Optimal task allocation in hypercube multiprocessor ensembles

Criteria are established to determine the optimal policy for allocating a set of uniform tasks onto a multiprocessor hypercube ensemble. It is shown that the optimal policy depends on the ratio of computation to intertask communication required by the distributed program, and that based on this ratio, tasks should be placed either all on one processor or uniformly distributed over the largest possible hypercube.     

Natural zeolite utilisation in pollution control: A review of applications to metals' effluents

This paper assesses the potential of natural zeolite utilization as a low-cost ion-exchange and sorbent material in pollution control and recovery of metals. The improvement of the purity of natural zeolites coupled with their chemical modification capabilities in order to provide specific properties may provide a cost-effective alternative for the treatment of heavy metal contaminated soil and water. The application of natural zeolites in industrial pollution control is becoming important and the level of technical effort is increasingly expanding. The extent of application is unlikely to be related solely to their low cost, but also to improved properties and performance characteristics, which will advance the practical implementation of natural zeolites' technology.     

Air Filtration and Radon Decay Product Mitigation

Air cleaning as a means of mitigating the risks arising from exposure to indoor radon progeny has been evaluated in a single-family house in the north eastem US. using an automated, semi-continuous activity-weighted size distribution measurement system. The measurements included radon concentration, condensation nuclei count, and activity-weighted size distribution of radon decay products. Measurements were made in the house with and without an operating air filtration system and with various particle sources common to normal indoor activities operating. Aerosols were generated by running water in a shower, candle burning, cigarette smoking, vacuuming, opening doors, and cooking. Using a room model, the changes in attachment rates, average attachment diameters, and deposition rates of the unattached fraction with and without the air cleaning system were calculated. In the presence of active aerosol sources, the air filtration unit typically reduced the concentration of particles within the hour following the end of particle generation. After candle burning, cigarette smoking, and vacuuming in the bedroom, the reductions of PAEC by air filtration are about 60% with the air filtration system operating in the bedroom. During cooking in the kitchen, the reductions of PAEC in the bedroom with the air filtration system were about 40%. However, for all cases the dose reductions were smaller than the particle and PAEC reductions. For those particles that were generated within the bedroom, there was a 20% to 50% reduction in dose. In the case of cooking where the door was open and particles infiltrated from the rest of the house, the dose reduction was only 5% on average and appears to be insignificant. Thus, the dose reductions were h e r than the reductions in activity concentration, but there were no cases where the estimated dose actually increased.     

Photo-reversible Reaction in Polymer Langmuir-Blodgett Films

Preparation of photoreactive Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films was carried out using polymers/oligomers prepared from long-chain dialkyl esters of di-and tetra-olefins and having cyclobutane rings in the main chain. These polymers/oligomers formed stable monolayers on a water surface when mixed with arachidic acid. These monolayers could be deposited onto a substrate successfully forming Y-type films. The oligomer LB films were polymerized on irradiation. The polymer LB films showed a photo-reversible process between polymers and oligomers, depending on wavelength of the irradiating light. On the basis of spectral data and molecular weight change, this behaviour was found to be caused by cleavage and formation of cyclobutane rings.     

层状催化剂颗粒的优化设计——双组分等温平行反应体系

针对双组分等温平行反应体系,分析讨论了以提高催化剂活性和选择性为目标时催化剂活性组分的最优分布形式(为δ-函数分布),并给出了确定这种反应体系的催化剂的最佳活性层位置的计算方法。结果表明:以提高选择性为目标的最佳活性层位置比以提高活性为目标的要更靠近催化剂核心,实用的最优位置应介于二者之间。最后,本文还研究了反应动力学级数、本性选择性以及内扩散模数(Thiele 模数)等因素对最佳活性层位置的影响。     

Two-level optimal output feedback stabilizer design

The paper addresses the design of two-level power system stabilizers using an optimal reduced order model whose state variables are torque angles and speeds. The reduced order model retains their physical meaning and is used to design a two-level linear feedback controller that takes into account the realities and constraints of electrical power systems. The two-level control strategy is used, and a global control signal is generated from the output variables to minimize the effect of interactions. The effectiveness of this controller is evaluated and a multimachine system is given as an example to illustrate the advantages of the proposed method. Responses of the system with a two-level scheme and an optimal reduced order scheme are included for comparative analysis.     

Use of inverse gas chromatography to quantify interactions in amine cured epoxy resins

Flory–Huggins interaction parameters, λ, were determined for a series of probes in an amine cured epoxy resin matrix (433–493 K) and its precursors (324–363 K) by inverse gas chromatography (IGC). Hildebrand–Scatchard theory was combined with Flory–Huggins theory in order to estimate infinte dilution solubility parameters (δ₂) for the matrix and its precursors at 298 K. It was shown that the value of the solubility parameter for the cured resin matrix lies between those of its precursors. Compared to the majority of published work, an unusual aspect of this application of IGC is that solubility parameters have been determined when the stationery phases are (i) small molecules and (ii) a highly crosslinked polymer. Moreover, all possible attempts have been made to ensure equilibrium conditions between probe and stationary phase, and compensation for asymmetry of peak profile has been applied in determining δ₂. The solubility parameters estimated by IGC are in good agreement with those calculated by other methods.     

Drying Characteristics of Barley Grain Dried in a Spouted-Bed and Combined IR-Convection Dryers

A study was performed to determine the drying characteristics and quality of barley grain dried in a laboratory scale spouted-bed dryer at 30, 35, 40, and 45°C and an inlet air velocity of 23 m/s^-1, and in an IR-convection dryer under an infrared radiation intensity of 0.048, 0.061, 0.073, and 0.107 W cm^-2 at an air velocity of 0.5 m/s^-1. The results show that the first, relatively short, phase of a sharp decrease in the drying rate was followed by the phase of a slow decrease. The time of barley drying depended on temperature of inlet air in a spouted-bed dryer and on radiation intensities in an IR-convection dryer. Barley drying at 45°C in a spouted-bed dryer was accompanied by the lowest total energy consumption. The average specific energy consumption was lower and the average efficiency of drying was higher for drying in a spouted-bed dryer. The effective diffusivities were in the range 2.20-4.52 × 10^-11 m² s^-1 and 3.04-4.79 × 10^-11 m²/s^-1 for barley dried in a spouted-bed and in an IR-convection dryer, respectively. There were no significant differences in kernel germination energy and capacity between the two drying methods tested.