On-Chip Micro Temperature Controllers Based on Freestanding Thermoelectric Nano Films for Low-Power Electronics

Multidimensional integration and multifunctional com-ponent assembly have been greatly explored in recent years to extend Moore’s Law of modern microelectronics.However,this inevitably exac-erbates the inhomogeneity of temperature distribution in microsystems,making precise temperature control for electronic components extremely challenging.Herein,we report an on-chip micro temperature controller including a pair of thermoelectric legs with a total area of 50×50μm^(2),which are fabricated from dense and flat freestanding Bi2Te3-based ther-moelectric nano films deposited on a newly developed nano graphene oxide membrane substrate.Its tunable equivalent thermal resistance is controlled by electrical currents to achieve energy-efficient temperature control for low-power electronics.A large cooling temperature difference of 44.5 K at 380 K is achieved with a power consumption of only 445μW,resulting in an ultrahigh temperature control capability over 100 K mW^(-1).Moreover,an ultra-fast cooling rate exceeding 2000 K s^(-1) and excellent reliability of up to 1 million cycles are observed.Our proposed on-chip temperature controller is expected to enable further miniaturization and multifunctional integration on a single chip for microelectronics.

Mitigation of micro vibration by viscous dampers

This study proposes a micro vibration mitigation system using viscous dampers to solve the problem of vibration in a high-tech building. Due to the operating frequency of the air conditioners and fundamental mode of the floors, a resonant phenomenon is occasionally experienced at the upper levels of the structure. Several strategies were considered, and viscous dampers combined with a suspension system were chosen to mitigate this annoying situation. A theoretical analysis was first executed to determine the optimal design value of the damper and the suspension spring. An efficient reduction in floor velocity of approximately 50 % was achieved by the proposed system. Practical verifications including a performance test of the micro-vibration-oriented dampers, the pragmatic application result, and a comparison in one-third octave spectrum was then carried out. The performance of the system was demonstrated by the data measured. It alleviated more trembling than was numerically expected. The energy absorbed by the viscous dampers is illustrated by the hysteresis loops and the one-third octave spectrum. It is found that with the proposed system, the vibration can be effectively captured by the viscous damper and converted to lower frequency-content tremors. The success of this project greatly supports the proposed standard two-stage analysis procedure for mitigating micro-vibration problems in practice. This research extends the use of viscous dampers to a new field.

The output torque estimation of MCMG for agile satellites

Studied in this paper are the attitude control law design and the output torque estimation problem of micro control moment gyros （MCMGs） for the agile satellites executing rapid attitude maneuver mission. An algorithm is proposed for estimating the output torques and the gimbal angular rates of MCMGs, which can help engineers to choose reasonable size for actuators so that the cost of satellite can be decreased. According to some special maneuver missions, a numerical example of attitude control system for a small satellite with MCMGs in pyramid configuration is studied, and the simulation results validate the proposed estimation algorithm.

Attitude control for part actuator failure of agile small satellite

The stability and singularity problem of agile small satellite （ASS） with actuator failure is discussed in this paper. Firstly, the three-axis stabilized controller of an ASS is designed, where micro control moment gyros （MCMG＇s） in pyramid configuration （PC） is used as the actuator. By using the same controller and steering law, the control results before and after one gyro fails are compared by simulation. The variation of singular momentum envelope before and after one gyro fails is also compared. The simulation results show that the failure intensively decreases the capacity of output torque, which leads to the emergence of more singular points and the rapid saturation of MCMG＇s. Finally, the parameters of system controller are changed to compare the control effect.

Technical Research for Detector of Grain Moisture Content Based on Error Compensation

According to the existing method including testing the frequency and establishing the relationship between moisture content and frequency, a corresponding instrument was designed. In order to further improve the accuracy and rapidity of the system, a new approach to describe the relationship between the measurement error and the temperature was proposed. The error band could be obtained and divided into several parts（based on the range of temperature） to indicate the error value that should compensate the grain moisture content for the changes in temperature. By calculating the error band at the maximum and the minimum operating temperatures, as well as by determining the error compensation value from the error band based on the measurement moisture content, the final effective result was derived.

Decentralized and overall condition monitoring system for large-scale mobile and complex equipment

It is an urgent project to realize online and overall condition monitoring and timely fault diagnosis for large-scale mobile and complex equipment. Moreover, most of the existing large-scale complex equipment has quite insufficient accessibility of examination, although it still has quite a long service life. The decentralized and overall condition monitoring, as a new concept, is proposed from the point of view of the whole system. A set of complex equipment is divided into several parts in terms of concrete equipment. Every part is processed via one detecting unit, and the main detecting unit is connected with other units. The management work and communications with the remote monitoring center have been taken on by it. Consequently, the difficulty of realizing a condition monitoring system and the complexity of processing information is reduced greatly. Furthermore, excellent maintainability of the condition monitoring system is obtained because of the modularization design. Through an application example, the design and realization of the decentralized and overall condition monitoring system is introduced specifically. Some advanced technologies, such as, micro control unit （MCU）, advanced RISC machines （ARM）, and control area network （CAN）, have been adopted in the system. The system＇s applicability for the existing large-scale mobile and complex equipment is tested.

Numerical and experimental investigation to design a novel morphing airfoil for performance optimization

Optimizing flying objects’wing performance has attracted a significant attention in the last few decades.In this article,some of the main mechanisms for changing the geometry of the wing were investigated and a new mechanism is proposed to improve the aerodynamic performance of the airplane wing.The designs have been simulated and analyzed from both aerodynamic and control points of view.In aerodynamic simulations using CFD methods,two airfoils of NACA series 6 with specifications 65-212 and 65-2012 were modeled.The results indicated that both airfoils used have a better performance compared to others in a certain range of the angle of attack.Subsequently,a new mechanism is proposed to change the wing geometry to optimize its structure.In the proposed mechanism,the structures of airfoils and wings consist of two fixed and moving parts,which can change their geometry with the help of a control circuit.The fixed part has a grooved track,and as the moving part moves in the direction of the grooves,the curvature of the upper and lower parts of the wing changes.The design control circuit includes an angle sensor,a micro controller,and a servomotor.The CFD results are entered into the micro controller as code.At any moment,the micro controller receives the angle data from the angle sensor and by comparing them with the CFD data,and issuing a command to the servomotor,it situates the wing curvature in the optimal state at all times.The built mechanism was tested at an attack angle of 0°and 25°.The results showed that the different parts of the mechanism work with very high precision and put the geometric shape of the wing in an optimal state in a completely intelligent way.It should be noted that the average error in test for t/c and Xt/c was 15.3% and 9%,respectively.

Metallurgical concepts for optimized processing and properties of carburizing steel

Carburized steel grades are widely used in applications where high surface near hardness is required in combination with good core toughness as well as high strength and fatigue resistance. The process of carburizing lower to medium carbon containing steel can generally provide this combination of properties and has been prac- ticed for several decades. Such steel is essential in the vehicle power-train, machines and power generation equipment. However, the increasing performance demands by such applications as well as economical considerations forced steel producers to develop better alloys and fabri- cators to design more efficient manufacturing processes. The present paper describes recent concepts for alloy design optimization of carburizing steel and demonstrates the forthcoming beneficial consequences with regard to manufacturing processes and final properties.