Capacity and interference statistics of highways W-CDMAcigar-shaped microcells (uplink analysis)

The capacity and the interference statistics of the sectors of the shaped W-CDMA cell are studied. A model of five cells is used to analyze the uplink. The cells are assumed to exist in rural zones. The capacity and the interference statistics of the cell are studied using a two-slope propagation model. The expected value and the variance of the interference are given for different propagation exponent     

Centrifugal casting of an Al-12Si-2Mg/Al2O3-particulate MMC. Part II: Evaluation of soundness and structure

A technique for the preparation of an MMC using centrifugal casting has been developed and tested for its feasibility in preparing Al-12Si-2Mg/Al₂O₃- particulate composites. The process is evaluated by observing the structure, measuring the homogeneity in the distribution of the ceramic particles, the porosity type and distribution, and by analysing the metal/ceramic interface for possible reactions.

The different processing conditions applied are: rotational frequency 16, 22.7 and 33.3 Hz (960, 1360 and 2000 rpm), Al₂O₃ particle size 30, 47, 60 and 89 μn, melt superheat 20, 100 and 150°C, specimen radius of rotation from 145 to 180 mm.

Because the ceramic particles are close packed, a uniform particle distribution with no agglomeration is obtained, and the interparticle distance depends only on the alumina particle size. The metal/ceramic interface was sharp with no reaction. Microporosity is observed in some locations due to incomplete infiltration between the alumina particles. Increasing rotational speed, particle size, superheat, and radius of rotation help to decrease the microporosity. The macrostructure along the composite length showed columnar grains followed by equiaxed grains. The type and size of the structure depend mainly on the composition of the matrix and not on the presence of the alumina particles.     

The influence of bearing misalignment on the performance of helicopter gear boxes

The misalignments in the bearings of a gear box affect the life of the bearings and the deflection of the tooth contact points of the gears and consequently the performance of the gear box as a whole. Owing to the interaction of the deflections of all component parts of a gear box such as gears, shafts, bearings, spacers etc. it is necessary to consider these in combination rather than individually. A computer program was developed for analysing typical helicopter gear boxes with cantilevered housings in which the gear shafts are supported by taper roller bearings. In this program such factors as the misalignment of the bearings, the torque transmitted, the bearing preload, the rigidity of the casing and shaft complete with the bearing spacer, the spacing between the bearings, the location of the external load and the elements of elastic deformations in the bearings are considered. The particular assembly used in this paper is based on a Wessex tail rotor gear box, although the program developed is of a general nature.The influence of the misalignments between the bearing races that may be present before the application of an external load is investigated in this paper. The effect of crowning of the rollers or race tracks, to reduce the edge loading, on the deflection components of the gear tooth contact points is also included in the investigation.     

Synthesis,Thermal Properties and Electrical Conductivity of Na-Sialate Geopolymer

This work aims to study the thermal behavior of basic-geopolymers derived from metakaolin (clay). The geopolymers were characterized by different techniques: thermal analysis (DTA, TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and impedance spectroscopy. Some physicochemical properties of the products were also determined: the phases obtained after geopolymer heat treatment and their electrical properties. The results obtained after drying and heat treatment showed that the products kept their initial shapes, but revealed variable colors depending on the temperatures at which they were treated. The products obtained are amorphous between 300 up to 600 °C with peaks relating to the presence of nanocrystallites of muscovites and zeolite, thus at 900 °C it is quite amorphous but only contains nanocrystallites of muscovites. From the temperature of 950 °C, we notice that the geopolymer has been transformed into a crystalline compound predominated by the Nepheline (NaAlSiO₄) with the presence of a crystalline phase by minor peaks of Muscovite, this crystalline character has been increased at 1100 °C to obtain a whole phase crystalline of a Nepheline. The treatment of this geopolymer for one hour at 1200 °C shows an amorphous phase again corresponding to corundum (α-Al₂O₃). This indicates that the dissolution of the grains by the liquid phase induces the conversion of the material structure from sialate [–Si–O–Al–O] to sialate siloxo [–Si–O–Al–O–Si–O–] and the formation of a new crystalline phase (α-Al₂O₃). This development of sialate to sialate-siloxo was confirmed by IR spectroscopy. As mentioned above, from 300 to 900 °C, Na-sialate geopolymer exhibits the same disorder structure of nepheline. The crystal structure of nepheline is characterized by layers of six-membered tetrahedral rings of exclusively oval conformation. The rings are built by Regularly alternating tetrahedral AlO₄ and SiO₄. Stacking the layer’s parallel to the c axis gives a three-dimensional network containing channels occupied by Na cations. This topology favors easy movement of Na⁺ ions throughout the structure. For this reason, ionic migration in nepheline is widely reported. The refinement of Na-Sialate geopolymer at room temperature gives bulk high ionic conductivity of about 5 × 10^?5 S cm^?1 and this is due to the probable joint contribution of H⁺ and Na⁺ ions. Above 200 °C, Na⁺ seems to remain the only charge carrier with a low activation energy of about Ea?=?0.26 eV. At higher temperatures, the characteristic frequencies become so close that it is impossible to distinguish the contributions. A total resistance comprising both grain and grain boundaries contribution is then determined.

