PREPARATION OF MICROSPHERES WITH LIQUID CRYSTAL RESPONSES

We synthesized a ferroelectric liquid crystal monomer possessing both carboxyl p-benzolxy-benzoate and carboxyl (s)-(-)-2-methylbutyl ester in its side chain. The liquid crystal and styrene monomers were utilized to form matrices of microspheres prepared by the dispersion or suspension polymerization. In this study, we characterized in detail physicochemical properties, thermo-responses, or electro-optical responses in the microspheres. We demonstrated the following results: (1) the volume-averaged diameters of microspheres prepared by the dispersion or suspension polymerization were of 1.5 or 45 μm, respectively, (2) the microspheres prepared showed liquid crystal abilities at the prescribed temperature, (3) the phase transition temperatures toward the liquid crystal phase of the microspheres prepared by copolymerizing the liquid crystal and styrene monomers could be decreased with increasing styrene monomer concentrations, and (4) the microspheres obtained remarkably exhibited electro-optical responses at the appointed voltage.     

Simple estimation methods for the Helmholtz—Kohlrausch effect

Four kinds of simple estimation equations are proposed for the Helmholtz—Kohlrausch effect. Two of them can be used for luminous colors, and the other two for object colors. In each of luminous and object colors, the two estimation equations are given to each of the Variable-Achromatic-Color (VAC) and the Variable-Chromatic-Color (VCC) methods. All the equations are similar in type to the Ware—Cowan equation. They give the ratio between luminance (or metric lightness) of test color stimulus and its equivalent luminance (or equivalent lightness) directly. Though their computations are simple, they can apply to various H—K effects including their adapting luminance dependency. The applicable fields of the proposed equations are wider than those of the Ware—Cowan equation. The proposed equations can be applied to predict the H—K effect within the whole chromaticity gamut including spectral colors, spectral luminosity functions based on direct color matching from 0.01 Td to 100 000 Td using the photopic and the scotopic spectral luminosity functions specified by CIE, equivalent lightness values of NCS colors, and others. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Col Res Appl. 22, 385–401, 1997     

A study of transient responses on nonuniform conductors by FDTD simulations

Surge propagation on nonuniform conductors has been investigated on the basis of finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) simulations. It has been confirmed that an inclined conductor above the earth is represented following the image theory based on transverse electromagnetic (TEM) wave propagation by two angled (nonparallel) conductors in a free space. Nonparallel conductor systems above the earth show a wave propagation characteristic quite different from that of the TEM mode, and thus steady‐state and transient phenomena on the nonparallel conductors cannot be appropriately analyzed by a circuit theory and by simulation tools such as the EMTP based on the circuit theory. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Aerial flashover caused by surface flashover generated from microscopic pores of insulating solid

This paper studies the possibility of an aerial flashover between a coil conductor and the casing in a rotating machine at voltages below Paschen's voltage even when sufficient insulation distance has been provided. It might be considered that partial surface flashover generated from microscopic pores of a solid insulator generates the aerial flashover. In this study, the flashover voltage was measured using a cable which had simulated microscopic pores to confirm the above reasoning. When a potential gradient existed on the surface of the insulating solid, the flashover voltage decreased from that in the absence of a potential gradient. It also became clear that the aerial flashover probability depends mainly on the energy of the surface flashover rather than the energy of the main aerial flashover. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 178(4): 16–23, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21221     

Comparative analysis of the dissolution kinetics of galena in binary solutions of HCl/FeCl3 and HCl/H2O2

A comparative study of the dissolution kinetics of galena ore in binary solutions of FeCl3/HCl and H2O2/HCl has been undertaken.The dissolution kinetics of the galena was found to depend on leachant concentration,reaction temperature,stirring speed,solid-to-liquid ratio,and particle diameter.The dissolution rate of galena ore increases with the increase of leachant concentration,reaction temperature,and stirring speed,while it decreases with the increase of solid-to-liquid ratio and particle diameter.The ac...     

