A simplified cascade current‐source inverter interconnected to a single‐phase three‐wire distribution system and its application to electric energy storage systems with batteries

A novel current source inverter system interconnected to the single‐phase grid is proposed. It has the same construction as the conventional three‐phase current source inverter that is interconnected to the single‐phase three‐wire distribution system. Though the proposed circuit has no output transformer, it can be equivalently performed as the single‐phase double cascade inverter by diverting the pole transformer in the utility system. By controlling the appropriate scheme, the output currents can be obtained as the five‐level waveforms and their distortions can be decreased sufficiently. It is applied to the interactive electric energy storage system with batteries and the basic discharging characteristics are discussed experimentally. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 150(2): 50–61, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10380     

ANALYSIS OF OPEN SUN DRYING EXPERIMENTS

Open sun drying has lost its previous importance due to the fact that different factors affect its reliability and the quality of the products obtained.

One of the set-backs for the analysis of solar drying exoeriments is their deoendence on a non-controlled source of energy, i.e. solar radiation depends on climatic conditions and experiments are difficult to compare. It is thus necessary to investigate the advantages of a particular set up as well as the climatic influences. Open sun drying could constitute the natural reference, allowing the comparison of different drying strategies.

A new way of standardizing drying times, based on solar radiation inout, is proposed, to allow better evaluation of the experiments. An equivalent time is defined, allowing comparison of experiments carried out under different circumstances. Carrots and potatoes were used in these experiments.

The use of the average daily solar radiation 15.28 MJ m^-2.d^-1 in Palma de Mallorca (39.33°N, 2.37°E), is proposed for comparison purposes. An improvement of more than 12 % in the explained variance was observed, the unexplained variance being lower than 1 %.     

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.     

Study on Surface Engineering of Normalized Steels Subjected To Machine

Engineering the surfaces of components to improve the life and performance of parts used in automotive and aerospace engineering is the active area of research. Suitable Thermal/Mechanical/Thermo mechanical surface engineering treatments will produce extensive rearrangement of atoms in metals and alloys and corresponding marked variations in Physical, Chemical and Mechanical properties. Among the more important of these treatments are heat treatment processes such as hardening by Quenching, Induction hardening and Case Carburizing which rely on phase transformations to produce desired changes in mechanical properties. Other processes where phase transformation occur are casting, welding and machining etc. [1] Phase transformation may be homogeneous or heterogeneous. Homogeneous involves rearrangements in the structure of the material taking place simultaneously in all parts of the solid, while the heterogeneous transformation involves structural changes which are more localized. Alternatively they could be called as Isothermal and Nonisothermal transformation. But irrespective of the classification, these transformations alter the structure of the material giving rise to changes in the mechanical and physical properties of the processed material. It is of interest to review some consequences of surface modification in isothermal (Normalizing) and nonisothermal transformations (Machining) of low carbon steels.     

提高钻杆接头冲击功的工艺方法

针对石油钻井关键产品高强度钻杆接头的使用要求,在保证强度指标要求非常高的前提下,研究摸索增加高温正火后再调质的工艺方法,以改善接头材料原始微观带状组织和纤维结构,细化晶粒,提高钻杆接头的冲击功,使该产品力学性能达到API标准的要求。     

Stability of AB5-type hydrogen storage alloys

In this paper, we deduced an empirical equation for predicting the stabilities of the hydrides of AB₅-type compounds with the consideration of the effects of geometrical factor and electric factor. The theoretical curves derived from this equation are in good agreement with the test results of La_1−xCa_xNi₅, Ml_1−xCa_xNi₅ and La_1−xCe_xNi₅ compounds. With this model, we can easily interpret the phenomenon that the initial partial substitution of R by Ca in R_1−xCa_xNi₅ (R is rare earth metal) compounds cause an increase of hydrogen desorption pressure to a maximum value, whereas in the range of larger Ca content x the hydrogen desorption pressure decreases with increasing x.     

Effect of surface free energy on the adhesion of biofouling and crystalline fouling

Pipelines and heat exchangers using seawater as coolant suffer from biofouling. Biofouling not only reduces heat transfer performance significantly, but also causes considerable pressure drop, calling for higher pumping requirements. It would be much more desirable if surfaces with an inherently lower stickability for biofouling could be developed. In this paper, a cost-effective autocatalytic graded Ni-Cu-P-PTFE composite coating with corrosion-resistant properties was applied to reduce biofouling formation. The experimental results showed that the surface free energy of the Ni-Cu-P-PTFE coatings, which were altered by changing the PTFE content in the coatings, had a significant influence on the adhesion of microbial and mineral deposits. The Ni-Cu-P-PTFE coatings with defined surface free energy reduced the adhesion of these deposits significantly. The anti-bacterial mechanism of the composite coatings was explained with the extended DLVO theory.     

The role of the surface free energy in the selection of a suitable excipient in the course of a wet-granulation method

Pellets containing metronidazole were produced in a centrifugal granulator, with hydroxypropylcellulose (Klucel LF®) as binding agent, and corn starch, microcrystalline cellulose (Vivapur 101®) and lactose as excipients. The wettability of the pharmaceutical powders was assessed by means of contact angle measurements, and the dispersive and polar surface energies were determined. The spreading coefficients, the work of adhesion and the work of cohesion were calculated and correlated with the pellet properties (friability, bulk and tapped density, and porosity). The aim was to investigate the role of the surface free energy of one- and two-component powder compositions in pellet production. The interactions between the particles were found to be connected with the measured pellet parameters. It was concluded that, in the course of the growth of the pellets, the particle sizes of the pharmaceutical powders and the interactions between them are important. If the work of cohesion of the binder is lower than the work of cohesion of the substrate and the work of adhesion, then the optimal amount of the binding agent is that which coats the particles uniformly in minimal quantity and in continuous layer.     

聚硅氧烷-丙烯酸酯共聚物互改性产物的表面特性

通过测定参照液体在固体表面的接触角，计算固体的表面能及固体／液体接触体系的粘附功，考查了聚硅氧烷-丙烯酸酯共聚物互改性产物的表面特性及其对粘接性能影响。     

Thermodynamic Criteria for the Maximum and Minimum Strength of Fibre-Reinforced Composite Materials

The overall performance and reliability of composite materials are, in most cases, dependent upon the behaviour of the reinforcement-matrix interface, particularly upon its ability to transfer stress.

A theory for predicting thermodynamic conditions for the maximum and zero-adhesion at the reinforcement-matrix interface is tested in this paper, based on experimental data. Proposed is a model of the relationship between mechanical properties of composite materials (tensile strength, flexural strength, Young's modulus and impact resistance) and energetic properties of matrix and reinforcement expressed by the energy ratio a = γ_l/γ₂.