Magnetic field dependence of shielding current density in Y-Ba-Cu-O rings at 77 K

A method for contactless measurement of the shielding critical current density and its dependence on the external magnetic field is described and analyzed. The obtained values are compared with those measured resistively on two different samples. It is shown that the shielding critical current densityJ _cs and the intergranular transport current densityJ _cr are identical if the measurement conditions are similar. A degradation ofJ _cs measured in the external field with AC ripple has been observed.     

Understanding and Modeling the Effect of Surfactants in Enhanced Particle Removal from Surfaces in Aqueous Media

The removal of particulate contamination is a critical issue for many manufacturing processes. It is particularly critical to the electronics industry in which small pieces of microscopic debris remaining after chemical mechanical planarization (cmp) using submicron polishing particles can cause device failure. One way to enhance particle removal following the cmp process is to utilize surfactants. Recent research has shown ways to model the effect of surfactants on enhanced particle removal. However, previous research has not demonstrated the effect of ionic strength on enhanced particle removal associated with surfactant use. Past research has also not shown the combined effects of ionic strength and surfactant concentration on enhanced particle removal using surfactants. This article summarizes the parameters affecting particle removal, and it provides data and analysis on the effect of ionic strength as well as the combined effects of ionic strength and surfactant concentration on particle removal following cmp processing.     

Effect of processing history on the properties of Ag-based tapes

The Bi-system tapes and coils were prepared by the powder-in-tube method. The effect of processing and heat treatment on the properties of the tapes and coils was studied. It is found that the shearing stress produced by the rolling process may destroy the 2223 phase, and the destroyed 2223 phase cannot be recovered by heat treatment, whereas the pressing stress produced by the uniaxial pressing process only makes the 2223 phase grains break, and the broken 2223 phase can be closed by the heat treatment. TheJ _c values of the rolling samples, pressing sample, and the coil with a diameter of 35 mm are over 1.3×10⁴, 2.5×10⁴, and 4×10³ A/cm² (77 K, 0 T), respectively.     

Formal methods: The next generation of system design tools

Because of the growing demand for increasingly complex computer-based systems there is now an urgent need to provide tools to assist during the design of such systems. Formal specifications and formal methods provide such assistance but their widespread adoption has been hindered by the so-called ‘math fear’ and the perception that the tools are too difficult, too time consuming and too costly to use in a commercial environment. The aim of this article is to dispel the mystery surrounding the topic and to explain what formal methods are, how and why they are used, the benefits that accrue and why the technology should be accepted on a broader front. The application of formal methods to the design of computer-based systems will be discussed without resorting to jargon or mathematics. The discussion will concentrate more on the software content of systems but the arguments apply equally well to hardware. Some of the available tools will also be introduced.     

Rhizobium trifolii capsular polysaccharide: a novel biopolymer with striking physical properties

The physical properties of the capsular polysaccharide of Rhizobium Trifolii (CPS) were investigated. Viscosity measurements provided information about the hydrodynamic volume of single coils, the perturbation of solvent flow and the shear-thinning behaviour of concentrated solutions. Changes in chain geometry and the development of an intermolecular network as a function of temperature were monitored using the techniques of optical rotation and dynamic oscillation. Finally, analysis of calorimetric thermograms elucidated the type of interactions between CPS and the bacterial levan. Overall, the Rhizobium polysaccharide was found to form thermally-reversible gels at an extremely low 'minimum critical gelling concentration' (c_o∼ 0.35gl^-1). At temperatures above the gel melting point (∼ 48°C), however, the compact polymer coils entangled at comparatively high concentrations (about 60 times higher than c_o). In the presence of a highly branched levan, the thermal stability of ordered CPS structures increased as a consequence of thermodynamic incompatibility between the two polymers.     

A New Variable Diffusion Drying Model for the Second Falling Rate Period of Paddy Dried in a Rapid Bin Dryer

The objectives of this article is to propose a new drying model for the second falling rate period known as the variable diffusion controlled period that follows after the first falling rate period and to propose a new method to determine the second critical moisture content that separates these two periods. Experimental work on paddy drying at minimum fluidization velocity was carried out in a rapid bin dryer. The effects of operating temperatures (60-120°C) and bed depths (2-6 cm) on the paddy drying characteristics were investigated. It was found that the normalized drying rate of paddy was proportional to the normalized moisture content in the first falling rate period but in the second falling rate period, the normalized drying rate of the material varies exponentially with the normalized moisture content. The different relationship between the normalized drying rate and the normalized moisture content in the first and second falling rate periods indicate that two different mechanism of moisture transport are at work. The new exponential model of the second falling rate period and the linear model of the first falling rate period were found to fit the experimental data very well. Derivation from variable diffusion equation shows that the linear model is the result of constant diffusion coefficient whereas the new exponential model is the result of linear diffusion coefficient. This also implies that the first falling rate period is a constant diffusion controlled period and the second falling rate period is a variable diffusion controlled period. In addition, drying kinetics data of a drying process that fits the exponential model over a very slow drying period will show that the drying process is under the effect of a linear diffusion coefficient. It was also found that the proposed new method to determine the second critical moisture content that distinguishes between the first and second falling rate periods by using a sudden change in the value of the drying rate gradient to a much lower value at that point is more rigorous and yet simpler than the method of determining the specific location of the receding drying boundary since it is based on the behavior of the actual drying kinetic data.     

