Advanced concepts in electric vehicle design

In 1994, the Eco-Vehicle Project was begun to develop an electric vehicle (EV) using a ground-up design approach that incorporates unique designs specific to an EV. The Eco-Vehicle will be a high-performance, but ultrasmall, battery-powered vehicle. New designs for the Eco-Vehicle include an in-wheel motor drive system, a hollow load floor which will house the batteries, and a new battery management system. The Eco-Vehicle may also utilize other advanced concepts suitable especially for EVs, including solar panels for battery charging and intelligent crash avoidance and guidance systems     

Ultrathin oxide-nitride dielectrics for rugged stacked DRAMcapacitors

Ultrathin dielectric materials that provide high capacitance values are needed for 64- and 256-Mb stacked DRAMs. It is shown that capacitance values as high as 12.3 fF/μm² can be obtained with ultrathin nitride-based layers deposited on rugged polysilicon storage electrodes. These films present the reliability and low leakage current levels required for 3.3-V applications. The nitride thickness, however, cannot be scaled much below 6 nm to avoid the oxidation-punchthrough mechanisms that appear when too-thin films are unable to withstand the reoxidation step     

Generalized impedance control of robot for assembly tasks requiringcompliant manipulation

To perform assembly tasks requiring compliant manipulation, the robot must follow a motion trajectory and exert an appropriate force profile while making compliant contact with a dynamic environment. For this purpose, a generalized impedance in the task space consisting of a second-order function relating the motion errors and interaction force errors is introduced such that the contact force can be commanded and controlled. With generalized impedance control, the robot can behave with a desired dynamic characteristic when it interacts with the environment. To ensure the success of the assembly, a strategy during task planning which takes into consideration the interrelation between motion and force trajectories as well as contact compliance is introduced. The generalized impedance control method is applied to the prismatic joint of a selective compliance assembly robot arm (SCARA) robot for inserting a printed circuit board (PCB) into an edge connector socket. Depending on the progress of the parts joining operation, various amount of interaction forces are generated which have to be accommodated. It is demonstrated that an assembly strategy which consists of a sequence of carefully planned target impedance can enable the task to be executed in a desirable manner. The effectiveness of this approach is illustrated through experiments by comparing the results with those obtained using a well-established position control scheme as well as the original impedance control method     

Effects of Stearic Acid on the Injection Molding of Alumina

This research investigated the influence of stearic acid on the injection molding of alumina, by varying the concentration of stearic acid. The interaction between stearic acid and alumina was identified using transmission infrared spectroscopy, indicating stearic acid preferentially adsorbed onto the alumina powder surface. In addition to slightly modifying the intrinsic binder viscosity, stearic acid adsorbed onto the powder surface changed the flow behavior of the mixtures from dilatant flow to pseudoplastic flow at low temperatures. As a result, inhomogeneous distribution of binder in the injection-molded parts was minimized with increased stearic acid concentration. However, the possibility of forming bubbles in the mixtures arising from vaporization of stearic acid was enhanced. Additionally, the binder burnout temperature range was broadened with the increase of stearic acid concentration.     

Slow stable crack growth in high density polyethylenes

The phenomenon of slow stable crack growth in polyethylene is investigated using notched specimens subject to constant load and the concepts of fracture mechanics. The effect of specimen geometry and dimension, the loading and the mode of loading on the applied stress intensity factor versus crack speed ($\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{-}\text{a}\text{?}$) curves has been studied to demonstrate that K_c is the controlling stress parameter for crack growth under suitable conditions. $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{-}\text{a}\text{?}$ curves are obtained for a high density polyethylene homopolymer in distilled water and in a diluted detergent solution at four different temperatures. Results are also obtained for a much tougher medium density polyethylene copolymer whenever possible. Several mechanisms can be identified from the form of the $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{-}\text{a}\text{?}$ curves. Two, in particular, have been observed but not explained before: (i) crack growth with a time dependence of 0.25, and (ii) the high $\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{c}}\text{-}\text{a}\text{?}$ slopes for crack growth in a tough copolymer. With the help of scanning electron microscopic studies of the fracture surfaces, (i) is postulated to be due to diffusion controlled void growth process and (ii) is considered to be the result of crack tip blunting effects. From the temperature dependence of crack growth, the activation energy of the diffusion controlled crack growth process is found to coincide with that of the x-relaxation process in polyethylene implying that diffusion controlled crack growth may be related to the motion of main chains in the polymer.     

