Evolutionary design of dynamic neural networks for evaporator control

This paper presents a novel neural network (NN) to control an ammonia refrigerant evaporator. Inspired by the latest findings on the biological neuron, a dynamic synaptic unit (DSU) is proposed to enhance the information processing capacity of artificial neurons. Treating the dynamic synaptic activity after the nonlinear somatic activity helps to capture the dynamics demarcated by the Gaussian activation pertaining to the input space. This practice leads to a remarkable reduction in curse of dimensionality. The proposed NN architecture has been compared with two other conventional architectures; one with dynamic neural units (DNUs) and the other with nonlinear static functions as perceptrons. The objective is to control evaporator heat flow rate and secondary fluid outlet temperature while keeping the degree of refrigerant superheat in the range 4–7 K at the evaporator outlet by manipulating refrigerant and evaporator secondary fluid flow rates. The drawbacks of conventional approaches to this problem are discussed, and how the novel method can overcome them are presented. An evolutionary approach is adopted to optimize the parameters of the NN controllers. Then evaporator process model is accomplished as a combination of governing equations and a sub NN resulting in a simple and sufficiently accurate model. The effectiveness of the proposed dynamic NN controller for the evaporator system model is validated using experimental data from the ammonia refrigeration plant.     

Nonlinear discrete-time models: state-space vs. I/O representations

This paper compares state-space and input–output realizations for nonlinear discrete-time dynamic models. For linear models, these two realizations are essentially equivalent and their structures are closely related, but these statements do not hold for nonlinear models. We illustrate this point with simple, realistic examples for which only one of the two realizations exists or for which both exist but their structures are profoundly different. Overall, the main point of this paper is the importance of the choice of realization in the development of nonlinear dynamic models.     

Non-linear current–voltage characteristics related to native defects in SrTiO3 and ZnO bicrystals

SrTiO₃ and ZnO bicrystals with various types of boundaries were fabricated in order to examine their current–voltage characteristics across single grain boundaries. Their grain boundary structures were also investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. In Nb-doped SrTiO₃, electron transport behaviors depend on the type of boundaries. Random type boundaries exhibit highly non-linear current–voltage characteristics, while low angle boundaries show a slight non-linearity. On the contrary, undoped ZnO does not exhibit non-linear current–voltage characteristics in any type of boundaries including random ones. It is suggested that the differences observed in current–voltage properties between the two systems are mainly due to the difference in the accumulation behavior of acceptor-like native defects at grain boundaries. A clear non-linearity is obtained by means of Co-doping even for the highly coherent Σ1 boundary in a ZnO bicrystal. This is considered to result from the production of acceptor-like native defects by Co-doping.     

Polarity control of GaN epilayers grown on ZnO templates

We report the successful growth of Ga-polar GaN epilayers on O-polar ZnO templates pre-deposited on c-sapphire. Prior to GaN growth, NH₃ is exposed onto the ZnO template. The polarity of the GaN layers is confirmed by etching of the surface and by conversion beam electron diffraction (CBED), while the O-polar ZnO is confirmed by CBED. It is suggested that the NH₃ pre-exposure helps form a Zn₃N₂ layer, which possesses inversion symmetry and inverts the crystal from anion polar to cation polar.     

Simulation by Slepian method of plastic displacements of Gaussian process excited multistory shear frame

The object of study is a stationary Gaussian white noise excited multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) linear elastic, ideal plastic, linearly damped, statically determinate oscillator with several potential elements of ideal plastic yielding. Specifically the study is exemplified for a plane multistory shear frame with rigid traverses where all the connecting columns except the columns in one or more of the bottom floors have finite symmetrical yield limits. The white noise excitation acts on the mass of the first floor making the movement of the elastic bottom floors simulate a ground motion that interacts with the structure above the bottom floors. The method of study is so-called Slepian model simulation and is in principle the same for other statically determinate MDOF elasto-plastic oscillators of the considered type. The method is fast as compared to direct simulation and provides results that give good insight in the behavior of the plastic displacement response process.     

