A new method of characterization for stratified thermal energy stores

A new method for characterization of stratified thermal energy stores (TES) that integrates both the first law and the second law concerns is presented here. The first law concern is incorporated into a quantity called energy response factor and the second law concern into an entropy generation ratio. A product of these two quantities is at the heart of the TES efficiency definitions. This approach removes the overemphasis of the existing methods either on the first or the second law of thermodynamics which often biases the characterization results. The information about the evolution of the temperature field of the system in time is the prerequisite of the new method. It may be obtained from experiments or from suitable numerical simulations. The current method can be easily integrated into computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations and thus facilitate CFD-based design analysis. As an example of such CFD-integrated analysis, a large-scale hot water seasonal heat store is numerically studied to identify the effects of aspect ratio, containment shape, internal structures, and containment size on their efficiency. The results suggest the effectiveness of the new method in deriving useful design insights.     

SAW滤波器简化衍射频响的计算方法

提出了由一个变迹ＩＤＴ叉指换能器和一个均匀ＩＤＴ组成的ＳＡＷ滤波器简化衍射频响的计算方法，即将均匀ＩＤＴ简化成单根指计算其衍射频响。该方法与未简化衍射频响的计算方法相比，计算量大为减小，前者约为后者的（Ｎ为均匀ＩＤＴ的指对数）。并给出了一个实例，用未简化与简化方法分别计算了其衍射频响，结果表明，两者符合得较好。     

Determination of gust action stress cycle counts for fatigue checking of line-like steel structures

The classical spectral analysis of structural response to a gusty wind is applied to the prediction of fatigue damage as expressed by the rate of accumulation of Miner's quotient, using the rainflow algorithm to establish stress-range cycle counts. A general solution in chart form is given for the effect of the broad-band (quasi-static) part of the response spectrum, together with an algebraic formulation for its combination with the effect of narrow-band (quasi-resonant) response.A procedure for integration of the long-term expectation of Miner's quotient is indicated. It is concluded that quasi-static response alone is unlikely to pose a serious fatigue problem. With generally anticipated levels of dynamic response, fatigue damage is greatly increased, but can be controlled at acceptable levels by care to avoid features especially sensitive to fatigue.     

A Method of Combined SHPB Technique and BP Neural Network to Study Impact Response of Materials

Abstract:  A new method combining the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) technique with the back-propagation (BP) neural network program is proposed. By this method, the treated strain wave signals become smooth with less noises induced by the transverse inertia. Moreover, the dynamic rate-dependent constitutive behaviour of materials can be identified, without any pre-assumption of a constitutive model. It is found that by taking the experimentally measured data of strain, strain rate and time as 'input' and the corresponding data of stress as 'output' of the BP neural network, the dynamic constitutive behaviour with internal damage or phase transformation evolution is easy to be identified, where the time could represent either the internal damage evolution or phase transformation process accompanied with the deformation process. It is emphasised that the data learnt by the BP neural network must include both loading and unloading processes, if the whole loading and unloading response is to be correctly predicted. The comparisons between the predictions and experimental results are in good agreement for both polyamide (PA) polymer (as an example of nonlinear viscoelastic materials) and Ti–Ni alloy (as an example of superelastic materials with stress-induced phase transformation).     

Effects of temperature, ammonium and glucose concentrations on yeast growth in a model wine system

In enology, alcoholic fermentation is a complex process involving several mechanisms. Slow and incomplete alcoholic fermentation is a chronic problem for the wine industry and factors leading to sluggish and stuck fermentations have been extensively studied and reviewed. The most studied cause of sluggish and stuck fermentation is the nitrogen content limitation. Nevertheless, other factors, such as temperature of fermentation and sugar concentration can affect the growth of yeasts. In this study we modelled the yeast growth‐cycle in wine model system as a function of temperature, sugar and ammonium concentrations; the individual effects and the interaction of these factors were analysed by means of a quadratic response surface methodology. Cell concentrations and weight loss were monitored in the whole wine fermentation process. The results of central composite design show that lower is the availability of nitrogen, higher is the cell growth rate; moreover, initial nitrogen concentration also influences survival time of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

"Temporal encoding in fear conditioning revealed through associative reflex facilitation": Correction to Lindquist and Brown (2004).

Reports an error in "Temporal Encoding in Fear Conditioning Revealed Through Associative Reflex Facilitation" by Derick H. Lindquist and Thomas H. Brown (Behavioral Neuroscience, 2004[Apr], Vol 118[2], 395-402). The article contained several errors. On page 396, second paragraph, the sentence beginning on line 6 should read as follows: "Having a stable baseline is critical for studies of reflex facilitation because the experimental designs invariably entail repetitive CR testing, if only to achieve reasonable statistical power (see Choi et al., 2001b; Lindquist & Brown, 2004)." On page 400, the first heading should read as follows: "Comparison of New and Old Reflex Facilitation Procedures." On page 400, the first sentence under the abovementioned heading should read as follows: "We decided not to use the original measure of reflex facilitation, developed by J. S. Brown et al. (1951), because it suffers from severe interpretational limitations, elaborated in detail elsewhere (Choi et al., 2001b; Leaton & Cranney, 1990; Lindquist & Brown, 2004)." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2004-12681-016.) Temporal encoding in Pavlovian fear conditioning was examined through conditional facilitation of the short-latency (Rl) component of the rat eyeblink reflex. Rats were fear-conditioned to a tone conditional stimulus (CS) with either a 3- or 9-s interstimulus interval (ISI) between CS onset and the onset of the grid-shock unconditional stimulus (US). Rl facilitation was tested over 2 days, in counterbalanced order, at a latency of 3 s and 9 s from CS onset. CS-produced Rl facilitation, the conditional response (CR), was 3-4 times larger when the test latency equaled the conditioning ISI. These results, coupled with the known neurophysiology of Rl facilitation, suggest that this CR could disclose differences in the time course of CS-generated output from the amygdala when driven by cortical versus subcortical CS-CR pathways. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving Measurement Precision of Test Batteries Using Multidimensional Item Response Models.

A conventional way to analyze item responses in multiple tests is to apply unidimensional item response models separately, one test at a time. This unidimensional approach, which ignores the correlations between latent traits, yields imprecise measures when tests are short. To resolve this problem, one can use multidimensional item response models that use correlations between latent traits to improve measurement precision of individual latent traits. The improvements are demonstrated using 2 empirical examples. It appears that the multidimensional approach improves measurement precision substantially, especially when tests are short and the number of tests is large. To achieve the same measurement precision, the multidimensional approach needs less than half of the comparable items required for the unidimensional approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

基于切削振动相关性识别刀具磨损状态的模型与实验

本文提出基于切削振动相关性识别刀具磨损状态的研究思想,建立了车削中刀杆双向横振动系统及其单输入双输出系统的数学模型。理论和实验均表明,刀杆双向横振动之加速度响应在固有基频处的相干函数与刀具磨损状态之间有很好的规律性,它反映了两者之间的本质机理,并提供了识别刀具磨损状态的新途径。     

α-Fe_2O_3(SO_4~(2-),Sn)气敏电阻的温度响应特性

在气敏温度区域内研究了α-Fe_2O_3(SO_4~(2-),Sn)材料的电阻-温度特性,认为表面结构的变化导致温度特性出现峰值并呈现气敏性。可利用空气中电阻温度特性提供的信息改性或发现新的气敏材料。