     

Kinetic and rheokinetic study of dicarboxylic fatty acid chain extension using a dioxazoline coupling agent

A kinetic and rheokinetic study of the condensation reaction of a dicarboxylic fatty acid, Pripol®1009 (C36), and a dioxazoline coupling agent (1,3‐Phenylene)‐bis(2‐Oxazoline) (OO) was made. The kinetic study showed a similar reactivity of the two acid groups of C36 and also a similar reactivity of the two oxazoline groups of OO. The reaction kinetics can be described using a second‐order kinetic model. A kinetic constant k = 16.1 × 10⁻⁴ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹ at 156°C with an activation energy E_a = 80.6 kJ mol⁻¹ was calculated. A rheological evaluation of the reactants and the obtained polymers showed that the reactive system had Newtonian behavior during all the reaction times for shear rates lower than 100 s⁻¹. Using this kinetic modeling and measured viscosity evolution of the reactive system at different temperatures, rheokinetic models were proposed for viscosity evolution with the molar mass evolution of the synthesized polymer and the reaction time and conversion. Viscosity evolution of the reactive system during the first 10 min, corresponding to a typical mean residence time in reactive extrusion, were calculated using the proposed rheokinetic model. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 1017–1024, 1999     

Exact analytic solitary wave solutions for the RKL model

Interest in finding exact solitary wave solutions of nonlinear evolution equations by means of different methods has grown steadily in recent years. These exact solutions are important to understand the mechanism of the complicated nonlinear physical phenomena. By use of the Jacobi elliptic function method, we find the exact analytic solitary wave solutions for the RKL model with cubic-quintic non-Kerr terms, describing the propagation of extremely short pulses in optical fibers. These new solutions may be useful for describing the propagation of optical pulses in non-Kerr media.     

Analysis of outdoor solar storage tanks having translucent insulation

A heat transfer model of a parallelepiped tank, full of water and covered with translucent insulation of diffuse material to solar energy, is developed considering the multiple absorptions and reflections to evaluate the heat gain or loss by water. The effect of the optical properties and thickness of insulation on that heat gained or lost by water is investigated. The results of a comparative study show that translucent insulation is more effective than opaque insulation and no insulation as far as the energy gained by water is concerned for outdoor solar storage tanks.     

Comparison of spectral fluorescent signatures-based models to characterize DOM in treated water samples

Statistical procedures enable a multivariate analysis of the measurements to identify specific characteristics of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) fractions in raw natural water, including the concentrations. In this work, three already established models were used to predict the concentrations of fractions of DOM from spectral fluorescent signatures (SFSs): a general linear regression (GLR), loadings and scores of a principal components analysis (PCA), and a partial least squares regression (PLS). Details about the method undertaken to prepare the fractions were given. Water samples from surface water treatment plants in New Jersey were used for the testing. In all cases, PLS have shown much better biases and accuracies than GLR and PCA models. Hydrophilic neutral, however, showed poor performances (bias 33%) due to the isolation technique used. Recommendations were provided in order to improve the DOM characterization through SFS, which linked to PLS make a powerful and cost-effective surrogate parameter to characterize DOM.