The solidification characteristics of 6061 and A356 aluminum alloys and their ceramic particle-reinforced composites

The solidification curve and viscosity are the two most important solidification characteristics. The solidification curves of the 6061 and A356 alloys and their ceramic particle-reinforced composites are determined by using differential thermal analysis (DTA) coupled with mathematical modeling. In applying this method, the cooling curves of the alloys and composites are first determined by using DTA, then mathematical modeling is used to simulate the cooling curves, and their solidification curves can thus be calculated. It has been found that the principal characteristics of the solidification curves of the composites and their matrix alloy are similar. The viscosities of these alloys and composites are determined by using a Searle-type viscometer. The viscosity of the semisolid slurry increases with increasing solid content. A sharp increase in the viscosity is observed during solidification, and the value of the critical solidified fraction is a function of the shear rate. Both the aluminum alloys and their respective composites displayed similar critical solidified fractions, and these values are hardly affected by the addition of the ceramic particles.     

Rapid and Continuous Deposition of Porous Nanocrystalline SnO2 Coating with Interpenetrating Pores for Gas Sensor Applications

In this article, we proposed a rapid and continuous process for the production of nanoporous coatings for functional applications. Experiments following two statistical designs were implemented to screen and investigate the spraying parameters’ effects on coating crystallinity and porosity in order to gain a better understanding. The spraying standoff distance, solution flow rate and power were identified as having significant effects on coating porosity and crystallinity. The result yielded a peculiar microstructure comprised of interpenetrating pores and layered structures with embedded pores. A deposition mechanism was postulated to explain this microstructure. Ethanol gas sensors that are constructed from the coatings had comparable sensitivities to those reported in the literature for thick-film coatings and had a maximum sensitivity near 200 °C. This article is an invited paper selected from presentations at the 2007 International Thermal Spray Conference and has been expanded from the original presentation. It is simultaneously published in Global Coating Solutions, Proceedings of the 2007 International Thermal Spray Conference, Beijing, China, May 14-16, 2007, Basil R. Marple, Margaret M. Hyland, Yuk-Chiu Lau, Chang-Jiu Li, Rogerio S. Lima, and Ghislain Montavon, Ed., ASM International, Materials Park, OH, 2007.     

Broadcasting scheme with low client buffers and bandwidths for video-on-demand applications

Efficient data broadcasting is independent of request arrivals, and is thus highly promising when transmitting popular videos. A conventionally adopted broadcasting method is periodic broadcasting, which divides a popular video into segments, which are then simultaneously broadcast on different data channels. Once clients want to watch the video, they download the segments from these channels. The skyscraper broadcasting (SkB) scheme supports clients with small bandwidths. An SkB client requires only two-channel bandwidths to receive video segments. This work proposes a reverse SkB (RSkB) scheme, which extends SkB by reducing buffering spaces. The RSkB is mathematically shown to achieve on-time video delivery and two-channel client bandwidths. A formula for determining the maximum number of segments buffered by an RSkB client is presented. Finally, an analysis of RSkB reveals that its client buffer requirements are usually 25–37% lower than SkB. Extensive simulations of RSkB further demonstrate that RSkB yields lower client buffer demand than other proposed systems.

Global sliding‐mode control with generalized sliding dynamics

A global sliding‐mode control (GSMC) scheme is proposed to provide a framework for ensuring the existence of a sliding mode throughout an entire response. Based on this framework, robust eigenvalue‐assignment GSMC (REA‐GSMC) is proposed to robustly assign closed‐loop eigenvalues that must be real. The eigenvalues being all real, however, leads to sluggish responses. According to most error criteria such as IAE, ISE, and ITAE, the optimum system should have complex eigenvalues. This paper proposes a GSMC scheme with generalized sliding dynamics, referred to as Generalized GSMC, in order to release the previous constraint on the REA‐GSMC. Thus, the Generalized GSMC can be designed to achieve a system that is both robust and optimum in the sense that it minimizes certain error performance indices in spite of the presence of system uncertainties. Experiments were conducted on a two‐link direct‐drive manipulator to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society     

