Properties and Performance of Cation-Doped Ceria Electrolyte Materials in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Applications

Cation-doped CeO₂ electrolyte has been evaluated in single-cell and short-stack tests in solid oxide fuel cell environments and applications. These results, along with conductivity measurements, indicate that an ionic transference number of ∼0.75 can be expected at 800°C. Single cells have shown a power density >350 mW/cm². Multicell stacks have demonstrated a peak performance of >100 mW/cm² at 700°C using metallic separators.     

Active learning for on-road vehicle detection: a comparative study

In recent years, active learning has emerged as a powerful tool in building robust systems for object detection using computer vision. Indeed, active learning approaches to on-road vehicle detection have achieved impressive results. While active learning approaches for object detection have been explored and presented in the literature, few studies have been performed to comparatively assess costs and merits. In this study, we provide a cost-sensitive analysis of three popular active learning methods for on-road vehicle detection. The generality of active learning findings is demonstrated via learning experiments performed with detectors based on histogram of oriented gradient features and SVM classification (HOG–SVM), and Haar-like features and Adaboost classification (Haar–Adaboost). Experimental evaluation has been performed on static images and real-world on-road vehicle datasets. Learning approaches are assessed in terms of the time spent annotating, data required, recall, and precision.     

Miscibility and fracture toughness of thermoplastic polyurethane/poly(vinyl chloride)/nitrile rubber ternary blends with special reference to the blend composition

Ternary blends of thermoplastic polyurethane and a poly(vinyl chloride)/nitrile rubber blend were investigated in this work. The blends, with weight ratios of 100/0, 80/20, 40/60, 60/40, 80/20, and 0/100, were prepared via melt blending. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the blends with ratios of 20/80 and 80/20 were miscible, whereas the 40/60 and 60/40 blends were partially miscible. IR spectroscopy studies showed shifts in the peaks due to specific interactions in the blends. The blends showed degradation behavior between the blend components. The fracture toughness was investigated with the J‐integral by the locus method; the components and the miscible blends had good fracture toughness, whereas the other blends had lower toughness. Similar behavior was observed for the tensile properties. Scanning electron microscopy studies showed the morphological variations in the blends. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 1763–1770, 2005     

Robotic U-shaped assembly line balancing using particle swarm optimization

Automation in an assembly line can be achieved using robots. In robotic U-shaped assembly line balancing (RUALB), robots are assigned to workstations to perform the assembly tasks on a U-shaped assembly line. The robots are expected to perform multiple tasks, because of their capabilities. U-shaped assembly line problems are derived from traditional assembly line problems and are relatively new. Tasks are assigned to the workstations when either all of their predecessors or all of their successors have already been assigned to workstations. The objective function considered in this article is to maximize the cycle time of the assembly line, which in turn helps to maximize the production rate of the assembly line. RUALB aims at the optimal assignment of tasks to the workstations and selection of the best fit robot to the workstations in a manner such that the cycle time is minimized. To solve this problem, a particle swarm optimization algorithm embedded with a heuristic allocation (consecutive) procedure is proposed. The consecutive heuristic is used to allocate the tasks to the workstation and to assign a best fit robot to that workstation. The proposed algorithm is evaluated using a wide variety of data sets. The results indicate that robotic U-shaped assembly lines perform better than robotic straight assembly lines in terms of cycle time.     

Structural,morphological, optical and electrical properties of CdS thin films simultaneously doped with magnesium and chlorine

CdS thin films simultaneously doped with Mg and Cl at different doping concentrations (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 at%) were prepared on glass substrates by spray pyrolysis technique using perfume atomizer at 400 °C. The effect of Mg and Cl doping concentration on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of the deposited films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, UV–Vis spectroscopy and dc electrical measurements, respectively. XRD analysis showed that the undoped and doped CdS films exhibit hexagonal structure with a preferential orientation along the (0 0 2) plane. The 2θ angle position of the (0 0 2) peak of the doped films was shifted towards a higher angle with increasing Mg and Cl concentration. The UV–Vis–NIR absorption spectra of Mg and Cl doped thin films are measured and classical Tauc approach was employed to estimate their band gap energies. The increase in band gap energy from 2.46 to 2.73 eV with the reduction in crystallite size supports quantum size effect. Raman spectra implied that more defects existed in the doped samples. Electrical studies showed that all the films have resistivity in the order of 10¹ Ω-cm and the CdS film with 6 at% Mg and Cl concentration has a minimum resistivity of 1.332 × 10¹ Ω-cm.     

Intelligent System Application to Monitor the Smart City Building Lighting

A smart city incorporates infrastructure methods that are environmentally responsible, such as smart communications, smart grids, smart energy, and smart buildings. The city administration has prioritized the use of cutting-edge technology and informatics as the primary strategy for enhancing service quality, with energy resources taking precedence. To achieve optimal energy management in the multidimensional system of a city tribe, it is necessary not only to identify and study the vast majority of energy elements, but also to define their implicit interdependencies. This is because optimal energy management is required to reach this objective. The lighting index is an essential consideration when evaluating the comfort indicators. In order to realize the concept of a smart city, the primary objective of this research is to create a system for managing and monitoring the lighting index. It is possible to identify two distinct phases within the intelligent system. Once data collection concludes, the monitoring system will be activated. In the second step, the operation of the control system is analyzed and its effect on the performance of the numerical model is determined. This evaluation is based on the proposed methodology. The optimized results were deemed satisfactory because they maintained the brightness index value (79%) while consuming less energy. The intelligent implementation system generated satisfactory outcomes, which were observed 1.75 times on average.     

Effect of gate poly-silicon depletion on MOSFET input impedance

One of the most challenging problems encountered in developing RF circuits is accurate prediction of MOS behavior at microwave signal and data frequencies. An attempt is made in this work to accurately model the device input impedance for the 1-20-GHz frequency range. The effect of device length and single-leg width on the input impedance is studied with the aid of extensive measured data obtained from devices built in 0.11-/spl mu/m and 0.18-/spl mu/m technologies. The measured data illustrates that the device input impedance has a nonlinear frequency dependency. It is also shown that this variation in input impedance is a result of gate poly-silicon depletion, which can be modeled by an external RC network connected at the gate of the device. Excellent agreement between the simulation results and the measured data validates the model in the device active region.     

A mannose-binding protein from the cell surface of flocculent Saccharomyces cerevisiae (NCIM 3528): its role in flocculation

A cell surface lectin was isolated and purified to homogeneity from the cell walls of a highly flocculent strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (NCIM 3528) by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, phenyl Sepharose and Sephacryl S-300. It showed a molecular mass of 40 kDa on SDS-PAGE. It is an acidic protein with a pI of 4.0 and contains 44% hydrophobic amino acids. The N-terminal sequence up to 10 amino acid residues showed at least 70% homology with the predicted N-terminal sequence of the putative FLO1 as well as FLO5 gene products. The mannose-binding nature of the lectin was indicated by its high affinity and specificity towards the branched trisaccharide of mannose, a ligand which also inhibits the flocculation of yeast cells. Immunofluorescence studies confirmed the presence of lectin on the yeast cell surface and lectin-specific IgGs prevented flocculation of the cells. This cell surface mannose-specific lectin probably plays an important role in flocculation, with the branched trimannoside on the cell wall being the apparent carbohydrate receptor. The N-terminal sequence data gives a primary indication that the lectin could be a product of one of the FLO genes.