bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MERA
Authors: Fernández-Álvarez Daniel , Gayo Jose Emilio Labra , Gayo-Avello Daniel , Ordóñez de Pablos Patricia
Published: September 2017

In this paper, the authors describe Musical Entities Reconciliation Architecture (MERA), an architecture designed to link music-related databases adapting the reconciliation techniques to each particular case. MERA includes mechanisms to manage third party sources to improve the results and it makes use of semantic technologies, storing and organizing the information in RDF graphs. They have implemented a prototype of their approach and have used it to link sources with different levels of data quality. The prototype has been effective in more than 94% of the cases under the conditions of their experiments. The authors have also compared their prototype with a well-known music-specialized search engine, outperforming the search results in the two experiments that they performed.
Allied
Authors: Figueroa Cristhian , Vagliano Iacopo , Rocha Oscar Rodriguez , Torchiano Marco , Zucker Catherine Faron , Corrales Juan Carlos , Morisio Maurizio
Published: September 2017

The increase in the amount of structured data published on the Web using the principles of Linked Data means that now it is more likely to find resources on the Web of Data that represent real life concepts. Discovering and recommending resources on the Web of Data related to a given resource is still an open research area. This work presents a framework to deploy and execute Linked Data based recommendation algorithms to measure their accuracy and performance in different contexts. Moreover, application developers can use this framework as the main component for recommendation in various domains. Finally, this paper describes a new recommendation algorithm that adapts its behavior dynamically based on the features of the Linked Data dataset used. The results of a user study show that the algorithm proposed in this paper has better accuracy and novelty than other state-of-the-art algorithms for Linked Data.
Efficient String Matching Algorithm for Searching Large DNA and Binary Texts
Authors: Al-Ssulami Abdulrakeeb M. , Mathkour Hassan , Arafah Mohammed Amer
Published: September 2017

The exact string matching is essential in application areas such as Bioinformatics and Intrusion Detection Systems. Speeding-up the string matching algorithm will therefore result in accelerating the searching process in DNA and binary data. Previously, there are two types of fast algorithms exist, bit-parallel based algorithms and hashing algorithms. The bit-parallel based are efficient when dealing with patterns of short lengths, less than 64, but slow on long patterns. On the other hand, hashing algorithms have optimal sublinear average case on large alphabets and long patterns, but the efficiency not so good on small alphabet such as DNA and binary texts. In this paper, the authors present hybrid algorithm to overcome the shortcomings of those previous algorithms. The proposed algorithm is based on q-gram hashing with guaranteeing the maximal shift in advance. Experimental results on random and complete human genome confirm that the proposed algorithm is efficient on various pattern lengths and small alphabet.
Sustainable Entrepreneurship Development in the Accommodation Sector
Authors: Presenza Angelo , Camillo Angelo A , Camillo Isabell C.
Published: September 2017

This paper investigates the concept of “Albergo Diffuso” - a new form of sustainable development within the tourism and lodging industry. The authors analyze its main characteristics and discuss its future development and sustainability practices. The analysis includes an assessment of the Albergo Diffuso concept with that of a standard hotel to determine if and how this emergent concept differs from the conventional accommodation by looking at its distinctive features. A data collection through structured interviews with Albergo Diffuso owners in a focus group setting was conducted. Overall, the authors identified the main characteristics of the Albergo Diffuso: it offers similar and unique amenities of a typical hotel brand, it contributes to the creation of new sustainable enterprises, and it contributes to the development of new sustainability policy for marginal regions. They also evaluated the challenges and opportunities this new entrepreneurial concept faces.
Middle East Tourists' Behaviour Towards Malaysian Gastronomy and Dining Experience in Malaysia
Authors: Leong Quee-Ling , Karim Shahrim Ab , Chua Bee-Lia , Tengpongsathon Kallayanee
Published: September 2017

The global Muslim tourists' expenditure on gastronomy products is on the rise. However, to date few studies were conducted to empirically determine the behaviour of the Muslim tourists' especially from the Middle East countries towards Malaysian gastronomy. Therefore, the key purpose of the present study was to empirically determine the Middle East tourists' behaviour towards their dining experience in Malaysia by employing the basis of means-end model approach. The proposed conceptual model of this study was tested using structural equation modelling analysis. The findings revealed that gastronomy attributes, dining quality and overall satisfaction of dining experience were significant positive predictors of the Middle East tourists' behavioural intention. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed and this paper ends with some suggestions for future research.
Surface Profile Measurement of Micro-Optics by Using a Long Stroke Atomic Force Microscope
Authors: Ito So , Li Ming Lei , Jia Zhi Gang , Chen Yuan Liu , Shimizu Yuki , Gao Wei
Published: September 2017