Synthesis and characterization of (Sr1−x′K2x)Zr4(PO4)6 ceramics

Single phase (Sr_1–x K_2x )Zr₄(PO₄)₆, where x lies between 0.0 and 1.0, ceramic powder with a submicron scale particle size has been synthesized successfully at calcination temperatures as low as 650–750°C by a sol-gel technique. The formation of the powder strongly depends on calcination temperature, but is independent of solution pH in the studied range. Dilatometric measurement shows an ultra-low linear coefficient of thermal expansion of 0.1×10^–6°C^–1 when x=0.5 at temperature intervals of 25–1000°C. Thermal conductivity and flexural strength of the materials were determined at ambient temperature to be 1.0 Wm^–1K^–1 and as high as 280 MPa, respectively, indicating that this material can be an excellent candidate in many applications, especially those subjected directly to severe environments.     

A generalized layerwise higher-order shear deformation theory for laminated composite and sandwich plates based on isogeometric analysis

This paper presents a generalized layerwise higher-order shear deformation theory for laminated composite and sandwich plates. We exploit a higher-order shear deformation theory in each layer such that the continuity of the displacement and transverse shear stresses at the layer interfaces is ensured. Thanks for enforcing the continuity of the displacement and transverse shear stresses at an inner-laminar layer, the minimum number of variables is retained from the present theory in comparison with other layerwise theories. The method requires only five variables, the same as what obtained from the first- and higher-order shear deformation theories. In comparison with the shear deformation theories based on the equivalent single layer, the present theory is capable of producing a higher accuracy for inner-laminar layer shear stresses. The free boundary conditions of transverse shear stresses at the top and bottom surfaces of the plate are fulfilled without any shear correction factors. The discrete system equations are derived from the Galerkin weak form, and the solution is obtained by isogeometric analysis (IGA). The discrete form requires the C¹ continuity of the transverse displacement, and hence NURBS basis functions in IGA naturally ensure this condition. The laminated composite and sandwich plates with various geometries, aspect ratios, stiffness ratios and boundary conditions are studied. The obtained results are compared with the 3D elasticity solution, the analytical as well as numerical solutions based on various plate theories.     

Signal transduction in vertebrate growth cones navigating in vivo

Navigating growth cones need signal transduction machinery to amplify and transmit the effects of extracellular signals throughout the growth cone. In culture, many drugs that affect second messengers are known to modulate neurite extension (with different effects on different neurons), and gradients of calcium influx and cyclic nucleotide analogs can cause growth cones to turn. However, it is not clear which of these responses are physiologically relevant, as axons grow through much more complex environments in vivo. The "exposed brain" preparation in Xenopus embryos provides an experimentally tractable system in which it is possible to study growth, pathfinding, and target recognition of retinal growth cones in vivo, while pharmacologically manipulating their signal transduction systems. These growth cones can also be easily studied in explant culture. We describe preliminary results of parallel in vivo and in vitro experiments using an array of drugs that perturb transduction molecules. Surprisingly, calcium ionophores and cyclic nucleotide analogs have no significant effect on retinal axon growth or pathfinding. Several agents including herbimycin A, ML-7, mastoparan, and RHC80267 inhibit retinal axon growth, both in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that tyrosine kinases, myosin, heterotrimeric G-proteins, and diacylglycerol lipase are important for retinal growth cones navigating in the optic pathway.     

Building the measurement framework of technology efficiency with technology development and management capability – Evidence from the ASEAN countries

In this paper, we present a research framework with data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach to evaluate a nation’s technology efficiency and effectiveness in ASEAN countries. The study proposes two outputs, patents and licenses (PL) and technology exports (TE) along with three inputs, information and communication technology (ICT), R&D (RD), and governance capability (GC) in the model. Building on evidence from our research, we found that country has better outcome in PL can be derived from better application in ICT which in terms of TE to RD and GC as well. Additional findings also revealed the variable of ICT is mainly advantageous to technology efficiency in ASEAN countries. Further, from the viewpoint of country, our results indicate both Singapore and the Philippines are the most efficient countries among the variables in technology efficiency, scale efficiency, and window analysis as well. Moreover, our findings suggested some other countries may explore the suitable strategy to enhance their technology efficiency with benchmarking countries.