The parallel-plate resonator:An RF probe for MR and MRI studies over a wide frequency range

We explore the use of the parallel-plate resonator for the study of thin cuboid samples over a wide range of magnetic resonance frequencies.The parallel-plate resonator functions at frequencies from tens to hundreds of MHz.Seven parallel-plate resonators are presented and discussed in a frequency range from 8 to 500 MHz.Magnetic resonance experiments were performed on both horizontal and vertical bore magnet systems with lithium and hydrogen nuclei.Parallel-plate radiofrequency(RF)probes are easy to build and easy to optimize.Experiments and simulations showed good sensitivity of the parallel-plate RF probe geometry with a small decrease in sensitivity at higher frequencies.

Multinuclear MR and MRI study of lithium-ion cells using a variable field magnet and a fixed frequency RF probe

An exploratory multinuclear magnetic resonance(MR)and magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)study was performed on lithium-ion battery cells with ^(7)Li,^(19)F,and ^(1)H measurements.A variable field superconducting magnet with a fixed frequency parallel-plate radiofrequency(RF)probe was employed in the study.The magnetic field was changed to set the resonance frequency of each nucleus to the fixed RF probe frequency of 33.7 MHz.Two cartridge-like lithium-ion cells,with graphite anodes and LiNi_(0.5)Mn_(0.3)Co_(0.2)O_(2)(NMC)cathodes,were interrogated.One cell was pristine,and one was charged to a cell voltage of 4.2 V.The results presented demonstrate the great potential of the variable field magnet approach in multinuclear measurement of lithium-ion batteries.These methods open the door for developing faster and simpler methods for detecting,quantifying,and interpreting MR and MRI data from lithium-ion and other batteries.

OPTIMIZATION OF TRANSIENT FEEDING TO PARALLEL-PLATE TRANSMISSION LINES FROM COAXIAL LINE

The transient feeding to parallel-plate transmission lines from coaxial line is optimized by using the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method and a simple FDTD feed model. Observing the reflected voltages, this letter presents the optimal feeding position and ratio of width to height for a given input impedance of the coaxial line.

ON ANALYSIS OF THE STEADY FLOW IN AN IRRECTANGULARPARALLEL-PLATE FLOW CHAMBER

The parallel-plate flow chamber (PPFC), of which the height is far smaller than its own length and width, is one of the main apparatus for the in vitro study of the mechanical behaviors of cultured cells at the bottom of PPFC undergoing shear stress. The PPFC of which the upper and lower plates are rectangular is usually used by research workers, and the flow field in this kind of PPFC (except for the regions near the entrance and exit) is uniform([1]), so only the effect the shear stress with one value has on cultured cells can be observed during each experiment. A kind of PPFC of which the upper and lower plates are not rectangular is proposed in this paper. The distributions of the velocities inside and the shear stresses at the bottom of the chamber are given by analyzing the flow field of the steady flow in the PPFC. The results show that the mechanical behaviors of cultured cells undergoing the shear stresses with various values may be simultaneously observed by the use of this kind of irrectangular PPFC. The theoretical and experimental results obtained by Ultrasonic Doppler Technique show good agreement.

Capacitance Sensor for Nondestructive Determination of Total Oil Content in Peanut Kernels

In this work, attempts were made to estimate the total oil content (TOC) in single peanut kernels, using the CI meter (Chari’s Impedance meter, described below). Mature peanut kernels of selected varieties with a range of oil contents from 47% to 61% were placed one at a time, between the parallel-plate electrodes of the CI meter, and the impedance (Z) and phase angle (q) of the system were measured, and capacitance, C was computed at 1, 5 and 9 MHz. After the measurements, the TOC of each kernel was determined by Soxhlet method. Using the known TOC values, and the corresponding C, Z and q values, initially on a calibration group of kernels, calibration equations were developed. Using the model coefficients from the calibration, the TOCs of kernel samples of 31 diverse peanut genotypes grown in different environments in Australia were determined. The method predicted the TOC values of peanut kernels of 31 peanut genotypes, within 2% of the Soxhlet values, with an R2 of 0.87 (P 0.001).