In this study, a long stroke atomic force microscope (LS-AFM) has been developed for the measurement of the micro-optics which have micrometric amplitude surface structures. An electrochemically polished tungsten wire is used as the AFM probe tip. Since the effective length of the tungsten probe is more than 100 μm, the probe tip can access valley part without the interference between the steep slope and the sidewall of the probe tip. By using the long stroke PZT Z scanner whose long stroke of 70 μm and a resolution of 1 nm, micrometric amplitude of the optical elements can be measured. A linear encoder is employed to measure the displacement of Z scanner in Z direction. A well-detected result of a prism sheet film profile has been obtained by the LS-AFM and its tapping mode.
A Three-Axis Angle Sensor with a Linear Encoder Scale Reflector
Authors: Shimizu Yuki , Maruyama Taiji , Ito So , Gao Wei
Published: September 2017

This paper presents a design study of an optical three-axis angle sensor for measurement of angular error motions of long-stroke precision linear stages. The three-axis angle sensor, which is based on a laser autocollimation method, can detect angular motions about the XYZ-axes simultaneously by using zeroth-and first-order diffraction beams from a diffraction grating mounted on a measuring target as a reflector. In this paper, an optical sensor head is designed in such a way that the three-axis angle sensor shares a diffraction grating with an optical sensor head of a linear encoder, which is already installed in a stage system. The optical sensor head of the three-axis angle sensor is designed in a size of smaller than 50 mm × 30 mm × 30 mm so that the sensor head can be compatible with the linear encoder. Details of the optical configuration designed for the sensor head, and some results of experiments are reported.
Wavelength Modulating Self-Mixing Interferometer
Authors: Guo Dong Mei , Jiang Hai Qing
Published: September 2017

Self-mixing interference (SMI) was used to measure the displacement with a resolution of λ/2 by counting the interference signal peaks. In order to increase the measurement accuracy beyond λ/2, sinusoidal wavelength modulation (SWM) technique is introduced in SMI in this paper. Wavelength modulation of the laser beam is obtained by sinusoidal modulating the injection current of the laser diode. Fourier analysis method is proposed to demodulate the phase. Experimentally, the micro-movements of a high precision commercial PZT have been reconstructed, which can obtain a displacement measurement resolution of a few nanometers. It provides a potential displacement sensor with high accuracy and quite compact configuration.
Metrology Performance of Laser Line Scanning of Additive Manufacturing Fixtures Based on Geometrical Product Specification (GPS)
Authors: Zhang Min , Boeckmans Bart , Kruth Jean Pierre , Dewulf Wim , Shi Zhao Yao
Published: September 2017

To gain a maximum benefit of high-speed optical scanning in the metrological calibration of emerging AM (Additive Manufacturing) fixtures it is necessary to investigate the metrology performance of laser line scanning in particular on coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) based on new generation of Geometrical Product Specification standard. A set of designed experiments was set up both on an actual fixture and artefacts manufactured by the Additive Manufacturing company, Materialise-RapidFit+. It enables to identify the influence of a fixture’s geometrical characteristic, material, colour, transparency and roughness, as well as of the alignment of the part coordinate system (PCS) mathematically relating to the machine coordinate system (MCS). Performance measures that were tracked included inspection accuracy, measuring repeatability and time consumption. Results demonstrate that the laser line scanning strategy enables to lower the time consumption in the order of 49% for a fixture with six locators mounted on it and a PC with 128GB RAM, especially providing a superior accuracy performance for complex geometries compared to a tactile measuring strategy.
Dynamic Calibration for Measurement System of Form Measuring Instruments Based on Elliptical Standard
Authors: Huang Jing Zhi , Guo Teng Hui , Tan Jiu Bin , Sun Tao
Published: September 2017

A dynamic calibration method based on elliptical standard was put forward to further improve the calibration repeatability of measurement system of form measuring instruments. In this method, the radius difference of the major axis to the minor axis of elliptic contour acts as the standard value to calibrate the measuring system, and a low pass filter is used to filter the roughness, electrical noise and high frequency vibration signal which mixed into measurement data, the elliptic contour feature can be obtained accurately based on the low order harmonic properties. Compared with the traditional calibration method of flick standard, the proposed method ensure the calibration state is well consistent with the normal measuring state of the measuring system. Experimental results indicate that the calibration repeatability with 10nm can be achieved by measuring an elliptical standard. This method has been used in the calibration of measurement system of self-made ultra-precision cylindricity measuring instrument.
Problems of Signal Processing in Ultrasonic Gas Flow Measurement
Authors: Hans Volker
Published: September 2017

Vortex measuring methods with ultrasound are distinguished by small bluff bodies, low pressure losses and high sensitivity. The ultrasound wave is modulated by the vortices behind the bluff body. The modulation frequency represents the flow velocity and can be determined by well-known demodulation procedures.Cross correlation methods use the natural turbulences in a fluid. Because of the skewed density function of the velocity components the maximum of the cross correlation function does not represent the transit time of the turbulences between two ultrasonic barriers. Processing of the complex modulated signal is very difficult because the phase of the signal can reach very high values and can not be considered unambiguously. It is advantageous to simplify the signal processing by artificially generated vortices by a small bluff body. It results in a symmetric density distribution and symmetric cross correlation function. Furthermore, it results in a self-monitoring system. Alternatively, two different carrier frequencies can be applied to the two ultrasonic waves. In the cross correlation function the carrier frequencies are eliminated automatically.
Scanning Surface Plasmon Microscope for Sensing Lipid Array and Au Film Defect
Authors: Wei Shih Chung , Yang Pei Tung , Gu Frank X. , Sung Kung Bin , Lin Chii Wann
Published: September 2017

