Direct Methods Optimised for Solving Crystal Structure by Powder Diffraction Data: Limits,Strategies, and Prospects

The ab-initio crystal structure solution by powder diffraction data requires great efforts because of the collapse of the experimental information onto the one dimensional 2θ axis of the pattern. Different strategies will be described aiming at improving the process of extraction of the integrated intensities from the experimental pattern in order to make more straightforward the structure solution process by direct methods. Particular attention will be devoted to the EXPO program. Some of its performance will be analysed and results will be shown.     

Mathematical analysis of viscometric (polymer) flow fields in capillaries: Taylor dispersion revisited

A general formulation for capillary flow of two miscible fluids – one a dilute plug of polymer fluid inserted into a fully developed Poiseuille flow of the other, a Newtonian stream – is examined for its long time behavior. Phenomenologically, the system evolves from an initial state, that of a plug within the boundaries of sharp, well defined fronts inside a Newtonian stream, to a more homogenized state in the very long time scale. This problem was addressed by G.I. Taylor but with regard to a system of two Newtonian fluids, leading to the well-known results commonly described as `Taylor axial dispersion'. In this paper, a general and systematic perturbation analysis is presented from which Taylor's result is recovered as a special case of a more general solution which applies to fluids incorporating elastic properties. In particular, the influence of viscoelasticity and (polymer) diffusivity on the observed pressure profile in the capillary conduit is examined. This effect is clearly separated out for small Peclet number flows using asymptotic and numerical analysis. The results identify the influence of fluid viscosity, elasticity, and diffusivity on the observed pressure profile and form the basis for the improved characterization of polymeric elasticity using capillaries – a finding that is of significant scientific and commercial interest. These results were obtained by the authors as a class of observations resulting from the perturbation analysis of forced-flow capillary devices in viscoelastic fluid property investigation.     

Efficient model reduction in non-linear dynamics using the Karhunen-Loève expansion and dual-weighted-residual methods

 We look at the task of computing the time-evolution of a non-linear system for a long time, in our case under random external influences. Our specific example is the fatigue evaluation of a wind turbine. To facilitate such a computation, we look at a reduction of the computational effort by projecting everything on a low-dimensional basis. In this case we take the Karhunen-Loève basis generated from running the model a little while under the random loading. It is important that the error which is caused by this reduction process can be controlled. We estimate the error by dual or adjoint methods. This in turn allows the process of model reduction to be performed adaptively. Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Mike Crisfield, for his cheerfulness and cooperation as a colleague and friend over many years.     

一种高并行度的H.264帧内预测器的VLSI设计

分析了帧内预测的17种模式,对于每个4×4大小块的16个像素点的不同模式的预测公式之间的相同运算,采用数字强度缩减的方法去除计算的冗余,提出了一种高并行度的帧内预测器,可以每个时钟周期处理16个像素点的预测值。基于SMIC0.18μm工艺,用verilog对该设计进行了VLSI实现,综合后的电路的关键路径最大时延为10ns,电路规模不超过1.4万门,数据吞吐率可以达到1600Msamples/s。从实现结果来看,与采用可重构方法的设计相比,该设计在相同的并行度下减小了电路面积,简化了控制逻辑。     

Oil Spill Cleanup from Sea Water by Sorbent Materials

Three sorbents were compared in order to determine their potential for oil spill cleanup. Polypropylene nonwoven web, rice hull, and bagasse with two different particle sizes were evaluated in terms of oil sorption capacities and oil recovery efficiencies. Polypropylene can sorb almost 7 to 9 times its weight from different oils. Bagasse, 18 to 45 mesh size, follows polypropylene as the second sorbent in oil spill cleanup. Bagasse, 14 to 18 mesh size, and rice hull have comparable oil sorption capacities, which are lower than those of the two former sorbents. It was found that oil viscosity plays an important role in oil sorption by sorbents. All adsorbents used in this work could remove the oil from the surface of the water preferentially.     

Dental amalgam – the effect of the technology of alloy powder preparation on the corrosion behaviour and the release of mercury

Dental amalgams are based on a broad spectrum of materials differing in their chemical composition, metallurgical treatment, and in the way the initial alloys powders are prepared. In addition to their chemical composition, amalgams based on various powders differ in both their microstructure and the amount of mercury needed for preparation. All these facts may affect electrochemical processes occurring during their interaction with oral fluids, and also mercury release. While verifying the effect of the technology used for the preparation of the high‐copper ternary alloy powder on the properties of resulting amalgams, this study aimed at the mechanism of their interaction with a model saliva solution as well as mercury release was included. Measurements were done in a model saliva solution using standard electrochemical methods and exposition measurements. The interaction of individual types of amalgams with artificial saliva did not reveal any significant differences. The free corrosion potential of all these amalgams in an aerated solution settled in the range of values in which tin oxidation, resulting in a layer of insoluble corrosion producsts, turned out to be the dominant anodic process. The rate of mercury release was the lowest for amalgams based on a gas‐atomized alloy. The highest rate of mercury release, and also its dependence on time, was exhibited by lathe‐cut powder based amalgam. In addition to different volume fraction of the Ag‐Hg phase and the level of its tin alloying, this different behaviour may be explained by differences in the rate at which a layer of tin corrosion products acting as a barrier to mercury release is formed.     

Comparative Judgments as an Alternative to Ratings: Identifying the Scale Origin.

Although comparative judgment methods have a number of distinct advantages over ratings, they share one common problem: On the basis of comparative judgments, it is not possible to recover the origin of item evaluations. One item may be judged more positively than another, but this result does not allow any conclusions about whether either of the items are attractive or unattractive. This article discusses the implications of this limitation for the interpretation of individual differences in comparative judgments. It also presents 3 different methods that may allow determination of the scale origin using a nested model comparison approach. An application illustrates the proposed approach as well as the benefits of determining the scale origin in understanding value judgments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonlinear Stress-Strain Relationship of Soil Reinforced with Flexible Geofibers

A nonlinear stress-strain relationship of soil reinforced with flexible geofibers under static loading is derived based on a nonlinear elastic stress-strain relationship of soil and a linear elastic stress-strain relationship of geofibers in the paper. This investigation includes the following aspects: First, the homogenization technique is introduced to find the volume average stress tensor and volume average strain tensor and further an elastic incremental stress-strain relation is introduced to describe deviatoric shear stress-axial strain relationship of equivalent homogeneous geofiber-reinforced soil. Second, the relation of geofiber numbers, content, mechanical behavior, distribution, and geometrical features to shear modulus of geofiber-reinforced soil is expressed and assessed by employing an elastic energy method. Third, the deviatoric shear stress and axial strain curves of geofiber-reinforced soil are calibrated by laboratory testing data of geofiber reinforced soil samples. Finally, the theoretical computational curves of geofiber reinforced soil are compared with the curves calibrated by testing data of geofiber reinforced soil. The model prediction has a good agreement with experimental results.