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.

A strength model for cement-stabilized mud subjected to various curing temperatures and its early-stage quality control

The influence of curing temperature on the strength development of cement-stabilized mud has been well documented in terms of strength-increase rate and ultimate strength.However,the strength development model is not mature for the extremely early stages.In addition,there is a lack of studies on quality control methods based on early-stage strength development.This paper presents a strength model for cement-stabilized mud to address these gaps,considering various curing temperatures and early-stage behaviors.In this study,a series of laboratory experiments was conducted on two types of muds treated with Portland blast furnace cement and ordinary Portland cement under four different temperatures.The results indicate that elevated temperatures expedite strength development and lead to higher long-term strength.The proposed model,which combines a three-step conversion process and a hyperbolic model at the reference temperature,enables accurate estimate of the strength development for cement-treated mud with any proportions cured under various temperatures.With this model,a practical early quality control method is introduced for applying cement-stabilized mud in field projects.The back-analysis parameters obtained from a 36-h investigation at temperature of 60C demonstrated a sufficient accuracy in predicting strength levels in practical applications.

Optimization of Holding Temperature and Holding Thickness for Controlled Rolling on Plate Mill

Holding temperature and holding thickness are main parameters for two-phase controlled rolling on plate mill. The optimization of holding temperature and holding thickness for pass schedule calculation of two-phase controlled rolling on plate mill was presented and its feature is as follows： （1） Determination of holding thickness can be automatically obtained based on the influence of mill safety limits, tracking zone length and holding time on holding thickness; （2） Determination of holding temperature can be automatically obtained and the holding time can be reduced as much as possible; （3） Algorithm can modify the holding temperature and thickness depending on slab size and product size.

Temperature-controlled triaxial compression/creep test device for thermodynamic properties of soft sedimentary rock and corresponding theoretical prediction

In deep geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste,one of the most important subjects is to estimate long-term stability and strength of host rock under high temperature conditions caused by radioactive decay of the waste.In this paper,some experimental researches on the thermo-mechanical characteristics of soft sedimentary rock have been presented.For this reason,a new temperature-controlled triaxial compression and creep test device,operated automatically by a computer-controlled system,whose control software has been developed by the authors,was developed to conduct the thermo-mechanical tests in different thermal loading paths,including an isothermal path.The new device is proved to be able to conduct typical thermo-mechanical element tests for soft rock.The test device and the related testing method were introduced in detail.Finally,some test results have been simulated with a thermo-elasto-viscoplastic model that was also developed by the authors.

Practice of Controlled Temperature Chain (CTC) Technique during a Mass Vaccination Campaign in Côte d’Ivoire

Background: MenAfriVacTM is the first of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s pre-qualified vaccines to be allowed to mass vaccination campaign at a temperature below or equal to 40°C during 4 days. This new vaccination practice has already been used in some African countries. This article described the opinion and use of this new technique by actors on the field, during a mass vaccination campaign in Côte d’Ivoire, in December 2014. Methods: We conducted a crosssectional study on the practice of CTC by actors on the field and their perception on the new practice, during a mass vaccination campaign in 2 of 25 health districts in Côte d’Ivoire, in December 2014. Findings: As results, in Séguéla 98.25% of respondents expressed a favourable opinion of CTC, citing advantages such as vaccine carriers requiring no ice packs (29.2%), financial benefit (12.28%) and lighter vaccine carriers (5.26%). In Bouna, respondents gave the same advantages in, respectively, 34%, 2% and 8% of cases. The peak of the total of vials used for immunization sessions reached 376 vials at day one, then dropped to 235 vials at day three and 220 vials at day six. Discussion: Vaccinators found some benefits related to CTC practice, but on the field, they were cautious in using CTC technique.

Soft-Sensing Method of Water Temperature Measurement for Controlled Cooling System

Aiming at the water temperature measuring problem for controlled cooling system of rolling plant,a new water temperature measuring method based on soft-sensing method with a water temperature model of on-line self correction parameter was built.A water temperature compensation factor model was also built to improve coiling temperature control precision.It was proved that the model meets production requirements.The soft-sensing technique has extensive applications in the field of metal forming.

Stability Analysis of Network Controlled Temperature Control System with Additive Delays

This paper presents,using Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional technique combined with reciprocal convex lemma is considered for a networked control temperature control system with additive time-varying-delays.In the stability analysis,a new LK functional is assumed,and take the time-derivative of the(LK)functional,using reciprocal convex combination technique was employed to obtain less conservative stability criteria.Finally,the proposed stability analysis culminates into a stability criterion in the LMI(linear matrix inequalities)framework.The results obtained are in accordance with the theoretically obtained in the temperature control system and they are closer to the standard benchmark temperature-control system.

