Influence of wood extractives on the photo‐discoloration of wood surfaces exposed to artificial weathering

Extracted and unextracted black cherry (Prunus serotina), red oak (Quercus rubra), and red pine (Pinus resinosa) wood specimens were exposed to artificial weathering, and their discoloration process was investigated to obtain basic understanding on the role of wood extractives in the weathering of hardwoods and softwoods. Color measurements were made with a spectrometer according to ISO 2470 standards, using the CIELAB system. Results obtained showed that the rate of whiteness was not significantly affected by extractives removed with organic solvents, but were significantly affected when organic solvent extraction was followed by water extraction. The total discoloration rate had the same pattern, and chromaticity coordinates were less affected by wood extractives. These results confirm the hypothesis that some extractives contained in wood act as antioxidants and are able to provide some protection to wood surfaces against weathering degradation. However, more work is needed to understand the chemistry and mechanism of action of these extractives so as to develop any practical use for this property. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 31, 425–434, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/col.20248     

An economic and environmental assessment of biomass utilization in lignite‐fired power plants of Greece

The environmental and socio‐economic impacts of biomass utilization by co‐firing with brown coal in an existing thermoelectric unit in Greece or through its pure combustion in a new plant were studied and evaluated in this work. The 125 MW_e lignite‐fired power plant in Ptolemais Power Station (Western Macedonia) was used as reference system. The environmental benefits of the alternative biomass exploitation options were quantified based on the life cycle assessment methodology, as established by SETAC, while the BIOSEM technique was used to carry out socio‐economic calculations. The obtained results showed clear environmental benefits of both biomass utilization alternatives in comparison with the reference system. In addition, co‐firing biomass with lignite in an existing unit outperforms the combustion of biomass exclusively in a new plant, since it exhibits a better environmental performance and it is a low risk investment with immediate benefits. A biomass combustion unit requires a considerably higher capital investment and its benefits are more evident in the long run. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of the energy and exergy utilization efficiencies in the Turkish agricultural sector

This study deals with evaluating the energy and exergy utilization efficiencies in the Turkish agricultural sector over a 12‐year period from 1990 to 2001. In the energy and exergy analyses, two main energy sources, namely fuels and electricity, are taken into consideration, while the sectoral energy and exergy efficiencies are compared for this period. These main energy sources include diesel for tractors and other vehicles, and electricity for pumps. Overall energy utilization efficiencies are obtained to vary between 29.1 and 41.1%, while overall exergy utilization efficiencies are found to range from 27.9 to 37.4% in the analysed years, respectively. It may be concluded that the present technique proposed here may be used as a useful tool in analysing and evaluating the energy and exergy utilization efficiencies, identifying energy efficiency and/or energy conservation opportunities and dictating the energy strategies of countries. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The analysis of solvation in ionic liquids and organic solvents using the Abraham linear free energy relationship

The contentions made in an earlier paper [J Chem Technol Biotechnol 80 : 133–137 (2005)] that the coefficients of the Abraham solvation equation do not provide meaningful information on the molecular properties of ionic liquid solvents is refuted. The objections noted in the earlier paper disappear when the solvation equation model is correctly applied to the experimental data. It is further shown that the coefficients of the Abraham solvation equations can be used to characterize ionic liquids and can be used to select solvents for the solubility of gaseous solutes. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

热分析在PVA纤维预处理中的应用

用差热、热重法对原丝的热性能及由不同预处理方法所引起的PVA纤维的热行为变化进行了研究;并通过模拟脱水条件,用不同升温速率,求出了经不同预处理纤维的脱水反应活化能。结果表明,PVA原丝在230℃有一软化点,三种预处理都不同程度地影响了原丝的热效应变化;纤维在180～340℃主要为脱水反应;原丝及经脱水剂、O_3和O_3综合脱水剂处理的纤维,其脱水反应的表观活化能分别为:164.3kJ/mol,92.9kJ/mol,130.5kJ/mol和117.6kJ/mol。     

Using rainbow net simulation to measure fault tolerance in a multiprocessor

The Rainbow net simulation technique is applied to modelling the impact of system load and fault handling on the availability of a fault-tolerant multiprocessor architecture. Rainbow nets are described along with the motivation for creating this modelling technique. A Rainbow net fault-handling model is created for the fault-tolerant multiprocessor architecture and the topology is shown to remain constant in size, independent of the number of processor, memory and I/O elements configured in the system. Simulation is performed with a varying load in terms of the number of active jobs the system must support. Results are given showing how the fault-tolerant capability varies with load. Two new metrics for evaluating fault tolerance are introduced; namely full fault-tolerability and partial fault-tolerability. They are based on simple observations in the model.     

A new voltage control equipment using fuzzy inference

Power system control equipment needs higher sensitivity and operational reliability. Advanced voltage control equipment is needed for reducing the frequency of tap changes and improving the characteristics (the relationship between the actual voltage and reference voltage) of the voltage to meet today's power system requirements. However, these objectives are in a trade-off relationship. Studies of voltage control derived from a knowledge base suitable for electric power systems can satisfy these objectives using fuzzy inference. Compared with corresponding conventional equipment, the new equipment improved the deviation of 30 min average voltage of 30 percent. This paper describes the design concept of new voltage control equipment using fuzzy inference. In addition, field test results are described along with rules of fuzzy inference, membership functions, and the deviation of 30 min average voltage through detailed simulation.     

科研项目管理信息系统的设计

介绍了用自顶向下的结构化方法进行科研项目管理信息系统设计的过程。该系统的应用节省了大量人力、物力和财力,提高了企业科研项目管理水平。     

On a responsive replenishment system: a fuzzy logic approach

In today's competitive business environment, it is important that customers are able to obtain their preferred items in the shops they visit, particularly for convenience store chains such as 7–Eleven where popular items are expected to be readily available on the shelves of the stores for buyers. To minimize the cost of running such store chains, it is essential that stocks be kept to a minimum and at the same time large varieties of popular items are available for customers. In this respect, the replenishment system needs to be able to cope with the taxing demands of minimal inventory but at the same time keeping large varieties of needed items. This paper proposes a replenishment system which is able to respond to the fluctuating demands of customers and provide a timely supply of needed items in a cost–effective way. The proposed system embraces the principle of fuzzy logic which is able to deal with uncertainties by virtue of its fuzzy rules reasoning mechanism, thereby leveraging the responsiveness of the entire replenishment system for the chain stores. To validate the feasibility of the approach, a case study has been conducted in an emulated environment with promising results.