Some experimental findings in compression-after-impact (CAI) tests of CF/PEEK (APC-2) and conventional CF/epoxy flat plates

Compression-after-impact (CAI) tests have been conducted for quasi-isotropic thick plates with 48 plies by using the NASA method and on plates with 32 plies by using the SACMA method. Specimens are made of CF/PEEK (APC-2) and conventional CF/epoxy for the NASA plates and CF/epoxy for the SACMA plates. In the NASA CAI tests, the sequence of delamination buckling and its propagation is clearly revealed through various experimental techniques. One major technique is moiré topography, and the other is thermo-mechanical stress analysis with a high-accuracy infrared sensor. The arrest of delamination propagation just before catastrophic failure due to high fracture toughness is clearly captured by the moiré camera. This behavior provides good CAI values of CF/PEEK. The initial buckling properties of the delaminated region by the impact are then extensively discussed. Numerical predictions of initial buckling stress have been obtained by modelled geometry of the delaminated region simplified from its precise structure clarified by ultrasonic C-scanning. They agree fairly well with the experimental results. The in-plane stress distribution in the delaminated region before initial buckling is measured by an infrared stress graphic system. This compared favorably with finite element predictions. Two types of symmetric buckling modes with respect to the central plate surface, twin and single peak ones, are experimentally captured.     

Time‐dependent heat transfer coefficient of a wall

A time‐dependent coefficient of heat transfer is proposed for the computation of thermal power required, so that a room temperature reaches a desired value within a given time. A mathematical formulation of the room heating transient phenomenon is constructed in a dimensionless form. Using an integral approximate solution an analytical expression for this coefficient is provided and it is verified by diagrams adopted by DIN 4701. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solving regularized least squares with qualitatively controlled adaptive cross‐approximated matrices

The adaptive cross‐approximation (ACA) technique is applied to accelerating an inverse‐problem solver that estimates charge distribution on a dielectric spacer. The ACA generates an approximated system‐matrix that enables us to carry out high‐speed inverse calculation. We designed an approximation procedure based on ACA with some additional concepts, that is, (a) partitioning of matrix based on algebraic information, (b) approximation quality control based on matrix norms, and so on. The tested solver (LSQR for regularized least squares) with ACA demonstrates about 10 times faster performance than that without ACA. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 159(3): 10–18, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20326     

The oxidation of two ternary Ni-Cu-10 at.% Al alloys in 1 atm of pure O2 at 800-900 °C

The oxidation of the ternary alloys Ni-45Cu-10Al and Ni-30Cu-10Al has been studied at 800-900 °C under 1 atm O₂. The presence of 10 at.% Al reduces significantly the oxidation rate of the corresponding Cu-Ni alloys during the initial oxidation stages, even before the establishment of a complete Al₂O₃ layer. The weight of individual sample of the two ternary Ni-Cu-10Al alloys at 800 °C increases more rapidly than at 900 °C during the initial oxidation stage. As oxidation proceeds, the weight gain at 800 °C slows down to a degree that the total weight gain after 24 h oxidation at 800 °C is less than that at 900 °C. Due to a faster formation of the Al₂O₃ layer, which suppresses earlier the further oxidation of Cu and Ni, the external region of the scales grown on Ni-45Cu-10Al contain much less Cu and Ni oxides than those grown on Ni-30Cu-10Al. The transition from the internal oxidation to the selective external oxidation of the most reactive component Al in Ni-Cu-Al alloys is favored by higher values of the Al content, of temperature and of the Cu/Ni ratio.     

Optically tuned superconductive-dielectric resonators with whispering-gallery modes

An analytical method is presented for calculating the resonant frequency andQ-factor of a superconducting dielectric disk resonator operating in millimeter-wave regime with whispering-gallery mode. Resonant frequency shift due to the optical generation of quasi-particles in superconducting film is investigated as a function of photon flux. An optically tunable resonant frequency of about 500 MHz is estimated, and good agreement is found between numerical results and experimental ones.     

The determinants of heat-shock element-directed lacZ expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Heat-shock induction of heat-shock protein genes is due to a specific promoter element (the heat-shock element, HSE). This study used lacZ under HSE control (HSE-lacZ) to characterize HSE activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells of different physiological states and differing genetic backgrounds. In batch fermentations HSE-lacZ induction by heat shock was maximal in exponential growth, and showed marked decline with the approach to stationary phase. Expression in the absence of heat shock was unaffected by growth phase, indicating that the growth-dependent expression of many yeast heat-shock genes uses promoter elements in addition to the HSE. Heat-induced expression was strongly influenced by the temperature at which cultures were grown. While basal, uninduced expression was constant during growth at different temperatures to 30 degrees C, induction by transfer to 39 degrees C was reduced by increases in growth temperature as low as 18-24 degrees C. Maximal HSE-lacZ induction (30- to 50-fold) was in cultures grown at low temperatures (18-24 degrees C), then heat shocked at 39 degrees C. Ethanol was a poor inducer. Mutations having little effect on HSE-lacZ expression included a respiratory petite; ubi4 (which inactivates the poly-ubiquitin gene); also ubc4 and ubc5 (which each inactivate one of the ubiquitin ligases involved in degradation of aberrant protein). pep4-3 increased both basal and induced beta-galactosidase about two-fold, probably because of slower turnover of this enzyme in pep4-3 strains.     