Dynamic Characteristics of Positive Pulsed Dielectric Barrier Discharge for Ozone Generation in Air

A comprehensive dynamic model consisting of 66 reactions and 24 species is developed to investigate the dynamic characteristics of ozone generation by positive pulsed dielectric barrier discharge（DBD） using parallel-plate reactor in air.The electron energy conservation equation is coupled to the electron continuity equation,the heavy species continuity equation,and Poisson＇s equation for a better description.The reliability of the model is experimentally confirmed.The model can be used to predict the temporal and spatial evolution of species,as well as streamer propagation.The simulation results show that electron density increases nearly exponentially in the direction to the anode at the electron avalanche.Streamer propagation velocity is about 5.26×104m/s from anode to cathode in the simulated condition.The primary positive ion,negative ion,and excited species are O_2~＋,O_3^-and O_2（1？g） in pulsed DBD in air,respectively.N_2 O has the largest density among nitrogen oxides.e and N_2~＋densities in the streamer head increase gradually to maximum values with the development of the streamer.Meanwhile,the O_2~＋,O,O_3,N_2（A^3Σ） and N_2 O densities reach maximum values in the vicinity of the anode.

A Multi-Scale Grasp Detector Based on Fully Matching Model

Robotic grasping is an essential problem at both the household and industrial levels,and unstructured objects have always been difficult for grippers.Parallel-plate grippers and algorithms,focusing on partial information of objects,are one of the widely used approaches.However,most works predict single-size grasp rectangles for fixed cameras and gripper sizes.In this paper,a multi-scale grasp detector is proposed to predict grasp rectangles with different sizes on RGB-D or RGB images in real-time for hand-eye cameras and various parallel-plate grippers.The detector extracts feature maps of multiple scales and conducts predictions on each scale independently.To guarantee independence between scales and efficiency,fully matching model and background classifier are applied in the network.Based on analysis of the Cornell Grasp Dataset,the fully matching model canmatch all labeled grasp rectangles.Furthermore,background classification,along with angle classification and box regression,functions as hard negative mining and background predictor.The detector is trained and tested on the augmented dataset,which includes images of 320×320 pixels and grasp rectangles ranging from 20 tomore than 320 pixels.It performs up to 98.87% accuracy on image-wise dataset and 97.83% on object-wise split dataset at a speed of more than 22 frames per second.In addition,the detector,which is trained on a single-object dataset,can predict grasps on multiple objects.

Rotating Capacitor and a Transient Electric Network

This paper presents a rotating parallel-plate capacitor;one of the plates is assumed to turn about the common vertical axis through the centers of the square plates. Viewing the problem from a purely geometrical point of view, we evaluate the overlapping area of the plates as a function of the rotated angle. We then envision the rotation as being a mechanical continuous process. We consider two different rotation mechanisms: a uniform rotation with a constant angular velocity and, a rotation with a constant angular acceleration—we then evaluate the overlapping area as a continuous function of time. From the electrostatic point of view, the time-dependent overlapping area of the plates implies a time-dependent capacitor. Such a variable, a time-dependent capacitor has never been reported in literature. We insert this capacitor into a series with a resistor, forming a RC circuit. We analyze the characteristics of charging and discharging scenarios on two different parallel tracks. On the first track we drive the circuit with a DC power sup-ply. We study the implications of the rotation modes. We compare the response of each case to the corresponding tradi-tional constant capacitor of an equivalent RC circuit;the quantified results are intuitively just. On the second track, we drive the circuit with an AC source. Similar to the analysis of the first track, we generate the relevant electrical characteristics. In the latter case, we also analyze the sensitivity of the response of the circuit with respect to the fre-quency of the source. The analyses of the circuits encounter nontrivial differential equations. We utilize Mathematica [1] to solve these equations.

ANALYSIS OF PULSATILE FLOW IN THE PARALLEL-PLATE FLOW CHAMBER WITH SPATIAL SHEAR STRESS GRADIENT

The Parallel-Plate Flow Chamber （PPFC）, of which the height is far smaller than its own length and width, is one of the main apparatus for the in-vitro study of the mechanical behavior of cultured vascular Endothelical Cells （ECs） exposed to fluid shear stress. The steady flow in different kinds of PPFC has been extensively investigated, whereas, the pulsatile flow in the PPFC has received little attention. In consideration of the characteristics of geometrical size and pulsatile flow in the PPFC, the 3-D pulsatile flow was decomposed into a 2-D pulsatile flow in the vertical plane, and an incompressible plane potential flow in the horizontal plane. A simple method was then proposed to analyze the pulsatile flow in the PPFC with spatial shear stress gradient. On the basis of the method, the pulsatile fluid shear stresses in several reported PPFCs with spatial shear stress gradients were calculated. The results were theoretically meaningful for applying the PPFCs in-vitro, to simulate the pulsatile fluid shear stress environment, to which cultured ECs were exposed.