Finite elements in the analysis of pressure vessels and piping-a bibliography (1976–1996)

The paper gives a bibliographical review of the finite element methods (FEMs) applied for the analysis of pressure vessel structures/components and piping from the theoretical as well as practical points of view. The range of applications of FEMs in this area is wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore the aim of this review is to give the reader an encyclopaedic view of the differnt possibilities that exist today for the finite element analysis in the fields of pressure vessels and piping. The bibliography at the end of the paper contains approximately 1900 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations on the subject that were published in 1976–1996. These are classified in the following categories: linear and non-linear, static and dynamic, stress and deflection analysis; stability problems; thermal problems; fracture mechanics problems; contact problems; fluid-structure interaction problems; manufacturing of pipes and tubes; welded pipes and pressure vessel components; development of special finite elements for pressure vessels and pipes; finite element software; and other topics. Also finite element software, general purpose and special purpose codes, used for the analysis of pressure vessels and pipes are briefly discussed and presented.     

Conceptual design of a high-efficiency absorption cooling cycle

The search for high-efficiency, gas-fired cooling cycles has led to the development of dual-loop absorption machines with cooling coefficients of performance (COPs) in the 1.2 to 1.7 range. This increased performance may call for high generator temperatures, new working fluids or new materials of construction. In most cases, two different sets of working fluids are required. The conceptual design presented here is aimed at obtaining high efficiencies with relatively low temperatures, employing only one set of fluids. The concept consists of two loops coupled in a configuration aimed at minimizing the loss of thermodynamic availability incurred when transferring refrigerant between the loops. The working fluid pair is a solution of lithium bromide-water. The calculated COPs are of the order of 1.8. The cycle relies on an elaborate evaporator-absorber combination. The paper presents the conceptual design, the critical assumptions, and the performance calculations for the concept.     

T_C≥400°C高温PTC陶瓷的研制

利用国产原料，采用传统的陶瓷材料制备工艺，研制了居里温度ＴＣ≥４００°Ｃ的高温ＰＴＣ陶瓷，制成了居里温度ＴＣ＝４１２°Ｃ，电阻Ｒ≤１０３Ω，ｌｇ（Ｒｍａｘ／Ｒｍｉｎ）＝４的高性能ＰＴＣ热敏陶瓷材料     

Structure and formation energy of steps on the GaAs(001)-2 × 4 surface

The energies of various steps on the As-terminated GaAs(001)-2 × 4 surface are evaluated using a novel, approximate method of “linear combination of structural motifs”. It is based on the observation that previous total energy minimizations of semiconductor surfaces produced invariably equilibrium structures made of the same recurring local structural motifs, e.g. tetrahedral fourfold Ga, pyramidal threefold As, etc. Furthermore, such surface structures were found to obey consistently the octet rules as applied to the local motifs. We thus express the total energy of a given semiconductor surface as a sum of (i) the energies _M of the local structural motifs appearing in the surface under consideration and (ii) an electrostatic term representing the Madelung energy of point charges resulting from application of the octet rule. The motif energies are derived from a set of pseudopotential total energy calculations for flat GaAs(001) surfaces and for point defects in bulk GaAs. This set of parameters suffices to reproduce the energies of other (001) surfaces, calculated using the same pseudopotential total energy approach. Application to GaAs(001)-2 × 4 surfaces with steps reveals the following. (i) “Primitive steps”, defined solely according to their geometries (i.e. step heights, widths and orientations) are often unstable. (ii) Additional, non-geometric factors beyond step geometries such as addition of surface adatoms, creation of vacancies and atomic rebonding at step edges are important to lower step energies. So is step-step interaction. (iii) The formation of steps is generally endothermic. (iv) The formation of steps with edges parallel to the direction of surface As dimers (A steps) is energetically favored over the formation of steps whose edges are perpendicular to the As dimers (B steps).     

Degradation of polyethylene terephthalate films in the presence of lubricants for HFC 134a: a critical issue for hermetic motor insulation systems

Earlier studies conducted in the use of sealed tubes with polyalkylene glycol lubricants and polyethylene terephthalete (PET) films revealed that the PET films exhibited embrittlement and (visual) degradation. This led to an investigation of PET embrittlement mechanisms with the new lubricants used with HFC 134a. The lubricants studied were three polypropylene glycols (the monol, the diol and the completely end-capped glycols), pentaerythritol ester and a blend of monol and ester. The effects of moisture content, temperature and lubricant structure were studied. All lubricants in this study were of viscosity grade ISO-32 (150 SUS). The results were compared to PET film embrittlement in the presence of CFC 12 and mineral oil. This study reconfirmed the earlier findings that the PET films must be dried to lower than 0.1 wt.% moisture content for use in hermetic systems. This paper discusses the effect of the moisture content of the lubricant and the effect of the lubricant structure on PET films. The dependence of the various mechanisms on temperature is shown. Esters and end-capped polyalkylene glycols are recommended for use with HFC 134a.