Sustainable simultaneous communications in ad-hoc networks using smart antenna systems

This article proposes an analytical model for evaluating the number of simultaneous communications that can be sustained by an ad-hoc network in which the nodes are equipped with fully adaptive smart antennas. The presented mathematical framework adopts realistic models for the antenna radiation pattern and the channel behavior, and is able to take into account the network topology and the characteristics of the medium access control (MAC) protocol in the spatial domain. The model is employed to investigate the impact of the spatial channel model and of the angular spread on network performance. Additionally, this article examines the influence of the transmission policy of the control and data packets of the MAC layer on the number of simultaneous communications.     

Electrochemical investigations on composite iron electrodes

In spite of the many studies performed since the beginning of the last century, the Fe electrode, used as negative of both Ni/Fe and Fe/Air batteries, still poses several problems. For instance, according to the current literature, the following points are still not clear: (i) whether and how the depth of discharge affects electrode performance; (ii) what pathway the discharge follows, generally assumed as it is to involve consecutive Fe → Fe^II and Fe^II → Fe^III oxidation; (iii) why, at room temperature, only a minor fraction of the large theoretical capacity can be exploited. The present paper shows that deep discharges do increase Fe electrode performance, since they induce a transitory inhibition of hydrogen evolution. Likewise, Fe/Metal oxide composite electrodes have shown that the formation of Fe^III in discharge can take place directly from Fe, when the discharging rate applied is no longer compatible with the increase in electrode resistance due to oxidation products. Fe/Intermetallic compound composite electrodes have been studied as possible routes for increasing the efficiency of Fe capacity: useful indications have been gained as regards the compatibility of Fe with an IMC for charge storage.     

Exploiting capture and interference cancellation for uplink random multiple access in 5G millimeter-wave networks

The forthcoming 5G technology aims to provide massive device connectivity and ultra-high capacity with reduced latency and costs. These features will be enabled by increasing the density of the base stations, using millimeter-wave (mmWave) bands, massive multiple-input multiple-output systems, and non-orthogonal multiple access techniques. The ability to support a large number of terminals in a small area is in fact a great challenge to guarantee massive access. In this context, this paper proposes a new receiver model for the uplink of 5G mmWave cellular networks. The receiver, called Iterative Decoding and Interference Cancellation (IDIC), is based on the Slotted Aloha (SA) protocol and exploits the capture effect alongside the successive IC process to resolve packet collisions. A 5G propagation scenario, modeled according to recent mmWave channel measurements, is used to compare IDIC with the widely adopted Contention Resolution Diversity SA (CRDSA) scheme to show the performance gain of IDIC, when elements of practical relevance, like imperfect cancellation and receive power diversity, are considered. The impact of packet and power diversity is also investigated to derive the preferable uplink random access strategy that maximizes the system throughput according to the offered channel load.

     

Electrodeposition of porous Co layers and their conversion to electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation by spontaneous deposition of Pd

Electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation were prepared through a two stage deposition process: porous cobalt layers were deposited, by cathodic reduction of Co²⁺ ions, and then modified by spontaneous deposition of Pd. A basic sulphate solution and a mildly acid chloride solution were compared as media for the electrodeposition of Co. Deposits with the highest surface roughness were obtained in the chloride solution, at large current densities. Pd was deposited onto the Co porous layers by immersing them in acid deaerated PdCl₂ solutions, at open circuit. The Pd loading and the Pd surface area were estimated by UV–visible spectroscopy and by cyclic voltammetry, respectively. The Pd-modified Co electrodes were tested as anodes for methanol oxidation and compared to the similarly prepared Pd-modified Ni electrodes. The former exhibited better stability of performance and higher methanol oxidation peak currents per unit Pd mass, ca. 200 A g⁻¹.     

Interference Mitigation on WLANs Using Smart Antennas

This paper investigates the performance of a fixed Wireless LAN in which nodes are equipped with fully adaptive smart antennas. The considered smart antenna system is a uniform circular array of microstrip patch elements in which the weights are updated using the unconstrained LMS algorithm. The behavior of a new directional MAC protocol for spatial multiplexing is analyzed and compared with IEEE 802.11 DCF. The paper purpose is the evaluation of interference and multipath effects on SDMA, using realistic models for the channel and for the smart antenna system. The link model takes into account path loss, cochannel interference and multipath, using a modified Jakes model. Results show that the performance of the WLAN are strictly dependent on the interferer characteristics and on the angular spread of the channel. Fulvio Babich was born in Trieste, Italy. He received the doctoral degree in electrical engineering, from the University of Trieste, in 1984. From 1984 to 1987 he was with the Research and Development Department of Telettra (Vimercate), working on optical communications. From 1987 to 1992 he was with Research and Development Department of Zanussi (Zeltron), where he held the position of Company Head in the Home System European projects. In 1992, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering (DEEI) of the University of Trieste, where he is associate professor of digital communications. His current research interests are in the field of wireless networks and personal communications. Massimiliano Comisso was born in Trieste, Italy. He received the degree of “Laurea" in Electronic Engineering from the University of Trieste. Currently, he is a PhD student at the Department of Electrical Engineering (DEEI) at University of Trieste in information technology. His research interests include wireless networks, adaptive arrays and small antennas. Marco D'Orlando was born in Tolmezzo, Italy, in September 1978. He received the Electronic Engineering degree (summa cum laude) from the University of Trieste, Italy, in December 2003. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (DEEI) at University of Trieste. His research interests are in the field of multimedia communications, networking, joint source channel coding and resource allocation. Lucio Manià was born in Ronchi dei Legionari, Italy, in 1942. He received the Electronic Engineering degree from the University of Trieste, Italy, in 1968. Since 1970 he has been an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, where he is currently an Associate Professor. From 1975 to 1985 he was a consulting engineer with Co.El. S.p.A., where he was involved in antenna design for FM and TV broadcasting systems. His current scientific interests include electromagnetic compatibility for safety purposes, wireless communications and numerical techniques for electromagnetic simulations.     

