Toward multiple maximum power point estimation of photovoltaic systems based on semiconductor theory

Environmental conditions, such as temperature, non‐uniform irradiation, and solar shading, deeply affect the characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) modules in PV‐assisted generation systems. Several local maximum power points (MPPs) are found in the power–voltage curve of PV systems constructed by series/parallel‐connected PV modules under partially shaded conditions. The characteristics of PV systems change unpredictably when multiple MPPs occur, so the actual MPP tracking (MPPT) becomes a difficult task. Conventional MPPT methods for the PV systems under partially shaded conditions cannot quickly find the actual MPP such that the optimal utilization of PV systems cannot be achieved. Based on the p–n junction semiconductor theory, we develop a multipoint direct‐estimation (MPDE) method to directly estimate the multiple MPPs of the PV systems under partially shaded conditions and to cope with the mentioned difficulties. Using the proposed MPDE method, the multiple MPPs of the PV systems under partially shaded conditions can be directly determined from their irradiated current–voltage and power–voltage characteristic curves. The performances of the proposed MPDE method are evaluated by examining the characteristics of multiple MPPs of PV systems with respect to different shading strengths and numbers of the shaded PV modules and also tested using the field data. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed MPDE method can simply and accurately estimate the multiple MPPs of the PV systems under partially shaded conditions. The optimization of MPP control models and the MPPT for PV systems could be achieved promisingly by applying the proposed method. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trend transformation of drain-current degradation under drain-avalanche hot-carrier stress for CLC n-TFTs

Continuous-wave green laser-crystallized (CLC) single-grain-like polycrystalline silicon n-channel thin-film transistors (poly-Si n-TFTs) demonstrate the higher electron mobility and turn-on current than excimer laser annealing (ELA) poly-Si n-TFTs. Furthermore, high drain voltage accelerates the flowing electrons in n-type channel, and hence the hot-carriers possibly cause a serious damage near the drain region and deteriorate the source/drain (S/D) current. In this study, at high drain stress voltage, it appears that CLC TFT was degraded in the initial stress time (before 50 s), but the drain current was enhanced after 50 s. After 50 s stress time, the amount of grain boundary trap states near the drain side was getting large and the reflowing holes damaged the source region or injected into gate oxide near source side as well.     

A generalised optimal linear quadratic tracker with universal applications – part 1: continuous-time systems

This paper presents a generalised optimal linear quadratic analog tracker (LQAT) with universal applications for the continuous-time (CT) systems. This includes: (1) a generalised optimal LQAT design for the system with the pre-specified trajectories of the output and the control input and additionally with both the input-to-output direct-feedthrough term and known/estimated system disturbances or extra input/output signals; (2) a new optimal filter-shaped proportional plus integral state-feedback LQAT design for non-square non-minimum phase CT systems to achieve a minimum phase-like tracking performance; (3) a new approach for computing the control zeros of the given non-square CT system; and (4) a one-learning-epoch input-constrained iterative learning LQAT design for the repetitive CT system.     

Optimization of the Extraction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alpinia oxyphylla</Emphasis> Essence Oil in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

The essence oil of the Alpinia oxyphylla seed has been used as a vasodilatatory and analgesic agent in pharmacology. The extraction of the essence oil in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) from Alpinia oxyphylla seeds was investigated. Small particles were obtained after breaking open, sieving, and drying from the Alpinia oxyphylla seeds. The small particles were placed in a 5-L extraction tank in a temperature-controlled system. The CO₂ flow rate of the system was set at 1 L/min in this study. Response surface methodology with a three-factor and three-level Box-Behnken experimental design was used to evaluate the effects of the reaction parameters such as extraction time (1, 2, 3 h), temperature (45, 55, 65 °C), and pressure (20, 30, 40 MPa), on the extraction yield of the essence oil from Alpinia oxyphylla seeds. The results indicate that the extraction pressure was the most important parameter affecting the yield of the essence oil. A model for the estimation of the yield was developed. Based on the analysis of ridge max, the optimal extraction conditions were established as an extraction time of 2.8 h, a temperature of 67.5 °C, and a pressure of 28.5 MPa, with an expected yield of 2.78%. Extraction of Alpinia oxyphylla essence oil in SC-CO₂ under these optimal conditions was conducted, and a yield of 2.77 ± 0.19% was obtained.     

Characterization of PAHs in the atmosphere of carbon black manufacturing workplaces

The objective of this study was set out to characterize the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content in the atmosphere of an oil furnace carbon black manufacturing plant located in southern Taiwan. A standard semi-volatile sampling train, the PS-1 sampler, was used to collect samples from eight areas, including the feedstock oil unloading, furnace, filtering/micro-pulverization, pelletizing, packaging, office/outside, office/inside, and boundary area, respectively. For each area, side-by-side static samples were collected simultaneously and a total of 16 samples were obtained. For each collected sample, the adsorbent-retained PAH content and the filter-retained PAH content were used directly to determine the concentrations of gaseous-phase PAHs and particle-bound PAHs, respectively. The gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) technique was used for PAH analyses, and a total of 21 PAH species were determined. Results show the gaseous-phase PAHs accounted for only 69.2% of the total PAH content for samples collected from the packaging area, which was significantly lower than those samples collected from the rest of seven areas (ranging from 96.3 to 99.7%). The result is not so surprising since the packaging area had the highest dust concentration due to the releasing of carbon black dusts during the packaging process. In this study, we further examine the contribution of gaseous-phase PAHs to the total benzo[a]pyrene equivalent (BaP(eq)) content from the health-risk assessment view of point. It can be found the contribution of gaseous-phase PAHs to the total BaP(eq) content (63.1%) was quite comparable to the corresponding contribution to the total PAH content for samples collected from the packaging area. However, a different trend can be found for samples collected from the other seven areas, where the contributions of gaseous-phase PAHs to the total BaP(eq) content (ranging from 67.7 to 93.4%) were lower than the corresponding contributions to the total PAH content. The above results can be explained by PAH homologues that contained in both gaseous-phase and particle-bound PAHs. It was found the gaseous-phase PAHs contained higher fractions of less carcinogenic low molecular weight PAH homologues, whereas particle-bound PAHs contained higher fractions of more carcinogenic high molecular weight PAH homologues. Considering the contributions of gaseous-phase PAHs to both total PAH content and total BaP(eq) content were well above 50% for the eight studied areas, it is concluded that both particle-bound and gaseous-phase PAHs should be included for assessing the exposures of carbon black workers.     

