Acoustic emission monitoring of uniaxial pressing of ceramic powders

Powder compaction is a critical step in a classical method for the production of zero-defect ceramic products. We have studied the development of this step to determine whether acoustic emission can be used to detect the presence of flaws in a compact. In uniaxial pressing at room temperature, the creation and extension of flaws occur principally during the ejection of the compacts. The type and extent of flaws depend on the mechanical properties of the powder used and on the pressing conditions. Acoustic emission was used to monitor the consolidation by uniaxial pressing of Al₂O₃ powders and a UO₂---PuO₂ powder. It was possible to detect flaws in the compacts, to determine their type for a given powder, and to identify the type of powder used by a direct examination of cumulative counts of acoustic emission events and by a statistical analysis of amplitude distributions. Hence, the introduction of this technique in a fabrication process offers the possibility of detecting the presence of defects in compacts as soon as they are created. This would decrease the difficulties involved in reuse in the process of the powder from defective products, and would limit further flaw development during sintering, which are two major problems in the nuclear industry.     

Fiber-linked telescope array: description and laboratory tests of a two-channel prototype

We present a complete two-telescope version of a fiber-linked coherent array that is meant to be used for mounting on the dish of a radio telescope. This was built with 20-cm amateur telescopes and includes three different servo subsystems for guiding, nulling of the air path difference, and fiber length control. Laboratory tests of the fully integrated system in front of a star simulator are described.     

Design and optimization of buck and double buck converters by means of geometric programming

This paper describes a new method for determining the optimal components values and switching frequencies of buck DC–DC converters. First, we revisit some concepts of the optimization technique named geometric programming. Then, we observe that the problem of converter designing can be modeled by means of an objective function and certain constraints which can be written in a specific form known as the posynomial form. The constraints involve expressions that depend on magnitudes such as efficiency, bandwidth, and current and voltage ripples.     

Recognizing malicious software behaviors with tree automata inference

We explore how formal methods and tools of the verification trade could be used for malware detection and analysis. In particular, we propose a new approach to learning and generalizing from observed malware behaviors based on tree automata inference. Our approach infers k-testable tree automata from system call dataflow dependency graphs. We show how inferred automata can be used for malware recognition and classification.     

A New Method for Measurement of Helium Mass Flow Rate in the Cryogenic System of TORE SUPRA

The TORE SUPRA Tokamak was built by EURATOM-CEA association. The NbTi conductor of superconducting coils is inserted in a tight enclosure filled with pressurized superfluid helium of 0.125 MPa at 1.8 K. The thick casing is cooled to 4.5 K by 1.8 MPa in 4.5 K supercritical helium circulation. Around this thick casing, a 80 K thermal shield protects the parts at very low temperatures from the thermal radiation, which is cooled by pressurized helium at 80 K and 1.8 MPa. A new measurement method for helium mass flow rate of 80 K shield and 4.5 K casing is described in this paper. The commissioning was done on the two helium loops of the cryoplant: the supercritical 4.5 K thick casing and 80 K shields. The purpose is to improve control of the 4.5 K and 80 K refrigeration loops.     

Relationship between solar radiation and surface distribution of vegetation in Fildes Peninsula and Ardley Island,Maritime Antarctica

The aim of this work is to produce a simplified vegetation map of ice-free areas of the Fildes Peninsula (FP) and Ardley Island (AI) thought object-oriented classification using a QuickBird satellite image and to evaluate the influence of the global solar radiation (GSR) over the vegetation distribution. The vegetation data were generated from multiresolution segmentation using the panchromatic and infrared layers, and for the classification we calculated the normalized vegetative difference index (NVDI) and the green NVDI. Two classes were created – Lichen and Moss Cushion SubFormation and Moss Subformation – with 48 vegetation samples collected on surveys during the austral summers of 2008 and 2009. We used a kappa index to evaluate the classification efficiency using 100 sampled points obtained in austral summer of 2013. The GSR was estimated, and in order to evaluate the effect of meteorological phenomena and cloudless, we measured the GSR using a net radiometer model CNR4 installed in FP between 2014 and 2016. The estimate of GSR was done for seasons of 2015, in order to estimate the light compensation point and the saturation point for the plant communities in FP and AI. The kappa index was 0.73 and the global accuracy was 0.78, showing consistency between the classification and ground truth. The area was covered by vegetation in FP was 16.7% and in AI is 59.1%. The vegetation cover is distributed differently at FP and AI, and our results suggest GSR plays an important role in vegetation distribution and these tendencies could be related to greater GSR demand by mosses when compared to lichens.     

