The linear viscoelastic properties of copolypropylene–clay nanocomposites

The linear viscoelastic properties of copolypropylene (cPP)–clay nanocomposites (cPPCNs) prepared by melt intercalating with different amounts of clay were extensively examined by rheological measurements. Meanwhile, the clay effects on the cPP confinements were first estimated by calculating the activation energy of different cPP moving units, including the whole molecular chain, the chain segment, and smaller unit such as chain link. The results showed that the stability of cPPCNs melts wrecked when the clay loading was above 5 wt %. An increase in clay loading of cPPCNs gave rise to a strong low frequency solid‐like response (G′ > G″). Unlike the matrix polymer, cPPCN5 (with 5 wt % clay) exhibited a relaxation plateau as relaxation time prolonged above 100 s, and displayed a maximal linear modulus. The variations of the activation energy of different cPP moving units revealed that the mobility of cPP molecular chains was restricted by clay layers, while these restrictions were not only related to the clay loadings but also largely depended on the clay dispersion status in the matrix. The motions of cPP chain segments were greatly limited at 3–5 wt % loading of clay, but drastically activated with the addition of 7 wt % clay due to the increasing stacks of clay layers within the matrix. However, it was found that the presence of clay had little effect on the mobility of small cPP moving units such as chain links. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 1523–1529, 2006     

A low-cost real time virtual system for postural stability assessment at home

Background and objective

The degeneration of the balance control system in the elderly and in many pathologies requires measuring the equilibrium conditions very often. In clinical practice, equilibrium control is commonly evaluated by using a force platform (stabilometric platform) in a clinical environment.In this paper, we demonstrate how a simple movement analysis system, based on a 3D video camera and a 3D real time model reconstruction of the human body, can be used to collect information usually recorded by a physical stabilometric platform.

Methods

The algorithm used to reconstruct the human body model as a set of spheres is described and discussed. Moreover, experimental measurements and comparisons with data collected by a physical stabilometric platform are also reported. The measurements were collected on a set of 6 healthy subjects to whom a change in equilibrium condition was stimulated by performing an equilibrium task.

Results

The experimental results showed that more than 95% of data collected by the proposed method were not significantly different from those collected by the classic platform, thus confirming the usefulness of the proposed system.

Conclusions

The proposed virtual balance assessment system can be implemented at low cost (about 500$) and, for this reason, can be considered a home use medical device. On the contrary, astabilometric platform has a cost of about 10,000$ and requires periodical calibration. The proposed system does not require periodical calibration, as is necessary for stabilometric force platforms, and it is easy to use. In future, the proposed system with little integration can be used, besides being an emulator of a stabilometric platform, also to recognize and track, in real time, head, legs, arms and trunk, that is to collect information actually obtained by sophisticated optoelectronic systems.     

Event-driven,pattern-based methodology for cost-effective development of standardized personal health devices

Experiences applying standards in personal health devices (PHDs) show an inherent trade-off between interoperability and costs (in terms of processing load and development time). Therefore, reducing hardware and software costs as well as time-to-market is crucial for standards adoption. The ISO/IEEE11073 PHD family of standards (also referred to as X73PHD) provides interoperable communication between PHDs and aggregators. Nevertheless, the responsibility of achieving inexpensive implementations of X73PHD in limited resource microcontrollers falls directly on the developer. Hence, the authors previously presented a methodology based on patterns to implement X73-compliant PHDs into devices with low-voltage low-power constraints. That version was based on multitasking, which required additional features and resources. This paper therefore presents an event-driven evolution of the patterns-based methodology for cost-effective development of standardized PHDs. The results of comparing between the two versions showed that the mean values of decrease in memory consumption and cycles of latency are 11.59% and 45.95%, respectively. In addition, several enhancements in terms of cost-effectiveness and development time can be derived from the new version of the methodology. Therefore, the new approach could help in producing cost-effective X73-compliant PHDs, which in turn could foster the adoption of standards.     

Delay time compensation based on coefficient of restitution for collision hybrid motion simulator

A hybrid motion simulator embeds a hardware experiment in a numerical simulation loop. However, it is often subjected to the inherent problem of an energy increase in the collision of two pieces of hardware in a loop because of the delay time. This paper proposes a delay time compensation method based on contact dynamics model for a collision hybrid motion simulator under delay time and establishes a compensation method for coupled translational and rotational motion. The model developed in this paper describes linear uniform motion of a floating object during the period of the delay time until the force and torque are observed and non-linear motion according to environmental stiffness after the initial delay time period in contact. By using the above model, compensation parameters are designed based on desired coefficient of restitution with iterative calculation. The proposed method achieves accurate delay time compensation and simultaneously realizes a variable desired coefficient of restitution over a wide range of frequencies. Furthermore, the compensation method for multi-dimensional motion is established under the assumption that the friction effect is very small. The efficiency of the proposed method is verified through collision experiments for the coupled motion in two dimensions.     

