Mobile relays for enhanced broadband connectivity in high speed train systems

With the introduction of wireless modems and smart phones, the passenger transport industry is witnessing a high demand to ensure not only the safety of the trains, but also to provide users with Internet access all the time inside the train. When the Mobile Terminal (MT) communicates directly with the Base Station (BS), it will experience a severe degradation in the Quality of Service due to the path loss and shadowing effects as the wireless signal is traveling through the train. In this paper, we study the performance in the case of relays placed on top of each train car. In the proposed approach, these relays communicate with the cellular BS on one hand, and with the MTs inside the train cars on the other hand, using the Long Term Evolution (LTE) cellular technology. A low complexity heuristic LTE radio resource management approach is proposed and compared to the Hungarian algorithm, both in the presence and absence of the relays. The presence of the relays is shown to lead to significant enhancements in the effective data rates of the MTs. In addition, the proposed resource management approach is shown to reach a performance close to the optimal Hungarian algorithm.     

Double Pancake Versus Long Chalcogen–Chalcogen Bonds in Six‐Membered C,N,S‐Heterocycles

The double “pancake” bonding in the dimers of the six‐membered heterocycles 1,3‐dithia‐2,4,6‐triazine ( 4 ) and 1,3‐dithia‐2,4‐diazine ( 16 ) were investigated by means of high‐level quantum chemical calculations (B3LYP and CCSD(T)). It was found that the S–S dimers, 20 a and 27 , are not the most stable isomers, but the dimers showing short S?N ( 21 a ) and S?C ( 25 , 28 ) bonds. An investigation of the 5‐phenyl‐1,3‐dithia‐2,4,6‐triazine ( 4 b ) yields that the syn dimer with two S?S bonds (2.57 Å) is the most stable one. In this dimer, the phenyl groups are placed on top of each other. The additional dispersion energy of the phenyl rings causes a stabilization of the syn‐S–S (C_2v‐like) isomer. As a result, two weak albeit relevant single S?S bonds (2.57 Å) are predicted. These findings contradict the recently published concept of double “pancake” bonding in the dimer 4 b ₂.     

The structure factor for liquid lead

Abstract

The structure factor for liquid lead at the temperatures 613 K, 643 K, 863 K and 1163 K are measured by neutron diffraction. Extensive comparisons to earlier measurements are made as well as comparisons to different hard-core models.     

Linear wave dispersion relation of a magnetized relativistic rectilinear electron beam-dielectric system

A general dispersion relation is derived for a relativistic rectilinear electron beam of arbitrary momentum distributions interacting with a dielectric in a guide magnetic field, on the basis of Maxwell equations and the relativistic Vlasov equation. The instability occurs when the beam velocity exceeds the wave phase velocity in the medium. The linear wave dispersion relation, growth rate, spatial growth rate are studied analytically for delta and Lorentzian distributions of beam momentums in detail. The results are of importance for a new kind of high-power microwave generation or amplification devices based on anomalous Doppler effect.     

A hidden rule in metal sulfide fullerenes: A case study of Sc2S@C88

To elucidate the structure of a compound is a necessary step for its practical applications. To study the structure and properties of metal sulfide fullerene Sc₂S@C₈₈ detected by mass spectrometry, 11 194 isomers of C₈₈ and 33 isomers of Sc₂S@C₈₈ were systematically examined by density functional theory calculations. The calculations show that the two lowest‐energy isomers are Sc₂S@C₈₈:81 738 (IPR‐35) and Sc₂S@C₈₈:81 735 (IPR‐32), followed by Sc₂S@C₈₈:81 729 (IPR‐26), Sc₂S@C_88:81 712 (IPR‐9), and Sc₂S@C_88:81 733 (IPR‐30). Structural analysis shows that the first two energetically favored isomers are bridged by the third and fifth energetically favored isomers, which can transfer into each other via direct Stone–Wales rotation. The calculations of temperature effect show that the first two favored isomers become dominant forms of Sc₂S@C₈₈ with decreasing temperature and may coexist in the soot. This structural convertibility among favored isomers of Sc₂S@C₈₈ suggest a hidden rule that birds of a feather flock together in metal sulfide fullerenes. This rule may decrease the range of candidate cages for the structural identification of a metal sulfide fullerene. IR spectra are simulated for helping the future experimental identification of Sc₂S@C₈₈.     

An arsenate with the α‐CrPO4 structure type,NaCa1–xNi3–2xAl2x(AsO4)3 (x = 0.23): crystal structure,charge‐distribution and bond‐valence‐sum analyses

Since the discovery of electrochemically active LiFePO₄, materials with tunnel and layered structures built up of transition metals and polyanions have become the subject of much research. A new quaternary arsenate, sodium calcium trinickel aluminium triarsenate, NaCa_1–x Ni_3–2x Al_2x (AsO₄)₃ (x = 0.23), was synthesized using the flux method in air at 1023 K and its crystal structure was determined from single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction (XRD) data. This material was also characterized by qualitative energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis and IR spectroscopy. The crystal structure belongs to the α‐CrPO₄ type with the space group Imma . The structure is described as a three‐dimensional framework built up of corner‐edge‐sharing NiO₆, (Ni,Al)O₆ and AsO₄ polyhedra, with channels running along the [100] and [010] directions, in which the sodium and calcium cations are located. The proposed structural model has been validated by bond‐valence‐sum (BVS) and charge‐distribution (CHARDI) tools. The sodium ionic conduction pathways in the anionic framework were investigated by means of the bond‐valence site energy (BVSE) model, which predicted that the studied material will probably be a very poor Na⁺ ion conductor (bond‐valence activation energy ∼7 eV).     

Reactivity Ratios and Sequence Distribution Characterization by Quantitative 13C NMR for RAFT Synthesis of Styrene‐Acrylonitrile Copolymers

The kinetics and reactivity ratios of styrene‐acrylonitrile (SA) copolymerization have been studied extensively in bulk and in a variety of solution media using conventional free radical polymerizations (FRPs). Due to the significant difference in the two reactivity ratios for this monomer pair, at certain feed ratios the copolymers display composition drift with conversion due to monomer depletion. In this study, the kinetics of SA copolymerization using Reversible Addition‐Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) has been studied in bulk at 80 °C. The reactivity ratios for the terminal model were calculated from the comonomer sequence distributions for the RAFT process at low conversion for nine different compositions and found to be in the same range as those reported for conventional FRP of SA. The changes in the composition and sequence distribution with conversion were studied for three feed compositions. The copolymers show compositional drift with conversion, except at the azeotropic composition, and match the predictions from the reactivity ratios obtained at low conversion. From quantitative ¹³C NMR the triad distributions of these copolymers were estimated and found to match the predicted triad distributions as conversion increased. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 919–927     

A combined experimental and DFT investigation of the adsorption of humic acid by-products on polypyrrole

This study sheds light on the removal of humic acid by-products (trimellitic and pyromellitic acids; TMA and PMA, respectively) from aqueous solution using conducting polypyrrole (PPy) as an effective adsorbent. The effects of experimental factors including contact time, solution pH, initial concentration, adsorbent dose, and temperature were systematically investigated. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model provides the best correlation with adsorption experimental data. The equilibrium adsorption was well described by the Langmuir model with maximum mono-layer adsorption capacities of 47.62 and 71.43?mg?g^?1 for TMA and PMA, respectively. The analysis of thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. In addition, we investigated the adsorption mechanism using the density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The TMA and PMA were physisorbed on the PPy surface through the formation of hydrogen bonds between carboxylic groups of adsorbate molecules and the amino group of the adsorbent. The calculated theoretical data were in good agreement with experiments.