Development of mullite fibers and novel zirconia-toughened mullite fibers for high temperature applications

Polycrystalline mullite fibers and novel zirconia-toughened mullite (ZTM) fibers with average diameters between 9.7 and 10.3 μm containing 3, 7 and 15 wt.-% tetragonal ZrO₂ (ZTM3, ZTM7, ZTM15) in the final ceramic were prepared via dry spinning followed by continuous calcination and sintering in air. A shift in the formation of transient alumina phases and tetragonal ZrO₂ to higher temperatures with increasing amounts of ZrO₂ was observed. Concomitantly, the mullite formation temperature was lowered to 1229 °C for ZTM15 fibers. X-ray diffraction revealed formation of the desired tetragonal crystal structure of ZrO₂ directly from the amorphous precursor. Room temperature Weibull strengths of 1320, 1390 and 1740 MPa and Weibull moduli of 9.5, 7.1 and 9.0 were determined for mullite, ZTM3 and ZTM15 fibers, respectively. Average Young’s moduli ranged from 190 to 220 GPa. SEM images revealed crack-free fiber surfaces and compact microstructures independent of the amount of ZrO₂.     

Functional Coupling of Slack Channels and P2X3 Receptors Contributes to Neuropathic Pain Processing

The sodium-activated potassium channel Slack (K_Na1.1, Slo2.2, or Kcnt1) is highly expressed in populations of sensory neurons, where it mediates the sodium-activated potassium current (I_KNa) and modulates neuronal activity. Previous studies suggest that Slack is involved in the processing of neuropathic pain. However, mechanisms underlying the regulation of Slack activity in this context are poorly understood. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings we found that Slack-mediated I_KNa in sensory neurons of mice is reduced after peripheral nerve injury, thereby contributing to neuropathic pain hypersensitivity. Interestingly, Slack is closely associated with ATP-sensitive P2X3 receptors in a population of sensory neurons. In vitro experiments revealed that Slack-mediated I_KNa may be bidirectionally modulated in response to P2X3 activation. Moreover, mice lacking Slack show altered nocifensive responses to P2X3 stimulation. Our study identifies P2X3/Slack signaling as a mechanism contributing to hypersensitivity after peripheral nerve injury and proposes a potential novel strategy for treatment of neuropathic pain.     

Structure,stability and permeation properties of NaA zeolite membranes for H2O/H2 and CH3OH/H2 separations

NaA zeolite membranes were synthesised in the secondary growth hydrothermal method based on the seeding of the inner surface of a ceramic α-alumina tube. The impacts of crystallisation time and zeolite precursor concentration (in H₂O) were investigated. The structure and stability of the prepared NaA zeolite membranes were also investigated with operating temperatures, times and pressures. The results indicate that the optimal synthesis gel molar composition was 3Na₂O: 2SiO₂: Al₂O₃: 200H₂O. This led to cubic-shaped NaA zeolite which showed good stability. The optimal NaA zeolite membrane had H₂O and CH₃OH fluxes of 2.77 and 0.19 kg/m²h, with H₂O/H₂ and CH₃OH/H₂ separation factors of ∞ and 0.09 at a temperature of 30 °C. The NaA zeolite membrane had high thermal stability, but poor separation performance at high temperature (240 °C). The results suggested that the H₂ permeation flux is significantly influenced by preferential adsorption of vapour in the NaA zeolite membrane.     

Evaluation of Multipoint Dosing Strategy in a Miniaturized Tubular Reactor: Nitration of Salicylic Acid

A 2D non‐isothermal reaction engineering model for a tubular reactor was developed for a complex reaction network of salicylic acid nitration. The influence of different operating and design parameters was studied to minimize the amount of secondary nitration products and limit the maximum temperature inside the reactor. Critical temperature effects were observed for larger reaction tubes, whereas close to isothermal conditions were perceived in smaller tubes. With single‐point dosing of both reactants, complete conversion can be achieved but formation of secondary nitration products cannot be avoided. For a given number of dosing points, a suitable combination of the operating parameters allowed to achieve complete conversion and better yield of the desired product.     