A Transparent Distributed Shared Memory for Clustered Symmetric Multiprocessors

A transparent distributed shared memory (DSM) system must achieve complete transparency in data distribution, workload distribution, and reconfiguration respectively. The transparency of data distribution allows programmers to be able to access and allocate shared data using the same user interface as is used in shared-memory systems. The transparency of workload distribution and reconfiguration can optimize the parallelism at both the user-level and the kernel-level, and also improve the efficiency of run-time reconfiguration. In this paper, a transparent DSM system referred to as Teamster is proposed and is implemented for clustered symmetric multiprocessors. With the transparency provided by Teamster, programmers can exploit all the computing power of the clustered SMP nodes in a transparent way as they do in single SMP computer. Compared with the results of previous researches, Teamster can realize the transparency of cluster computing and obtain satisfactory system performance.     

图像相似模式挖掘中的颜色-位置直方图方法

颜色直方图计算简单快捷 ,对大小、方向、物体移动和视点等不敏感而在基于内容的图像检索中得到了广泛的应用 .然而 ,由于它只包含颜色的总体信息而没有反映其相对位置 ,检索精度受到了一定的限制 .针对这个问题 ,提出了一种颜色 -位置直方图 ,该直方图在不失传统直方图鲁棒性的前提下 ,将颜色和位置信息有机地融合起来 ,同时考虑它们对图像内容的表征作用 .由于该直方图在反映颜色频率的同时也记录其分段虚拟边界的位置信息 ,因而较好地解决了传统直方图存在的问题 .对合成图像和实际图像所做的实验结果表明 ,该方法是有效的 ,具有一定的实用价值 .     

Interlayer cross talk in dual-layer read-only optical disks

Volumetric optical disks comprising multiple data layers have been proposed to multiply recording density. Owing to the presence of out-of-focus data layers, interlayer cross talk is induced in readout. An optical model was developed to study the readout process and the effect of interlayer cross talk on the readout of dual-layer read-only optical disks. Schemes to improve the readout characteristics by suppression of the interlayer cross talk were proposed. Experiments that agreed well with the simulation resulted.     

Supercritical CO2 extraction of phthalate plasticizers from PVC

Three common phthalates, namely, dioctyl phthalate, diisodecyl phthalate, and trioctyl trimellitate, were used as plasticizers for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) processing, and the extraction of these plasticizers were investigated using supercritical CO₂ fluids. Factors affecting the extractions of these phthalates were focused. The molecular weight of phthalates was found to dominate the level of extraction of low temperatures, whereas the content of carbonyl groups in the phthalate was a determining factor for the level of extraction of high temperatures. Negligible extraction was observed below the critical pressure of CO₂. For 32°C, the level of the extraction is insignificant below density of ca 0.7 g/cm³, above which the level of the extraction increases roughly linearly with increasing density. For temperatures above 32°C, the density of CO₂ for apparent extractions decreased with increasing temperatures. The threshold density of CO₂ for extractions was found to be independent of the amount of a given phthalate in PVC. Two extraction rates during the extraction could be determined, with a higher rate in the first hour followed by a lower rate later in the extraction for all three phthalates. The effects of the extractions of phthalates on the flexibility of PVC were also investigated as well as the effects of the extrusion conditions, which could lead to various degrees of plasticization of PVC, on the level of extractions. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 4032–4037, 2003     

Alterococcus agarolyticus, gen.nov., sp.nov., a halophilic thermophilic bacterium capable of agar degradation

Five strains of facultatively anaerobic moderately thermophilic bacteria were isolated from two hot springs in the intertidal zone of Lutao, Taiwan. They produced extracellular agarase on agar medium, yielding reducing sugars and organic acids as the end products under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. The growth temperature range was approximately 38-58 degrees C with an optimal temperature of about 48 degrees C. The five strains tolerated a relatively narrow pH range from 7.0 to 8.5. They were Gram-negative halophiles growing optimally at 2.0-2.5% NaCl (ca. 0.34-0.43 M). They were capable of anaerobic growth by fermenting glucose and producing various organic acids such as butyrate, propionate, formate, lactate, and acetate. Cells grown in liquid medium were motile monotrichous cocci, normally 0.8-0.9 micron in diameter. They possessed saturated anteiso-15-carbon acid (anteiso-C15:0) as the most abundant cellular fatty acid (46.0-51.3 mo1%) and had G + C contents ranging from 65.5 to 67.0 mo1%. They are the first thermophiles found to degrade agar and also the first halophilic thermophilic bacteria known to be capable of both aerobic and anaerobic fermentative growth. These bacteria are considered to represent a new genus that we named Alterococcus, and Alterococcus agarolyticus is the type species.