We demonstrated a scanning radially-polarized surface plasmon microscopy (SSPM) with submicron lateral resolution and high refractive index sensitivity. According to the captured images, SSPM could be used to verify the quality of deposited Au film and Au structure on surface plasmon sensing chip. The defect on the SPR chip, which disturbed the plasmonic wave around the focal point, could be easily detected by our system. Moreover, the application of SSPM in imaging lipid array was showed in this article. The 1, 2-Dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) array was made by dip-pen nanolithography. The results indicated that SSPM system could be used in comparing the thickness of DOPC array. Because of the high sensitivity and high spatial resolution of the system, we expected the SSPM to be used in measuring the properties of nanogold array structures and apply to digital-array biosensors in nanoscale.
A Case Study of Developing SEMI PV Standards in Taiwan (2009~2014)
Authors: Hsu Shu Tsung , Long Yean San , Wu Teng Chun
Published: September 2017

This work aims to analysis the SEMI PV standards developed in Taiwan during 2009 to 2014. The major technical committee (TC) and task force (TF) include Photovoltaic Technical Committee (2009), Photovoltaic Module Vibration TF (2010), Photovoltaic Cell Vibration TF (2011), Package Performance TF (2012), OPV and DSSC TF (2013), BIPV TF (2013) and Reliability TF (2014). ITRI coordinated these TFs to set up a series of experiments and discussions, which focused on the performance evaluation for PV cell, module and materials. The TFs have developed four standards include SEMI PV23 (2011), SEMI PV38 (2012), SEMI PV56 (2014) and SEMI PV57 (2014). Through these standardizations, some specific test methods and test flows were completed to evaluate the reliability for both c-Si and organic/inorganic PV products, which are helpful to improve the performances of cell and module, and propose the common testing guidelines for PV industry to refer to when desired.
A Novel MEMS Device for Scanning Profile Measurement with Three Cantilever Displacement Sensors
Authors: Shimizu Hiroki , Akiyoshi Takahiro , Yanagihara Shinya , Tamaru Yuuma , Baba Akiyoshi
Published: September 2017

A novel Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) measurement device for straightness measurement with a three point method has been proposed. This device integrates three cantilever displacement sensors with a narrow pitch on a silicon chip. The authors determine appropriates shape, dimensions of the cantilever, and a fabrication process. According to simulation results, a triangular cantilever with altitude 12 mm long, base 4mm long, and 0.25 mm thickness was adopted to realize the target measuring range of 100 μm. Near the end of each cantilever, a square frustum probe 250 μm high which was fabricated by anisotropic wet etching was placed. Near the base of cantilevers, four piezo resistance gauges were formed; two are active gauges for measuring stress arise from a displacement at the probe and the others are dummy gauges for temperature compensation. Wiring and contact terminals were fabricated on the base substrate and the total size of the device is 20 mm × 32 mm. The fabrication process of this device was designed and result of a trial production was reported.
Standardize Test Method of Reliability Evaluation for c-Si Photovoltaic Product
Authors: Hsu Shu Tsung , Long Yean San , Wu Teng Chun
Published: September 2017

Shipping damage is one of the key problems of photovoltaic (PV) failures in the field. In addition, the detailed documents and industry standards are necessary, to avoid cell breakages or cracks during transportation. Therefore, ITRI coordinated some TFs to set up a series of experiments on the performance evaluation for PV-cell and PV-module caused by transportation and shipping. This work aims to standardize the test method for performance criteria of PV-cell and PV-module for transportation, and evaluates a guideline and risk analysis for shipped package of PV product to meet the relevant reliability concerns in a long-term perspective. PV products are shipped not only in a fab by forklift trucks or handling, but also transported outside a fab by shipping vehicles such as truck, train, aircraft and shipboard. Consequently, results were applied to SEMI Doc. 5431 and released as SEMI PV56 [1] by voting in 2014. PV product’s makers and buyers, or any other party interested like package designers, can thus have a common testing standard to refer to when desired.
Standardization of Current-Voltage Test Method for DSSC Products
Authors: Hsu Shu Tsung , Long Yean San , Wu Teng Chun
Published: September 2017

The major differences between dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and p-n junction solar cells are spectrum absorption range, photoelectric conversion response time and standard test condition (STC). The operation principle of DSSC is using layers of organic molecules subject to lighting after excitation electronic then pass to the inorganic/organic layer of the wide energy gap nanolayer and voltage. Therefore, characterizations of DSSC are important in order to clarify how to determine its performance accurately. Such measurement requires considering the different level lighting on each very slow temporal response (hysteresis and transient) in its current-voltage (I-V) curves, which are dependent on the voltage sweep direction, even when the sweep time is the order of seconds. This paper presents a new test method for determining I-V performance of DSSC, which differs with IEC 60904-1 addressed on single and multi-junction samples. Results were applied to SEMI Doc. 5597 and released as SEMI PV57 by voting in 2014. Consequently, emerging photovoltaic device makers and buyers, or any other party interested, can thus have a common testing standard to refer to when desired.
On-Site Measurement of the Spectral Transmittance of a Stripe Filter
Authors: Tsay Ho Lin , Huang Po Han , Wu Kun Huan , Huang Ting Ming
Published: September 2017

