MITI projects on recycling

MITI has actively done R&D on industrial technology for waste and reclamation and so there are many research items from small scale to large scale. However, Ecofactory and researches on recycling of metallic materials are introduced here. Ecofactory was proposed by the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory and is now at the stage of the Leading Research, a new research scheme in AISt. Researches on recycling of metallic materials are being done with subsidy. Those researches should contribute to both the preservatin of the global environment and effective recycling of waste materials.Abbreviations AIST Agency of Industrial Science and Technology - MITI Ministry of International Trade and Industry - NEDO New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization     

Effects of viscosity on the bitterness and astringency of grape seed tannin

To examine the separate effects of viscosity and sweetness on astringency, aqueous solutions of grape seed tannin (GST) were thickened with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) from 2 to 45 cP (experiment 1) or sweetened with 0 to 1.8 g/L aspartame (experiment 2). Trained subjects continuously rated astringency and bitterness in duplicate. Subjects were categorized by the salivary flow induced by citric acid and ability to taste n-propyl thiouracil (PROP). In experiment 1, maximum intensity and total duration of astringency were significantly decreased as viscosity rose, although time to maximum intensity of astringency was not affected. Maximum intensity and total duration of bitterness were not significantly affected by increasing viscosity; however, the onset of bitterness was significantly delayed. In experiment 2, increasing sweetness had no affect on any astringency parameter, although maximum intensity of bitterness was significantly decreased. Neither PROP nor salivary flow-status had any effect on perception of bitterness or astringency in either experiment.     

NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF STRATIFIED FLOW WITH BOTH VERTICAL TEMPERATURE GRADIENT AND VERTICAL SALINITY GRADIENT

Density stratified flow with both the vertical temperature gradient and the verti-cal salinity gradient is simulated numerically, in which turbulent terms are calculated by a sim-plified turbulence stress/flux algebraic model. The feature of stratification and turbulence is de-scribed correctly by the model. The computational results agree well with the experimental data.However, the k-e turbulence model is not so successful.     

光纤传感器在海洋环境监测中的应用

海洋是个特殊的环境,为许多光纤传感器提供了一个极好的应用领域。对于海洋这个特殊的“敌对”环境,光纤传感器将面临许多挑战。 本文着重介绍应用于海水温度、浊度、盐份浓度、浮游生物和溶解物光吸收量以及环境湿度等海洋环境参数监测的光纤传感器的原理、结构和特性,展望光纤传感器在海洋环境监测方面的美好前景。     

How to Control Robots Interacting with Dynamic Environment

The goal of this paper is to shed light on the control problem of constrained robot motion from the aspect of the dynamical nature of the environment with which the robot is in contact. Therefore, the criticism of traditional hybrid control which allows position/force feedback loops to split into independent control with respect to position and force, is not the main point we want to make. Reference to the papers written by the founders of hybrid control and their numerous followers served only to better understand the reason and motivation for suggesting a different approach to control of robots interacting with environment.The paper has a predominantly review character, based on recently published work. It also contains some new, unpublished results in the framework of the unified approach to the position/force control of robots, proposed by the present author and his co-workers. By pointing to the possibility of introducing an environment dynamics in the contact tasks of the machining type, the author emphasizes that the proposed dynamically interactive control can be applied to a completely different class of tasks, in which a contact is made between the system (constructions or structure) and very specific kinds of dynamic environments.     

营造温馨的家园--谈住宅设计中的一些认识与体会

本文通过住宅区总体规划与环境设计,居住户型的多样化,美观大方的住宅立面设计,方便安全的停车场所四个方面谈了自己对住宅设计的认识与体会.     

Sky blue,but what blue? A new evaluation of the colors of the sky for artists and designers

This study describes a process of relating the perceptual analysis of the colors of the terrestrial atmosphere to currently available pigments used in artists' painting systems. This process sought to discover how the colors of the sky could be defined and simulated by these pigments. The author also describes how confusion over the bewildering choice of suitable pigments on offer in the market place can be clarified. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 32, 249–255, 2007     

Patient thermal comfort requirement for hospital environments in Taiwan

This study examines the comfort criteria of ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 for their applicability in hospital environments. Through an extensive field survey conducted in a university hospital in Taiwan, 927 sets of data have been collected. Above half of the measured samples failed to meet the specifications of Standard 55 comfort zone due to improper humidity control. Acceptability votes by patients exceeded the Standard's 80% criterion, regardless of whether the physical conditions were in or out of the comfort zone. Thermal neutrality, preference and comfort range are compared with other studies conducted in office environments and Standard 55 criteria. Results of chi-square tests revealed that patients’ physical strength significantly effected their thermal requirements. The net effect of health yields a marked difference in thermal neutrality and preference, and also in the comfortable temperature range.