Smoothing the electromagnetic heating pattern in polymers

In the production of polymers, particles and fibers are often added for coloring and/or improvement of mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. Carefully choosing the electrical properties and size of these additives can allow manipulation of the electrical properties of the composite so that the material can then be heated in both the electric and magnetic fields. Heating can be induced by fields at microwave frequences, where the electric and magnetic fields tend to be concentrated in different regions, or by fields that are quasistatic. These features add a degree of freedom in smoothing the total heating pattern. Models for predicting the electrical properties with the addition of particles or fibers are developed and verified experimentally. Engineering guidelines are established in choosing the electrical properties and size of the additives. Experimentally, a rectangular cavity at 2.45 GHz is used to heat a casting resin with a 5.7 micrometer aluminum powder additive, demonstrating the dramatic smoothing in the heating, pattern made possible by using these additives. Some examples are also suggested to indicate the use of this technique in quasistatic heating configurations.     

Constriction resistance at high signal frequencies

This paper describes the dependence of constriction resistance on signal frequency. This dependence was calculated for circular constrictions ranging in diameter from 10 to 100 /spl mu/m, and for frequencies ranging from dc to 1 GHz. The results indicate that the magnitude of constriction resistance does not deviate appreciably from values predicted by Holm's classical analytical expression, as long as the skin depth is large compared with the constriction radius. For skin depths that are much smaller than the constriction radius, constriction resistance decreases with increasing frequency to an apparent limiting value independent of the constriction radius. At high frequencies, constriction resistance constitutes only one of two components of the total connection resistance measured in practice. The second component of connection resistance is determined by details of the geometry and dimensions of the contact interface, and increases with signal frequency.     

Nash equilibrium bidding strategies in a bilateral electricitymarket

This paper examines bidding strategies in a bilateral market in which generating companies submit bids to loads. A load accepts electricity delivery from the generator with the lowest bid at its bid price as long as this price is not higher than the load's willingness to pay. Necessary and sufficient conditions of Nash equilibrium (NE) bidding strategy are derived based on a generic generating cost matrix and the loads' willingness to pay vector. The study shows that in any NE, efficient allocation is achieved. Furthermore, all Nash equilibria are revenue equivalent for the generators. Based on the necessary and sufficient conditions, this problem is formulated as an optimal assignment problem. Network optimization techniques are applied to calculate NE bid prices for the generators     

A wavelet-based procedure for process fault detection

To detect faults in a time-dependent process, we apply a discrete wavelet transform (DWT) to several independently replicated data sets generated by that process. The DWT can capture irregular data patterns such as sharp "jumps" better than the Fourier transform and standard statistical procedures without adding much computational complexity. Our wavelet coefficient selection method effectively balances model parsimony against data reconstruction error. The few selected wavelet coefficients serve as the "reduced-size" data set to facilitate an efficient decision-making method in situations with potentially large-volume data sets. We develop a general procedure to detect process faults based on differences between the reduced-size data sets obtained from the nominal (in-control) process and from a new instance of the target process that must be tested for an out-of-control condition. The distribution of the test statistic is constructed first using normal distribution theory and then with a new resampling procedure called "reversed jackknifing" that does not require any restrictive distributional assumptions. A Monte Carlo study demonstrates the effectiveness of these procedures. Our methods successfully detect process faults for quadrupole mass spectrometry samples collected from a rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition process     

ENHANCEMENT OF DRYING RATES FOR SLAB-LIKE MATERIALS IN A FLUIDIZED DESICCANT DRYING MEDIUM

The kinetics of drying of slab-like materials in- mersed in a fluidized bed of silica gel particles at a relatively low temperature, 30 °C, is studied. As a re- sult of desiccant particle action large surface-to-bed moisture fluxes and, consequently, large drying rates are attained. For all examined materials (cardboard, veneer, asbestos and ceramic plates) the drying times in the desiccant fluidized bed are much shorter than those in the empty apparatus with the same air flow, temperature and humidity. A simple, diffusional model of the drying based upon a mean mass capacity concept is developed. The drying curves calculated from the model are in good agreement with the experimental ones.     