一次风机节能改造

为解决一次风机出口风压低、火焰无力度、系统功耗高等问题,采用空气悬浮风机对其进行节能改造。拆除原有的一次风机备用风机,在原有底座上安装空气悬浮风机,整体设计安装悬浮风机出口管道。改造后,一次风机出口风压明显增大,煤粉燃烧充分,火焰调整灵活,每小时可节电30kWh,两处对空排放管道加装消声器,降噪效果显著。     

Ergonomic contribution of ABLE exoskeleton in automotive industry

In PSA Peugeot Citroen factories, high precision requirements of workstations make them being manual. One of the main goal of the car manufacturer is to minimize the pain of workers while maintaining high efficiency of production lines. Consequently, assisting operators with an exoskeleton is a potential solution for improving ergonomics of painful workstations while respecting industrial constraints. To determine ergonomic performances of an exoskeleton, human joint angles and torques, ground reaction forces, and duration of operations are analysed for eight subjects performing a representative screwing task. Experiments were performed using ABLE upper-limb exoskeleton, developed by the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), which has the functionality to compensate arm and tools loads. Results show a clear reduction of the sum of the joints torques, up to 38.9%, given by ABLE supply and invite to make concrete the use of exoskeletons in car assembly lines.     

An apparent kinetic model for the carbonation of calcium oxide by carbon dioxide

For the apparent kinetics of the carbonation reaction of calcium oxide by carbon dioxide, as a kind of noncatalytic gas–solid reaction, a model equation has been proposed as follows: X=kbt/(b+t), where X is the conversion of CaO; k, a kinetic rate constant (time⁻¹); b, a constant (time) equivalent to the time taken to attain half the ultimate conversion of CaO, and t, the time. As a result of analyses for some literature-reported data of CaO-carbonation conversion, it has been found that the rate of the carbonation can be well represented by dX/dt=k(1−X/X_u)², where X_u is the ultimate conversion of CaO, which is given by the product of two parametric constants, k and b. The constants k and b in the two rate control regimes of CaO-carbonation, chemical reaction control and diffusion control, have been determined as functions of temperature, respectively. The activation energy in the carbonation of surface CaO with CO₂ is estimated to about 72 kJ/mol regardless of the sources of CaO, however, that in the diffusion control regime appears differently as 102.5 (mesoporous CaO) or 189.3 kJ/mol (commercial-available CaO), possibly due to the morphological differences of the two CaO samples. From a practical point of view, the simple model equation proposed in this study deserves attention in that the CaO-carbonation behavior at working temperatures higher than 700 °C could be closely predicted.     

Role of tungsten in promoting selective reduction of NO with CO over Ir/WO3–SiO2 catalysts

Catalytic hydrogenation of naphthalene to decalin was studied over a carbon-supported rhodium catalyst in supercritical carbon dioxide solvent at 333 K, and the results were compared with those in an organic solvent. cis-, trans-Decalin and tetralin were formed from the beginning of the reaction in supercritical carbon dioxide. Higher concentration of hydrogen in carbon dioxide solvent and on the active site, and also the suppression of desorption of partially hydrogenated tetralin molecules from the active site would be responsible for higher selectivity to cis-decalin in supercritical carbon dioxide than that in an organic solvent.     

An economic receding horizon optimization approach for energy management in the chlor-alkali process with hybrid renewable energy generation

This paper presents a methodology for the application of receding horizon optimization techniques to the problem of optimally managing the energy flows in the chlor-alkali process using a hybrid renewable energy system (HRES). The HRES consists of solar and wind energy generation units and fuel cells to supply energy. The HRES is also connected to the grid and allows for buying or selling electricity from and to the grid. Initially, detailed models of each system component are introduced as the basis for the simulation study. Energy management strategies are then developed to realize the objectives of meeting production requirements while minimizing the overall operating and environmental costs. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses are carried out to elucidate the key parameters that influence the energy management strategies. Finally, production demand response is integrated into the proposed methodology.     

我国氢能产业发展和氢资源探讨

分析了我国氢能产业近期发展情况,我国氢能产业正步入快速发展机遇期。指出氢能是21世纪最具发展潜力的一种清洁二次能源,具有"清洁、高效、安全、可持续"四大特点,被誉为未来世界能源架构的核心。重点讨论了我国氢资源和绿色氢气制备问题,指出目前实际使用的氢气包括"灰氢""蓝氢"和"绿氢"三大类,显然"灰氢"不可取,"蓝氢"可以用,"废氢"可回收,"绿氢"是方向。讨论了加快氢能系统建设,建立发展氢气存储和运输系统及加氢站基础设施建设等问题。未来,我国氢能产业发展潜力巨大,但是在下决心大力发展氢能产业时,需要高度注意目前存在的实际情况和困难,要防范一系列的产业风险,做到有序发展,稳中有进,才能实施氢能产业的可持续发展。