The combustion behavior of epoxy-based multifunctional electrolytes

Multifunctional or structural electrolytes are characterized by ionic conductivity high enough to be used in the electrochemical devices and mechanical performance suitable for the structural applications. Preliminary insights are provided into the combustion behavior of structural bi-continuous electrolytes based on bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA), synthesized using the techniques of reaction induced phase separation and emulsion templating. The effect of the composition of the structural electrolytes and external heat flux on the behavior of the formulations were studied using a cone calorimeter with gases formed during testing analyzed using FTIR. The composition of the formulations investigated was changed by varying the type and amount of the ion conductive part of the bi-continuous electrolyte. Two ionic liquids, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (EMIM-TFSI) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIM-BF₄), as well as a deep eutectic solvent (DES) based on ethylene glycol and choline chloride, were used. The results obtained confirm that time to ignition, heat release rate (HRR), total mass loss, as well as the composition of the gases released during tests depend on the composition of the formulations. Addition of liquid electrolyte is found to reduce the time to ignition by up to 10% and the burning time by between 28% and 60% with the added benefit of reducing the HRR by at least 34%. Gaseous products such as CO₂, CO, H₂O, CH₄, C₂H₂, N₂O, NO, and HCN were detected for all formulations with the gases SO₂, NH₃, HCl, C₂H₄, and NH₃ found to be for certain formulations only.     

Concurrent software verification with states, events, and deadlocks

We present a framework for model checking concurrent software systems which incorporates both states and events. Contrary to other state/event approaches, our work also integrates two powerful verification techniques, counterexample-guided abstraction refinement and compositional reasoning. Our specification language is a state/event extension of linear temporal logic, and allows us to express many properties of software in a concise and intuitive manner. We show how standard automata-theoretic LTL model checking algorithms can be ported to our framework at no extra cost, enabling us to directly benefit from the large body of research on efficient LTL verification. We also present an algorithm to detect deadlocks in concurrent message-passing programs. Deadlock- freedom is not only an important and desirable property in its own right, but is also a prerequisite for the soundness of our model checking algorithm. Even though deadlock is inherently non-compositional and is not preserved by classical abstractions, our iterative algorithm employs both (non-standard) abstractions and compositional reasoning to alleviate the state-space explosion problem. The resulting framework differs in key respects from other instances of the counterexample-guided abstraction refinement paradigm found in the literature. We have implemented this work in the magic verification tool for concurrent C programs and performed tests on a broad set of benchmarks. Our experiments show that this new approach not only eases the writing of specifications, but also yields important gains both in space and in time during verification. In certain cases, we even encountered specifications that could not be verified using traditional pure event-based or state-based approaches, but became tractable within our state/event framework. We also recorded substantial reductions in time and memory consumption when performing deadlock-freedom checks with our new abstractions. Finally, we report two bugs (including a deadlock) in the source code of Micro-C/OS versions 2.0 and 2.7, which we discovered during our experiments. This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under grants no. CCR-9803774 and CCR-0121547, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) under contract no. N00014-01-1-0796, the Army Research Office (ARO) under contract no. DAAD19-01-1-0485, and was conducted as part of the Predictable Assembly from Certifiable Components (PACC) project at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). This article combines and builds upon the papers (CCO⁺04) and (CCOS04). Received December 2004 Revised July 2005 Accepted July 2005 by Eerke A. Boiten, John Derrick, Graeme Smith and Ian Hayes     

Integration of radar and Landsat-derived foliage projected cover for woody regrowth mapping, Queensland, Australia

In Queensland, Australia, forest areas are discriminated from non-forest by applying a threshold (∼ 12%) to Landsat-derived Foliage Projected Cover (FPC) layers (equating to ∼ 20% canopy cover), which are produced routinely for the State. However, separation of woody regrowth following agricultural clearing cannot be undertaken with confidence, and is therefore not mapped routinely by State Agencies. Using fully polarimetric C-, L- and P-band NASA AIRSAR and Landsat FPC data for forests and agricultural land near Injune, central Queensland, we corroborate that woody regrowth dominated by Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) cannot be discriminated using either FPC or indeed C-band data alone, because the rapid attainment of a canopy cover leads to similarities in both reflectance and backscatter with remnant forest. We also show that regrowth cannot be discriminated from non-forest areas using either L-band or P-band data alone. However, mapping can be achieved by thresholding and intersecting these layers, as regrowth is unique in supporting both a high FPC (> ∼ 12%) and C-band SAR backscatter (> ~ − 18 dB at HV polarisation) and low L-band and P-band SAR backscatter (e.g. < =∼ 14 dB at L-band HH polarisation). To provide a theoretical explanation, a wave scattering model based on that of Durden et al. [Durden, S.L., Van Zyl, J.J. & Zebker, H.A. (1989). Modelling and observation of radar polarization signature of forested areas. IEEE Trans. Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 27, 290-301.] was used to demonstrate that volume scattering from leaves and small branches in the upper canopy leads to increases in C-band backscattering (particularly HV polarisations) from regrowth, which increases proportionally with FPC. By contrast, low L-band and P-band backscatter occurs because of the lack of double bounce interactions at co-polarisations (particularly HH) and volume scattering at HV polarisation from the stems and branches, respectively, when their dimensions are smaller than the wavelength. Regrowth maps generated by applying simple thresholds to both FPC and AIRSAR L-band data showed a very close correspondence with those mapped using same-date 2.5 m Hymap data and an average 73.7% overlap with those mapped through time-series comparison of Landsat-derived land cover classifications. Regrowth mapped using Landsat-derived FPC from 1995 and JER-1 SAR data from 1994-1995 also corresponded with areas identified within the time-series classification and true colour stereo photographs for the same period. The integration of Landsat FPC and L-band SAR data is therefore expected to facilitate regrowth mapping across Queensland and other regions of Australia, particularly as Japan's Advanced Land Observing System (ALOS) Phase Arrayed L-band SAR (PALSAR), to be launched in 2006, will observe at both L-band HH and HV polarisations.     