Improving Point Cloud Accuracy Obtained from a Moving Platform for Consistent Pile Attack Pose Estimation

We present a perception system for enabling automated loading with waist-articulated wheel loaders. To enable autonomous loading of piled materials, using either above-ground wheel loaders or underground load-haul-dump vehicles, 3D data of the pile shape is needed. However, using common 3D scanners, the scan data is distorted while the wheel loader is moving towards the pile. Existing methods that make use of 3D scan data (for autonomous loading as well as tasks such as mapping, localisation, and object detection) typically assume that each 3D scan is accurate. For autonomous robots moving over rough terrain, it is often the case that the vehicle moves a substantial amount during the acquisition of one 3D scan, in which case the scan data will be distorted. We present a study of auto-loading methods, and how to locate piles in real-world scenarios with nontrivial ground geometry. We have compared how consistently each method performs for live scans acquired in motion, and also how the methods perform with different view points and scan configurations. The system described in this paper uses a novel method for improving the quality of distorted 3D scans made from a vehicle moving over uneven terrain. The proposed method for improving scan quality is capable of increasing the accuracy of point clouds without assuming any specific features of the environment (such as planar walls), without resorting to a “stop-scan-go” approach, and without relying on specialised and expensive hardware. Each new 3D scan is registered to the preceding using the normal-distributions transform (NDT). After each registration, a mini-loop closure is performed with a local, per-scan, graph-based SLAM method. To verify the impact of the quality improvement, we present data that shows how auto-loading methods benefit from the corrected scans. The presented methods are validated on data from an autonomous wheel loader, as well as with simulated data. The proposed scan-correction method increases the accuracy of both the vehicle trajectory and the point cloud. We also show that it increases the reliability of pile-shape measures used to plan an efficient attack pose when performing autonomous loading.     

Permittivity of modified polyimide layers on LTCC

In this work, the permittivity of a tailored compound material was investigated consisting of a polyimide matrix in which hollow glass microspheres with a mean diameter of 30 μm are implemented as filler material. Choosing this approach the dielectric constant compared to that of the pure polyimide material is further decreased due to the enclosed air targeted to improve the high-frequency performance of patch antennas operated in the GHz range. Furthermore, the thickness of one single layer can be increased substantially from a maximum of about 10 μm for pure polyimide films to values above 80 μm by simply adding this type of filler material to the liquid polyimide precursor so that cavities in LTCC (low temperature co-fired ceramics) substrates can be filled more reliable. Two different variations of this compound material with filler to polymer ratios of 1:7.5 and 1:10 are realized. Basically, the film thickness depends on the spin coating speed and the microsphere content, respectively. The high initial surface roughness can be decreased to an average value of about 3 μm by applying additional layers of pure polyimide on top enabling thin film technology. The dielectric constant of the complete substrate comprising the LTCC and the compound material is measured using a ring resonator in microstrip configuration. From the resonances occurring in the transmission S-parameter |S₂₁| spectrum between 1 and 10 GHz, the relative dielectric constant can be determined. Using 820 μm thick LTCC substrates the permittivity can be reduced from originally ε_r = 7.8-6.6. By applying numerical calculations, a reduced permittivity of the pure polymer film from ε_r = 3.3 to about 2.9 can be determined when adding the glass microspheres.     

A meta-analysis of work–family conflict and various outcomes with a special emphasis on cross-domain versus matching-domain relations.

A literature review of studies analyzing work–family conflict and its consequences was conducted, and 427 effect sizes were analyzed meta-analytically. Work–family conflict was analyzed bidirectionally in terms of work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW). We assessed 3 categories of potential outcomes: work-related outcomes, family-related outcomes, and domain-unspecific outcomes. Results show that WIF and FIW are consistently related to all 3 types of outcomes. Both types of interrole conflict showed stronger relationships to same-domain outcomes than to cross-domain outcomes. Thus, WIF was more strongly associated with work-related than with family-related outcomes, and FIW was more strongly associated with family-related than with work-related outcomes. In moderator analyses, parenthood could not explain variability in effect sizes. However, time spent at work did moderate the relationships between WIF and family-related outcomes, as well as FIW and domain-unspecific outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)