Formation of geothermal resources at lithospheric subduction zones

This paper examines in a very broad fashion the formation of geothermal resources at lithospheric subduction zones. Regions of highly silicic calc-alkaline Quaternary volcanoes and/or plutons have been identified as prime candidates for having high-temperature hydrothermal systems. Regions of large tholeiitic Quaternary volcanoes have been identified as prime candidates for having large moderate-temperature hydrothermal systems. In addition, active magmatic, phreatomagnetic, and/or tectonic fracturing must be occurring in order to keep any moderate to high temperature hydrothermal system from chemically sealing. Connate, meteoric and/or oceanic water sources must also be present. Owing to tectonic and magmatic processes, volcanic arcs of subduction zones represent regions of the crust that have anomalously high mechanical and heat energy. Such arc regions are expected to contain significantly more moderate to high temperature hydrothermal systems than what is presently known. Many of these arcs are briefly discussed with respect to their potential for containing such resources.     

非线性动态系统“黑箱”建模方法的研究

本文研究弱非线性动态系统“黑箱”建模的理论和方法，并简要给出根据此方法建模的结果。     

On formalism and stability of switched systems

In this paper,we formulate a uniform mathematical framework for studying switched systems with piecewise linear partitioned state space and state dependent switching.Based on known results from the the...     

Stability analysis and antiwindup design of uncertain discrete-time switched linear systems subject to actuator saturation

This paper investigates the stability analysis and antiwindup design problem for a class of discrete-time switched linear systems with time-varying norm-bounded uncertainties and saturating actuators by using the switched Lyapunov function approach.Supposing that a set of linear dynamic output controllers have been designed to stabilize the switched system without considering its input saturation,we design antiwindup compensation gains in order to enlarge the domain of attraction of the closed-loop system in the presence of saturation.Then,in terms of a sector condition,the antiwindup compensation gains which aim to maximize the estimation of domain of attraction of the closed-loop system are presented by solving a convex optimization problem with linear matrix inequality(LMI)constraints.A numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design method.     

Positive state‐bounding observer for positive interval continuous‐time systems with time delay

This paper is concerned with the problem of positive observer synthesis for positive systems with both interval parameter uncertainties and time delay. Conventional observers may no longer be applicable for such kind of systems due to the positivity constraint on the observers, and they only provide an estimate of the system state in an asymptotic way. A pair of positive observers with state‐bounding feature is proposed to estimate the state of positive systems at all times in this paper. A necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of desired observers is first established, and the observer matrices can be obtained easily through the solutions of a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Then, to reduce the error signal between the system state and its estimates, an iterative LMI algorithm is developed to compute the optimized state‐bounding observer matrices. Finally, a numerical example is presented to show the effectiveness and applicability of the theoretical results. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Commercial objectives,technology transfer,and systems analysis for fusion power development

Fusion is an essentially inexhaustible source of energy that has the potential for economically attractive commercial applications with excellent safety and environmental characteristics. The primary focus for the fusion-energy development program is the generation of centralstation electricity. Fusion has the potential, however, for many other applications. The fact that a large fraction of the energy released in a DT fusion reaction is carried by high-energy neutrons suggests potentially unique applications. These include breeding of fissile fuels, production of hydrogen and other chemical products, transmutation or burning of various nuclear or chemical wastes, radiation processing of materials, production of radioisotopes, food preservation, medical diagnosis and medical treatment, and space power and space propulsion. In addition, fusion R&D will lead to new products and new markets.Each fusion application must meet certain standards of economic and safety and environmental attractiveness. For this reason, economics on the one hand, and safety and environment and licensing on the other hand, are the two primary criteria for setting long-range commercial fusion objectives. A major function of systems analysis is to evaluate the potential of fusion against these objectives and to help guide the fusion R&D program toward practical applications. The transfer of fusion technology and skills from the national laboratories and universities to industry is the key to achieving the long-range objective of commercial fusion applications.     

The pulse distributed file system

A network of powerful personal computers, linked by a high-speed local area network, is being seen increasingly as an alternative to a traditional centralized time-sharing operating system. The PULSE project is investigating how such a system may be constructed to give the benefits of a self-sufficient personal computer to each user without losing the facilities for communication and sharing of data inherent in centralized systems. In particular, a distributed file system has been built which provides a single global UNIX

1 UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories.

-like hierarchy, with a consistent appearance when accessed from any machine. Replicated copies of files are maintained to improve reliability, increase performance, and enable each machine to run stand-alone, albeit with reduced facilities.     

Validation of a task demand measure for predicting mental workloads of physical therapists

The purpose of this study is to validate an analytical method in assessing demanded mental workloads for physical therapists, and to discuss its possible ergonomics implications on the design of healthcare working systems in which physical therapists are considered as the users. A task analysis was first used to understand the operation steps of three identified physical therapies. Then, the McCracken–Aldrich technique was applied to assign ratings of mental workload demanded for performing each step of the therapies. Finally, the assigned ratings were validated by the analysis of correlation with the answers of the NASA-TLX questionnaire collected from seventeen physical therapists in the rehabilitation center of a university-affiliated hospital. Results showed that the proposed McCracken–Aldrich technique was suitable as an analysis tool for predicting metal workloads of physical therapists. Some possible implications about the information provision and user interface design for reducing therapists' mental workloads on current therapy operations were discussed.Relevance to industryResults of this paper are expected to contribute the research and development in healthcare industry on its system design and workflow analysis.