The World robot summit disaster robotics category – achievements of the 2018 preliminary competition

The World Robot Summit is a robot Olympics and aims to be held in a different country every four years from 2020. The concept of the Plant Disaster Prevention challenge is daily inspections, checks, and emergency response in industrial plants, and in this competition, robots must carry out these types of missions in a mock-up plant. The concept of the Tunnel Disaster Response and Recovery challenge is emergency response to tunnel disasters, and is a simulation competition whereby teams compete to show their ability to deal with disasters, by collecting information and removing debris. The Standard Disaster Robotics challenge assesses, in the form of a contest, the standard performance levels of a robot that are necessary for disaster prevention and emergency response. The World Robot Summit Preliminary Competition was held at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2018, and 36 teams participated in the Disaster Robotics Category. UGVs and UAVs contended the merits of new technology for solving complex problems, using core technologies such as mobility, sensing, recognition, performing operations, human interface, autonomous intelligence etc., as well as system integration and implementation of strategies for completing missions, gaining high-level results.     

Effect of Milling on Slip Casting of Partially Stabilized Zirconia

Specimens of partially stabilized zirconia were slip cast from aqueous suspensions and sintered at 1500°C for 3 h. The relative density of the cast specimens and the firing shrinkage of the sintered specimens depend on the milling time for the suspension. Vickers hardness and K_IC values of 11.46±s0.07 GN/m² and 6.10 ±0.04 MN.m^3/2, respectively, were obtained for all sintered specimens. The dispersion of the suspension is important in increasing the relative density of the cast specimens.     

Continuous hydrolysis of olive oil by lipase in microporous hydrophobic membrane bioreactor

Continuous hydrolysis of olive oil byCandida cylindracea’s lipase was studied in a microporous hydrophobic membrane bioreactor. Olive oil and buffer solution, fed continuously through two compartments partitioned by membrane, caused reaction at the interface of lipase-adsorbed membrane and buffer solution. Fatty acid was obtained in a single phase without being mixed with components of other phases. At all mean residence times, countercurrent flow mode was superior to cocurrent one. The lipase was adsorbed onto the membrane, and its adsorption was suggested to be partially specific from the experiments with enzymes having various levels of purity. The percent hydrolysis depended hyperbolically on the interfacial enzyme concentration. The hydrolysis seemed to be limited by diffusion of fat or fatty acid through the micropores of the membrane at higher interfacial enzyme concentrations. The lipase was stabilized significantly by glycerol added to the buffer solution. Satisfactory performance of the membrane bioreactor was obtained in a longterm continuous operation which lasted for 24 days by feeding buffer-glycerol (18.0%) solution over the adsorbed lipase. The operational half-life of the adsorbed enzyme was 15 days at 40 C.     

Preparation of one-dimensional polymer films by modification of a hydroxymethylbenzene self-assembled monolayer on iron with alkyltriethoxysilanes for preventing iron corrosion

A self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of p-hydroxymethylbenzene HOCH₂C₆H₄ - (HOMB) moiety adsorbed on iron by the formation of a covalent bond between carbon and iron atoms was prepared by electrochemical derivatization of an iron electrode with p-hydroxymethylbenzenediazonium tetrafluoroborate HOCH₂C₆H₄N₂BF₄. The electrode covered with the HOMB SAM was modified with alkyltriethoxysilanes C_nH_2n+1Si(OC₂H₅)₃ (C_nTES, n = 8 or 18) to prepare a film of one-dimensional polymer. The protective ability of the polymer film was determined by polarization measurement of the covered electrode in an aerated 0.5 M NaCl solution. The ability was enhanced by modification of the HOMB SAM with C_nTES markedly. The iron surface coated with the one-dimensional polymer film of the HOMB SAM modified with C₈TES was characterized by contact angle measurement and FTIR reflection and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. The persistence in the protective ability of the polymer film against iron corrosion in 0.5 M NaCl may be associated with the strong adsorption via the covalent bond, revealed by electron-probe microanalysis.     

