Thermal-electrical Coupled Analysis and Experimental Investigation on Spark Plasma Sintering of SiC Ceramics

Finite element simulations were conducted to study the mechanism of spark plasma sintering. The spark plasma sintering of SiC ceramics was simulated by the Marc software based on the load current curve and temperature-time curve deserved by SPS experiment. The concept of equivalent radiation coefficient was presented and applied during the simulation. The temperature distribution regularity of SiC ceramics sintered by SPS technology was got by thermal-electrical coupled finite element simulation. The experimental results show that by thermal-electrical coupled finite element analysis, the temperature rising and distribution regularity of nonconductive material can be preferable forecasted in the sintering process of SPS. In the initial stage of the heat preservation, the temperature of the central part of the sample has achieved sintering temperature, but now, the temperature of the sample is not uniform. The temperature for each part of the die is also quite different and the sample temperature in the center is higher than that in the edge. In the end of heat preservation, the central temperature of the sample is 50 ℃higher than the required sintering temperature, and the temperature gap for each part of the die decreases gradually.

Variational analysis of thermomechanically coupled steady-state rolling problem

A steady-state, rigid-plastic rolling problem for temperature and strain-rate dependent materials with nonlocal friction is considered. A variational formulation is derived, coupling a nonlinear variational inequality for the velocity and a nonlinear vari- ational equation for the temperature. The existence and uniqueness results are obtained by a proposed fixed point method.

EFFICIENT STEADY-STATE ANALYSIS METHOD FOR CLOSED-LOOP PWM SWITCHING CONVERTERS

An analysis technique of steady state and stability for closed-loop PWM DC/DC switching converters is presented. Using this method, the closed-loop switching converter is transformed into an open-loop system. By means of the fact that in steady state, the two boundary values are equal in one switching period. The exponential matrix is evaluated by precise time-domain-integration method, and then the related curve between feedback duty cycle and the input one is obtained. Not only can the steady-state duty cycle be found from the curve, but also the stability and stable domain of the system. Compared with other methods, it features with simplicity and less calculation, and fit for numerical simulation and analysis for closed-loop switching converters. The simulation results of examples indicate the correctness of the presented method.

Modal and Thermal Analysis of a Modified Connecting Rod of an Internal Combustion Engine Using Finite Element Method

The connecting rod is one of the most important moving components in an internal combustion engine. The present work determined the possibility of using aluminium alloy 7075 material to design and manufacture a connecting rod for weight optimisation without losing the strength of the connecting rod. It considered modal and thermal analyses to investigate the suitability of the material for connecting rod design. The parameters that were considered under the modal analysis were: total deformation, and natural frequency, while the thermal analysis looked at the temperature distribution, total heat flux and directional heat flux of the four connecting rods made with titanium alloy, grey cast iron, structural steel and aluminium 7075 alloy respectively. The connecting rod was modelled using Autodesk inventor2017 software using the calculated parameters. The steady-state thermal analysis was used to determine the induced heat flux and directional heat flux. The study found that Aluminium 7075 alloy deformed more than the remaining three other materials but has superior qualities in terms of vibrational natural frequency, total heat flux and lightweight compared to structural steel, grey cast iron and titanium alloy.

A CLOSED-FORM ALGORITHM FOR THE STEADY-STATE RESPONSE OF ELASTIC MECHANISMS

This paper presents a closed-form algorithm for the steady-state response of elastic mecha-nisms. Based on an analytic expression of the initial conditions, the steady-state response can beobtained by just one cycle of integration, thus the algorithm is of high efficiency. The algorithm isthen verified by comparing the computational results with the previously published experimental re-sults.

