An implementation of the vectorial finite element analysis ofanisotropic waveguides through a general-purpose PDE software

This paper reports on the major progress in the development of an intelligent, interactive and automated system, based on the vector finite element method, and implemented within PDE/Protran problem solving environment. The system is known as WAVEGIDE and was originally developed by the authors for an efficient solution of inhomogeneous dielectric waveguides. In this paper, it has been further extended to the solution of anisotropic waveguiding structures. With our system, through an interactive “question-and-answer” session, which requires minimal knowledge of programming, the problem can be defined using high level PDE/Protran commands. It can then be simply and quickly solved by the main processor within this intelligent environment. To verify the convergence and accuracy of the present approach, numerical results (with respect to the grid density and element order) for a rectangular metallic waveguide half filled with dielectric are given and compared with other finite element methods. Numerical results for an anisotropic dielectric rectangular waveguide are also presented. These results clearly illustrate the accuracy and the ease of use of the modified WAVEGIDE program     

Preliminary evaluation of electroencephalographic entrainment using thalamocortical modelling

Abstract: The concept of linked oscillators in biological control systems has long been established. Frequency entrainment is a predominant explanation behind many biological rhythms. In this paper a preliminary examination of electroencephalographic entrainment is made to survey the possibility and methods of achieving signal entrainment at the highest level of neurological organization and function. A model of the thalamocortical system is employed to generate simulated electroencephalographic signals and is tested in various configurations in the search for entrainment under very simple conditions. Additionally, an analysis of the coupled Van der Pol model of the circadian rhythm controller is performed to identify the possibility of affecting that system with a drastically different coupling input signal. We were able to conclude that overall signal shape can have a significant impact on the entrainment characteristics of the system. Due to the nature of the underlying mathematical structure of the model, by examining the circadian rhythm controller, we found that it is unsuitable for entrainment to an incident entraining signal of much higher frequency.     

Thermal analysis and microscopic characterization of the piston alloy AlSi13Cu4Ni2Mg

In this research paper, the phases identified by thermal and microscopic analysis of the piston alloy AlSi13Cu4Ni2Mg, which was solidified under different conditions, are presented and compared with different piston alloys. Piston alloys are a group of casting Al–Si alloys, well-known as wear resistant materials, which are widely used as the piston materials for internal combustion engines because of their low thermal expansion coefficient and high wear resistance when alloyed with other elements such as copper, magnesium and nickel. Depending on the combination of alloying elements and other impacting factors, pistons alloys with different mechanical and physical properties are obtained.     

Outage performance of dual‐hop relaying systems over extended generalized‐K fading channels

The outage performance of the amplify‐and‐forward relaying strategies over mutually uncorrelated extended generalized‐K fading channels is addressed in this paper. The attention is dedicated to the analyses of the noise‐limited and also interference‐limited environment. The new analytical expression for outage probability of observed relaying system in the presence of thermal noise is derived using the method for approximating equivalent signal‐to‐noise ratio. In addition, the outage performance is studied for the dual‐hop system when only the single dominant co‐channel interference is inherent at the relay and destination node. The correctness of the proposed mathematical derivations is verified by simulations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance characterisation of the MCNS DOCSIS 1.0 CATV protocolwith prioritised first come first served scheduling

The Multimedia Cable Networks Systems (MCNS) Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications (DOCSIS) is established as the primary cable network data communications standard. The head-end scheduling algorithm is not defined within the standard but it is the key function for providing the required performance capability. Computer simulation, using the Common Simulation Framework (CSF) 12 version of the CableLabs DOCSIS 1.0 computer model, has been used to predict the upstream system throughput and mean access delay. A prioritised first come first served scheduling algorithm has been considered to provide a baseline reference set of performance statistics against which other algorithms can be compared. The simulations, with theoretical confirmation, have shown that the maximum sustainable system throughput is 1965 kbps for a channel capacity of 2560 kbps and a packet size of 1500 octets, whereas for packet size of 100 octets the maximum sustainable throughput is only 1550 kbps. The mean access delay is found to vary between 10-900 ms depending on the offered load and assuming that the offered load does not exceed the capacity of the channel. Excess offered load causes service starvation according to the assigned priority     

Relative importance of macrophyte community versus water quality variables for predicting fish assemblages in coastal wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes

