Light scattering studies on the crystalline morphology of stretched poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) film

The crystalline morphology of poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (PEN) film obtained by uniaxial stretching at 145 °C (T_g + 25 °C) was investigated by use of a light scattering photometer equipped with a CCD camera system. The Hv scattering showed a symmetric, circular pattern at a low stretch ratio of λ < 3. The intensity profile became sharper with an increase in λ, suggesting that anisotropic crystal rods are randomly assembled and that the length of the rods increases with λ. At a high stretch ratio of λ ≥ 3, a double-cross-type pattern consisting of a broad rod-like pattern and sharp cross streaks was observed. The rod-like pattern became smaller and the streaks became sharper with an increase in λ. By the model calculation of the scattering pattern, the double-cross-type pattern is explained by the stacking of anisotropic crystal rods oriented in the stretch direction. As λ increases, the thickness of the rods and the number per stack increase, and the stacks and rods are slightly oriented in the stretch direction. The change in the wide angle X-ray diffraction pattern suggested that the ordering of the molecular chain in the crystal rods increases with increasing λ.     

Alternative human role in manufacturing

The limits of Taylorism are alive and well in today's manufacturing systems. Automation does have to constrain human ability creativity, judgement and skill, and undermine human dignity. The paper presents an interactive concept of manufacturing. Human-Oriented Manufacturing Systems (HOMS), which aims to achieve high flexibility and quality of production while creating an environment for happy working and joyful living.Presented at conference on Ecology of Science and Technology, Japan Science Foundation, Tokyo, 1992.     

Temperature dependence of open-circuit voltage in dye-sensitized solar cells

Temperature, T, dependence of open-circuit voltage, V_oc, was investigated in home-assembled and maker-trial dye-sensitized solar cells, which had wide variety in V_oc, i.e. 600–800 mV. A linear decrease of V_oc was observed with increasing T; all these cells had a slope of about ?2.5 mV/°C, irrespective of the V_ocs in the STC. The mechanism of the T dependence of V_oc was discussed with the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, EIS. Analyses of EIS data with a newly derived model revealed that this dependence is primarily ascribed to a shift of the TiO₂ conduction band.     

Development of a low‐noise IGBT module

High‐frequency leakage current that may cause serious conducted EMI problems flows through an inverter system. The paths of the leakage current are stray capacitances that are formed inside of motors, cables, and IGBT modules. This paper proposes a new IGBT module that realizes low conducted emission noise by flipping the IGBT chip of the lower‐voltage side to decrease its stray capacitance. The leakage current flowing through the low‐noise IGBT module becomes small, since the stray capacitance is a main path of the current. Through an experiment, it is clarified that the conducted emission level is reduced by 13 dB at a maximum when the low‐noise IGBT module is applied to a resonant‐type inverter. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 171(4): 45–52, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20971     

Experimental study of porous foil bearings for web-handling

In this paper, new type of hybrid porous foil bearings for web-handling is presented, in which the traveling web is supported by the externally pressurized porous foil bearings with the hybrid effects of hydrodynamic pressure, due to web movements, and hydrostatic pressure, due to pressurized, added flow through the hollow porous shaft. The relations between web spacing height (air film thickness) and web traveling velocity are measured under various supply pressures. Moreover, the relations between web spacing height and web tension are examined. From these measured relations, the hybrid effects of porous foil bearing on the web spacing height characteristics are clarified experimentally, and it is concluded that the hybrid porous foil bearings presented here have an advantage of controlling the web spacing height to keep suitable web-handling conditions.     

Chromium-Plated Steel Strip for Can Making

In laboratory researches and food packing tests, it has been shown that cold rolled steel strip, plated with a thickness of about 0–002 mil (0–05 μ) of chromium and coated with lacquer is a satisfactory material for cans. It is highly resistant to corrosion, especially to sulphur staining, and the lacquer coating remains firmly adherent. In food packing tests with it, the chromium content of the foodstuffs was no greater than it was with tinplate. The chromium plating line is similar in layout to an electrolytic tinning line, but insoluble electrodes are used and the electrolyte contains chromic and sulphuric acids. For high-speed operation with several plating tanks, special screening of part of the cathode is used to obtain a better lustre.     

Molecular identification of Anisakis type I larvae isolated from hairtail fish off the coasts of Taiwan and Japan

Anisakid nematodes are known to cause the zoonotic disease, anisakiasis, through the consumption of raw or undercooked fish. The parasites most frequently associated with the disease in humans are categorized as Anisakis type I, which comprise several species of the genus Anisakis. The larvae show primitive forms and lack the detailed morphological characteristics required for precise species identification. Thus, molecular characterization is necessary for determining the species of Anisakis type I larvae and acquiring important clinical and epidemiological information. In this study, we isolated Anisakis type I larvae from hairtail fish caught off the coasts of Taiwan and Japan. The ribosomal DNA (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was sequenced, and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses using HinfI and HhaI was carried out for species identification. Most larvae isolated from hairtail caught in Taiwan were Anisakis typica (84%), while those isolated from hairtail caught in Japan were almost exclusively identified either as Anisakis simplex sensu stricto (65%) or Anisakis pegreffii (33%). This is the first report of A. typica in fish obtained from Taiwan. Our results shed the light on the epidemiology of Anisakis type I larvae, which is a potential cause of human anisakiasis in Taiwan and Japan.     

Chemical and physical properties of ultrafine diesel exhaust particles sampled downstream of a catalytic trap

The chemical and physical properties of exhaust particles produced by a Caterpillar 3176 C-12 heavy duty diesel engine equipped with a catalytic trap (CRT) are reported. The engine was operated at 600 Nm and 1500 rpm, using fuels containing 15 and 49 ppm sulfur. A two-stage dilution tunnel designed to simulate the reactions that occur when hot combustion products mix with cooler atmospheric air was used. Particle size distributions were measured using a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and nano-scanning mobility particle sizer (nano SMPS); a nanomicro-orifice uniform deposit impactor (nano MOUDI) collected size-resolved samples for gravimetric and chemical analysis. A nanometer tandem differential mobility analyzer (nano TDMA) was used to measure the volatility and hygroscopicity of 4-15 nm particles. These measurements confirm that the particles consisted primarily of sulfates.     

Construction of Lyapunov function for power system based on solving linear matrix inequality

This paper presents construction of Lyapunov functions for power systems based on solving the Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) derived from the Lyapunov stability theorem considering the dynamics of load characteristic and AVR control system. The proposed Lyapunov function is constructed as a quadratic form of state variables and an integral term which satisfies the curl equation and the sector condition. An induction machine and a synchronous machine are considered as load characteristics. One‐machine one‐load infinite bus system is considered taking into account the flux decay effects and AVR with one time constant of the generator. To verify the proposed Lyapunov function, the transient stability assessment is shown. The critical clearing times given by the proposed Lyapunov function are compared with those obtained by the numerical integration method, and they are shown to be practical. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 158(4): 42– 50, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience. wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20328     

High‐precision positioning control for hard disk drives: 1st report: High‐precision simulator using differential iteration method

The paper proposes a high‐precision simulator for the following mode system design in hard disk drives (HDDs). The simulator is composed of two models: one is a precise mechanical plant which includes numerous high‐frequency vibration modes, and the other is a disturbance signal model which is separated into various disturbances. In the proposed approach, a differential iteration method is applied to identify the precise mechanical plant, providing accurate experimental model analyses. The effectiveness of the synthesized simulator was verified by the comparative studies for experiments and numerical simulations. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 159(1): 54–61, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20457