Power and energy measurements of transient electric discharge

A simple and inexpensive calculating device for electrical power and energy of transient electric discharges is described. The calculation is made by multiplication of the voltage and current of the discharge by use of wideband integrated circuits.     

Growth control of ice crystals by poly(vinyl alcohol) and antifreeze protein in ice slurries

Effect of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in inhibiting an increase in ice crystal size in isothermal ice slurries was investigated, and then compared with the effect of an antifreeze protein (AFP), NaCl, and three other polymers, namely, poly(ethylene glycol), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), and poly(acrylic acid). First, ice slurries, in which the initial size distribution of ice crystals was known, were isothermally preserved for given periods of time (typically 300 min) in the presence of PVA, AFP type I, NaCl, or the other three polymers. Then, the average size of the ice crystals was measured using image processing. Both the PVA and AFP type I completely inhibited the increase in ice crystal size at such low concentrations that the melting temperature of the solution was , whereas NaCl and the other three polymers clearly increased the ice crystal size due to Ostwald ripening. This inhibition effect of PVA and AFP type I was caused by thermal hysteresis, which is often taken as the primary manifestation of non-equilibrium antifreeze activity of these additives and defined as the difference between the melting temperature and non-equilibrium freezing temperature at which ice crystals start to grow in solution. The increase in ice crystal size was inhibited when the thermal hysteresis surpassed the driving potential for Ostwald ripening. Using PVA, which exhibits thermal hysteresis, is a novel technique to completely inhibit the increase in ice crystal size in isothermal ice slurries.     

Dynamic characteristics and dual control of a ball screw drive with integrated piezoelectric actuator

This paper describes the precision continuous path tracking control by using a dual-actuated single stage. First, fine-drive mechanism and the dynamic model of the entire drive system are described. In the simulation model, the dynamic characteristic of the dual-actuated stage is investigated to see whether it can provide precise motion by using dual control. Second, the fine motion controller is designed. Adjusting the control parameters, a positioning resolution of 20 nm and a bandwidth of 260 Hz were obtained. Third, the frequency responses of coarse and fine drives are experimentally investigated. After that, the dual controller is designed based on the investigated dynamics. Finally, whether coarse motion and fine motion could work complimentarily by the dual servo is examined in the experiments. By using the simultaneous dual controller, tracking errors were reduced sufficiently compared to the single coarse control.     

H2O-tolerant monolithic catalysts for preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide in the presence of hydrogen

Pt–Fe/mordenite (4 wt% Pt–0.5 wt% Fe) powder catalysts were wash-coated onto ceramic straight-channel monoliths by using silica- and/or alumina-sol as a binder, and were evaluated for the preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide (PROX) in a hydrogen-rich gas. In a synthetic reformate gas (1% CO, 1% O₂, 5% H₂O, 20% CO₂, and balance H₂), the CO concentration was reduced to less than 20 ppm at temperatures ranging from 100 to 130 °C. After a certain period of the PROX reaction, condensation of H₂O in the pores of the mordenite-support occurred over the monolithic catalyst, which was wash-coated with alumina-sol, in the lower temperature range (100–120 °C), resulting in a rapid increase in CO concentration. The monolithic catalyst wash-coated with silica-sol, however, showed an excellent tolerance against H₂O condensation and offered a stable catalytic performance, maintaining a CO concentration of ca. 20 ppm for 200 h. The H₂O-tolerant characteristic was attributed to the relatively small adsorption amount of H₂O over the silica-modified monolithic catalyst.     

Application of step‐response test for evaluation of uncertainty of standard measuring system for lightning‐impulse high voltage

In evaluating the uncertainty of the standard measuring system for lightning‐impulse high voltages, which is composed of a standard voltage divider, a digital recorder, and calibrators, step‐response tests of the standard voltage divider may be useful. In this paper, a convolution algorithm is employed to calculate the output impulse voltage waveforms from measured step‐response waveforms. The uncertainties of peak‐value measurement due to the influence of the nominal epoch, uncertainty of the peak‐value measurement due to dispersion of the AC scale factor, and uncertainty of the virtual front‐time measurement due to long‐term stability are evaluated. Furthermore, the error of the virtual front time of the output waveforms is discussed. The front part of the step‐response waveform, t≤ T₃₀%, does not influence the error of the virtual front time. Therefore, for the standard voltage divider, the step‐response parameters, that is, the experimental response time, partial response time, settling time, and overshoot, have almost nothing to do with the error of the virtual front time. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 180(2): 24–32, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21279     

Optical Nanoscale Pool‐on‐Surface Design for Control Sensing Recognition of Multiple Cations

