Activity measurement of the constituents in molten Fe–B and Fe–B–C alloys

The distribution ratios of Fe and B between molten Fe–B alloy and molten Ag were measured at temperatures between 1573 and 1923 K. Also, distribution ratios of Fe and B between molten Fe–B–C_satd. alloys and molten Ag were measured at 1873 K. It was found that the excess Gibbs free energy of mixing in molten Fe–B and Fe–B–C alloys can be expressed by utilizing the Redlich–Kister polynomial. The activity curves of the elements in molten Fe–B alloy and Fe–B–C alloy were estimated.     

Thermal properties of ethylene ionomers

The annealing effect of ethylene ionomers annealed at various temperatures and for various periods was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. Two endothermic melting peaks were observed for all the ethylene ionomers annealed. The melting peak at the lower temperature, which was assigned to bundlelike crystal owing to a Hoffman-Weeks relationship, shifted to a higher temperature with the annealing temperature and period, indicative of recrystallization. There is physical cross-linking consisting of ionic aggregates, such as multiplets and clusters in ethylene ionomers. The crystallization kinetics of ethylene ionomers was fundamentally similar, but different from that of low-density polyethylene. Crystallization and recrystallization suggested a mobile ethylene chain in both amorphous regions and ionic aggregates even in the presence of cross-linking.     

Delay time compensation based on coefficient of restitution for collision hybrid motion simulator

A hybrid motion simulator embeds a hardware experiment in a numerical simulation loop. However, it is often subjected to the inherent problem of an energy increase in the collision of two pieces of hardware in a loop because of the delay time. This paper proposes a delay time compensation method based on contact dynamics model for a collision hybrid motion simulator under delay time and establishes a compensation method for coupled translational and rotational motion. The model developed in this paper describes linear uniform motion of a floating object during the period of the delay time until the force and torque are observed and non-linear motion according to environmental stiffness after the initial delay time period in contact. By using the above model, compensation parameters are designed based on desired coefficient of restitution with iterative calculation. The proposed method achieves accurate delay time compensation and simultaneously realizes a variable desired coefficient of restitution over a wide range of frequencies. Furthermore, the compensation method for multi-dimensional motion is established under the assumption that the friction effect is very small. The efficiency of the proposed method is verified through collision experiments for the coupled motion in two dimensions.     

Gas transport properties of 6FDA-TAPOB hyperbranched polyimide membrane

Physical and gas transport properties of the hyperbranched polyimide prepared from a triamine, 1,3,5-tris(4-aminophenoxy)benzene (TAPOB), and a dianhydride, 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene) diphthalic anhydride (6FDA), were investigated and compared with those of linear-type polyimides with similar chemical structures prepared from diamines, 1,4-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene (TPEQ) or 1,3-bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene (TPER), and 6FDA. 6FDA-TAPOB hyperbranched polyimide exhibited a good thermal stability as well as linear-type analogues. Fractional free volume (FFV) value of 6FDA-TAPOB was higher than those of the linear-type analogues, indicating looser packing of molecular chains attributed to the characteristic hyperbranched structure. It was found that increased resistance to the segmental mobility decreases the gas diffusivity of 6FDA-TAPOB, in spite of the higher FFV value. However, 6FDA-TAPOB exhibited considerably high gas solubility, resulting in high gas permeability. It was suggested that low segmental mobility and unique size and distribution of free volume holes arising from the characteristic hyperbranched structure of 6FDA-TAPOB provide effective O₂/N₂ selectivity. It is concluded that the 6FDA-TAPOB hyperbranched polyimide has relatively high permeability and O₂/N₂ selectivity, and is expected to apply to a high-performance gas separation membrane.     

Characterization of alicyclic polyimides based on cyclobutane ring dianhydride and aromatic diamine

Films of alicyclic polyamic acid and polyimide containing cyclobutane ring in dianhydride moiety and aromatic ring with p- or m-linkages in diamine moiety were characterized by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, dynamic viscoelasticity, differential-scanning calorimetry (DSC), density, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction analyses. Partially and fully imidized polyimides were obtained by varying the imidization temperature, e.g., 150°C, 250°C, and 350°C. It was found from the results of IR spectra, dynamic viscoelasticity, and DSC measurements that the imidization of alicyclic polyamic acid was reduced at about 150°C and needed a higher imidization temperature than aromatic polyamic acid. Alicyclic polyimide with m-linkage in the diamine moiety had a higher density and a much more ordered structure than with p-linkage. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Low‐Energy Electron Beam Induced Charging and Secondary Electron Emission Properties of FEP Film Used on Satellite Surfaces