Fish have been shown to be sensitive indicators of environmental quality in Great Lakes coastal wetlands. Fish composition also reflects aquatic macrophyte communities, which provide them with critical habitat. Although investigators have shown that the relationship between water quality and fish community structure can be used to indicate wetland health, we speculate that this relationship is a result of the stronger, more direct relationship between water quality and macrophytes, together with the ensuing interconnection between macrophyte and fish assemblages. In this study, we use data collected from 115 Great Lakes coastal marshes to test the hypothesis that plants are better predictors of fish species composition than is water quality. First we use canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to conduct an ordination of the fish community constrained by water quality parameters. We then use co-correspondence analysis (COCA) to conduct a direct ordination of the fish community with the plant community data. By comparing the statistic ‘percent fit,’ which refers to the cumulative percentage variance of the species data, we show that plants are consistently better predictors of the fish community than are water quality variables in three separate trials: all wetlands in the Great Lakes basin (whole: 21.2% vs 14.0%; n = 60), all wetlands in Lakes Huron and Superior (Upper: 20.3% vs 18.8%; n =  32), and all wetlands in Georgian Bay and the North Channel (Georgian Bay: 18% vs 17%; n =  70). This is the largest study to directly examine plant–fish interactions in wetlands of the Great Lakes basin.     

Dicing of hard and brittle materials with on-machine laser-dressed metal-bonded diamond blades

The ultra-precision dicing of hard and brittle materials causes high wear on the abrasive tool which results in the deterioration of blade cross section as well as the decrease of diamond grain exposure. Resin-bonded diamond blades are used due to their in-process self-sharpening capability. Nevertheless, the shape of the blade cross section generated by self-sharpening is random which leads to poor accuracy when precise grooves need to be produced. Metal-bonded diamond blades feature higher tool lifetime and shape accuracy compared to resin-bonded blades, but are not capable of performing self-sharpening. In this study, the laser dressing of metal-bonded diamond blades is investigated to enable their use in the ultra-precision dicing of hard and brittle materials by continuous laser dressing. We investigated laser dressing with and without the presence of cooling water. The sharpness (grain exposure) after dressing is measured by the cutting face surface roughness. The dicing performance is evaluated by observing the dicing results in terms of cutting depth consistency and by monitoring the spindle power during dicing. Dicing blades which have been laser dressed in an environment with coolant feature less grain exposure than dicing blades which have been laser dressed in dry condition. The dicing results show an improvement in the sharpness and durability of laser-dressed dicing blades in comparison with new or conventionally dressed blades. The ability to apply and perform laser dressing on a dicing machine in an environment with coolant shows the feasibility of laser technology for continuous dressing.     

Biped stability considerations with vestibular models

Recent experimental work has resulted in certain models for the semicircular canals and otoliths. The accuracy and adequacy of these models are analyzed here by incorporating them in stability studies of biped robots-one-degree and two-degree-of-freedom inverted pendulums. It is shown that a variety of feedback signals can stabilize biped models of these types. Additional information could limit the choice of such signals.     

Error-rate characteristics of oversampled analog-to-digitalconversion

Accuracy of simple analog-to-digital conversion depends on both resolution of discretization in amplitude and resolution of discretization in time. For implementation convenience, high conversion accuracy is attained by refining the discretization in time using oversampling. It is commonly believed that oversampling adversely impacts rate-distortion properties of the conversion, since the bit rate, B, increases linearly with oversampling, resulting in a slow error decay in the bit rate, on the order of O(1/B). We demonstrate that the information obtained in the process of oversampled analog-to-digital conversion can easily be encoded in a manner which requires only a logarithmic increase of the bit rate with redundancy, achieving an exponential error decay in the bit rate     

A continuous process for the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis synthesis of RuO2/TiO2 particles and their application as a coating of activated titanium anode

Synthesis and subsequent deposition of sub-micron spherical RuO₂/TiO₂ particles onto titanium were performed by continuous process in two connected reactors, exclusively applied for this purpose. Synthesis of particles was achieved by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method in the first reactor. The deposition of thus produced RuO₂/TiO₂ onto an expanded titanium substrate was performed at 500 °C afterwards in the second, specially constructed, reactor equipped by high-voltage electrostatic field. Basic electrochemical properties of the obtained RuO₂/TiO₂ particles were checked in a form of the coating on Ti deposited from the suspension of the material produced in the first reactor. Thus prepared anode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), polarization measurements in O₂ (OER) and Cl₂ (CER) evolution and the accelerated stability test in diluted chloride solution. The morphology and composition of the deposited RuO₂/TiO₂ were checked by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. Analysis of the results obtained for OER and CER showed that Tafel slopes for these reactions were in accordance with the values for this kind of material. The CV response was of usual characteristics too. The accelerated stability test revealed acceptable anode stability.