Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 synthesis for solid oxide fuel cell electrolyte by ultrasound assisted co-precipitation method

In this study, the synthesis of Ce_0.8Sm_0.2O_1.9 (SDC) solid electrolyte by the ultrasound assisted co-precipitation method was accomplished to explore the effects of ultrasound power, ultrasound pulse ratio and probe type upon the ionic conductivity of SDC as well as the lattice parameter, the microstructure and the density. Fine powders of uniform crystallite sizes (average 11.70 ± 0.62 nm) were obtained, needing lower sintering temperature. The SDC powders were successfully sintered to a relative density of over 95% at 1200 °C (5 °C min^?1) for 6 h. The micrograph of SDC pellets showed non-agglomerated and well-developed grains with average size of about 200 nm. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the lattice parameter increased with increasing acoustic intensity and reached a maximum for the 14.94 W cm^?2. Further, a linear relationship was detected between the lattice parameter and the ionic conductivity, inspiring a dopant like effect of US on the electrolyte properties. The highest ionic conductivity as σ_800°C = 3.07 × 10^?2 S cm^?1 with an activation energy E_a = 0.871 kJ mol^?1 was obtained with pulsed ultrasound for an acoustic intensity of 14.94 W cm^?2, using 19 mm probe and 8:2 pulse ratio.     

Fuzzy logic adaptive Kalman filtering in the control of irrigation canals

A fuzzy logic adaptive Kalman filtering methodology was developed for the automatic control of an irrigation canal system under unknown disturbances (water withdrawals) acting in the canal. Using a linearized finite difference model of open channel flow, the canal operation problem was formulated as an optimal control problem and an algorithm for gate opening in the presence of arbitrary external disturbances (changes in flow rates) was derived. Based on the linear optimal control theory, the linear quadratic regulator (LQR), assuming all the state variables (flow depths and flow rates) were available, was designed to generate control input (optimal gate opening). As it was expensive to measure all the state variables (flow rates and flow depths) in a canal system, a fuzzy logic adaptive Kalman filter and traditional Kalman filter were designed to estimate the values for the state variables that were not measured but were needed in the feedback loop. The performances of the state estimators designed using the fuzzy logic adaptive Kalman filter methodology and the traditional Kalman filtering technique were compared with the results obtained using the LQR (target loop function). The results of the present study indicated that the performance of the fuzzy logic adaptive Kalman filter was far superior to the performance of the observer design based upon the traditional Kalman filter approach. The obvious advantages of the fuzzy logic adaptive Kalman filter were the prevention of filter divergence and ease of implementation. As the fuzzy logic adaptive Kalman filter requires smaller number of state variables for the acceptable accuracy therefore, it would need less computational effort in the control of irrigation canals. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Allyl sulfonium salt as a novel initiator for active cationic polymerization of epoxide by shooting with radicals species

A rapid cationic polymerization of cyclohexene oxide that completed within a few minutes was achieved by a new initiation system that involves (1) a copper‐catalyzed reduction of benzoyl peroxide by an ascorbic acid derivative that generates free radicals and (2) capture of the radicals by allyl sulfonium salt having hexafluoroantimonate (SbF) as a counter anion, followed by fragmentation of sulfonium radical cation, from which a super acid HSbF₆ was produced to initiate the rapid polymerization. The key factor in designing an efficient allyl sulfonium salt was attachment of an electron withdrawing ester group at the allyl group, of which ability to stabilize the formed radical can enhance the efficiency in trapping radicals by the allylic salt. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 4178–4183, 2010     

Hydroxylamine as an oxygen nucleophile. Structure and reactivity of ammonia oxide

Ammonia oxide is revealed as a stable molecule in a crystal structure and as a likely reactive species in many reactions of hydroxylamine.     

Approximation of Invariant Subspaces in Some Dirichlet-Type Spaces

The Hilbert space \(\mathcal {D}_{2}\) is the space of all holomorphic functions f defined on the open unit disc \(\mathbb {D}\) such that \({f}^{'}\) is in the Hardy Hilbert space \(\mathbf {H}^2.\) In this paper, we prove that the invariant subspaces of \(\mathcal {D}_{2}\) with respect to multiplication operator \(M_{z}\) can be approximated with finite co-dimensional invariant subspaces. We also obtain a partial result in this direction for the classical Dirichlet space.     

Critical node/edge detection problems on trees

4OR - We consider the problem of removing a limited subset of nodes and/or edges from a graph in order to minimize the so-called pairwise connectivity of the residual graph, which is defined as the...     

Interaction of CO2 with MnOx/Pd(111) Reverse Model Catalytic Interfaces

Understanding the activation of CO₂ on the surface of the heterogeneous catalysts comprised of metal/metal oxide interfaces is of critical importance since it is not only a prerequisite for converting CO₂ to value-added chemicals but also often, a rate-limiting step. In this context, our current work focuses on the interaction of CO₂ with heterogeneous bi-component model catalysts consisting of small MnO_x clusters supported on the Pd(111) single crystal surface. These metal oxide-on-metal ‘reverse’ model catalyst architectures were investigated via temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions. Enhancement of CO₂ activation was observed upon decreasing the size of MnO_x nanoclusters by lowering the preparation temperature of the catalyst down to 85 K. Neither pristine Pd(111) single crystal surface nor thick (multilayer) MnO_x overlayers on Pd(111) were not capable of activating CO₂, while CO₂ activation was detected at sub-monolayer (∼0.7 ML) MnO_x coverages on Pd(111), in correlation with the interfacial character of the active sites, involving both MnO_x and adjacent Pd atoms.     

On the solutions of the linear integral equations of Volterra type

Some boundaries about the solution of the linear Volterra integral equations of the form f(t)=1?K*f were obtained as |f(t)|?1, |f(t)|?2 and |f(t)|?4 in (J. Math. Anal. Appl. 1978; 64 :381–397; Int. J. Math. Math. Sci. 1982; 5 (1):123–131). The boundary of the solution function of an equation in this type was found as |f(t)|?2ⁿ in (Integr. Equ. Oper. Theory 2002; 43 :466–479), where t∈[0, ∞) and n is a natural number such that n?2. In (Math. Comp. 2006; 75 :1175–1199), it is shown that the boundary of the solution function of an equation in the same form can also be derived as that of (Integr. Equ. Oper. Theory 2002; 43 :466–479) under different conditions than those of (Integr. Equ. Oper. Theory 2002; 43 :466–479). In the present paper, the sufficient conditions for the boundedness of functions f, f′, f′′, …, f⁽ⁿ⁺³⁾, (n∈?) defined on the infinite interval [0, ∞) are given by our method, where f is the solution of the equation f(t)=1?K*f. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic analysis of beams on viscoelastic foundation

This study is intended to analyze dynamic behavior of beams on Pasternak-type viscoelastic foundation subjected to time-dependent loads. The Timoshenko beam theory is adopted in the derivation of the governing equation. Ordinary differential equations in scalar form obtained in the Laplace domain are solved numerically using the complementary functions method to calculate exactly the dynamic stiffness matrix of the problem. The solutions obtained are transformed to the real space using the Durbin's numerical inverse Laplace transform method. The dynamic response of beams on viscoelastic foundation is analyzed through various examples.