Effect of High Temperature Annealing on Characteristics of 4H Silicon Carbide MESFET

For very high temperature annealing (1620℃) after ion implantation for 4H silicon carbide (4H SiC),the residual components of Al and O in the alundum furnace impact seriously on the surface of material,which yields the derivation of SiOC.This causes a significant degradation of the 4H SiC surface characteristics according to the results of surface composition analysis.As validity,Ni/SiC ohmic contact measurement illustrates a higher specific contact resistance than the normal value by a factor of 2～3.Consequently the MESFET fabricated with this kind of 4H SiC material results in a degraded I V output performance compared with that of normal 4H SiC MESFET.

Rayleigh wave nonlinear inversion based on the Firefly algorithm

Rayleigh waves have high amplitude, low frequency, and low velocity, which are treated as strong noise to be attenuated in reflected seismic surveys. This study addresses how to identify useful shear wave velocity profile and stratigraphic information from Rayleigh waves. We choose the Firefly algorithm for inversion of surface waves. The Firefly algorithm, a new type of particle swarm optimization, has the advantages of being robust, highly effective, and allows global searching. This algorithm is feasible and has advantages for use in Rayleigh wave inversion with both synthetic models and field data. The results show that the Firefly algorithm, which is a robust and practical method, can achieve nonlinear inversion of surface waves with high resolution.

Defect image segmentation using multilevel thresholding based on firefly algorithm with opposition-learning

To segment defects from the quad flat non-lead QFN package surface a multilevel Otsu thresholding method based on the firefly algorithm with opposition-learning is proposed. First the Otsu thresholding algorithm is expanded to a multilevel Otsu thresholding algorithm. Secondly a firefly algorithm with opposition-learning OFA is proposed.In the OFA opposite fireflies are generated to increase the diversity of the fireflies and improve the global search ability. Thirdly the OFA is applied to searching multilevel thresholds for image segmentation. Finally the proposed method is implemented to segment the QFN images with defects and the results are compared with three methods i.e. the exhaustive search method the multilevel Otsu thresholding method based on particle swarm optimization and the multilevel Otsu thresholding method based on the firefly algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed method can segment QFN surface defects images more efficiently and at a greater speed than that of the other three methods.

Effects of atmospheric pressure fluctuations on hill-side coal fires and surface anomalies

This paper presents numerical studies on the effects of atmospheric pressure fluctuations on hill-side coal fires and their surface anomalies. Based on the single-particle reaction–diffusion model, a formula to estimate oxygen consumption rate at high temperature controlled by oxygen transport is proposed.Daily fluctuant atmospheric pressure was imposed on boundaries, including the abandoned gallery and cracks. Simulated results show that the effects of atmospheric pressure fluctuations on coal fires and surface anomalies depend on two factors: the fluctuant amplitude and the pressure difference between inlet(s) and outlet(s) of the air ventilation system. If the pressure difference is close to the fluctuant amplitude, atmospheric pressure fluctuations greatly enhance gas flow motion and temperatures of the combustion zone and outtake(s). If the pressure difference is much larger than the fluctuant amplitude, atmospheric pressure fluctuations exert no impact on underground coal fires and surface anomalies.

Recent Advances in Flame Tomography

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel fired power plants,a range of new combustion technologies are being developed or refined,including oxy-fuel combustion,co-firing biomass with coal and fluidized bed combustion.Flame characteristics under such combustion conditions are expected to be different from those in normal air fired combustion processes.Quantified flame characteristics such as temperature distribution,oscillation frequency,and ignition volume play an important part in the optimized design and operation of the environmentally friendly power generation systems.However,it is challenging to obtain such flame characteristics particularly through a three-dimensional and non-intrusive means.Various tomography methods have been proposed to visualize and characterize flames,including passive optical tomography,laser based tomography,and electrical tomography.This paper identifies the challenges in flame tomography and reviews existing techniques for the quantitative characterization of flames.Future trends in flame tomography for industrial applications are discussed.

Research into Grinding Hardening of Microalloyed Non-quenched and Tempered Steel

Grinding hardening is a new technology of hardening steel piece surfaces with grinding heat generated in the grinding process instead of with a high or medium frequency induction heating method,which can effectively integrate grinding and surface hardening. Experimental studies were carried out on grinding hardening of non-quenched and tempered steel. Through grinding experiments with variable depths of cut and feeding rate,the variation in the depth of the hardening layer was studied and the microstructure of the hardening zone of the test pieces was subsequently ana-lyzed. In the end,the hardening effect of non-quenched and tempered steel was compared with that of 40Cr steel,which revealed the superiority of non-quenched and tempered steel in grinding hardening technology.

Dopant diffusion and surface morphology of vanadium implanted 4H-silicon carbide

The diffusion behaviours of vanadium implanted p- and n-type 4H-SiC are investigated by using the secondary ion mass spectrometry （SIMS）. Significant redistribution, especially out-diffusion of vanadium towards the sample surface is not observed after 1650 ℃annealing for both p- and n-type samples. Atomic force microscopy （AFM） is applied to the characterization of surface morphology, indicating the formation of continuous long furrows running in one direction across the wafer surface after 1650 ℃ annealing. The surface roughness results from the evaporation and re-deposition of Si species on the surface during annealing. The chemical compositions of sample surface axe investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. The results of C ls and Si 2p core-level spectra axe presented in detail to demonstrate the evaporation of Si from the wafer and the deposition of SiO2 on the sample surface during annealing.