Removal of antibiotics in a parallel-plate thin-film-photocatalytic reactor: Process modeling and evolution of transformation by-products and toxicity

Photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole（SMX） antibiotic has been studied under recycling batch and homogeneous flow conditions in a thin-film coated immobilized system namely parallel-plate（PPL） reactor. Experimentally designed, statistically evaluated with a factorial design（FD） approach with intent to provide a mathematical model takes into account the parameters influencing process performance. Initial antibiotic concentration, UV energy level, irradiated surface area, water matrix（ultrapure and secondary treated wastewater） and time, were defined as model parameters. A full of 2~5 experimental design was consisted of 32 random experiments. PPL reactor test experiments were carried out in order to set boundary levels for hydraulic, volumetric and defined defined process parameters. TTIP based thin-film with polyethylene glycol ＋ TiO2 additives were fabricated according to pre-described methodology. Antibiotic degradation was monitored by High Performance Liquid Chromatography analysis while the degradation products were specified by LC–TOF-MS analysis. Acute toxicity of untreated and treated SMX solutions was tested by standard Daphnia magna method. Based on the obtained mathematical model, the response of the immobilized PC system is described with a polynomial equation. The statistically significant positive effects are initial SMX concentration,process time and the combined effect of both, while combined effect of water matrix and irradiated surface area displays an adverse effect on the rate of antibiotic degradation by photocatalytic oxidation. Process efficiency and the validity of the acquired mathematical model was also verified for levofloxacin and cefaclor antibiotics. Immobilized PC degradation in PPL reactor configuration was found capable of providing reduced effluent toxicity by simultaneous degradation of SMX parent compound and TBPs.

A portable and low-cost parallel-plate capacitor sensor for alkali and heavy metal ions detection

A portable and low-cost design of parallel-plate capacitor sensor is proposed and investigated for detection of heavy and alkali metal ions concentration in liquid solution.The application of a thin and long-sided parallel PCB plate allows one to measure the dielectric response of each sample through capacitive sensing technique.The measurements were based on the peak output voltage corresponding to the capacitance of the output measured by an oscilloscope with metal ions concentration of the solution varying from 0 to 10 ppm and input frequency ranging from 1 kHz to 10 MHz.The ICF of Li,Na and K in chloride solution was 2.4,2.1 and 1.9 MHz,respectively.The ICF of Na and K in hydroxide solution was 1.5 MHz and 1.1 MHz,respectively,while the ICF of Pb(NO_(3))_(2)was 490 kHz.The detected ICF was applied to further construct the portable sensor system,which is simple in design,low-cost in fabrication and easy to operate.The finding of ICF of each chemical element is necessary to solve the selectivity challenge of the capacitance-based sensor,which will be appropriate for chemical,environmental and engineering applications.

Microstructure and rheological properties of a semisolid A356 alloy with erbium addition

The effects of erbium addition on the rheological properties and microstructure of a semisolid A356 alloy were studied.The semisolid slurries were prepared through the serpentine channel technique before they were thixoformed using parallel-plate compre ssion with cylindrical discs.The grain and globule size decreases as the Er content increases,resulting in an improved and uniform distribution of spherical primaryα-Al phase within the semisolid slurry.The addition of the Er modifies the grain morphology and size of theα-Al grains,resulting in a better and more uniform distribution of spherical primaryα-AI phase within the semisolid slurry.As a result,rheocast quality index increases with the addition of Er,which is suitable for the thixoforming process.The A356 alloy without Er has the highest viscosity herein.The viscosity decreases,and the flow characteristics of the semisolid feedstock are expected to improve when Er is added as a result of the refinement of primary a-Al and modification of eutectic silicon.Furthermore,the refined semisolid A356 alloys with Er show a slightly larger fraction of highangle grain boundaries compared to that for the unrefined alloy.