Experimental Study on Energy Consumption of Combined Conventional and Dehumidification Drying

Conventional drying, dehumidification drying, and combined conventional-dehumidification drying of wood were experimentally studied in this article. The results showed that the energy consumption in the dehumidification drying is the least but its drying time is the longest. The energy consumption in the combined drying is more than that in the dehumidification drying but less than that in the conventional drying, and the drying time is half of that in the dehumidification drying. The advantages of the combined conventional and dehumidification drying are discussed from the experiments results.     

The ability of eye-tracking metrics to classify and predict the perceived driving workload

Traffic safety is directly related to the mental and physical condition of the driver. Performing regular secondary tasks while driving is an additional activity that dissipates attention and adds to the drivers' workload. Identifying driver fatigue and workload based on gaze behavior is one way to ensure a safe driving experience. The purpose of this paper is to classify and predict driving perceived workload using a set of eye-tracking metrics (gaze fixation, duration, pointing, and pupil diameter). The ability of eye-tracking metrics to predict driving workload has been investigated. As a result, frustration, performance, and temporal load showed a correlation with gaze metrics. Gaze point, duration, fixation, and pupil diameter significantly influence driving workload.Relevance to industry: Results will supply the specialists in eye-tracking/sensor technologies and traffic safety with new knowledge to improve the design of the driving performance and safety monitoring systems and efficiency of the driving process.     

Intelligent adaptive process control using dynamic deadband for semiconductor manufacturing

This paper proposes an efficient control method to minimize process error and to reduce process variance in semiconductor manufacturing. The photolithography (photo) process forms a complex semiconductor circuit and is important for quality. Obstacles to the process include the facility itself, vibration, wear and tear, product/process changes and environmental influences. Control methodologies being currently used to address these issues often amplify the variation of the process by failing to perform adequate process control. Therefore, this paper proposes an effective process control method to reduce process variance by quickly detecting and identifying process disturbances and accurately reflecting the degree of change to process control. This study proposes dynamic deadband control that uses a region (band) to detect the status of a process change. It adjusts the process control based on the changes detected. In this research, the semiconductor manufacturing company is supported to perform control that is more precise and reduces fluctuations by producing products of uniform quality. In addition, it can contribute to yield due to the quality incentive and increased process control of semiconductor manufacturing.     

Setting up an online database: Information can be a useful source of revenue

Holders of information can realise the value of their databases by offering computer access to it. The database can be held on an inhouse computer or on a bureau machine. There are a number of points which help to decide which option is best.     

Isocyanate-rich cellulose nanocrystals and their selective insertion in elastomeric polyurethane

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were successfully obtained and modified with 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) by means of in situ polymerization varying the CNC/HDI molar ratio to evaluate the number of anchored chains to the CNC. The modification was examined by elemental analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C NMR) and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (IR-ATR). Nanocomposites containing 1.5 wt% CNC, modified and unmodified, were prepared by solvent casting. Thermal and mechanical properties of the resulting films were evaluated from the viewpoint of polyurethane microphase separated structure, soft and hard domains. CNC were effectively dispersed in the polyurethane matrix and depending on surface chemistry, the nanoreinforcement interacts selectively with matrix nanodomains. This interpretation is supported by differences in thermal and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites and also confirmed by AFM images. Isocyanate rich cellulose nanocrystals interacted with matrix hard phase, promoting physical association with hard segments, enhancing stiffness and dimensional stability versus temperature of the nanocomposite.     

Microflora of traditional starter made from cassava for “attiéké” production in Dabou (Côte d’Ivoire)

Attiéké is a food made from cassava in Côte d’Ivoire by fermentation. The process uses a traditional starter. Studies on 81 starter samples from 3 villages showed that the dominant microflora consists of lactic acid bacteria (5.7 × 10⁷ cfu/g), yeasts (5.5 × 10⁷ cfu/g), Bacillus (3.8 × 10⁷ cfu/g), Enterococcus (3.0 × 10⁶ cfu/g), total coliforms (3.0 × 10⁶ cfu/g), thermotolerant coliforms (8.0 × 10³ cfu/g) and mould (2.0 × 10⁶ cfu/g). Lactic acid bacteria, Bacillus spp, yeasts, faecal Enterococci and moulds are organisms which could play a role in the cassava fermentation. Coliforms may indicate contamination from the environment during production.     

In Situ Generation of n-Type Dopants by Thermal Decarboxylation

Molecular doping is a powerful and increasingly popular approach toward enhancing electronic properties of organic semiconductors (OSCs) past their intrinsic limits. The development of n-type dopants has been hampered, however, by their poor stability and high air-reactivity, a consequence of their generally electron rich nature. Here, the use of air-stable carboxylated dopant precursors is reported to overcome this challenge. Active dopants are readily generated in solution by thermal decarboxylation and applied in n-type organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Both 1,3-dimethylimidazolium-2-carboxylate (CO₂-DMI) and novel dopant 1,3-dimethylbenzimidazolium-2-carboxylate (CO₂-DMBI) are applied to n-type OFETs employing well-known organic semiconductors (OSCs) P(NDI2OD-T2), PCBM, and O-IDTBR. Successful improvement of performance in all devices demonstrates the versatility of the dopants across a variety of OSCs. Experimental and computational studies indicate that electron transfer from the dopant to the host OSC is preceded by decarboxylation of the precursor, followed by dimerization to form the active dopant species. Transistor studies highlight CO₂-DMBI as the most effective dopant, improving electron mobility by up to one order of magnitude, while CO₂-DMI holds the advantage of commercial availability.