Further studies on polyamides from bisacid a2

Earlier work on the low temperature solution polyamidation of bisacid A2 has raised a number of structural problems. Work carried out more recently showed that the problem of apparent nonisostoichiometry could be reasonably satisfactorily explained. The present paper reports the synthesis and investigates the properties of a further series of polyamides based upon Bisacid A2. More importantly, however, a detailed characterization and evaluation of the new polymers with respect to their structures is presented. This enabled us to compare the various structures in the light of the experimental evidence provided by a number of analytical and spectroscopic techniques, solution behavior, molecular weight, and thermal, morphological, and mechanical properties. Some work was also done on the effect of incorporating a small amount of a trifunctional monomer into the polyamide system.     

Fatty acid composition of phospholipids and neutral lipids during embryonic and early larval development in Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus,L.)

The fatty acid compositions of total polar and total neutral lipids of Atlantic herring eggs and larvae were determined immediately before fertilization, after fertilization and at various times during subsequent embryonic and early larval development. Within 3 hr after fertilization the percentage of total PUFA in neutral lipid decreased from 33% to 20%, with a reciprocal increase in monoenes. Thereafter the percentage of PUFA in the neutral lipids increased progressively, attaining the original level in ripe eggs by the time of yolk sac absorption. During the larval stages the percentage of PUFA continued to increase in the neutral lipid, reaching almost 44% of the total by day 32 after fertilization, although it was reduced to 32% by day 36. The percentage of monoenes in the neutral lipid displayed a progressive decrease during the whole period of development from 3 hr after fertilization. Throughout all the developmental periods the fatty acid composition of total polar lipids remained essentially constant. The polar lipids of the yolk sac displayed virtually the same fatty acid composition as the larval bodies, but the neutral lipids of the yolk sac were low in PUFA compared to the larval bodies. The results are discussed with reference to changes in lipid class composition during development. The conservation of high levels of PUFA in lipids during embryogenesis and early larval development reflects the importance of these fatty acids during development.     

POLARIZATION BEHAVIOR OF PACKED-BED ELECTRODES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELING RESULTS

The current distribution and overall polarization behavior of electrodeposition at a flow-through (packed bed or fluidized bed) electrode are modeled by means of a one-dimensional model involving a primary reacting species and a simultaneous side reaction. The model equations are solved by orthogonal collocation; the time and storage requirements compare favorably to those of finite-difference methods. Experimental data obtained using a packed-bed electrode are compared with the model predictions and various methods of fitting the data are compared.     

Upgrading coal-derived liquids to diesel fuel

Distilled fractions of a coal-derived liquid from the H-Coal process were upgraded to diesel fuel by catalytic hydrotreatment. The total hydrotreated products were distilled into naphtha (<180°C) and diesel fuel fractions (>180°C) and the diesel fractions were analysed for hydrocarbon-type composition, hydrogen content and some diesel fuel properties. GC—MS-analyses were carried out on the hydrocarbon-type fractions to identify individual chemical compounds. To investigate the effect of different distillation cut points on diesel fuel yield and properties, cut points for one hydrotreated product were varied. The diesel fuel cetane numbers were correlated with percentage hydrogen, total aromatics and saturates. Cetane numbers above 40 were obtained for diesel fuels containing (i) more than 75% saturates, (ii) less than 15% total aromatics and (iii) a hydrogen content above 12.8%. Compounds identified by GC—MS-analyses (in the diesel fractions) were typical aromatic and cycloparaffin compounds. Normal-and iso-paraffin compounds were not detected. By varying the distillation cut point from 135 to 180°C, the cetane number of the residual diesel fraction improved from 37 to 44. This increase is ascribed to the removal of aromatic compounds in the 135–180°C boiling point range.