A simple on-site transmittance measurement setup that is easy to move and install is proposed in this study. It is especially suitable for those cases when laboratory instruments are not applicable. Ordinarily, witness samples are measured since the uniformity is good enough inside the thin film coator and the size of the sample is proper for the facilities to measure. When the spot size of the measuring instrument is too large for the filter or the size of the test sample is too large to fit into the instrument. The proposed setup is shown to work well for this measurement. An application for this setup is also presented. The test target was a stripe filter, which has five band-pass thin films and nominal dimensions of 120 x 3.6 mm each film. Distance between neighboring films is 3.85 mm. The width of each film is so narrow and the size the stripe filter is large such that the traditional method for spectral transmittance is not applicable. The proposed measurement setup consists of a light source, integration sphere and spectrophotometer. The setup was installed inside a dark room. It shows that the setup can provide as accurate results as those data measured by an accreditated instrument. The difference between the present setup and accreditated instrument was found within 7% for high radiance. When the radiance of the incident light is low the accuracy decreases, which can be compensated by stronger light source. In addition, since the measurement spot size is estimated as 1.5 x 2.1 mm it can provide local transmittance data along the stripe thin film rather than a single data represented by the witness sample.
A Mahalanobis Distance Measurement Method to Analyze Current Waveform for Determining the Motor’s Quality Types
Authors: Yeh Yun Chi , Chien Tsung Fu , Chang Cheng Yuan , Chu Tsui Shiun
Published: September 2017

This study proposes a Mahalanobis Distance Measurement (MDM) method to analyze current waveform for determining the motor’s quality types. The MDM method consists of three major stages: (i) the preprocessing stage which is for enlarging motor current waveforms’ amplitude and eliminating noises, and includes signal amplitude amplifier, filter circuit (eliminating noises), and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) parts, (ii) the qualitative features stage which is for qualitative feature selection on motor current waveforms, and (iii) the classification stage which is for determining motor quality types using the MDM method. It can recognize defective motors and their defective types in less than 0.5 second. In the experiment, the total classification accuracy (TCA) was approximately 99.03% in average. The proposed method has the advantages of good detection results, no complex mathematic computations, hi-speed, and hi-reliability.
Power Quality Measurements of a Horizontal Axial Small Wind Turbine
Authors: Liu Yu Jen , Chen Yen Chang , Lan Pei Hsiu , Chang Tsang Pin
Published: September 2017

As small wind turbines are increasingly used, the assessments of power quality may thus become paramount. Unlike the large-scale wind turbines which are optional required to perform power quality measurements during production certification stage; however the power quality measurements are often neglected in small wind turbines since they are not requested on the certain of national grid codes at low-voltage distribution system level. Considering the high penetrations of small wind turbines may be connected to the future urban electric network, the paper performs the power quality on-site measurements of a horizontal axle small wind turbines. The issues may include the discussion of measurement system structure, the description of measurement method, and the analysis of wind turbine power characteristic, voltage/current trends, harmonics and flicker phenomena. The measured data collected in the study will valuable for the further analysis of power systems connected with the small wind turbines.
Design and Implementation of Closed-Loop Controller with Current Sensors for Brushless DC Motor Drives
Authors: Chen Ming Hung
Published: September 2017

This paper is concerned with the design and implementation of closed-loop controller with current sensors for brushless DC motor drives to yield good speed regulation, low current harmonic and stable output speed. The design of controller is conducted by digitizing the mathematical model of brushless DC motors. The regulation and limitation of control parameters are also studied. The saliency of brushless DC motor yields larger quadrature-axis inductance than that of the direct-axis. This results in reluctance torque accordingly. By appropriately adjusting the direct-axis current, the reluctance torque can be controlled to achieve high-efficiency operation. The proposed control strategy will not only yield optimal efficiency but also result in the immunity of performance to the variation of machine parameters. A predicted current estimator is proposed to function under stationary frame for harmonic current suppression. In this paper, the mathematical models of the brushless DC motor is built and simulated by Matlab/Simulink. Then, a high-performance and low-cost digital signal processor (DSP, TMS320F28335) is used to control the system for reducing the circuit complexity. A digital control system for 750 W brushless DC motor is realized. Experimental results indicate that the total harmonic distortion of current is reduced by the proposed closed-loop controller with current sensor.
Analyses of DNA Image Cytometry Uncertainty Caused by Diffractive Blurring
Authors: Palchikova Irina G. , Smirnov Evgenii S. , Konev Alexander A.
Published: September 2017