A theoretical analysis and its application of the second order EC' reactions at microelectrodes under steady-state conditions

With a new approach,the general current expressions of two typical second order catalytic reactions are obtained for disk,hemispherical and spherical microelectrodes under steady-state conditions.This approach is based on the concept of reaction layer.For the second order EC' reactions,we also discussed how it is possible to observe pseudo-first order or second order behavior.This consideration allows the study of the fast chemical reactions and systems where the bulk concentrations of the reactants are nearly equal.Regeneration of Fe^(3+)(EDTA) with H_2O_2 was selected as an example of a rapid catalytic reaction.

Influence of Coloured Correlated Noises on Probability Distribution and Mean of Tumour Cell Number in the Logistic Growth Model

An approximate Fokker-Planck equation for the logistic growth model which is driven by coloured correlated noises is derived by applying the Novikov theorem and the Fox approximation. The steady-state probability distribution （SPD） and the mean of the tumour cell number are analysed. It is found that the SPD is the single extremum configuration when the degree of correlation between the multiplicative and additive noises, λ is in -1 〈λ≤0 and can be the double extrema in 0〈λ〈1. A configuration transition occurs because of the variation of noise parameters. A minimum appears in the curve of the mean of the steady-state tumour cell number, （x）, versus λ The position and the value of the minimum are controlled by the noise-correlated times.

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.

Intensity Correlation Function and Associated Relaxation Time of a Saturation Laser Model with Correlated Noises

We investigate the intensity correlation function C（s） and its associated relaxation time Tc for a saturation model of single-mode laser with correlated noises. The expressions of O（s） and Tc are derived by means of the projection operator method, and effects of correlations between an additive noise and a multiplicative noise are discussed by numerical calculation. Based on the calculated results, it is found that the correlation strength A between the additive noise and the multiplicative noise can enhance the fluctuation decay of the laser intensity.

A User-Friendly SSVEP-Based BCI Using Imperceptible Phase-Coded Flickers at 60Hz

A brain-computer interface(BCI)system based on steady-state visual evoked potentials(SSVEP)was developed by four-class phase-coded stimuli.SSVEPs elicited by flickers at 60Hz,which is higher than the critical fusion frequency(CFF),were compared with those at 15Hz and 30Hz.SSVEP components in electroencephalogram(EEG)were detected using task related component analysis(TRCA)method.Offline analysis with 17 subjects indicated that the highest information transfer rate(ITR)was 29.80±4.65bpm with 0.5s data length for 60Hz and the classification accuracy was 70.07±4.15%.The online BCI system reached an averaged classification accuracy of 87.75±3.50%at 60Hz with 4s,resulting in an ITR of 16.73±1.63bpm.In particular,the maximum ITR for a subject was 80bpm with 0.5s at 60Hz.Although the BCI performance of 60Hz was lower than that of 15Hz and 30Hz,the results of the behavioral test indicated that,with no perception of flicker,the BCI system with 60Hz was more comfortable to use than 15Hz and 30Hz.Correlation analysis revealed that SSVEP with higher signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)corresponded to better classification performance and the improvement in comfortableness was accompanied by a decrease in performance.This study demonstrates the feasibility and potential of a user-friendly SSVEP-based BCI using imperceptible flickers.

Review of brain-computer interface based on steady-state visual evoked potential

The brain-computer interface(BCI)technology has received lots of attention in the field of scientific research because it can help disabled people improve their quality of life.Steady-state visual evoked potential(SSVEP)is the most researched BCI experimental paradigm,which offers the advantages of high signal-to-noise ratio and short training-time requirement by users.In a complete BCI system,the two most critical components are the experimental paradigm and decoding algorithm.However,a systematic combination of the SSVEP experimental paradigm and decoding algorithms is missing in existing studies.In the present study,the transient visual evoked potential,SSVEP,and various improved SSVEP paradigms are compared and analyzed,and the problems and development bottlenecks in the experimental paradigm are finally pointed out.Subsequently,the canonical correlation analysis and various improved decoding algorithms are introduced,and the opportunities and challenges of the SSVEP decoding algorithm are discussed.