Atomic force microscopic analysis of hydrogen peroxide bleached kraft northern black spruce fibres

Hydrogen peroxide is a potent, relatively inexpensive oxidant that chemically degrades chromophoric components in pulps and textiles. Oxidation of cellulose is a byproduct of this process step that decreases the tensile strength of individual fibres. The residence time of pulp in the bleaching reactor must be optimized to achieve the desired brightness and minimizing fibre degradation. To evaluate the impact of peroxide bleaching at the microfibrillar level, a single black spruce tree was chosen and kraft pulped. Peroxide bleaching was conducted via benchtop polyethylene bag bleaching in a temperature-controlled waterbath. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) topographical images acquired before and after the bleaching step show dramatic changes in fibre structure consistent with delignification and defects in the surface topography. This was further verified by X-ray work at Brookhaven National Laboratory, NY, U.S.A.     

Drying of Chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill.) after Osmotic Dehydration with Sucrose and Glucose Solutions

Chestnuts were dehydrated by using a combined method of osmotic dehydration followed by air drying. Samples were osmotically pretreated with sucrose (60% w/w) and glucose (56% w/w) for 8 h, air-dried at temperatures of 45, 55, and 65°C, at a relative humidity of 30% and at a velocity of 2.7 m·s^-1 and the experimental data of the drying kinetics were obtained. Whole samples were dried with different peelings: (a) removal of endocarp and pericarp (peeled) and (b) additionally the internal rough surface (cut). In all cases, cut chestnuts show greater drying rates than peeled samples, indicating that a significant mass transfer resistance in the layer nearest to the surface takes place. Peeled samples pretreated with sucrose solutions behave in a similar way to untreated samples. For the rest of the samples, the cut samples osmotically treated with sucrose solutions and all the samples treated with the glucose solution, the drying rates decrease during drying. Drying kinetics are successfully modeled by employing a diffusional model that takes the shrinkage into account. The effective coefficient of water diffusion was evaluated and correlated with temperature. The quality of the final product was monitored by color change. In spite of the fact that the total color difference is not modified by the osmotic treatment, the L*, a*, and b* color coordinates of cut samples treated with sucrose and glucose solutions do undergo changes; the L* and a* coordinates change less than the b*.     

Isolation of single yeast cells by optical trapping

Individual yeast cells can be successfully isolated and recultured on plates with a new isolation method making use of optical trapping with infrared laser light. The cells can be selected on morphological criteria by high resolution microscopy. The isolation device is constructed from two coverslips separated by spacers, in which selected cells are transferred to a plastic capillary, using the optical trap. To test the procedure, selection experiments were done with a mixture of two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, distinguishable both in fluorescence microscopy and on agar plates. These experiments showed that only selected cells were isolated, and close to 100% of the isolated stationary-phase cells formed colonies on agar plates, indicating a high recovery. A lower recovery was obtained with exponential-phase cells, possibly because of a higher sensitivity to laser irradiation. Applications for this method may include the isolation of mutants with altered morphology and the isolation of subpopulations of yeast cultures, for their separate investigation or for the initiation of pure cultures.     

A calibration method for the energy-integrating function in photovoltaic system monitoring

Solar radiation has an irregularly varying factor due to a basic day and night cycle and climatic conditions. For such conditions a data sampling interval is important to ensure the accuracy of energy monitoring in a photovoltaic system. While treating a system monitoring equipment as a black box. the author has developed the method of calibrating an energy-integrating function. At first for various input waveforms, the relationship between sampling intervals and quasi-integration outputs have been examined by trapezoidal rule. In the numerical simulation the phases of the sampling clock also are considered Then it is concluded that a sampling interval can be inspected through outside observation only by using a rectangular single pulse. By applying the pulse to the energy-integrating process, two kinds of integrated outputs can be obtained for different sampling phases. The calculated difference between both outputs can uniquely give the sampling interval being inspected. Conditions to ensure measuring accuracy are discussed and the validity of this method has been demonstrated experimentally. Practical calibrating procedures also are proposed for the integrating function of PV system monitoring.