Interfacial structures and mechanical properties of steel–Ni and steel–Ti diffusion bonds

Static and fatigue shear tests of steel–Ni bonds and steel–Ti bonds were carried out to obtain the relations between the strengths and the bonding conditions. Ultrasonic measurements were also made to examine the relations between the strengths and the size of the bonded region (the estimated diameter). At the bonding interface of the steel–Ni bonds, no intermediate phase was observed. At the bonding interface of the steel–Ti bonds, a thin layer of intermetallic compound was formed at lower bonding temperatures but, at higher bonding temperatures, the interlayer melted and the bonding interface became rough. The intensity of the ultrasonic wave reflected from the bonding interface changed, depending on the state of the bonding interface. In shear tests of the steel–Ni and steel–Ti bonds, cracks propagated along the bonding interface, and the strength was proportional to the square of the estimated diameter. In fatigue tests, cracks propagated in the thickness direction of the plate and no relation was obtained between the fatigue life and the estimated diameter. Fatigue life distributions were represented by two- and three-parameter Weibull distributions. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

日本铝材复合氧化膜涂层技术的现状

日本四周环海，必须考虑海盐微粒或者混有海沙的灰泥引起铝材的腐蚀问题，因此铝窗架的防腐性非常重要。复合涂层(阳极氧化膜层上加一层有机涂层)是日本建筑铝材表面处理的最普遍的处理方式。最初，阳极氧化膜的有机涂层是使用亮漆进行喷涂处理获得的。在这以后有两种处理方式，即TFS涂层和电泳涂层。这两种涂层方法都适于大规模生产，而且涂层均匀。由于电泳涂层工艺无需有机溶剂而保护了环境，从而成了主要的工艺。电泳涂层采用的主要树脂为溶于水的丙烯酸阴离子树脂，电泳涂层表面包括光面、白色表面以及无光表面。对于无光表面，目前主要采用一种分离式树脂法。现在开发的其他方法还包括在着色的氰化膜上采用着色树脂的有机复合涂层、含氟化物树脂的电泳涂层和高耐久性涂层。     

Uncertain variance in an optimal linear system with white gain

For scalar quadratic optimal linear systems with a white gain coefficient, the influence of the uncertainty of the gain variance is analysed by means of elementary methods. First, the mean-square stability of the closed loop systems is analysed on the assumption that the controller is designed with an erroneous variance. It is shown that the use of an overestimated value of the variance less than a threshold value, which is infinite for the stable free systems, does not damage the stability of closed-loop systems. A relative underestimation error bound guaranteeing the stability of closed-loop systems is obtained. Secondly, performance of the controller designed with an erroneous variance is compared analytically with that of the certainty equivalence controller. An explicit relative overestimation error bound on the variance guaranteeing the superiority of the controller over the certainty equivalence controller is obtained.     

Novel Transmitting Power Control Method without Signal Communication for Wireless Power Transfer via Magnetic Resonance Coupling

Wireless power transfer (WPT) via magnetic resonance coupling has been widely studied for vehicle applications, particularly the stationary and dynamic charging of electric vehicles. Our research group previously proposed a wireless in‐wheel motor to improve the reliability and safety of in‐wheel motors. Transmit power control is necessary to achieve stable WPT. We proposed a control method that uses a feedforward controller on the primary side and a feedback controller on the secondary side. However, the control method may cause shortfalls in the transmission power owing to modeling error, coupling coefficient variation, and signal communication delay. In this paper, we propose a novel feedback control method for the primary side based on conversion ratio estimation. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified by simulations and experiments on the load current control of a constant voltage load and load voltage control of a constant power load.     

DNA ANALYSIS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF FOOD-ASSOCIATED FOREIGN SUBSTANCES

To identify food‐associated foreign substances, a DNA analysis consisting of 18S rDNA sequencing and homology search analysis has been developed. In this method, we designed universal primer pairs for specific amplification of animal and plant 18S rDNA and constructed an original DNA database storing partial 18S rDNA sequences of 222 organisms commonly used for culinary purposes. In the model experiments, food materials were successfully identified, indicating that our DNA analysis method can be practically applied to the identification of food‐associated foreign substances. It is also expected that this method complements conventional morphological and compositional analysis, leading to more accurate and reliable identification of food‐associated foreign substances.     

Recrystallization and Phase Transformation in Reaction-Sintered Sic

Reaction-sintered Sic specimens prepared at ∼1500°C and heat-treated at ∼1850°C in the presence of molten silicon were examined by transmission electron microscopy. The β-Sic grains in as-prepared specimens grew to a large size when heat-treated in the presence of molten Si; the number of growth twins in such °-Sic crystals was very small. The boundary areas of α- and β-Sic crystals were microsyntactic, consisting of thin strips of α- and β-Sic after heat-treating. These changes were due mostly to thin lamellar growth of α-Sic into β-Sic grains along the basal plane. There is also a high density of similar growth of transformation twins in β-Sic crystals. The results provide clear evidence of in situ solid-state transformations in sic.     

Effect of Milling on the Intrinsic Coercivity of Barium Ferrite Powders

The effect of milling on the intrinsic coercive force of Ba ferrite powders has been ascribed to (1) thermal fluctuations caused by superparamagnetic fine particles and (2) lattice defects introduced by milling. To test these interpretations, the Moessbauer absorption spectra and angular variation of coercive force for ball-milled powders were determined. With increasing milling time, the Moessbauer absorption spectrum becomes ambiguous, and the absorption lines are broadened; the quadrupole-split center line corresponding to superparamagnetic BaFe₁₂O₁₉ cannot be detected. The angular variation of coercive force shows that milling considerably lowers either the nucleation field of the reverse domain or the effective anisotropy field or both. It is concluded that lattice defects, rather than superparamagnetic fine particles introduced by milling, greatly affect the intrinsic coercive force of Ba ferrite powders.     

Mechanism of inactivation of heat-tolerant spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus IFO 12550 by Rapid Decompression

The effect of three rapid decompression methods to clear the mechanism of inactivation of heat tolerant spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus IFO 12550 was investigated. Pressurization of the spores at 200 MPa and 75°C for 60 min caused a kill of 10⁴ CFU/mL by the link-motion system but the nonrotational rod valve and E.G. seal methods gave a kill of about 10³ CFU/mL. Sterilization was due to the physical breakdown of spore coat, and was induced by its physical permeability of water at high pressure and temperature. Rapid decompression by the link-motion system at 200 MPa decreased the D-value of the spores from 3000 min (100°C, one atmosphere) to 6 min, 11 min, and 17 min at 95, 85, and 75°C, respectively.     

A SPECIFIC QUALITATIVE DETECTION METHOD FOR PEANUT (ARACHIS HYPOGAEA) IN FOODS USING POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

A qualitative method for detection of peanuts in foods using polymerase chain reaction was developed. A universal primer pair CP 03‐5′/CP 03‐3′ was designed to confirm the validity of the DNAs for PCR. The plant‐specific amplified fragments were detected from 13 kinds of plants using the universal primer pair. In addition, for the specific detection of peanuts with high sensitivity, the primer pair agg 04‐5′/agg 05‐3′ was designed to detect the gene encoding the peanut agglutinin precursor. The primer pair specifically generates a 95‐bp amplified fragment from peanut genomic DNA. Five hundred femto grams of peanut genomic DNA can be detected using the established method. The same qualitative results were obtained from both model processed and nonprocessed food samples containing 0.001, 0.01 and 0.1% of peanut. Moreover, it was shown that the trace amount of peanut in the commercial food products could be qualitatively detected using this method. The reproducibility and applicability of the proposed methods were verified in a six‐laboratory collaborative study.