Applications of the 4×4 determinant method and the POLYGON ENGINE

In the first half of the paper, various types of processing pertaining to a polygon, using the 4×4 determinant theories are explained along with a new containment test algorithm of a point in a polygon. In the latter half of the paper, a general-purpose geometric processor, the POLYGON ENGINE, is presented which can deal with various types of interference problems, such as Boolean operations in solid modelling, hidden line and surface eliminations, ray tracing and so on. It is, a successor of the TRIANGLE PROCESSOR and is also based upon the 4×4 determinant theories [4–6]. While the TRIANGLE PROCESSOR processes a triangulated polygon on a triangle-by-triangle basis, the POLYGON ENGINE can treat a polygon without triangulation. The latter is expected to be more functional, more efficient and easier to use.     

Development of cable fault location method using fiber optic distributed temperature sensor

When ground-fault problems occur on a cable line, immediate fault location and restoration are required. Therefore, various new methods to locate the fault point instantaneously have been investigated to replace such conventional methods as the Murray loop method and the pulse radar method [1]. These methods require a long time to locate the fault point. One possible fault location method is to sense the temperature rise following a ground fault using a fiber optic distributed temperature sensor. Application of this method was found feasible through sensing the temperature rise at a ground-fault test using a thermocouple as a temperature sensor with test cables [4]. A power/optical composite cable was prepared experimentally and after verifying its thermal mechanical performance, the temperature rise at an incidence of a fault was determined and the anticipated performance was demonstrated in a ground-fault test. This article describes the outline of the test.     

The new two-dimensional electron gas base HBT (2DEG-HBT):two-dimensional numerical simulation

The bipolar/FET characteristics of the 2DEG-HBT are analyzed extensively by a two-dimensional numerical simulator based on a drift-diffusion model. For bipolar operations at high collector current densities, it is confirmed that the cutoff frequency f_T is determined mainly by the collector transit time of holes and by the charging time of the extrinsic base-collector capacitance C _bc^EXT. The charging times of the emitter and base regions and the base transit time are shown to be negligible. A high cutoff frequency F_T (88 GHz) and current gain h_FE (760) are obtained for an emitter size of 1×10 μm², and undoped collector thickness of 150 nm, and a collector current density J_c of 10⁵ A/cm². The FET operation of the same 2DEG-HBT structure shows a threshold voltage V_th of 0.74 V, the transconductance G_m^max of 80 mS/mm, and maximum cutoff frequency F_T^max of 15 GHz. The dependence of the device performance on material parameters is analyzed extensively from a device design point of view     

Scientific Screening of Raw Diamond for an Ultraprecision Cutting Tool with High Durability

The wide scattering in tool life of natural mono-crystalline diamond tools is considered to depend on intrinsic crystalline defects due to nitrogen impurities in raw diamond. In this paper, the correlation was investigated between the amounts and types of the impurity evaluated by infrared absorption (IRA) and the crater wear and chipping resistances. As a result, diamonds including less total amount of impurity show larger wear resistance and that with larger amount of B2-aggregates show larger chipping resistance. This suggests that the inspection by IRA can be a useful method for screening of raw diamond for highly durable cutting tools.     

Some experimental findings in compression-after-impact (CAI) tests of CF/PEEK (APC-2) and conventional CF/epoxy flat plates

Compression-after-impact (CAI) tests have been conducted for quasi-isotropic thick plates with 48 plies by using the NASA method and on plates with 32 plies by using the SACMA method. Specimens are made of CF/PEEK (APC-2) and conventional CF/epoxy for the NASA plates and CF/epoxy for the SACMA plates. In the NASA CAI tests, the sequence of delamination buckling and its propagation is clearly revealed through various experimental techniques. One major technique is moiré topography, and the other is thermo-mechanical stress analysis with a high-accuracy infrared sensor. The arrest of delamination propagation just before catastrophic failure due to high fracture toughness is clearly captured by the moiré camera. This behavior provides good CAI values of CF/PEEK. The initial buckling properties of the delaminated region by the impact are then extensively discussed. Numerical predictions of initial buckling stress have been obtained by modelled geometry of the delaminated region simplified from its precise structure clarified by ultrasonic C-scanning. They agree fairly well with the experimental results. The in-plane stress distribution in the delaminated region before initial buckling is measured by an infrared stress graphic system. This compared favorably with finite element predictions. Two types of symmetric buckling modes with respect to the central plate surface, twin and single peak ones, are experimentally captured.     

The cause of the uneven carbonization process in wet coal charging in coke oven chamber

In the case of the wet coal charging process in coke oven chamber, it is known that the coking process is uneven and a local carbonization delay occurs. The reason was investigated through a laboratory-scale experiment and a quantitative estimation. A partial carbonization test in a test coke oven replicated the uneven plastic layer and local carbonization delay. It was revealed that most of the gas generated in the uncarbonized coal layer results from the evaporation of condensed water and that steam can break through the plastic layer in a test coke oven. Moreover, the order estimation implied that steam that generates in the uncarbonized coal layer and breaks through the plastic layer has sufficient heat capacity to cool the heating wall and delay the carbonization. It was also shown that the steam pressure peak measured in a commercial coke oven is much lower than the estimated steam pressure in this study assuming steam not breaking through the plastic layer. The above-mentioned results and quantitative investigation strongly support the ‘steam breaking through the plastic layer’ theory proposed by Dr. Rohde that an uneven carbonization process is caused by vaporized coal moisture breaking through the plastic layer at definite, unforeseeable points, which results in cooling of the wall by the steam flow.     

NiCoFe/C cathode electrocatalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells

A direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC), which is less prone to ethanol crossover, is reported. The cell consists of PtRu/C catalyst as the anode, Nafion^® 117 membrane, and Ni–Co–Fe (NCF) composite catalyst as the cathode. The NCF catalyst was synthesized by mixing Ni, Co, and Fe complexes into a polymer matrix (melamine-formaldehyde resins), followed by heating the mixture at 800 °C under inert atmosphere. TEM and EDX experiments suggest that the NCF catalyst has alloy structures of Ni, Co and Fe. The catalytic activity of the NCF catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was compared with that of commercially available Pt/C (CAP) catalyst at different ethanol concentrations. The decrease in open circuit voltage (V_oc) of the DEFC equipped with the NCF catalysts was less than that of CAP catalyst at higher ethanol concentrations. The NCF catalyst was less prone to ethanol oxidation at cathode even when ethanol crossover occurred through the Nafion^®117 film, which prevents voltage drop at the cathode. However, the CAP catalyst did oxidize ethanol at the cathode and caused a decrease in voltage at higher ethanol concentrations.     

High-performance carbon counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells

Here, we reported that a new carbon electrode prepared with an activated carbon was superior to a Pt sputtered electrode as the counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells. The photovoltaic performance was largely influenced by the roughness factor of carbon electrode. The open-circuit voltage increased by about 60 mV using the carbon counter electrode compared to the Pt counter electrode because of positive shift of the formal potential for I₃⁻/I⁻ couple.     

中国充电器标准化带来的变化

中国政府率先开始了手机充电器的标准化,其目的是让用户更换手机终端后可继续使用原来的充电器,从而通过削减废弃物达到保护环境的目的。