Comparison of quantitative methods for the segmentation of nuclei images is performed. A sizeable variability is typical for biological specimens and it induces the elemental uncertainty in experimental data. To remove the variability from comparison we have proposed and built the special test objects of two types simulating the nuclei images. I-type objects are test patterns as sets of circles and squares of specified dimensions in chromium films on a glass plate. II-type objects are images with brightness differentials that simulate diffractive blurring and are built up with MathCad programming environment. Test objects enable objective comparison of characteristics obtained in the course of their quantitative optical-and-structural analysis using various algorithms and programs. We found that the efficiency of the segmentation algorithm depends on diffractive blurring of the image. Specifics of Otsu’s algorithm and local algorithm of brightness gradient are analyzed for finding the segmentation threshold of digital images modeling transmission Feulgen-stained cell nuclei specimens with diffractive blurring. The performed calculations revealed that the border of geometrooptical image practically coincide with the points of inflection on the intensity distribution graph in a test-object image space. Computational experiments show that quantitative results of the morphometric image study defined by the various segmentation algorithms vary within 5%. It is established that the threshold-identifying algorithm based on the brightness gradient is preferable in the image cytometry.
Efficient Selective Dismantlement of Protoplast Cell with Femtosecond Laser
Authors: Tamura Takuma , Taguchi Kozo
Published: September 2017

We made the protoplast cell of red cabbage. And we irradiated to the protoplast cell with continues-wave laser. It is impossible to break down the protoplast cell. On the other hand we use the slide evaporated gold thin film, it is possible to break down a few protoplast cell. We use the femtosecond laser, it is possible to break down almost protoplast cell. The femtosecond laser used in experiment is mode-locked fiber ring laser. It also has 300fs pulse width, 52kW peak power and 4.773MHz pulse repetition frequency. Experiments show it is possible to break down the protoplast cell on an electrode.
Parameter Design and Performance Optimization of the Two-Phase Mixture Pressure Ulcer-Preventing Cushion
Authors: Wang Dian , Mao Zhi Yong , Cai Ping
Published: September 2017

The main causes of pressure ulcer are the unrelieved contact stresses between the cushion and the human body and the deterioration of the skin condition caused by the impregnation of sweat and urine, especially the region around ischial tuberosities where the local pressure concentration appears. Pressure ulcer-preventing cushion that relieves the pressure concentration in a seated situation could help to decrease the incidence of pressure ulcer. A new concept of such cushion is to fill the cushion with small polyethylene elastic beads, which can redistribute the sitting pressure onto a larger supporting area and help to improve microcirculation. Then the local maximum sitting pressure falls and the skin will be maintained in fine condition.
Both the human body buttock thigh modal and the cushion modal are built with ANSYS 14.5 to simulate the sitting condition and analyze the local maximum pressure with different diameters of the polyethylene beads and different filling ratios. The equivalent Young’s modulus of the cushion is analyzed using the homogenization method. With the local maximum pressure for index, the influence of diameters and filling ratios of the polyethylene beads on the pressure relief performance has been thoroughly investigated. Those results could give guidance on the design of cushions with proper material characteristic to lower the pressure ulcer prevalence rate.
New Performance Method of Capacity Effect from High to Low Level Lighting for DSC Device
Authors: Long Yean San , Hsu Shu Tsung , Wu Teng Chun
Published: September 2017

With increasing applications in consumer electronics such as smart phones, laptops and tablet PCs, the need for pervasive computing with a requirement of lower power consumption is increasing every day. This opens the door for energy harvesting that could charge the batteries in these devices to keep them continually functioning in some useful state. There has been a lot of attention on flexible thin film solar cells, such as dye sensitized (DSC), organic and inorganic, given their low-cost and improving efficiency. Performance characterization DSC has been investigated, in order to clarify how to determine their performance accurately. Accurate characterization of DSC requires level lighting consideration on each very slow temporal response in the I-V curves of the DSC are clearly dependent on the voltage sweep direction, even when the sweep time is the order of seconds. Furthermore, the temporal response is dependent on different level lighting consideration. This analysis showed to improve accuracy, measurement should be real time removing capacitance effect with a Real-Time One-Sweep Method (RTOSM). Additionally, RTOSM will be useful to measuring cell performance more accurately and rapidly when evaluating solar cell performance.
Improvement of Variation Propagation Control in Mechanical Assembly Using Adjustment Assembly Technique
Authors: Sun Chuan Zhi , Wang Lei , Tan Jiu Bin , Zhao Bo , Jin Guo Liang , Zhao Xi Ping
Published: September 2017

This paper aims to provide an assembly method to improve mechanical assembly quality. In order to improve the variation propagation control in rotationally symmetric cylindrical components assembly, the eccentric and tilt errors of a single rotor stage were taken into account using a connective assembly model and the eccentric deviation in a mechanical assembly was minimized by properly selecting component orientations. Compared to the minimum cumulative error, the maximum cumulative error was reduced by 71 percent, and the average cumulative error was reduced by 57 percent in the assembly of three components. This article provides an assembly method through variation propagation control in rotationally symmetric cylindrical components assembly. The method could be extended to rotationally symmetric cylindrical components assembly, for example in the assembly of aero-engine components.
Preparation of CNT Counter Electrode by Electrophoresis for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell
Authors: Tamiya Kazuaki , Sugii Kanta , Taguchi Kozo
Published: September 2017

