Intercomparison between ozone-broadening parameters retrieved from millimetre-wave measurements by using different techniques

For atmospheric purposes, the N₂- and O₂-, or Air-broadenings of selected transitions of ozone have been investigated in the 195-300 K temperature range. More precisely, the following 13 transitions in the 280-345 GHz frequency range have been studied: the 2_2,0 ← 2_1,1 (279.5 GHz), 24_2,22 ← 24_1,23 (286.2 GHz), 3_2,2 ← 3_1,3 (286.3 GHz), 5_2,4 ← 5_1,5 (293.2 GHz), 13_4,10 ← 14_3,11 (300.7 GHz), 14_0,14 ← 13_1,13 (301.8 GHz), 7_2,6 ← 7_1,7 (303.2 GHz), 26_2,24 ← 26_1,25 (315.9 GHz), 5_3,3 ← 6_2,4 (317.2 GHz), 20_1,19 ← 20_0,20 (320.0 GHz), 26_6,20 ← 27_5,23 (343.2 GHz), 26_2,24 ← 25_3,23 (343.2 GHz), and 4_3,1 ← 5_2,4 (343.5 GHz) lines. Systematic errors are known to be the principal error source and recent intercomparisons of line-broadening coefficients showed differences up to 20%, thus a large effort in minimizing systematic error sources has been taken and cross check measurements with different techniques have been carried out. The conclusion of the intercomparison performed indicates an excellent agreement of the results and that an uncertainty less than 3%, which also takes into account the systematic errors, can be claimed for the line-broadening parameters.     

An improved approach for hydrogen analysis in metal samples using single laser-induced gas plasma and target plasma at helium atmospheric pressure

We report in this paper the results of an experimental study on hydrogen analysis of solid samples in high pressure helium ambient gas employing the basic scheme of laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). It is shown that the metastable excited state of helium atom can be utilized to induce delayed excitation of the ablated hydrogen atoms, and thereby avoid the Stark broadening effect as well as overcoming the undesirable mismatch effect, which are responsible for inefficient excitation respectively. It is further demonstrated that for samples of high boiling-point materials such as zircaloy, successful hydrogen analysis can be achieved by a newly introduced double excitation technique employing single laser realized in a modified configuration of the conventional LIBS method. PACS 51-52     

Hydrogen analysis in solid samples by utilizing He metastable atoms induced by TEA CO2 laser plasma in He gas at 1 atm

A TEA CO₂ laser (350 mJ–1.5 J, 10.6 μm, 200 ns, 10 Hz) was focused onto a metal sub-target under He as host gas at 1 atmospheric pressure with a small amount of impurity gas, such as water and ethanol vapors. It was found that the TEA CO₂ laser with the help of the metal sub-target is favorable for generating a strong, large volume helium gas breakdown plasma at 1 atmospheric pressure, in which the helium metastable-excited state was then produced overwhelmingly. While the metal sub-target itself was never ablated. The helium metastable-excited state produced after the strong helium gas breakdown plasma was considered to play an important role in exciting the atoms. This was confirmed by the specific characteristics of the detected H emission, namely the strong intensity with low background, narrow spectral width, and the long lifetime. This technique can be used for gas and solid samples analysis. For nonmetal solid analysis, a metal mesh was introduced in front of the nonmetal sample surface to help initiation of the helium gas breakdown plasma. For metal sample, analysis can be carried out by combining the TEA CO₂ laser and an Nd–YAG laser where the Nd–YAG laser is used to ablate the metal sample. The ablated atoms from the metal sample are then sent into the region of helium gas breakdown plasma induced by the TEA CO₂ laser to be excited through the helium metastable-excited state. This technique can be extended to the analysis of other elements, not limited only to hydrogen, such as halogens.     

Analysis of visual perception of light emitting diode brightness in dense fog with various droplet sizes

Road signs must provide a conspicuous signal to a wide variety of drivers over a broad range of environmental and geometric conditions. Recently, there are an increasing number of applications in which light emitting diodes (LEDs) are used as the light source, including critical transportation signaling. In the presence of fog, the resulting visual signal is disturbed due to light scattering by airborne water droplets. By measuring LED brightness with human spectral sensitivity in various densities and various droplet sizes (10, 30, 50, and 100 μm), it is understood that the particle size distribution (fog droplet size) and density of fog does affect visibility in fog. The colored LEDs that contain a yellow component had high brightness evaluation, blue component had low brightness evaluation in all densities and different droplet sizes. The result in this paper can contribute to air and land traffic safety and the prevention of accidents.     

Parametric excitation in non-linear dynamics

Consider a one-mass system with two degrees of freedom, non-linearly coupled, with parametric excitation in one direction. Assuming the internal resonance 1:2 and parametric resonance 1:2 we derive conditions for stability of the trivial solution by using both the harmonic balance method and the normal form method of averaging. If the trivial solution becomes unstable, a stable periodic solution may emerge, there are also cases where the trivial solution is stable and co-exists with a stable periodic solution; if both the trivial solution and the periodic solution(s) are unstable, we find an attracting torus with large amplitudes by a Neimark-Sacker bifurcation. The results of the harmonic balance method and averaging are compared, as well as the results on the Neimark-Sacker bifurcation obtained by the numerical software package CONTENT and by averaging. In all cases we have good agreement.     

Multi-frequency oscillations in self-excited systems

A self-excited three-mass chain system is considered here. For a self-excitation of van der Pol type, the possibility of multi-frequency oscillations is investigated. Both analytical approximate solutions and numerical simulation are used. The averaging method is used to establish existence and stability of the normal modes, the two-frequency modes as well as the three-frequency oscillations solutions. We found at first that the single mode seems to prevail. However a three-frequency solution can be stabilised by adapting the system slightly. A generic bifurcation diagram is given where all the possible phase portraits are sketched. The flow turns out to be quite predictable. There is no “room” for chaos or strange attractors. This behaviour is not typical for systems of coupled oscillators but turns out to be partly related to the involved symmetries as well as the particular choice of the system parameters.     

Bioresource Polymer Composite for Energy Generation and Storage: Developments and Trends

The ever-growing demand of human society for clean and reliable energy sources spurred a substantial academic interest in exploring the potential of biological resources for developing energy generation and storage systems. As a result, alternative energy sources are needed in populous developing countries to compensate for energy deficits in an environmentally sustainable manner. This review aims to evaluate and summarize the recent progress in bio-based polymer composites (PCs) for energy generation and storage. The articulated review provides an overview of energy storage systems, e. g., supercapacitors and batteries, and discusses the future possibilities of various solar cells (SCs), using both past research progress and possible future developments as a basis for discussion. These studies examine systematic and sequential advances in different generations of SCs. Developing novel PCs that are efficient, stable, and cost-effective is of utmost importance. In addition, the current state of high-performance equipment for each of the technologies is evaluated in detail. We also discuss the prospects, future trends, and opportunities regarding using bioresources for energy generation and storage, as well as the development of low-cost and efficient PCs for SCs.