Chemical Properties of the K2O-Al2O3-SiO2-P2O5 System Activated with Mn(II) Oxide

Synthesis and some chemical properties of the Al₂O-SiO₂-P₂O₅ system activated with MnO were studied.     

The use of an ultrasonic Doppler velocimeter in turbulent pipe flow

An ultrasonic Doppler velocimeter (UDV) is used for an experimental investigation of turbulent pipe flow at eight different Reynolds numbers (22,300–854,900). The UDV is a multipoint probe in the sense that it takes instantaneous measurements of fluid velocities at different locations simultaneously, with remarkable resolutions in space and time. The performances of the instrument with respect to the properties of the overlap layer of the turbulent flow field are investigated; the experimental results are compared with both already existing and more recently proposed scaling laws, and with other data of experimental nature.     

Recovering Beam Search: Enhancing the Beam Search Approach for Combinatorial Optimization Problems

A hybrid heuristic method for combinatorial optimization problems is proposed that combines different classical techniques such as tree search procedures, bounding schemes and local search. The proposed method enhances the classic beam search approach by applying to each partial solution corresponding to a node selected by the beam, a further test that checks whether the current partial solution is dominated by another partial solution at the same level of the search tree. If this is the case, the latter solution becomes the new current partial solution. This step allows to partially recover from previous wrong decisions of the beam search procedure and can be seen as a local search step on the partial solution. We present here the application to two well known combinatorial optimization problems: the two-machine total completion time flow shop scheduling problem and the uncapacitated p-median location problem. In both cases the method strongly improves the performances with respect to the basic beam search approach and is competitive with the state of the art heuristics.     

A Hybrid Improvement Heuristic for the One-Dimensional Bin Packing Problem

We propose in this work a hybrid improvement procedure for the bin packing problem. This heuristic has several features: the use of lower bounding strategies; the generation of initial solutions by reference to the dual min-max problem; the use of load redistribution based on dominance, differencing, and unbalancing; and the inclusion of an improvement process utilizing tabu search. Encouraging results have been obtained for a very wide range of benchmark instances, illustrating the robustness of the algorithm. The hybrid improvement procedure compares favourably with all other heuristics in the literature. It improved the best known solutions for many of the benchmark instances and found the largest number of optimal solutions with respect to the other available approximate algorithms.     

Degenerate nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws: Non classical geometrical theory

Kinetic selection principles have been shown to be useful and physically reasonable in nonlinear hyperbolic problems with large amplitude phase transitions. We refer to Abeyaratne and Knowles, [A-K], for discussion on the subject. They also have been used for degenerate nonlinear problems, where the genuine nonlinearity property of Lax is violated. This is the framework of Liu, [Li], in the kinetic situation of Hayes and Le Floch, [H-L], where their so-called non classical shocks may be seen as small amplitude phase transitions. Here, we describe the local geometry generated by the generic non genuinely nonlinear assumption. A geometric kinetic criterion can be used to select indeterminate simple waves and obtain the well-posedness of the local Riemann problem. A particular case is the entropic kinetic criterion of Hayes and Le Floch.

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Sunto Principi di selezione cinetica sono stati mostrati utili e fisicamente ragionevoli in problemi iperbolici con transizioni di fase di grande ampiezza. Ci riferiamo ad Abeyaratne e Knowles, [A-K], per discussioni sull'argomento. Detti principi sono stati usati per problemi nonlineari degeneri, dove la proprietà di genuina nonlinearità di Lax è violata. Questo è la prospettiva di Liu, [Li], nella situazione cinetica di Hayes e Le Floch, [H-L], dove i loro così detti urti non classici possono essere considerati come transizioni di fase di piccola ampiezza. Qui, descriviamo la geometria locale generata dall'ipotesi generica genuinamente nonlineare. Un criterio di geometria cinetica può essere usato per selezionare onde semplici indeterminate ed ottenere la buona posizione per il problema locale di Riemann. Un caso particolare è il criterio di entropia cinetico di Hayes e Le Floc.

     

A Study of Evaporation of Complex Oxide Systems Based on Chromium(III) Oxide

Evaporation of chromium ore and concentrates was studied using high-temperature differential mass-spectrometry. The data obtained, concerning the component vapor pressures in evaporation of complex oxide systems in the range 1700-2100 K, can be used to calculate the evaporation loss in melting and to assess the possibility of utilization of the sublimates formed.     

Crossover from high-temperature vortex-liquid to low-temperature vortex-glass behavior in single phase HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ superconductor

The ρ-T curves in our single phase HgBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O_8+δ superconductor were measured as a function of temperature and magnetic field, ρ=ρ₀exp(−U_eff/κ_BT). It can be transformed to another form d(lnρ)/d(1/T)=−U_eff+TdU_eff/dT, then this becomes a plot of the activation energy U_eff as a function of temperature. Our data plotted in these ways show a clear crossover from high-temperature two-dimensional vortex-liquid to a critical region associated with the low-temperature three-dimensional vortex-glass phase transition. The critical exponents v(z−1)=3.9±1.9 in this system are little different with previous measurements in BSCCO and YBCO systems.     

Single-electron charging spectra: from natural to artificial atoms

We present a theoretical study of the charging spectra in natural and artificial atoms. We apply a model electrostatic potential created by a homogenously charged sphere. This model potential allows for a continuous passage from the Coulomb potential of the nucleus to parabolic confinement potential of quantum dots. We consider electron systems with N=1,…,10 electrons with the use of the Hartree–Fock method. We discuss the qualitative similarities and differences between the chemical potential spectrum of electron systems bound to nucleus and confined in quantum dots.