Porous electrodes supported on ion-exchange membranes as electrochemical detectors for supercritical fluid chromatography

A conveniently assembled electrochemical cell, exploiting a porous electrode supported on a moist perfluorinated ion-exchange polymer, is proposed for profitable electrochemical detection in supercritical fluid chromatography. It consists of a porous Pt working electrode, contacted by the mobile phase from the chromatographic column, which is chemically deposited onto one side of a Nafion membrane. The rear uncoated side of this membrane, acting as a solid polymer electrolyte, is contacted by an electrolyte solution (1 M NaCl) contained in an internal compartment equipped with a Pt counter electrode and a Ag/AgCl, Cl(-) 1 M reference electrode. Ferrocene, eluted with supercritical carbon dioxide through a Spherisorb column installed in a supercritical fluid chromatographic system, was used as electroactive prototype analyte to test the performance of this detector, which turned out to be quite better than that provided by a conventional on-line UV absorbance detector. The recorded peaks were characterized by both a good reproducibility (4.5%) and a linear dependence of their height and area, which extended over a wide concentration range ( approximately 3 orders of magnitude). Moreover, they were not interfered by possible solvent front, unlike peaks recorded by the UV detector. The detection limit, estimated for a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 (4.2 x 10(-11) mol), was lower by approximately 1 order of magnitude than that found for the UV detector. Finally, the long-term stability of this detector was satisfactory in that only a approximately 6% decrease in the current responses was observed after a rather long period (2 months) of continuous use.     

Changes in hydrogen storage properties of carbon nano-horns submitted to thermal oxidation

The effect of thermal oxidation on the hydrogen storage properties of carbon nano-horns was investigated by gravimetric and electrochemical methods. The pristine nano-horn sample was oxidised at 673 K in air for different periods (15, 30 and 60 min) and the resulting materials were characterised. The N₂ adsorption experiments reveal a marked increase in the surface area, from 267 m² g⁻¹, for the pristine sample, up to 1360 m² g⁻¹ for the sample oxidised for the 60 min period, and a reduction in the average pore diameter. The gravimetric investigation, conducted at low temperature (77 K) showed an increase in the hydrogen storage, from 0.75 wt% for the pristine sample up to 2.60 wt% for the oxidised material. Reproducible and stable hydrogen storage was found for all the samples examined apart from the sample oxidised for 60 min. For the latter, a decrease in the amount of hydrogen stored between the first and second cycles was found. Electrochemical loading of hydrogen in the samples was performed at room temperature (298 K) in alkaline solution by the galvanostatic charge/discharge technique. The results obtained here however show a much lower hydrogen storage level by the samples as compared to the gas storage method, with a maximum value of 0.124 wt% H₂ and with very little dependence on the thermal oxidation treatment.     

Anion effects on conductivity of isomorphous polypyrrole. Charge pinning by nucleophilic anions

Anion dependence of conductivity in well-ordered polypyrrole tosylate deposits was determined by anion exchange in aqueous medium with several inorganic (NO₃⁻, ClO₄⁻, F⁻, Cl⁻, Br⁻, BF₄⁻, HSO₄⁻, OH⁻) and organic (CF₃COO⁻, CH₃COO⁻, CH₃CH₂COO⁻, PhCOO⁻, PhO⁻, p-CH₃---C₆H₄---SO₃⁻) anions. Conductivity was found to be high (80–100 S cm⁻¹) and almost independent of anion size and (for anions of strong acids) of anion type, but it decreased with increasing anion basicity (70 S cm⁻¹ for carboxylate, 25 S cm⁻¹ for phenoxide and 3 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ for hydroxide anion). Quenching of conductivity by nucleophilic anions is explained by pinning of positive charges in the polypyrrole backbone with a pinning energy as high as 0.4 eV for OH⁻, as determined by E⁰ shifts in the cyclic voltammograms of the polymer.     

Performance Evaluation of Distributed Wireless Networks Using Smart Antennas in Low-Rank Channel

This paper investigates the performance of a distributed wireless network in which the nodes are equipped with fully adaptive smart antennas. The main goal is the evaluation of the influence that the geometrical configuration of the antenna array has on network throughput and packet delay. Analysis and simulations are performed to study the relationship between the geometry of the antenna array and the network topology. In this paper, the performance degradation due to both the small-channel angular spreads and the speed of mobile nodes is investigated. The results, which hold for the low-rank channel model only, extend to this specific case previous results obtained in ideal channel conditions. The study adopts an access scheme, previously proposed for ad-hoc networks, which is able to exploit the interferer suppression capabilities of smart antennas, together with realistic models for the antenna and the channel behaviors.     

Theoretical and numerical analysis of the resonant behaviour of the Minkowski fractal dipole antenna

The resonant behaviour and the size reduction capabilities of the Minkowski fractal dipole antenna are investigated. The antenna is analysed at each resonant frequency by considering the radiation efficiency and the fractional bandwidth. Besides, a method for deriving the approximate positions of the resonant frequencies of the Minkowski dipole at each fractal iteration is proposed. The presented analysis is based on the inductive circuit model and is validated by simulations. Moreover, in order to quantify the advantages provided by the Minkowski geometry, the proposed study performs a comparison with the generalised Koch dipole in terms of fractal dimension and lacunarity.