2N Period submicron grating at the inner wall of a metal cylinder

The aim of the present contribution is to set up and demonstrate the chain of processes leading to the Ni-master of a circular cylinder having an integer number of long grating lines of submicron period at its wall. Microelectronics 2D microstructuring technologies were adapted in order to print a photoresist integer period number on a glass cylinder flank by the projection of a radial planar phase-mask grating. The next step is the galvanic growth of nickel on the photoresist corrugation. Subsequently, the manufacturing of cylindrical gratings will be enabled by an injection moulding process.     

Alterations in ovarian function of mice with reduced amounts of KIT receptor

The KIT receptor, present on oocyte and theca cells in ovarian follicles, and its ligand, KIT LIGAND, produced by granulosa cells, are encoded at the Kit gene and the Mgf gene, respectively. Both Kit and Mgf mutations affect oogenesis and folliculogenesis. In this study, the ovarian function of heterozygous mice with a mutation Kit(W-lacZ) was examined. Firstly, the amounts of KIT and KIT LIGAND proteins in the ovaries of mice at different ages were determined. Secondly, in vivo and in vitro folliculogenesis of wild type and heterozygous mice were compared. Western blotting showed that the amounts of both KIT and KIT LIGAND proteins were decreased in mutant mice. Ovarian follicle populations were counted and more type 5a follicles and fewer type 5b (preantral follicles) were present in ovaries from Kit(W-lacZ/+) ovaries. Furthermore, the relationships between oocyte size and follicle size differed between wild type and heterozygous mice. This finding may be a consequence of altered proliferation of granulosa cells or of altered oocyte growth in mutant mice. Other features of folliculogenesis, such as initiation of follicular growth, total follicle population and follicular atresia, were not affected by the mutation. Analysis of in vitro folliculogenesis did not reveal other differences between wild type and mutant mice. It is concluded that the Kit(W-lacZ) mutation affects the expression of KIT and KIT LIGAND proteins, resulting in alterations in granulosa cell proliferation and/or oocyte growth in preantral follicles.     

Introduction de l'informatique dans la gestion et le contrôle des entrepôts frigorifiques

A cold store is required to preserve foodstuffs which may arrive in quantities of a few hundred tons or in boxes weighing only a few kilos. The pallet is the unit of volume allowing rationalization of storage.Two cases can be classified: full pallet storage and order preparation for retailers. With full pallet storage the series of operations carried out are: receiving goods, putting them into a defined place, maintaining the required storage environment, finally delivering pallets. Incidental to these functions are: Inventory control, (invoicing, etc.), management of stocks, (the computer can choose the best storage place for each pallet according to the delivery rate and the shortest distance), instructions to semi-automatic fork lift trucks or to fully automatic stacker cranes, optimization of refrigeration machines to minimize power consumption and to give warning of maintenance requirements or breakdown, security protection against fire and robbery.From full pallets, orders are prepared from a few boxes of each article to deliver to retailers. The computer chooses the right moment to bring out pallets from the main stock, moving them to the best place in the preparation area and finally indicating to the workman in what order he has to take boxes from the pallets.The main advantages are: better use of space, better control of the quality of the materials being stored, and lower energy costs. Paradoxically the main obstacle to further progress is the difficulty of efficiently replacing human operators for single box handling.