Macroscopic and Micromechanical Approaches to the Modelling of the Osmotic Swelling in Clays

The osmotic swelling in clays has been extensively studied at the physico-chemical scale. The present paper addresses the question of the modelling of this phenomenon from the mechanical point of view. First, the classical macroscopic thermodynamic framework for saturated porous continua is extended in order to take into account the solid-salt interaction through the concept of macroscopic activity coefficient of the salt. The micromechanical approach then incorporates this interaction through the concept of swelling pressure which is used for describing the internal forces in the fluid phase at the microscopic scale. The results of a physico-chemical theory for the solid-salt interaction, such as the e.d.l. theory, can be introduced in both approaches. Each of them leads to the identification of a deviation, of chemical origin, to Terzaghi's effective stress principle. Besides, the micromechanical approach allows us to clearly differentiate the mechanical and the chemical parts of clay materials elasticity.     

Improved operator comfort and off-road capability through pendulum arm technology

The Nordic forest industry requires just-in-time wood deliveries. Operations must continue regardless of season, weather and terrain. Soil compaction and deep ruts must be avoided while providing high performance and a reasonable working environment for operators.The Xt28 pendulum arm forwarder is a full-size concept forwarder with six hydrostatic propelled wheels on pendulum arms built on a three-piece frame connected with two articulation joints. The Xt28 concept machine was tested according to Skogforsk standard machine tests. Rut depth test focused on soil interaction where rut depth was measured related to number of passes. Machine dynamics were measured using standardized test track with focus on operator comfort.The project proved the potential of pendulum arm technology in off-road transportation. Automatic pendulum arm levelling, equalized ground pressure between wheels and improved operator comfort through reducing adverse vibrations and roll angles, simultaneously reducing dynamic forces transferred to the forest floor. Pendulum arm technology improves travel speed in adverse terrain, providing unparalleled side slope capability and enhanced productivity.     

On the complexity of enumerating pseudo-intents

We investigate whether the pseudo-intents of a given formal context can efficiently be enumerated. We show that they cannot be enumerated in a specified lexicographic order with polynomial delay unless P=NP. Furthermore we show that if the restriction on the order of enumeration is removed, then the problem becomes at least as hard as enumerating minimal transversals of a given hypergraph. We introduce the notion of minimal pseudo-intents and show that recognizing minimal pseudo-intents is polynomial. Despite their less complicated nature, surprisingly it turns out that minimal pseudo-intents cannot be enumerated in output-polynomial time unless P=NP.     

面向应用型人才的“单片机”课程教学改革

本文针对"单片机"课程教学中存在的问题,提出了敏捷开发和CDIO理念相结合的该课程教学新方法:教师精心设计实践项目,运用敏捷开发和CDIO理念,按照企业产品生产管理标准组织教学。通过与企业项目开发流程对比发现,该方法与其基本一致,教学效果明显提高。     

Diffraction grating interferometers for mechanical characterisations of advanced fabric laminates

It is demonstrated that two grating interferometers with high spatial resolutions can successfully be applied for the mechanical characterisation of the advanced fabric composite materials. Based on these two techniques, the mechanical properties of two kinds of fabric laminates are obtained without assumption of uniform strain fields to be used in the characterisation approaches using the local strain sensors. The degree of the yarn crimp effects of the two laminates is compared in terms of the out-of-plane displacement derivatives. Especially, it is shown that the grating shearing interferometer is appropriate for the crimped fabric structure requiring a three-dimensional analysis. The modification from moiré interferometer to grating shearing interferometer is performed by introducing a Michelson interferometer modified for image shearing.     

A Multi‐Strategic Concept‐Spotting Approach for Robust Understanding of Spoken Korean

We propose a multi‐strategic concept‐spotting approach for robust spoken language understanding of conversational Korean in a hostile recognition environment such as in‐car navigation and telebanking services. Our concept‐spotting method adopts a partial semantic understanding strategy within a given specific domain since the method tries to directly extract pre‐defined meaning representation slot values from spoken language inputs. In spite of partial understanding, we can efficiently acquire the necessary information to compose interesting applications because the meaning representation slots are properly designed for specific domain‐oriented understanding tasks. We also propose a multi‐strategic method based on this concept‐spotting approach such as a voting method. We present experiments conducted to verify the feasibility of these methods using a variety of spoken Korean data.     

Generalization of the Knizhnik–Zamolodchikov Equations

In this Letter, we introduce a generalization of the Knizhnik–Zamolodchikov equations from affine Lie algebras to a wide class of conformal field theories (not necessarily rational). The new equations describe correlations functions of primary fields and of a finite number of their descendents. Our proposal is based on Nahm's concept of small spaces which provide adequate substitutes for the lowest energy subspaces in modules of affine Lie algebras. We explain how to construct the first order differential equations and investigate properties of the associated connections, thereby preparing the grounds for an analysis of quantum symmetries. The general considerations are illustrated in examples of Virasoro minimal models.     

Weierstrass points and their impact in the study of algebraic curves: a historical account from the “Lückensatz” to the 1970s

In this note we give a historical account of the origin and the development of the concept of Weierstrass point. We also explain how Weierstrass points have contributed to the study of compact Riemann surfaces and algebraic curves in the century from Weierstrass’ statement of the gap theorem to the 1970s. In particular, we focus on the seminal work of Hürwitz that raised questions which are at the center of contemporary research on this topic.      

Future Direction for a Diffusion Barrier in Future High-Density Volatile and Nonvolatile Memory Devices

This article reviews the current status of high-density capacitor for volatile memory devices. The dielectric properties for both the Ta₂O₅ film and the (Ba, Sr)TiO₃ (BST) dielectric materials using either the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) or the atomic layer deposition (ALD) are reviewed briefly. New challenges of dielectric material for the next generation, and serious problems emerged during integration to date using Ta₂O₅ and BST. The material characteristics of many electrode materials for the high dielectric materials are introduced. We present the basic properties and integration issued for MOCVD-ruthenium (Ru). The second part of this review summarized the failure mechanisms from barrier properties of previously reported diffusion barriers and emphasizes new design concepts of diffusion barrier for high-density memory devices. Finally, the future direction for a diffusion barrier to advance high-density memory capacitors is suggested.