Many kinds of insulating materials are used outside a spacecraft. They include FEP films, polyimide films, and so on, and are used as thermal control materials. These materials are exposed to a charged‐particle environment around the spacecraft. Thus then become charged due to charged particles, especially electrons. It has been pointed out that charging of these materials is likely to cause discharges on the surfaces. From this viewpoint, we investigated the charging potential characteristics of 127‐μm‐thick FEP film, a typical thermal control material, by exposing it to electron irradiation at various energies below 20 keV. In the dependence of the charging potential on the electron energy, we found that the electron energy at which no charge‐up occurs is about 2.7 keV. This appears to be the energy at the which secondary electron emission yield becomes unity. This indicates that electron irradiation of FEP film with energies lower than 2.7 keV induces positive charging. From the charge decay characteristics after electron irradiation, the volume resistivity of the film was also obtained as a function of the electric fields in the bulk of the FEP film.     

The Ameliorative Effect of Dexamethasone on the Development of Autoimmune Lung Injury and Mediastinal Fat-Associated Lymphoid Clusters in an Autoimmune Disease Mouse Model

In our previous study, we revealed the ameliorative therapeutic effect of dexamethasone (Dex) for Lupus nephritis lesions in the MRL/MpJ-Fas ^lpr/lpr (Lpr) mouse model. The female Lpr mice developed a greater number of mediastinal fat-associated lymphoid clusters (MFALCs) and inflammatory lung lesions compared to the male mice. However, the effect of Dex, an immunosuppressive drug, on both lung lesions and the development of MFALCs in Lpr mice has not been identified yet. Therefore, in this study, we compared the development of lung lesions and MFALCs in female Lpr mice that received either saline (saline group “SG”) or dexamethasone (dexamethasone group “DG”) in drinking water as a daily dose along with weekly intraperitoneal injections for 10 weeks. Compared to the SG group, the DG group showed a significant reduction in the levels of serum anti-dsDNA antibodies, the size of MFALCs, the degree of lung injury, the area of high endothelial venules (HEVs), and the number of proliferating and immune cells in both MFALCs and the lungs. A significant positive correlation was observed between the size of MFALCs and the cellular aggregation in the lungs of Lpr mice. Therefore, this study confirmed the ameliorative effect of Dex on the development of lung injury and MFALCs via their regressive effect on both immune cells’ proliferative activity and the development of HEVs. Furthermore, the reprogramming of MFALCs by targeting immune cells and HEVs may provide a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune-disease-associated lung injury.     

Evaluating a behavioral demand response trial in Japan: evidence from the summer of 2013

This paper presents results from a behavioral demand response trial targeted to both grid and residential peak hours, in which weekly feedback via paper-based reports, real-time feedback via an in-home display, 30-minute tiered rate, and email prompts are adopted to almost 230 residential customers of a condominium in Funabashi, a city located in Greater Tokyo. Through a randomized experiment, we find that the peak saving impact during grid peak hours (1–4 pm, weekdays only) was 11.6 %, given that all the four interventions provided all at once. In addition, the results show that the variation in peak saving effects by household characteristics exists, and the variation differs among packages of peak saving interventions. Furthermore, we analyzed how much informational elements in weekly reports are considered as useful by residential customers. These results suggest that feedback-based approaches for peak saving can promote households’ energy conservation behavior.     

Thermal conductivity of non-stoichiometric americium oxide: A molecular dynamics study

The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of multi-valency of americium in its oxide for the lowering of the thermal conductivity and the uncertainty in measurement. In the present study, thermal conductivity of non-stoichiometric americium oxide was evaluated up to 2000 K by the non-equilibrium molecular dynamics calculations using the Born-Mayer-Huggins interatomic potential with the partially ionic model. The oxygen-to-americium ratio (O/Am) was varied from 1.6 to 1.9, which corresponded to the variation of the ratio of Am³⁺/Am⁴⁺. So, we prepared potential parameters for both Am³⁺ and Am⁴⁺. The calculated thermal conductivity of non-stoichiometric americium oxide decreased with an increase of temperature, and the degree of the temperature dependence became smaller with a decrease of the O/Am ratio. This was mainly caused by the phonon-scattering due to oxygen vacancies induced with Am³⁺ ions. Comparing two supercells in which (1) short-range ordered Am³⁺ clusters were contained and (2) Am³⁺ ions were randomly distributed, the thermal conductivity of the former seemed to be somewhat larger than that of the latter.