A Statistical Control Chart for Stationary Process Data

In the statistical process control environment, a primary method to deal with autocorrelated data is the use of a residual chart. Although this methodology has the advantage that it can be applied to any autocorrelated data, it needs some modeling effort in practice. In addition, the detection capability of the residual chart is not always great. This article proposes a statistical control chart for stationary process data. It is simple to implement, and no modeling effort is required. Comparisons are made among the proposed chart, the residual chart, and other charts. When the process autocorrelation is not very strong and the mean changes are not large, the new chart performs better than the residual chart and the other charts.     

Greening effect in slag cement materials

This article presents the first spectroscopic data describing the processes responsible for the temporary blue-green coloration that forms during the hydration of various materials containing Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBS) under anoxic conditions. UV-visible-near infrared Diffuse Reflectance (DR) spectra demonstrate a striking similarity of the coloring center forming during the curing of a broad range of GGBS-bearing materials (pure GGBS with different compositions, mix Portland cement/GGBS (30/70), concrete and mortar). All spectra are similar to those of polysulfide complexes contained in the interlayer spacing of a synthetic green-colored hydrated calcium aluminate phase (AFm). This “greening effect” demonstrates a progressive oxidation of sulfide-based compounds initially contained in these materials during curing of GGBS bearing materials.     

Microwave diversity imaging system ‐ principle,methodology and experimental results

Abstract

The basic principle, methodology and experimental results of the automated microwave diversity imaging system developed in the Electromagnetic Research Laboratory of National Taiwan University are presented. The microwave image formulation is based on Bojarski's identity. In practice, accessing the object backscattering information using the frequency, angular and polarization diversity techniques is conducted by the developed microwave measurement system with major parts including dual polarization antennas, network analyzer and a MicroVax III. It is shown that images of a scale model of the space shuttle reconstructed from the measured data can be identified visually. The implications for high‐resolution microwave imaging radar networks are also discussed.     

Characterisation of rare earth minerals with field emission scanning electron microscopy

Abstract

Rare earth elements are becoming increasingly in demand, due to their prevalence in both renewable energy devices and high end electronics. The characterisation of the composition and morphology of the various phases that have valuable rare earth elements in the ores are needed in conjunction with the study of their physicochemical properties to optimise industrial process to extract the minerals containing the rare earth elements. Rare earth bearing minerals contain many elements with overlapping X-ray peaks (L- and M-lines) with an energy dispersive spectrometry detector, requiring a high degree of X-ray energy resolution. A program was developed to obtain the intensity of each peak by deconvolution of the X-ray spectrum. Low accelerating voltage of less than 5 kV and small beam diameter of less than 10 nm of a cold field emission scanning electron microscope allow x-ray microanalysis on the nanometre scale. A 100 nm wide phase was observed at 4 kV on a backscattered electron micrograph. Furthermore, a small beam diameter of less than 10 nm was used for identification of small phases of a few micrometres.

Les éléments de terre rare sont de plus en plus en demande, grâce à leur prévalence tant dans les dispositifs d’énergie renouvelable que dans l’électronique de haute gamme. On a besoin de caractériser la composition et la morphologie des différentes phases qui contiennent des terres rares de valeur dans les minerais, en combinaison avec l’étude de leurs propriétés physico-chimiques, afin d’optimiser le procédé industriel d’extraction des minéraux contenant les terres rares. Les minéraux porteurs de terre rare contiennent plusieurs éléments ayant des pics de rayons x qui se chevauchent (lignes L et M) avec un détecteur de spectroscopie à dispersion d’énergie, nécessitant une haute résolution énergétique. On a développé un programme visant à obtenir l’intensité de chaque pic par déconvolution du spectre de rayons x. Un faible voltage d’accélération de moins que 5 kV et un faisceau à faible diamètre de moins que 10 nm d’un microscope électronique à balayage par cathode froide permettent la microanalyse des rayons x à l’échelle du nanomètre. On a observé une phase de 100 nm de largeur à 4 kV sur une micrographe d’électrons rétrodiffusés. De plus, on a utilisé un faisceau de faible diamètre de moins que 10 nm pour l’identification de petites phases de quelques μm.     

