New accelerated charge methods using early destratification applied on flooded lead acid batteries

A traditional charge process for flooded lead acid batteries (FLABs) lasts generally from 8 to 14 h. Nowadays, many applications of FLABs require reduction of the charge duration, for instance, a 4 h-charge for FLABs in grid energy storage or 1 h-charge for FLABs in electric buses. These are called accelerated charge and fast charge. Such reductions of charge time imply the use of a new charge process. One way to reduce the charge duration is to perform an early destratification step without waiting for the end of charge. The new charge method proposed in this paper (early destratification method - ED) focuses on the reduction of the charge time for FLABs using early destratification, which is performed and controlled using charge acceptance measurement during the charge. Laboratory experiments presented here aim first to develop charge acceptance measurements followed by an ED charge method compared to an IUi traditional charge process.     

Evolution of weak ferroelectricity dielectric response in PbZrO3 antiferroelectric thin films

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - In this study, the ferroelectric domain wall contributions to the permittivity is investigated in a PbZrO3 antiferroelectric thin film far...     

A GIS-based mapping of historical coastal cliff recession

This paper presents the results of a study on historical cliffs recessions using GIS. In this study, a GIS methodological approach was developed to model and analyse the development and spatial distribution of cliff recession on the coast at Dakar. Valuable information about the coastal erosion and the main causes of the instabilities was obtained. Finally, this research also suggests that important information regarding instability processes can be gathered from existing information sources, such as technical maps, aerial photographs, and written documents, thereby limiting the need for costly and time-consuming field and/or laboratory investigations.     

Parent-offspring relationships in apomictic guayule

The genetic base of guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray) germ plasm that is available is narrow; yet, significant variability has been described within this germ plasm. This variability is surprising because guayule reproduces by facultative apomixis (asexual reproduction by seed), but evidence suggests that progress through selection is feasible. It has been hypothesized that this variation has arisen through periodic sexual reproduction; however, this has not been quantified. This study was designed to describe and compare eight components of yield and the expression of two isozyme systems in twenty parent plants and half-sib, open-pollinated families from each parent. Extensive variation for all characters was found among both the parents and the progeny, with fresh and dry weights being highly correlated to rubber yield. Parent-offspring regressions were not significantly different from zero. This implies low heritabilities for the major components of yield in guayule, and we believe that family selection, rather than single-plant selection, may generate higher-yielding and more genetically uniform lines at an escalated rate than single-plant selection. Periodic sexuality resulting in genetic variation was estimated by differences in isozyme expression within the half-sib families. Fifteen of the twenty progeny families were polymorphic for either esterase or peroxidase or both isozymes. This amount of sexuality is significant, and guayule must be considered an open-pollinated crop. We conclude from this study that we should rethink our breeding procedures to include controlled pollination and family selection.     

Time‐ and State‐Dependent Input Delay‐Compensated Bang‐Bang Control of a Screw Extruder for 3D Printing

In this paper, a delay‐compensated bang‐bang control design methodology for the control of the nozzle output flow rate of screw extruder‐based three‐dimensional printing processes is developed. A geometrical decomposition of the screw extruder in a partially and a fully filled regions allows to describe the material convection in the extruder chamber by a one‐dimensional hyperbolic partial differential equation (PDE) coupled with an ordinary differential equation. After solving the hyperbolic PDE by the method of characteristics, the coupled PDE–ordinary differential equation's system is transformed into a nonlinear state‐dependent input delay system. The aforementioned delay system is extended to the non‐isothermal case with the consideration of periodic fluctuations acting on the material's convection speed, which represent the process variabilities due to temperature changes in the extruder chamber, resulting to a nonlinear system with an input delay that simultaneously depends on the state and the time variable. Global exponential stability of the nonlinear delay‐free plant is established under a piecewise exponential feedback controller that is designed. By combining the nominal, piecewise exponential feedback controller with nonlinear predictor feedback, the compensation of the time‐dependent and state‐dependent input delay of the extruder model is achieved. Global asymptotic stability of the closed‐loop system under the bang‐bang predictor feedback control law is established when certain conditions related to the extruder design and the material properties, as well as to the magnitude and frequency of the materials transport speed variations, are satisfied. Simulations results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control design. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of boron doping in MPCVD grown homoepitaxial diamond layers based on cathodoluminescence spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy and capacitance-voltage measurements

Boron incorporation from the gas phase was achieved in MPCVD grown (100)-oriented homoepitaxial diamond layers, either with or without a small fraction of oxygen in the gas phase, in addition to hydrogen, methane and diborane. From secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS), it is shown that the 0.25% of oxygen decreases the Boron concentration [B] by two orders of magnitude. In this way, we demonstrate that it becomes possible to control [B] with low levels of compensation and passivation down to the 10¹⁵ cm^− 3 range. Cathodoluminescence spectroscopy is systematically performed in seventeen samples under a 10 kV acceleration voltage at 5 K and the exciton bound to boron (BE_TO) intensity to the free exciton (FE_TO) intensity ratio is evaluated (I_BETO/I_FETO). A linear relationship between I_BETO/I_FETO and [B] with a coefficient of 3.5 × 10¹⁶ cm^− 3 is demonstrated for [B] < 3 × 10¹⁷ cm^− 3 in single crystalline diamond, irrespective of the gas phase composition during growth.     

