Plasma Etching of α-Sialon Ceramics

Plasma etching of β-Si₃N₄, α-sialon/β-Si₃N₄ and α-sialon ceramics were performed with hydrogen glow plasma at 600°C for 10 h. The preferential etching of β-Si₃N₄ grains was observed. The etching rate of α-sialon grains and of the grain-boundary glassy phase was distinctly lower than that of β-Si₃N₄ grains. The size, shape, and distribution of β-Si₃N₄ grains in the α-sialon/β-Si₃N₄ composite ceramics were revealed by the present method.     

Preparation of pitch-based antibacterial activated carbon fiber

Silver acetate dissolved in quinoline was mixed thoroughly with the spinnable isotropic petroleum pitch dissolved in the same solvent. After removing the quinoline, the resulting pitch was spun, stabilized, carbonized, and finally activated at 900°C under a stream of steam. The fiber with 33 wt% yield after activation contained 0.63 wt% of fine silver particles and showed N₂-BET specific surface area of 740 m²/g. It showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, before and after soaking in flowing tap water for 20 days. How to improve spinnability of the pitch containing silver acetate and how to increase the specific surface area effectively by the activation process are problems remaining to be solved.     

Computer simulation of turbine oil oxidation. 1: Consumption of a hindered phenol antioxidant in model hydrocarbon systems at 115°C

Computer simulation of the inhibited oxidation of model hydrocarbon systems representing turbine oils of different composition, hexadecane/tetralin mixtures containing di-tert-butyl pcresol (DBPC), has been achieved using the kinetic and mechanistic information obtained from fundamental hydrocarbon autoxidation and inhibition studies. The oxidation life, the time to complete consumption of DBPC and its reactive intermediates, was calculated using previously reported and newly measured absolute rate constants for reaction involved. The results of this calculation of oxidation life were in good agreement with values experimentally determined. The oxidation life has been found to decrease with increasing amount of tetralin in the mixtures. This can be explained by the increased rate of consumption of antioxidants, caused by an increase in the rate of free radical formation, via the direct reaction of hydrocarbons with oxygen, and via the homolytic decomposition of hydroperoxides. The observed decrease in oxidation life, however, is not significant, despite the fact that the addition of tetralin considerably increases the rate of free-radical formation. The relatively low sensitivity of oxidation life to the rate of free-radical formation caused by the addition of an easily oxidisable substrate can be attributed to the occurrence of a direct oxidation of antioxidants. That is, kinetic analysis for the consumption of antioxidants disclosed that antioxidant consumption mostly occurred not through the inhibition of oxidation, but through direct oxidation. The direct oxidation of antioxidants obeys the rate equation -d[AH]/dt = k₆[AH]^1.0[O₂]^1.5 where k₆ can be calculated, at various temperatures, from Arrhenius parameters obtained in this study (log (A/M⁻¹s⁻¹) = 9.6 and Ea = 22.6 kcall mol).     

Measurement System for Flexed Shape of Flexibly Articulated Mobile Track

This paper proposes and validates a system for measuring the flexed posture of the flexible mono-tread mobile track (FMT) using a flexible displacement sensor (FDS). The FMT proposed previously has a single track and vertebral structure. The flexed posture of the FMT determines its turning radius and direction; thus, knowing its posture is important. However, it is impossible to measure the shape of flexible mobile systems using sensors located internally, such as a rotary potentiometer, or located externally, such as a laser scanner. To solve the problem, we introduce the FDS to measure the flexed FMT shape. The sensor consists of two fixed electrodes, a sliding electrode, and a nylon string coated with carbon (NSCC). It works as a flexible potentiometer by moving the sliding electrode along the NSCC while maintaining electrical contact. The measurement system is implemented in a prototype of the FMT called RT02-WORMY and is validated in a series of experiments.     

Illumination and scattered light detection using a light source consisting of sub-micrometer defect arrays formed on a extremely flat light waveguide core

We have previously argued that an optical sensor combined total analysis system (TAS) is one of the indispensable functional components needed to realize a “ubiquitous human healthcare” system. To achieve this goal, we have proposed a fundamental structure for illuminating a minute cell or particle running along a microfluidic channel using a flat waveguide construction. It is desirable that the TAS light source should be arranged as close to the specimen flow as possible in order to acquire the necessary optical properties; hence, artificial defects formed on the surface of a flat light waveguide are considered to be a promising candidate for realizing the arbitrary-shaped light source for a highly functional optical TAS structure. Based on this idea, we fabricated a structure, constructing a flat and square light source consisting of rectangular solids, sub-micrometer in size, with a 1-μm thick and a 12-μm wide light waveguide core. We successfully trial-manufactured an optical TAS chip with a fluidic channel containing a 14 × 10-μm cross section, and an extremely flat light waveguide core. We repeatedly confirmed that the defect array could function as an approximately square light source when a 650-nm wavelength laser power was carefully introduced. Furthermore, we developed a hybrid numerical calculation method base on the finite-difference, time-domain method together with the beam propagation method. Utilizing this hybrid method, we evaluated the optical response when a particle runs across the light source while changing the aperture length of a shading mask to obtain signals with both higher intensity and shorter full width at half maximum. The numerical results were compared with experimental results obtained using an image acquisition system, and demonstrated good qualitative accord.     

Reliability of prototype microcapsule diffuser for speckle noise reduction in laser displays

A microcapsule diffuser of the transparent type is proposed to reduce the speckle noise generated on a laser display. This diffuser has a microcapsule that is secured between two transparent electrodes. The microcapsule contains light diffusion particles that are electrically charged. Because the particles in the microcapsules are moved by the electric field, the proposed device reduces speckle noise. This paper reports the results of one study of the device reliability.     

Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation for articular angle control with an Inverse Dynamics Model tuned by a neural network

A Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation (FNS) system was developed to restore the motor function of people with central nervous system disorders. An FNS articular angle control system with an Inverse Dynamics Model (IDM) tuned by a neural network was proposed. The system was designed to control the elbow joint angles by learning the characteristics of the neuromuscular system of controlled limbs. Three kinds of control schemes using the IDM were proposed. In a simulation experiment, the system was able to learn the abnormal characteristics of a limb and any changes in these characteristics, and then allow for better control of the limb. The results of experiments using human participants showed that the system had ability to control both normal and paralysed limbs.