Terahertz characterisation of UV offset lithographically printed electronic-ink

Inkjet-printed electronics are showing promising potential in practical applications, but methods for real-time, non-contact monitoring of printing quality are lacking. This work explores Terahertz (THz) sensing as an approach for such monitoring. It is demonstrated that alterations in the localised dielectric characteristics of inkjet-printed electronics can be qualitatively distinguished using quasi-optically-based, sub-THz reflection spectroscopy. Decreased reflection coefficients caused by the sintering process are observed and quantified. Using THz near-field scanning imaging, it is shown that sintering produces a more uniform spatial distribution of permittivity in the printed carbon patterns. Images generated using THz-TDS based imaging are presented, demonstrating the combination of high resolution imaging with quantification of complex permittivities. This work, for the first time, demonstrates the feasibility of quality control in printed electronic-ink with THz sensing, and is of practical significance to the development of in-situ and non-contact commercial-quality characterisation methods for inkjet-printed electronics.     

Design and implementation of optical system for Placido-disc topography

Corneal topography provides powerful support in the diagnosis and treatment of corneal disease by displaying the corneal surface topography in data or image format. To realize the precise detection of corneal surface topography, an optical system for the corneal topography that is based on a Placido disc is designed, which includes a ring distribution on a Placido disc, an imaging system and a collimating illumination system. First, a mathematical model that is based on the corneal topography working principles is established with MATLAB to determine the distribution of white-and-black rings on the Placido disc, in which the ellipsoid facial rings-target of the Placido disc is utilized. Second, the imaging lens structure is designed and optimized by Zemax software. Last, the collimating illumination lens structure is designed by paraxial ray trace equations. The quality of the corneal topography, which is based on our designed optical system, is evaluated. The high-contrast image of uniformly distributed white-and-black rings is observed through the CCD camera. Our optical system for the corneal topography has high precision, with a measuring region of the cornea with a diameter of approximately 10 mm. Therefore, the creation of this optical system offers guidance for designing and improving the optical system of Placido-disc topography.     

Ground penetrating radar response from voids: A demonstration using a simple model

A simple Ricker wavelet model can be used to illustrate some fundamental properties of the ground penetrating radar (GPR) response from both air- and water-filled voids. Reflections from the top and the bottom of a void overlap significantly, and generate one common characteristic of a void response: a “bright spot”, analogous to the “bright spot” observed in seismic exploration. For time delays equal to about half the pulsewidth, the reflected wavelets superimpose to yield maximum reflection amplitudes. The top reflected wavelet becomes completely separated from the bottom reflected wavelet when the void time delay exceeds twice the wavelet pulsewidth. The two wavelet reflections can be individually identified at earlier time delays, approximately equal to the wavelet pulsewidth. This is still substantial and explains why it is difficult to use GPR to infer void thicknesses, especially for air-filled voids.     

Development of open-cathode polymer electrolyte fuel cells using printed circuit board flow-field plates: Flow geometry characterisation

Open-cathode air-breathing fuel cells have the advantage of reduced system complexity and simplified operation, as oxygen is taken directly from ambient air without the need for blowers/compressors. In this study, printed circuit boards (PCBs) are used as flow-field plates. The use of PCBs offers the potential for significant cost reduction due to their well-established manufacturing processing and low materials cost. This study investigates the effect of varying the cathode geometry (parallel and circular) and opening ratios (43%, 53% and 63%) on fuel cell performance using polarisation curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and thermal imaging. The results obtained indicate that circular openings afford lower Ohmic resistance than parallel flow-field designs, which helps improve contact between the gas diffusion layer and flow-field plate. However, flow-field plates with circular openings suffer from greater mass transport limitation effects. Likewise, greater opening ratios offer better mass transport but increased Ohmic resistance as a result of the reduced area of lands/ribs. The thermal imaging results reveal lower temperature in the middle of the fuel cell due to “bowing” of the printed circuit board flow field plates which reduces the local current density. A trade-off between these factors results in a design with a maximum area specific power density of 250 mW cm⁻².     

应用热波成像技术检测飞机结构隐蔽腐蚀的实验研究

利用热波成像技术,对加速腐蚀试样和实际飞机结构腐蚀件进行了隐蔽腐蚀检测的实验研究。结果表明:这一技术可以很好地检测出隐蔽腐蚀,不受腐蚀产物残留与否以及表面漆层的影响,对于剥层腐蚀特别有效;该方法获得的腐蚀坑的图像细节丰富、直观易懂;同时,该技术能够检测胶结缝内部的缺胶和脱胶。