Rail vs truck transport of biomass

This study analyzes the economics of transshipping biomass from truck to train in a North American setting. Transshipment will only be economic when the cost per unit distance of a second transportation mode is less than the original mode. There is an optimum number of transshipment terminals which is related to biomass yield. Transshipment incurs incremental fixed costs, and hence there is a minimum shipping distance for rail transport above which lower costs/km offset the incremental fixed costs. For transport by dedicated unit train with an optimum number of terminals, the minimum economic rail shipping distance for straw is 170 km, and for boreal forest harvest residue wood chips is 145 km. The minimum economic shipping distance for straw exceeds the biomass draw distance for economically sized centrally located power plants, and hence the prospects for rail transport are limited to cases in which traffic congestion from truck transport would otherwise preclude project development. Ideally, wood chip transport costs would be lowered by rail transshipment for an economically sized centrally located power plant, but in a specific case in Alberta, Canada, the layout of existing rail lines precludes a centrally located plant supplied by rail, whereas a more versatile road system enables it by truck. Hence for wood chips as well as straw the economic incentive for rail transport to centrally located processing plants is limited. Rail transshipment may still be preferred in cases in which road congestion precludes truck delivery, for example as result of community objections.     

Kinetics of polarization reversal in irradiated thin PZT films

The effect of irradiation with electrons and neutrons and of exposure to synchrotron radiation on cyclic switching of polarization in thin films of lead zirconate titanate Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZT) was studied. It is shown that variations in the shape of switching currents are due to the generation of a spatially nonuniform bound internal field with account for an increase in the rate of bulk screening caused by irradiation. A correlation between structural variations and the evolution of the switching current measured during and after irradiation is established.     

Wide-range regulation of polyaniline conduction by interphase doping of a polyaniline film

The not-sufficient-enough conductance of semioxidized protonated polyaniline (PANI) is usually attributed to the presence of ordered quasi-metallic domains surrounded by a poorly conducting amorphous phase. The paper presents experimental results testifying to the existence, in semioxidized PANI, of multilevel redox heterogeneity that crucially effects the conductance magnitude in view of specific topology at which higher-oxidized (conducting) domains are surrounded by less oxidized (poorly conducting) domains and because the PANI conduction is extremely sensitive to the oxidation degree. It is shown experimentally that the interphase doping with metals and degenerate semiconductors of a semioxidized salt of PANI and poly(2-acrylamide-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPSA) with a 1: 2 ratio between PANI and PAMPSA raises the PANI-PAMPSA conductivity by 3–8 orders of magnitude due to the formation near the interface of thin layers whose conductance depends on the work function of the material in contact with PANI-PAMPSA and in extreme cases substantially exceeds the conductance of gold and copper at room temperature.     

Conformational characteristics of polycaproamide in dimethylacetamide containing lithium chloride

The viscosity behavior, index of refraction, and density of dilute polycaproamide solutions in DMAc containing lithium chloride have been studied. On the basis of temperature dependences of the index of refraction and the density of solutions, the θ-condition of polycaproamide solutions in DMAc containing 2.5% lithium chloride is estimated as 21.3°C. From intrinsic viscosity [η] measurements, the coefficients of swelling of a polymer coil, the mean-square distance between chain ends, and other parameters of macromolecules in solution are calculated.     

Improving Construction for Connected Dominating Set with Steiner Tree in Wireless Sensor Networks

The connected dominating set plays an important role in ad hoc wireless networking. Many constructions for approximating the minimum connected dominating set have been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we propose a new one with Steiner tree, which produces approximation solution within a factor of 6.8 from optimal. This approximation algorithm can also be implemented distributedly.     

Recovered-voltage phenomenon and prospects for its use for assessment of the condition of polymers

A general theory of the phenomenon of recovered voltage in polymers was considered on the basis of representation of an actual poling process by a discrete set of Debye relaxators. Examples of numerical solution of the direct and inverse problems are given. A correlation expression between intentionally aged polymer specimens and recovered-voltage curves was proposed for use in the assessment of the material state of a polymer under actual service conditions. It was shown that it is sufficient to restrict consideration to three relaxation processes in analysis of the phenomenon.     

Current distribution and giant magnetoimpedance in composite wires with helical magnetic anisotropy

The giant magnetoimpedance effect in composite wires consisting of a non-magnetic inner core and soft magnetic shell is studied theoretically. It is assumed that the magnetic shell has a helical anisotropy. The current and field distributions in the composite wire are found by means of a simultaneous solution of Maxwell equations and the Landau–Lifshitz equation. The expressions for the diagonal and off-diagonal impedance are obtained for low and high frequencies. The dependences of the impedance on the anisotropy axis angle and the shell thickness are analyzed. Maximum field sensitivity is shown to correspond to the case of the circular anisotropy in the magnetic shell. It is demonstrated that the optimum shell thickness to obtain maximum impedance ratio is equal to the effective skin depth in the magnetic material.