Chemically induced changes in the geotechnical response of cementing paste backfill in shaking table test

Cemented paste backfill(CPB) is extensively used for underground mine support and/or tailings management.However,CPB behavior under cyclic loadings might be affected by the chemistry of its porewater,which often contains sulphate ions.Till today,no studies have addressed the effect of sulphate on the response of CPB to cyclic loadings by using shaking table technique.This study presents new findings of assessing the effect of the sulphate in the pore water of CPB on its geotechnical response to cyclic loading by using shaking table.CPB mixtures were prepared(with and without sulphate),poured into a flexible laminar shear box,cured to 4 h,and then exposed to cyclic loading using one-dimensional(1D) shaking table.Several parameters(e.g.pore water pressure,settlement,lateral deformation,acceleration,electrical conductivity,effective stress,and liquefaction susceptibility) were monitored or determined before,during,and after shaking.Obtained results indicate that the sulphate-bearing CPB cured to 4 h can be prone to liquefaction under the studied conditions.However,sulphate-free CPB samples are resistant to liquefaction.These results are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the effect of water chemistry on the cyclic behavior of CPB,consequently enhancing the cost-effective design of CPB structures.     

Telemedicine using mobile telecommunication: Towards syntactic interoperability in teleexpertise

Telemedicine allows collaborative activities between health professionals for the deployment of medical procedures carried out remotely by means of device using information and communication technologies. This article focuses on the Teleexpertise that allows collaboration between medical professionals in order to share knowledge and expert advices used as explanation elements for decision support. We propose a conceptual model integrating the FIPA (Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents) Contract Net Protocol which permits to collect medical professionals’ answers for a request for teleexpertise in an efficient manner. Our model satisfies four requirements (coverage, QoS (Quality of Service) guarantees and prioritisation, mobility and roaming, service usability) on the configuration and operation of the underlying network and the services. Therefore, we provide an operational assistance by improvement of the networks quality of service via interoperable web services. Finally, we hope to bring a tangible contribution on the implementation of this suggested conceptualization that will allow to generate relevant and action-oriented findings.     

Infection risk assessment of diarrhea-related pathogens in a tropical canal network

A quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) of Cryptosporidium, Giardia and diarrhegenic Escherichia coli (DEC) infection was performed using Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the human health risks associated with the use of canal water for recreational purposes, unrestricted and restricted irrigation in a tropical peri-urban area. Three canals receiving municipal, agricultural, and, predominantly, industrial wastewater were investigated. Identification of pathogenic protozoans revealed the major presence of Cryptosporidium hominis and both assemblages A and B of Giardia lamblia. The highest individual infection risk estimate was found to be for Giardia in an exposure scenario involving the accidental ingestion of water when swimming during the rainy season, particularly in the most polluted section, downstream of a large wholesale market. The estimated annual risks of diarrheal disease due to infection by the protozoan parasites were up to 120-fold greater than the reported disease incidence in the vicinity of the studied district and the entire Thailand, suggesting a significant host resistance to disease beyond our model's assumptions. In contrast, annual disease risk estimates for DEC were in agreement with actual cases of diarrhea in the study area.     

Characterization of mixed-mode fracture based on a complementary analysis by means of full-field optical and finite element approaches

This paper focuses on the characterization of mixed-mode fracture parameters through use of two formalisms based on Crack Relative Displacement Factors and Stress Intensity Factors, respectively. The evaluation of Crack Relative Displacement Factors is based on a kinematic approach that integrates the experimental displacement field measured by a digital image correlation method. In parallel with this step, the stress intensity factor is calculated from a finite element analysis. The coupling between these two approaches allows for the identification of fracture parameters in terms of an energy release rate without any prior knowledge of material elastic properties. Depending on the mixed-mode configuration, the proportion of the energy release rate corresponding to opening and shear modes can be calculated. Moreover, the proposed formalism allows determining, in addition to fracture parameters, the local elastic properties in terms of reduced elastic compliance directly from the test sample. Experimental protocols are carried out using a Single-Edge notched specimen made from a rigid Polyvinyl Chloride polymer loaded at various mixed-mode ratio values.