Separation of di- and tripeptides with solvent extraction and an emulsion liquid membrane

The extraction equilibria of various di- and tripeptides with di-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid (D2EHPA) were studied at low pH values. The complex extracted to organic phase consisted of one molecule of peptide and two molecules of D2EHPA dimer. The extraction constants of the peptides correlated well with the distribution coefficients of peptides between 1-octanol and water, which is a measure of hydrophobicity. The permeation rates of peptides through an emulsion liquid membrane were examined by using D2EHPA as a carrier, Span 80 as an emulsifier and kerosene as a diluent. The rates varied considerably with peptide type, depending upon the hydrophobicity.     

Performance prediction of a hybrid‐excitation synchronous machine with axially arranged excitation poles and permanent‐magnet poles

This paper presents a method of predicting the steady‐state performance of a new hybrid‐excitation synchronous machine (HESM) theoretically. The field pole of this HESM is axially divided into two parts; one is an excitation part and the other a permanent‐magnet (PM) part. A nonlinear equivalent circuit, which can include the saliency of the rotor and the magnetic saturation due to the iron core, is derived. Based on this equivalent circuit, the steady‐state performance of the HESM is calculated, and the results are confirmed through experiments. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 150(2): 43–49, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20033     

二垩英与资源回收-Ⅰ考虑到二垩英生成的资源与能量回收基础研究

目前在日本,存在大量工业垃圾,包括各种塑料制品,ASR(汽车破碎垃圾),含有毒PCB(多氯联苯)的110变压器和PVC(聚氯乙稀)制品等.而来自城市垃圾焚烧炉的废气含有大量能量.因此,在充分考虑环境、避免二垩英生成的同时,安全回收来自工业垃圾、城市和/或工业垃圾焚烧炉的资源和能量是个非常重要的课题,这也将对抑制CO2排放作出贡献.正确地阐明焚烧过程中二垩英的生成机理及详细研究含少量二垩英的焚烧废气在冷却过程中大量形成二垩英的临界温度是项很重要的工作.解决这个问题可有效实现资源和能量的回收.本报告介绍日本在二垩英排放方面目前采取的对策和存在的问题以及大阪大学为阻止二垩英生成所做的基础研究工作.     

Concentration of docosahexaenoic acid in glyceride by hydrolysis of fish oil withcandida cylindracea lipase

In an attempt to concentrate the content of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in a glyceride mixture containing triglyceride, diglyceride and monoglyceride, fish oil was hydrolyzed with six kinds of microbial lipase. After the hydrolysis, free fatty acid was removed and fatty acid components of the glyceride mixtures were analyzed. When the hydrolysis withCandida cylindracea lipase was 70% complete, the DHA content in the glyceride mixture was three times more than that in the original fish oil. The EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) content became almost 70% of the original fish oil. Hydrolysis with other lipases did not result in an increase in the DHA content in the glyceride mixtures. Hydrolysis of DHA-rich tuna oil (DHA content is about 25%) withCandida cylindracea lipase resulted in 53% DHA in the glyceride mixture. The EPA content, however, remained close to that of the original tuna oil. In this report, the acyl chain specificity of lipases is evaluated in terms of hydrolysis resistant value (HRV). HRV is the ratio between the DHA contents in the glyceride mixture of hydrolyzed oil and original oil. HRV clearly indicates differences in hydrolysis between DHA and other fatty acids (e.g., saturated and monoenoic acids).     

Preparation and photoconduction of rapidly quenched films in the Bi2O31bM2O5 system (M=V,Nb and Ta)

The Bi₂O₃1bM₂O₅ films (M=V, Nb and Ta) were prepared by a rapid quenching technique using a twin-roller type equipment. Quenched film of pure Bi₂O₃ partially precipitated a tetragonal phase which differs from well-known β-Bi₂O₃ in structure. In every (Bi₂O₃)_0.975 (M₂O₅)_0.025 composition (2.5% M₂O₅), the tetragonal phase was obtained as single phase, and the tetragonality became greater than that of the pure Bi₂O₃. Beyond this composition, the tetragonality decreased to form δ-phase with a fcc structure with increasing the M₂O₅ content. The lowest V₂O₅ content forming a δ-phase was 5%, while a slight tetragonality still remained in the samples containing 10% Nb₂O₅ and 10% Ta₂O₅, respectively. From the measurement of the photoconductivities of the quenched films, it was proved that a photoconduction appeared in the tetragonal phase while no photoconductivity was observed in the cubic phase. The characteristic of the photoconduction was that a remarkable decrease in the resistivity was observed when a light of ca. 500 nm in wave length was irradiated on the films.