Moving away from trading on the margins: Economic empowerment of informal businesses through FinTech

While there have been increasing studies on the impact of financial technology (FinTech), limited research has explored how FinTech supports economic empowerment for informal businesses. Drawing on institutional logics and a case study of mobile money—a FinTech innovation—this study develops a model of mobile money-driven economic empowerment. We argue that this model is important to explain how those at the bottom of the economic pyramid, who are often neglected, use FinTech innovations to create and run informal businesses. Our findings and model explain the dynamics between logics, actors, and mobile money at three levels: regulatory, payments infrastructure, and informal economy. We identify three corresponding effects as outcomes of economic empowerment for informal businesses: greater access to start-up capital, new employment opportunities, and improved financial management. By illustrating these effects, our study contributes to a better understanding of how FinTech innovations offer a possible pathway to economic empowerment for informal businesses.     

Vapour Pressure and Enthalpy of Sublimation of C70

The vapour pressure of pure C₇₀ was measured in the temperature range 650-850 K by using the Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry resulting in the equation log(p/Pa) = -10219±78 / T(K) ± 11.596±0.065. The second law enthalpy of sublimation of C₇₀ was determined to be 195.7±1.1 kJ/mol.     

Soft computing technique for power control of Triga Mark-II reactor

In this study, a trajectory tracking fuzzy genetic controller for Istanbul Technical University Triga Mark-II nuclear research reactor design approach is given. Power output of reactor is controlled along the predefined trajectory by fuzzy logic controller. Designed zero order Sugeno type fuzzy logic controller membership boundary value and rule weights are found by genetic algorithm. Non-chattering control with smooth control surface is also achieved using constrained fitness functions. Simulation results shows that reactor power successfully tracks the given trajectory under various working conditions and reaches the desired power level within the determined period within small tracking error.     

A fast level set based algorithm for topology-independent shape modeling

Shape modeling is an important constituent of computer vision as well as computer graphics research. Shape models aid the tasks of object representation and recognition. This paper presents a new approach to shape modeling which retains some of the attractive features of existing methods, and overcomes some of their limitations. Our technique can be applied to model arbitrarily complex shapes, which include shapes with significant protrusions, and to situations where no a priori assumption about the object's topology is made. A single instance of our model, when presented with an image having more than one object of interest, has the ability to split freely to represent each object. This method is based on the ideas developed by Osher and Sethian to model propagating solid/liquid interfaces with curvature-dependent speeds. The interface (front) is a closed, nonintersecting, hypersurface flowing along its gradient field with constant speed or a speed that depends on the curvature. It is moved by solving a Hamilton-Jacobi type equation written for a function in which the interface is a particular level set. A speed term synthesized from the image is used to stop the interface in the vicinity of object boundaries. The resulting equation of motion is solved by employing entropy-satisfying upwind finite difference schemes. We also introduce a new algorithm for rapid advancement of the front using what we call a narrow-band update scheme. The efficacy of the scheme is demonstrated with numerical experiments on low contrast medical images.Supported in part by the Applied Mathematical Sciences Subprogram of the Office of Energy Research, U.S. Dept. of Energy under Contract DE-AC03-76SD00098 and by the NSF ARPA under grant DMS-8919074.Supported in part by NSF grant ECS-9210648.     

Microstructure of porous anodic oxide films on aluminium

Microstructure of porous anodized films of aluminium prepared in sulphuric acid solution are different from those prepared in an oxalic or phosphoric acid solution. Transmission electron microscopy reveals a multilayer or higher order structure in the former films. Infrared spectra and specific surface area were also studied for these films and new functional properties of the films suitable for new materials were found. In contrast to the fibrous colloidal structure in the cells and barrier layer in the conventional films anodized in a sulphuric acid solution at d.c. 15 V, a network structure is formed in the cells and barrier layer in the hard films prepared at higher voltage of d.c. 25 V. The microstructure changes according to the anodizing conditions. A new model for these sulphuric acid films is presented, i.e. the cell walls are constructed from five layers and the fracture of the films occurs at the centre of the cell walls. Centre barrier layer (4 to 6 nm in thickness) composed of aluminium oxide of high crystallinity was found in a barrier layer at the bottom of the pore, and the thickness is independent on the applied voltage of the anodizing. Increase in thickness of the barrier layer due to applied voltage is governed by that of the outer barrier layer.