Carbon nanotubes are one of the materials that can replace platinum as DSSC’s counter electrode. By utilizing carbon nanotubes (CNT), which is an organic material in place of platinum it is possible to create an inexpensive solar cell. However, there are still many problems with CNT such as low conversion compared with platinum and fast degradation in CNT. At the present time, it is to be large surface area when we fabricate CNT electrode sintered at 500°C with Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD). We measured how conversion efficiency changed by changing sintering temperatures. As a result, when CNT electrode sintered at 500°C, conversion efficiency was the highest and it was 2.46%.
Full-Field Refractive Index Variation Measurement Based on Phase Shift Interferometry and SPR Phase Detection
Authors: Lin You Shen , Chiu Ming Hung
Published: September 2017

We propose a new approach for determining the distribution of full-field refractive index based on the angle deviation method (ADM) with a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor in phase detection. The inhomogeneous distribution of refractive index causes the variant deviation angles in the test light. SPR sensor is a sensitive angular sensor especially for phase detection. For the full–field phase measurement, we should use the four-step phase shift interferometry (PSI) to measure the phase shift profile of the test light after reflected from the SPR sensor. Thus the phase shift is caused by the variation of the refractive index. The approach can plot the full-field refractive index distribution in a short time and its resolution can be better than 2.2×10-8 (RIU).
Studying the Influence of Tungsten and Chromium Additives in Flux Cored Wire System Fe-C-Si-Mn-Mo-Ni-V-Co on Surfaced Metal Properties
Authors: Osetkovskiy I.V. , Kozyrev N.A. , Kryukov R.E.
Published: September 2017

In the laboratory conditions were manufactured flux cored wire system Fe-C-Si-Mn-Mo-Ni-V-Co samples, studied the influence of tungsten and chromium appending in surfacing wire charge. Conducted metallographic researches of surfaced metal: microstructure evaluate, grain size, nonmetallic oxides inclusions impurity. Defined hardness and wearout speed of the deposited layers. Conducted evaluation of the chemical composition influence on surfaced metal wearout and hardness.
Welding Technology in Additive Manufacturing Processes of 3D Objects
Authors: Korzhyk V. , Khaskin V. , Voitenko O. , Sydorets Volodymyr , Dolianovskaia O.
Published: September 2017

Using of welding technologies to produce metal volume objects allows considerable lowering of their manufacturing cost at simultaneous increase in productivity, compared to SLS-and SLM-processes. The most perspective welding technology of additive manufacturing of three-dimensional objects is plasma-arc technology with application of wires or powders. It allows creating at comparatively low heat input quality volumetric products with wall thickness from 3 to 50 mm from alloys based on Fe, Ni, Co, Cu, Ti, Al, as well as composite materials, containing refractory components.
Scanning the Welded Seams of Titanium Alloys by Using Subminiature Eddy Current Transducers
Authors: Dmitriev S. , Ishkov A. , Malikov Vladimir , Sagalakov A.
Published: September 2017

The eddy current transformer (EST) of the transformer type is used to construct a sensor for investigating titanium sheets joined by a welded joint. The article provides the key technical information about the eddy current transformer used and describes the methodology of measurements that makes it possible to control defects in the welding seams of titanium alloys. It is capable of automatically changing the filtering cutoff frequency and operating frequency of the device. The designed measuring system eliminates the main drawback of eddy current transformers (the small area of the electromagnetic field), simultaneously significantly reducing the noise level due to the use of high-quality amplifiers and filters, and searches for defects in and alloys of different metals. A measurement procedure that allows one to perform high-accuracy monitoring of flaws in different alloys is described. Experiments were conducted on welded BT1-0 titanium plates. The article contains the results of these measurements. The dependence data facilitates the assessment of the quality of welding seams and helps make an educated conclusion about welding quality.
On the Shape of the Boundary of Adsorption Lines of Molecules under the Limited Volume
Authors: Starikov V.I. , Chernysheva T.Yu. , Knauss E.
Published: September 2017

The authors complete calculations of the boundary of adsorption lines of CO and CO2 molecules under the limited volume. The cells with the transverse size from 10 to 200 nm are considered. The inaccuracy of the half-breadth of the lines appearing when the cylindrical and spherical cells are modeled with rectangular cells was estimated. When calculating the shifts and the half-breadth of the lines of CO and CO2 molecules the authors consider the model in which CO and CO2 molecules adsorbed on the walls of the pore may cease their rotational motion.
Technology of Powder Coatings Application by Gas-Flame Spraying Using Oxyhydrogen Flame
Authors: Barsukov G. , Barabash V.V. , Rodichev A.Yu. , Kozhus O.
Published: September 2017