Internal Temperature of Skin when Surface Temperature Is Controlled with an Electromagnetic Beam

We study the thermal effect on skin exposed to an electromagnetic beam of time-dependent power. We consider two types of beam power time schedules. In the controlled temperature exposure, the skin surface temperature is increased quickly to a prescribed level using a high beam power;then the surface temperature is maintained at the prescribed level by adjusting the beam power adaptively. In the constant power exposure, the applied beam power is relatively low and stays unchanged over the time. We start both types of exposures at the same time and compare their internal temperatures of skin when they have the same surface temperature. In a non-dimensionalized formulation, we show that at the moment when both exposure types reach the same prescribed surface temperature level, the controlled temperature exposure has a higher internal temperature at all depths. This conclusion is mathematically rigorous and is independent of skin material properties.

Concentration of Bio-Ethanol through Cellulose Ester Membranes during Temperature-Difference Controlled Evapomeation

To evaluate the high-performance of membrane materials in the concentration of an aqueous solution of dilute bioethanol under temperature-difference controlled evapomeation (TDEV), asymmetric porous cellulose nitrate (CN) and cellulose acetate (CA) membranes were prepared by a phase inversion method. In the concentration of dilute ethanol under TDEV, these membranes showed a high permeation rate and high ethanol/water selectivity. In membranes with almost the similar pore size, the ethanol/water selectivity was considerably higher for the CN membrane than the corresponding CA membrane. This result suggested that the affinity between the membrane material and the permeant is an important factor in the separation selectivity.

Single-Stage Wide-Range CMOS VGA with Temperature Compensation and Linear-in-dB Gain Control

A novel wide-range CMOS variable gain amplifier （VGA） topology is presented. The proposed VGA is composed of a variable transconductor and a novel variable output resistor and can offer a high gain variation range of 80dB while using a single variable-gain stage. Temperature-compensation and decibel-linear gain characteristic are achieved by using a control circuit that provides a gain error lower than ±1.5dB over the full temperature and gain ranges. Realized in 0.25μm CMOS technology, a prototype of the proposed VGA provides a total gain range of 64.5dB with 55.6dB-linear range,a P-1dB varying from - 17.5 to 11.5dBm,and a 3dB-bandwith varying from 65 to 860MHz while dissipating 16.5mW from a 2.5V supply voltage.

Response of Over-summer Hydroponic Lettuce to Nutrient Solution Temperature Control

Temperature, as an important feature of hydroponic nutrient solution, is closely related to dissolved oxygen content of nutrient solution and growth status of plant roots. How to precisely adjust the temperature of nutrient solution is the key to obtain high quality and high yield of hydroponic vegetables over summer. With Lactuca sativa vat. crispa ＇Luosheng No.3＇ as the test material, the effect of chiller cooling technology on the temperature of nutrient solution, as well as on the yield and quality of Luosheng No.3, in over-summer hydroponic cultivation was studied. The results showed that the chiller cooling technology controlled the nutrient solution temperature in a reasonable range （（20 ± 1）℃） and promoted the growth and dry matter accumulation of Luosheng No.3, instead of affecting the quality. In short, the chiller cooling technology is applicable to the temperature regulation of nutrient solu- tion in hydroponics over summer.

Studies on the Economical and Practical Temperature Control Facility of Deep-Litter Systems for Swine Production

Deep-Litter System is a high yield approach to raise swine with pollution free in a lower cost. In the research, based on the heat stress in summer caused by fermentation, three temperature-control systems were designed, including natural ventilation through transoms, forced ventilation via fans, and cooling by hyperbaric spray system. Specifically, the latter intermittent auto-pressurized spray system developed in our lab, which could spray successively via pressure from storage tubes without wetting the fermentation bed, is suitable for the promotion with the deep-litter technology in rural regions , since the power consumption is only 1 kwh per day.

Preference-based multiobjective artificial bee colony algorithm for optimization of superheated steam temperature control

In order to incorporate the decision maker＇s preference into multiobjective optimization a preference-based multiobjective artificial bee colony algorithm PMABCA is proposed.In the proposed algorithm a novel reference point based preference expression method is addressed.The fitness assignment function is defined based on the nondominated rank and the newly defined preference distance.An archive set is introduced for saving the nondominated solutions and an improved crowding-distance operator is addressed to remove the extra solutions in the archive.The experimental results of two benchmark test functions show that a preferred set of solutions and some other non-preference solutions are achieved simultaneously.The simulation results of the proportional-integral-derivative PID parameter optimization for superheated steam temperature verify that the PMABCA is efficient in aiding to making a reasonable decision.