General design of optical chemical nanosensors is needed to develop efficient sensing systems with high flexibility, and low capital cost for control recognition of toxic analytes. Here, we designed optical chemical nanosensors for simple, high‐speed detection of multiple toxic metal ions. The systematic design of the nanosensors was based on densely patterned chromophores with intrinsic mobility, namely, “building‐blocks” onto three‐dimensional (3D) nanoscale structures. The ability to precisely modify the nanoscale pore surfaces by using a broad range of chromophores that have different molecular sizes and characteristics enables detection of multiple toxic ions. A key feature of this building‐blocks design strategy is that the surface functionality and good adsorption characteristics of the fabricated nanosensor arrays enabled the development of “pool‐on‐surface” sensing systems in which high flux of the metal analytes across the probe molecules was achieved without significant kinetic hindrance. Such a sensing design enabled sensitive recognition of metal ions up to sub‐picomolar detection limits (～10^?11 mol dm^?3), for first time, with rapid response time within few seconds. Moreover, because these sensing pools exhibited long‐term stability, reversibility and selectivity in detecting most pollutant cations, for example, Cr(VI), Pb(II), Co(II), and Pd(II) ions, they are practical and inexpensive. The key result in our study is that the pool‐on‐surface design for optical nanosensors exhibited significant ion‐selective ability of these target ions from environmental samples and waste disposals.     

Size dependence of THz region dielectric properties for barium titanate fine particles

Barium titanate (BaTiO₃) crystallites with various particle sizes from 22 to 500 nm were prepared by the two-step thermal decomposition method of barium titanyl oxalate. Various characterizations revealed that these particles were impurity-free, defect-free, dense BaTiO₃ particles. The powder dielectric measurement clarified that the dielectric constant of BaTiO₃ particles with a size of around 58 nm exhibited a maximum of over 15,000. To explain this size dependence, the THz region dielectric properties of BaTiO₃ fine particles, especially Slater mode frequency, were measured using the far infrared (FIR) reflection method. As the result, the lowest Slater mode frequency was obtained at 58 nm. This tendency was completely consistent with particle size dependence of the dielectric constant.     

Response of isotopically tailored titanium diboride to neutron irradiation

The response of polycrystalline TiB₂ to neutron irradiation was investigated. The material was fabricated using isotopically enriched ¹¹B powders to minimize helium production via the ¹⁰B(n, α)⁷Li reaction. Neutron irradiation was conducted at temperatures of ~200°C and ~600°C to a fast fluence of 2.4 × 10²⁵ n/m² (>0.1 MeV). The material exhibited some swelling, but less swelling at the higher irradiation temperature. No macroscopic damage was observed in the irradiated material, although moderate irradiation-induced micro-cracking was found in the irradiated TiB₂. This study demonstrated improved radiation resistance of isotopically tailored TiB₂ compared with natural boron TiB₂, which exhibited macroscopic fracture by irradiation.     

Protective Role of Glutathione in the Hippocampus after Brain Ischemia

Stroke is a major cause of death worldwide, leading to serious disability. Post-ischemic injury, especially in the cerebral ischemia-prone hippocampus, is a serious problem, as it contributes to vascular dementia. Many studies have shown that in the hippocampus, ischemia/reperfusion induces neuronal death through oxidative stress and neuronal zinc (Zn²⁺) dyshomeostasis. Glutathione (GSH) plays an important role in protecting neurons against oxidative stress as a major intracellular antioxidant. In addition, the thiol group of GSH can function as a principal Zn²⁺ chelator for the maintenance of Zn²⁺ homeostasis in neurons. These lines of evidence suggest that neuronal GSH levels could be a key factor in post-stroke neuronal survival. In neurons, excitatory amino acid carrier 1 (EAAC1) is involved in the influx of cysteine, and intracellular cysteine is the rate-limiting substrate for the synthesis of GSH. Recently, several studies have indicated that cysteine uptake through EAAC1 suppresses ischemia-induced neuronal death via the promotion of hippocampal GSH synthesis in ischemic animal models. In this article, we aimed to review and describe the role of GSH in hippocampal neuroprotection after ischemia/reperfusion, focusing on EAAC1.     

Mechanical property degradation of high crystalline SiC fiber–reinforced SiC matrix composite neutron irradiated to ∼100 displacements per atom

For the development of silicon carbide (SiC) materials for next-generation nuclear structural applications, degradation of material properties under intense neutron irradiation is a critical feasibility issue. This study evaluated the mechanical properties and microstructure of a chemical vapor infiltrated SiC matrix composite, reinforced with a multi-layer SiC/pyrolytic carbon–coated Hi-Nicalon^TM Type S SiC fiber, following neutron irradiation at 319 and 629?°C to ～100 displacements per atom. Both the proportional limit stress and ultimate flexural strength were significantly degraded as a result of irradiation at both temperatures. After irradiation at 319?°C, the quasi-ductile fracture behavior of the nonirradiated composite became brittle, a result that was explained by a loss of functionality of the fiber/matrix interface associated with the disappearance of the interphase due to irradiation. The specimens irradiated at 629?°C showed increased apparent failure strain because the fiber/matrix interphase was weakened by irradiation-induced partial debonding.