In the article the equipment, method and the results of researches of strength of gas-flame coatings cohesion with the base are presented. The dependence of adhesive strength on spraying modes of powder material by oxyhydrogen flame is established and described. Recommendations on choosing the gas-flame spraying modes are developed.
Structural-Phase State and Strength Properties of Pressure-Synthesized Ni3Al Intermetallic Compound
Authors: Ovcharenko V.E. , Boyangin E.N. , Pshenichnikov A.P. , Krilova T.A.
Published: September 2017

The article studies dependences of grain size in Ni3Al intermetallic compound synthesized under pressure in 3Ni+Al powder mixture in conditions of bulk exothermal reaction upon pre-pressure acting on the powder mixture and upon a delay time of applying pressure to a high-temperature synthesis product. It is proved that an increase in the pre-pressure on the parent powder mixture reduces the grain size, and an increase in the delay time increases the grain size in the synthesized intermetallic compound. Reducing the grain size from 10 to 1.75μm increases the strength of the intermetallic compound under pressure from 336 to 482 MPa (1.4 times).
The Effect of Ferrite Content on Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Behaviour of Austenitic Stainless Steel 308L Weld Metal
Authors: Rustandi Andi , Setiawan Suganta
Published: September 2017

Ferrite is well known as a beneficial phase that can prevent hot cracking phenomena and act as strengthening phase in austenitic stainless steel weld metal. This paper investigated mechanical and corrosion behaviour of austenitic weld metal grade 308L which deposited by SMA (Shielded Metal Arc) method with various ferrite content. Several tests such as tensile at room temperature, charpy impact V-notch and lateral expansion at cryogenic temperature-196°C were conducted to observe mechanical behaviour. Electrochemical testings such as Cyclic Polarization method and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) were also performed. Controlling weld metal 308L with ferrite number (FN) 2 and manganese content about 1.53 % could achieve excellent toughness and hot cracking resistance as well as improved pitting corrosion resistance for cryogenic purpose.
A Review of Rafting in Nickel-Based Single Crystal Superalloys
Authors: Yu Zhi Yuan , Yue Zhu Feng , Cao Wei , Wang Xin Mei
Published: September 2017

Nickel-based single crystal superalloys have been widely used in modern aircraft, which is related to its high temperature mechanical strength and creep properties. And the initial cubic γ′ precipitates start to coarsen directionally during high temperature creep, which results in the degradation of the mechanical properties, especially the creep properties. Therefore, it is essential to figure out the mechanism of directional coarsening during the period of high temperature creep. In this article, a broad review of rafting mechanism of nickel-based single crystal superalloys is provided. The major work of this critical review is to introduce several experiments and numerical simulations which are used to analyze the evolution of rafting. For three different numerical simulations, their performance, advantage and disadvantage are discussed in detail. Through methods above, the effect on creep properties is summarized.
Study on the Influence of Materials’ Utilization on Outdoor Ground Surface Temperature in Guangzhou, China
Authors: Xi Tian Yu , Ding Jian Hua , Jin Hong
Published: September 2017

Aiming at offering reference for architects, urban planners and further research work in the sustainable building field, this work took the city of Guangzhou, China, as an example, by carrying out a 2-day constant field experiment in the campus of South China University of Technology, study on the influence of materials on the outdoor ground surface temperature, including concrete, pavement brick and grass. The result showed that, the grass surface temperature has the lowest temperature in both of daytime and night time, and it has no time delay compared with concrete and pavement brick ground, which should be due to the specific heat capacity of human built materials. The pavement brick has the highest surface temperature in daytime, but at late night time, it becomes lower than that of concrete ground, and this should be because that the specific heat capacity of pavement brick is lower compared with that of concrete. The surface temperature of concrete ground at night time is influenced by exposed time in daytime due to the influence of specific heat capacity, and in this experiment, the shaded concrete is lower than that of part-time exposed concrete ground at night time, and the part-time exposed concrete is lower than the concrete exposed all day, indicating that the ground material should be carefully designed in outdoor, taking both of thermal environment in daytime and night time into consideration.
Food and micro-habitat partitioning among cyprinids in Sri Lankan hill-stream pools
Authors: Vijverberg Jacobus , Heidweiller Jan , Sevenster Jan G. , Kortmulder Koenraad
Published: September 2017