State Space Search with Prioritised Soft Constraints

This paper addresses two issues: how to choose between solutions for a problem specified by multiple criteria, and how to search for solutions in such situations. We argue against an approach common in decision theory, reducing several criteria to a single cost (e.g., using a weighted sum cost function) and instead propose a way of partially ordering solutions satisfying a set of prioritised soft constraints. We describe a generalisation of the A^* search algorithm which uses this ordering and prove that under certain reasonable assumptions the algorithm is complete and optimal.     

Relationships between process effects and treating time for waterborne preservative systems

Timber from different Eucalyptus species were subjected to different vacuum and vacuum/pressure treatments involving water as a treating medium. It was found that a vacuum period of five minutes gave the most time effective absorption rate. This is recommended to be used as the initial vacuum period for the vacuum/pressure treatments under the conditions of this study. The time to reach the maximum applied pressure inside the treating cylinder, as well as the pressure period required for an absorption of 200 kg/m³, were highly dependent on the applied pressure, yielding a very steep negative correlation between the variables, (i.e. the higher the applied pressure, the more time effective the treatment). The relationship between pressure absorption and time was found to be positive and curvilinear with absorption rate decreasing progressively as the absorption increased. This became more pronounced as the applied pressure was decreased. Lowering the pressure pump capacity had very little effect on the above results.     

Forcing biological sciences into architectural design:On conceptual confusions in the field of biomimetic architecture

Certain confusion may be observed in the field of biomimetic architecture,as it emerges at the crossroad of two disciplinary domains:architectural design and bi...     

Quantitative estimates of gas maldistribution and methods for their localization in absorption columns

In the present work, we carry out evaluation of gas flow maldistribution in different types of gas distributing devices (GDD) and packings by using experimental data for the output velocity profiles for both the absorption pilot column and industrial column. Two GDD construction types—with circular and with local tube gas feed, together with their modifications—are investigated. Two pilot columns—with random packing RSRM 1.5″ and with structured ceramic Honey-comb packing, and one industrial contact economizer with Honey-comb and inclined rings—have been studied. Six types of quantitative estimations of GDD and packings maldistribution are determined by the help of MATHCAD. Then, their sensitivity toward several factors, such as the type of GDD and packing, the initial gas flow velocity, the number and dimension of measuring cells on the column cross-section, the measurement error, and so on, is investigated. It is found that only two of the quantitative maldistribution estimations take into account the formation of maldistribution clusters, which deteriorates the uniform gas distribution. A novel method for quantitative determination of these clusters and also for identification of the zones at column cross-section, in which they appeared, has been developed. It is established that the measurement error and the dimension of measuring cell deeply influence the number, the area, and spatial distribution of these zones on the cross-section, as well as the values of maldistribution estimates.     

Magnetically responsive polypyrrole nanotubes using Ce(III)-stabilized maghemite nanoparticles

Nanocomposites (NCs) that are made magnetically responsive in controlled conditions attract continuing interest for their added magnetic properties. In this study, we report on the preparation and full characterization of a multifunctional NC composed of magnetic γ-Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles (NPs) covalently attached to the surface of polyaminated (polyNH(2)) poly(2,6-di-pyrrol-1-yl-hexanoic acid) (pDPL) nanotubes (NTs). Such a hybrid conducting polymer iron oxide maghemite γ-Fe(2)O(3)@pDPL NC built specifically on covalent bonding has never been reported. The maghemite γ-Fe(2)O(3) NPs were prepared using an innovative ultrasound-assisted Ce(3+) doping process, resulting in polycarboxylation of the NP surface useful for control of aggregation and derivatization of functionality. The second component of the NC, i.e. polyNH(2)-modified pDPL NTs, was prepared from an acid functional pyrrole species followed by amine modification. The resulting innovative γ-Fe(2)O(3)@pDPL NC can be viewed as a multifunctional nanomaterial since it possesses both types of derivatization, i.e. polyCOOH (NPs) and polyNH(2) (NTs) combined with magnetic responsivity.     

Microchemomechanical Systems

The development of microchemomechanical systems (MCMS) as an analogy to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is reviewed, with the distinction that the mechanical actuation of microscale structures is effected by chemical cues as opposed to electricity. The intellectual motivation to pursue MCMS, or the creation of integrated chemical‐stimuli‐responsive devices, is that such structures are widely observed in nature. From a practical standpoint, since chemicals can readily diffuse and produce changes over large distances, this approach is especially attractive in enabling wireless and autonomous devices at small size scales.