Computation of synthetic surface heat transfer coefficient of 7B50 ultra-high-strength aluminum alloy during spray quenching

According to inverse heat transfer theory, the evolutions of synthetic surface heat transfer coefficient（SSHTC） of the quenching surface of 7B50 alloy during water-spray quenching were simulated by the Pro CAST software based on accurate cooling curves measured by the modified Jominy specimen and temperature-dependent thermo-physical properties of 7 B50 alloy calculated using the JMat Pro software. Results show that the average cooling rate at 6 mm from the quenching surface and 420-230 ℃（quench sensitive temperature range） is 45.78℃/s. The peak-value of the SSHTC is 69 kW/（m^2·K） obtained at spray quenching for 0.4 s and the corresponding temperature of the quenching surface is 160 ℃. In the initial stage of spray quenching, the phenomenon called ＂temperature plateau＂ appears on the cooling curve of the quenching surface. The temperature range of this plateau is 160-170℃ with the duration about 3 s. During the temperature plateau, heat transfer mechanism of the quenching surface transforms from nucleate boiling regime to single-phase convective regime.

Erosion behavior and mechanism of boronised steels

Boronising of steels is a hardening process to get high surface hardness. The erosion resistance of boronised steels was researched with the use of four kinds of erodent, i.e. glass, alumina, quartz and silicon carbide. The erosion rate increases rapidly with erodent hardness and severe erosion occurs with high impacting angle range of hard particles. SEM analysis indicated that chipping is caused by repetitive impacting of glass and quartz, whereas by alumina and silicon carbide impacting, chipping, and that plastic flow take place simultaneously and the erosion rate reaches the peak value when the impacting angle is above 60°.

Nature, Source and Composition of Volcanic Ash in Surficial Sediments Around the Zhongsha Islands

Volcanic detrital sediments are a unique indicator for reconstructing the petrogenetic evolution of submarine volcanic terrains. Volcanic ash in surficial sediments around the Zhongsha Islands includes three kinds of volcanogenic detritus, i.e., brown volcanic glass, colorless volcanic glass and volcanic scoria. The major element characteristics show that bimodal volcanic activity may have taken place in the northern margin of the South China Sea, with brown volcanic glass and colorless volcanic glass repre- senting the mafic end-member and felsic end-member, respectively. Fractional crystallization is the main process for magma evolu- tion. The nature of the volcanic activity implies that the origin of volcanic activity was related to extensional tectonic settings, which is corresponding to an extensional geodynamic setting in the Xisha Trench, and supports the notion, which is based on geophysical data and petrology, that there may exist a mantle plume around the Hainan Island.

Improvement of oxidation resistance in graphite for MgO-C refractory through surface modification

Graphite, used as a carbon source in a conventional magnesia-carbon(MgO-C) refractory, was modified with an acid reagent, resulting in a negative charge on the surface of graphite, to enhance the coating efficiency of aluminum(Al) phase, which was compared to the pristine graphite through its dispersibity and oxidation behavior. The graphite particles with and without surface modification were added, respecticely, in an Al(NO3)3 suspension used as a coating reagent, and then filtered at room temperature. The modified graphite shows better disperbility than the pristine graphite, indicating that the coating efficiency of Al precursor is enhanced in the modified graphite. With respect to oxidation behavior, the modified graphite without the coating layer is totally reacted with oxygen at heat treatment of 900 °C in air. However, the Al-coated graphite starts to react with oxygen at heat treatment of 900 °C and fully reacted with oxygen at heat treatment of 1000 °C, showing the gray and white colors, respectively. It is verified that the Al layer is individually and uniformly formed on the surface of graphite and the oxidation resistance of graphite is enhanced owing to the increased coating efficiency of Al precursor.

Free perforation of the small intestine in collagenous sprue

A 67-year-old man with celiac disease developed recurrent diarrhea,profound weakness and weight loss, with evidence of marked protein depletion.His clinical course was refractory to a strict gluten-free diet and steroid therapy.Postmortem studies led to definition of unrecognized collagenous sprue that caused ulceration and small intestinal perforation.Although PCR showed identical monoclonal T-cell populations in antemortem duodenal biopsies and postmortem jejunum,careful pathological evaluation demonstrated no frank lymphoma.Rarely,overt or even cryptic T-cell lymphoma may complicate collagenous sprue,however, small intestinal ulcers and perforation may also develop independently.The dramatic findings here may reflect an underlying or early molecular event in the eventual clinical appearance of overt T-cell lymphoma.

