Manufacturing method for monolithic dye-sensitised solar cells permitting long-term stable low-power modules

A manufacturing technique for monolithic dye-sensitised solar cells is presented. Encapsulated modules designed for indoor low-power applications have been prepared using industrial methods and equipment. Under certain conditions (light intensity <5000 lx, temperature between –10°C and 50°C, and relative humidity of appr. 50%), the modules have performed well and shown excellent long-term stability. Moreover, modules withstand illumination in combination with storage at 100% relative humidity. However, a certain degradation of the module performance takes place at illuminations exceeding 5000 lx and temperatures exceeding 50°C.     

Effects of uncontrollability on subsequent decision making: Testing the cognitive exhaustion hypothesis.

The cognitive exhaustion model of helplessness (predicting withdrawal from constructive effortful processing after uncontrollability) was applied to decision making. After unsolvable problems (or no preexposure), Ss requested information from a matrix with 5 alternatives (films)?×?10 attributes and then chose the best film. Films in a set were either similar (difficult decision) or dissimilar (easy decision) in attractiveness. As predicted, Ss with an uncontrollable preexposure spent less time on predecisional information search, disregarded their own importance criteria when asking for information, and had attention highly focused on a selected option for the easy decision condition but diffused across options for the difficult decision condition. The implications of these findings for understanding cognitive mechanisms of learned helplessness and depression are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Duality for multiobjective variational control problems with (\Phi , \rho )-invexity

In this paper, Mond-Weir and Wolfe type duals for multiobjective variational control problems are formulated. Several duality theorems are established relating efficient solutions of the primal and dual multiobjective variational control problems under \((\Phi , \rho )\) -invexity. The results generalize a number of duality results previously established for multiobjective variational control problems under other generalized convexity assumptions.     

Studies on the synthesis of fiber-forming block copolymers of polyacrylonitrile and poly(ethylene oxide)

Modified PEO (MW 6000) containing xanthate groups was used for the synthesis of block copolymers of PAN and PEO. Principal parameters affecting the synthesis were examined. To confirm the segmental structure of the obtained products, precipitation fractionation, gel permeation chromatography, infrared, and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance methods were used. The fiber-forming properties were investigated by means of rheological examination of concentrated solutions of PAN–PEO and confirmed by spinning the fibers under laboratory conditions. The physical and mechanical properties of the fibers were also determined.     

Empathy and Modern Technology: A Neuroergonomics Perspective

The primary purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of empathy in the design of advanced systems in manufacturing and service industries in order to ensure suitable working conditions for employees from the social and technological point of view. The origins and components of empathy are briefly reviewed. The neural underpinnings of three components of empathy, including cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects, are considered in the context of human–human and human–machine interactions, as well as design of working environments. Finally, the potential advantages of applying empathy‐related knowledge to the design and development of human‐centered technology are discussed.     

Implementation of a strain energy-based nonlinear finite element in the object-oriented environment

The objective of the paper is to describe a novel finite element computational method based on a strain energy density function and to implement it in the object-oriented environment. The original energy-based finite element was put into the known standard framework of classes and handled in a different manner. The nonlinear properties of material are defined with a modified strain energy density function. The local relaxation procedure proposed as a method used to resolve a nonlinear problem is implemented in C++ language. The hexahedral element with eight nodes as well as the adaptation of the nonlinear finite element is introduced. The chosen numerical model is made of nearly incompressible hyperelastic material. The application of the proposed element is shown on the example of a rectangular parallelepiped with a hollow port.     

Selection of a dynamic supply portfolio in make-to-order environment withrisks

The problem of a multi-period supplier selection and order allocation in make-to-order environment in the presence of supply chain disruption and delay risks is considered. Given a set of customer orders for finished products, the decision maker needs to decide from which supplier and when to purchase product-specific parts required for each customer order to meet customer requested due date at a low cost and to mitigate the impact of supply chain risks. The selection of suppliers and the allocation of orders over time is based on price and quality of purchased parts and reliability of supplies. For selection of dynamic supply portfolio a mixed integer programming approach is proposed to incorporate risk that uses conditional value-at-risk via scenario analysis. In the scenario analysis, the low-probability and high-impact supply disruptions are combined with the high probability and low impact supply delays. The proposed approach is capable of optimizing the dynamic supply portfolio by calculating value-at-risk of cost per part and minimizing expected worst-case cost per part simultaneously. Numerical examples are presented and some computational results are reported.     

Sliding wear resistance of Fe-, Ni- and Co-based alloys for plasma deposition

Performance of Fe-, Ni- and Co-based alloys was evaluated in sliding wear and in the impact wear tests to simulate wear of valves and valve inserts in internal combustion engines. From the SEM investigations adhesive wear was confirmed by metal transfer between rubbing surfaces while surface deformation testify to abrasive wear. It was found that oxides formed on the surface prevented direct metal-to-metal contact and reduced the coefficient of friction thereby reducing wear. A comparison of wear resistances of Fe, Ni- and Co-based alloys used as hardfacings were given. It is also shown that Ni–Co alloys with Ni-alloy content between 40.4 and 64.3 have a considerable potential, they reveal above 2 times higher wear resistance than plasma-deposited cobalt alloy.     

Monolithic versus hierarchical approach to integrated scheduling in a supply chain

The two approaches, monolithic and hierarchical, with a set of mixed integer programming formulations are proposed and compared for multi-objective integrated scheduling in a customer driven supply chain. The supply chain consists of multiple manufacturers (suppliers) of parts, a single producer of finished products and a set of customers who generate final demand for the products. Each supplier has a number of identical production lines in parallel for the manufacture of parts, and the producer has a flexible assembly line for assembly of products. Given a set of orders, the problem objective is to determine which orders are to be provided with parts by each supplier, find a schedule for the manufacture of parts by each supplier and for the delivery parts from each supplier to the producer, and find a schedule for the assembly of products for each order by the producer, such that a certain performance measure of the supply chain is optimised. The selection of the parts supplier for each order is combined with due date setting for some orders, subject to the suppliers and the producer available capacity. Different objective functions are considered that take into account both customer service level and total manufacturing, delivery and production cost. Numerical examples are presented that are modelled by real-world integrated scheduling in a customer driven supply chain of high-tech products, and some computational results are reported to compare the two approaches.