Phase equilibria of quasi-binary systems consisting of multicomponent polymers 1 and 2. IV: Poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(propylene oxide) systems

To confirm the reliability of the theory of phase equibria of multicomponent polymer 1/multicomponent polymer 2 systems (i.e. quasi-binary systems) and the method of computer experiment based on this theory (Brit. Polym. J., 23 (1990)285; 23 (1990)299; Polym. Int., 29 (1992)219), could point curves (CPC), two-phase volume ratios ( R ) and critical solution points (CSP) have been determined experimentally for the quasi-binary mixtures of poly(ethylene oxide) (M¯_w = 647, M¯_w/M¯_n = 1.15; M¯_w and M¯_n, the weight-average and numberaverage molecular weights, respectively) and poly(propylene oxide) (M¯_w = 2028, M¯_w/M¯_n = 1.08; and M_w = 2987, M_w/M_n = 1.13). The hydroxyl end groups of both polymers were methoxylated in advance by the Cooper & Booth method (Polymer, 18 (1977)164). The thermodynamic interaction parameter between both polymers, χ₁₂, and the concentration dependence parameters for the above quasi-binary systems were determined by the method proposed in a previous paper (Brit. Polym. J., 23 (1990)299). CPC, R and CSP values calculated on the basis of the theory are in good agreement with the values determined experimentally.     

Paving the way for CRM success: The mediating role of knowledge management and organizational commitment

Customer relationship management (CRM) has become one of the most influential technologies in the world, and companies are increasingly implementing it to create value. However, despite significant investment in CRM technology infrastructure, empirical research offers inconsistent support for its positive impact on performance. This study develops and tests a research model analyzing the process through which CRM technology infrastructure translates into organizational performance, drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) and the knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm. Based on an international sample of 125 hotels, the results suggest that organizational commitment and knowledge management fully mediate this process.     

Molecular simulation of phase coexistence: Finite-size effects and determination of critical parameters for two- and three-dimensional Lennard-Jones fluids

Abstact The subject of this paper is the investigation of finite-size effects and the determination of critical parameters for a class of truncated Lennard-Jones potentials. Despite significant recent progress in our ability to model phase equilibria in multicomponent mixtures from direct molecular simulations, the accurate determination of critical parameters remains a difficult problem. Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations with systems of controlled linear system size are used to obtain the phase behavior in the near-critical region for two- and three dimensional Lennard-Jones fluids with reduced cutoff radii of 3, 3.5, and 5. For the two-dimensional systems, crossover of the effective exponent for the width of the coexistence curve from mean field ( = 1/2 in the immediate vicinity of the critical point to Ising-like (= 1/8) farther away is observed. Critical parameters determined by fitting the data that follow Ising-like behavior are in good agreement with literature values obtained with finite-size scaling methods. For the three-dimensional systems, no crossover to mean field-type behavior was apparent. Extrapolated results for the critical parameters are consistent with literature estimates for similar fluids. For both two- and three-dimensional fluids, system size effects on the coexistence curves away from the critical point are small, normally within simulation statistical uncertainties.Invited paper presented at the Twelfth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 19–24, 1994, Boulder. Colorado, U.S.A.     

Influence of ions on the critical behavior of a binary mixture near the consolute point

The lower critical point of stratification of a 3-methylpyridine (MP)+heavy water (D₂O) mixture in the presence of Na⁺ and CI^– ions has been studied by the Toepler shadow method. Addition of 0.3% ions lowered the critical temperature and reduced the equilibration time and the gradient of the refractive index (compressibillity). The analysis of the form of the near-critical isotherm demonstrated the ionic mixture to be described by the index = 3.05 ± 0.15. which corresponds to the classical mean-field theory. The results obtained provide evidence that even small admixtures of charged particles result in a substantial suppression of fluctuations near the critical point by the long-range Coulomb interaction.Paper presented at the Twelfth Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, June 19–24, 1994, Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.