Temperature distribution and dynamic control of secondary cooling in slab continuous casting

To predict and optimize the temperature distribution of slab continuous casting in steady operational state, a three-dimensional model （named ＂offline model＂） based on the heat transfer and solidification theories was developed. Both heat transfer and flux distribution characteristics of the nozzle sprays on the slab were considered, and the complicated boundary conditions, such as spray cooling, natural convection, thermal radiation as well as contact cooling of individual rolls were involved in the model. By using the calibrated caster dependent model factors, the calculated temperature and shell thickness accorded well with the measured. Furthermore, a dynamic secondary water cooling control system was also developed on the basis of a two-dimensional transient heat transfer model （named ＂online model＂） and incremental PID control algorithm to reduce slab surface temperature fluctuation in unsteady state. Compared with the traditional spray table control method, the present online model and dynamic PID control demonstrate a higher capability and flexibility to adjust cooling water flowrate and reduce slab surface temperature fluctuation when the casting speed is changed.

Fuzzy self-tuning PID control of the operation temperatures in a two-staged membrane separation process

A two-staged membrane separation process for hydrogen recovery from refinery gases is introduced. The principle of the gas membrane separation process and the influence of the operation temperatures are analyzed. As the conventional PID controller is difficult to make the operation temperatures steady, a fuzzy self-tuning PID control algorithm is proposed. The application shows that the algorithm is effective, the operation temperatures of both stages can be controlled steadily, and the operation flexibility and adaptability of the hydrogen recovery unit are enhanced with safety. This study lays a foundation to optimize the control of the membrane separation process and thus ensure the membrane performance.

Intelligent Temperature Control System Design Based on Single-Chip Microcomputer

A design method of an intelligent temperature control system based on single-chip microcomputer is presented in this paper. The intelligent temperature control system is divided into four parts: monitor,heater,controlled process and feedback loop. Among them,the temperature detection circuit is designed with the conductivity of water by sensor detection. The optical coupler MOC3041 is used to implement the power control circuit,whose control object is 1 kW electric heater with the 220 V alternating current power; keyboard and display circuit SMC1602A include four buttons and LCD display to achieve human-computer interaction; Based on single-chip system STC89C52,the sensor signal and keyboard set target temperature are compared to the power automatically in order to finish the water temperature control. Through the static and dynamic data testing,the results show that the proposed method provides an effective way to realize the real-time acquisition and control of temperature.

Multivariable temperature measurement and control system of large-scaled vertical quench furnace based on temperature field

A temperature control system of 31m vertical forced air-circulation quench furnace is proposed, which is a kind of equipment critical for thermal treatment of aluminum alloy components that are widely used in aerospace industry. For the effective operation of the furnace, it is essential to analyze the radial temperature distribution of the furnace. A set of thermodynamic balance equations modeling is established firsdy. By utilizing the numerical analysis result to modify the temperature measurements, the control accuracy and precision of the temperature are truly guaranteed. Furthermore, the multivariable decoupling self-learning PID control algorithm based on the characteristics of strong coupling between the multi-zones in the large-scaled furnace is implemented to ensure the true homogeneity of the axial temperature distribution. Finally, the redundant structure composed of industrial control computers and touch panels leads to great improvement of system reliability.

Temperature inferential control of a reactive distillation column with double reactive sections

Temperature inferential control (TIC) is studied for a reactive distillation column with double reactive sections (RDC-DRSs) processing a hypothetical two-stage consecutive reversible reaction (A + B■C + D, C + B■E + D with αD > αB > αC > αA > αE). Because of the complicated dynamic behaviors, the controlled stages by sensitivity analysis lead to great steady-state deviations (SSDs) in top and bottom product purities. Since TIC involves considerably reduced settling times in comparison with direct composition control, small SSDs in product qualities correspond generally to small transient deviations (TDs) in product qualities. An objective function that measures SSDs in product qualities is formulated to represent the performance of a TIC system and an iterative procedure is devised to search for the best control configuration. The application of the procedure to the RDC-DRS gives considerably suppressed TDs and SSDs in top and bottom product qualities as compared with the one by sensitivity analysis. The method is simpler in principle and less computationally intensive than the current practice. These striking outcomes show the effectiveness of the proposed principle for the development of TIC systems for complicated reactive distillation columns.

Neuro-fuzzy generalized predictive control of boiler steam temperature

Power plants are nonlinear and uncertain complex systems. Reliable control of superheated steam temperature is necessary to ensure high efficiency and high load-following capability in the operation of modem power plant. A nonlinear generalized predictive controller based on neuro-fuzzy network （NFGPC） is proposed in this paper. The proposed nonlinear controller is applied to control the superheated steam temperature of a 200MW power plant. From the experiments on the plant and the simulation of the plant, much better performance than the traditional controller is obtained,

Temperature control and cracking prevention in coastal thin-wall concrete structures

A three-dimensional finite element program for thermal analysis of hydration heat in concrete structures with a plastic pipe cooling system is introduced in this paper. The program was applied to simulation of the temperature and stress field of the Cao＇e Sluice during the construction period. From the calculated results, we can find that the temperaiure and stress of concrete cooled with plastic pipes are much lower than those of concrete without pipes. Moreover, plastic pipes could not be corroded by seawater. That is to say, a good effect of temperature control and cracking prevention can be achieved, which provides a useful reference for other similar nearshore concrete projects.