Studying the Effect of the Pre-Stimulation Paradigm on Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials with Dynamic Models Based on the Zero-Pole Analytical Method

This study explored methods for improving the performance of Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential(SSVEP)-based Brain-Computer Interfaces(BCI), and introduced a new analytical method to quantitatively analyze and reflect the characteristics of SSVEP. We focused on the effect of the pre-stimulation paradigm on the SSVEP dynamic models and the dynamic response process of SSVEP, and performed a comparative analysis of three pre-stimulus paradigms(black, gray, and white). Four dynamic models with different orders(second-and third-order)and with and without a zero point were used to fit the SSVEP envelope. The zero-pole analytical method was adopted to conduct quantitative analysis on the dynamic models, and the response characteristics of SSVEP were represented by zero-pole distribution characteristics. The results of this study indicated that the pre-stimulation paradigm affects the characteristics of SSVEP, and the dynamic models had good fitting abilities with SSVEPs under various types of pre-stimulation. Furthermore, the zero-pole characteristics of the models effectively characterize the damping coefficient, oscillation period, and other SSVEP characteristics. The comparison of zeros and poles indicated that the gray pre-stimulation condition corresponds to a lower damping coefficient, thus showing its potential to improve the performance of SSVEP-BCIs.

Modelling and Analysis of a Class of Metal–Forming Problems

A class of steady-state metal-forming problems,with rigid-plastic,incompressible,strain-rate dependent material model and nonlocal Coulomb’s friction,is considered.Primal,mixed and penalty variational formulations,containing variational inequalities with nonlinear and nondifferentiable terms,are derived and studied.Existence,uniqueness and convergence results are obtained and shortly presented.A priori finite element error estimates are derived and an algorithm,combining the finite element and secant-modulus methods,is utilized to solve an illustrative extrusion problem.

Brain-computer control interface design for virtual household appliances based on steady-state visually evoked potential recognition

Brain–computer interface is a new form of interaction between humans and machines.This interaction helps the human brain control or operate external devices directly using electroencephalograph(EEG)signals.In this study,we first adopt a canonical correlation analysis method to find the stimulation frequency by calculating the correlation coefficient between the EEG data and multiple sets of harmonics with different frequencies.Then,we select the maximum correlation coefficient as the stimulus frequency and consequently identify steady-state visual evoked potentials.Afterward,we introduce power spectral density to adjust the stimulus frequency and a voting mechanism to reduce the false activation rate.Finally,we build a virtual household electrical appliance brain–computer control interface,which achieves over 72.84%accuracy for three classification problems.

Finite element analysis of temperature distribution of polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors under self-heating stress

The temperature distribution of typical n-type polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors under selfheating(SH)stress is studied by finite element analysis.From both steady-state and transient thermal simulation,the influence of device power density,substrate material,and channel width on device temperature distribution is analyzed.This study is helpful to understand the mechanism of SH degradation,and to effectively alleviate the SH effect in device operation.

An extended binary subband canonical correlation analysis detection algorithm oriented to the radial contraction-expansion motion steady- state visual evoked paradigm

The radial contraction-expansion motion paradigm is a novel steady-state visual evoked experimental paradigm,and the electroencephalography(EEG)evoked potential is different from the traditional luminance modulation paradigm.The signal energy is concentrated chiefly in the fundamental frequency,while the higher harmonic power is lower.Therefore,the conventional steady-state visual evoked potential recognition algorithms optimizing multiple harmonic response components,such as the extended canonical correlation analysis(eCCA)and task-related component analysis(TRCA)algorithm,have poor recognition performance under the radial contraction-expansion motion paradigm.This paper proposes an extended binary subband canonical correlation analysis(eBSCCA)algorithm for the radial contraction-expansion motion paradigm.For the radial contraction-expansion motion paradigm,binary subband filtering was used to optimize the weighting coefficients of different frequency response signals,thereby improving the recognition performance of EEG signals.The results of offline experiments involving 13 subjects showed that the eBSCCA algorithm exhibits a better performance than the eCCA and TRCA algorithms under the stimulation of the radial contraction-expansion motion paradigm.In the online experiment,the average recognition accuracy of 13 subjects was 88.68%±6.33%,and the average information transmission rate(ITR)was 158.77±43.67 bits/min,which proved that the algorithm had good recognition effect signals evoked by the radial contraction-expansion motion paradigm.