The onset of Taylor-Görtler vortices in impulsively decelerating swirl flow

The onset of hydrodynamical instability induced by impulsive spin-down to rest in a cylinder containing a Newtonian fluid is analyzed by using propagation theory. It is well-known that the primary transient swirl flow is laminar, but with initial high velocities secondary motion sets in at a certain time. The dimensionless critical time Τ_c to mark the onset of instability is presented here as a function of the Reynolds number Re. Available experimental data indicate that for large Re deviation of the velocity profiles from their momentum diffusion occurs starting from a certain time Τ≈4Τ_c. This means that secondary motion is detected at this characteristic time. It seems evident that during Τ_c⪯Τ⪯4Τ_c, secondary motion is relatively very weak and the primary diffusive momentum transfer is dominant.     

Preparation,characterization and salt-resistance of a coal based super absorbent composite

Potassium humate was extracted from brown coal.A novel super absorbent composite,poly (acrylic acid-co-acrylamide)/potassium humate (PAA-AM/KHA),was prepared by graft polymerization of acrylic acid,acrylamide and coal based potassium humate using N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide as a crosslinker and potassium peroxydisulfate as an initiator.The effects of reaction temperature,degree of neutralization of the poly (acrylic acid) and the amounts of crosslinker,initiator and potassium humate were investigated.Salt resistance tests were also carried out.The composite prepared under optimal conditions had a potassium humate content of 10% and exhibited a water absorption of 770 g/g in distilled water,and 349,286 and 41 g/g in 0.5 mol/L KC1,MgCl2 and AlCl3 solutions respectively.The results indicate that the salt resistance of PAA-AM/KHA was superior to that of poly (acrylic acid-co-acrylamide) because of the collaborative effect of functional groups of the coal based potassium humate.The PAA-AM/KHA micro powder was characterized by IR spectroscopy and the micrographic surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy.Introduction of potassium humate into the poly (acrylic acid-co-acrylamide) structure creates a composite more suitable for use as a water-managing material in the renewal of arid and desert environments.The salt resisting property of the composite is improved,production costs are reduced and the growth stimulant effect is still present.     

Spectroscopic and electrical properties of 3-alkyl pyrrole-pyrrole copolymers

Three types of copolymers composed of pyrrole and 3-alkyl pyrroles (with alkyl being pentyl, nonyl and undecyl) have been synthesized. A strong linear dependency of the alkyl chain length on the as-prepared copolymer physical properties is demonstrated via (a) DSC (for phase transition temperatures and enthalpy changes) and (b) UV-vis (for wavelengths of the polaronic and bipolaronic electronic transitions, and ratio of the corresponding absorbances). A trend in the copolymers' doping level vs alkyl chain length is also estimated, via IR, by taking the ratio of band intensities of the stretching modes of the polaronic and bipolaronic species. The copolymers are found to be soluble in organic solvents and their solutions can be cast onto glass substrates or metals resulting in thin films, which can be used as the electroactive component of Schottky diodes. The electrical properties of these diodes are also found to be dependent on increasing 3-alkyl chain length.     

Isosteric heat of sorption of CO2 in poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Sorption isotherms for carbon dioxide in poly(ethylene terephthalate) have been measured at 35–55°C. The isotherms were measured gravimetrically on a Mettler Thermoanalyzer-1 from vacuum to 1 atmosphere. The sorption data were used to generate sorption isotherms from which the isosteric heat of sorption of CO₂ in PET was determined. At 45°C the isosteric heat of sorption increases from −10 kcal/mole at a concentration of 0.5 cm³ (STP)/cm³ (polymer) to −8 kcal mole⁻¹ at a concentration of 1.5 cm³ (STP)/cm³ (polymer). It has been reported in the literature that the isosteric heat of sorption for this system decreased through a minimum before increasing with increasing concentration. Our measurement of the low-pressure sorption isotherms shows that this is not the case.