An elastic beam approach to predictive vehicle motion planning

Vehicle guidance systems are among the latest automotive developments. Examples are A daptive C ruise C ontrol (ACC), lane departure warning and active lane keeping. However, the rapid development of environmental sensor systems such as radar, lidar and video technologies in combination with data fusion of the single sensor signals enables further applications as for example lane changing assistance, collision avoidance or even autonomous driving. For all of these functions, trajectories have to be planned and, depending on the application, to be communicated to the driver. Recently, methods originally developed in robotics as for example so-called elastic bands are adapted for road vehicle applications. Here an virtual elastic beam is proposed to guide the vehicle. The beam is deflected by virtual potential fields generated by obstacles in the traffic space. In doing so, the elastic beam avoids obstacles and provides collision-free trajectories, while its bending stiffness counteracts the curvature of the trajectory. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Prediction of Energy Barriers due to Nucleation in Solid-to-Solid Phase–Transitions

This contribution generally aims at the application of the multiscale-FEM to problems arising from inhomogeneities of arbitrary shape within a solid matrix material. In the context of our work, the inhomogeneity represents a nucleus of a new solid phase. According to the theory of homogeneous nucleation, the model predicts whether it is energetically preferable to initiate the growth of the nucleus or not. The implementation of this procedure into a micromechanical model for shape-memory alloys is assumed to be suitable to reconstruct the so-called stress-drop after the initiation of phase-transformation as observed in experiments. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A Paramagnetic Copper(III) Complex Containing an Octahedral CuIIIS6 Coordination Polyhedron

Only the second octahedral, paramagnetic copper(III ) complex (S=1) has now been synthesized and characterized. Six thiolato bridging ligands in the heterotrinuclear species [LCo^IIICu^IIICo^IIIL](ClO₄)₃⋅2 Me₂CO (L=1,4,7‐tris(4‐tert‐butyl‐2‐sulfidobenzyl)‐1,4,7‐triazacyclononane) stabilize this rare electron configuration. A section of the structure of the reduced form (Cu^II, S=½) is shown. XAS, EXAFS, and EPR spectroscopy prove unambiguously that the one‐electron oxidation to the copper(III ) is metal‐ rather than ligand‐centered.     

C6F5XeCl and [(C6F5Xe)2Cl][AsF6]: The First Isolated and Unambiguously Characterized Xenon(II) Chlorine Compounds

Xenon(II ) chlorine compounds can be obtained as the isolable organo derivatives C₆F₅XeCl and [(C₆F₅Xe)₂Cl][AsF₆] (whose cation is depicted) in 85 and 91 % yield, respectively. These compounds decompose vigorously at 36°C and 100°C, respectively, leading to the formation of C₆F₅Cl and Xe gas and of C₆F₅Cl, C₆F₆, and [C₆F₅Xe][AsF₆], respectively.     

A new way to the “knitting pattern” via blending of ABC triblock copolymers

The “knitting pattern” morphology was obtained via blending of two polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) triblock copolymers. This demonstrates that blending of block copolymers is a useful way to design periodic superstructures by taking advantage of the self-assembling nature of microphase separated block copolymers.