Cyprinid fish assemblages in three stream pools in southwest Sri Lanka, were investigated with the objective of analysing species segregation, niche complementarity and degree of resource partitioning. Feeding ecology was studied by gut contents analysis and by direct underwater observations. Dietary data were related to the micro-distribution of the fish and to their horizontal distribution, the latter taken from previously published literature. Diet overlaps were calculated for each pool community and for the community as a whole. Resource partitioning among assemblage members was by diet, micro-distribution and horizontal macro-distribution. Among the three feeding substrates (rocky substrates, sand, dead leaves) rocky substrate was the most preferred, but other substrates, especially dead leaves, were used as well. Only Rasbora daniconius, which mainly fed high in the water column, fed always on rocky substrates at the relative rare occasions that it chose a firm substrate. Pethia nigrofasciata was the only species with a clear preference for sand. The assemblage could be divided into three guilds: (1) the surface feeders (Devario malabaricus, Rasbora daniconius) fed largely on terrestrial arthropods, (2) one generalist Systomus pleurotaenia which fed on all five strata, largely on terrestrial arthropods, ephemeropteran and chironomid larvae. (3) the bottom feeders (Dawkinsia singhala, Pethia  cumingii, Pethia nigrofasciata, Puntius dorsalis) who fed preponderantly on chironomid larvae. Of the three niche dimensions, horizontal macro-distribution, micro-distribution and diet, horizontal distribution may be the strongest segregating factor among these fish species. The contribution of diet was substantial only between feeding guilds. A relatively high degree of endemism (ca. 40 % is endemic to Sri Lanka) and habitat partitioning suggests that the cyprinid assemblages studied are predictable, co-evolved systems with competition serving as an importing structuring factor.
Are fancy guppies (Poeciliareticulata Peters, 1859) invasive?
Authors: Bandaranayake C. H. , Chandrasekara W. U.
Published: September 2017

Guppies (Poecilia reticulata Peters 1859) have been introduced to Sri Lanka in the early 1970s to combat the menace of Malaria. Due to their rapid range expansion in natural waterways, guppies are labeled as an ‘invasive species.’ Guppies are also popular in the ornamental fish trade where a wide variety of ornamental guppy varieties with attractive colour and fin patterns have been produced through selective breeding; they are commonly known as ‘fancy guppies’ or ‘saree guppies’. Since there are some concerns over the invasiveness of these fancy guppies into natural water bodies in Sri Lanka, the potential invasiveness of two common fancy guppy varieties with long caudal fins viz. black guppies and yellow guppies, was assessed under laboratory conditions using their specific growth rates (SGR) and critical swimming speeds (Ucrit). Results in the present study showed that the SGR of black guppies (1.0 % g day-1), and yellow guppies (0.99 % g day-1) were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than that of the wild guppies (1.31% g day-1). Further, the Ucrit of the black guppies (23.8 cm s-1), and yellow guppies (26.8 cm s-1) were significantly lower (p < 0.05) than that of the wild guppies (28.8 cm s-1). Since the long caudal fins significantly reduced  the swimming speed (p < 0.05: ANOVA) and hence the SGR of the two fancy guppy varieties, there is strong evidence for an inter-variety competition to occur among the wild and fancy guppies where the latter would be competitively eliminated by the wild guppies in terms of competition owing to their short tail. Therefore, the long caudal fin is a predicament to fancy guppies for both swimming and securing food in the water column. This study also challenges some views of all guppies being categorized as ‘invasive’ and demonstrated that the fancy guppies are unable to compete with their wild counterparts but are confined to ornamental displays in places such as indoor and outdoor fish tanks.
Physicochemical environment of Malala Lagoon in Southern Sri Lanka
Authors: Titus L. P. , Deepananda K. H. M. Ashoka , Cumaranatunga P. R. T.
Published: September 2017

Malala Lagoon is the largest of the five enclosed shallow lagoons in Bundala National park, and is one of the most productive of the fifteen lagoons in the Hambantota district, Sri Lanka.  It has been vulnerable to human induced pollution for nearly three decades. This paper ascertains the status of physicochemical environment of the lagoon and its temporal variation from 1995 to 1997. During the study period physicochemical and biological parameters measured in Malala lagoon were water temperature, pH, conductivity, Secchi depth, dissolved oxygen, salinity, total alkalinity, dissolved phosphate, and chlorophyll-a, and their mean values were; 27.69 ± 1.62°C, 7.93±0.46, 5.14±3.88 mS/cm, 00.39 ± 00.19 m, 7.83±0.89 mg/L, 2.18±1.61‰, 2.14 ±0.59 mmol/L, 12.25±4.67 mg/L and 8.86 ± 4.62 mg/L respectively. Maximum depth of the lagoon rarely exceeded 2 m during the study period. Due to the shallowness of the lagoon, there were no significant differences (p>0.05) in physicochemical parameters of surface, middle and bottom layers of the water column. Water level of the lagoon showed a significant (p<0.01) negative correlation with electrical conductivity (r = 0.727) as well as with the salinity (r = 0.729). Water influx to the lagoon showed a significant (p < 0.05) negative correlation with conductivity (r = 0.454) and salinity of the lagoon (r = 0.406). Findings of the study are compared with those carried out over a decade to explore and elucidate the long term changes in the lagoon environment. When compared with the published data from preceding and subsequent studies, it confirmed that the brackish water characteristics of the lagoon are gradually degrading due to pollution caused by natural phenomena and anthropogenic activities adversely affecting the ecological balance and the productivity of the lagoon. These findings could be of great importance when studying long term changes in the coastal waters, which are essential for sustainable coastal planning, with respect to socioeconomic development programmes as well as to identify the impacts of Hambantota port and maritime activities in the area and to understand the trends related to global climate change.