the world. Due to the intrinsic difference from software security, hardware security has some special features and challenges. In order to guarantee hardware security, academia has proposed the concept of trusted integrated circuits, which aims at a secure circulation of IC design, manufacture and chip using. This paper reviews the main problems of trusted integrated circuits, and concludes four key domains of the trusted IC, namely the trusted IC design, trusted manufacture, trusted IP protection, and trusted chip authentication. The main challenges in those domains are also analyzed based on the current known techniques. Finally, the main limitations of the current techniques and possible future trends are discussed.