FURTHER RESEARCH OF A NEW KIND OF SERIES REPAIRABLE SYSTEM

This paper is devoted to studying the uniqueness and existence of the system dynamic solution by using C0-semigroup theory and discussing its exponential stability by analyzing the spectrul distribution of system operator and its quasi-compactness. Some primary reliability indices are discussed with the eigenfunction of system operator and the optimal vacation time to get the maximum system profit is analyzed at the end of paper.

An improved delta-star switching scheme for reactive power saving in three-phase induction motors

It is proposed that a capacitor can be connected permanently across each phase winding of a three-phase induction motor along with the conventional delta-star switching, for further saving in VARh at reduced loads on the motor. The method of choosing a suitable value for the capacitor and the criteria to be adopted for calculating the power output at which the star to delta switching is to be made are also explained. The phase, 4-pole, 415 V, 50 Hz, 3 experimental results on a 3- 3 kW induction motor verify the advantages in adding the capacitor to the phase winding of the motor. Compared to using only a single delta connected stator winding or a delta-star switching, the advantages of the proposed addition of a capacitor, are also demonstrated through a case study conducted on a 400 V, 250 kW motor. Any further improvement in grid side power factor can be achieved by employing a static synchronous compensator （STATCOM） of reduced VAR rating.

Releasing Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti to prevent the spread of dengue virus: A mathematical study

Wolbachia is a bacterium that is present in 60%of insects but it is not generally found in Aedes aegypti,the primary vector responsible for the transmission of dengue virus,Zika virus,and other human diseases caused by RNA viruses.Wolbachia has been shown to stop the growth of a variety of RNA viruses in Drosophila and in mosquitoes.Wolbachia-infected Ae.aegypti have both reproductive advantages and disadvantages over wild types.If Wolbachia-infected females are fertilized by either normal or infected males,the offspring are healthy and Wolbachia-positive.On the other hand,if Wolbachia-negative females are fertilized by Wolbachia-positive males,the offspring do not hatch.This phenomenon is called cytoplasmic incompatibility.Thus,Wolbachia-positive females have a reproductive advantage,and the Wolbachia is expanded in the population.On the other hand,Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes lay fewer eggs and generally have a shorter lifespan.In recent years,scientists have successfully released these Wolbachia-adapted mosquitoes into the wild in several countries and have achieved a high level of replacement with Wolbachiapositive mosquitoes.Here,we propose a minimal mathematical model to investigate the feasibility of such a release method.The model has five steady-states two of which are locally asymptotically stable.One of these stable steady-states has no Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes while for the other steady-state,all mosquitoes are infected with Wolbachia.We apply optimal control theory to find a release method that will drive the mosquito population close to the steady-state with only Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in a twoyear time period.Because some of the model parameters cannot be accurately measured or predicted,we also perform uncertainty and sensitivity analysis to quantify how variations in our model parameters affect our results.

ASYMPTOTIC SOLUTIONS OF MODE I STEADY GROWTH CRACK IN MATERIALS UNDER CREEP CONDITIONS

An asymptotic analysis is made on problems with a steady-state crack growth cou- pled with a creep law model under tensile loads. Asymptotic equations of crack tip fields in creep materials are derived and solved numerically under small scale conditions. Stress and strain func- tions are adopted under a polar coordinate system. The governing equations of asymptotic fields are obtained by inserting the stress field and strain field into the material law. The crack growth rate rather than fracture criterion plays an important role in the crack tip fields of materials with creep behavior.