Evaluation of a CPU Scheduling Mechanism for Multimedia Systems

Multimedia applications handling audio and video data have to obey time characteristics of these media types. Besides a basic functionality to express time relations, correctness with respect to time constraints requires mechanisms which lead to favoured processing of multimedia operations. CPU scheduling techniques based on the experience from real-time operating systems offer a solution and provide multimedia applications with the ability to meet time-related quality of service requirements. This paper discusses mechanisms to express time in multimedia systems and describes an implementation of a CPU scheduler designed to run under IBM's UNIX derivate AIX. The evaluation of the implementation based on measurements shows that the scheduler is able to support the time requirements of multimedia applications and that such mechanisms are indeed necessary since otherwise deadline violations occur.     

FAST S-PARAMETER COMPUTATION OF A MICROSTRIP INTERDIGITAL FILTER USING TLM,PRONY'S AND DIGITAL FILTERING TECHNIQUES

A spectral estimation technique based on Prony's method has been used to analyse a five section microstrip interdigital filter with the TLM method. The time response of the filter is expressed as the sum of only five damped sinusoids, yielding an analytical expression for the time response. Furthermore, since an analytical Fourier transform exists for this expression, the frequency response is obtained without applying the fast Fourier or discrete Fourier transform. This typically reduces the time required for a TLM analysis by a factor of five. The approximation agrees very well with a full TLM time response. It is also shown that the numerical noise due to single precision computation of the absorbing boundary algorithm can be eliminated by digital filtering techniques. The effect of the via holes used for grounding the quarter-wave resonators of the filter has been included by discretizing them along with the rest of the circuit. Scattering parameters for the filter compare well with measurements published by Swanson.     

FREE CONVECTIVE DRAFT INDUCED BY THERMAL AND CONCENTRATION GRADIENTS INSIDE AN ISOTHERMAL,VERTICAL CYLINDER†

Laminar, free convective flow through a vertical cylinder induced by the thermal and concentration buoyancy forces is investigated. The numerical studies involve development of a steady-state, two-dimensional heat and mass transfer model for the moist air core of the vertical tube. The stream function-vorticity method is employed to simplify the governing, coupled conservation equations which were then numerically solved by the successive over-relaxation (SOR) and alternating direction implicit ((ADI) methods.

A graphical correlation was found between dimensionless flow rate and dimensionless tube length as a function of the buoyancy force ratio N = Gr/Grc. Excellent agreement was obtained for the dimensionless flow rale results with those of Davis and Perona¹⁶ and Kageyama and Izumi¹³ for the case when only the-thermal buoyancy force is considered.

The combined buoyancy force from thermal and species diffusion provides larger local Nusselt Nu and local Sherwood Sh numbers relative to the case when just one buoyancy force is accounted for. Both local Nu and local Sh are seen to asymptotically approach a constant value as flow develops.     

MELTING OF ICE AROUND A HORIZONTAL ISOTHERMAL CYLINDRICAL HEAT SOURCE

Processes during melting from a horizontal cylindrical heat source of uniform surface temperature embedded in ice have been studied experimentally. The volume of the melt and its shape were photographed at different times for various constant temperatures of the heat source. At early times and under all conditions, the melt occupied a cylindrical annulus. At later times free convective motion caused pear-shaped melt contours which pointed downward when the temperatures of the heat source were below 7°C and upward when the temperatures were above 8°C. Instabilities in cellular natural convection motion resulted in waviness of the interface. The location and magnitude of these ripples were found to depend on the temperature of the heat source and the melt layer thickness. Shadowgraph techniques were used to determine local heat transfer coefficients at the heat source surface.     

Specific intentions–general realities: on the relation between urban forms and political aspirations in Berlin during the twentieth century

Berlin as a capital city seems to be a very specific case: no other capital city experienced political changes as extreme as Berlin in the twentieth century. All the different political systems tried to impose their political aspirations on the urban fabric, planning large government complexes with specific urban images and highly political overtones. Therefore, the planning history of Berlin is often considered as unique – each phase of planning belonging closely to the political body that installed it – and each phase of planning being part of a special Berlin planning history.