A Forest Fire Risk Assessment Using ASTER Images in Peninsular Malaysia

Based on the physical concept of heat energy of pre-ignition,a new fire susceptibility index (FSI) is used to estimate forest fire risk. This physical basis allows calculation of ignition probabilities and comparisons of fire risk across eco-regions. The computation of the index requires inputs of fuel temperature and fuel moisture content (FMC),both of which can be estimated using remote sensing data. While ASTER data for land surface temperatures (LST) was used as proxys for fuel temperatures,fuel moisture content is estimated by regression technique utilizing the ratio NDVI/LST of ASTER data. FSIs are computed in peninsular Malaysia for nine days before the fires of 2004 and 2005 and validated with fire occurrence data. Results show that the FSI increases as the day approaches the fire day. This trend can be observed clearly about four days before the day of fire. It suggests that FSI can be a good estimator of fire risk. The physical basis provides a more meaningful FSI,allows calculation of ignition probabilities and facilitates the development of a future class of fire risk models. FSI can be used to compare fire risk across different eco-regions and time periods. FSI retains the flexibility to be localized to a vegetation type or eco-regions for improved performance.

Surface Fires： No Wind, No Slope, Marginal Burning

The first aim of this work is to provide an analytical expression to calculate the rate of spread of surface fires under no wind and no slope conditions. A previous simplified model was improved for this particular case of fire propagation. The test of this proposed model was performed by using two complete sets of experimental results with several fuel beds and variable parameters such as moisture content or bulk density. The second aim of this article is to highlight two conditions that allow stopping a fire： the low leaf area and the high value of the moisture content.

Sedimentary response to volcanic activity in the Okinawa Trough since the last deglaciation

To investigate the relationship between volcanic activity and sediment record on regional and temporal scales,158 surface sediment samples were collected from the East China Sea Shelf to the northern Okinawa Trough (OT),and two cores recovered in the northern and southern OT,respectively.Mineralogy,grain-size,and geochemical analyses of those samples show that:1) volcanic glass,volcanic-type pyroxene,hypersthenes,and magnetite increase in sediment influenced by volcanic activity;2) sediment grain sizes (and also silt content) increase in ash layers;and 3) the contents of Na2O and Zr are higher,while terrigenous elements,e.g.,TFe2O3 and K2O,and biogenous compositions,e.g.,CaO and Sr,are relatively lower in ash layers than those of non-ash layers.The distribution of volcanic ash has three distinguishing characteristics:1) volcanic ash is more abundant in the northern and central OT than the southern OT;2) volcanic ash increases from continental shelf to the trough;3) the sediment during the last 12 000 a suggests stronger volcanic events than during 15 000-12 000 a.The eruptive locations,frequency,and volume of calderas are among the most important factors controlling the distributions of volcanic ash.In addition,the main Kuroshio warm current that extends northward probably impeded the diffusion of volcanic ash to the west and south in the OT.However,a southward current probably carried some volcanic ash toward southern OT.

Ion implantation of semi-insulating InP materials

The methods for protecting InP surface against degradation during annealing,including encapsulant and encapsulant-free techniques;rapid thermal annealing of InP implanted layers;implanted ion species and some profiles of typical dopants,etc.,they are all the key techniques concerning ion implantation into semi-insulating InP,and have been reviewed synthetically as well.

The Size Effects on Process Design of Micro Deep Drawing

This paper suggested to reformulate cylindrical deep drawing parameters with dimensionless form. A diagram, in which a feasible zone is drawn to bound both the maximal allowable tension and compression stress during the deep drawing process, was established. Since it is presented in a dimensionless form, it may be applied for both conventional and micro deep drawing. Cylindrical cup deep drawing was taken as an example to show the dimensionless process design method. In addition, the size effects should be taken into account. Two kinds of size effects on micro deep drawing were investigated, which can be explained by surface layer model and strain gradient model. Numerical simulations were carried out to compare the strain distribution with or without consideration of size effect.

Characteristics of seal shell body's rubber ring with bionic dimpled surfaces of aerodynamic extinguishing cannon

To solve the problem of sealing between the barrel and the rubber ring of shell body during an launching process of aerodynamic extinguishing cannon, a rubber sealing model with bionic dimpled characteristics was established based on the theory of bionic dimpled drag reduction and the principle of rubber sealing. In condition that the bionic dimpled characteristic diameters were 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 mm, respectively, by numerical simulation, the influence of the installing compression of the rubber sealing ring on its surface stress and deformation was analyzed, and sealing performance of the rubber ring with different diameters of bionic dimpled was studied. The results show that the deformation of rubber ring appears prominent nonlinear characteristics when compression is increased from 1.5 mm to 2.5 ram. When the compression is 2.5 mm, the equivalent compression stress on the sealing areas of both sides of the rubber seal is greater than the working pressure of aerodynamic extinguishing cannon, which could meet the sealing requirement and would not cause leakage. So the rubber sealing ring with bionic dimpled surface possesses a good sealing characteristic and has no negative effect on the sealing of shell body; When the compression is 2.5 mm, the larger equivalent stress on the edge of sealing ring and the more even stress distribution in the high pressure area are generated due to the smaller compressive stress on the bionic dimple areas, which lays a foundation for the drag reduction characteristics of the shell body＇s rubber ring with bionic dimpled surface.