Within this article Berlin's planning history is interpreted in a different way. First, there are planning ideas, which are far more constant than the political systems and which cannot be attributed to only one system. Secondly, for each planning idea which had been developed for special political purposes in Berlin, some international examples can be found which root it in an international urban debate rather than in a regional tradition. The result is quite astonishing, since for nearly every plan international examples with often contradictory political ideas can be found. This means that one can no longer interpret Berlin's planning history as a special case, explainable mostly by local traditions and political intentions. In fact, urban design for government districts in Berlin is more closely connected to international trends and the discipline of urban design. Thus, in addition, the relationship between urban forms and political aspirations must be considered as being more arbitrary than conventionally seen.     

Calculation of the inversion channel resistance for n-MOSFETs using a classical and semi-quantum-mechanical model

Two models are presented to calculate the inversion channel carrier distribution of an n-type MOSFET. The classical approach solves Poisson's equation and applies Fermi-Dirac statistics in conjunction with Gauss's law to determine the carrier distribution. The semi-quantum-mechanical model solves Schrodinger's equation decoupled from Poisson's equation and the Fermi-Dirac statistics by assuming a constant electrostatic field and quantized energy levels. The results of both models are used to determine the channel resistance taking transversal field initiated mobility reductions into account. A comparison is made to a practical device and the results discussed.     

Dilatation Behavior of Two Differently Heat-Treated Commercial Magnesia-Partially-Stabilized Zirconias

The dilatation behavior of two grades of partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ) was determined. ZN 40 is a material which contains 40% to 50% t -ZrO₂ particles, and has a reproducible dilatometric behavior up to 900°C. ZN 50 is a Mg-PSZ containing 20% to 30% of the monoclinic phase. The cyclic dilatation curves show an unstable hysteresis effect which arises from the tetragonal-monoclinic phase transformation.     

碳化硅颗粒增强铝基复合材料颗粒表面改性技术研究现状

SiC颗粒增强铝基复合材料因具有高的比强度、比刚度、耐磨性及较好的高温稳定性而被广泛应用于航空航天、电子、医疗等领域,但由于SiC颗粒高熔点、高硬度的特点以及SiC颗粒与铝基体间存在界面反应,碳化硅铝基复合材料存在加工性差、界面结合力不足等问题,已无法满足航天等领域对材料性能更高的要求,因此开展如何改善基体与颗粒之间界面情况的研究对进一步提升复合材料综合性能具有重要的科学意义。结合国内外现有研究成果,总结了SiC颗粒与铝基体界面强化机制、界面反应特点、表面改性技术原理及数值建模的发展现状,结果表明,现有经单一表面改性方法处理后的增强颗粒对铝基复合材料性能的提升程度有限,因此如何采用新的手段使复合材料性能进一步提升将成为后续研究热点,且基于有限元数值模拟方法进行复合材料设计也是必然趋势。最后针对单一强化性能提升有限的问题,提出了基于表面改性的柔性颗粒多模式强化方法,同时针对现有的技术难点展望了后续的研究方向,以期为颗粒增强复合材料的制备提供理论参考。     

Viscosity-Drift Technique for Determination of Critical Liquid-Liquid Immiscibility Temperature of Glasses

The time dependence of the low-temperature viscosity was used to determine the occurrence of phase separation in glass systems and to measure the critical immiscibility temperature. The technique is fast and easily performed and can be applied to materials with very low immiscibility gaps. Immiscibility temperatures for several technically important glass compositions are given.     

NMR Study of Adsorbate Self-Diffusion in Porous Glasses

The NMR pulsed field gradient technique was used to study molecular transport in porous glasses. The adsorbent materials were produced by leaching phase-separated sodium-boron-silica glasses of different composition, then heat-treating. The pore diameters of the glass samples produced were within the interval 0.8 to 50 nm. Water, methanol, dodecane, and do-decene were used as adsorbates. The coefficients of adsorbate self-diffusion were found to decrease with decreasing pore diameter. In comparison with the neat liquids, a reduction in the adsorbate mobility (up to two orders of magnitude) was observed. For the larger pores, that decrease may be attributed to the tortuosity of the adsorbent, whereas the low diffusivities in the porous glasses with small pores are a consequence of the stabilizing effect of the rigid adsorbent framework.